National Breastfeeding Month doesn't feel like it's something I'm included in. As a mom who didn't really breastfeed, I feel excluded in the celebration of motherhood that seems to be taking place.
I hold the belief that mothers should try to breastfeed, but the stigma of forcing yourself— until you have nothing left—seems very drastic and the opposite of what healthy is. So this month of celebrating that is supposed to bring us all together as mothers actually widens the divide amongst those of us who couldn't, or chose not to, breastfeed.
I didn't breastfeed my daughter, even though everything I read told me that, in order to be the very best mother, breastfeeding is what I needed to do. If I didn't nurse her, then my child would certainly suffer and would not succeed.
It wasn't that I didn't try, but that first day in the hospital she wouldn't latch. That was frustrating. I worked with a lactation consultant, yet she still refused to latch. After a few days at home, crying and beating myself up, I finally made the decision to pump and supplement with formula.
RELATED: Growing Confident Kids Means Honoring the Every Moment
Sometimes, I would lay awake wondering if I was poisoning my daughter. That's what the moms on my mommy board believed. I watched their back-and-forth comments to each other, shaming the mothers who admitted using formula, comments like, "You obviously don't care about the well-being of your child" and "You know that's basically abuse right?"
I've kept these sentences with me even after all these years. If I pulled out formula and a water bottle to make my 4-month-old's "meal" and I was in public, I never did it with confidence. Fellow mothers had no problem letting me know how upset with me they were. Women who didn't know me, or know my child, would make comments about how I didn't try hard enough, that I was more concerned with "convenience." Clearly they had never used formula, because whipping out my boob would be the more convenient option.
When I sat and thought about this, I realized that even if I'm not breastfeeding my children into toddlerhood, I was loving my children the best way that I could.
Despite that, I don't regret not choosing to pressure myself into breastfeeding. Six years removed from early babyhood, I still have conversations with mothers who kind of look at me sadly, as if they have some sort of pity for me. Except I don't think I understand why this is. I understand why breastfeeding is important, but I also know that raising a healthy child is something that matters much more. Why aren't these mothers celebrating the fact that my children are thriving? And growing?
Why are they so focused on whether my children were breastfed or not?
When my son was born, he latched perfectly, but then would take his time eating. After his birth, we sat in the hospital amazed by him, but I was so tired. Eventually, I asked my husband to ask the nurse for a small bottle of formula so he could help me out and feed him while I slept. The nurse was mortified and reprimanded us for about 20 minutes. Twenty painful minutes of my baby screaming, and me losing my mind because I was tired. We eventually gave in to her scolding, and I breastfed him while crying because I just wanted to sleep.
Being a parent, especially a mother, is rough. You feel more often than not, that you're braving the seas alone.
Every night while both my children were babies it wasn't me who got up with them, it was my husband. He fed them every single night, and I think that was one of the most special things about me not breastfeeding. Feeding was more of a family affair—it wasn't just between me and them. My favorite memory from my son's first week home was when we were feeding him in the middle of the night, and my daughter, who is only 14 months older, got up and joined us in the bed. She held his bottle that night and, from then on out, would feed him for at least one meal until he was old enough to feed himself. Even after that he would insist that she help feed him. When I sat and thought about this, I realized that even if I'm not breastfeeding my children into toddlerhood, I was loving my children the best way that I could.
And it was felt and seen.
I believe that breastfeeding is something women should be able to do without shame. But I think that this should be extended to women who can't and don't breastfeed as well. I see women standing up for breastfeeding daily, yet I rarely see them standing up for the women who don't do it. The long-term outcome is healthy children and, to get to the goal, there are many avenues mothers will take. I say we stand together and support each other in achieving these goals.
RELATED: The Lines On My Body Tell My Story
Being a parent, especially a mother, is rough. You feel more often than not, that you're braving the seas alone. I will not support any celebration that encourages even more divide or this feeling of loneliness. So, while I celebrate the mothers who breastfeed, I will also celebrate those of you who do not breastfeed.
Because ultimately I'm celebrating you loving your child the best way you can.
