Food or Lewd?

Speaking of food... I have a Snicker's cheesecake (homemade from scratch) sitting in my fridge for my sister's birthday tonight. It smelled really good when I took it out of the oven yesterday. Chocolate Teddy Graham crust... Cream cheese... Snickers... More Snickers... C'mon 6 o'clock.

But that is WAY off topic of this post. I just wanted to share the torture of that cake.

This just won't go away... Another article on breast feeding in public...

The debate rages on...

Now, I am all about nursing. I nursed Brenna for a year and plan to do the same with Caelan. In fact, I have no other option with Caelan as she adamantly refuses to even consider taking a bottle. I nursed Caelan on our flights to and from Dallas with no problems. I even nursed her at the gates in the airports. I have nursed her in the car in restaurant parking lots. And I take full advantage of the nursing rooms in the malls.

In all cases I was discreet. I covered Caelan with a blanket and made sure (in the airports) that I was in a relatively quiet area and would not disturb people. In the parking lots I will park in an empty area. I do these things because they are common curtesy. I would not nurse my baby in a Victoria's Secret, or in a busy food court. I really don't care if the law allows me to or not. Nor would I throw a fit if I were asked to cover up a bit if I were nursing in a restaurant. It's just curtesy. Which seems to have disappeared along with common sense.

In this article was a passage about infant formula:

Part of that may be due to the popularity of infant formula, particularly in past generations. It was first developed in the 19th century, but it wasn’t until the 20th century that it was embraced as the modern, hygienic way to feed babies. Because early infant formula was so expensive, it gained popularity first among the upper classes.

“Now the resurgence of breast-feeding is following the same pattern,” Peters says. Many studies say that low-income, less educated women have lower breast-feeding rates than wealthier women.

I thought this said alot. Why do you think wealthier women nurse more than lower-income women? It could be looked at from a lot of angles, I suppose.

1) I suppose we could be termed as "wealthy" although I see us a middle-class. I nurse because it is, well, FREE. Infant formula is expensive and I just can't even consider buying something to feed my baby that isn't as nutritional as what I can create using what God gave me.

2) "Wealthy" women, working or no, have more opportunity to stay home, maybe? Although I argue that because many women return to work after 6-12 weeks and pump. But, still, pumping is equal to nursing, in my book.

3) WIC. I think this is most of the reason. WIC provides formula for low-income families. And if someone else is paying for it why not take it, right? In the hospital you are now given forms to apply for WIC. Everyone is given them. I was urged to fill them out when I had both girls. I refused them and was visited by a social worker who urged me- again- to fill them out. Her reasoning? "Almost everyone can get this assistance." WHAT? There is a problem with the system, sister. (But that is a whole nother subject and I can feel myself getting off track)

Nursing my children is one of my greatest joys. Granted, I don't feel that way when it is impossible for me to leave Caelan for more than 3 hours (when will she take a bottle? It's the same stuff; just a different container...) but it is a joy nonetheless and one that will disappear before I am ready to let it go.

As the saying goes "Discretion is the better part of valor". A little discretion never hurt anyone, no matter how you view your rights. Everyone has rights, there is no need to trample on others just so you can flaunt your own.

As a note: the part about bodily fluids in the pool- I would have been pissed about that. That's what the chlorine is in there for. And I would much rather take my chances with a tiny bit of breast milk than urine, thankyouverymuch.