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Monday

Jared B

Jared B by Kat-er-rina
Jared B, a photo by Kat-er-rina on Flickr.

March, on the way home from school :)

Monday

Some things that bug me

I felt like having a rant today, about all the things that get on my nerves. You may not agree with the things I say, but this is my opinion. Mostly parenting related irks!

I'm going to start with baby dummies. I hate them. They interfere with breastfeeding, so annoying to see a baby who is being breastfed with a dummy, and then the mum to moan about having trouble feeding - so don't use a dummy? Even worse is kids older than 2/3 still using dummies. I understand that if you use them its your choice, and you have to fight that battle for your child to stop using them one day too, but I personally don't like them and think they look gross!!!

Bottles. Well not bottles exactly - Its about mums that don't try but first I want to talk about formula and breastfeeding - THIS IS ALL IN MY OPINION! Please don't take offence!

 Yes formula feeding saves lives - without it many babies would starve. So in that sense its a wonderful invention - But that's all it is, a recent invention. We have managed to survive since life began without the need for artificial milk. I still appreciate the fact that many mums have health issues (which is why I guess we used to have wet-nurses) so will use formula and that's fine. I totally understand the fact that breastfeeding for some is hard, it can hurt, it is not always as simple as the NCT or attachment parenting articles make it out to be. There are so many things that can effect breastfeeding, and all those issues are totally understandable, and acceptable, formula saves babies from being hungry, and saves a lot of mums from pain.
 In fact I think bottle feeding is harder than breastfeeding, sterilising bottles at all hours, making sure you take milk out with you, etc. I applaud mums who use bottles for those reasons!

Luckily I had it easy, I was very lucky to have a good start with feeding. But I also had such a mindset about how I was going to feed my baby that I didn't even buy bottles or have formula in the house - I had a manual breast-pump someone gave me, which came with some bottles (no teats), but they got left hidden away in a cupboard (until one day I did attempt to manually pump, but got a dribble out after about 10 mins of pumping!)

 Jared was underweight anyway when born (tiny 5lbs 1) and the hospital made me stay in longer than I wanted to he also lost weight after birth, he was also very yellow (Jaundiced). I did worry they would make me use a bottle, but nobody ever mentioned it.
 There was one point where they hooked me up to a machine I can only describe as being like a cows milking pump and all they got was a tiny bit of yellowy liquid out which they said was like gold, and was amazing. I had a few doubts!  I had great midwife's they helped me get it right in hospital and I'm so grateful for that hospital stay now - I hated it at the time, just wanted to be home! Jared eventually put on weight - very slowly. I saw the health visitor and doctor at his 8 week check. I was still breastfeeding - I didn't have his weight checked again professionally in-till he was about 2 year old. I breastfed my son for 10/11 months, he had some solid food from 5 months, and more and more as he got bigger and moved straight onto cows milk at 11 months as he wasn't feeding as much with milk, was eating more solid foods so got all his goodness from food by that stage. (which is still somehow controversial as formula/breast-milk is advised for the first year, and solid food from 6 months, but this is still recent advice). I used a lot of my own judgement when it came to feeding my son.

 I think my experience with easy breastfeeding sometimes clouds my judgement about formula feeding - I'm honest about this though. I enjoyed feeding my son myself. It saved me a lot of money too! I also had no health issues with him in the first few years of his life. I may have deprived myself of any kind of decent sleep pattern and never went out. I fed him in public rarely, but I did it when I had to. I stayed at home a lot for those first 10 months mostly (except for family and friends homes). I cherish that first year. Breastfeeding didn't stop my partner bonding with his son either! - much the same as formula feeding wouldn't have stopped either of us having that "magical" bond you apparently get through breastfeeding. He fed from me and also mostly slept on me for those first few months. I became his food and his dummy! His sleep became an issue because of the feeding! He wouldn't sleep on his own I had to rock him to sleep (or feed him to sleep) each time he woke - and I did till he was a year old then had to do horrible controlled crying, which was the hardest think ever, but it worked!

 But I still stand by the fact that if breastfeeding is making your life a misery then use formula, don't let your baby go hungry or your nipples feel like they are falling off!

My problem is the mums that make no effort to even try and breastfeed. The mums that don't even consider it. The mums that don't want to breastfeed because they think its weird, or think that boobs are sexual and that's it! The mums who think there boobs will be ruined because of feeding (come on you were pregnant they already did a lot of stretching then!) The mums who don't try. The mums who most likely could feed, but just don't even attempt it, the ones who think it will be too much hard work! Come on who wants to make up bottles at all hours of the day, do sterilizing and warming up milk in the middle of the night, when you can just pop them on a boob and its on tap all the time! (yes I know its not that simple, but at least give it a go first, Even if its only for the first few weeks or days!!!)
I also hate seeing toddlers with bottles - especially over a year 1/2 old with juice in a bottle! Use a beaker, a cup and straw, whatever, milk is for bottles not everything else when they are that age!

I know I don't have a baby any more and these particular  issues don't effect me right now, but its how I feel. Its my opinion!

I have another ranty blog to write - But I'll save that for another day!!