The Lactivist
February 4, 2015
Lactivist
The word was accusatory. I felt her anger over the internet.
What had I done to her? I did not say anything about formula feeding. I did make the case against the unethical marketing of formula. That is distinctly different from condemning moms who formula feed.
There is a formula campaign going around social media under the guise of making the “Mommy Wars” go away. In actuality most of the conflict of motherhood, parenthood really, is sparked by media and advertising.
The line between marketing and entertainment is becoming more and more murky. I have learned for the most part to discern what is being sold to me as opposed to what is there to entertain me.
This is the comment I made:
This is not about breastfeeding vs formula feeding, it is about the nefarious marketing of the pharmaceutical industry that undermines all families. Formula has its place. This is about using guilt to promote their product and to make us divisive – are we really? At the heart of it on the playground I can say that most moms get along. The images in the media create fear and defensiveness. I work professionally to support all mothers, I know when formula is needed and wanted. People are not always given the opportunity to make an informed choice.
Why was she angry with me? Why did she think I was attacking her?
I started thinking about it. She was directing her anger at me because I am safe. She does not know me – I am just that breastfeeding advocate. What had happened to her? Was she really experiencing grief and anger over her baby feeding experience?
I have many friends who did not breastfeed and they are not angry at me. They made informed decisions or at least dealt with what they were handed and they have made peace with it.
I thought about the times I get angry at people. I moved to New York for many reasons but one of the big ones was for an acting career. I am not a Broadway or TV or movie star. I could list all of the obstacles that prevented me from becoming famous but it doesn’t matter. I still get jealous and angry sometimes when I see actors my age who have made it. I also wrote and performed stand-up comedy. I loved watching the Golden Globes but I felt little jolts of envy watching Tina and Amy up there.
These feelings are far overshadowed by my happy life. I have a loving husband whom I love hanging out with – he really is my best friend and I am looking forward to growing old with him. We have three awesome children who are smart, healthy and beautiful.
I have moved on. (Casting directors – I can still provide a resume!)
I am also a bit envious of the moms who have had babies at home. Complications prevented that from happening with my babies and me. Still, I ache a bit about some of the birth experiences my babies and I went through. In the end they are all healthy and we made it through.
I have worked out the things in my life that got in the way of some of my goals. I have accomplished many of my goals and I am a happy woman.
So, going back to the name caller, I think she is angry and sad that she is not breastfeeding. I do not know if her birth interfered with her plans. I do not know if her family gave her a hard time about breastfeeding. I do not know if she is taking a medication that is incompatible with breastfeeding. I do not know if her body never made milk. I do not know what experiences she may have had in her past that makes it uncomfortable for her to have anyone touch her breasts.
I sure as hell bet she loves her baby immensely. I hope she can find some peace. I will be the brunt of many a new mom’s anger and frustration.
That is a role I can play.
Fall In Love . . .with your baby
February 13, 2014
Do you remember falling in love? The excitement of seeing that special someone? Your heart speeding up? Remember catching each others’ eyes? The way it felt when your skin touched? The vulnerability you allowed yourself?
As your relationship developed both of you revealed your flaws because you let your guards down. Sometimes you got angry but you recovered because love created a place of safety, forgiveness and acceptance, unconditionally.
This happens with babies. We have to negotiate our time and space to accommodate this feeling. Our hearts have unending abundance. There is an excitement and fear because we did not realize our capacity to feel such profound emotions.
Welcome to parenting. This journey is all about falling in love. Love can be wonderful and scary, frustrating and exhilarating.
Fall in love amidst the chaos of a life that is no longer yours alone. You find that you have lost control of your environment. You don’t have time for yourself, your home is a disaster. When did you last shower? Did you eat breakfast? What happened to your body? Will you ever make love again?
But then you catch your baby’s eyes and all the mess fades away, if only momentarily.
Your baby doesn’t care about dust bunnies and dishes piled high. She simply needs you.
Remember in the early days with your partner wanting to be together constantly? This is how your baby feels. She wants you to hold her and feed her, to talk to her and to touch her. Your baby does not want to leave your side.
As you fell in love with your significant other there were times of uncertainty. If you put limitations on your time together would that make you feel secure or insecure?
Babies feel the same. Putting limitations on touch, holding and feeding can make a baby feel unsettled. She may build up defense mechanisms. Allow yourself to dive deep into this new relationship.
In this new phase of your life you will find you tap into your intuition. Trust this gift. Listen to your baby and listen to your heart.
Life is messy. It is speckled with moments of great amazement and awe but mostly it is ordinary. Life with a new baby can be overwhelming all of the time but after an adjustment period it will be mostly ordinary. You will find the comfort of this new kind of love extraordinary.
Here are some strategies to help you enjoy this new chapter of your life:
~Talk to your baby, tell her your life story – she loves the sound of your voice
~Ask for help – and accept it!
~Tell people honestly what you need: food (prepared), to clean your house, to hold your baby while you sleep or shower
~Sleep when your baby sleeps – yes, take naps when the sun is shining
~Wear your baby – this can let you move about while still keeping her happy on your body
~Keep diapers and changing gear in more than one place – the nursery, your bedroom, the living room – so you don’t have to travel
~Set up nursing stations – a glass of water for you, snacks, a burp cloth in various areas
~Put an outgoing message on all your communications – “Hello, thank you for contacting the Smiths, we are busy bonding with our baby, please leave a message and we will call you back when we get a chance.”
Be vulnerable, take emotional risks, fall in love.
Mother Anger
July 1, 2013
We openly talk about being angry at our teenagers, our mothers and our partners but how many of us openly admit to being angry at our babies?
I recall late on night, or was it early one morning? This was in the summer of 1995. New to parenthood, Rob and I were trying to figure out how to integrate a new baby into our lives. Phoebe kept waking and crying. We were still at that point of reading books and not our baby.
The newborn cries impaled my body and I understood the story that my mother repeated often about the eighteen-hour drive up I95 from North Carolina to Massachusetts when I was a six-weeks old. She described a constant bloodcurdling cry and openly said she wanted to throw me out the window. I now knew that feeling, that longing to dispose of ones precious newborn.
Just as I was trying to figure out how to quit my job as Phoebe’s mom, Rob threw the sheets off himself and I thought he was going to hurdle her into the neighbor’s house. I immediately shifted gears into protective mama bear. I scooped Phoebe into my arms and put her to my breast for the millionth time that day and I wept.
How could I be so angry at my sweet baby girl? Didn’t I love her? Hadn’t I signed onto this job? Did I really want to give her back?
A few days later I attended at La Leche League Meeting. Lucta, the Leader, was a transplant from South Carolina. I loved listening to her deep drawl. I loved how everything that flowed from her mouth was like reading a Fannie Flagg novel. She was funny, self-deprecating, maudlin and full of wisdom.
A mother of five, Lucta spoke of how her vanity saved her first born child. When she wanted to hit him or throw him out of the window she would walk outside onto the sidewalk and hold him out for all to see.
“Ah was vain. I would never do somethin’ regretful in front of anyone,” she proclaimed. “Mah vanity saved that poor child.”
And then she said it, out loud. “Ah was angry.”
The guilt I had about my feelings of anger at Phoebe began to fade with her words. Then she said it was normal to mourn your old life. Normal. I was normal.
I have learned to respect those words in my life.
Grief is real and it is a process. Once you have a baby, one chapter of your life is closed, forever. No matter how much you love motherhood you have lost the innocence of childlessness.
One brave mother brought it up at my support group the other day. She said out loud that she gets angry at her adorable baby. Relief permeated the room. Acknowledgement that it is normal to have all different feelings as a new parent is priceless.
It is taboo to talk about anger towards a baby. New parents suppress these feelings because we romanticize babies and new parenthood.
Parenthood is wonderful – some of the time. Parenthood is challenging – some of the time. As long as you do not actually throw your baby out the window or into the neighbors yard you are pretty normal.
One game I have played with myself when I am either out with my three children or if I am feeling on the edge of losing my mother cool is, I pretend I am the subject of a documentary. I pretend that I am being filmed and I want to set a good example. Silly? Yes, but this little game has gotten me through hard moments in my mothering.
Love your baby. Remember, you have a relationship with this little person. Do you ever get angry at your best friend or your spouse? And so you ever just have the best time ever with these people? It is the same with your child.
And, if you ever feel like you want to act on your anger let your vanity step in. Go out and stand on the sidewalk with your baby.
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