Fried Eggs and spilt milk

An interesting article takes centre stage in talk radio today as (mostly men) decry the deputy editor Kathryn Blundells' (of Mother and Baby magazine) stance on breastfeeding. She outlines her case, centering on wanting to keep her body taut and her breasts for entertainment, while I believe she wanted it to come across as sassy it bricked harder than SATC 2. I know she was attempting to reach women who felt guilt for bottle feeding but the thin line between independent woman and mother is a difficult path to tread. I recall Gordon Ramsey stating that he never changed a nappy in his life and being lauded but Madonnas admission of same of leading to horrified reactions. Whats good for the goose is not for the gander.

I was lucky enough to breastfeed, I nursed my son until he was nearly three, which raises eyebrows to this day. I was 20 when I had him, young enough to appreciate the A to D size increase and also young enough to want to keep feeding for fear of returning to the land of fried eggs. I also returned to a size 8 within 2 months and never,ever had a sleepless night, I was so connected I would wake seconds before him and latch on, for you see I also committed the sin of sharing the bed with him. Motivations differ for everyone, my main motivator has always been somebody telling me I couldn’t do something.

I had to stay with my parents after he was born, they were horrified by my decision, I was forbidden to feed in front of anybody in the family, at one stage I remember my father coming into the room and saying that he would pay for the food, whatever food I wanted to give him, just stop the stupidity. I had countless bouts of mastitis in the first month and my public health nurse came around and recommended I put the baby on a bottle as soon as possible as I was too young for this (all this ‘advice’ circa 1997). I had support coming out of my ears.

I was not lucky enough to plan and want a baby, but when I got him I made damn sure I gave him everything I could, he didn’t have a €900 buggy but he had me. I carried him and fed him for 9 months, why stop then?. While I’ve learnt a lot over the years on genetics and temperament and I know all too well the dangers of anecdotal evidence, I still attribute much of my little mans, kindness, sociability and empathy to being so close during those first years. People have always commented on him, so I guess there must be something in the nurture half. There are other benefits, the lack of bottles and sterilising, the weight loss and grab and go baby packing. I empathise with women who for whatever reason cannot feed, I remember feeding through nipples that looked like they had been sanded off and rubbed down with salt, the teething phase and I still tingle there when I hear a crying infant. Perhaps if my parents had been more supportive I would have given up. I’ve never really been any good at doing what they told me to do.

What really creeped me out about Kathryn Blundells’ article is her comment on the creepiness of looking down at a baby latched onto a nipple where previously there has only been a lover. Does she get sexually stimulated at a smear test?