As I have said in an earlier post, my boy has never been an issue to feed. He has had a great latch since day dot, and is still going hard at 4 months old. In fact, he has put himself onto a schedule, feeding as soon as he wakes up, then he has a play, nap, and then the cycle repeats itself. This is very different to the first 12 weeks in which he was literally attached to my boob every hour when the sun was up, and about every four when the sun was down.
The problem that I have is how people view feeding your baby. Let me tell you new mothers one thing: nothing you do will be good enough for anyone else. If you choose to breastfeed you need to keep a blanket over you little one's head so that, if a nip slip occurs, there is no chance of offending anybody. However, if you choose to formula feed your baby you will have judgmental eyes burning holes in the back of your head because formula is poison, and by doing this you are automatically dropping their IQ by at least 50 points.
My opinion? The best way to feed your baby is to FEED YOUR BABY. It doesn't matter how you do it, or why you choose one way or the other, as long as your baby is FED then there really shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, not everybody takes my point of view on this. There is one particular page on Facebook (that I will not name) that I really need to stop following. This lady is a lactation consultant, and insists that she has no real problem with people who formula feed, epseically if they have had a "hard journey". How do I really see her page? Well, it is spread with posters on how giving your baby formula will lead to SIDS, less of a connection with your baby, and basically makes you a bad mother. Her page really makes me angry, especially because I know people who have had horrendous experiences with breastfeeding which has resulted in giving their babies formula.
Why am I ranting? The other day I had my first experience with somebody giving me "a look". I was out watching polo with my mum and niece, and my darling man woke up and automatically expected boob. I had forgotten to bring a blanket, it was really hot, and I had a screaming baby. So what did I do? Pop him on without even thinking about it. Something to note - my baby has a head in the 91st percentile and I am definitely lacking in the chest department, so you literally cannot see ANYTHING that could be deemed offensive. And this woman looked at me, looked at her male friends, and proceeded to try her best to look anywhere but at me. I mean, c'mon lady! It definitely made mum and I laugh, and my niece who kept repeating, "Wow Allie, Finn is sooooo thirsty!"
Lets stop the prejudice people, and focus on the important thing - having healthy, happy babies with full tummies!
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