To breast feed or to not breast feed that is the question..

One of the things that I've had to come to terms with since being pregnant is the constant advice and suggestions that I'm given.. And the topic of breast feeding is by no means no exception. Said questions include;

Will you be using a manual or electric breast pump? 

Will you give it a go? After all breast is best..

And so on and so on. 

So to help me on my way to making a decision I thought I'd outline the pros and cons of breast vs bottle after reading the two booklets I was given by the health visitor on her recent visit; off to the best start and guide to bottle feeding.

Here goes; 

Breastfeeding pros;

Lowers the risk of mum getting breast or ovarian cancer 

Helps you and baby to get closer - physically and emotionally 

Naturally uses up to 500 extra calories a day - surely this is the biggest selling point 

And the one I like most of all - it's free!

And the cons (for baby): (interesting to note that no cons for mum are mentioned. Now I wonder why that is).

Diarrhoea and vomiting 

Chest infections

Ear infections 

Being fussy about new foods 

Being constipated 

Being obese 

Developing eczema

Wow! Now if the cons aren't enough to encourage me to get my boobs out and to feed Thomas as soon as I can then what is? 

Well - not being able to of course. What if I can't actually express milk? For those of you who don't know what "expressing milk" it's squeezing milk out of your breast.

And how on earth do I make sure that baby is properly attached to my breast? 

Well apparently there's nothing to worry about as there's plenty of help and support out there but. And this is a huge but.. What if I can't actually do it? What if baby can't or won't latch on? What if? What if??

Ah what if I decided to bottle feed? Ah yes now there's another option to consider...

So I flip over to page one of the "guide to bottle feeding" booklet to look for the pros and cons of bottle feeding. Nope. Can't find any. None at all. All this booklet does is help you to understand how to bottle feed your baby safely. 

In all fairness it's very visual - especially the step by step guide to preparing a powdered feed section but as a soon to be first time mum I'd like to know what the benefits are especially as I'm the kind of person who likes to do her research on things like this.

Ah. Wait. Nope. Nothing. 

Interesting to note that a con is mentioned on page 13 - "making up a feed with too much powder can make your baby sick and may cause dehydration."

But still no pros. Just some information on the steps you need to follow should you wish to restart breastfeeding. Re-start? I'm still yet to decide. Arrgghj! What to do?

I know. I will let baby decide. If he wants to and can latch on I will feed him the natural way and if he can't or it's too painful then I will go straight for the bottle.. And after trying to digest all of this information I've been given I'm not just talking about the Tommee Tippee bottles either.