After I had DS, I was chatting to an elderly neighbour, who I am extremely fond of. She was admiring him and asked me whether I was nursing him myself. I replied that yes, I was and she said he looked well on it, etc, etc. and te conversation moved on (probably to how much hair he had - that's still a favourite topic for people!).
But I wonder...how would I have felt if I had been bottlefeeding him after not getting the support I needed to breastfeed successfully? It was touch and go in the beginning - I found it very difficult and painful and am sure that had I done as I now recommend to people (ie seek the help of a breastfeeding counsellor), I wouldn't have had nearly so many problems!
It just made me think - I went away from this conversation happy , but had I been bottlefeeding, I think I would've been very upset and felt like she was 'getting at me'. How we feel about our choices very much affects the way we react when asked a perfectly innocent question. My neighbour wasn't trying to get at me or make me feel uncomfortable, she was simply asking a perfectly understandable baby-related question. It was my feelings that affected how I reacted - and like I say, it didn't even cross my mind that I could've been upset by this question if the situation was different till about 7 months later!
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Infant feeding
How we feel about our choices
20 replies
HunkerMunker · 22/01/2005 11:41
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lockets ·
22/01/2005 11:45
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