By Tartan Tart
Posted on Friday, June 24th, 2016
Baby feeding has changed a lot over the past hundred years. Prior to the invention of infant formula in the 1800s, wet nurses were used in cases when the mother died or was otherwise unable to breastfeed her new baby. For decades after its invention, infant formula went through several transformations to eventually become the nutritionally complete product we have today. There was even a period when infant formula was seen as being *more* nutritious than breastmilk, resulting in many of us in our 30s and 40s having been fed on formula as a matter of course (as well as resulting in my father in law commenting that I was probably starving my son because I breastfed him. Ahem)
Today, we are seeing a resurgence in the popularity of breastfeeding and once again a lack of tolerance and support for those who choose the “unpopular” option, eg. formula or mixed feeding. There are even health professionals who are advising new parents that combination feeding is somehow bad for their babies, because it’s obviously an excellent idea to make new parents question themselves even more than they already are.
We seem to find that we are often treated by health professionals, family and complete strangers, as though mothers and babies are all the same and therefore have the same needs and abilities. In fact our experiences vary quite dramatically. Several of us lovely Tarts have therefore chosen to write about our unique experiences, to be published over a period of several weeks.
From exclusive formula feeding out of choice, to exclusive formula feeding out of necessity, to mixed feeding because mama needs a glass of wine, to extended breastfeeding because mama loves some cuddles– between us we have quite a lot of experience. And we all got exactly what we wanted; happy babies, with full bellies.
About the Author:
I’m an American expat in the UK which results in an interesting mix of UK and US pronunciation, spelling and word usage (tomato still rhymes with potato, though).
I like to cook but not wash up, to garden but not weed, and am a (not terribly) closeted hippy. I have PCOS and shout from the rooftops about the mix of Eastern and Western medicine which resulted in my most amazing little dude.
