Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Breastmilk

Okay so this is a breastmilk day. Gosh you have no idea how incredibly mad it makes me to see girls/women choosing to formula feed their babies!! The hospitals around here pretend like they promote breastfeeding, haha. What a joke. They give out tons of formula samples, and you get all kinds of free goodies from the formula making companies, diaper bags, bottle cleaners, ice packs, etc. Crazy! When I was in the hospital (ugh yes I admit I had a hospital birth at first) I was very new to breastfeeding as my mother chose to formula feed. While I believe my mother did right by us for the most part, I think that formula feeding was just easier, this way she could go right back to work (part of me blames my dad for not being steady in employment) Anyhow, so very little in the breastfeeding knowledge department. If it weren't for my husband, I probably wouldn't have even known breastfeeding was an option (WTF, right?) My husband's mother breastfed, but she is hardly around...so also very little help. Anyhow, the nurses at the hospital told my husband and I that it was okay to supplement the breastmilk with formula, and it was okay to give a pacifier, heck the one nurse said I couldn't sleep in bed with my baby, that she had to lay in the hard 'baby bed' on wheels. And that same nurse thought that my husband and I needed sleep, so she just wanted to take our baby on her rounds!! Are you shitting me? No way. If I need sleep, I'll get it later. My baby was not leaving my sight, and if she did (it was only for a second for a hearing test, completely unnecessary by the way) my husband went with her. So anyhow, dont listen to what some of the nurses tell you...they are just a mere product of their knowledge. Poor them. I saw the same thing happen with another younger girl. The nurses thought she wasn't producing enough milk for the baby, so they told her to give the baby formula. What on earth are these nurses thinking? Really? Breastmilk will sustain a baby for 6 months. Goodness this infuriates me beyond belief. So now this girl is strictly formula feeding. Another girl I know, well she is 6 weeks from her 'guess date' (yes I am a hypnobabies momma!!) and she is already talking about how she just can't wait to be relaxing on her back porch with her friends, sipping on some select beverages. Seriously? The few days after having a precious gift like that and all you can think about is getting a buzz? Really? I'm sorry but a few days after I had my baby, I was still in my baby moon, drunk on the love for a new precious being that my husband and I created. What's wrong with these girls? I don't mean to sound old fashioned, but good gosh. Grow up. Really. I see the one mother feeding her baby some green goop out of a bowl, why in the world would that baby need semi-solid foods already, she is barely 8 pounds. My little boy is almost 14 pounds and he still loves his mommy milk. Fill him right up. I couldn't live with myself if I were a part of the formula companies, hell for that matter, the drug companies. But again, another story for another day. Why can't we promote breastmilk. I always tell people I'm just too lazy to formula feed, I couldn't imagine getting out of bed and trying to figure out how to make a bottle, warm it up. Sorry can't do it. Not to mention, when my little ones were hungry in the middle of the night, there was NO time to wait, they wanted it now. And I feel they sleep easier because of that, as do I. Did I mention that my very own mother said that everything would be fine if I just gave in to the formula. That's what the formula is there for. Apparently I was nursing improperly, and I had bleeding nipples for three weeks. I don't know if it's because I am fair skinned, and have sensitive nipples, or if it really was because I was nursing wrong, but for some reason, breastfeeding hurt extremely bad for the entire first 3 weeks. I was at my wits end one night, and my mom says...it's fine. Go ahead and give her formula. She has no idea what that would have done to me? I would have hated myself. I almost gave my daughter a bottle of formula. I poured it, mixed it, warmed it...and went to lay next to her. She rejected it. Clearly, she was already hooked on her mommy milk. Dont blame her at all. And my husband...well I had him in my ear saying honey you can do this. This is what is best for our baby. You are doing great. And so I continued breastfeeding. And I fed her until she was 20 months. And I loved every minute after the 3 weeks. Every minute. And I thank my husband for that. What an amazing man I married. Really.

1 comment:

  1. And as a side note, I do know that there are legitimate reasons for having to formula feed! And that is A-okay! I feel bad for those who truly want to do it but can't!!

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