When I became a mother, I knew my life was going to change and that includes my interests. Typically, when someone works hard at something and is successful at it, that becomes their interest and their passion. For example: musicians are passionate about their music; cooks are proud of their dishes, and artists are excited about their paintings.
Now what is the passion and interests of a stay at home mom you might ask? Well first and foremost it is her child (which is obvious due to the fact that 90% of what I post is either a picture of my kid or a status about my kid). My next major interest is breastfeeding! You may find yourself asking "Why is she so crazy about breastfeeding?" or "Who CARES?!?" If you have never breastfed a child, then I would expect these types of responses from you. A mother who has breastfed her baby knows how hard it is. It is not something that comes easy to a lot of moms. It takes so much dedication and work. Oh and pain! Sometimes it can be painful that no nipple cream can fix! Hell yeah I am going to be proud of it! These posts are for those who find themselves thinking "who cares?" or "That is gross!" It is to get the message out there that breastfeeding is normal. It is also so that our future generations will not be stuck with the stigma that breasts are purely sexual. It is for the women who are afraid to breastfeed and the women who are struggling and want to give up. Breastfeeding mothers truly need all the support they can get!
I am tired of hearing about mothers whom choose to breastfeed in public who are asked to cover up or go to the bathroom. These things happen because our society is not used to seeing breasts being used for their intended purpose. The only way to combat this stigma is to breastfeed our children in public more often so that it is no longer shocking. And GUESS WHAT? If more women breastfeed in public, more women will follow. The more women who follow, the more likely it is that their children will choose to breastfeed their child (Oh and by the way, if you haven't heard, breast is best!). Our society needs to normalize breastfeeding.
I know some women cannot breastfeed due to their own body issues or medical issues. I am not hating on them. It really has nothing to do with mom's who choose to formula feed their child. I just want to see more women be educated about their choices and not be too embarrassed to breastfeed.
With that being said, I am here to tell you that I'm not going to stop posting or talking about breastfeeding just because it is not a topic that concerns you. Quite frankly I could care less about your daily agenda that you post about or how awesome your drunken weekends are, but I know how to kindly keep scrolling or how to silently click the "hide from timeline" button. You too can practice this method if my posting bothers you. This topic is of deep interest to me and I will not be intimidated by those who do not share the same feelings.
Now I don't flap my gums and use my social media privileges for nothing! If you haven't heard, I am having issues with finding a place to pump at my school! River needs his breast milk and when he receives a bottle of it, I have to pump to keep my supply up and to provide more food for him when I am away. Unfortunately, I have had to jump through hoops to try and find an appropriate place to pump at (the locker room and bathroom that have been so kindly pointed out to me are not acceptable to make my child's food) and I have resorted to starting a petition to take to the Student Government in the Fall in hopes to raise more awareness for the need of lactating rooms. My ultimate goal is to see a breastfeeding room in every building at my college (Duke University has them-and provides the pumps!).
Here is a link to the petition. Please sign and share. I must cut this short because I have to go nurse my hungry child :)
http://www.change.org/petitions/sinclair-community-college-support-breastfeeding-mothers
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