Because breast milk does wonders for baby’s health, many feel as though feeding one’s baby with formula is both perplexing and preposterous. In fact, there are mothers who would go out of their way to get this point across—unsolicited.
Annie Ferguson Muscato could attest to this; while she was doing her shopping at Target, she was approached by a random woman to personally make a statement.
“You didn’t need to tell me, ‘breast is best’ as I was buying a can of baby formula, because I already know,” says Annie in a Facebook post which details the encounter.
In it, Annie explained how at first she was very excited to try breastfeeding while she was pregnant.
But then her baby came into the world, and when she finally had the chance to breastfeed, she learned the heartbreaking discovery that it didn’t work for her.
“I know that my baby began screaming after she ate,” her post says. “Writhing in pain. Inconsolable.”
“I know over the last month and a half I have exclusively pumped and tried slow flow bottles of breast milk, I have tried different positions, I have seen another lactation consultant.”
She also tried cutting soy, dairy, and leafy greens from her diet to make my milk more digestible for her baby.
“I have pumped and I’m still pumping enough to have hundreds of ounces of breast milk in my freezer even though she will likely never be able to eat it. All because ‘breast is best.’”
Then finally she found an alternative that works for both her and her child—hypoallergenic dairy protein free formula.
The screaming lessened, her baby started smiling, she started interacting, she started sleeping.
But every once in a while, Annie still felt as though she had failed her daughter, that her body had failed her daughter, and that she was depriving her of a healthier life because she is on formula.
“I know you think I must not care or I’m lazy, or maybe you were genuinely trying to be helpful and thought no one had ever told me the benefits of breast feeding,” she says. “But, you are wrong.”
“What I know that you don’t is that breast ISN’T always best. I know happy, healthy baby is best. I know FED is best.”
READ: 8 Things You Shouldn’t Say to Moms Who Bottle Feed
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