Be a Breastfeeding Warrior, Not a Judgy Mommy

This is so silly. Why do you care so much about what another woman feeds her kid? Cripe! All of my kids have been EB far past their first year and when I have given them a bottle of BREASTMILK in public - WHOA! It's breastmilk! But they assume it's formula b/c it's coming out of a bottle. I couldn't give a rat's ass what another woman feeds her kid. Do I think it's a 'bad mom' move to just choose right out of the gate for no good reason other than you think your boobs are going to sag, to formula feed? Damn skippy! That's a bad mom move. It's selfish and ignorant and lazy and negligent. But guess what - I don't care that their child may have health problems b/c MY kids are my responsibility and it's not my job to worry about the health of other kids. Why do you all get so bent out of shape over this. Stop spending so much time commenting here and go do something productive!

Cassaundra - If you could take a peek at my e-mail account, I think you'd find that the judgmental mom is alive and well. If you've managed to avoid crossing paths with santimonious parents, that's awesome. But that doesn't mean that everybody else has the same luck. I personally believe that this is a great post. I've been to a nurse-in and I write frequently on my blog (www.becomingsarah.com) about the nursing relationship that my daughter and I maintain. So I obviously appreciate breastfeeding and believe it's the best choice for my family - but I also realize that it isn't the best for everyone for a variety of reasons. I've said it before and I'll say it again: with every cause, sometimes half the problem is the activists. If you believe something, I think living by example is a much more peaceful and respectful way to go than making strong polarizing statements that may (and often do) turn people away from that cause. Breastfeeding is no different.

Slightly OT but you said that Mass has the highest BF rates in the country but the article you link to says Mass is just above the national average. Utah has the highest "ever breastfed" rate at 89.8% and Oregon has the highest rate of babies still breastfed at 12 months at 39.6. Mass's rates ate 77.6 "ever breastfed" and 23.3% at 12 months.

http://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding/data/NIS_data/2007/state_any.htm

 

When a mum doesn't bf, fone, I don't say a word. It's none if my beeswax, and her decision is made.

When that same mum justifies or validates her decision by spreading untruths, I speak up. If that makes me a "judgey mummy" so be it. I've had enough of lies.

Not every women can breast feed. I knew women whose milk never came in, whose baby needed soy, who had surgery after birth and affected there milk production. My sister in law has 0% fat in her breast and therefore never grew mammary glands. I guess that makes her a lazy and a non- caring mom. I also hate to see breast feeding moms go on an Atkins diet, drink lattes and diet cokes, say they hate certain fruits and veggies when they should eat a variety of colors and nutrients, eat fatty or sugary foods, and not drink the proper amount of water. Some women choose not to because they'd rather make sure their baby has everything they need or they know they won't follow proper nutrition. I breast fed 2 children and had to remind myself to eat right constantly. Breast feeding is either a life style choice or just cool to some women.

Mi-Jo, obviously you've not been on Cafemom for ANY length of time if you've never heard a mom say of the things listed above.

Regardless of what their motive is, even if they actually DO care about the health of babies worldwide( which I highly doubt) they are defeating their purpose and coming across as holier than thou when they make such snotty and rude comments. I have seen breastfeeding psychos call formula feeding mothers lazy, tell them they are feeding their babies "poison" and "crap in a can" and tell them they are selfish if they didn't even try to breastfeed.  Now, even if their motive actually is the health of babies, that kind of talk is only going to serve to make THEMSELVES look bad and make people NOT want to breastfeed because they're being judged and put down.

As I said earlier, I was a breastfeeding mother, and I'll answer questions about breastfeeding the best I can, but I will NOT put down or judge a mother for formula feeding because it's not anyone else's business, including yours!!!

Shawna225 - been there!!

Try fenugreek - its an OTC supplement that will increase your supply. The mothers milk tea is good to some extent but it is not as effective.

 

Lets get this out - Rana you ARE a JM.

Also, someone asked for help and besides one link the rest of the comments are fighting about the existance of JM's (and as a person who supports breast feeding I still think Rana is an overboard JM and have been on this site long enough to come to that conclusion (without that label) long before Sasha wrote this article. I actually in theory agree with alot of what you (Rana) say but you have got to back off on the bitch meter)

Seriously, you breastfeeding psychos need to get off your high horses and GET A LIFE!!! When I WAS a breastfeeding mother I was too busy nursing my baby and changing diapers and trying to get sleep whenever I could to worry about how other women were feeding their babies. Now that my kids are older and feed themselves, and NOT latched onto me 24/7, I STILL don't understand WHAT the fascination is with what other women do with THEIR BABIES!! Are they starving them? Are they putting Hershey's Chocolate Syrup in their bottle? Are you paying for the formula out of your own pocket or making up the bottles yourselves in the middle of the night? If the answer to any or all of these questions is "NO" then get back on your high and mighty pedestal and mind your own business!!!

I hear more crap from ff moms than bf moms. Hold your horses and listen to why. Because there are more formula feeding moms. Yes, there are JMs out there, but they are few and far between, in rl, and come from both sides of the fence.