The Mommy Blawg

GOT MILK?

Recently, a relative passed along a copy of the August, 2003 issue of RealSimple magazine. In general, I was not too impressed. For one thing, the magazine is filled with advertisements of more things to buy, as if that will make our lives simpler, not more cluttered (have too much clutter? Visit Flylady.net ). However, I was amazed (astonished, perplexed, aghast) by the article on p.137 which is heralded by the cover headline "20 time-wasting rules to break now." Among the time-wasting rules to break: Don't breast-feed your child.

So I was glad to see that Mothering Magazine included the RealSimple article as a recent Action Alert. There is even a boycott organized, and Promom is hosting a letter writing campaign.

There are some valid reasons to feed formula. There are good reasons, bad reasons, and sad reasons. But feeding formula is never simpler. Once, in a tent at an airshow, I saw a young woman with a crying baby trying to fix a bottle. She held the screaming baby with one hand while, with the other hand, opened a bottle of water, poured the water into the baby bottle, replaced the lid on the baby bottle, and shook it. All the while the baby was crying and she had the attention of the entire tent. She was sitting in the back corner and, had she been breastfeeding, she could have been feeding her baby before he had even worked up a fuss and no one would have even noticed.

Here are some good links as to why breastfeeding is better. And I could not end this blawg entry without mentioning my favorite breastfeeding site, Breastfeeding.com.