That's why they make different kinds of
formula tho.
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kaerbear
Most Diplomatic Poster
Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1557 Location: ,
Posted: 07-14-07 23:03pm
no one is saying it's easy for everyone
but it's true that it's been done for
hundreds of thousands of years all over
the world. we need to stop scaring women
into thinking they can't do it. not
everyone has a huge struggle with it. i
acknowledge that some women have a hard
time breastfeeding and that it can be a
challenge for some women, but it isn't
rocket science, it's a skill like any
other that can be learned. i would hope
no one would be offended by an offhand
remark like that.
as far as the baby dolls and books go, i
wouldn't think it inappropriate if a book
showed a baby being nursed. that's
precisely the point is that people are
offended by it when it's the most natural
thing in the world. if little kids can be
nursed at the breast are they supposed to
forget that they did when they start
playing with dolls and reading books? i
only posted those quotes because i don't
think it hurts anyone to question why they
feel a certain way about something like
breastfeeding. but, once again, i
probably should have kept my mouth shut.
* oh and i'm NOT saying those women could
do it if they tried harder or anything
like that.
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AyaMiyaki
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 8246 Location: Floating on a cloud, United States
Thanks: 168
Thanked:14
Posted: 07-14-07 23:08pm
kaerbear
wrote:
no one is saying it's easy
for everyone but it's true that it's been
done for hundreds of thousands of years
all over the world. we need to stop
scaring women into thinking they can't do
it. not everyone has a huge struggle with
it. i acknowledge that some women have a
hard time breastfeeding and that it can be
a challenge for some women, but it isn't
rocket science, it's a skill like any
other that can be learned. i would hope
no one would be offended by an offhand
remark like
that.
I'm not disputing this. My point was that
the comment "just put your boob in the
baby's mouth" downplayed the difficulty
and could be considered offensive by some
of the moms who did have problems.
Quote:
as far as the
baby dolls and books go, i wouldn't think
it inappropriate if a book showed a baby
being nursed. that's precisely the point
is that people are offended by it when
it's the most natural thing in the world.
if little kids can be nursed at the breast
are they supposed to forget that they did
when they start playing with dolls and
reading books? i only posted those quotes
because i don't think it hurts anyone to
question why they feel a certain way about
something like breastfeeding. but, once
again, i probably should have kept my
mouth shut.
What I meant by inappropriate was if a
baby doll came with a fake breast instead
of a bottle. I don't necessarily think
that it would be the most appropriate
thing to include fake breasts with
children's toys. I should have worded my
reply better I suppose. My point with the
children's books was that the child might
not understand what was going on.
With a bottle, they would.
I'm a huge advocate of breastfeeding.
Anyone who knows me knows this. I've been
doing it for 11 months now and always
offer advice to any new moms who need it.
But I'm realistic, and my first goal is to
let the mother know that it's a difficult
road, and that she is not a
failure if it doesn't succeed. So many
mothers feel horrible if it doesn't work,
and I don't think lulling them into a
false sense of security that "oh it's
easy, you'll do fine" is necessarily the
most responsible thing to do.
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young Girl
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 13932 Location: everythings better in, texas USA
Posted: 07-14-07 23:12pm
kaerbear
wrote:
no one is saying it's easy
for everyone but it's true that it's been
done for hundreds of thousands of years
all over the world. we need to stop
scaring women into thinking they can't do
it. not everyone has a huge struggle with
it. i acknowledge that some women have a
hard time breastfeeding and that it can be
a challenge for some women, but it isn't
rocket science, it's a skill like any
other that can be learned. i would hope
no one would be offended by an offhand
remark like that.
as far as the baby dolls and books go, i
wouldn't think it inappropriate if a book
showed a baby being nursed. that's
precisely the point is that people are
offended by it when it's the most natural
thing in the world. if little kids can be
nursed at the breast are they supposed to
forget that they did when they start
playing with dolls and reading books? i
only posted those quotes because i don't
think it hurts anyone to question why they
feel a certain way about something like
breastfeeding. but, once again, i
probably should have kept my mouth
shut.
no no i totally agree with everything you
said
its a natural thing that has been going on
since women have been giving birth
they didnt have options back then like we
have now with different formulas and
stuff
think of in the 1700"s. when they gave
birth at home. and they did it without any
pain meds?
life has changed and so has the ways of
people
as the world goes on,things change and the
everyday knowledge we have grows such as
different forumlas and alternative to
breast feeding
i didnt mean to offend anyone. im sorry if
i did
but my comment on the childrens books- if
children grow up to think "oh babies drink
bottles"??? how will they ever learn that
its natural to breastfeed? i know theres a
certain time in a childs life to teach
them different things but im also NOT
saying to put a book in a 4 yr olds hands
witha nipple in it
what im saying is that we shouldnt be
ashamed to tell our kids- thats where the
milk comes from for babies. this is why we
have them. tahts what they are ment for
and maybe then when they got older theyd
look at there bodies differently and
instead of just an object they would have
a meaning and a purpose
thats my opinion
Last edited by young Girl on 07-14-07 23:13pm; edited 1 time in total
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hopefulmjz
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 31 Mar 2005 Posts: 4777 Location: , USA
Thanks: 3
Thanked:11
Posted: 07-14-07 23:12pm
I don't think people realize how hard it
can be until you've tried it.
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kaerbear
Most Diplomatic Poster
Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1557 Location: ,
Posted: 07-14-07 23:19pm
i agree with you. i just think, is it any
better if women are not even willing to
try because they feel they can't do it
because they've heard so many horror
stories?
and yeah, with the baby doll and breast
thing, that's the point is that it would
seem weird to see it, but in some cultures
it's normal. in our culture the breast is
so oversexualised that it would be
considered an offensive thing for a child
to be playing with. that was the point,
it's a cultural thing to have things like
that be hidden and inappropriate and
there's no harm in thinking about where
our cultural norms come from. that's all
i was saying.
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AyaMiyaki
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 8246 Location: Floating on a cloud, United States
Thanks: 168
Thanked:14
Posted: 07-14-07 23:23pm
the_girlfreind
wrote:
think of in the 1700"s. when
they gave birth at home. and they did it
without any pain
meds?
Childbirth was also the number one cause
of death amongst women.
Quote:
but my comment on
the childrens books- if children grow up
to think "oh babies drink bottles"??? how
will they ever learn that its natural to
breastfeed? i know theres a certain time
in a childs life to teach them different
things but im also NOT saying to put a
book in a 4 yr olds hands witha nipple in
it
what im saying is that we shouldnt be
ashamed to tell our kids- thats where the
milk comes from for babies. this is why we
have them. tahts what they are ment
for
and maybe then when they got older theyd
look at there bodies differently and
instead of just an object they would have
a meaning and a purpose
thats my
opinion
I guess I'm just not seeing why a child
seeing a bottle would give them a negative
body image or turn them off of
breastfeeding. My entire point was that
they might not understand what's going on,
whereas if they see a baby with a bottle,
they'll get the general idea - the baby is
eating. Okay, moving on. I'm not sure that
hammering breastfeeding and a breast's
function into a 4 year old's head is
exactly the most appropriate setting.
If the point of the book was to learn what
different body parts do, such as arms and
legs and whatnot, I would completely
understand. But otherwise, I'm not sure
that the child would understand. If the
book is about how Spot the Puppy goes on a
day trip, why would you be offended that
his baby buddy had a bottle instead of a
breast in his mouth?
But I digress.
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Hollyberries
Extremely EHEALTHy
Joined: 20 Jun 2007 Posts: 1851 Location: Lead, sd usa
Thanks: 1
Thanked:0
Posted: 07-14-07 23:26pm
My daughter is 6, and she has been
watching those baby shows with me. They
show mothers breast feeding. She asked so
i told her. She didn't have much to say
about it. Other than did you breast feed
me? And are you going to breast feed the
new baby? But anything under 4 might be a
issue
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kaerbear
Most Diplomatic Poster
Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1557 Location: ,
Posted: 07-14-07 23:27pm
no the child wouldn't understand because
bottles are associated with babies and
breasts aren't. i'm having deja vu here.
bottles are ubiquitous and breasts are
hidden. that's all!! okay i'm gonna
stop now, lol.
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AyaMiyaki
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Jun 2006 Posts: 8246 Location: Floating on a cloud, United States
Thanks: 168
Thanked:14
Posted: 07-14-07 23:29pm
kaerbear
wrote:
i agree with you. i just
think, is it any better if women are not
even willing to try because they feel they
can't do it because they've heard so many
horror
stories?
I think that's where you've misunderstood
me. I'm a huge breastfeeding advocate. If
you review my past posts, I'm always the
cheerleader in the corner waving a flag
and shouting "you can do it!". Quite a few
of the ladies have asked me if they could
pm me for help if they have trouble, and I
always say yes.
I don't try to scare them with horror
stories. I never tell them they can't do
it. I'm up front and honest with them that
the first couple of weeks will be hard and
trying, and I'm here to help them every
step of the way if they need that support.
If you're able to get over those hurdles,
breastfeeding becomes suddenly the easiest
thing ever and you can literally do it in
your sleep.
The one problem with overloading someone
with confidence is if they slip, they feel
like a complete failure. It's almost the
same as telling a woman "You can
absolutely do your labor pain-free!"
instead of saying "If you need the drugs,
you shouldn't hesitate, because labor is
hard and painful". It doesn't mean you're
pushing them to the drugs - you're letting
them know that they're not any less of a
person if they decide they need to go that
route.
We're all about positive vibes here. I
love breastfeeding, and I want to keep it
positive. I don't paint it with a negative
brush, and I also don't condemn people who
choose to formula feed. Having gone
through those first hard weeks myself, and
having witnessed other mothers going down
hard roads laced with depression and
rejection, I feel the need to soften the
steps for the ladies ahead so it doesn't
come as a huge slap in the face if it
doesn't work out. Breastfeeding is not for
every woman and baby, and saying otherwise
would make me feel extremely
irresponsible.
Again, I have nothing against you Karen,
and I don't want you to feel like you
can't express your opinions here. I don't
want you to hold this against me either.
It's simply how I feel, and the way I
choose to help women who want to take this
path with their babies.
|
kaerbear
Most Diplomatic Poster
Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1557 Location: ,
Posted: 07-14-07 23:31pm
Hollyberries
wrote:
My daughter is 6, and she
has been watching those baby shows with
me. They show mothers breast feeding. She
asked so i told her. She didn't have much
to say about it. Other than did you breast
feed me? And are you going to breast feed
the new baby? But anything under 4 might
be a issue
that's cute. my niece was breastfed and
she always used to want to touch mine,
lol. she would ask me if milk came out of
mine and i said no, not yet. this was
when she was still pretty young.
eventually she grew out of that but she
has always known that they are there for
feeding babies.
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kaerbear
Most Diplomatic Poster
Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Posts: 1557 Location: ,
Posted: 07-14-07 23:35pm
laura, i don't think we are even arguing,
lol. i feel the same way you do i just
would wish that women would not be scared
out of at least giving it a shot. that's
the same way i feel about natural birth
but i would never force that upon anyone
else. i guess i just felt misunderstood
too but i'm glad that's cleared up.
* ilovemyfishies (sorry i don't know your
name yet) i'm sorry that the thread veered
off topic. it was supposed to be about
which formula is best. sorry!
|
Dale123
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Posts: 697 Location: Barrie, On Canada
Posted: 07-15-07 00:34am
Breast milk is proven to be best for your
baby. If you're having problems there are
lots of classes and help out there. Also,
if its painful there are tips on that too.
I do not have any babies. So, I REALLLLY
can't set my opinion in stone. Because who
knows until I have a baby. From all of the
infant courses I have taken in college
most recommended was breast milk.. I don't
know.. I think I would do both breast feed
and bottle (pump) just to get the baby
used to a bottle for if I had to go out
when he/she was like 9 months old. (every
woman needs a break) Now, I work with
infants. Most of the moms breast feed in
the morning and we have pumped milk for
through out the day we give them the
bottle. at night they get breastfed again.
SO, I personally think its a great thing..
However can have down falls too.. One of
the benifits to pumping is that you KNOW
that milk is coming out for your baby.
Just last week one of the moms didn't
notice that her milk wasn't coming out
until she was pumping at home. Which is
good, because sometimes people don't
notice until there infant is dehydrated..
( Not peeing pooping etc etc) Another
story I heard when the baby was 3.5 mon
old he wasn't pooping. She went to the
doctor and the doctor said to water down
prune juice I think it was like 1 ounch
prune juice 2 ounce water three times a
day. AND that's what was keeping the baby
alive. So I don't really know how often
this stuff occurs.. I would just be
careful with it too.. OTHER REASONS..
(The nutritional advantages of breast milk
are certainly numerous. The amino acids in
breast milk, the building blocks of
proteins, are well balanced for the human
baby, as are the sugars (primarily
lactose) and fats. The baby's intestinal
tract is best aided in its digestion by
the vitamins, enzymes, and minerals found
in breast milk. Breast milk also contains
infection-fighting antibodies from the
mother, and breast-fed babies are believed
to be at a reduced risk for many acute and
chronic infections early in life. The
cholesterol content is also high in human
milk and very low in formulas. Cholesterol
promotes brain growth and provides the
building blocks of hormones, vitamin D,
and intestinal bile.
Breast milk is also the least expensive
way to feed an infant. However, the mother
must maintain good nutrition and continue
taking any vitamin/mineral supplements her
doctor recommended during the pregnancy.)
http://www.me
dicinenet.com/breastfeeding/page2.htm
Formula really isn't bad, but it isn't
great.
One thing I noticed our formula fed babies
are a bit heavier and they also have alot
more allergies.
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Dale123
Active User, Really EHEALTHy
Joined: 01 Jul 2007 Posts: 697 Location: Barrie, On Canada
Posted: 07-15-07 00:38am
Hollyberries
wrote:
My daughter is 6, and she
has been watching those baby shows with
me. They show mothers breast feeding. She
asked so i told her. She didn't have much
to say about it. Other than did you breast
feed me? And are you going to breast feed
the new baby? But anything under 4 might
be a issue
I think its good that you told her though.
Its natural I don't think that type of
stuff should be hidden away. Yeah at 6 she
probably didn't understand too much, but
still its good you told her becaus eif you
are going to breast feed the new baby. she
knows now its just natural. So when she
sees you it wouldn't be svary fo ryou.
Geeze around here people do it in public I
really don't see an issue. Babies need to
eat too.
sorry but this in my opinion
.......but i dont think either is the
best. But you wont know whats best for
your child till your child is here and
you try what the dr recommends for your
child
thats what i figured but my sister says
BRESTFEED BREASTFEED!
lol 'let em suck on your
boobie"
yeah, it seems so complicated sometimes
doesn't it? people have been doing it
since they've been having babies. i think
it's our culture or society or something
that makes us feel like there's something
wierd about it when it's really the most
natural thing in the world.
i read this on the la leche league website
and i thought it made a lot of sense:
In the United States and Canada,
bottle-feeding is the norm. We are a
bottle-feeding culture. We begin teaching
our children at a young age. Dolls come
with baby bottles. Most children's books
show babies with bottles. The idea is
perpetuated that animals breastfeed and
humans do not. Dr. Newman showed slides of
Canadian children raised in families where
breastfeeding is the norm. Little boys and
girls nursed their dolls. An Australian
aboriginal child was shown wearing a strap
with clay breasts to breastfeed her doll.
For many mothers, breastfeeding
information comes from formula
manufacturers. Breastfeeding mothers
pictured in the pamphlets are usually
plain with dark hair and appear to be
depressed. Bottle-feeding mothers are
blond, prettier, happier and the
photographs are brighter.
Many mothers are fearful of nursing in
public. A breastfeeding pamphlet picturing
both breasts exposed gives a subliminal
message that breastfeeding mothers must be
immodest, making bottle- feeding mothers
appear somehow more virtuous.
Many mothers fear that they will not be
able to breastfeed because there is
something wrong with their nipples or
breasts. They believe their nipples must
be as clean and tough as bottle nipples.
If a mother has flat nipples, how could
she breastfeed? But what woman has nipples
that look like any of the artificial
nipples on the market? A mother may offer
her baby a squeezed breast to try to make
it look more like a bottle.
Our culture values the concept of being
civilized. Civilized upper class women do
not breastfeed because they are not as
close to nature as women in developing
countries. And babies need to be civilized
as well.
Many parents feel most comfortable with
schedules and avoiding such practices as
comforting the baby and nursing the baby
to sleep.
As a breastfeeding mother in a
bottle-feeding culture, it was fascinating
for me to learn from Dr. Newman how the
beliefs of our society have been shaped.
Our values include modesty, science,
progress and civilization and these have a
profound impact on breastfeeding in our
culture.
well i know u all have seen many hispanic
women doing it well im not sure if im
going to be one of those hispanics who
just do it .... i heard that it hurts
well with formula feeding
you don't have cracked and bleeding
nipples and a baby having to suck on them
several times a day
lol
thats what scares me
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HcoBrunette06
Especially EHEALTHy
Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Posts: 8005 Location: Missouri, United States
Thanks: 2
Thanked:1
Posted: 07-15-07 09:06am
well all you can do is try the women here
think it's a good idea to at least try it
out. there are girls here who tried for
weeks and months and it just wasn't
working so they either pumped or switched,
their babies are healthy either way, but
the breast is whats best ( )
give it a chance because you never know if
it'll be easier for you or not. of course
it'll be hard, everythings hard! good luck
with your decision!
yeah, it seems so complicated sometimes
doesn't it? people have been doing it
since they've been having babies. i think
it's our culture or society or something
that makes us feel like there's something
wierd about it when it's really the most
natural thing in the world.
the women here
think it's a good idea to at least try it
out. there are girls here who tried for
weeks and months and it just wasn't
working so they either pumped or switched,
their babies are healthy either way, but
the breast is whats best ( 