Breast vs. Bottle: Smackdown (Part 1)

I'm sure mother-to-bes (MTBs) and the plain curious want to know the skinny on breastfeeding (OK, if you don't, just file this info under "In Case I'm Ever on Jeopardy"). So, what's better: formula or breastfeeding?

Let me just say, this question starts some heated debates with some moms. Me? Not so much. I see the benefits of both. Since I decided to breastfeed Rain, let me tell you what it's really like. Let's begin with the social aspect:

First of all, you must accept a hard truth about American culture: breasts can be bared in magazines, movies, beaches, and books, and enlarged on billboards, T-shirts, and in L.A., BUT people get weirded out when a mom tries to use them for what they were actually intended for. Strange, no? This makes things uneasy when I go out in public. I feel pressured to pump milk and bring it in a bottle rather than deal with the stares, painfully averted eyes, and outright lectures (I'll explain next time).

Let me make this clear: I don't whip out my breasts for the world to see to make a point. I'm not a militant breastfeeder or something. I discreetly put a blanket over me & Rain when I nurse her. The thing is, I still get uncomfortable looks, so I tend to feed Rain in the bathroom at restaurants, for instance. Lately, though, this has gotten on my nerves and not just because bathrooms are unsanitary. I mean, everywhere else in the world, people just don't make a big deal out of a woman nursing. In fact, some places don't care if a woman is discreet about it or not. Why should a woman feel ashamed for using her breasts for what they were designed for?

Really, I've gone to great lengths to bring pumped milk in bottles when I go out as not to offend anybody, but is this fair? I've had people say, "Just bring a few bottles when we go out, so you don't have to worry about it." OK, no problem, I'll just let my dairymaid know I'll need an extra pail. Um, I get up at 3 a.m. as it is to pump milk. Throughout the day, I can try to sneak off while Rain's napping and pump 1 or 2 more (rare), but that's it. I'm not a Borden factory. Expressing milk takes a minimum of 20 minutes, and that's for a few ounces.

So, what am I getting at? When moms nurse, people should respect that. Smile, and politely go about your business. Breastmilk, very few people will dispute, is nutritionally the best thing to give a baby (this doesn't make formula bad, so don't send me hate mail). The next time someone sees a nursing mom and gets huffy, he or she should just remember that the mother in question isn't trying to make a statement, be rude, or make anyone uncomfortable; she's just doing what she thinks is best for her baby.