First, go to this
link and view the flow chart, then come back. Be warned, this may offend some, but it is hilarious.
Now that you have had a laugh, you can read the rest of my rant.
I can usually be pretty levelheaded about a lot of things. There are two things that I cannot stay levelheaded about: incompetence and incorrect information (usually leading to generalizations). Needless to say, I encountered both today.
The first was incompetence, but what else should I expect from customer service at a certain warehouse store? Good thing I didn't renew my membership!
The incorrect information is really what this post is about. There is a group that I follow on Facebook (hence the link above) that is geared towards younger mothers. I like the page because I feel there is information I can add, from my experience, to help these younger mothers (teens and early 20's). Today, one of the admins went off on a tangent about a mother at Wal-mart who had a screaming child. The mother sat down on a bench and lifted her shirt to "whip out" her breast to feed her daughter. The admin started going off about how she should have covered or gone to her car and no one needed to see her breasts. I, and many others were furious. Yet, it wasn't so much these statements that got my blood boiling, it was the comments made by the administrators later on in the discussion. One told a story about how a woman in line in front of her and her younger brother started to breastfeed her child and she asked the woman to go elsewhere and the woman went off on her (as would I). The person telling this story then went on to say that if she was a man, she wouldn't whip her penis out and display it to everyone. SERIOUSLY! How can anyone be so inept as to try and compare the two! Then there was a discussion about the sexuality of breastfeeding and how husbands shouldn't see another woman's breasts. Someone tried to say how the main point of breasts was to feed a child, but everyone seemed stuck on the sexual aspect of it. Sorry to tell you, when it comes to the evolution aspect of the human body, women's breasts were designed to feed their children. Anything else after that is just a bonus.
On top of this, the women attacked the mother for not having a cover. They felt that you should have a bottle or be prepared with everything you need. Otherwise, you should go out to the car.
The thing that upset me the most about this entire thread was the group it took place in. Those who breastfeed, or at least try and stay informed about it, know that the number of teen and younger moms who breastfeed is very low. For a page that is geared towards this age group to start badmouthing a mother for breastfeeding her child is horrible. Can you imagine the discussion if she had ignored her baby's cries to avoid breastfeeding in public? I understand wanting to vent (hence, this post), but the way this was handled was inappropriate. Instead of belittling this mother, a discussion regarding covering while breastfeeding or appropriate places to breastfeed could have been started. The thread then wouldn't have reached the outrageous tone that it did.
It also upsets me that it was felt as though this mother, and others, don't know their children well enough if they don't know when they will want to be fed. I am the first to admit that I carry the bare minimum nowadays. If I think I may be eating at a restaurant or be someplace that may not normally have someone breastfeeding there, I will bring a cover. For the most part though, I make sure I have fed Sweet Pea and changed her before we head out. When we get to a store, I take the wet bag, stick a diaper, cloth wipes, solution and my forms of payment and head in. When you have two kids, the last thing you want to do is drag a huge bag in and out of the store with you. Most of the time, I can do a few stores before Sweet Pea wants to eat. Other times, like today when she is teething, she wants to nurse more often. Am I going to leave my cart and drag her and Wildman out to the car just to nurse where I won't offend anyone? NO! I am going to try and be discreet, but she is my number one priority at that moment.
I just hope that the discussion didn't dissuade some mothers from breastfeeding because they are more concerned about what other people think instead of considering what is best for their child.
One last note, another page that I have been following is also frustrating me because there is a mother who's son is having some similar problems to what Wildman has been having and there are people left and right telling her that a chiropractor will fix it all. I have tried to put all the info in regards to our situation and what we have found and what we are doing, I just hate when people assume a one size fits all approach. I hate to break it to them but a chiropractor will never be able to fix everything. That is why there are doctors who specialize in every part of the body.
Alright, enough for now. I must need to get a sandwich so I don't end up in the insult inferno (again, read the link above).
OK, last thing, keep Wildman in your thoughts. We have two different specialists for two different issues that we are heading to this week. We wanted to get it all done before vacation so we weren't focused on the issues and could have fun. I am sure everything will be fine, but I go through "mommy moments" where I feel like my little man is falling apart!
I am really done now!
