What an ignorant thing to say?!

"A newborn baby has only three demands. They are: warmth in the arms of tis mother, food from her breasts, and security in the knowledge of her presence. Breastfeeding satisfies all three." Grandly Dick-Read

One of my Facebook friends recently posted a news story about how introducing solid food early to formula fed babies can increase their risk of battling childhood obesity. Someone in the comments posted the following:

“Neither of my older kids was obese at 3 months and they were both on 3 meals a day by somewhere around 4-6 months! Isn't it a matter of listening to why they are crying and not feeding on demand? There are many philosophies on these subjects and much listening to the baby.....patience on Mom's part for sure! Let the Wise one direct you!”

What an ignorant thing to say?! First off, I’m guessing that when this person says, “Let the Wise one direct you”, she’s referring to the Baby Wise book that is highly controversial among the pediatric community. In my opinion, it’s a disgusting and hurtful approach to parenting—in fact, nothing could be farther from Attachment Parenting than the Baby Wise philosophy. I have heard that the author of Baby Wise has a severely broken relationship with his children; and there are accounts of babies “failing to thrive” when subjected to the Baby Wise methods. Baby Wise is borderline inhumane. And that’s all I’ll say about that. My real beef with this person’s comment is the part I bolded, “Isn’t it a matter of listening to why they are crying and not feeding on demand?”

When I first brought Max home, every single time he cried, I offered him a breast. Even if I had just fed him. Breastfeeding is so much more than actually feeding your baby. It’s comfort, it’s love, it’s bonding, it’s your baby learning that you are his safe place, his ultimate protector and provider, and nourishment. Further, breastfed babies turn to the breast for several reasons: they aren’t feeling well, they are teething, growth spurt time—if a developmental milestone such as rolling over or crawling is bothering them; they will want to breastfeed to relax.

Maybe I’m being over dramatic. Maybe the commenter’s reference to “the Wise one” set me off. I don’t know. What I DO know, is that I will never deny my baby my warm embrace or my breast. I will never deny him food in his mouth. I will never deny him the security of my guardianship.