quirks about breastfeeding & bottlefeeding

I am all about feeding babies, however it has to happen but lately a few things have been sticking out to me.

I was watching a cartoon today and on the show all the babies were being bottle fed and it occured to me, do they ever show breastfeeding on tv? I dont think Ive ever seen it! Have you?

Then this evening I went to the grocery store and a mom had her kid sitting in the front of the cart with his head tilted back on the metal behind him (a blanket was drapped over it) while she fed him a bottle still pushing her cart around! I understand desperate times call for desperate measures but whether babies are bottle fed or breastfed IMO they should be held to the maximum extent possible. Anyone else agree/disagree?


So those are the 2 quirks that were on my mind. Anyone else have any of their own to share?

 

Totally agree. A child should be held to be fed. Come on in the grocery cart how not comfy. True the no BF on TV deal. I actually watched a movie tonight that slightly made the mention to a mom breastfeeding. She offered the breast and not a bottle. Don't really see it on TV sad.

I can't stand dirty kids. Like obvious booger nose kids who need some one to care enough to wipe their nose for them. That really blows my skirt up.

 

About BFing publicity - here's something that really made me laugh. A local museum has not only bathrooms but rooms for taking care of babies. The signs pointing the way have the usual man/woman logos for the bathroom - and then a bottle for the baby room. You'd think a museum with gallery after gallery of nudes could have a little boob logo or something! :lol:

About the shopping cart - I do believe that babies should get lots of hugging and snuggling. Feeding is a great time to do that. But it's not the only time. Sure, I'd find it very sad for a baby to have a bottle propped on a regular basis while mom (or dad, or grandma, etc) was busy with something else. But in that grocery store, I'd only give that mom a big smile of sympathy. As soon as you have kids, you need at least 48 hours in the day, and it is just so hard to cram everything in!

 

CNN had this report the other about how early rapid weight gain in infants can lead to obesity later. They only showed bottle feeding; not a single mention of breastfeeding. On the up side, I suspect that this problem is much less likely with breastfeeding, but it is interesting that they didn't even portray breastfeeding as an infant feeding method.

In terms of holding babies while feeding them, well I guess I'm gonna have to disagree with y'all on this one. Obviously I had to hold the boys while breastfeeding, but they usually got 2 bottles a day from 2-4 months. I know by the end of October, which was 4.5 months we got them to hold their own bottles, and I was thrilled especially given the fact that they were mostly breastfed. It also helps that I had gone back to work and their Dad needed to bottle feed them during the day. I'm sure it made his life way easier.

 

QUOTE(fuchsiagroan @ May 9 2009, 06:35 AM) [snapback]1306653[/snapback]
You'd think a museum with gallery after gallery of nudes could have a little boob logo or something!

:rofl: So true!

I know a lot of people who bottle feed do hold and snuggle their babies the majority of the time, especially when they're little. Once they get old enough to hold the bottles, though, I think it's a skill they are happy about. I know a friend lets hers drink in their carseats...when she first said it I thought the same thing about the lack of snuggling, but then immediately started wishing we could do that once in a while! It might be nice to have something to keep them calm in a store! I guess it's similar to people giving cheerios or whatever other snack in a cup when they are out with toddlers, just another way to keep them happy while you run an errand or whatever.

Ok, I have two things:
1. I've heard people say that using a nursing pillow is the equivelant of using a bottle prop, like you can just set the baby/babies down and let them do the work without interacting with them. Maybe it's true in some situations, like when they used to nurse for 40+ minutes at a time, I did find a way to go online while they were nursing because the pillow made it hands free, but IMO, I was still cuddling and interacting for most of it. Now that the sessions are short, I have no choice but to interact since their little hands are all over the place and they usually look at me, but back then, they were so focused on eating!

2. On an episode of House, they had this earthy crunchy couple with a baby who was loosing weight. The mom said she put the baby on a raw food diet after she stopped BFing...but the baby only looked maybe 6-8 months tops. A raw diet? Come on! I'm all about BM or formula for at least the first year...so I didn't like that it made it seem like you could just stop BFing and think the baby would be healthy without anything else. Maybe you can, I'm no expert, but I feel like I've had to explain BFing for at least a year so many times that it just irked me to see them act as if a mom who was so concerned about the baby eating healthy would justy up and stop BFing that early with no replacement. Correct me if I'm wrong, vegans!

 

Before the twins were born, when my DD would feed her baby doll, she would give it a bottle; now she just lifts up her shirt! It's pretty cute to see a 5 yr. old breast feeding her baby doll.

 

QUOTE(E&Msmom @ May 8 2009, 11:00 PM) [snapback]1306592[/snapback]
I was watching a cartoon today and on the show all the babies were being bottle fed and it occured to me, do they ever show breastfeeding on tv? I dont think Ive ever seen it! Have you?


i can't think of a single time i've seen a woman BF on tv (other than on TLC's Baby Story, but the number of times it then goes on to say they had to supplement, or stop, or whatever is pretty astounding).

i also hate that it's always women cleaning in tv commercials, and that labouring women are almost always shown pushing laying down, on their backs, with an epidural (and the few times they do choose to show a home birth or other option, it's usually the one that ends up being transferred to hospital for whatever reason).

now that i have 2 daughters, these types of potentially negative or demeaning systemic & influential images about women are becoming even more upsetting to me.

 

QUOTE
it just irked me to see them act as if a mom who was so concerned about the baby eating healthy would justy up and stop BFing that early with no replacement. Correct me if I'm wrong, vegans!


That's just insane. A baby's primary source of nutrition for the entire first year should be breastmilk or formula. Eliminating either altogether at 6-8 mo, regardless of what food replaces it, is incredibly stupid and risky.

Also, a raw food diet is just not sustainable even for most adults. Very hard to get adequate calories/nutrition that way. A vegan diet, OTOH, is no problem. You have to be careful about certain vitamins and minerals, but even babies thrive on vegan diets. (With babies/toddlers, you'd want to pay particular attention to fat intake, too.) Vegetarian is even easier, piece of cake.

 

QUOTE(mamabee718 @ May 9 2009, 10:23 PM) [snapback]1307352[/snapback]
2. On an episode of House, they had this earthy crunchy couple with a baby who was loosing weight. The mom said she put the baby on a raw food diet after she stopped BFing...but the baby only looked maybe 6-8 months tops. A raw diet? Come on! I'm all about BM or formula for at least the first year...so I didn't like that it made it seem like you could just stop BFing and think the baby would be healthy without anything else. Maybe you can, I'm no expert, but I feel like I've had to explain BFing for at least a year so many times that it just irked me to see them act as if a mom who was so concerned about the baby eating healthy would justy up and stop BFing that early with no replacement. Correct me if I'm wrong, vegans!


I saw that episode too, totally didn't get that couple at all!

As far as the OP, I agree about the BFing on TV. I don't think I have ever seen it. If we can watch people mime sex, we can certainly watch people mime BFing. Oh wait, I think I may have seen some BFing on King of Queens, can't remember for sure.

I wouldn't judge the "not holding the baby while bottling" too quickly though. I have a daughter with serious oral issues. She wasn't born that way, but developed them around 4 months due to a milk protein allergy. It's so severe that there was a time that you couldn't even touch her mouth without her becoming hysterical. Very sad Anyhow, all that to say that I am the only one that can hold her during a feeding and even then she won't really suck. It's more of a snuggle time to her. So she does most of her bottling herself, propped up on a pillow or something and we do other sorts of snuggling/bonding times. I was very worried about that at first, but her therapist says that her emotional needs are obviously being met. She said Abby has come up with different ways of connecting to people she loves than through feeding (which is typical during the baby stage) because she has had to since feeding hasn't been pleasant for her in a long time. Just another POV.

 

I saw it once, well it was mentioned. There's a BBC show called Ballykissangle and during the course of the show one character has a little boy. I remember one scene where they show her holding a bottle, but then later in the series she's running a bar and her husband had to bring the baby in at night because he wouldn't sleep unless she nursed him. She lamented that she couldn't drink because of this. Then later she said he took a bottle to sleep and she was celebrating with her friends that she could drink again. I watched it on netflix instant play, and it really stood out to me because I had decided to bf my twins so it was on my mind. That's all I've seen. I agree, if you can have all sorts of sexual content, what's wrong with feeding a baby? That's kind of messed up, you know.

 

I think the most "media attention" I've seen with breastfeeding lately was when Angelina Jolie was on the cover of a magazine nursing her twins (I posted the link here in BF a while back). That and when JLo was so public about her decision NOT to BF her twins.

Come to think of it, I've NEVER seen reference to BF on TV, aside from news stories, etc.....nothing on sitcoms or other TV shows. Interesting...

QUOTE
I agree, if you can have all sorts of sexual content, what's wrong with feeding a baby? That's kind of messed up, you know.


Agreed. Do you think BFing is purposely omitted because of showing gratuitous (LOL!) boob? Or do you think it's something that TV/movie execs just don't think about??


edited: because apparently I can't type well...

 

They showed it on Sesame Street, it was a very long time ago! 1977 to be exact!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3DWRhfNm4c


there is another one too!

breastfeeding.blog.motherwear.com/2008/09/maria-breastfee.html - 36k -


Sesame Street ROCKS!

 

QUOTE(MissyEby @ May 10 2009, 07:18 PM) [snapback]1308118[/snapback]
They showed it on Sesame Street, it was a very long time ago! 1977 to be exact!!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3DWRhfNm4c
there is another one too!

breastfeeding.blog.motherwear.com/2008/09/maria-breastfee.html - 36k -
Sesame Street ROCKS!



Cool links!

So funny Holly, I would expect a nice boob shot too.

BF is picking up in the media I think...hopefully it will just happen more and more. About the mom in the grocery store, that does sound a bit icky, but I try not to form opinions after I've had every single ideal I was going to hold myself too shattered at one point or another. I can't imagine feeding one of my babies while grocery shopping when they were little (or now), but I know that there are always strange circumstances that call for strange choices.

 

Sorry icky old FF mom here. Saw this thread and I'm only going to address the feeding in the grocery store comment. I have Thursday afternoons free as my only errand day. My mom takes A&B, I have C with me. He tags along to all the errands I have to run. Sometimes I lose track of time or don't time things correctly, and his feeding time is at a time where I am out in a store or the mall or whatever. I only have till 4:30 to get everything done. So, do I stop and find a place to sit? Well what if there is nowhere to sit? Why is it so incredibly awful to hold the bottle while the baby is sitting in the cart? Now that I'm thinking about it, I've done it in the stroller at the mall with the girls because it was easier to keep moving than find a place to sit. Because he got one feeding out of the whole day while he wasn't held, that's so horrible? I know I didn't always hold the girls either. Just visit FY and you'll see I'm not the only one. I sometimes would have one kind of propped against my leg, and the other in my lap. Or both in their infant seats facing me, and I held the bottles up.

 

QUOTE
Then this evening I went to the grocery store and a mom had her kid sitting in the front of the cart with his head tilted back on the metal behind him (a blanket was drapped over it) while she fed him a bottle still pushing her cart around! I understand desperate times call for desperate measures but whether babies are bottle fed or breastfed IMO they should be held to the maximum extent possible. Anyone else agree/disagree?


I have seen a mom of twins breastfeed one baby, while bottle feeding the other who was propped up in a carseat... at a restaurant. She was at the same time encouraging her older son to eat his chicken. Should I have judged her for not holding her bottle fed baby?

If you are all about feeding babies, why should how another mother does it bother you?

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ May 10 2009, 10:21 PM) [snapback]1308190[/snapback]
Sorry icky old FF mom here. Saw this thread and I'm only going to address the feeding in the grocery store comment. I have Thursday afternoons free as my only errand day. My mom takes A&B, I have C with me. He tags along to all the errands I have to run. Sometimes I lose track of time or don't time things correctly, and his feeding time is at a time where I am out in a store or the mall or whatever. I only have till 4:30 to get everything done. So, do I stop and find a place to sit? Well what if there is nowhere to sit? Why is it so incredibly awful to hold the bottle while the baby is sitting in the cart? Now that I'm thinking about it, I've done it in the stroller at the mall with the girls because it was easier to keep moving than find a place to sit. Because he got one feeding out of the whole day while he wasn't held, that's so horrible? I know I didn't always hold the girls either. Just visit FY and you'll see I'm not the only one. I sometimes would have one kind of propped against my leg, and the other in my lap. Or both in their infant seats facing me, and I held the bottles up.

:thanks:

QUOTE
Then this evening I went to the grocery store and a mom had her kid sitting in the front of the cart with his head tilted back on the metal behind him (a blanket was drapped over it) while she fed him a bottle still pushing her cart around! I understand desperate times call for desperate measures but whether babies are bottle fed or breastfed IMO they should be held to the maximum extent possible. Anyone else agree/disagree?

If I was at the grocery store and it was feeding time, I am pretty sure I would not have pulled the cart over, taken out the baby and fed in in the aisle. I also would not have rean out of there in the middle of my shopping if I could have given the bottle right there. It is very possible that the grocery store trip at the time a bottle was needed, was the only time the mom could have gotten out that day.

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ May 10 2009, 07:21 PM) [snapback]1308190[/snapback]
Sorry icky old FF mom here. Saw this thread and I'm only going to address the feeding in the grocery store comment. I have Thursday afternoons free as my only errand day. My mom takes A&B, I have C with me. He tags along to all the errands I have to run. Sometimes I lose track of time or don't time things correctly, and his feeding time is at a time where I am out in a store or the mall or whatever. I only have till 4:30 to get everything done. So, do I stop and find a place to sit? Well what if there is nowhere to sit? Why is it so incredibly awful to hold the bottle while the baby is sitting in the cart? Now that I'm thinking about it, I've done it in the stroller at the mall with the girls because it was easier to keep moving than find a place to sit. Because he got one feeding out of the whole day while he wasn't held, that's so horrible? I know I didn't always hold the girls either. Just visit FY and you'll see I'm not the only one. I sometimes would have one kind of propped against my leg, and the other in my lap. Or both in their infant seats facing me, and I held the bottles up.


Formula feeding is fine- thanks for commenting on this I guess the cart thing really bothered me because the childs head/neck was laying across the metal grate part of the back of the childseat it looked horribly uncomfortable. Strollers are so much more comfy and at least they have a slight recline feature.


QUOTE(Anne-J @ May 10 2009, 07:36 PM) [snapback]1308200[/snapback]
I have seen a mom of twins breastfeed one baby, while bottle feeding the other who was propped up in a carseat... at a restaurant. She was at the same time encouraging her older son to eat his chicken. Should I have judged her for not holding her bottle fed baby?

If you are all about feeding babies, why should how another mother does it bother you?


Nope shouldnt have judged her at all. Her hands were obviously full! Thats why I mentioned IMO they should be held to the maximum extent possible, given the circumstances you described thats clearly the maximum extent. I dont necessarily think of it as judging others but watching how they parent and then helping myself decide how I want to parent. Some people encourage me to do things, other people discourage me from doing things.

I just wanted to know what others views were- not a debate- just honesty. Thanks for replying

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ May 10 2009, 08:21 PM) [snapback]1308190[/snapback]
Sorry icky old FF mom here. Saw this thread and I'm only going to address the feeding in the grocery store comment.



Alright, I'm going to address this because you used the word "icky" and that's the word I used, so I'll assume it's at least partially directed at me. I hope you'll re-read my post and see that I said that I wouldn't judge things I see because I haven't been able to keep up on any of the ideals I've thought I would at one point or another in my 15 years of parenting. Nobody said anything about FF nor do we in this forum. If you read in here often, you'll read that most of us are supportive of moms feeding their children however they see fit. THE END.

The reason I don't judge how others feed, or manage their children in grocery stores, etc. is partially because I remember a time when my dad took us 3 kids to Sears on a Saturday. We were crazy, all over the place...nutso kiddo's... my sister who was 3 at the time got away from him under my watch (I was 10) and climbed up on a display toilet and did her business. Of course, he was embarrassed and had no idea what to do. He alerted a staff member and offered to clean it up. She said (and I'll never forget) "This is why moms need to be around, why on earth would a mother let her husband drag her kids all over a hardware store?" My dad said, "Good point." The truth was, he was a home-builder and his wife (our mother) died 9 months earlier...he had no options so he would often "drag us all over hardware stores" just to keep his head above water while raising three kids and earning a living. We laugh a lot about that now, but never forget how gracious my dad was and how often things are so different than they appear.

My twins on more than one occasion in the last month have caused such scenes in grocery stores that I was sure we were going to be escorted out.

When I was BF I was desperate for them to take a bottle so I could prop them up on a pillow, in a car-seat, with a sitter...whatever just so I could get a break.

So, if you read any judgment in my reply about what may appear to be a "less than best" way to feed your child (in a grocery cart as sited in this example) you either didn't read it right, or I wrote it wrong. I have zero judgement of a mom feeding her kids a bottle and no concern over it's contents. I said "while it may appear icky", I did not say one word about formula and I also explained that things aren't always what they seem, which I know first-hand as most of us do.

(ETA: My first child was for the most part FF - I BF for 6 weeks, then formula - again, I have no judgement about FF and in my 22 months participating in this forum have never witnessed such)

 

QUOTE
lright, I'm going to address this because you used the word "icky" and that's the word I used, so I'll assume it's at least partially directed at me. I hope you'll re-read my post and see that I said that I wouldn't judge things I see because I haven't been able to keep up on any of the ideals I've thought I would at one point or another in my 15 years of parenting. Nobody said anything about FF nor do we in this forum. If you read in here often, you'll read that most of us are supportive of moms feeding their children however they see fit. THE END.

No Liesel, it was NOT directed at you. I didn't even notice you use the word "icky". Please.
I just don't normally read this forum or post, I just saw the post from "view new posts" and it mentioned the shopping cart thing, which I've done, so I thought I would explain why I did it. I guess because the title was "Quirks about breastfeeding & bottlefeeding" it seemed like it was a "OMG, do FF people really do this?" I've had a nursing friend tell me she sat in the backseat and nursed her baby while he was in the carseat, is that really any different?

 

QUOTE
I understand desperate times call for desperate measures but whether babies are bottle fed or breastfed IMO they should be held to the maximum extent possible. Anyone else agree/disagree?


QUOTE
I guess the cart thing really bothered me because the childs head/neck was laying across the metal grate part of the back of the childseat it looked horribly uncomfortable. Strollers are so much more comfy and at least they have a slight recline feature.


Which is it? The child was uncomfortable or it should have been held to the maximum? You didn't mention the child's comfort at all initially and clearly said what your problem with that mother was. Please don't backpedal.

Here's my quirk contribution. While I appreciate that this is a breastfeeding support forum, I fail to understand the need to put down a bottle feeding mother who was feeding her child and not dangling him upside down from her shoulders with a bottle shoved in his mouth. Unless, it's an attempt to feel just that tad bit more superior in some way, which I hope isn't the case, although it clearly comes across as that in threads such as these. "Oh look I saw a ff mom today and what she did was SO not right IMO Tsk Tsk, I hold my baby when I feed him so I'm doing it right, right?"

I'm not here to debate you, just honestly disagree and honestly share a quirk which I think is sad... As asked in the OP.

 

Everyone who has ever used a stroller or a carseat carrier or even set their awake infant down in a bassinet hasn't held their child to the maximum... or does this only apply for feedings? I'm very confused about what exactly the point is here. And if you're worried about the kid's neck angle, well, watch a kid fall asleep in their convertible carseat sometime. They're really quite flexible at that age and I promise he would have protested if it bothered him. I also read this post as a "see the bottle feeding mommy not holding her child while he eats -- tsk tsk" sort of post and this is one of those things that encourages a division between bottle and breast feeding mommies... and I exclusively breastfed for more than the first six months and extended nursed far beyond the first year so you're not just offending bottle feeders.

And yes, it bothers me that there is so much more bottle feeding shown on TV than breastfeeding. Just watch a soap opera when a baby is born sometime and you can tell which company paid for product placement. It bothers me even more that if you watch daytime TV they show formula ad after formula ad... not to mention all of those "parenting" magazines. Not sure I'd call it a quirk as much as a shame because as much as I like to believe in free will, I also believe that there is influence by immersion.

 

QUOTE(Snittens @ May 11 2009, 06:19 AM) [snapback]1308289[/snapback]
I've had a nursing friend tell me she sat in the backseat and nursed her baby while he was in the carseat, is that really any different?


LOL - I did that a bunch of times when I got caught out with them in the beginning - if they are screaming for food, you find a way!


As for the OP, I don't think she was trying to put down FFing moms or even moms who bottle feed EBM (especially since she did that for one of hers!). I see people doing all kinds of things with their babies that make me go hmmmmmm just because I'm a new mom trying to figure it all out and other people make VERY different choices than I do. I think moms who have BTDT tend to be more relaxed in their approaches (at least compared to me!) because they already know that babies aren't as fragile as we like to make them out to be. It does seem uncomfortable to have a baby bent back over metal rails to eat, but probably no less comfy that when my two are trying to poke each other in the eye nursing tandem :unknw:

 

About the TV: I didn't actually see this, but DH did and he thought it was pretty funny. Apparently the mom on "Family Guy" had been breastfeeding (don't know if they actually showed it, and it's a cartoon besides, but it was the topic nonetheless) Stewie, who's portrayed as being about a year old or so. He was getting really clingy, and the mom was trying to wean him, which he was not into at all. So that night there's a scene of him sneaking down the hall with a breast pump going to his mother's room, saying in that random accent "I'm going to get what is rightfully mine!" I don't know if he succeeded or not, but from the general nature of that show I imagine it was irrelevant. At least they were talking about breastfeeding

 

QUOTE(andrew/kaitlyn/smom @ May 11 2009, 07:25 PM) [snapback]1309597[/snapback]
About the TV: I didn't actually see this, but DH did and he thought it was pretty funny. Apparently the mom on "Family Guy" had been breastfeeding (don't know if they actually showed it, and it's a cartoon besides, but it was the topic nonetheless) Stewie, who's portrayed as being about a year old or so. He was getting really clingy, and the mom was trying to wean him, which he was not into at all. So that night there's a scene of him sneaking down the hall with a breast pump going to his mother's room, saying in that random accent "I'm going to get what is rightfully mine!" I don't know if he succeeded or not, but from the general nature of that show I imagine it was irrelevant. At least they were talking about breastfeeding


speaking of Family Guy, there's another episode where Peter, out of curiosity, tries BFing Stewie. i have to admit, i laughed pretty hard.

 

QUOTE(andrew/kaitlyn/smom @ May 11 2009, 08:25 PM) [snapback]1309597[/snapback]
About the TV: I didn't actually see this, but DH did and he thought it was pretty funny. Apparently the mom on "Family Guy" had been breastfeeding (don't know if they actually showed it, and it's a cartoon besides, but it was the topic nonetheless) Stewie, who's portrayed as being about a year old or so. He was getting really clingy, and the mom was trying to wean him, which he was not into at all. So that night there's a scene of him sneaking down the hall with a breast pump going to his mother's room, saying in that random accent "I'm going to get what is rightfully mine!" I don't know if he succeeded or not, but from the general nature of that show I imagine it was irrelevant. At least they were talking about breastfeeding


I saw that one. She was trying to wean because he was biting. So, she tries to give him a bottle of formula telling him that's it's formula and it's supposed to be just as good and he tastes it and spits it out shouting that it's horrible and asking if she's trying to poison him.

In the end, she gives up and nurses him. At first he resists because he's worked so hard to break his addiction but then he goes ahead and says hilarious things between sucks about how great it is. And yes, they show him latched and his head obscures the breast.

 

QUOTE(debid @ May 12 2009, 06:47 AM) [snapback]1309985[/snapback]
I saw that one. She was trying to wean because he was biting. So, she tries to give him a bottle of formula telling him that's it's formula and it's supposed to be just as good and he tastes it and spits it out shouting that it's horrible and asking if she's trying to poison him.

In the end, she gives up and nurses him. At first he resists because he's worked so hard to break his addiction but then he goes ahead and says hilarious things between sucks about how great it is. And yes, they show him latched and his head obscures the breast.


That's right! I remember a reference in Family Guy years ago when I was like like... well, let's just say back in the '90's. I never really watch it, but if I remember right, the parents had gone to someone's house, and the mom there was breastfeeding and they said "Would you like anything to drink?" and the guy pointed to the baby and said "I'll have what he's having." :rotflmbo:

This has to say something about us culturally that the only time we see breastfeeding is in a cartoon meant to spoof life.

One thing though, I wonder if it's just more convenient to film a bottle than a breastfeeding scene. --

Sorry, I'll explain later, Bob's freaking out.

 

I was reading a book on breastfeeding - don't remember if it was Mothering Multiples or not - but one reason it gave for why breastfeeding is so much better than bottle is because when a baby is taking a bottle, they're looking at the bottle, but when they're breastfeeding, they're looking up at your face. I'm thinking huh? Which way do your nipples point? ardon:

 

QUOTE(Rebekah J @ May 12 2009, 07:47 PM) [snapback]1310953[/snapback]
I was reading a book on breastfeeding - don't remember if it was Mothering Multiples or not - but one reason it gave for why breastfeeding is so much better than bottle is because when a baby is taking a bottle, they're looking at the bottle, but when they're breastfeeding, they're looking up at your face. I'm thinking huh? Which way do your nipples point? ardon:



Whoever wrote that must have never bottle fed a baby before...or maybe mine just didn't do it right :rotflmbo:

 

When mine nurse, they're mostly looking at each other. Or at the drawstings of my hoodie. Or at the fasteners of my nursing tank. Uh oh, they're emotionally starved! :lol:

 

QUOTE(Vivian @ May 12 2009, 05:07 PM) [snapback]1310809[/snapback]
This has to say something about us culturally that the only time we see breastfeeding is in a cartoon meant to spoof life.


I'm not sure this is a bad thing-we tend to make jokes about things that we recognize as being normal (like the 3 seasons in New England: Winter, Mud and Poor Sledding) rather than things we don't know about or don't understand (I have no jokes about the seasons in Arizona or the rain forest because I've never lived there), and if the writers at Family Guy think that breastfeeding is normal enough to make fun of, then maybe it's a positive thing, in a circular sort of way.

 

jumping in here to defend TV...

I remember when Rachel had Emma on Friends, they showed the baby learning how to latch.

i'm pretty sure they showed breast feeding on 7th Heaven and probably on ER.

 

I'm wondering if one of the reasons you don't see it very much is it would be something of a nightmare to film. I mean for basic storytelling type things. Filming babies is pretty difficult I understand, and trying to film breastfeeding when the actress playing the mom may not be the mother of the baby actor. It may just come down to it's easier to film a baby and bottle, or a baby with a binki (what I usually see when the baby isn't in the show or movie very much) or something a long those lines than to film a baby breastfeeding.

 

QUOTE(akameme @ May 15 2009, 01:08 AM) [snapback]1314616[/snapback]
jumping in here to defend TV...

I remember when Rachel had Emma on Friends, they showed the baby learning how to latch.


That's right! Only it was a doll and she wasn't holding it right :lol: I'm joking though, I understand the logistics are difficult and since Jennifer Aniston has never actually had a baby, or course she wouldn't know how to hold it during BFing. I didn't with mine at first either.

 

There are a couple episodes of Scrubs that deals with breastfeeding

 

Another TV example... I've been watching West Wing reruns and the episode was just on when Toby's ex-wife had their twins. There is a scene at the hospital where she is nursing one twin while he holds the other baby. I thought that was kind of cool. On ER I believe it was discussed (and maybe shown?) that Carol was bf'ing twins. And there was a scene with Abby pumping in the doctor's locker room in an episode after her son was born. Then you have your reality TV... Michelle Duggar is always interviewed with her baby in a nursing sling on 18 Kids and Counting. I watch a lot of TV, but I can't think of anything else that hasn't already been mentioned!