Another reason I wish I breastfed

Last night I almost wiped out and I would have taken Ryland down with me. He was up for his usual 4:30 snack time so I grabbed him and went to fill the bottle up, Mark left a belt and a shirt on our floor and I first stepped on the metal thing on the belt (which I broke) and then slipped on the shirt. ugh. The first thing I said was "this is why breast feeding is so much easier", the convenience of never having to leave the bed is something I am SO envious of. I also have come into the bad habit of falling asleep in bed while feeding Ryland, which usually results in the bottle leaking all over the bed, Ryland and me. Nothing quite like waking up soaked in formula..

A friend of mine was telling me how this week is world breast feeding week, more info can be found here. I couldn't believe some of the things she was telling me regarding the amount of women (in her state) that choose not to breast feed or stop breast feeding at 6 months. Its something Mark and I have discussed, mostly because we just can't understand the logic behind it. Besides the obvious benefits nutritionally of breast milk, why would ANYONE choose to spend an extra $30+ a week to buy formula when they could be saving that money and breast feeding?

 I was thinking about this and thought, maybe its that women are ashamed about breast feeding. Maybe the looks of strangers at a restaurant, in a store, comments made by pediatricians, family and friends has completely pushed the average American woman to not want to breast feed. From what I hear from friends, television etc, it seems that instead of encouraging women to breast feed they are told their children SHOULD be on formula. 

I know the night I gave birth Ryland was feeding like a mad man. One of the nurses came in to check on me and had asked when the last time he ate was. I told her he had been feeding on and off all night, she looked at me like I was an idiot (and to be honest, after that look I thought I might be). She said "oh he shouldn't be feeding that often, would you like me to give him some formula so you can get some sleep?". I being a first time young mom, stupid and uneducated before having my son thought that my natural instinct to feed him was wrong and I trusted that what the nurse said was right, I mean hell-she worked around newborns all the time. Looking back, I'm so angry still about the situation. Why do medical professionals encourage women to use formula? This woman knew I planned on breast feeding, but still said I should supplement with formula.

 I know that there is some monetary incentive (I was handed 2 large bags of formula samples as I left the hospital) but is that money enough to compromise children's health? To affect a bond between a mother and her child? To add extra expenses to the family's bill? I just can't imagine that people that would dedicate their lives to taking care of infants and helping bring children into the world would say that money is more important than overall health (mental and physical) of children and their families.

When did the majority of the population start to feel that breast feeding was inappropriate for shopping malls, restaurants. I've heard some crazy things come from people's mouths like "breast milk spoils after 6 months and they need formula", "breast milk isn't as nutritious as formula", " if you breast feed a daughter you'll make her a lesbian and if you breast feed a boy you're being disgusting". HOW DID THESE IDEAS COME OUT? Why do people think its odd to breast feed a child over 6 months of age??

I didn't expect for this post to get so long, or even go in this direction. I was just thinking..