I do apologise if I’ve offended anyone on here with my last post, that wasn’t my intention. There is a lot of debate around breast milk or formula which I can appreciate but I’m an advocate for breastfeeding (BF). Before I had my child I was undecided but after attending antenatal classes and doing research on what was best for my baby, the easy choice was BF. I learnt that there are so many more benefits to BF so why wouldn’t I want the best and healthiest start for my baby? A lot of research has been done on breast milk and the discoveries are rather remarkable. One example is that breast milk helps fight off viruses. A baby’s immune system isn’t fully developed and if they have a cold/flu, by BF you are giving your baby some of your antibodies to help combat the cold/flu and he or she recovers quicker. Why wouldn’t you want that for your child?
I’m so sorry to hear of your struggles with BF, but I hope you know that you are not alone. So many mothers struggled at the beginning and deciding to BF in the first place makes you a brilliant mother because you want the very best for your child. TV and films portray breastfeeding as simple and just comes naturally which definitely isn’t. I struggled too. My baby wasn’t latching and sucking properly and ended up losing too much weight in his first week so I was topping up his feeds with formula. Using formula isn’t a bad thing by no means because the most important thing is that s/he is being fed, and some mothers have no choice due to physical or mental health issues. However, I didn’t want to give up. There were many tears from both me and my baby and I dreaded the next feed. Even the stress was affecting my milk production so I looked for help. I had the BF response team come to my house three times before I was able to get it so please don’t be afraid to ask for help if you struggle, and know that help is always out there. I applaud Lucy Meck (?) for going into detail about her breastfeeding journey. It makes her more relatable and her story helps and encourages new mothers. She should be allowed to celebrate her accomplishment after a very tough start.
The issue I have with Sophie is that she is very influential. Her account is branching out to advertise her gifted baby items and she’s affiliated to Pampers. In her grid posts, 4 out of the last 5 pictures are of Ronnie, so it’s possible that followers are there for the motherhood side of her. I think she mentioned the TT prep machine as a ‘must-have’ item, and as someone of her calibre on social media, expectant parents will have one in their house for the sake of this. If decided to BF but going through the initial struggle, give yourself and baby a chance before fully switching to formula. Having the machine in the house puts people in the mindset to easily give up because it’s there so you may as well use it. If Sophie talked more about her struggles on her account instead of just advertising her free gifts she would come across as more human and relatable. A lot of people look up to her so she needs to make wise choices with her IG content.
Sorry for another very long post. I will stop now!