I breast feed because it is easy and cheap, not because I am better than you.

My little guys are boob men.

And I get it, I am lucky.

Breast feeding is just easy for me.

Both my kids latched right on within hours of being born.

My milk came in weeks before my due date,

And I make plenty.

I feel like so many moms breastfeed with judgement.

Like their bond with their child is so much more substantial because there child is sucking on their nipple as opposed to the nipple of a bottle.

Or that they deserve a gold star because breast milk is soooo much better for children.

I’m a teacher.

When a student comes into my class I have NO IDEA which students were breast-fed as children, but it is often very obvious to me which students have parents that care about them.

Breastfeeding should not be the status symbol of motherhood.

And I feel bad that it has becomes such a thing.

When I tell a bottle-feeding mom that I breast feed, I instantly get an excuse from her as to why she is not breastfeeding.

I just want to tell her that she does not need to justify her choices as a mother to me or anyone else.

Am I the only one that feels like this judgement exists?

I know the judgement can fall on breastfeeding moms when they breastfeed for too long.

I actually had someone tell me it was gross that I was breastfeeding my nine month old.

But that is a whole other blog post.

So is it me?  Am I the only one that feels like there is some unfair judgements on bottle-feeding moms by breastfeeding moms?  Do breastfeeding moms feel superior, or do bottle-feeding moms feel unnecessarily guilty?

 

 

Bizarrely Inappropriate

Today we all left the house for a much-needed break.

The kids and I tried to escape on our own and got about 3 houses down before getting stuck.

I’m so ashamed.

After getting back in the drive-way we called Isaac and admitted our defeat.

He had mercy on our locked-in, cabin-fevered selves, and picked us up for dinner.

God bless him.

We went to Chili’s and as we were eating a waitress (not ours) came up and commented on our adorable small child, Bo.

I don’t think this is weird, I make cute kids, so I thanked her and then she was on her way.

Later on in the meal Bo started crying and I had no choice but to feed him in the restaurant.

I don’t mind breast-feeding in public, but it is a little awkward.

But this waitress kept walking by our table looking for Bo.

Um, he is under my sweatshirt gnawing on my breast, do you mind not staring?

This happened once or twice and I just thought I may be imagining things because I am a little self-conscious about feedings in public.

But then, after Bo finished, she walked by again and said,

“I know this is really weird, but do you mind if I hold your baby?”

Um, yes, as a matter of a fact, I do.  First of all, I am eating.  I haven’t left the house in upwards of 48 hours, I finally have two hands to work with because I just finished feeding an infant, AND this is ice cream, so I would like to eat it now SO IT DOESN’T MELT.  Second, I don’t know you!  You could have the bubonic plague for all I know.  This is an infant, he is not even two months old, as much as you think I want your stranger, diseased hands all over my son, I DON’T.  Lastly, I STILL don’t know you, and you seem weird, because no one in their right state of mind would come up and ask a mother, who they don’t know, if they can hold their very tiny infant son.  See me women?  I am mama bear, this is my cub. Now back the F up before I get all gangster on your a**.

So obviously, what I actually said was,

“Sure, of course.”

He bit my nipple.

Maybe to some people this may not seem like a big deal, but I am not those people.

The kid bit my nipple.

More than once.

This is a new trend over the last 3 days, he seemed to acquire this awful habit around the same time he became mobile.

I’m not a fan.

In fact, if this continues he is about to become very thirsty.

I just can’t have people biting my nipples, even if it is my son.  But that poses a pretty big problem for me.  Linc won’t take a bottle any more and he won’t touch a sippy cup.  The only liquids he gets during the day come from me.

How do I do this?  I feel like I have breast-fed enough, he is 9 months old now and he is biting me.  How do I wean the kid from my tit?  Seriously, any advice is welcome.  I think it is time, I just don’t know how.

***Just a little disclaimer.  I am sorry that I have to ask all these seemingly stupid questions, but all of my friends are twenty-five and single.  Breast feeding isn’t really their expertise.  I think I need to find a mommy group or something, but for now, this is it.

Next time…

There are many things I was told to buy for a newborn that I never used.  However, there is one thing that I wish I would have had that I didn’t.  It wasn’t on the list of must-haves that I certainly could have lived without, ahem- the Boppy.  And no experienced mother informed me how convenient it would have been to have one of these.

I wish I had a nursing cover.

I had no intention going into this nursing in public.  It was not a desire of mine to whip out a tit and feed a crying baby because “by golly, I’m a mom now and you all need to deal with it.”

No.

But when it came down to real life, a kids gotta eat.

And it was my job to feed him.

I am not a stay at home momma, by day two Lincoln was out and about.  The thing is, I had no idea how often those little bundles of joy would want to eat, and I wish someone would have told me.

I cannot tell you how many awkward moments I had trying to cover myself up with a friends sweatshirt or a clothe diaper/burp clothe.

Pathetic.

So, if you are planning on nursing.  Please, for the sake of modesty, sanity, and your own public embarrassment, buy a nursing cover.

And skip the stupid Boppy…just saying.

The View I Love the Most

What I see looking up at me every morning, every night, and all throughout the day.  I love you Lincoln.