Pure sadness....

I just read over at Kateri's blog about the outrage over a picture of a mommy nursing her baby on the new  BabyTalk cover. I had not heard about this before today and I was in absolute shock over it. People actually wrote in about how their kids would be damaged from seeing a sexual breast on the cover of the magazine.

It just totally horrifies me that they would even publish someone's ignorant comments like that because of the impact it has on its readers. This is the very same reason why less women breastfeed! Why are we the only country that feels the need to sexualize the breast and how can a woman be so ignorant to play into that whole idea? Breasts were made for babies to eat out of..plain and simple. There is nothing sexual about it....NOTHING!

I am disturbed and I dont know what else to say about it. There isnt even a hint of nipple in that picture and I know I see far more boobage in any fashion mag on the shelves of my local grocery store. Should I write in whenever I see a baby with a bottle in its mouth saying how that hurts me and makes me upset? No. That would just be wrong huh? But yet something totally natural is made out to be something barabaric and gross and something we should shield our precious babies eyes from. I never ever understood growing up why my mother did not breastfeed my sis or I. I was actually always very hurt that she didnt even try and felt robbed of something so vitally important.

I knew from a very very young age that I would nurse my babies. I had dreams about it since I was maybe 10 years old. It was never something I questioned like so many people nowdays do. When I first put baby G to my breast only a minute after she entered this cold world it was a dream come true. It was honestly the best feeling I had ever had in my life. I had dreamed about that moment for so many years and here it was. I could care less about my sore nipples and I solidly loved it with all my heart from day one till month 13 when she weaned on her own. I was heartbroken when she rejected me and I tried for weeks to get her to return to the breast but she refused.

I simply can not wait till I can put my new son at my breast and nurse him. It is an experiance I would never rob either of us of and if we have problems like I did with G we will work through them no matter what. It is something I am dreaming about daily. So I just dont get it. I dont see how anyone especially a woman could be offended by a baby getting milk from its mother. Its the most beautiful site in the world.

In honor of Kateri's post I am also posting a pic of me nursing baby G in the tub at about 7 months old. It was a very hard decision for me to put this here because its not very discreet but I think it is truly needed in this situation. If you also decide to post about this article please send me the link so I can put it here and other people can see these beautiful pics!

The best moments in my life.

Comments

[Monica C.]

I nursed both of my girls, and truly enjoyed the special bond I shared with each of them during that time. Love your pic., too, by the way - very precious!

[Kateri]

Wow. Beautiful picture! Thanks fro posting.

[Mel]

It is a beautiful picture and one you should rightly be very proud of :)

G looks so content...

[Tasha]

I actually seen a debate on blogging baby and wrote a letter to the babytalk magazine to let them know how I enjoyed the picture. I found a quote from a mom that said she had to shredd the cover so her 13 year old son didn't get any ideas. Ideas? Ideas for what? I don't get it. I was unable to breast feed and really feel like I missed out on something. The cover of the magizine was tastful and not flaunting anything wrong

[Lindsey]

Beautiful picture. I look forward to breastfeeding when I'm a mom and the way you describe it makes it even more special:)

[Kelly]

Lisa, rock on with your picture! That is precious. I am SO looking forward to breastfeeding Chloe and experiencing that God given mommy/baby bond. My friend Candace
(www.laughingdaisies.com)
wrote a whole post about this because she was so outraged. We are one of the only countries in the world that have such a hang up about breastfeeding. It is shamefull. God has designed our bodies to do miraculous things like create a baby inside our bodies, then give them everything they need to grow and thrive on the outside. That is beyond amazing and beautiful!

[Amber]

Wow breastfeeding is such a touchy subject and I don't feel that it should be. I have breastfed both of my boys and didn't enjoy personally so I only did it for their own health benefits but I'm glad you enjoy it so much and did it for that long. Not many women make it that long so Good Job! And I feel there is nothing wrong with that picture at all!

[Brandi]

The picture is BEAUTIFUL!

Wonderful story!

[Colleen]

I agree with everything you wrote. Great post! When I saw the picture I thought, what's wrong with it? Is it really the first time a picture of a baby nursing has been on a cover? REALLY? Maybe that type of picture is usually only on the inside of the magazine?

I am always confused as to why a woman wouldn't even TRY to nurse her baby. I bet you're right, though. It could have a lot to do with the conflicting messages from the media. Like you, one of my favorite experiences in my life was nursing my first baby. Also like you, we had some difficulty. I never got to a point where I could just nurse her...she ALWAYS wanted more! But, I did keep it up for 6 months. And my experience did not deter me from nursing my second baby. Second time around was better, though we still did some supplementing. I'm hoping that if we have a third child, the third time will be the charm!

[Lisa]

I love the picture - it is artistic and touching. I absolutely love nursing my babies - it is the most powerful gift I can give them. Rock on Lisa. I have that issue of BabyTalk - it's a nice picture too. Some people have nothing better to do with their time than bitch. I have work for them - my desk needs to be organized.