Dear friends, mothers, women, men, people, humans, and other celebrities like Barbara Walters and the ladies on the View,
PLEASE BE OPEN MINDED, CIVIL AND CONFIDENT yourself so that you can "help" stop those narrow minded negative comments about breastfeeding.
I never thought I would or have to make such a post as I am doing today.
YES, this is me and my son, breastfeeding.
I have been very SAD about the many things that happened and were said with regards to breastfeeding in public and the criticisms (i.e. women getting arrested for breastfeeding in a mall, Barbara Walters, whom I respected greatly, announced she was uncomfortable on a plane next to a breastfeeding mother and The View anchors are speaking about how very insecure it makes them when they see a woman breastfeeding in a restaurant or public unless completely covered up).
Have none of these women ever been to a summer vacation in Europe? Like Italy, topless is a common sight there and why is North America so uptight in 2012 anyways? Nobody should think that breastfeeding is "sexy" (even the French don't think that according to the book "Bringing up Be Be") except for the husband, but the ladies on the View seem to be concerned with it being too sexy and they don't like their men to be possibly looking at that.
Did I hear that right? Yes, several times on The View and other places. Can there be THAT little CONFIDENCE and that much confusion about a mother feeding her baby among these educated ladies of the View or anyone, especially a woman?
This is breastfeeding we are talking about, so please be civil and look away and give the mother and baby some privacy and don't arrest them or criticize. I miss Oprah! ...smile...
Should WE WOMEN not admire each other and help each other, respect each other and cherish one another whether we breastfeed or choose to use formula? And yet women seem to offer more criticism than men.
I AM LOOKING FOR SUPPORT from all of you!
Having said that, looking at photos of me breastfeeding my son for the first 2 years of his life cheered me up to no end.
So did this article that I came across:
I have done it, plenty of times ... in the mall. Yes, I am still talking about "breastfeeding" and thankfully nobody arrested me. (Big laugh here.)
This takes me back to when women could not vote yet! "Does nobody see this ridicule?" .... keeps ringing in my head over and over...
My son would not eat any solids (vomiting all), even those baby cereal until 13 months old. I breastfed him exclusively all that time and he was a strong healthy boy racing the charts to 99 percentile with the exception of a few times.
Another difficulty I faced was the complete coordination or lack off when breastfeeding (it is not that easy when you start as a first time mother, it hurts sometimes, it requires learning the skill and figuring it out) and my son did not like the cover up at all! He would stop feeding and move about and get all anxious if I covered us up. What was I to do? Never leave the house or starve him? Neither option is acceptable to me.
There is no difference between these 2 photos ... me or my husband feeding our son, and yet one of these ways is so "tabu" in this day and age. Not everywhere, but where we live it seems not entirely clear to a lot of people that a baby eating is a perfectly normal sight even when A BREAST is involved.
Please tell me that I am not alone here! Do we have to even talk about this? Why is this an issue?
Will I be arrested next time I breastfeed in a mall?
GOSH!
Articles like this one by Leslie at TROUVERLESOLEIL BLOG are what makes me believe that things will change!
XO Z
