Tracy Oldfield

If this looks odd, it's cos it was 3 separate emails that I decided should go together, but I don't want to spend time editing them now.  Hope no-one minds :-)
 
Bridget, I know what you mean.  I don't want to get offensive, but I don't mean that formula is 'just as good.'  It's an inferior product, but babies can still thrive on it, my own daughter, touch wood, has no physical problems with it.  The point is that unless people take breastfeeding down from it's pedestal and say 'This is the natural thing to do,' some people are going to hold it up as an unapproachable ideal, which I did to an extent with the general lifestyle portrayed in the Art of Breastfeeding (GB and NZ version from about 10 years ago.)  I was heartbroken when I couldn't continue breastfeeding Heather, partly because I'd held it up so high.  Anyway, I've been sent the article I was talking about, I'll attach it.  If the group doesn't accept attachments, I can send it privately to anyone who wants it, or if the consensus of the list agrees, I can cut-and-paste it to the list.  It explains what I mean much better than I can :-)
 
Tracy
 
PS  Support for parents interested in child-led weaning can be found at [email protected]
 
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Stephanie, you both deserve a big round of applause for being open to discussion, with your past experiences, and your dh's reservations about the benefits.  I know you wanted the discussion closed, but I would like to add a few more thoughts.  You don't have to read them if you don't want :-)
 
I am glad that you have reached a decision that works for you both.  And while I understand the desire for the husband to bond with the child, I think I have to point out that there are so many ways that we bond with our babies, feeding is only one of them.  There are many breastfeeding fathers who feel well-connected to their children, and their partners no doubt feel indebted for their commitment to their families' well-being.  Yes, expressing milk is the next best thing to breastfeeding, with, according to the WHO other mothers' expressed milk next and formula fourth and last on the priority list.  I would add other mother breastfeeding (in cases where maternal breastfeeding is not possible, rather than not desired) 'wet nursing,' below maternal breastfeeding in this list, because there is much more to breastfeeding than nutritional content.  This is what was so upsetting for me. I knew that while some babies have allergic reactions to formula, some babies suffer medical problems later in life due to bottlefeeding, I have not suffered any visible effects (yet) from being bottlefed.  I wanted my children to experience the whole experience of breastfeeding, the skin contact, the physical developmental differences...  I wanted to experience breastfeeding, the hormonal rush, the skin contact.  It was particularly important for me since Heather had spent time in SCBU that I become the only person who could provide this for my daughter.  Other people can do anything else for a baby, and in some societies, even breastfeeding is widely shared.  But it is a very special thing for a mother to share with her baby, and I am glad that I experienced it, and still do, with my second child.  Now, if only I could persuade her to stop.... <g>
 
Thanks for listening here, and I hope your dialogue continues, since I think that parenting issues are never really closed.
 
Tracy
 
PS  I have to admire your commitment to expressing, I found it to be very difficult and did not produce enough to feed my daughter fully after a few weeks, even though I had provided for her completely while she was on the SCBU.
 
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Wendy, you're right, that's why I made the point that I don't speak for LLL earlier :-)
 
But I'd be interested to know what exactly you think gave LLL a bad name, either on or off list.
 
Tracy