Unpopular opinion:

I’ve done all three. Breastfeeding is easiest, pumping is hardest, formula is in the middle for me

Not in the middle of the night. It’s easier to pop out a boob

@Tee I mean in terms of overall. Like giving a bottle of formula is much easier than dealing With nipple pain, lack of sleep and the time commitment that breastfeeding and pumping require.

Definitely for ready to feed formula, but otherwise I think breastfeeding feels easier than formula, because boobies soothe baby more easily

Formula feeding means a lot more preparation is required and washing up afterwards, so can be time consuming. Breastfeeding for me personally was hard in the beginning but easier once we knew what we’re doing. I hated pumping so I didn’t pump but I could see that being the hardest.

@Alicia I agree personally I think breastfeeding is way easy, but the pain and time it takes is a doozy, i EBF so I wouldn’t change it for the world! But sometimes I see parents use formula so they can sleep at night or just get chores around the house done vs sitting for hours feeding/pumping and it’s like wow that’s just easy for them to pop a bottle in their mouth and gets things done or sleep thru the night 🙄🤷🏼‍♀️ lol im up every 2-3hr feeding or pumping there’s no sleep for 8 hr while partner feeds the baby lol

I've done both and think they come with their own challenges but couldn't say one was harder than the other. Breastfeeding was much more convenient for me but left me more tired. Formula gave my body a break but its not convenient at all to have to put a bottle together, have boiled water, warm the water up, and mix in the formula. I literally avoided being out of the house for more than an hour because we didn't have a way to heat up water while out and about. Being able to feed my baby as soon as they were hungry was a huge relief, whereas formula can take 5-10min to have ready and baby is upset the whole time.

for me breastfeeding was the hardest because he wouldn’t latch on and pumping was eh for me. and eventually i just stopped producing enough milk and went to formula. we had gotten this automatic formula maker thing and that made it so much better during the nights.

I've formula fed my first and breastfed/pumped with my second. Breastfeeding was easier as not needing to sterilise, just latching baby when they are fussy/need a feed and I could fall asleep whilst feeding my baby by laying on my side whilst she was feeding. Pumping and formula fed I found hardest as pumping is time consuming, formula takes time to make, sterilise and wash bottles, take time for bottles to cool down, being up in the night for hours whilst you make bottle and feed them as you can't just fall asleep the way you would breastfeeding and when you go out you have to have bottles prepared and it's so hard to warm bottles up whilst you are out. I refused to go out unless I was going to someone else's house because of this reason.

I exclusively breastfed and compared to seeing all the prep work that goes in to formula feeding, I think I had it easier. When I went out I didn’t even need a baby bag, I would just put a couple of nappies and some wipes in my bag and we were good to go, then if baby needed feeding it was immediate. Compared to buying bottles and formula, sterilising bottles, having to pack bottles, hot water, cold water, powder etc etc It looks so complicated and time consuming!

I'm not sure what's the hardest as I've only formular fed, but if you think that it's easy because we get to sleep through the night and just pop a bottle in there mouth it isn't. I was up every 2 hours through the night feeding my baby, and sometimes it would take her an hour plus to drink the bottle. It's still time-consuming washing bottles and making sure they're all sterilised, getting up to come down stairs through the night to make bottles, etc. I can I agile breastfeeding is harder in terms of the time it takes to pump ect and as you explained the sore nipples but don't just think bottle feeding is a breeze if you've never done it.

No way. Breastfeeding is the easiest. Just whip your boob out and you're good to go. No sterilising, no formula prep, no waiting for it to cool down, no trying to keep baby on a schedule. Its like, making a cup of tea VS just getting a glass of water. One takes a lot more time and steps, the other is literally just turning on the tap.

honestly breastfeeding was the easiest and most comfortable for me. i dreaded washing bottles lol

@Bethany I'm currently pregnant with my second and I'm in two minds weather to breastfeed or not but reading this is actually making me sway towards breastfeeding. Thanks for your opinion

Breastfeeding although for some can be difficult once you get the hang of it it's so convenient. Especially whilst travelling or at night. When we co slept sometimes I'd just sleep with my boob out and baby would latch, drink and stop when he wanted to so even waking up was minimal once he was past a certain age. I couldn't imagine having to wake up to prepare a bottle and then having all the stuff to wash and sterilise in the morning.

I found formula easy but anything would have seemed easy compared to trying to breastfeed initially.

I've had one formula baby and one EBF baby. Personally I found breastfeeding a million times easier than formula. Having to stop to make a bottle every feed, the constant cleaning and sterilizing, making sure we had all the supplies for a bottle every time we left the house, worrying about having enough formula and the expense of buying it, etc was WAY more inconvenient and exhausting than anything about breastfeeding. I couldn't wait to get my oldest off formula the second he was old enough and my second is still breastfeeding at 19 months because it's just so little of an inconvenience in our life it's not really worth the work of weaning yet. Both definitely have their challenges and I wouldn't say one is generally better than the other but I'd EBF any future baby again in a heartbeat before doing formula again.

Fórmula feeding is easier, in my opinion. Anyone can feed baby that way and it is easier to feed anywhere without being self conscious or in weird positions.

Depends what you mean by easy both have there pros and cons. I breast feed and would always choose that if I could as convenient can just feed whenever wherever and obviously has a lot of health benefits. Breastfeeding is harder initially but gets easier. I also hate washing bottles and sterilising x

It's not this black and white. Breastfeeding is hard to start with, but then it's super easy as boobs solve everything. Formula may be easier to start with as there's no pain and premixed exists but it's pricey and it's a faff to heat up bottles, clean, sterilise, etc. I exclusively pumped for 14 months and would never do that again. So I agree that's worse!

Boob is easy Formula in the middle Exclusively pumping is hard, worst of both worlds Breastfeeding isn't meant to hurt. If it hurts there's a problem that needs to be fixed. You can't argue breastfeeding is hard because "breastfeeding hurts".

Formula Mums you are the MVPs because the time to make the bottle, trying not to burn yourself when half sleep in the middle of the night, measuring out correctly, trying not to over feed. It’s a lot. Breastfeeding once established is definitely easier from my own experience - readily available supply, minimal gut issues experienced with baby, no worrying about if it’s too hot/cold and it’s free. I didn’t experience pain when latching baby etc.

@Kirsty love this analogy!

This really surprises me because as a formula mom I would have assumed bottle feeding was easier. It only takes me 2 minutes to get a bottle together with the nuby rapid cool and for night feeds I would pre measure my formula in pots and take a thermal flask up to bed. My partner would be able to do night feeds and I could sleep etc

@Dianne Trying not to burn yourself is so real, I pour hot water on my hand almost every morning trying to fill up the bottle because I'm still waking up 🤣

One thing I think we can all agree on: exclusively pumping is so freaking hard.

Breastfeeding is easier. Formula doesn't guarantee more sleep, my first was on fully formula after 1 month of combo feeding. He woke every 2 hours on the dot to drink until 11 months old. Then you have to make sure you have enough bottles to make nights work or your washing part way through. There's extra parts, sterilizing, warming, finding the formula that works best for their tummy

@Becky a couple other considerations with breastfeeding - it releases oxytocin so if you wake in the middle of the night to breastfeed it’s easy to fall back asleep bc it literally makes you sleepy. It also is hard to describe but breastfeeding feels good and makes you feel good and close to your baby due to oxytocin release. Sore nipples is only for a few days most of the time your nipples should feel fine.

@Kassia in my experience self consciousness goes away after first baby. I whip my boob out anywhere now 🤣

I actually think bottle feeding is harder with all the prep. Breastfeeding in my mind is just easier, when the boys hungry I'm just pulling out that titty 😂 no need to prepare anything 🤷‍♀️ Mentally yes it can be harder for some, but personally I've had a wonderful journey.

Just so you are aware formula feeding mums also experience lack of sleep 🤣