My blogger and Facebook friends have reminding me that this is World Breastfeeding Week. As an exclusively breastfeeding mother, I felt I should write a post.
Give it up to all mommas that breastfeed! Hooray. It is no easy task. We take on the responsibility to solely feed our children, including all hours of the night. We give up our bodies, our time, and our sleep. We have to plan our social events around feedings or have to step away to feed our children. Then we occasionally get criticized and judged for simply nurturing our children and heaven forbid we feed our children in public. And as a working breastfeeding momma, I pump twice a day at work to keep up my supply. I get the luxury to be strapped down, away from my baby. I stay longer at work to make up the time, pray no one walks in on me, and have to avoid awkward conversations about where I disappear to during the day. Hooray to all breastfeeding mommas out there!
I do not judge a mother's decision to use formula, breastfeed, or both. Nor do I judge a momma for how long they breastfeed. I support any mom for just being a mom! I will encourage any momma that does breastfeed.
While there are many benefits to breastfeed, the two man reasons I breastfeed are 1) the support I receive from other breastfeeding mommas and my husband and 2) my employer provides mother rooms for me to privately and sanitary pump at work. If it wasn't for these 2 reasons, I know I wouldn't be able to breastfeed.
Now I consider myself a closet breastfeeder. I cannot bring myself to "whip it out" in public. But good for you to any momma that does. No judgement here. It is difficult to go out and run errands, attend social events, or simply go to the zoo with your older children in 2-3 hour increments.
I believe the support for breastfeeding is growing. I can see a difference from my mother's generation. And I hope that one day, it doesn't matter if you breastfeed or formula feed. And that there will be no judgement. And that women won't have to justify their choices.
I am woman, here me "MOO!"
Love,
LOL!
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome that you continue to pump at work. That takes a lot of dedication! That's one of the big reasons that I didn't attempt in the first place. Well done!
And I very much appreciated your comment on my blog. It's time for moms to just embrace one another. We're all after the same goals, anyway--raising happy, healthy, good-hearted boys and girls.