On Booby.

Abby mentioned in the last entry that she didn't understand breast feeding snobbery. Well, I do. Allow me to elaborate.

Before you read below, I'm not talking about breast feeding women. I'm talking about breast feeding bitches. HUGE difference. Breast feeding women are women who breast feed their children. Breast feeding bitches are women who breast feed their children and also make you feel like shit for not breast feeding yours.

Needs:

The main reason people bitch, whine and cry about things is because their needs are not being met. Work is SO hard (I'm not getting the recognition I need), my husband is an ass (I'm not getting the love I need), breast feeding is my sacrifice (I'm not getting the appreciation I need).

The "problem" with breast feeding is there is no pat on the back. Your baby doesn't look at you and say, mom, thanks man. Your husband doesn't gloat to his friends what an awesome mom you are because you are breast feeding your child.

The point is, the only recognition you get is from other women who support breast feeding. They fill the need that you are in fact self-sacrificing yourself and doing a good job. So, if you are a breast feeding snob, when others come along who do not breast feed, it's a knee jerk reaction to automatically justify your choice. You need them to look at you and recognize your accomplishment. No one else is patting them on the back, so you better damn well do so.

Guilt:

In addition to fulfilling justification, there is a secret pleasure that comes along with breast feeding. The act of a child suckling on your breast makes you feel good. The intense bond that you are essentially giving life and using an object that for most of your life viewed as a sexual part, is instead given to your child. Some women can't admit or handle the fact that they get pleasure out of breast feeding (I'm not talking about sexual pleasure, although I've talked to many women who have actually climaxed while breast feeding).

This can also create a knee jerk reaction to over shadow hidden embarrassment. I'm not breast feeding because I enjoy it, I'm breast feeding because it's good for my baby. As a new mom, many women think taking any delight in the baby process should never overshadow you new role as a sacrificing mom. If you're going to be a martyr, you can't act like you like your job.

Insecurities:

These women really can't justify why they are breast feeding. They know that the nutrition is supposed to be better, yet so many formula fed babies turn out just as normal as other kids. Breast feeding is a choice that is supposed to make your baby better and your motherhood better, but, yet it's turning out the same as bottle babies.

So, because they are not fully confident in their decision, it makes them feel better to make those who did not breast feed feel like crap about their choice. Sadly, these insecurities are never fully repaired and will often lead to more and more justifications as to why they took a hard road.

Random Editorial:

A common phrase tossed around is that breast fed babies can not sleep through the night, so the mother's exhaustion is justified because they are giving breast milk. Formula fed babies are taking the easy way out because they want sleep. Both statements are false.

Breast fed babies can in fact sleep through the night just as quickly as formula fed babies. There is no difference in rate of digestion, there is no difference in calories. Analysis has shown that they, in fact, digest at the same exact rate. A few people claim there are, yet can provide no evidence of this. That is because it is just heresy thrown around by those who want to justify.

To formula feed a baby is not taking the easy way out either. It is a pain in the ass to wake up, make a bottle, heat it up, test it, feed, burp, and throw the bottle in the sink (or floor!). With breast feeding you can roll over, stick them on and even fall asleep while they eat.

Here's where the "sleep through the night" comes into play. A breast feeding mom is quicker to offer the breast to get their baby back to sleep while a formula fed mom will try just about anything else (pacifier, rocking, diaper change, shhhing, patting, rain dance) to keep from walking to the kitchen with a screaming child. So formula fed babies get used to not eating at night quicker than breast fed babies.

Definitely found that true with ours. We'd feed at midnight, and if they'd wake up at 2am crying, there was no way I was going to get back upstairs after my 1 hour of sleep and make another bottle. I'd give myself 10 minutes of other methods. After that I'd try a bottle in case of a growth spurt. But, I never had to go get another bottle, pacifiers and butt pats.

Now let me say this again (I've said it before on here). I am pro-breast feeding. I think it's wonderful. I wish I could have done it but I couldn't. I have no guilt, shame or regret. I just get extremely angry when I see breast feeding bitches put other mom's down. Motherhood is freaking hard. There is enough guilt to last a lifetime (I can't believe I pinched their stomach in the car seat buckle!), the last thing another mom needs is someone telling her she isn't doing her job right.

Seriously????????