Breastfeeding

[cfred]

I may be crucified for this post, but.....

I breastfed all three of my kids for varying lengths of time, the longest being 6 mos. I gave it up early, because, frankly, it WAS becoming a pain in the ass. I wanted to go out without milk stains on my clothes or wet spots on my shirt that would come with hearing a baby cry or, for whatever reason, the sound of cicadas. I wanted to enjoy my previous diet along with a couple glasses of wine. I wanted to not always be 'on duty' or have to spend hours expressing milk in order to have a night off. I felt that I could continue being an exemplary parent without having a child attached to my breast.

I do see the value of breastfeeding, HOWEVER, it's comments like some I've seen in this thread that make women feel cornered, or that they aren't good parents or selfish because they choose not to breastfeed. That just isn't fair. My mother has been an astounding parent, but chose not to breastfeed any of us. I think we all got the colostrum at the beginning, but that's it. We're all healthy, happy and well adjusted. Choosing to breast feed is a very personal choice which, unfortunately, has been made everyone else's business. My sister had a baby boy 20 mos ago. She wanted to breastfeed but was having problems with it. I watched her for 6 mos trying to keep up with attempting to breastfeed while maintaining a pumping schedule. Her life was absolutely run by trying to provide food for her baby. She teared up one night after months of exhaustion and said that she couldn't give it up because everyone (EVERYONE) was forcing the idea that breastfeeding is the absolute best thing for the baby and to do otherwise was 'selfish'. She said she was afraid people would judge her and think her a bad mother because she wanted to stop. I told her to just never mind what others had said and that public opinion was just that - opinion. If someone doesn't want to breast feed, honestly, it's no one else's business. And opinions being thrown around make people who are genuinely having a problem feel just terrible or inferior. I know everyone's hearts are in the right place and we've all got children's interests on our agendas, but sometimes, though it's unintentional, it's just hurtful.

I'm sure I've offended some people, and I'm so sorry for that. But after watching what my sister went through, because of public opinion, just broke my heart. I felt it wrong to not say something on behalf of parents who choose a different path.