to be annoyed at 'lactivists'

[twinterror]

I have just seen on face book that 'lactivists' are planning on making stickers that say '100% mummy's milk' to put on bottles of expressed milk just so that the world knows that they are not formula feeding (horror of horrors!) how SMUG is this? And how judgemental of people that cannot breastfeed for whatever reason??!!!

I don't think this is a good idea

I think this is maybe (being v generous here) 60 women in a country of 60 million talking about something that maybe only 10 of them would actually follow through on

and here we all are, having a connipshit at the thought of it

and they are the ones with to mch time on their hands and who need to get a life

har de har har

I don't necessarily think it's a good idea.
but for some people it might be clearer in a childcare setting (see the facebook page and the experience of my friend posted below).
also, there is a question of promoting/normalising breastmilk - a good thing, and something that needs to happen as you rightly say.
might make people feel more likely to bf, or less "weird" about it if they see more people (their peers) doing it.
I have worked as an antenatal/bf counsellor and I can tell you that peer example is a very powerful reason to bf, and indeed NOT to.

I would never have used one, and can't imagine wanting to use one.
but I am trying out that new fangled EMPATHY thing.
just for a laugh.

(highfives chibi)

oh ffs. ff need to chill out and stop. just stop.
bf is bloody hard work and although the choice to ff might have been excruciating, ff on the whole is not hard work. i dont think its unreasonable for bf mothers to praise/support/congratulate eachtother and or have little nods to eachother by way of random merchandise.

it is an acheivement to ebf your baby and if that offends ff then i think they need to think about why that is.

Having a baby is bloody hard work,however you choose to feed it ...

But really who sees the bottles except for the childcarers? And if I were another mum that couldn't or wouldn't breastfeed, I wouldn't see this as an encouragement, I would see it as 'FFS don't confuse my fabulous milk with any of this processed shit these other mothers are giving their children'.

I'm sure it's very well-intentioned but the BF movement seriously needs to engage with a media agency because they really don't have a clue how to encourage. And that's such a shame

chibi - wtf is a connipshit?

Exactly sungirltan

When I rode a sportsbike I used to nod at others riding the same bike. And vice versa. It's a powerful human urge to want to feel part of a club.

It's basically dogs sniffing each others' arses, all this. It's not meant to be sticking two fingers up at users of what is the prevalent infant foodstuff.

Why do you ff get quite so upset by some silly group on facebook?

And why am I on here instead of watching my film

if you ff you can have a break if respite care is available.

It totally is hard work usualsuspect

so why get excited about something a handful of women, none of whom you will ever likely meet, choose to do

truly the Internet is the divvil

ladybiscuit

I think a version of 'conniption', more used in the US

I'm not excited just bored and a little bemused

LadyBiscuit - I suspect in many people's minds, no matter what the BF 'movement' decide to do, engaged with a media agency or otherwise, it will always, always be perceived as smug by those with a chip on their shoulder.

A connipshit is a conniption fit, but shittier

slang term from my youth growing up in an isolated northern lumberjack outpost of Canada

as today is Canada day I ressurect this word with pride

No one breastfed in my hometown, it made you easy prey for the bears lol

people see bottles all the time if they are fed in public, surely?
there ISN'T a bf movement, is there? this certainly isn't part of one concerted movement.
there are lots of individuals and a few chronically underfunded support charities.
and actually those charities ARE very good at encourage, where they can. by supporting women, one woman at a time, with groups and specialist help.
what really DOESN'T help is the incessant and unpleasant sneering and vitriolic name-calling, tbh.
I have NEVER seen on mn a reference to ALL formula feeders being
if you were a woman reading this thread and thinking about bf, would you be put off by a tiny number of women thinking about stickers, or would you be more worried about being lumped in with a group of smug twats and genocidal racists?

We live in sticker culture though don't we? Dd keeps coming home from nursery with a 'good' sticker for sitting nicely ffs. I'm just waiting for the day when she turns round and says 'no, I don't want a sticker for sitting nicely, I want a credit card'. There are stickers everywhere. You can't buy a bloody children's magazine without stickers.

If I wanted to breast feed I just would ..because the people I know who breastfeed do it because they want to ,and don't bang on and on about it ..thats what will make it normal

I had real problems breastfeeding my son, with a H cup set of norkers filled with milk my nippies practically disappeared under my boobs!

I couldn't feed him on the side, like a rugby ball or any of the methods, he was practically struggling to breath under my boobs. I was terrified of nodding off and suffocating my own child . I showed the HV and she said said "Ah well will you give up and go on formula then?" She had no other suggestions.

I was determined not to give up so hired a Medela Pump and sat pumping 8 times a day (my husband nicknamed it the Udder 2000), watching dvd's and trying to forget that I felt like a robot. Then I had to feed my son the milk. So in effect it was like feeding someone 16 times a day for the length of time I was sat around.

I did this for 8 months and then eventually got to 3 or 4 pumps a day around work. Even thinking about it now makes me exhausted. I am in no way smug but perhaps a sticker for my personal reflection might have kept my bloody spirits up and helped me persevere when I just wanted to give up.

Incidentally with 38H knockers I would never have fed in public anyway and I did have a few comments from complete strangers in the precinct cafe bar in the tilty head "awww are you unable to breastfeed..." kind of way. Perhaps they were well meaning old ladies but hey each to their own...

possibly, usualsuspect, but that isn't true for everyone or even for most people.
most people are very affected by the people around them (as you are) as well as their family experiences, promotion, cultural expectation etcetc
there are many complex reasons affecting feeding choices and outcomes. It isn't a simple matter to analyse.

ifancykevin - yay! that sounds like bloody hard work - i rest my case

The last 2 people who I know who had babies ...were youngish mothers ..both breastfeed anywhere and everywhere..nobody has ever said anything negative to them ..They didn't do it because of a breast is best campaign ..they did it because they chose too ..its maybe more normal then you think