Breast milk or Formula?!

We know that breast milk wins in the battle between formula and milk from the boob.  It even states that breast milk is better for the baby on formula packaging!  So of course, I'm not going to dispute the facts.  But I am going to say that for those of us NOT able to breastfeed, you may feel a bit like a pariah when hanging out with your other mommy friends who all proudly have their baby latched onto their boob at the local bar.  (Hey, it's where my mommy group meets up, okay!)

There's a lot of emotions/worry/fear/anxiety that comes along with raising a child in modern day America.  A ton of those which relate directly to how you're doing as a mom and the choices you make each day.  Are you holding your child non-stop?  Do you let the tv play in her presence?  Do you only eat organic food so that her breastmilk is the best ever?

I chronicled my own attempts to induce lactation and alas it was not to be.  I did however gain 15 lbs that I can't seem to lose.  (It all sits on my hips and abdomen too by  the way.  You'd think it would go to my boobs....but noooooooo.)  Because literally every other mom I know is breastfeeding, I do feel a bit self-conscious about whipping out the bottle.  Another reminder that my pregnancy wasn't "the normal one."  But thanks to my friend Tonya and the website Milkshare, I've been able to secure a decent amount of supplementary breast milk for Fiona.  Not enough to sustain her of course, but enough so that I joke each bottle is adding another point to her future SAT scores.  LOL.

Anyways, I post this so that other moms who can't breastfeed know that they're not alone.  And I also wanted to post a link to Milkshare b/c there are other awesome moms out there who have more milk supply than they know what to do with, and are happy to donate to moms who can't produce.  Thankfully, I've found a new mom who's daughter is two days older than Fiona who is donating all her extra to us on an ongoing basis.  I simply cannot express how amazed I am at how giving other people are.

The news media would have us believe that the world is nothing but evil people, and keep us in fear.  But each day, I am humbled by the kind and generous people I meet.

And lastly, our little gal doesn't seem to be doing so bad on mostly formula!  She's a little chunker that is already weighing in at 11 lbs.  She's 6 weeks old today!   Man, do I love a chubby baby.  :-)

My little lamb...and her lamb.