We have a ton of people at work with newborns lately. Yes I'm staying away from the water! Just kidding of course but wow! I started thinking about it and we had a really wet winter last year so I think everyone "stayed in" wink wink.
So as the seasoned mom it's SO HARD not to give my 2 cents on everything.
Most recently I about bit my tongue off when one guy was talking about how his wife breast feeds the baby and then they "top him off" with formula. Just in case.
I cannot tell you how much this bothers me as a 3x nursing mother. Amazingly I did not say ONE WORD but I really thought about going into his office and telling him how insulting that is to do that to his wife. Who knows who's idea that was but what the heck!
I'm glad I nursed my kids before pumping became so popular. I did have a battery operated little pump that didn't work very well, so I didn't ever really use it. I was also lucky and didn't work when my kids were babies so I didn't HAVE to be a slave to a pump and/or give up breastfeeding to support my family.
When Melissa was born (my 2nd) she was 9 pounds 5 ounces. I had a c section so I was in the hospital a bit longer than moms with vaginal births. Babies always lose weight after they are born. It takes a couple days for your milk to come in so they are just getting colostrum at first. This is how nature works! Someone was concerned that she had lost about a pound (hello she was still over 8 pounds!) and pressured me into them giving her a bottle of formula. I gave in and let the nurse give it to her while I cried in the bathroom (hormones anyone?). I have to say I still remember being extremely happy when she spit it up all over the nurse.
I knew my body was perfectly capable of feeding a baby and it did just that. Three times.
And before anyone says anything I don't care how you feed your kid, it just really bothers me that people think that if they can't see how many ounces the kid is consuming it's a problem. That's why they weigh your kid at check ups every month in the beginning. Obviously if then your kid isn't thriving there is an issue.
Anyhow, I give kudos to the women at work who are always in the room with the door and blinds closed and the sign that says "do not disturb". I don't know if I could have done it
Life and Times of Julie
I'm totally pro-breastfeeding, without 'topping up'. There really is no need unless your baby is losing weight or only putting on tiny amounts each week/month! Of my 6 babies,
ReplyDeleteI had two babies over ten pounds and fed them myself exclusively... and they put on a pound a week for WEEKS! I fed 3 of the others too... who did exceptionally well too, and only ONE of my 6 had to go on the bottle at 3 weeks due to me getting massively damaged nipples and having to be admitted back into hospital! I too was so lucky I didn't have to go back to work while my kids were little. In saying all that, if a woman can't or does not want to breastfeed her baby, that is entirely her choice and right... Each to their own.