First published on The Contented Calf website on Tuesday 13th August 2013.)
A couple weeks ago, I wrote a blog post about the struggles both breastfeeding and formula feeding mums can face with judgement, guilt or embarassment – Feeding our children with love – and how this seemed crazy to me, and it had to stop. We must must must support each other. We musn’t get embroiled in ‘The Mummy Wars’.
From The Contented Company you will get no pressure, no judgement - just support of your choice.
So when I saw this video on You Tube as part of the ‘I Support You’ Movement, it brought more than a tear to my eye. Have a watch.
“We all feed our children differently, but we are all feeding with love, and in ways that work for our individual circumstances and family dynamics. “I Support You” is the first step in helping formula-feeding, breast-feeding, and combo-feeding parents come together and lift each other up with kindness and understanding. We asked parents to send in message of support; this is a collection of some of the submissions we received. It’s time to demand better support for all parents. The revolution starts now.”
– Kim Simon, Jamie Lynne Grumet, and Suzanne Barston
As Kim, Jamie and Suzanne say, we are all feeding with love. That’s all any parent ever wants to do. And as Contented Calf’s slogan is “Helping parents feed their children with love”, this campaign has really resonated with me.
So watch, enjoy and feel supported, however you feed your children.
As ever, with love from our family to yours,
Stay safe and keep well,
Elena x
Find out more:
Kim Simon aka Mama by the Bay
Now I am a Breast-Feeding Mom, and I get funny looks and nasty stares when I nurse in public. I feel everyone’s eyes on me. I feel shame, and embarrassment. I am different.
I am tired. I am angry. I refuse to carry the weight of everyone else’s judgment anymore.
mamabythebay.com/2013/07/30/i-support-you-2/
mamabythebay.com/2013/08/04/this-is-what-support-looks-like/
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Jamie Lynne Grumet aka I Am Not The Babysitter
I remember the first place I felt judged was in the mothers’ nursing room at church when Aram was a little over a year. A flippant comment from a mother in the room made me realize I was out of the “safe” zone for breastfeeding. …. After the Time cover came out, comments about child-led weaning (ranging from the ignorant to the ridiculous) made me realize how lost we were as a society. Here we are arguing about multiple healthy options to nourish, love, and parent our children, when in reality we are wasting our energy worrying about nothing when there are legitimate concerns about nutrition in our own country and globally.
www.iamnotthebabysitter.com/i-support-you/
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Suzanne Barston aka Fearless Formula Feeder
Just because someone doesn’t parent exactly the way that you do does not mean they are judging your choices. The I Support You movement is a launching pad for us to start fresh – to teach the next generation of moms that to be a breastfeeding advocate does not necessarily mean you have to vilify formula; that there’s a way to be positive and empowering in your advocacy. And, for formula feeding moms, I Support You challenges us to stand up for breastfeeding rights; to understand that nurse-ins are not about formula hate, but rather a protest against misogyny and conflicting messages (“breastfeed or else, but not for too long or in front of me”… I mean seriously, what kind of bullshit is that?).
www.fearlessformulafeeder.com/2013/08/i-support-you-yes-and/
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