Ashley Graham learned she wouldn’t be able to exclusively breastfeed two children when she gave birth to twin boys, Malachi and Roman, in January.
In a video made with the formula company Bobbie, the model remarked, “It had this terrifying sense of: I can’t feed my infants.” You were my child, yet I’m unable to feed you.
For 13 months, Graham exclusively nursed her 2020 baby boy, Isaac. However, she said that she began to worry about nursing twins as soon as she saw two kids on an ultrasound screen.
“Mom, how am I going to nurse them?” I asked. stated Graham. She continued, saying that when the boys had problems latching, her worries were verified.
She discovered a remedy that, in her opinion, not many people discuss: co-feeding with formula and breast milk. She said that she wants other people to realise how beneficial combination feeding is for many families.
We don’t have to complete everything, she added. “We are not required to breastfeed. We don’t need to continually pump. It’s not necessary to just feed our infants breast milk.
Sure enough, my infants consume both breast milk and formula, and everything is OK.”
Graham said that after six months of combo-feeding, she eventually turned to only formula for her sons.
In America, many infants are fed in combination.
While social media may lead us to assume that exclusively nursing is the only option, data indicates that the majority of newborns in America likely get both breast milk and formula.
By the time they are 6 months old, almost 75% of newborns are consuming formula, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Parents are taught by society that it’s either one or the other in our “breast is best” or “fed is best” feeding culture, according to Laura Modi, CEO and cofounder of Bobbie.
“No one is talking about how most parents select both,” one person said.
How a baby is fed is often fluid — no pun intended. Graham said that after six months of feeding her sons a combination of formula and breast milk, she had come to the conclusion that this was accurate.
No matter where you are on the feeding journey, there is never a bad option, according to Graham.
“For many parents, there’s frequently a succession of choices that play out throughout the length of your feeding experience,” she said.
According to Modi, parenting practices are not always clear-cut. She said that the way you eat in the second month could differ from the way you eat in the eighth month. Or you could feed your second child quite differently than you did your first.
Modi, a father of three children, is likewise aware of the decision to use the formula.
She said that when one enters motherhood, or parenting in her case, they assume they would nurse and have a wonderful experience. “However, it is not the reality for the vast majority of us. It surely wasn’t for me.”
Modi began Bobbie after being frustrated with her experience and the discussion around newborn feeding.
She said, “I wanted to shift the dialogue around parenting from one of comparison to one of confidence.
“Whatever is best for you and your family when it comes to eating is the greatest option. Whatever the feeding process entails, as a parent, you should be proud of yourself. Stop there.”
overcoming the stigma of formula feeding
Graham said that in order to combo-feed her sons and then totally transition to formula, she had to overcome her reservations.
It required a lot of work for her to get over the stigma she had placed on herself, according to which breast milk was always the finest.
Although many parents combine feedings, Modi noted that many feel guilty about using formulas. She continued by saying that some parents feel forced to lie about their baby getting formula.
The majority of formula-feeding parents combine feedings, but no one discusses it, she said.