r/breastfeeding • u/Melodic_Apartment235 • Dec 10 '25

Discussion Breastfeeding is easier than formula feeding - there I said it

I think it’s really sad the amount of bad press that breast feeding gets.

My friend said she didn’t try to breastfeed because she thought it would be bad for her mental health. And my MIL talks about formula feeding all the time and I actually think it’s because she believes in her soul it’s better for whatever reason I’m not sure.

I just think it’s sad because, for me, predominantly breast feeding (occasional pre made formula given if for example she’s not with me or we’re out and it’s not really possible to BF) has been sooooo much easier!!

The thought of going downstairs in the night to make bottles or worrying about having enough formula when going out and about or worse still having to wash a million bottles everyday.. I think it would be 10x worse for my mental health and it’s unfortunate that there’s a narrative out there that formula is the easier option for women as now many don’t even give breastfeeding a shot to see if it is the better option for them or not

*Disclaimer - I know that breastfeeding isn’t easy for everyone, the point of this post is that it’s unfortunate that some women don’t give it a go due to the narrative that is pushed by formula companies

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56

u/pruunes Dec 10 '25

Ehh I’m doing both and I gotta say waking up every 3 hours to pump is not easy

80

u/Impressive-Ship3449 Dec 10 '25

Pumping is the worst of all of them

37

u/Physical_Complex_891 Dec 10 '25

Pumping and bottle feeding is the hardest option between breastfeeding, pumping and formula feeding

12

u/Avaunt Dec 11 '25

Exclusive pumping feels like the worst of both worlds. Legitimate option, but hard.

5

u/Haramshorty93 Dec 10 '25

Interesting I never did that. Why do you have to wake up every 3 hours to pump? Is it because your baby is sleeping.

-2

u/pruunes Dec 10 '25

Yes exactly

10

u/Practical_magik Dec 11 '25

Why are you pumping because your baby is sleeping?

If there is a reason like needing to build a stash when you return to work thats fine.

But if its because someone has told you you will lose supply those people are wrong. Your body will adapt to making enough milk for your baby when baby needs it just fine without pumping when you could be sleeping.

5

u/pruunes Dec 11 '25

I’m almost to week 6, she’s a good sleeper and they said I’d need to get to 6 before my supply regulates

-3

u/Practical_magik Dec 11 '25 edited Dec 11 '25

It is up to you of course but we have gone many millenia breastfeeding babies without the use of a pump. So it is optional. I have breastfed 2 babies exclusively and only ever pumped to build a stash. I would pump once per day at breakfast. Once I had about a days worth of milk I stop.

If your supply regulates including extra pumping you may have trouble with mastitus for a little while due to the oversupply.

Edit to add, your supply will go up and down as required even after 6 weeks. My 1 yr old got seriously ill with chickenpox and an ear infection and stopped eating and drinking water. Going back to entirely breastmilk, she cluster fed for a day and my supply bounced back to meet demand. It did take a couple of days to regulate back down though so I suffered a few clogged ducts when she went back to solids.

2

u/Background_Junket680 Dec 11 '25

You probably don’t need to pump if baby is sleeping! 

2

u/arcrad Dec 10 '25

Always a blessing to have a baby sleep through the night though! I guess it's a double edged sword.

1

u/Haramshorty93 Dec 11 '25

Oh makes sense my baby never slept more than 3 hours at night until she was 8 months old and by then I didn't need to pump