I’m sure you all know that I am a HUGE breastfeeding advocate. In fact JustaBXgirl is still breastfed. Yup, three years old and still loving her mama’s milk. She’s actually curled up on my lap having baba as I type.
Suffice to say when it comes to breastfeeding vs. formula feeding I advocate for mothers to choose breastfeeding. Even still, I believe that each mama has to choose what’s best for her family. My biggest problem with this war isn’t that we are trying to tell a mother how she should feed her child. At the end of the day everyone is entitled to their own opinions. My biggest issue in this war is that we are not supporting mothers in their choice.
Let’s be real. We can exclusively breastfeed, puree gourmet-organic foods when they eat solids and they will still at some point eat dirt or boogers. As long as we are feeding our children, we are winning. I mean have you ever tried to make a child eat when they didn’t want to? Talk about war of wills!
Mothers should be supported even when their choices aren’t yours. If a mother decides to breastfeed the pediatrician shouldn’t push her to supplement because a child isn’t gaining weight as fast as a chart says they should. Every child is different. Too often I hear about pediatricians, concerned family members and vocal social media friends telling mother’s that they are starving their child or that they are not producing enough milk. Give these mamas, their babies and their bodies a chance to figure out what they need.
I know if I didn’t have a great support system I would have given up in the first few weeks of breast feeding. It’s hard. It’s painful. And guess what? It was so worth it for me. But it might not be worth it for you and that my dear is okay.
I wasn’t breast fed as a baby and guess what? I’m great. I rarely get sick, am pretty smart and am not overweight. Let go of the fears. Let go of the judgments and please, please let go of the BUTS.
The buts are another thing that bothers me. There are buts in all Mommy Wars. They run rampant in the breastfeeding/formula war. So many people want to support mothers in their feeding but only if it fits into certain diameters.
“Breastfeeding is great BUT only if you wear a cover.”
“Formula feeding is great BUT only if you can’t breastfeed.”
“Breastfeeding is okay BUT only until the baby has teeth.”
“Formula feeding is okay BUT only if you’re a working mom.”
WRONG. WRONG. WRONG. WRONG.
Breastfeeding is great. Formula feeding is great. End of sentence. There are no buts. Please next time you see a mom feeding her baby just tell her great job. Keep your butt right where it belongs, in your pants.
