I was bottle feeding my baby in Starbucks and a La Leche League member asked me if I breastfeed. First of all, it is highly personal to talk about my breasts. But sadly I felt the need to defend myself and explain to her why nursing did not work out with Miller. He was not gaining even at his 3rd week visit on solely breast milk. Yes I paid a Lactation Consultant $250 to come to my house and used a supplemental feeder. Yes, I rented a hospital grade pump for $200. I went to the vitamin shoppe and bought $150 worth of herbs to increase my milk supply.
I tried hard to breastfeed Miller...I had so much milk 6 years ago for Miya. I also pumped loads of milk for Miles in the NICU which he did not get to use. But it did not work with Miller. The bottom line is that I wanted my baby to thrive, once he was on formula, he started gaining weight.
The model, Gisele, said it should a law that women breastfeed for 6 months. She said she does not understand why women would want to put liquid chemical down their babies throats!
When I bottlefeed/formula feed my baby, he looks into my eyes and smiles. The reason for this entry is to help women who feel guilt for not being able to successfully breastfeed. Look into your baby's eyes, push away the guilt and know that you will always do your best for him or her.
Why do people seem to feel compelled to offer up unwanted and unsolicited advice to complete strangers on how they feed their babies? Ugh.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that Miller is doing so well :)
I learned a long time ago with Xavier and his illness that some people only know and see what they know and can't fathom anything else. Be prepared for a few to say some really dumb and insane things...just know you are doing what is best for you and your baby.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing wrong with formula and nothing wrong with breatsmilk. What works for one mom may not work for another. Xavier was sick and came before I expected him (37 weeks)...I didn't realize how much it took out of me and how much I had to sit still (something I'm not good at) to breast feed every 2 hours...Kyla was great at it...latched on immediately had plenty of milk...when she was 3 weeks old my life got complicated...Xavier got a double ear infection, family came to town, Jermaine had 5 teeth pulled, and at the end of all that I handed Jermaine the baby and the bottle and went out and got cabbage leaves and went on about my life.
I feel like I have to defend the fact that I didn't get enough breast milk to support my baby. thanks for your post.
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