Is Breast Really Best?

You may have heard the phrase “breast is best”, while perusing the motherhood communities out there. And while we’re not here to tell you that breast is bad, we do think that philosophy can put a lot of unnecessary pressure on mothers who cannot or choose not to breastfeed for medical or other reasons. 

Bottle-feeding also has its perks. For instance, anyone can feed a bottle-fed baby. This gives mom a break, as opposed to breast-fed babies who can only be fed by mom, unless you have a wet nurse; and we don’t know many people who practice that anymore.

It’s easier to keep track of exactly how much a bottle fed baby is eating because bottles have demarcations that indicate how many ounces you’ve prepared for a feed. Even if your baby didn’t finish the entire bottle, doing a little simple math can give you a good sense of how much your baby ate. 

That being said we are firm believers in breastfeeding, as the list benefits for mom and baby are long. But, we don’t believe that breastfeeding is the right way, and anything else is deviant. 

Balancing the demands of modern life, requires most parents do a mix of both, because in reality a nourished baby is a healthy baby. The way in which you nourish them is second to the fact that they are nourished. 

If you’re worried about supply, there are things you can do to boost it. Like, consume nettles, the primary ingredient in our Milk Made Tea. Or you can choose to supplement with formula. 

We chose a UK brand, which we found our baby liked, didn’t give him gas or gross poops. Choosing a formula is as personal a choice as whether or not to bottle feed. Each baby will tolerate different milks differently. 

There’s no shame in bottle-feeding and breastfeeders are not better than bottle-feeders. Period. Full stop. We wrote this post because we wanted to create space for mamas who do not breastfeed. Someone needed to say it, and we don’t find it being said often enough. There can be lots of shaming in the motherhood community; so we’re here to tell you that whatever you choose--be that exclusively breastfeed, bottle feed, or a mix of both--do what is right for you and your baby. You are enough. 

And if you do choose to mix or exclusively breastfeed our Milk Made Tea helps you create nutrient-dense milk to nourish your little one.

Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels