This is one campaign where I am an avid supporter of giving the best start for our babies. My little fella is nine months, I quickly learnt that my priorities of breastfeeding him ‘for as long as I could’ did not fit into his master plan. about a month ago he took himself off of his own accord and simply moved on….I take my hat off to all the young mums and experienced mums who know that ‘breast is best!” feed their baby no matter where they might be. It’s interesting the funny looks or cringes one gets when breastfeeding! The world has moved on and thankfully more women are being educated about the importance of having waiu (breastmilk). No reira whaangai a taatou tamariki i te waiuu, kia tupu, kia hua, kia puawai! Mauri Ora!
Damn right! Yay for breast feeding mothers!
Boo to those who keep it up for seven years
I was breast fed
We thought so Spud. So how long have you been on the bottle?
LOL Richard
GREAT post. People get all squeemish about the strangest things… they wince and look disgusted when someone breast feeds, but march down a main street for the right to hit their child. She’s a strange old world.
Provided a mum is fit and healthy breast feeding is the way to go, and cheaper than buying in. The ultimate takeout for a kid
As long as mum is not subsisting off coke, fish and chips herself…
loota I dont consider someone to be fit and healthy who eats junk food.
@Richard LOL
– I went to a party and downed a couple of wines because I was upset and then it was like where have you been all my life? 
@Tracey – yes, but some would hypocritically support the boobs on bikes thing
@Loota – I once saw a stupid mother giving her baby a french fry at Mc Donalds – I mean come on, why give a kid something bad if they don’t even want it yet?
I was already aware of breastfeeding – very aware…
@Loota and Tracy. “Provided a mum is fit and healthy breast feeding is the way to go”
and if the baby is doing well too.
Some can, some can’t or have problems. I couldn’t with my first, he just didn’t do well wasn’t gaining weight, getting too sleepy to feed etc so by 3wks he was on a bottle. My second, no problem, she went straight to a sipper cup skipping the bottle stage altogether (before 16 mths). My first it could have been due to being tube feed as was 4lb 10.
I want there to be a choice and if someone cant do it, then they shouldn’t be made to feel guilty either.
I don’t think there should be stigma attached to feeding it is natural. Just don’t make people feel guilty if they can’t, but yes if you can its the best food there is for a baby.
Good for you Nanaia for keeping it up for 8 months, it can’t have been easy in your job and with the kind of transient life MPs have to live.
Could others maybe lighten up a bit on the judging mothers stuff? It’s not easy to parent in a way that everyone approves of, and often what we do to cope when times are tough is exceptional (i.e. not what we normally do) and that’s what gets judged harshly and out of context. Bit of support would be nicer.
@ all varied feedback about how long is too long, I’m very practical as long as its good for baby and mum but 7 years – Really????
Oh and that’s right it’s not about being judgemental if you can or can’t, do or don’t again having the right information to make the best decision for you and baby counts for alot!!!!
Lifestyles are unforgiving but the express pumps came in very, very handy I just wish they had a discreet type of pump that you can put on when driving…..or something!
Bye now
A Mother – indeed, some infants have real problems. You can sometimes find a health care provider who is an expert in troubleshooting breastfeeding issues, e.g. providing new mums with strategies to improve their chances of success, and that may be helpful. Neonatal traumas and health problems appear to increase the chances that an infant has trouble with breastfeeding too.
@A Mother – agreed.
You can’t blame people who give a wierd reaction to breastfeeding though, it’s an instinctive reaction we aren’t used to seeing public nudity, we might not have anything conciously wrong with it it is necessity just don’t take those wierd looks for ‘thats wrong’ it’s more of a woah ok…
But it’s not as bad as naked babies at the beach. The government needs to ban them
It never bothered me breastfeeding in public either, hmm not sure about the 7 years tho lol
Mmmm… Breast… Feeding.
That said, I think there’s too can be excessive negative pressure put on women that don’t breastfeed, and there are many valid reasons not to. For some reason, once you’re a parent, people feel free to judge you constantly.
@Hayden, ‘Mmmm… Breast (yeah I’m with you there)… Feeding’ (wait what the f***)
I don’t mind seeing breast feeding, it’s just meal time, it’s what they’re there for.
@ Dylan – “You can’t blame people who give a wierd reaction to breastfeeding though, it’s an instinctive reaction we aren’t used to seeing public nudity.” (Sad to agree with you on babies, but its unsafe with our rates of skin cancer).
I do take your point that its instinctive, However its not nudity (and neither is boobs on bikes) – I see a lot of hairy and not nipples when I get on the beach, logically whats the difference. Even then nudity cannot of itself be offensive (it is not sexualised) as offense can not be given, only taken.
The sad part is that some people still see it as nudity – worst example is Facebook. Seriously, in this day and age, they will go into your personal profile and remove any breastfeeding pics even if the entire breast is covered. Really people? Do you really think some seedy little boy is getting his jollies on that, As if?
I think boobs on bikes is blatantly sexual
Breast feeding is not. Some nipples even get sore and cracked. I mean it’s not much better than having a cow hooked up to a machine.
I just don’t think it’s creepy, now this dude who used to drink his wife’s milk now that was creepy!
Worst part would be ‘burping’ him afterwards.
Anglo saxon hangups incorporated. Can we please just have some European style ‘being at ease’ with nakedness.
@Richard LOL
!
@Loota – If you want to go commando and weather all the elements then go ahead – I’d rather keep warm
Can we regulate those mothers that insist on breast feeding their children past the age of about 4..?
I wasn’t suggesting a slur on those who dont breastfeed, I meant to imply it’s why they are not that is important.
I have a friend who found breatsfeeding incredibly painful, excruciatingly so. She hung in for long time “for the good of the baby”. The thing she dreaded most during her second pregnancy was the idea of all that pain again… that kind of worry cant be good for a fetus either.
It’s about responsible choices
@Jeremy – They should be encouraged to express their milk and serve it in a cup, so hideous
@Tracey – poor woman