Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding

Choosing weather to breastfeed or formula feed your baby is one of the first decisions expectant parents will make. I know before I got pregnant with Jaxen, breastfeeding was the last thing I considered because it seemed “weird”. Last fall, I took a class titled Human Growth & Development. It covered different topics ranging in gestational ages through late adulthood. I was about three months pregnant during the time when we were covering the topic of newborn health. Our main discussion question was to give advantages and disadvantages of both breastfeeding and formula feeding. I personally want to thank my teacher for having this question, because it completely changed my outlook AND my decision on how I was going to feed my baby once he arrived.  Therefore, I want to cover some of the things I learned about both feeding options and why I chose to go with breastfeeding.

Proper nutrition is extremely important to babies. Breastfeeding provides the perfect balance of nutrients and with high levels as well as it is easily digested in your baby’s tummy. The nutritional content in formula depends on the proper preparation and some babies have difficulty tolerating certain nutrients. Cost was another important issue our family considered as well. Breast milk is free -  minus the costs of nursing pads, nursing bras, and a breast pump (which is completely optional, but convenient). Have you seen the prices of formula? It can range anywhere from $50-$200 a month depending on what brand you choose to go with. Breast milk is always the perfect temperature, there’s no preparation, and it’s available anytime and anywhere.

Breastfeeding also protects against infections, illnesses, and allergies. It also has been proven to enhance development and intelligence (higher IQ’s, cognitive development, and social development). Babies aren’t the only ones who benefit from breastfeeding either. Mothers get awesome benefits from choosing to do so as well – decreases the risk of cancer, helps with emotional health, and promotes weight loss.

Basically, to me, breastfeeding sounds amazing. Tyler and I have chosen this route for Jaxen mainly because of the benefits breast milk can give him. We want all of the risks for any sort of disease or illnesses decreased as much as possible. And even though breastfeeding is a “mother’s job”, we plan on investing in a good breast pump so Tyler can help feed Jaxen as well – also a good bonding time!

Love.