Waxing political

I rarely, if ever, weigh in on something very polarizing and political, preferring to keep my crazy-ass, makes no sense, middle-American views to myself.  As a mother who breast fed and formula fed two children, I'm gonna tell you what I think.

Mayor Bloomberg is a freaking idiot who has no clue what a shitstorm he has created by banning formula in NYC hospitals.  Has he ever tried desperately to get a newborn baby to feed, having had his breasts manhandled by every boob Sergeant in the hospital "qualified" to "educate" him about the proper form?

Has he ever sat in tears in that hospital room because his child won't nurse, feeling the waterfall of guilt because he thinks that he is the worst mother ever because he can't figure it out and everyone tells him it's what he needs to be doing?  Wrap all that up with a giant swell of new-mother hormones and you have yourself the perfect storm.

I've been that woman.  I watched my healthy baby whittle away in the hospital because the nurses refused to give me formula, telling me my baby wasn't actually hungry and that eventually, with the right coaching and practice she would be able to nurse.

I sat there for three days recovering from an unexpected c-section listening to all the "experts" about properly feeding MY CHILD, and watching them poke her sweet little pink baby foot to be sure her blood sugar was OK.

Finally, FINALLY, I woke up from the narcotic pain meds they were pushing on me and demanded.  DEMANDED. I DEMANDED that they give me a bottle of formula, after the fourth or fifth la leche freak came in and squished my swollen milk dripping breast into the face of a baby who was too pissed and too hungry to think about "latching on". 

The nurse brought me the bottle and told me I was wrong, that she wasn't hungry and that breast feeding is so natural and wonderful and that eventually she would never nurse if I gave her the bottle and thousands of annoying excuses as to why I was doing damage to MY child.  MY CHILD.

My child, who wasn't hungry according to the experts, pounded a 4 oz bottle of pre-mixed baby formula.  I got her home that day, and later in the afternoon after all the "experts" were thankfully out of MY LIFE and MY BUSINESS, I opened my shirt, cradled my sweet baby girl to my breast and watched her latch on and nurse.

That's why Mayor Bloomberg is an idiot.  No one has the right to tell any woman what she can and should be feeding her child.  No one, but that woman, should decide.