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I Support You

DragonSquatter
DragonSquatter Posts: 957 Member
edited February 1 in Social Groups
Read this article, and I have to say that it's nice seeing this.

I feel like too many of us have gotten flack for our choices about feeding our babies.

Just thought I'd share.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/07/i-support-you-movement_n_3719249.html

Replies

  • Rubyayn
    Rubyayn Posts: 433 Member
    A friend shared this with me yesterday. Great article!
  • Pepper2185
    Pepper2185 Posts: 994 Member
    I love this!
  • Jenny_Rose77
    Jenny_Rose77 Posts: 418 Member
    This is pretty awesome! I have to say the judgment (no matter which choice you make as far as feeding goes) is so crazy to me.

    Before my son was born, I was pretty sure that I wanted to breastfeed, but stop at 6 months. Whenever I told some people that, they would look at me as if I was a monster (already having made the decision to deprive my son of breastmilk before he was even born!)

    Now that my son is seven months with a plan to go on breastfeeding at least until the one year point, I get, "So when are you going to give him real food?" Or, "You know, if you gave him a bottle (of formula), you could go out more...you wouldn't have to worry about finding a comfortable spot to feed him, etc. etc." (Basically, I am being made to feel like maybe I'm a bit of a weirdo for wanting to breastfeed him past the newborn stage.)

    What also really struck me about this article is the bit about education. Though I repeatedly requested lactation support in the hospital, most of the nurses admitted that they didn't really know what they were doing. When I hired a lactation consultant to come help me (and she really did help me), my insurance refused to cover it, claiming she wasn't in network (even though she said she was). Fortunately, we were able to afford paying out of pocket, but I imagine this might deter a lot of women who might otherwise seek support.

    So...anyway...awesome article. Thanks for sharing!
  • jls8209
    jls8209 Posts: 450 Member
    What also really struck me about this article is the bit about education. Though I repeatedly requested lactation support in the hospital, most of the nurses admitted that they didn't really know what they were doing. When I hired a lactation consultant to come help me (and she really did help me), my insurance refused to cover it, claiming she wasn't in network (even though she said she was). Fortunately, we were able to afford paying out of pocket, but I imagine this might deter a lot of women who might otherwise seek support.

    So...anyway...awesome article. Thanks for sharing!

    Disclaimer: I didn't read the article yet, just commenting on what Jenny said above.

    When Rose was born we opted to stay an extra night because of BF issues and because she'd lost more than the normal amount of weight. Because of her time of birth, etc, it ended up being a 3 night stay. We met several nurses during those couple of days, and some were WAY more helpful than others when it came to BFing advice. I found the older nurses (and by "older" I mean 35-55, so not really old at all) who had more work experience and were moms themselves to be the most helpful. I felt like the young nurse I had was inexperienced/shy (I think she was a fairly new grad), and the lactation consultant I saw was like 70 and she wasn't helpful. I felt like she just gave me this look of pity that said, "That poor woman with flat little nipples. Her baby is never going to latch onto those." (TMI, sorry!) I liked the older nurses because weren't afraid to get their hands in there and show me how to hold my baby, attempted to get my nipple in her mouth properly, and they offered a ton of support and offered alternative BFing aids when it was becoming clear it was going to take a while for Rose to learn how to latch on (nipple shield, pumping to help get my milk to come in). I feel lucky that those nurses didn't give up on me, or let me give up trying. I have friends who've had bad experiences with nurses not being helpful/supportive with BFing, forcing them to bottle feed too soon, and they ended up not BFing at all.

    Anyway, on the nurses/BFing end of things, I think education is important, as are experience and patience. And no mother should feel bad for whatever feeding choices she makes, regardless of what others think. You have to do what's best for you and your baby.
  • daytolive
    daytolive Posts: 106 Member
    Both my kids have been given formula at some point in their life. I was determined to BF both my kid for as long as I could/can.

    As long as a baby is fed and thriving,that's all that matters.For me,it's the breast. And so many of my friends would say ",How can you do that?". "I'd never BF my kids". That's totally fine.....but It won't change my mind or make me feel bad for what i choose to do.

    People will place judgement on ANYTHING:

    Formula feeding
    Breast feeding
    Vaccinating
    Not vaccinating
    CIO method
    Non CIO method
    Co-sleeping
    Crib sleeping
    Etc,etc....

    Motherhood is tough as hell. You've got to learn to tune people out and do what's best for you. :wink:
  • GinE73
    GinE73 Posts: 68
    Awesome! I just forwarded this to some girlfriends. Thanks for sharing!

    I SUPPORT YOU!! =)
This discussion has been closed.