My kids are never sick. Well actually, I lie. They just became sick last week. My 20 month old got her very first ear infection last week, and my almost 6 year old got his very first case of strept throat today. But, before this, NONE of my 3 children have ever been sick. My oldest is 11 years old, and has never had an ear infection, never had strept throat, the flu, a cold, nothing. He has only missed school 2 times because of a "sickness" and it was because he said his throat hurt, but no strept throat, probably seasonal allergies, which he has a very mild case of, every once in a while.
My other two have never been sick either except for the one case each that I mentioned. None of my children have food allergies, or ashthma. None of them are obese..quite the contrary. The are all very intellegent as well.
So the first question people always seem to ask is, "Did you breastfeed?" I try not to laugh when I answer them, but it is so hard not to. After years of people telling me how important it is to breastfeed, I have always remained adamantly against it.
People look at me like I have ten heads when I explain that I am actually pretty dead set against breastfeeding in this day and age.
"But it is natural!!" It was natually hundreds of years ago, when mothers knew where all their food was coming from and nothing had high fructose corn syrup, pesticides, growth hormones and other added crap. I am sorry, but there is NOTHING natural about a mother eating foods that are filled with added crap, and then passing it on to their poor innocent child.
"But your body naturally filters out those bad things!" Bull! Why can't you drink, or smoke or take certain medications while breastfeeding? Why if your child has a food allergy, you have to omit that from your diet if you are breastfeeding? Your body was not designed to filter out the unnatural crap that is in our food these days.
So many mothers breastfeed their babies because they are misled into thinking it is the quickest route to healthy children. When their kids are always sick, they are brainwashed into thinking it would have be so much worse if they didn't breastfeed!! They are conditioned to think that this is all a mother needs to do to make sure their kids are healthy, and if they don't do it, they don't love their children enough, or that they are not good mothers. It is sick.
The funny thing is that so many mothers breastfeed their kid for the first months or even years of life and then never think about what they are putting into their childrens' mouths after! As if their breastmilk will last them all the days of their lives! HELLO!!!! You need to make sure you aren't giving them crap afterwards either!!
So many mothers blindly feed their kids applesauce with high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or added sugar when they could easily give their kids the Natural applesauce that is the same price, and RIGHT NEXT TO THE OTHER CRAP!!!!!! But they don't think twice. Same goes for yogurt, and juices. They just assume that they are all created equal and that they are healthy. They don't think to add veggies or fruit to things, or ake other healthy choices. They seriously think that their breastmilk will cover them!
Unless you are willing to only eat organic, natural, locally grown foods, you are not equipped to breastfeed. Unless you can cut out all the pesticides, preservatives and additives out of your meals, your "milk" is no better than my canned formula. In some cases, it is MUCH worse. You need to eat healthy to produce something healthy.
Plus, with formula, you have a happy mom, instead of a stressed out, uncomfortable mom....a happy, FED baby, instead of not even knowing how much they got to eat. And you know EXACTLY what is going into their little bellies. Breastfeeding may be natural, but it is also natural that some mothers are not able to breastfeed, physically. Those babies "naturally" died. Nowadays, such mothers pump themselves full of pills to make their milk come in! They are actually pumping medications into their babies so they can feel like they did a good job!
There is no "Mother of the Year" award. You are not going to get it in the mail. Your baby is NOT going to be more healthy. Your milk is not natural if you don't eat naturally. If you don't feed your baby, toddler and child healthy, natural foods, they will NOT be healthy, no matter how long you breastfed for!!!!!
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OMG. I can't believe you put this stuff on a blog. This is too funny. I can totally HEAR you all the way from here!
ReplyDeleteI pretty much disagree with everything you have said except for the feeding your kids crap. Sunny D isn't "juice" and HFCS is just wrong.There is corn syrup in formula--it is a processed food. Breast milk has living cells, immunities and is custom made to meet the baby's needs in that moment. That said, many great moms with great kids use formula. I understand your frustration at having breastfeeding pushed down your throat, but telling breastfeeding moms they are misguided is no better than a BF mom bashing a FF mom . As you know your experience with your kids is anecdotal. Your kids have good genes. You feed and care for them well. I am happy for you that you have happy, healthy, smart kids. You have done what works for you and your family.
ReplyDeleteFor me breastfeeding works. I don't eat organic, but I avoid processed foods, don't drink soda or eat fast food. With the filtering, some things are filtered while others aren't. Scientists can test breast milk for the presence of things to ascertain if the substance passes through to the milk. I like having my risk of breast cancer and osteoporosis lowered. I like that it is free and easy.
I do think you have a great point about how breast feeding alone won't make your kids healthy. Everything that goes into their mouths matters. We need to get rid of all this HFCS crap, artificial this and that and greatly reduce processed foods.
Breast feeding doesn't make you a superior parent any more than formula feeding makes you an inferior parent. Back before formula when a mother couldn't breastfeed (which was a lot less frequent because people weren't on meds, enlarging and reducing their breasts, and women were not having babies assisted (as in fertility treatments and interventions to sustain pregnancies which would not have survived), babies weren't left to starve to death. Other women would nurse the baby.
."There is corn syrup in formula--it is a processed food."
ReplyDeleteNot all formula has corn syrup in it. Most organic formulas do not use corn syrup, and especially not HIGH FRUCTOSE corn syrup. I guess it all has to do with researching what is best. No one will ever convince me that eating a non-organic diet and feeding your baby those nasty foods like candy bars, and diet soda is better than my Organic Formula. Never. You can't tell me Eden that you don't eat those types of foods. I have seen them in the background of many pictures you post on Babycenter. Peace.
I think you have confused me with someone else. I do not eat candy bars or drink soda and it definitely isn't in the background of any pictures. (Nice try though) My baby did get into some Nutella at i think 11 months that her sister gave her, but I have never given my kids soda of any kind, not even the 4 yo. There was a picture of YDD playing with a beer can, an unopened non-alcoholic beer can (NA beer helps with milk production) I do not drink soda of any kind either. So I can honestly tell you that I do not eat those kinds of food nor do i give them to my kids and you are welcome to think whatever you want--I don't think you are actually concerned with facts much at all.
ReplyDeleteYou want to think what you want to think and that is it. You've said you don't read books by the experts, you just go with what you think--not that I think people should raise their kids by what someone who doesn't know them wrote in a book, but there is some value to getting information from people who know about child development and child psychology. Personally I chose to educate myself and then make informed decisions on my own. I had an "experienced" mom give me all kinds of advice when ODD was a baby. Her kid is grown and in jail, yet she still felt that since she was an experienced mom she was in a position to tell other moms how to raise their kids. Of course there are some moms who are just naturals and without any formal education they are great moms who raise happy and healthy kids but there are also some kids who thrive despite their parents (We've all met those people with abusive and/or substance addicted parents who are still successful and whatnot.)
Now you may feel justified in your choice to feed organic formula because of the way YOU eat, and the the formula YOU choose, but a lot of those moms who eat McD's everyday and wash it down with 32 oz of Diet Coke are NOT going to buy ORGANIC formula and are going to do stuff like not mix it correctly, stretching it out by adding too much water, make it "more nutritious" by adding extra powder or peanut butter, or are going to have the baby sucking off old formula because they don't want to throw away that half a bottle the kid didn't finish a few hours ago, and hey, it is right there on the floor all nice and handy. They also often overfeed the baby. Basically if a mom is too stupid to know how to feed herself and baby how is she going to know how to formula feed any better? Is she going to spend the extra money on organic? Breastmilk from the source is clean and fresh. A mom who is worried about what her family eats usually is eating well herself. I eat a lot better now that I have kids. I used to drink Diet Soda, now I won't touch it. I haven't had a Diet Soda in 5 years. Other people in my life however are allowed to eat and drink what they want so there may be pictures of my kids with someone else holding a soda. My ex likes soda. Their Godmother is addicted to diet soda. Oddly however that had absolutely no effect on the quality of MY breastmilk. imagine that. I believe your profile is private so people can't see your pictures. I have nothing to hide so my profile is public so feel free to go through my pictures looking for pictures of me or my kids drinking soda or eating candy bars.
My profile is private because I don't feel comfortable showing too many photos of my children on the internet, not because I have anything to hide.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I went to college and was a majored in child psychology/child development, before I switched majors. (I almost finished with one degree, and decided it wasn't for me and switch...stupid, I know haha)
What I meant was that I don't live my life according to books, and I said that I do believe certain books are good, about development and health, but not books about how to better bond, or make your baby happy, or whatever. If that makes any sense.
I didn't mean it like yours is private because you are hiding things, I meant it like feel free to look through my pics for these pics that show I either gave my baby candy bars and soda or I was eating crap. People assume because I am overweight that I eat crap. Most of my extra weight was from cheese and icecream. When I was PG w/ ODD I couldn't get enough. It wasn't organic, but it wasn't Mc Ds or soda either. Being older doesn't help either.
ReplyDeleteFTR I don't have a problem with how you raise your kids or think less of you for how you fed them. You did/do what you feel comfortable with. I don't think you are correct in your reasoning, but you don't have to have a reason or justify your choice to me or anyone. My problem is with the spreading of what I feel is misinformation. It sounds to me like you are trying to discourage moms from breastfeeding. Now if you wanted to campaign for moms who FF to only use organic formula, fine. if you want to encourage BF moms to eat healthy fine even if I don't think it makes as big of a difference as you do. It is when you say BF moms shouldn't BF that I have an issue. I also don't appreciate being accused of dishonesty. If I ate Big Macs daily and thought it was fine I would not worry what you thought about it so why lie? I mean seriously--have I seemed overly concerned with what you think of me as a person? I wouldn't volunteer the info i do if I was worried about what you and Soux etc think of me. I don't know you well enough to need your approval. I'm not out to argue with you because I don't like you or because you offended me on some thread or anything like that. I rarely pay enough attention to WHO said it, but more to WHAT they said. I go on too many boards and the nasties change their screen names anyway so there is no point in remembering who said what last year.
To me the argument about BF being best is like the Rf being best argument. You have studies and science supporting one side and people thinking stuff on the other side. I think the difference is that nobody makes money off of getting people to Forward face, but ff is a billion dollar industry so there are people who have a vested interest in getting you to embrace formula. Nobody makes money off of people BFing. The same way you have people pulling things out their butts for why kids should not ERF you have people coming up with arguments against BF. Same way as some people have genuine reasons why they cannot ERF they can't BF. No matter how many test results you provide them with they will say there is no proof that it is better. They will say that they weren't BFed/ ERFed and they are fine. They will tell you something bad happened to a kid who was so it doesn't matter. Since you are not a BFer the anti-BF arguments makes sense, just like to the moms who want to FF the anti-RF arguments make sense. They even have an anti-ERF bumpersticker.You don't think you will get a mother of the year award for ERF or think you are a better mom than someone who FFs at 12mo but you still advocate for ERF. It is the same with BF.How you read it depends on what side you are on. You can't hear my tone and I can't hear yours. I think if we (all moms on BBC) had these conversations in person there would not be anywhere near as much offence taken. They will also tell you that everyone already knows and are sick of it being mentioned even though it wasn't directed at them...and then someone will post that they never heard of ERF or the increased risk of SIDS w/ FF.
IMO it also isn't all or nothing. Just because you can't be perfect doesn't mean you shouldn't try. Treats in moderation do not negate the good things we do. It isn't like a candy years later undoes 6 months of EBF. That would be like saying since you don't drive a minivan or let your kid have a toy in the car you shouldn't bother ERFing. I have a friend who is all organic, no processed foods, local grass fed and all that and she and her kids have been sick a lot this year. I used to live off ramen and either Taco Bell or pizza (I worked at Dominoes and Taco Bell) in college and I was rarely sick, nor was I overweight. So while I think we should be mindful of what we are eating I don't think regular food is poison.
ReplyDeleteI do get what you are saying about living by the books and I agree.
All I have to say is that I'm not going to listen to some random mom on a blog over all of the scientific research done with breastmilk.
ReplyDeleteWhether I eat McDonald's all day or organic, low-fat food, my breastmilk is still better than any formula you could ever push down my son's throat.
The only way, ONLY WAY, formula could EVER be better than breastmilk is if the mother is on drugs, has the possibility of HIV/AIDs or whatever.
I'm so pissed I don't even care anymore to type.
Good. I am glad you are pissed. It is a personal blog. I can write what I feel, and what I want. I believe that woman are being misinformed every day and forced, and guilted into breastfeeding, when it isn't always the best. Even the studies only show a very tiny difference between BF and FF babies...it is like .00007% better or some shit like that. Also, the studies always going to be skewed and biased. "Breast is Best" ...That's what they want us to think, so they can put women right back "where they belong" out of the work place, and into the home, barefoot and with some baby on your boob. Every thing can be proven, and everything can be disproven. I have every right to my opinion and my own thought process, knowledge, research ect....
ReplyDeleteEden, get your own blog, if you want to "inform" or "persuade" people do it on your blog. I never said that was the purpose of my blog.
Cami...have fun with your MickeyD's and keep telling yourself that it is ok, and healthy and that your kids aren't absorbing pure crap. That's cool with me, don't care, it is your body, your kids, and your life, not mine.
I can write what I want. I never claimed to be 100% right, 100% time, but neither should any "study" or anybody else. Get over it. Peace!~
How is this a logical argument? How natural do you think the cow's diet is exactly? They're fed corn which is so unnatural to their diet that they then need to have antibiotics mixed in with their feed. Do you think they somehow miraculously get the pesticides out of the cow's food? Then they take this milk, process it, and add a bunch of synthetic vitamins to it.
ReplyDeleteMom? Is that you?
ReplyDeleteLOL is all I can say. Sorry, but I totally disagree with everything you have said.
Can you enlighten us as to how you eat and feed your own children? Are you on a strict farm fresh diet? Have they ever been given medicines? Candy? Fast Food? I know you claim not to be perfect, nobody is. But to tell us that you feel other women are not "equipped" to feed their children is probably a little too much. And you clearly state in the beginning that you are anti-breastfeeding. I assume it is not "OK" with you no matter what, regardless of what food the mother puts into her body.
I'm sorry, but what majority would like women out of the workforce? Face it, you have a chip on your shoulder for god knows why about breastfeeding. You are using crazy logic to try to convince yourself and others, and if you succeed, then you are doing nothing more than hurting people.
ReplyDeleteThis is the most ridiculous thing I have ever read.
ReplyDeleteIn response to your nonsensical stance on breastfeeding:
ReplyDelete"Unless you are willing to only eat organic, natural, locally grown foods, you are not equipped to breastfeed."
Actually, I am. No matter what I eat, I still have breasts and milk ducts and nipples.
"Unless you can cut out all the pesticides, preservatives and additives out of your meals, your "milk" is no better than my canned formula. In some cases, it is MUCH worse."
Except that formula contains all manner of crap including, but not limited to, those you listed.
"Plus, with formula, you have a happy mom, instead of a stressed out, uncomfortable mom...."
I would be much more stressed out by having to buy and mix formula. I would be much more uncomfortable feeding my baby something which contained crap that I really had no control over.
"a happy, FED baby, instead of not even knowing how much they got to eat. And you know EXACTLY what is going into their little bellies."
My baby is happy and FED. He weighs 20 pounds! I know exactly what's in hims belly--milk!!
"Breastfeeding may be natural, but it is also natural that some mothers are not able to breastfeed, physically. Those babies "naturally" died."
That's a low blow and really unnecessary. Most women who are unable to breastfeed, for whatever reason, supplement when they realize failure to thrive. Very few mothers would let their baby starve to death.
"Your baby is NOT going to be more healthy."
Science says he is. Sorry.
"If you don't feed your baby, toddler and child healthy, natural foods, they will NOT be healthy, no matter how long you breastfed for!!!!!"
Breastfeeding is actually shown to improve children's ability to self-regulate food consumption. They are able to stop eating when they are full and still suck for comfort. When babies are bottle-fed, they have higher risk for obesity because they eat more than they need to due to comfort sucking at the end of the eating cycle.
I'm not bashing women who choose formula. But some of your arguments against breastfeeding are ludicrous. I hope women don't use this blog to inform their decisions!
"Nowadays, such mothers pump themselves full of pills to make their milk come in! They are actually pumping medications into their babies so they can feel like they did a good job!"
ReplyDeleteI don't know anybody who has done this. Unless you are referring to Fenugreek, a naturally occurring herb? Most I know who could not breastfeed or ran low on breastmilk began to use formula. I may have to at some point, and I've accepted this. But I'll say that I certainly won't feel like I am no longer doing a good job raising my child.
I guess what I really don't understand is why you are SO totally against breastfeeding in the first place. Fine, you don't think it is a healthy option for babies (I'm still trying to wrap my brain around that idea), but why blog about it and write paragraph after paragraph of misinformation? Did you feel attacked that you chose not to breast feed, and therefore you are lashing out? I know some women can and do hold that over formula feeding moms, but what you're doing here is no better.
Be a bigger person and rise above all of this nonsense!
The thing that scares me is that some poor sap might actually make a FF vs BF decision based on your flawed logic, limited knowledge of breastfeeding, and broad generalizations.
ReplyDeleteIf a mom has a bad diet, that crap is already in her kid's system from eating crap during pregnancy. Even if a bad diet mom FF, once the kid starts eating solids he'll probably eat the same kinds of food that mom is eating.
Whereas a mom with a good diet gives good stuff to the baby during pregnancy, gives that same good stuff to baby while bfing, and then feeds those same foods to baby when they start solids. And many moms improve their diet while pregnant or breastfeeding since they're "eating for two" so they have twice as many reasons to eat healthy than just eating for themselves.
Here's the thing: you trust the formula you buy. You trust the formula companies to use proper manufacturing standards, nutritional standards, etc. Even more so for organic formula. Most of the time you're okay, but occasionally things happen. Those mothers in China trusted the formula companies and their babies died from bad formula.
When I breastfeed, I have more of an opportunity to know what goes into the breastmilk, because I can control what I eat. I can choose to trust the makers of the food I eat, or I can grow my own food or buy organic or farmer's markets or whatever. There's a lot more options and control for the food I eat than the handful of formula companies out there.
I'm not trying to preach what other people should do, but any mothers reading this blog:
PLEASE make your parenting decisions on YOUR life, YOUR child, and YOUR family. If you eat an organic diet, your breastmilk is superior to organic formula, that's just a fact. If you take recreational drugs, smoke, etc., or have to take medication that is not recommended while breastfeeding (it happens, and sometimes ff and medicated mom is best for the FAMILY as a whole) then formula is better for your individual situation. This is only one of the many decisions you will have to make as a parent, and I hope you pay more attention to yourself and your baby's needs than anyone else's life story. No baby is a cookie cutter copy of your friends's baby, that lady on the internet's kid, textbook case, or scientific study.
It is my opinion. I just think that people should watch what they eat, and what their children eat. I do. The cows that make the milk that my children drink, are fed grass, that is not treated by chemicals. My kids are rarely (if ever) sick, so medicines are not really something I think too much about. My kids don't eat candy and crap. All I am saying, is that it is irresponsible to eat foods that you have no idea about, and then feed your baby with your milk. How is it any different than the cow you say eats corn, or chemicals? If you admit that that is not healthy, how is your milk healthy? It isn't as much about breastfeeding as it is about choices, and being informed about WHAT YOU PUT IN YOUR BODY AND WHAT YOU PUT IN YOUR CHILD'S BODY. I am just saying that your breastmilk isn't going to protect your child if you DON'T EAT HEALTHY and then FEED YOUR CHILD HEALTHY FOODS in the future. That is all. I am just saying that I do not BELIEVE that it is a good CHOICE to breastfeed if you don't eat properly, and A LOT of mothers do NOT eat properly while they are pregnant and nursing. If you want to disagree, then fine....but we all know at least one person that eats CRAP while they are pregnant or nursing. OR feed their children CRAP when they are older. READ LABELS. Don't BLINDLY choose breastfeeding because you think it is AUTOMATICALLY better than formula. ANALYZE your diet and lifestyle. Make a RATIONAL decision. Then, when your child is eating regular foods, STILL READ THE FREAKIN LABELS! How hard is it to make a healthy meal? There are some kids in this country that don't know what a goddamn tomato is! That is SAD. Maybe you all eat perfectly, or even half decent, but SO many mothers do not, and IN MY OPINION, they are NOT doing their babies any favors by forcing their nasty polluted breast"milk" into their systems.
ReplyDelete