**Disclaimer for this blog: what I write about today consists of things and decisions that work for me and my family. I fully understand that the decisions I have made do not work for every family. This is a no judgement zone so please read with guards down. **
As you all probably know by now, I am very pro-breastfeeding. Max is almost 14 months old and is still nursing. I'm no longer nursing him on-demand- stopped that around 12 1/2 months- but we still nurse first thing in the morning and for bedtime. It's a super special time and the bonding experience is something that can't be matched. Before I was a mom and for the first several months of Max's life, I thought nursing a toddler was a bit strange. But, low and behold, it works for us and it's something I'm not ready to give up. So, with that bit of information about our current lifestyle, I'll tell you this: I am a "member" of a well known breastfeeding website's Facebook private group where you can go on and ask questions about breastfeeding and get amazing support from other nursing moms around the country. So, lately, I've been wondering a lot about real benefits of extended breastfeeding and how it really impacts a child's health and social wellbeing. Thus, i logged onto that group's site today and asked the following question: "Is there any research or do any of you think that breastfed kids (breastfed past one year) are sweeter/more kind/friendlier/better behaved (you choose the word) than those who are not?". Honestly, I thought this was a very valid question and I've been wondering this for a while just because it's such a loving act. Well, the admins on the site shut down my thread about 10 minutes after I posted it and claimed that my question could start a firestorm among other members who choose formula (keep in mind this is a breastfeeding support group). I don't know why but this REALLY bothered me. I try SO HARD to not push my opinions or judgement on anyone who chooses not to breastfeed. I am by no means perfect at that, though. I already hate that moms are against one another on so many topics and I was so upset that I may have just offended a whole slew of people. Seriously, I worried ALL AFTERNOON about this. I even chose to leave that group because I felt like I had disappointed someone by asking that question. Now that I'm writing this, it seems a little silly that I got so upset but this site has helped me so much in the past and has been a nice area to talk about something so special to me. (keep in mind, I don't have a ton of friends up here to talk to... unfortunately, groups like this have to kind of suffice.... don't judge. haha).
Then, tonight, I got a message from a woman who is also a member of that group. She's an older woman whose children are all grown. She's a BF activist and has been since the 1970s (she's a self-proclaimed hippy). She sent me a simple message asking why my question got closed down and that prompted a great conversation that simply made me feel much better. She didn't provide an answer to my question or anything but just knowing that someone else thought the same thing I thought was really nice. It's really the little things in life that can make such a difference. Sometimes as a mom, you can feel so isolated in the decisions you make... especially when they aren't the most popular among your friends or family. So, to get a simple supportive message from a total stranger was pretty awesome and totally turned my day around!
Just thought I'd share. Never underestimate the power of a simple note of encouragement!
xoxo,
Chrissi
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