aibu to love this blog post about why formula feeding is brilliant?!

[girlwithasecretsmile]

I think it's great to have a post talking about good things about formula for once but part of me feels bad for laughing so much.

passmethebottleblog.wordpress.com/

Yep. Primark woman was lying. People do.

*Loving the way the breast feeding mums who say they have suffered judging and unpleasantness are believed and commiserated.

The formula feeding mum's are belittled,disbelieved and fobbed off as oversensitivity.*

Because the majority of people bottle feed. There is only a very small percentage who breastfeed. So it could only be a very, very small percentage of the public who are judging anyone for formula feeding.... because they're all doing it. That's the point. There must only be a handful of the nation who are doing this, yet nearly every formula feeding mother on parenting forums has been abused by countless people for formula feeding.

But this is the thing with that article, you can be a proud breastfeeder or a proud formula feeder without bashing the other. There is no need to make fun of breastfeeding mother's. they are literally doing what nature intended. Christ if I even hint that I'm pleased with the fact that my body produced milk which nourished my son I am shouted down, yet a formula feeding mother can say their proud and it's met with nodding heads and smiling faces.

Bf, Ff I couldn't give a shiny, she's clearly still not 'over it' there's shit all to get over, her baby is being fed and is lashing out despite not enjoying being at the receiving end and thus the crappy cycle of mothers judging other mothers on shit that's no one else's business carrys on.

She's clearly reading these posts make your decision and own it. So people give you unsolicited advice/crap about ff your baby - tell them to fuck off or even better hand baby over and tell them if they're so perfect they can look after baby.

* Loving the way the breast feeding mums who say they have suffered judging and unpleasantness are believed and commiserated*

TBF, BF mums are discriminated against so badly that laws had to be brought in to protect them from discrimination.

I fed DD til she was 3 and got actually laughed at several times. Someone told me it was child abuse 🙄 and of course got called a weirdo. It does happen. I cant say it phased me as TBH I just chalked it up to those people being exceptionally stupid.

But generations have breast fed over the years. Who said judging and unpleasantness is limited to those currently breast feeding? Over the years they add up. The maj start off breast feeding too,it's just most have stopped by 6 months.

I have had elderly strangers,relations and a nurse do the above.

Formula mothers are saying they are being judged and have encountered unpleasantness. You can't just dismiss that however much you want to.

I am not dismissing people's experiences or memories or feelings about what was said to them. There are idiots out there. I do not believe a Tesco driver shouted abuse at a woman for buying formula and it now seems even the original Facebook post was nothing like this. I do believe some women encounter twattish, judgmental behaviour when they formula feed, though I think some of this is exaggerated or even imagined by sensitive people ( there is nothing wrong or weak about being sensitive).

I am also sometimes sceptical of the 'they threw me off the bus for breastfeeding' type stories, as I know of at least two which did not stand up to scrutiny. There are attention seekers everywhere! I actually reserve judgment on this type of thing until I see what happens when management or equivalent investigate.

I think BF women can be sensitive too - imagining people are staring or judging when they are not. Problem is, surveys show that a substantial proportion of the UK public (can't remember the latest number) do have a problem seeing someone breastfeed to the extent they think it should not be done outside the home. So to that extent the feelings of awkwardness and being judged by BF women are based on reality.

"Christ if I even hint that I'm pleased with the fact that my body produced milk which nourished my son I am shouted down, yet a formula feeding mother can say their proud and it's met with nodding heads and smiling faces."

Yes. This.

Why do you say that or now seems the original post was 'nothing like this'. I haven't shared the original post, because I don't think it's fair for her to be identified and dragged into this, so she shall remain anonymous.

She's going apeshit now over there on her blog.

You'd think she'd be pleased. It's a massive response to a first blog post

This is going to be my longest post ever, because baby feeding is a painful topic for me. I wish I belonged to one 'camp' or the other. Many people say that 'I don't care how you choose to feed your baby', but some people didn't choose the way they do it. I didn't, I never thought that I will do anything, but breastfeed exclusively. Everybody in my family did, every woman in my family had a lot of milk. Everybody, but me. We had every possible problem with it: milk coming in late, tongue tie diagnosed and treated late, huge weight loss, dehydration, nursing strike after nursing strike. I am mix feeding still at 8 months and plan to continue until my lo is at least one year old. However, the fact that breastfeeding didn't work out the way I imagined - feels like a failure, not a choice. Every time people say that 'formula increases risk of the cot death, obesity, cancer etc.' this feeling of failure hits me. By writing this I don't judge bf moms, I admire and envy them. I do, however, share my experience with my pregnant friends in hope that they can avoid my mistakes if they face the same problems I did.

conserve - good to hear!

The vitamin thing is rubbish - I was certainly never told to take extra vitamins because breastmilk lacks them

I was told to take vitamins if breastfeeding so it's not rubbish at all.

@AnneGrommit I'm so chuffed. The plunge bra comment I made has got in her rant

I also don't understand who all these judgey BFers are when in reality hardly anybody actually BFs for any significant amount of time.

I suspect people want to feel like they are being judged and vilified even when they're not because they can then turn their guilt, anger and disappointment outwards.

She is way too heavy handed with the expletives.
Less is more.

@IroningMountain the breastfeeding rate has been very low in the U.K. For years. So there is still significantly a lower percentage of people who breastfed than there are parents who formula fed. I don't know why you can't accept this? The vast majority of the Uk, including many women who are grandparents now, formula fed.

Not everybody feels guilt at ff. The maj of people I know simply feel relief.

And as I said hoards of older generations bf and the vast maj start bfing.

Smithy - you know it's not a question of failing. In any case, you are a breastfeeding mother - despite the massive difficulties. And your baby is breastfed :)

Actually the vast majority of the nation formula fed and this has been the case for at least 50 years. We actually have much higher rates of breastfeeding mothers now and even that is still sadly low

My mil is in her early 70s. When she had her children she knew absolutely no one who bf. She was genuinely amazed to find herself with 4 bf dds and dils.

From the NHS website:

Vitamins and breastfeeding

Everyone, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, should consider taking a daily supplement containing 10mcg of vitamin D...

So everyone. Formula feeding mothers, fathers, grandparents, childre' everyone. Not just breastfeeding mothers. Thus it is rubbish to say that breastfeeding mothers need to take extra vitamins because breastmilk is lacking.

@SoupDragon

From the UNICEF website

Formula fed babies do not need to take additional vitamin d as the formula contains it

Formula already has it in it.. it's nutrionally complete so you don't have to take a further supplement. You should take it whilst breastfeeding.