Breastfeeding in public

[LadyForCamus]

My first born was formula-fed, but I'm currently breastfeeding our little one, and I never realized how un-breastfeeding-friendly our society is until now.  You have the Academy telling you, "really, if you want to be a good mom, you better EXCLUSIVELY breastfeed for at LEAST a year; otherwise you're basically a failure."  But, it's almost impossible to find places in public to breastfeed unless you want to sit on a gross toilet in a public restroom somewhere.  This leads to women NOT breastfeeding because they feel isolated, and confined to their homes.  I bring my nursing cover wherever we go, and if my man gets hungry, he

When we had our daughter, I was stunned to learn how mothers in particular are guilt-tripped by society (mostly by other women I think. Men don't really care as long as thw baby isn't starving is my impression ) with completely contradictory expectations. For instance, we had to feed formula for a while due to the usual issues, and holy crapola did everyone have an opinion on that they didn't hesitate to share. My favorite from a neighbor was, when we literally just got home from.the baby IC unit because our 1 week old had developed slight jaundice from not drinking enough, "don't let the doctors make you nervous, a mommy's body knows best what is right for her child. Don't listen to anyone. You do know though that once you start with formula you can probable never go back?". It's all BS. And don't get me started on internet forums filled with judgmental super mothers who will tell you that you are a child-neglecting failure for not doing it exactly the way they did it.

Oh, I know! It's ridiculous. There are mommy wars over EVERYTHING - breastfeeding, co-sleeping versus crib, stay-at-home versus working mom. Women can be terrible to each other. From a dietetics POV, of course breast milk is best under ideal conditions, but that's just not how life works. If baby is having medical issues and nursing isn't cutting it, you HAVE to supplement. Failure to thrive is a far more serious and immediate concern in those situations.

Not to mention, breastfeeding is really hard! Noone tells you that you've got to learn latch technique, and positions, and what a newborn swallowing sounds like, and what proper sucking looks like, and ways to keep the tiny, flailing arms out of the way... I don't judge ANY woman for throwing in the towel.