I formula feed.
I have since day one.
Why?
Because I wanted to.
I had no medical reason why I could not breastfeed, no medications I had to be on, or any of the other "good" reasons mothers choose not to breastfeed.
I just did not want to breastfeed.
:GASP:
But you know what? Not one single person has ever questioned my choice to formula feed. I knew from very early on in my pregnancy that I was not comfortable with breastfeeding and it just was not for me. I made the decision with my husband’s support to formula feed. I have always been confident in my choice and have never regretted my decision.
I think breastfeeding is great. I truly do. I will not argue with any of the benefits of breastfeeding as I believe they are all valid and a great gift you can give your child. But I also think formula is not poison. I do not love my son any less because I did not breastfeed him. I know I did what was best for my family by choosing formula. I also know that a woman should never be made to feel guilty or less of a mother because she can't or just does not want to breastfeed.
I did not write this post to be all "Pro Formula". I wrote this because whether you are nursing your child at a restaurant or you are shaking up a bottle of formula at the mall, we are all mothers. Mothers who are feeding our babies the best we know how to. We are mothers that love our babies...and that is what is important.
Amen Sista!
ReplyDeleteI breast feed and I do it out in public al the time, I am descrete about it though..=)
I am also giving away an Ergo baby carrier on my blog! Come check it out!
http://theflammes.blogspot.com
I love it!! It's so great to see a mama who is confident in her choices, and still accepting of others - rock on!!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh I LOVE YOU HEADER! I love your son he is adorable! thank you SO much for stopping by my blog yesterday!
ReplyDeleteVery well said!
ReplyDeleteI'm curious why you chose NOT to? ...if it's too personal, no prob. ;)
ReplyDeleteAlso, thanks for posting this...my sister-in-law took it really hard when she was unable to breastfeed. I forwarded this post onto her...
Just visiting from SITS:) Your boy's blue eyes are ADORABLE:) Completely agree that either way you are doing what works for you! I think you are at your best as a mom when you stick to what makes you comfortable...
ReplyDeletestillarockstar:
ReplyDeleteIt is not too personal of a question and I’m happy to answer. To be honest I don't have any one main reason. I was just not comfortable with it, Ben was excited to share the feeding responsibility and I was happy to have him share, I guess I just *knew* formula feeding was what would be right for me.
mama wars make me so sad! like we all don't have enough to deal with as mamas, but then we have people judging our every decision! i respect you, mama. like mad.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post! I had my first child two months ago, and I'd told my husband beforehand that I wanted to try breastfeeding... but that if it wasn't working I wanted to do formula right away. He was totally supportive, but I felt quite a bit of pressure from some of the hospital staff to breastfeed. My daughter wasn't latching, lost almost 10% of her birth weight, and I started freaking out. Bring on the formula. She gained her weight back, and not having to worry about her getting enough to eat took some stress off of me. I did, and still do, feel a little guilty about not breastfeeding... but this post made me feel a little bit better. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteSo glad this post helped! I am due with our second baby in 3 months and will formula feed again. Sometimes you just have to do what is right for your family.
ReplyDelete[...] will leave you with this- a little something I wrote in this post right after Drake was [...]
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