Shut it Gisele

This morning I saw many articles about a statement that model Gisele Bundchen made saying that there should be a worldwide law put into effect making every mother breastfeed her baby until the age of 6 months. (To see the entire article, click here)

I don't even know where to begin to discuss this ridiculousness. First off, I wasn't aware there was a committee that enforced "worldwide laws." Does a representative from each country meet each year in a secret cave under an active volcano and discuss worldwide law enforcement? Does this mean that the puppet movie Team America: World Police is actual a documentary? And secondly, why is anything this dumb stick says newsworthy? I have it on good authority that her "natural birth" was not so natural after all. She gave birth just 6 days after I did in the same hospital, and I know people that know nurses who were there with her and it turns out she ended up having a c-section after all. So there!! Where was I going with this??

As you all know from my many posts about it, I pumped and bottle fed my daughter for 15 weeks of her life. For the first 8 weeks of her life I tried relentlessly to breastfeed her, with help from professionals, with no luck. I do wish it would have worked, because in some ways it would have made my life easier (pumping sucks big time), but I am happy that I stuck it out for the 15 weeks that I did. I struggled with the decision to stop, but after much back and forth, I decided I wanted my life back, and we turned to formula. I think I felt guilty about it for about 30 seconds, and then I was over it.

It was a seamless transition to the formula, for all of us, and our lives were in no way changed. My daughter has been healthy pretty much from day one, and gaining weight like every other breastfed baby out there. I no longer felt guilty for having a glass or wine, I could now eat whatever I wanted, my boobs were my own again and I was not a slave to my daughter's schedule...or the pump for that matter. It does stink that she no longer eats for free at Boober King though as we now dole out about $100 a month for special formula that helps with her reflux.

So why does this model chick now think that I should feel guilty about my choice to give my baby formula? Who is she to say what others should be doing with their babies? I know plenty of mothers that have formula fed their babies from basically day one, and their babies are healthy and strong and growing just fine.

She asks "are you going to give your child chemical food, when they are so little?" Yes Gisele, I give her a detergent chaser after each meal. While I know formula is not an equal match for breastmilk by any means, it has become extremely close in the past few years. And sometimes people don't have a choice but to give their babies formula woman! I have a friend that couldn't breastfeed her baby due to medication she had to take to remain healthy. No way should someone like that feel guilty.

I guess my main problem with this chick is that she thinks she knows what is best for everyone. Yes it worked for her, and that is great, but don't impose your opinions on everyone else. You should not make any mother feel guilty about making the choice not to breastfeed. You have not been in their shoes, you don't know why they chose to do what they did.

What are your thoughts on the issue?