I Support Your Choice: Formula, Pumped, Breastfed, MIX!

Marching to the beat of formula circa '77. Avid pumper then breastfeeder circa 2011-?

This article that ran in the Huffington Post has a lot of moms I know choked up. The decision on how to feed your baby is an important one and sadly one that is often judged by others (non-mommies, you really don't know until you've been there!). There are so many variables that I won't get into because the original article does a great job.

I used to think you should breastfeed. Only. Duh, that's what they're there for so don't be lazy!

Oh, I ate my words. Like I've talked about before, beware of all the judgments you make. They will return to haunt you. I might be a breastfeeder but that holier-than-thou attitude has been checked at the door!

So here's how it went: I had this preemie and he was off in NICU and a basin filled with plastic cones and tubes got dropped off along with a yellow machine. You should start pumping immediately, the nurses said.

Huh. OK. My brain was foggy. I got to work still wondering how I'd already had my baby. The only plan I'd had was to breastfeed him...and have him lifted into my arms after Bran cut the cord. I'd just lost two out of three within the hour, soo...

The days that turned into weeks and then months while pumping are some of the most stressful I've experienced as a mom. My house had burned down, my cats were dead, my baby boy was attached to machines and I had to leave him every night.

But...

Breast is BEST! they all chanted and it's like I couldn't stop even though I think it would have been healthier at the time for me to consider my options. Breast is best, but formula is great, too! What if you don't want to? That's your choice. Why is it the same people who fight so hard for women's rights are sometimes the quickest to give a baby-feeding-opinion. You should breastfeed.... If it's not your body - or your baby, butt out, thankyouverymuch.

I couldn't figure out at what point it crossed the line; why I was so hung up on not giving him formula. He had to use Human Milk Fortifier (HMF) to help him grow. It was mixed in with my breastmilk. I felt insulted.

Now I feel silly. That's what was best for him.

Four months of pumping later I gave one last try to switch him over to breastfeeding. Two years later he is self-weaning.

Along the way, however, I felt ashamed of my thoughts...but I'm good now. I just didn't know.

Once I heard the term virgin gut and had to get my smelling salts. ...a stomach that has never had anything but pure breastmilk touch it. DO YOU KNOW WHAT THEY'RE GOING TO EAT AS TEENS?!??! Heck, do you know what you might wind up offering to your picky eater just to get them to eat something??

I was a formula fed baby. My mom tried but it didn't work out.

Our children will be just fine however we decide to feed them.

Let's work together drop the judgement.

Moms: I support your choice to do what works best for your family.