I have one kid who was breastfed and one that wasn't.
My breastfed kid has allergies, had ear tubes, and is on the "watch" spectrum of the BMI charts. (And while she's nowhere near fat, I do agree on the "watch" part because my whole method of approaching food with them is to prevent obesity rather than having them try to fight it later.)
My formula fed kid (who was also premature) is rail thin, has no allergies, has no health issues other than ADHD.
The only benefit of the "You should breastfeed because...." thing we got was the money...it was WAY CHEAPER than formula.
In the end, I will say breast is best because it was the food created to feed a human baby. It's free for the most part, and once you get the hang of it, easier. But I'd never bash a woman for formula feeding, and I *hate* the guilt that's associated with it sometimes.
I absolutely agree that there are benefits to breastfeeding and I wish every woman had the support to at least *try* to be successful at it, because I do think it's the best possible nutrition for a baby to have.
But what *is* this vitriol against formula, and especially *against formula-feeding mothers*?! It is not poison, whatever the rabid breastfeeders might claim, and their attitudes make women even less likely to even try it.
You should take a look at "Preventing Childhood Eating Problems" as well as some of the "health at every size" material regarding your breastfed kid. I don't believe obesity is what people claim it is health-wise but I do think that avoiding the issues that can surround eating is key to long-term physical and mental health. I wish my mom had read the former book when I was a child!
Good God, these people are crazy. Worse, they're making OTHER mothers crazy with this shit, as you so eloquently illustrate; if not for the fantasy of how you "doing everything right" would magically make Ciaran a less high-needs baby, you would have recognized much sooner both that it wasn't your fault and that you deserved help dealing with it. They can make whatever choices they like for themselves, but attacking other people is way over the line
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"c) pretends that IQ = intelligence = "able to help society more." The last there is exceptionally a stretch..."
That latter point was what made me really WTF?!
I've read up on the back-and-forth between IQ/societal inputs/class/etc. debate. Even if there were some marginal advantage to breastfeeding...the advantage would be just that. Marginal. It certainly wouldn't have some massive societal impact.
Yeah, people don't seem to understand that "statistically marginal" means effectively nothing, in the end. They're talking about a couple IQ points at most; someone who turns out with an IQ of 103 instead of 99 is not going to be THAT much more useful to society even *if* intelligence = useful to begin with.
I love the way you are made responsible for society's future ills by virtue of your desperate need for a good night's sleep once a week. 9_9
When people lose their sense of perspective to that extent, they're simply not worth paying attention to, because you'll never convince them their ranting is nonsensical. But then, you don't need me to tell you that, either.
i've considered myself a card-carrying boob nazi (at least on LJ) for years and i think you were treated horribly in that thread. it's one thing to take issue with your suggestion, it's another to lose your shit over the use of the word "exclusive" when techincally, any baby who is fed any way except directly from teh breast isn't an "exclusive" breastfeeder, no matter what is in teh bottle. i doubt that very many of them qualify. i know i stopped qualifying after about a week with ben. making a big deal over your use of a word that we all don't agree on the meaning of was just plain stupid and it doesn't further the cause. it just makes us look like assholes that nobody will want help from. i kept quiet in that post, but i raised some hell in a private BN community. i pretty much got shouted down. i keep telling myself that they do more good than bad, but this was really bad.
The funny thing is, although I wouldn't use the term "boob nazi" to describe myself (for the reasons stated above), I'm really passionately pro-breastfeeding. If I had any time at ALL in my schedule, I'd consider being a breastfeeding peer support person, especially for larger women who think that giant bewbies = impossible to breastfeed with
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that was completely ridiculous. i don't even know who that chick was. maybe she's new to the scene. in general, the lj boob nazis having been trying pretty hard to not go around acting like assholes in public.
I don't see many who are quite that bad, it's true!
I was pretty shocked by what she said.
The funny thing is, if I were in a different post and mentioned that I'd exclusively breastfed for seven months before offering solids, I'd have been cheered as a good example of breastfeeding.
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I have one kid who was breastfed and one that wasn't.
My breastfed kid has allergies, had ear tubes, and is on the "watch" spectrum of the BMI charts. (And while she's nowhere near fat, I do agree on the "watch" part because my whole method of approaching food with them is to prevent obesity rather than having them try to fight it later.)
My formula fed kid (who was also premature) is rail thin, has no allergies, has no health issues other than ADHD.
The only benefit of the "You should breastfeed because...." thing we got was the money...it was WAY CHEAPER than formula.
In the end, I will say breast is best because it was the food created to feed a human baby. It's free for the most part, and once you get the hang of it, easier. But I'd never bash a woman for formula feeding, and I *hate* the guilt that's associated with it sometimes.
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I absolutely agree that there are benefits to breastfeeding and I wish every woman had the support to at least *try* to be successful at it, because I do think it's the best possible nutrition for a baby to have.
But what *is* this vitriol against formula, and especially *against formula-feeding mothers*?! It is not poison, whatever the rabid breastfeeders might claim, and their attitudes make women even less likely to even try it.
You should take a look at "Preventing Childhood Eating Problems" as well as some of the "health at every size" material regarding your breastfed kid. I don't believe obesity is what people claim it is health-wise but I do think that avoiding the issues that can surround eating is key to long-term physical and mental health. I wish my mom had read the former book when I was a child!
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http://rivka.livejournal.com/524178.html
(Afraid to give it to a CAT because it's poison? Jeee-zus, lady.)
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That latter point was what made me really WTF?!
I've read up on the back-and-forth between IQ/societal inputs/class/etc. debate. Even if there were some marginal advantage to breastfeeding...the advantage would be just that. Marginal. It certainly wouldn't have some massive societal impact.
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When people lose their sense of perspective to that extent, they're simply not worth paying attention to, because you'll never convince them their ranting is nonsensical. But then, you don't need me to tell you that, either.
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I was pretty shocked by what she said.
The funny thing is, if I were in a different post and mentioned that I'd exclusively breastfed for seven months before offering solids, I'd have been cheered as a good example of breastfeeding.
Formula = poison, after all ;)
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