My daughter was not sick much last year. This year, she had an ear infection in November, then got a respiratory infection with fever, then another ear infection, and now has another respiratory infection with fever.
I only EBF for 3mos, but among our friends I did not see a pattern b/w kids who were BF getting less sick than those who were on formula. It all depended on exposure to group activities in our circle.
No. Goodness no. Heavens no. She was sick all.the.time her first winter. For a while we were seriously going to the doctor every other week for fevers, ear checks, pinkeye, whatever. We pulled her from daycare largely because I felt like I could not even work given how often she was home sick or I was sick from catching something from her. It was a miserable time.
She did not have a drop of formula ever except for her first day at the hospital due to low blood sugar.
I think the biggest issue for my children was just exposure to germs. I ebf all of them for three months. DS1 got 4-5 ear infections his first year plus who knows how many colds. Neither of my other children have ever had an ear infection or have even gone to the doctor for a sick visit (*knock on wood*). The only difference between them is that DS1 went to daycare and the other two didn't.
No, my EFF kid has been the healthiest by far. Still is at 8.5--she's also my least picky eater & the only one that has not struggled with constipation. She was the oldest & never went to daycare or exposed much to other kids at all until she was 3. DD2 was EBF (not a drop of formula) & she's got health issues though nothing super serious. DD3 had both & has most of DD2s issues (minus food allergies) plus sensory issues with food textures & is even pickier than DD2 probably because of the textures.
Oh, this wasn't meant to bash formula at all. She just seems to be sicker since she turned one and weaned. Last year she was in daycare, but stayed in the infant room. Now, she is around a lot more kids since some of the rooms will join in the afternoon. That might be why, plus the season.
No. In fact, one of the reasons I've started introducing formula (aside from wanting to wean) is I didn't see any reduction in colds or illness. He had an ear infection and he's had asthma issues while EBF, so while I will continue to nurse part-time, I'm SO over EBF.
Post by Ashley&Scott on Dec 27, 2012 15:41:28 GMT -5
I've lost count of how many colds M has had, he's had 3 ear infections. He is constantly exposed to germs at daycare. Seriously at any given time there are at least 2-3 of his 11 classmates that are sick. :-(
Post by LauraMoser on Dec 27, 2012 15:49:33 GMT -5
I have pretty healthy kids in that they haven't been sick much yet. They get the occasional cold, and DD1 had one bout with vomiting in her entire 4.5 years, DD2 none. They were both BFed, but I can't attribute their not getting sick much to BFing. I just consider myself and them lucky, lol!
Nope. I can't get over how much my baby has been sick since she was born. RSV, pnemonia (x2), and then everything the older two have caught from school. The nebulizer has been our friend this past year My oldest two got the average number of colds, infections, etc.
Post by pierogigirl on Dec 27, 2012 15:56:12 GMT -5
I took long maternity leaves and continued to bf after I returned to work. I think not being in daycare kept them healthy. The first 18 months of daycare is the the suck.
He was sick once in that time period- he picked up some GI issue that caused diarrhea for 2 weeks at 8 months.
Once he weaned, he started with ear infections several times a year until he was about 5. Other than that, he's remarkably good at fending off illness.
I think breastfeeding definitely helped in my daughter's case, but I don't know how much. She breastfed until 20 months, and thankfully, has been extremely healthy. (She has never had an ear infection, and has only really been sick twice - once a stomach virus and more recently a cold as she was weaning). But she has also never been in daycare, my husband hardly ever gets sick so she may have some super immunity from him, I try to wash hands, we've been very lucky, who knows. It will probably catch up to us later when she goes to school.
No idea. DD seems to have an awesome immune system, far better than my own. She is 4.5 and has never had an ear infection, rarely gets colds or stomach viruses and is just generally pretty healthy. I'd love to think that BFing her had something to do with this, but who knows.
Post by suburbanzookeeper on Dec 27, 2012 17:51:51 GMT -5
No idea, I like to think it helped (nursed until 28 months) but I work from home and she doesn't go to daycare (just Gymboree 3x a week). I think I got more out of it because I have two auto-immune diseases and it seemed to bump my immune system up quite a bit.
I don't know. He was only actually sick once, had a few ear infections, but who knows what it would have been like if I didn't EBF for the first 5 months.
Yes. She had a runny nose for 2 days once and other than that has never been sick. I credit BFing mostly for the fact that she is a beautiful, funny genius as well.
Post by dragonfly08 on Dec 27, 2012 18:51:03 GMT -5
Of course, this is just anecdotal, but I see no difference between the EBF and EFF kids I know in terms of health. My kids were FF and are, overall, very healthy...no major issues. #1 never had strep until she was six and has only had it twice in her life, when every kid I know seems to have it repeatedly all winter. #2 does technically have viral induced asthma but that didn't appear until she was 5, so well past when she would have been BF'd v. FF'd, and it's so mild that we have inhalers in case she needs them for comfort but they really aren't necessary and rarely get used.
And FWIW, the sickest kids I know, both in terms of coming down with stuff and having major allergies to tons of things, are five siblings all of whom were EBF well past their first birthday. Every.single.one of them has a chronic health issue, and they're constantly coming down with viruses, etc.
Yes. She had a runny nose for 2 days once and other than that has never been sick. I credit BFing mostly for the fact that she is a beautiful, funny genius as well.
better to credit BFing vs your awesome MD genes
your daughter doesn't go to daycare, right?
That's right-- she stays with her grandparents. My post was mostly tongue in cheek. I do like to tell myself that the breastfeeding was the reason she is so healthy-- mostly because it was such an utter struggle that there has to be some reason I spent all that money, time and anguish doing it for eight months (until my supply completely dried up)!
DD was EFF, and didn't get sick much. A lot of the EBF babies I know (anecdotally) seem to be sick way more often than DD was, and were generally fussier when it came to feeding stuff. I don't regret EFF (and, can't really regret it, because BF wasn't a choice for me - the boobies just didn't work for me...)
Post by DarcyLongfellow on Dec 27, 2012 23:48:46 GMT -5
No. I nursed DD until she was nearly three, and she definitely got sick plenty of times.
I do believe it's helped her not get asthma, at least so far she doesn't seem to be showing signs that she will develop it later. DH has severe asthma, so nirsngg was something I definitely wanted to do. Hopefully it helped her!
My anecdotal experience was yes, she was rarely sick (ie colds) when BF, but at some time after we stopped, she had ear infection after ear infection. She eventually needed tubes and my doctor noted that she was older than the average age for tubes.
She was in daycare from 3-6 months, and again from 10 months- on. So being out of daycare could have been a factor- but she was also out of daycare in the summertime. She was BF until about 14 months.
So who knows for sure. I like to think it helped but do I know for sure? Of course not.
Another anecdote is that she has a constant runny nose now at 3 and gets colds often.
Post by rootbeerfloat on Dec 28, 2012 1:45:12 GMT -5
My kids got sick a decent amount, which I attribute to them being in childcare. We almost completely avoided ear infections, but they got a lot of colds. I have no real evidence, but I feel like BF helped them recover from all those illnesses quickly.