Blundell's blunder and the breastfeeding backlash

A recent article in Mother and Baby magazine has caused outrage in parenting circles after deputy editor Kathryn Blundell admitted she bottle fed her children because "I wanted my body back. (And some wine) …”  (See the full text of the article, which was typed on the Lactivist.net site.)  In her article about the choice to bottle-feed, Blundell states without any compunction that she prized her personal comfort over what many people would argue is the best nutritional interests of her baby.

There is a subset of women who choose to be mothers, but also resent being told what they should do.  That's the push behind the trend of confessional memoirs and magazine articles about "bad moms" - those who buck the trend of what they see as stifling, "politically correct" parenting and decide to let their neuroses, issues and addictions all hang out. 

They're afraid of becoming some kind of Stepford Mom, with one kid latched at their breast while pushing a vacuum.  They choose to be the mom that flips the bird at anyone who tells them to breastfeed/wear your baby/wait 6 months before solids/not let your kid cry it out/name it here.  Is it really conscious choice, or is it fear of conforming that leads some moms to rebellion?

By all accounts, Blundell chose to become pregnant and subject her body to huge physical changes. That's part of the process.  No matter what you try to do, it's never quite the same afterward.  The irony, of course, is that Blundell said she wanted to bottle-feed in order to get her body back.  There is no quicker way to shrink your uterus and shed pregnancy pounds than by breastfeeding!  And then there's that wine thing.  Wine has lots of calories.  It's dessert in a glass.  Blundell better be hitting the gym hard - and often.  But that's her choice.  

The real reason makes itself clear about midway through the article when she refers to her breasts as "fun bags."  Blundell was terrified of losing her sexuality.  It's the whole "I can't be sexy and nurse a baby" conundrum - and why breastfeeding felt "creepy" to her.  Instead, she chose to mask her own insecurities with contempt.  Look, it's fine if you choose not to breastfeed.  It's fine to even share honestly why you made your decision.  We may not agree.  It might make some of us uncomfortable.  

How many of us haven't felt occasionally inconvenienced by nursing or worried about our attractiveness?  Just be real without being insulting.  Snarkiness doesn't look good on anyone, whether or not they've got saggy boobs.

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