Is Baby Formula more filling than breast milk?

Is baby formula more filling than breast milk? As a new mom or a soon-to-be mother, you will be faced with the decision of whether you’re going to breastfeed your baby or formula feed.  Both are great options for infants, but health experts like World Health Organization (WHO) tell us that breastfeeding is the best nutritional choice for your babies. Well, nutrition is very crucial to sustaining your baby in the long run.

Nursing (breastfeeding) can be a very exciting experience for both mother and child. Still, due to some reasons, some mothers choose to formula feed their babies, which might be due to medical history, lifestyle, comfort level, or schedule. Whatever is your reason, it’s totally a personal decision, or probably you just want to take your baby off breast milk, and you’re looking for an alternative.

Now you may be asking, is baby formula more filling than breast milk?

Well, the answer is “Yes,” but it’s not totally what you imagine, which is why we will be looking at both in detail, its pros, and cons, and the answer to the question “is baby formula more filling than breast milk.

Formula Feeding

Formula feeding is more filling than breast milk reason being that babies can drink more formula than breast milk. Breast milk is limited because of its fickle process while formulas are out in bottles measuring the exact amount of each baby’s feeding period.

The baby formula is thicker than breast milk making it slower to digest. This in turn makes it stay longer than breast milk because breast milk digests easily.

Again, formula feeding enables the baby to have extended sleeping hours, as they won’t be waking up frequently because of hunger.

PROS:

1. Formulas sit longer, which makes the baby eat less often
2. Formulas can be measured, maybe due to medical reasons, and there’s a need for a particular amount of feeding for the baby.
3. The baby formula helps you know how well your baby is feeding
4. Now daddy can babysit also. Anyone can join the baby feeding club with formula feeding, which gives room for more family bonding than just mother and child.
5. You have control over the supplies you buy.
6. Very importantly, your baby is nourished.
7. The formula contains vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential to a baby’s growth, and breast milk contains less of it.
8. The best option for adopted babies

CONS:

• Baby formulas are expensive:

Well, if you are going for formula feeding, you should make a huge budget for it as they are expensive to get.

• Planning ahead:

Each time you’re leaving the house, you need to make sure there’s enough formula for the baby for the duration of stay, including more formula cans, clean bottles, and water. That might be a big load to carry.

• Formulas smell really bad:

If you’re considering formula for feeding your baby, bear in mind it smells really bad if you’re a first-time mother, but don’t worry, your baby won’t even notice. It tastes really good in their mouth, and you will wonder how your baby manages to gulp it as their life depends on it.

• Criticism

People talk a lot; if you’re a first-time mother and you decided to formula feed your baby, know that; if you tell another mother who thinks formula feeding is terrible, you are going to get a negative comment, they are going to make you feel really bad. However, formula feeding and breastfeeding your baby are both great; what matters is making a decision that is right for you.

• Health risk

Breastfed babies tend to have a fewer risk of infection than formula-fed babies and also appear happier. This is because, during the breastfeeding process, the mother can release some of her antibiotics to the baby, which helps strengthen the baby’s immune system, allowing the baby to have a lower chance of allergies, diabetes, and more.

Breastfeeding

Nursing (Breastfeeding) can be a huge responsibility for some mothers; the baby eating more often, you being the only one to feed the baby, and all that. But then, breastfeeding actually provides the most nourished and special bonding experience for both mother and baby.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) also recommends breastfeeding as the best choice for infants.

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of breastfeeding.

PROS:

1. Breastfeeding babies reduces the chance of infections and hospitalization than formula feeding. It’s very beneficial for premature babies.
2. Unlike formulas, breast milk is extremely easy and fast to digest. It is regarded as the best food for infants.
3. Breast milk contains all the vitamins needed for a baby’s healthy life, except Vitamin D, which is less.
4. Breast milk is free; it doesn’t require any extra cost.
5. Breastfeeding helps babies have a sense of taste.

Breast milk tastes different all the time depending on what the mother has eaten at that particular time, which helps the baby have a different taste anytime they want to breastfeed.

• Breast milk makes babies happier and smarter.

As suggested by some studies, babies that were breastfed have slightly higher IQs.

CONS:

1. You feel discomfort for the first few weeks
2. It’s not measurable how much your baby is eating, so you don’t know if your baby is feeding well or not.
3. Medical challenges: Before you choose to breastfeed your baby, it’s advisable to see your doctor to make sure you are in a good state of health.
4. As a breastfeeding mother, you may have to give up your favorites intakes during the period of breastfeeding, as anything you take in can be transferred to your baby through breast milk.

Conclusion

Now you have the answer to the question “Is baby formula more filling than breast milk?” Choosing to formula feed or breastfeed your baby is great but totally a personal decision. Chose the one that best fits your lifestyle, medical condition, working schedule, etc. Each with its pros and cons.

In addition, both methods can actually be combined; if you’re a mother whose reason is a tight schedule, you can choose to formula feed your baby during the day, which helps to be able to babysit them and then breastfeed at night. Combining both might just be the perfect option for your baby, considering each one’s advantages. But you and your baby will have to figure it out because your baby might get used to one over the other.