Thank You for Breastfeeding Me, Mom
Posted by 
August 6, 2011 •
My mother breastfed me for about 6 weeks. I knew I’d been breastfed because my parents had told me that a few times throughout my life. When I was younger, that embarrassed me for some reason. It wasn’t until having my own daughter did I know any specifics of my nursing relationship with my mother.
She told me it was only for about 6 weeks. She wanted to breastfeed longer, but was worried I wasn’t eating enough. This led to the switch to formula.
This was 30 years ago.
If she had the support then that I had last fall, she might have nursed me longer. But, I’m still thankful that she tried and gave me a great start.
While we don’t always know someone’s full story, we should remember to acknowledge and appreciate those who tried. No matter what the end result was – they tried and any amount of breastmilk helps baby.
So, mom, I thank you. I thank you for trying and doing it as long as you could. Thank you for doing what you thought was best.
Tags: Breastfeeding, formula, Personal
I agree that the support was definitely lacking back then. As was the knowledge. my mom wanted to breastfeed me but the nurses told her since she was not able to breastfeed my brother (he had latch issues that I’m sure nobody even attempted to help them work on) it was better not to nurse me at all so she wouldn’t have a stronger bond with me than my brother. And since you can’t see me, I’m rolling my eyes!lovenbugs
O.M.G. I understand there’s the awesome bonding time but … WTH?! Sorry, wow. I know others who breastfed some kids but not all for whatever reason and I don’t see any favoritism. And yes, lack of knowledge too. My mom shouldn’t have been worried about me not getting enough because from what I understand – I was – but since she was unsure… the supplement cycle happened.Syrana
Aww. That’s sweet, I should call my mom and thank her for breastfeeding me too. =) It’s really too bad they didn’t have the education and support in that time period for many moms to succeed at breastfeeding.
“While we don’t always know someone’s full story, we should remember to acknowledge and appreciate those who tried.”
I love this and wish more people would think it instead of judging. Due to lck of support with my first I didn’t breastfeed her, I tried while in the hospital but she was lacking properly and the nurses were of no help. I’m breastfeeding my baby now, but only because I made sure to get support and learn what needed to be done before I had her.
It’s easy to make quick judgments, it’s harder to take the time to understand the full story.Syrana
I have to admit, I’m one of those people that has to work hard to not be judgmental. I’ve heard some weird excuses (in a very defensive tone) that just don’t make sense to me. I’ve gotten good at smiling and nodding.
Whenever someone I know mentions they plan on nursing, I always tell them if they have any issues to call me anytime day or night. Occasionally someone actually does & I feel great when I’m able to help them continue their nursing relationship, even if its only for a couple more weeks.savvycentral
I’ve heard some interesting excuses – I’ve even had a friend tell me flat out that she was too lazy to do it. I’m not perfect when it comes to not judging – but I try to at least keep the snap judgement to myself. Some people have to blurt it out right away.
I think it’s great you offer support – that’s what I try to do as well!Syrana
I stumbled on this via Twitter… it’s a very sweet post, and I appreciate your suggestion that we all stop judging each other.
However – I just want to point out that people may have reasons for breastfeeding that they just don’t want to share publicly, or even with friends. I run a blog about this stuff and I get emails weekly from women who are sexual abuse survivors, have eating disorders, are in abusive relationships, suffer from major depression requiring medication incompatible with breastfeeding… these are all reasons why someone might offer a “weird” excuse.
Don’t mean to sound preachy – the post was beautiful. I just wanted to point out that there might be more to the story than you might think when someone has chosen to formula feed.
I do recognize there might be more to the story for some. In response to someone else’s comment I said “It’s easy to make quick judgments, it’s harder to take the time to understand the full story.”
But I know my mom’s story. I know my friends stories (one friend openly admits she was too lazy to try). I don’t ask people I don’t know why they are using formula. Heck, I don’t even ask those I do know. They’ve offered up their reasons and what *I* usually hear is a result of lack of education and support. I do not shun those who use formula. But I seek to offer support and to re-normalize breastfeeding.
Also, I think it’s great that you offer support to those that are dealing with emotional stressors. Above all else, baby must eat… and mom and baby must be happy and healthy. One of my purposes with this post (other than offering a breastfeeding post daily during World Breastfeeding Week) was to remind us to acknowledge those that tried and for whatever reason didn’t continue. Too often I hear of women that tried and feel like they aren’t given recognition for that… and their efforts shouldn’t be ignored either in my opinion.Syrana