Long before my son entered this world, I knew I wanted to give breastfeeding my best shot. It was important to me that I breastfed my son, for all the reasons most people want to give breastfeeding a shot: so we could bond and I could share that experience with him and he could get the nutrients and anti-bodies that he needed. But I would also be lying if I said the stigma surrounding formula feeding moms didn't play a roll in whether or not I would try to breastfeed my son. Because, well, it did.
I didn't want to be seen as a lazy or selfish or bad mother. After all, I was just getting used to the label "mother" and didn't think I could handle a negative identifier attached to it. So, I tried breastfeeding and (thankfully) I was successful. I breastfed my son for seven wonderful, tiring, exhausting, and sometimes painful months.
Then, all of a sudden...my son stopped eating. He was self-weaning, and wouldn't breastfeed any more. I continued to try to breastfeed, but it wasn't working. I began to worry that my son wasn't getting enough nutrients. I was forced with a decision I thought I no longer needed to contemplate: Do I formula feed my baby and risk looking like a lazy, selfish, bad mother (even though I logically know better)? Or do I continue to try breastfeeding and risk my son losing precious weight?
Turns out, the decision (while heartbreaking for me) was also an easy one. It also made me face myself and the many lies I had told myself about formula feeding; the lies that made me feel great (and at times, almost self-righteous) about my decision (and ability) to breastfeed.
So in the name of transparency, self-love, and honesty, here are the 10 absolutely bullsh*t things I told myself about formula feeding while I was too busy trying to be the perfect mother. It's time we moms cut the crap, and start being kinder to ourselves (and one another).