I'll be upfront here and now: I breastfed both my children. I am one of those extended nursing, boob out in public, crunchy lactivists you sometimes hear about. I am delighted that breastfeeding is on the rise in the United States. Unfortunately, in their zeal to fight the uphill battle, most nursing mothers have to face, some of my fellow nursing proponents have become... well... they've gotten to kind of be a**holes to our fellow mamas who choose, for whatever reason, not to breastfeed. They vilify infant formula. They belittle the mothers who opt for it. And that is crap. It is complete crap and I will not stand for it. While they've personally never attacked me (despite the fact that my first child regularly received formula in addition to breast milk), their slights against other women raise my hackles and I feel the need to jump into the fray.
Let's be clear for a minute: This is not by any stretch all or even most nursing moms who do this. We're talking a vocal minority here. Moreover, even within that minority, not all of these condescending jerks are nursing moms. Literally anyone can be guilty of shaming moms who choose to formula feed. Crunchy moms. Not crunchy but still breastfeeding moms. Childfree women. Dads. Childfree men. Some pediatricians. The list goes on.
Unfortunately, I know too many of my fellow mamas who have had to deal with this crap. So, on their behalf, I would like to shut down the haters with 11 valid retorts to their judgmental condescension and concern trolling.