I kind of hoped that after last week, we’d have a quiet few months with little to no royal gossip as Duchess Kate and Prince William settled into their new roles as parents, away from the media glare. But I was naïve to think that the whole world wouldn’t want to know about Kate’s delivery, about whether or not she’s breastfeeding, about what kind of parenting style Kate and William will have and so much more. Yes, I genuinely forgot that The Motherhood Industrial Complex is working overtime to provide all of the details we just need to know.
First off, Grandpa Charles already gave Prince George a nickname – Charles is calling him Georgie. Charles told reporters a few days ago that he thinks George is a “very good name” but the littlest prince will be “Georgie in no time.” Charles also told some people that his grandson is “very loud” and “He’s a good boy, he’s quite heavy.” LOL. I told you. George is a BIG baby. And he’ll keep getting bigger because Kate has already gotten the hang of breastfeeding, apparently:
“It would be fair to say that Prince George has a healthy appetite. He is a very hungry little boy,” a senior royal source told the Sunday People, “I gather there were some difficulties at first – there often can be, as new mums can get a little tense. But after some help from the midwife, they both caught on very quickly. As far as I can tell, Kate finds it very relaxing and George is just like any other little baby. He can’t get enough. And they all certainly know when he’s hungry – his screams are very difficult to ignore.”
However, the source added that the new mother would offer no formal support to people lobbying for breast-feeding of babies. There was considerable debate in the run up to George’s birth over whether the duchess would hand her child off to a royal wet-nurse or feed through formula.
“[But] don’t expect Kate to be photographed breast-feeding. She does not want to become a pin-up for the breast-feeding lobby. She feels that it is a matter of personal choice, and that new mums should do whatever feels right for them and their baby,” the insider added.
Happy? I’m glad that Kate isn’t coming out and making some kind of statement about breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a great thing, but some moms don’t breastfeed for various reasons and that’s fine, Motherhood Industrial Complex. Also: it’s sounding more and more like George cries a lot! People Magazine also had a story on what Kate and William are going to be like as parents:
In the safe, easy-going environment of the Middletons’ Bucklebury home, Prince William, Kate and Prince George are settling into their new life as a family. But as the demands of royal life inevitably take over, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will try to strike a balance strike a balance between creating a relaxed upbringing with that befitting the status of a prince.
As they raise “Georgie” – as grandpa Prince Charles has dubbed him –, the young couple will take guidance from how the late Princess Diana managed things, sources say.
“It’ll be a carbon copy of how William and Harry were brought up, because of their mother,” a friend tells PEOPLE. “However she’s painted, her greatest legacy is her sons. The way they’ve been brought up and the way she taught them to think for themselves and to lead a normal life.”
Graham Butland, chief executive of East Anglia Children’s Hospices (a charity Kate works with frequently), agrees: “There’s a bit of Diana influence – she brought up William and Harry quite differently to the way that Prince Charles was brought up. And I think there’s a natural development as the Royal Family adapts and changes to a different way.”
“I don’t think Kate will change,” he adds. “Having seen her interact with children … and [overhearing] the conversations that she’s had, she’s just so natural. She has a rapport with children.”
Kate’s demeanor is much like Princess Diana (who died at 36 in 1997), who “adored children of all ages, and understood exactly how to get into a child’s mind,” her friend Rosa Monckton says.
Monckton – who named Diana her daughter Domenica’s godmother – believes the late Princess would have some simple parenting advice for William: “To forget that the world is watching, and to make the most of every single day that they have together.”
Adds the friend, that as a grandmother, Diana would have been playful and supportive. “She’d have been keen that everything went well with the birth and the first years. And when the baby walks and talks she’d have a good old laugh with him.”
This fall, the Duke, Duchess and Prince of Cambridge will move into Apartment 1a of Kensington Palace – the same location where William and Harry grew up in with their late mother.
I’ve seen videos and photos of Kate interacting with kids and… I mean, she’s fine. She’s okay. But the comparison to Princess Diana is overblown. Diana LOVED children. Diana was touchy-feely and she was more comfortable talking to kids than to adults. She was a nursery school teacher, for the love of God. And Harry is like that too – you can see how much he loves children over and over again throughout the years. While William and Kate are not child-haters or anything, I just don’t think we should be all “OMG, they are the second coming of Diana!!!”
Oh, and People Magazine has “Prince George’s First Days” on their cover this week, but the online story isn’t anything new. Blah, Kate hasn’t hired a nanny yet, blah. She’s got her mom and a housekeeper though.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I KNEW they’d call him Georgie (although in another thread I claimed they would spell it Georgy, as traditionally that how male nick names would end, and it’s how my little brother’s is spelled)!
It’s a really cute nickname. I can totally see calling a little boy “Georgie,” but “George” is someone over thirty.
If I have a child, I would definitely want to breastfeed. The bonding and the immense health benefits (not to mention the studies linking it to intellectual benefits)… I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t want to, bar medical reasons/ppd/being physically unable to/etc. My mother really struggled to produce any breastmilk, so my siblings and I basically had to go by formula from the very beginning. It appears to run in the family, I’ll probably have issues too :(.
There are things you can do to increase your milk supply.
Although they don’t always work for everyone.
I’m glad Kate said it’s her personal choice and she’s not going to be used as a pin-up for the breast feeding Nazi’s.
I breastfed my son for a few months and it was my choice as well. I didn’t let the shame of not breastfeeding influence my decision. So sick and tired of women who claims that if you breastfeed you and the baby bond more. Basically what you’re telling women who choose not to breastfeed or can’t breastfeed that they are not bonding with their babies; come on, that’s a load of crap.
I also read the studies and reports that breastfed babies are less likely to get ill or have higher IQ’s. On the other hand I have read reports that say that is not true.
Someone on another thread regarding breastfeeding (Alicia Silverstone) said that educated women or usually the ones who breastfeed and she couldn’t have been more wrong. There are plenty of intelligent women who don’t breastfeed because it’s there persoanl choice. I don’t like when the breastfeeding lobbyist try to mommy shame women who choose not to breastfeed.
@V4Real – I agree with you, 100%. It’s SUCH a personal decision, but not one that dictates what sort of relationship you’ll have with your child, or one that dictates the health & IQ of said child.
My mother admitted that because she was an *E* bra size naturally, it was just incredibly difficult to breast feed (partially because of the weight of her enormous breasts, as well as the severe pain the breast milk caused her to experience). She even had to have her breasts reduced not to long after my little bro was born, due to those issues.
I’m closer to my mother than *anyone*, always have been. & my health has been incredibly normal.
I’ve never heard about higher IQ but must say I that my boys are rarely ill compared to many kindergarten friends. Heirt doctor comp. files confirm it.
My mum says the same: I was breastfed and my sister had it for 2 months only (stress-related).Although I was born with heart problem I was more robust than her. She was like “withred flower”-my mum’s words.
Anyway I think it’s abs. crap to say that the non-breastfeeding moms do not have “the same”-means “proper” bondage.
Eh, I don’t mean to make anyone feel defensive or attacked. The bonding comment is not a judgement or implication, more just a rumination on the act of breastfeeding that I find very intimate. Just the very act of the baby getting it’s direct nutrition from you, consuming what you produce, that is interesting to me.
The Nazis murdered 6 million people. I’m really sickened by how people use the term Nazi to label anyone with whom they disagree.
@A~
Just don’t.
I’m admittedly nit-picking here, but Kate didn’t say it was a personal choice. The insider giving the reporter this article did. We honestly have no idea what’s truly going on so her PR can create every detail as they like. At least this wasn’t written in the same tone as the birth without drugs article was. That had a aura of superiority to it.
@Hakura – My back aches just reading your entry. Your poor mother! I found it hard enough when mine went to D, I can’t imagine if I had started at E…
A point raised by some of my formula using friends is that formula allows Dad to bond with baby as well. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to rearing a child. As parents we have to pick and choose according to what we’re able to do. Breastfeeding isn’t the only way to prevent obesity, promote bonding, or increase a baby’s IQ (nor is it a guarantee for all these things either).
To the OP – You’re totally not shaming anyone, just expressing an opinion. It’s a touchy subject…..
Presumably there are men and adoptive mothers who don’t breast feed but still develop close bonds with their children.
My mother had some issues and didn’t breast feed me either. While I’m not knocking the research that supports that breastfeeding makes babies smarter and healthier, I turned out just fine. I have a graduate degree and I’m in better shape than many of my contemporaries. That said, if I have a child and can breastfeed I will do so; I just don’t want mother who can’t to feel like their children will grow up to be mutants without breast milk.
@Betty Like I said above I breastfed my son but I was not breastfed as an infant and I turned out ok as well. I have no medical problems and I’m in pretty good shape and people can’t believe my age when I tell them. I have a B.A. Degree with a 3.9 average. I am starting Graduate School in September. I had my daughter at a young age, not my teen years but to me I was still too young to have a child. I didn’t breastfeed her and she turned out ok as well. She wasn’t sick as a child besides the common cold every now and then, she was taking college courses in the 11th grade, graduated with top honors and accepted into The University of Austin, TX which is a very good school.
Breastfeeding should always be a personal choice and women shouldn’t feel guilted into it out of fear of mommy shaming.
Understandable– like I said, my mother couldn’t breastfeed and I likely won’t be able to either. I’m not knocking women who don’t or aren’t able. It’s just my own personal belief that if you’re able and all other circumstances line up– why not? I don’t go about daily life pushing this on anyone. Just a thought on a comment board.
@Claudia – And that’s how I think it should be, with everyone. =) Nothing wrong with deciding to do it, or deciding not to.
I *only* feel that it’s wrong to make someone else feel bad about their decision in this regard, whatever that decision is. (I’d think it was JUST as wrong to shame someone who DID breastfeed).
Same thing about my mom, she told me she had a series of infections and couldn’t breastfeed me that much. But I think I turned out ok! 😉
The recent study touting the intellectual benefits is shaky at best. They found no difference between formula fed children and breastfed children on two of the three skills and abilities test performed in the study. The IQ test showed a four point increase with breastfeeding–with an acknowledge 3 point margin of error. It was much ado about nothing. Breastfeeding is a lovely way to fed babies but for a healthy child born into the Western world, the benefits of breastfeeding are quite limited.
@ Val,
This is TMI– but when my mother tried to breastfeed she could maybe get a few drops out and that was it. She recalls one time when she looked at our faces (she had the same experience with both my brother and myself) and they were covered in blood from her breast. She tried everything she could to try to express milk but nothing worked. On her third and last pregnancy she called it a day and made a faster switch to formula.
V4Real – I love your use of academic accomplishments as support to challenge the data on breastfeeding. I’m not a parent myself so I haven’t paid much attention to these debates, but your post reminds me of data suggesting that emotionally supportive, financially stable homes are what’s best for kids. Um, well, yes, possibly they are, but since most successful adults don’t come from an ideal childhood, it’s clearly not a necessary condition for happiness – just as breastfeeding is clearly not a necessary condition for a healthy, intelligent child. However, for mothers who do choose to breastfeed, I totally support doing it in public (though I get why that’s not an option for Kate).
My mother formula fed me and my three siblings and we are ll fine. We all did very well in school and moved on to have very successful career. I have an amazing immune system, and my daughter has taken after me, a year old and never been sick at all. I couldn’t breast feed. By day 5 home with my newborn, she was starving, and I had no milk. Once she had the bottle she wouldn’t go back to the boob. Not everybody can breast feed. I did everything I could and just never had any milk.
I think it’s so important for people to realize how frickin hard breastfeeding can be. There’s just not enough info out there to make people understand that.
We don’t have the role models we used to. In the past, women had tons of children, so if you didn’t have an older sister to help, there was always your mother. My mother’s generation was encouraged to formula feed, so those women can’t show their daughters how it’s done. Nurses and doctors often try to give babies formula (which can mess up a mother’s milk supply), and telling mothers their milk isn’t sufficient is really common. I’m lucky – living in Canada meant that I was able to consult with two lactation consultants for free, as well as take an entire year off work. I didn’t have to worry about going back to work after six weeks and trying to find a way to pump in the staff bathroom. I found breastfeeding to be one of the hardest things I’ve ever done (in the beginning), so I’m fully supportive of whatever a mother needs to do to feed her child.
I never understood why people talk about the benefits of bonding and breast feeding. I was with my daughter every second after she was born, and still am a year later. From day one she was a mom as girl. We didn’t need to breast feed to bond. Feeding her a bottle was the same, she stayed at me like I was god lol
I breast fed my daughter for 16 months, she has allergies, asthma and arthritis. I breast fed my son for 24 months, he has anaphylaxis to peanuts. Would these problems have been worsened had the bottle fed? No way of knowing.
I think the bonding issue is this: if you are breast feeding you have NO choice but skin to skin contact, eye to eye contact. A bottle feeding mother *can* at a certain point, let the child feed itself while she gets other things accomplished. A bottle feeding mother (or father) who sits down and holds their child and looks at it and strokes it’s hair while it eats is going to have the SAME bonding as a child that is breast fed. It’s the time you take with your child that causes the bonding.
The main advantage to breast feeding is that it’s just easier. No planning, you just take your baby and a diaper and away you go.
I agree. If I have a child someday I hope to be able to breastfeed as well. The only thing is my mom had a lot of trouble with breastfeeding me as a baby and she gave up after a couple of weeks. I worry that might happen to me too.
If you try lactation cookies and tea, and they don’t work for you, please don’t forget to see if there’s a donated breast milk bank that you might could use. There are also groups where mothers who have oversupply donate their milk to mothers with undersupply. (Some are on facebook.) There are options other than formula. Also, if you stop breastfeeding and decide to try again a while later, look up “relactation” because it is possible to do.
If you do choose formula, make sure it’s not made from GMO ingredients (which cause leaky gut, gastrointestinal problems and cancer) or rice (which is high in arsenic.) Of course, many studies show that babies who are breastfed have higher I.Q.s and healthier immune systems. (Preferably breastfed until age 2.) Best wishes!
You know what I liked about breastfeeding? It was cheap and easy. Formula is EXPENSIVE.
it is a personal choice, i only breast fed for 4 weeks. And that was down to the baby simply not taking to my breast milk, i was devastated but he just didn’t like it. And i didn’t touch a drop of alcohol either
AGree that the comparison with Diana re: kids is overblown. In fact, I would say wholly inaccurate. Kate comes across as a big phoney when she is speaking with and interacting with kids, very patronizing. It’s different when it’s your own kid though. Hopefully she will truly bond with the child and not grow tired of it in a few weeks and hand it off to the nannies!
Kate phoney and awkward – yes!
In videos of Will/Kate interacting with kids, William picks up babies and looks very comfortable.
Never saw Kate hold a baby before Georgie. I was surprised she was holding him when they walked out of the hospital.
Saw her hold an infant’s foot once on a walkabout. That’s right I said foot.
Saw her crush one girl’s feelings with a comment about her Kate doll.
Her comments also shamed some Scouts when they confessed their fear of spiders.
She was probably never exposed to babies enough to be comfortable with them. If she wanted to know children she could have. And your own baby is different. It’s yours and not another person’s child.
Kate is not great with children and those times your citing highlight her normal behavior. I remember when Kate mocked William singing the national anthem(?). A camera caught it very well.
We all knew she never fully matured. This is no surprise.
I was TERRIBLE with kids, to the point where when I announced I was pregnant everyone (including my mother) asked me if it was a surprise pregnancy. Which it wasn’t. But once you have kids, continual exposuee to them and their friends tends to remedy that. And whenever I see her gaffes, all I can see is that she’s terribly green. Time will tell on that one.
Well, good for her. I am a firm believer that breast is best, even if it is becoming a bit taboo to say that outwardly.
Yeah it’s kind of ridiculous that you can’t admit proudly that you think that for fear if offending someone. It kind of is just a fact – but I totally get that for some it isn’t an option but it’s worrisome that people are maybe starting to lose sight of the benefits of breast feeding.
Plus all of that my mother (who breasted five babies – me for an embarrassingly long time too :/) says that is so much easier if you CAN breastfeed because you don’t have to worry about decontaminating everything!
I am not a mother (and not sure if I ever want to be one/will ever be one), so could you plz explain what’s the big deal with this whole issue? Why the debate, what’s up with mommy wars? I know both my sister and I had to be taken off ‘breast’ fairly early on bc we has mild allergies to it, but nobody seemed to be very opinionated on the matter back than (1980s Russia).
My 2 cents about the mommy war: parenting is tough and people are terrified that they are doing it wrong so when they hear about someone doing something differently they panic that maybe that was the better option; people get defensive about their choices and it spirals down from there.
My personal belief is that I am sure I make parenting decisions that make others cringe, but I know they make decisions about different matters that would make me cringe. Kids are pretty resilient, and as long as we’re trying our best and leading with love they’ll grow up fine.
So funny. My grandma bound my legs till I was 1+ and shaved my head every few months till I was almost 3 (supposed to stimulate hair growth), and my mom was a 70% capacity Tiger Mom when it came to education, but from what I remember of my family’s friends and their babies that were born around my sister’s time (I was 7+ so very aware), everyone kind of did their own thing and nobody got patronizing about it. That’s why mommy wars all look very weird to an outsider.
Honestly, I don’t understand the big deal either. Something that is a personal choice regarding our children and our own bodies shouldn’t be judged so harshly.
I think the Mommy Wars are destructive at a time of life when women need each other. It’s a crying shame.
I don’t think it is taboo at all! In fact, the opposite – women who don’t breastfeed are often attacked as selfish, lazy, etc…
I really hope this thread doesn’t turn into one of those annoying “I’m a better mom than you” thread. Way too many of those lately!!
Taboo? Where is it taboo? In my experience it is moms who don’t BF who get shade. Lots & lots of shade
It feels taboo in that you are making a direct judgment concerning a parenting choice which seems to be a no, no. I understand that not all mothers can breastfeed, but I think it’s a damn shame when mothers choose not to. The facts are out there, formula just isn’t as healthy a choice as breastmilk and I doubt it ever will be.
+1. I’ve seen moms who don’t breastfeed be told they’re horrible mothers or they obviously don’t want what’s best for their child. Nobody hates on breastfeeding moms these days.
Both sides get hate for various reasons.
Mothers that BF are often told it’s inappropriate for doing it in public or having to excuse themselves to tend to their child.
Mothers that don’t BF are yelled by random people that they’re hurting their baby.
No one has the right to critique how another woman is caring for their child, unless what they’re doing is causing physical harm and neglect. Some women believe that’s the same as not BFing. It’s not. Many babies end up being allergic to their mother’s milk or a mother may have extreme difficulties in BFing.
So, 1 side doesn’t get more shade than the other. They’re equally criticized.
It’s not taboo at all. I’m not sure where you got that idea?
People – mothers in particular – get criticized all the time.
Yes, in the western world we have the luxury of choice of breast or not, because we have clean water in which to make up the formula. But formula companies have a lot to answer for – for giving African mothers free formula until their milk dries up, and then charging them for the formula, while their families starve. The mothers think that because the formula comes from the West, it must be better than their own milk. They have no choice but to make the formula with filthy water, making their babies sick. They also don’t pass on life-saving antibodies to their babies, so babies die needlessly. So while we have the luxury of choice as rich Westners, formula companies are basically evil. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/05/hollie-mcnish-breastfeeding_n_3552062.html?
LadyJane, I’d never heard of this! Thank you for sharing. The link is to an article about breast feeding in public. Do you have a link to an article about what’s going on in Africa?
Ktx,
The link I posted above is a video clip of a poet who talks about breastfeeding in public, and also ties it in to the global problem of formula companies aggressively marketing to 3rd world countries.
If you want direct information on the formula companies dubious practice you can check out:
http://www.theage.com.au/world/infantformula-giants-accused-of-risking-lives-20130217-2el70.html
Or just google Africa Baby Formula and you will see articles from a slew of credible sources. Spread the word.
I almost cried reading that LadyJane. I had no idea that went on. Oh where is Karma when you need it? Where’s justice? These sick greedy corporations won’t pay for their despicable actions. How many Nazi war criminals live to be 90+ in comfort and security. They didn’t pay for their crimes. Drug dealers who live in million dollar mansions. The sickest of the sick, pedophiles, practice their crime for years. I’m starting to think the concept of justice is just wishful thinking.
Karma is a funny thing. I hope these people get their due somehow – maybe we just won’t know about it.
What a perfectly proper and politically correct answer on such a [really shouldn’t be but somehow is bc the humanity sucks] controversial question. Good job, Princess.
My God, they’re really working that PR machine, no? It’s quite fascinating how they’re trying to pander to everyone at once. I won’t lie, I’m enjoying this. So ride the baby wave, Royals! It won’t last.
It’s funny how Charles and Diana’s ever present nannies are written out of the script. ditto Charles part in raising the boys.
The media gloss over Nanny Olga even though she’s right there in all the pap pics including when the boys were babies.
And then shamelessly report on her death as though they hadn’t spent the past 30yrs pretending she wasn’t there.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/prince-william/9595045/Prince-William-leaves-visit-to-wife-as-he-bids-farewell-to-nanny.html
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/prince-william-and-harrys-grief-for-their-nanny-1344099
I was going to comment about the same. I’ve read somewhere that the late Diana dismissed the nanny soon after she discovered that William does not make great difference between “Mama” and “Baba” (I think)? So much about the great example.
This is unnecessary criticism. No one is claiming that Di did every aspect of the parenting. She was a multimillionare princess with a full schedule raising a future king – of course she will use nannies and servants. But she broke the royal parenting mold by spending lots of affectionate, personal , one on one time with her boys. She was an amazing mom and did not the princes to grow up the way their father did. The only mark against her is that she involved the boys in her Camilla bashing. Otherwise, Di deserves a lot of credit, nannies or not.
Tara – The article above is exhibit number [infinity] in the ongoing narrative about what an earth mother Diana was despite her many obligations. It completely ignores the ever present nannies who were around ALL THE TIME.
It’s the unspoken taboo as your reaction to my comment shows.
Nanny Olga is in many, if not all, pap pics of Diana AND Charles with the boys. Pics/videos where they are taking them out to do ‘normal’ things like going to the cinema or McD or lunch at San Lorenzo, and no one comments on that. Instead everyone praises the parent for taking them out – and ignore the fact that a nanny also came along. Not just when they were babies, but also as teens.
And BTW, both boys were in boarding school by age 7/8, so let’s give a nod to their pastoral carers as well since they would have had a big hand in raising the boys too.
@Micki – yep.
Those articles were so sad. Olga was very much a parent to W & H.
This is already continuing With Will and Kate. They have a nanny titled housekeeper. The woman seems to be a jack of all trades from her many titles. From the info given in various articles and book it seems like the nannies raise the children and nurture their minds, but when it’s time for a photo op or the parents just want to hold the baby the nanny hands the child over. There’s no sense of normal parenting here. George will not have a normal childhood no matter how many articles the DM posts.
Woah, just because someone has a lot of help doesn’t mean they are a bad mother.
Besides, what mother hasn’t wished she had a full-time nanny at her beck and call now and then?
i dont think being super gooey with every stranger’s child is necessary to be a great parent
I know! I’m not gaga over kids, and I like them. I’m a teacher, but that doesn’t mean that I fawn over children all the time.
Before my daughter was born I was PETRIFIED of babies, especially very new ones. You get over it pretty quickly, but I lived in fear that someone would judge me for not wanting to hold their newborn.
I agree, but the press has been insisting since day 1 that Kate is great with kids when we know that simply isnt true.
I remember a colleague who honestly admitted he didn’t like kids- except for his own! It wasn’t a genetic link thing, either- both his sons were adopted. Oddly enough, they were actually brothers even though both were adopted as tiny babies. The birth parents still didn’t have their act together when #2 came along so my friend and his wife got first dibs! They were quite happy about that.
Are we SURE that Duchess Kate won’t have a wet nurse on call? After all, we mustn’t have chafed royal nipples!
In this day and age? Imagine the amount of screening they would have to do. Not worth it. Plus the press would be all over it. Not sure if you are joking.
The only thing I’d be iffy about would be a wet nurse. Because by all accounts, breastfeeding is bonding time.
IF I was rich, and IF I had a baby, a nurse would be for things like changing diapers, watching the baby and making sure it’s ok, but never breastfeeding. Occasional formula at most but the only b@@bs my baby should be near of would be mine.
As with everything in this topic, to each his/her own though.
@CC – I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds that a *little* ‘personal’, to be letting someone else do for your child.
I’m not judging, of course, but if it *were* me, & I’d chosen to breast-feed, it’d be *my* breasts, for *my* child.
I wonder about this. I’m sure wet nurses are screened and get health checks, but what about those websites that sell breast milk from lactating mothers around the U.S.? How do you do quality control? I would not be comfortable with that! You don’t know what might get passed on to the baby… granted, I’m totally ignorant on the web selling aspect. I know Neil Patrick Harris got his baby breast milk from one of those websites.
My cousin did something like this, as did a doula friend. They produced more than enough milk for just their child. You have to be screened regularly for any kind of disease (HIV, hepatitis, etc) as well as random drug screens. They donated their milk to NICUs.
In Canada it’s illegal to sell bodily fluids, but you can donate. There are facebook groups where you can go and pick up excess breastmilk directly from the other mother. I don’t think there’s any official regulation on it….
Also, are wet nurses still a thing? I was telling my husband about it the other day and he didn’t believe they ever existed. He was horrified…
In the olden days, wet nurses were the only option if mom couldn’t breastfeed for any reason (including being dead…). Nestlé (the man, not the evil corporation) developed a formula specifically to feed babies under those circumstances, something that would be more nutritious than other options. I don’t think he originally intended to displace human milk from healthy mothers who could breastfeed. But there have always been a significant number of women who couldn’t, I don’t think it’s a modern phenomenon.
CC
It’s likely Kate is pumping and the nanny is feeding the child. I bet Kate has bfed, but it can be painful. I wouldn’t shade anyone for pumping.
Is it my imagination or does Georgie have a huge
head?
…He sure does. o_O Looks like we should be even more ‘impressed’ w/Kate for birthing that w/o pain meds…
(NOT that there’s anything wrong w/pain meds, I’d sure as hell use them.)
I made the mistake of having a birth plan. I said for months I wouldn’t use drugs, than when I had to actually give birth it was a different story. I had to be induced. It was a terrible experience. They couldn’t give me enough drugs lol. But than when I had her in my arms, I forgot how bad it hurt. To this day I can’t explain the pain. It’s the worst pain you won’t remember
I’m just taking it easy on Kate, she has to survive in Diana’s looming shadow for the rest of her life, especially when it comes to raising her child(ren).
People become annoyed with her when the *press* makes those comparisons, but that isn’t her fault. Diana will always be seen as a ‘Mother Theresa-like’ figure, especially where children are concerned.
Almost no one will ever really compare, even if they are a good person & mother. I think being a parent is such a huge learning experience, she needs time to gain that (before anyone goes making judgements.
Don’t even get me started on the Princess Diana/Mother Teresa comparison! Almost sixteen years later and I still see red whenever people try to pretend Princess Diana was just like her.
ok, i breastfed first 2 kids until they were 2 years of age. 3rd one is going strong for 4months already.(and the beginning is hard with every single one of them) i’m just too lazy to bother with bottle sterilizing and planning if we go for an outing.food is always there in a sterilized container and proper temperature.
what bugs me is that everybody always talks how bresatfeeding is the best for a child and all that BUT when it comes to the actual process i don’t really see hospital nurses helping new moms too much. they kind of come and show a general ‘this is how you do it’ but at the same time they are all like ‘is he/she getting enough maybe we should give him/her formula?!’
wish Kate good luck with the nursing.hope she can do it for a nice long time 🙂
Hear, hear. No one *really* prepares you for how truly difficult breastfeeding can be. It took my son and me about six weeks to get into a good, painless rhythm, and after that it was smooth sailing. so many of my friends start out breastfeeding, but give up after a week or to when it’s “not working.” It’s a truly stressful experience at first, or it was for me. I wish there were more support and instruction available to pregnant women and new moms who intend to breastfeed.
Yeah, for me it was incredibly difficult as well. The only reason I succeeded was because I was lucky enough to be able hire a consultant to come to my house. She made all the difference. I don’t know how ppl who don’t have thatresource make it through that first two weeks.
This makes me so happy to read..I am so glad she is not going to get all judgmental and try to tell the peasants how to feel their babies. Its a personal choice…no one should judge.
Eh, I’m not a mom and never intend to be, but I think as long as you are keeping your baby healthy it’s really not my business how you choose to feed him. And no one owes anyone an explaination for that choice, either.
Yes! Exactly. I am a nurse practitioner and I tell my new moms that it is THEIR choice. As long as the baby is taken care of, there is bonding occuring and the baby is thriving then all is good. It is so unfair to a new mom to make her feel judged because of her choices.
I’d never judge, I can’t. But I shout to the high hills my personal experience of an amazing pregnancy, natural birth and 3yrs breastfeeding. It was a temporary sacrifice and often inconvenient. I kept the goal in mind, and that was a child that didn’t need vaccines. My very conventional pediatricians commend my choices. They wouldn’t have recommended my choices, but the proof is the bond to my resilient healthy kid.
Also my very healthy post baby body, no stretch marks, I look like most 20yr olds or better and I’m 45. Ok. I’ll stop. Hard won rewards. Worth the very very hard work and sacrifices.
I’m not sure why it is a debate. It is best to breast feed. A fact. Medical conditions excepted. Organic unproccessed food is also best when the children begin to eat solids. My kids ate Fruity Pebbles today.
And I will readily admit that it is awful. No debate from me. I am secure in my choices.
aang;
They are your kids, you go ahead and OWN those Fruity Pebbles!
I’ll be busy worrying about my own house.
Uh, actually, nope. The research on BF benefits is all associative, not corralative (social science speak). When actually corralative research is done, the data shows little to no difference between formula fed and breastfed babies. Most of the information about breastfeeding is done by average people, not statisticians who can actually read the data.
Sorry, but until you give me a reliable source for this information (which totally contradicts pretty much every medical professional with a legitimate degree not being paid by a formula company), I call lie. It’s fine to use formula and it’s fine to breastfeed but breastfeeding, if you can do it, is more beneficial. Yes, formula fed babies are almost always healthy and intelligent but statistically, breastfed babies have a tiny leg up on them in several areas. All of the people who want to beat down breastfeeding by talking about how smart and fine they turned out (which is probably completely true) need to learn the difference between anecdotal evidence and actual evidence. I’ll believe researchers at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Boston over an Internet “scientist” any day.
Am I the only one who thinks it’s gotten extremely inappropriate to compare Kate to Diana? Literally every article is comparing this mans wife to his late mother. So creepy.
Thank goodness Kate stayed away from the sanctimonious Motherhood Industrial Complex!
It’s her child and she can raise / feed him anyway she pleases.
Fawning momentarily over children doesn’t make you a great mother. Let;s not forget Diana had several affairs (some with married men) taking her out of the country and died elsewhere with a boyfriend – when her children were how old?
As for the mention of a wet – nurse,stop, just stop. Digs at a new mom breastfeeding are just unacceptable.
seems to me like this is a statement about not making a statement about breastfeeding. It’s still marketing Kate in a certain way. Catherine, the tolerant-not-better-than-thou-new-mom. It’s the “we’re normal just like you” narrative they’ve had since the beginning.
yep!
and we know this is true because ???
My milk came in, but wouldn’t come out – does that make sense? We did everything for relief. I massaged, used pumps, all of it. I had milk, but it would not leave my breast. So I bottled my first, and then I did for my twins bc I was sick for a long time afterwards (difficult delivery).
Breast is best, but for some women, formula fits them better. Formulas have came a long way.
I’m sure little Georgie will have no problem homing in on those bright crimson nipples of hers.
Um, if its okay with you i would rather not think about Kate’s nips. Am i wrong for being weirded out by your comment?
Thanks for the laugh. It’s not hard to imagine it, since pictures of her large, dark-colored nipples are all over the internet. You’re right, he probably won’t have much trouble finding them!
You can’t compare the UK with the USA in terms of breastfeeding!
In the UK you have DAILY access to a midwife for 6 weeks if it’s needed and then a Health Visitor for 5 years … and so have far more help with breastfeeding. I had my second baby here in the US and was on my own after 24 hours~
The UK also has much less “shame” about breastfeeding in public than here in the US.
I breastfed both my boys for a year and never had to go to a separate room or put a blanket or something over their head (first one in the UK and second in the US) – I suspect my bitchface potential and ease with the mechanics of feeding discreetly (I’m a midwife) prevented anyone complaining????
That’s nice – and probably somewhat true depending where you are in the UK and in the US (because at least in the states breastfeeding support varies widely, depending on your location and insurance coverage )- but it’s not really related to the duchess’s situation.
She isn’t going to breastfeed in public and she won’t have to rely on the NHS for midwife/Health Visitor support.
I’m glad my kids are older now, because a few years ago, the Breastfeeding Police were a bit much and now they’re ridiculous. Feed your baby good, healthy food, as Tracy Hogg said. My brothers and I all had formula and we all are well educated with good jobs. My kids were bottle fed and my eldest is in the gifted program. Being a good parent doesn’t mean you breastfeed; it means you’re a caring, involved parent and it will likely determine how your child grows up.
Its true that some women who breast feed are really obsessed with controlling what other women do.
Although I agree that breast milk is far healthier for a newborn infant, the extreme approach of these women is sickening. Some of them will even go so far as to say that a woman who has had a mastectomy should not be allowed to have a baby since she cannot breastfeed it. Or, they should be required to buy human breastmilk from a milk bank (which is expensive and hard to get). They will also insist that any woman who says she does not have enough breast milk is “lying” about it, and just too lazy to try. They spread a lot of myths and misconceptions that are sometimes even dangerous. They have even said that an HIV positive woman should go ahead and breastfeed her infant, and ignore the risks of her infant possibly contracting HIV from the breastmilk.
I KNOW they say all this stuff because I’ve read it on many mother forums.
When my kids were babes and I was on mommy boards, I saw the militant attitudes a lot, but I’ve never experienced it in real life. I am in a group of friends who all were pregnant for a few years together and we covered the breast feeding to bottle feeding spectrum with about every combination. It was never an issue.
I think women on the mommy boards are a lot more vocal because they are speaking online, anonymously. Its stuff they would not dare say out loud in polite society, because they know darn well that their beliefs are far too extreme.
I’m very suspicious on al those chemicals and things they put on those artificial milk for babies. Wouldn’t want to risk it even if it’s ok because my baby is more important than me and my breasts. And there really doesn’t excist anything better for babies than breastmilk.
Actually, nowadays we have to worry about contaminated breastmilk as well… It’s not just drugs that end up in the milk. What mom eats does, too. So baby gets doses of the same pesticides and heavy metals as we do. Can’t win. If you think too hard about all this, though, your head will explode.
It seems team formula are way more defensive on this sight than team breast milk. As difficult as it is to breastfeed you would think women would be more supportive and less threatened. Sad really.
The truth is, women are rarely supportive of each other. Men do tend to support each other, though.
It is not men keeping women down in the world; its women who keep each other down.
Who is acting threatened? You are the first to bring up teams.
Thoughts on breastfeeding:
I have two kids. Breastfed one for 13 months, other for 11. Dad and sitters gave them bottles of pumped milk. I was a Dairy Queen and had a huge supply. Neither kid ever had formula.
I got sick with mastitis with each kid about two weeks after they were born. If you’ve never had it, it feels like a horrible case of the flu, high fever, chills. You nurse right through it. You feel like hell.
Son is 21, freaking brilliant, scary smart. Daughter is 18, talented and smart. Both in good colleges, one on full ride.
Oh lord, the ear infections we battled and the strep throats they endured! Son is allergic to penicillin. So much for that improved health theory.
Both kids are very close to me, who nursed them, and their father, who gave them bottles.
BF is super convenient. It’s always ready, at the proper temperature and completely portable. I’d nurse discreetly in public, I didn’t care.
But the best part is that breastfed babies’ poos don’t stink nearly as much as bottle fed babies’ poos (until they start solids, then all bets are off).
My theory 18 years later? Do what works for you, your baby, and what your doctor recommends. Babies are tough, and if you think breast or bottle feeding is the biggest decision to make or the only way you can mess up a kid, then you’d better hold on to your hat!
Yes, mastitis is horrific. Got the t shirt
These threads are worth visiting just to remind me that I’m happy I don’t have kids, therefor I’m not subject to the scrutiny and judgment from The Mom Community.
I was literally about to post the same thing. I do feed my cats organic baby food though, so I have potential, right?
Ha, Kitten, that’s only about breastfeeding. We haven’t started on potty training… yet…LOL
Actually, if you are happy that you don’t have kids, you would not need to remind yourself. Doncha think?
And its not just moms who judge each other. Women in general tend to judge other women – often quite harshly.
Aaaaand cue the judgement on the decision not to have kids…
I wonder if he’s colicky? Does that start right away?
I was thinking the same and wondering if the term colicky is still in use. My first came out screaming and didn’t settle down for six months. It’s interesting because he has turned out to be the mellowest of my children. My husband always says that our son yelled out all his frustrations when he was a baby and that’s why he’s so easy-going now! It’s not particularly fun being the parent of a colicky baby but there are certainly a lot worse problems out there. I wish them the best.
Most of you may be too young to remember this, but for a long time in the USA, doctors and others were actively discouraging mothers from breastfeeding. My mother (who had been breastfed as a matter of course herself in the 1920s) had that pressure from everybody including her doctor. It just “wasn’t done”. I have no idea why. My mother did not have an outside job, so scheduling was not a problem. By the late 1940s and 1950s, it was quite an anomaly. I remember there was one woman a couple of blocks away who was breastfeeding and we kids were fascinated by the very idea, it was so strange. None of our mothers had done it. The push back to breastfeeding came when I was an adult and it was a very long haul. There was a lot of opposition. The “mommy wars” are probably rooted in that history. It was a long period of insanity (actually discouraging what makes us mammals…) to be overcome, so I can see why some would go overboard the other way and forget that individual mothers do have to decide if they themselves can breastfeed under their particular circumstances. Moms can bond in other ways, so I wouldn’t worry about that.
There are indeed real health benefits, however, so any amount of breastfeeding you can manage will be very helpful. Kids are flexible and many will grow up healthy regardless- there are many other genetic and environmental influences. The sad thing is that I was just the kid who should have been breastfed if at all possible because of allergies- if you have any tendency toward allergies in the family, breastfeeding for as long as possible is very likely to help. You do need to be careful what you eat, because a child can react to the milk if you eat an allergenic food. Children who “didn’t like” or “were allergic to” breastmilk, as indicated by some posters, were almost certainly just allergic to something mom was eating or drinking. If it ever happens to you, I suggest eliminating different foods to see how baby reacts, starting with the most commonly eaten foods. Cow’s milk seems to be a particularly potent allergen. Other possibilities can be peanuts, soy, corn, wheat, eggs in the US since those are often eaten frequently. But any food can be allergenic. Experiment with removing certain herbs and spices also. It is also possible the baby just doesn’t like the taste of something mom is eating, but allergy is more likely because the immune system is so immature. That’s why it’s important to introduce solid foods carefully, and not push a food baby doesn’t want to eat.
I was born in 1959, in the US, in the midwest, and was breastfed. As were my cousins.
It wasn’t that strange in this neck of the woods.
And the “breast is best” movement has been in full swing since the eighties, so it’s hardly a new concept that needs to be heavy-handed to get their message across.
My siblings and I were also born in the Midwest in the 50s and 60s (although not in a rural area). My mother breastfed us all for at least a few months (except me, but my mother developed a pulmonary embolism when I was 2 weeks old, nearly died, and spent 3 weeks in the hospital on a morphine drip….). My mother’s OB/GYN at the time was a young “wunderkind” doctor who encouraged his patients to breastfeed, and from what my mom says, he was a bit of an anomaly at the time. He would have been on the cutting edge of the back to breastfeeding movement in the US.
Oddly enough I’m the healthiest one of us kids, and the only one who didn’t develop allergies — so altho I got the colostrum and a few weeks of breast milk, I’ve always wondered if I didn’t avoid some of my mom’s over-charged immune system too.
Breastfed my own kid for 20 mths til my milk ran out. Even struggled to get my milk back after emergency surgery when he was 5 months old. Good for moms, good for babies — but there are lots of good reasons why a mom can’t breastfeed, and no one should ever be shamed over it. The only shame (in the US) is that the culture, laws, and corporate interests do no support breastfeeding moms (or proper maternity leaves).
Yes! My Mom had to learn the hard way to not push a food on me. After I painted the kitchen for her she never fed me beets again! Lol (she *did* say it was a rather nice color, albeit natural). Still don’t like beets at 50. (o;
jwoolman
what a fascinating post, thank you!
I read that it was a feminist issue, and a class issue.
I understand it binds us to the home, and it’s really messy!
I say all this because I breastfed until my child was 3. He is bonded and affectionate, and very resilient physically and emotionally.
But like I said, I was chained to the home/domestic situation, and it was messy and inconvenient. So I understand that it’s not for everyone, because it’s DAMN HARD!! It’s really not sexy, and it’s not easy for a fashionista like me.
But I did it because I was compelled to continue. Intuitively it was a sacrifice to my sexiness and individuality I was willing to make.
I just knew there would be light at the end of the tunnel. His happiness and contentedness was my light.
Now that he’s grown, I’m a fashionista again, I’m a woman, my breasts are sexy again (not as perfect, but it’s also been 10yrs post) and I’m an indiviual.
It should be a choice, but I can’t fathom why someone would have a baby, then get immediately selfish. This narcissism is hard to understand.
I know no one is going to read this comment way on the bottom, but all I can think of is —– There are still wetnurses?
I think people nowadays (at least in the western world) probably use breast milk banks more often than hiring a wet nurse.
The thought of feeding my child someone elses bodily fluids, no matter *HOW* much screening is done, skeeves me right the hell on out!
Uhh…no thank you. )o;
Yet you would take a blood transfusion for your child if needed, right?
I’m shocked she’s had such an easy time of it. Big baby, natural birth, now breast feeding? Can I have a what what?
I did all that too, as natural as possible birth, medium sized baby, breast fed. Let me tell you, it’s the harder choice, for certain.
I can’t shame other women because it’s all personal complicated, etc.
But it’s hard to pass up on drugs. It’s hard to pass up on formula. It’s hard to pass up on junk food and booze. I want to commend myself, the Duchess, and all women who make the harder healthier choice.
Oh, and on wet nurses. No thanks. Wet banks. Not an option, grose. You know, kids bond to us when we do all the heavy lifting. I didn’t like feeling like a gigantic cow. That was a temporary sacrifice of my personal mojo and sexiness that I’d cultivated for many years.
But my kid is 7 now, and we have a beautiful bond and he’s an incredibly resilient healthy child.
Oh. BTW. I have my mojo back, my sexuality back, and I’m more just as, if not more, muscular and healthy than ever. I don’t have my husband anymore, instead I have the best lover in my life to date.
Beyonce got it all wrong. The masses won’t bow down to a chick just because she has number one songs, but they sure as heck will bow down to a chick who marries a Prince and pops out a kid.
I swear, the amount of a$$kissing the media is giving Kate has gone beyond insane. As if whatever Kate does makes it law for what “real” women and mothers should do. It’s not Kate’s fault. I almost feel bad for her because they are building her up so much, that when they decide to turn on her again, her downfall will be brutal.
I’ve always felt there is an untold story about Kate, anyway. She is not quite that perfect.