It’s World Breastfeeding Week (or Month, depending on what post you see). This is also the month that I have chosen to stop nursing (exclusively pumping / combo feeding) Matthew and I thought I would share a bit about our breastfeeding journey on the off chance that it might bring comfort to another new mama out there with a similar experience while she discerns what’s best for her family.
Let me preface this with the following: I was formula fed. I was also raised by parents who worked full time outside of the home, went to public school, and was delivered via cesarean (including an epidural). And I turned out fine.
There is no “right” way to raise your baby. As long as you are loving on that sweet child, you are doing what’s best.
These seem like ridiculous statements to have to make, but I know a lot of women who’ve been criticized for the way they choose to raise their kiddos. A friend of mine was stopped by a stranger in the grocery store while buying formula and told that breast is best. Another friend’s sister was criticized by her doctor for choosing not to breastfeed. The comments I hear from people who assume I went to private school about public school education are laughable. And the level of superiority some people feel for birthing vaginally – especially if they did it un-medicated – is sad.
And I know that because of a lot of these stories, I have found myself personally defensive about my choices in parenting and have even felt like a failure – and I’m only four months in!
So, I want to be clear. This is simply my experience. It’s not meant to be a “this is the right way to do it” post. My story may parallel yours, it may not. You may relate to some of my feelings about nursing, and you may not. Either way, that’s fine.
The main reason I’m writing this all down is because the biggest comfort I’ve felt in my parenting journey so far, is friends sharing they’ve had similar experiences.
When I announced I was being induced, I was shocked at the number of friends who shared positive induction experiences. And when I shared my difficulties breastfeeding, I was similarly met with the solidarity of women I love, some that were right there in the thick of it with me. In fact, when I was deciding whether or not to stop nursing, it was a post from a friend articulating similar feelings that, in a sense, gave me permission to follow my instincts and set an end date.
My hope is that this post might offer some of that same sense of solidarity I’ve been blessed with. Our mothering journeys may be eerily similar or radically different, but in the end, we are mamas aiming to do what is best for our sweet babies. And that’s really all we need to worry about.