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July 13th 05, 12:24 AM
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"Kim" wrote in message .. . wrote in message oups.com... wrote: wrote: So what's wrong with being fed bottles of Bud? While I wouldn't turn down a Bud, I much prefer a Yuengling Black & Tan or a Guinness Stout. Or a Genessee Cream Ale. Beats me, I'm not into suds. As for what is fed to babies, Ye gawds in all the years I've been lurking in this funny-farm I can't think of another topic having popped up which is a far afield from the code test war. Ever. . WEIRD! Oh, I think you could find some pretty darned furhter off-topic discussions than this. In fact, bottle feeding frees up a woman to pick up a mic or slam a fist, as it were. Well that's one way to tie it into amateur radio (or any other topic for that matter). Whether a protest of the topic or not, I couldn't tell, but you've bit right into it, I see. it should be remembered that for a couple of decades in the middle of the 20th century, the "professionals" and "experts" told us that bottle-feeding was *better* for infants than the "old-fashioned way". The newfangled "formula" and all the attendant apparatus was "scientific" and "progressive", they said. Of course it took a whole pile of hardware (bottles, sterilizer pot with lid and bottle rack, nipples, nipple rings, seals, bottle tops, tongs) the formula itself, and a kitchen to do all the processing to do what "the old fashioned way" did semi- automatically. The "old-fashioned way" was put down as being vaguely third-world, Luddite, "horse and buggy" and inferior both physically and psychologically. Moms who tried to keep the old ways met with resistance, opposition and insults. Uhhh . . are you "explaining" all this to me James or what? If so spare me willya, I was raised in those days and so were my kids and those times spanned more than just a couple decades. Yeah there was a bit of hardware involved but the process was a no-brainer and it wasn't nearly as complicated as you've intimated. Tongs? sterilizer pot? Bottle rack? What? Nonsense. Never had any of 'em. By the way the handiest widgets by far were the 'lectric bottle warmers. Didn't have any friggin' pacifiers ether. Well when I was planning to have children, I sat down and evaluated the alternatives based on my lifestyle and the technology available to me. I ended up working full time and choosing breast feeding for both children. I didn't care one bit for historical precedence or political correctness. [snip] After all, the "professionals" and "experts" knew best, right? As if! Yeah as if. In the first place you weren't there, I was but never mind that little detail. The bottle-feeding days were the biggest move forward ever in the liberation of women, especially moms. Finally moms didn't have to hover over their wee ones 24/7 and were able to do "radical" things like trudge off to jobs and even short vacations without the kid thus getting the ravenous little beasties out of their lives for awhile for a break for others to feed. I sure did my share and so did grandparents and others. I personally found breast feeding to be liberating. If I wanted to go somewhere, all I had to do was stuff a couple of diapers in my purse, grab the baby and go. Didn't have to worry about how much formula to take or how to keep it from spoiling, etc. Good grief. Take a breath there. I really don't know if you're being gruff with a reason or if you are somehow insulted by Jim's attempt to caution at what "experts" may say at any given time. I think the more demonstrable part of Jim's post was that it is the advertising that drives what is "best" for...well, anything. Here, it happens to be whether breast feeding or bottle feeding is good/better for people. The two problems with the current politically correct gotta-do-the-boobs drill are (1) it puts the moms back into the same crippled sorts of lives the cave women lived and (2) fathers don't have to be bothered with the feeding so they can wander off and be Real Men again. Bull****. Lemmee clue you about the biggie which has been lost. A non-mom reapetedly having the sole responsibility for feeding an infant is by far the second most powerful bonding force there is. Ah. So, this is going to come down to some argument for or against the "politically correct" angle, for you. Let me give you a clue: moms who "gotta-do-the-boobs" drill are quite capable of doing the boobs AND all that you mention above. I bottle fed my first baby and breast fed my second. I got to try both and enjoyed both. Neither method prohibited me from doing anything and I didn't feel cave-like at all, as your neandrathalian attitude suggests. One thing that pretty much cannot be argued is that, in a healthy environment where mom is healthy, breast milk is far superior to manufactured formula. Given that, dads are not at all locked out of the experience of feeding, as breast milk can be pumped into bottles and fed to the baby. Moms are free to pump their breasts at work, saving the milk for bottle feeding at the nursery, or by dad, or by gramma, or whomever. Feeding a baby breast milk does mean that there are any cave relationships that have to be endured. Kim's got it 100% right here. As mentioned above, I worked full time. Breast milk has many advantages. If the mother is healthy, it is automatically the correct balance for the infant. In addition, it tranfers any immunities that the mother may have to the infant for the duration of the time that the baby is breast fed. A non-mom can repeatedly have the sole responsibility for feeding an infant AND experience the most powerful bonding force there is, simply by feeding the baby with breast milk through a bottle. I spent thousands of hours in that mode and looking back I wouldn't have missed it for all the world. My sons-in-laws have no idea what I'm talking about when the topic comes up and the grumpy old ex couldn't agree more despite the fact that agreeing with me on any subject galls her no end. You are a dedicated dad and that is admirable in terms of the men in your generation who wanted nothing to do with the babyhood of their children. My childrens' father; nor any of my gal-friends husbands, wanted to change diapers, feed, bathe, or even watch their child alone. We dragged the kids everywhere, were expected to maintain the home, get the food on the table reliably, keep the "kid" quiet and, not only no, but hell no, dad wasn't about to watch a baby while mom just took a break. It is fantastic to find a dad that takes part as you did. I have to give my daughters' fathers credit for participating in child rearing even though in both cases we divorced for other reasons. What paper diapers? Don't be silly . . In closing here James ponder this: You've spent more than just a few minutes rachet-jawing with my youngest. Who was 100% bottle-fed as often as not by her daddy. What evidence do have to offer which indicates that she'd have been better off if she'd been boob-fed instead? Watch bottle-feeding come back again and remember where ya heard it. What I hope to see is that mothers are free to choose whichever method suits them and their lifestyles. While breast milk has a slight edge, modern pediatrics has insured that formula is an adequate substitute. 73 de Jim, N2EY w3rv You seem way too defensive, as though Jim was shunning one style of feeding over another. I think what Jim was shunning is the readiness of people to believe so-called experts, when the experts driving mechanism is advertising or influence, etc. I think bottle feeding is the preferred mode today, isn't it? It doesn't have to "come back," because it hasn't gone anywhere in the past 20 years, or so. Most women I know who are having babies these days are bottle feeding--though many more than used to are feeding breast milk, pumped while they are at breaks at work and refrigerating the milk for future use. Kim W5TIT At least in my lifetime, there have always been more women bottle feeding than breast feeding. Most of my daughter's friends bottle feed although she chose breast feeding. She made her decision on her own without pressure from me. She got herself an extra fancy breast pump. It is motorized and does both breasts at once. Somehow this bring about visions of the farm and the milking machines we used to have when I was a child! Dee D. Flint, N8UZE |
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