Discussions

A friend and I were chatting and comparing our infants growth and developments. My friend is currently formula feeding her baby as he is lactose intolerant. I am both nursing and formula feeding as he was born quite big and lost over 10% of his birth weight. So we were both sharing the negative conversations we've both had with strangers, co-workers, family, friends, etc....about peoples personal opinions about us"choosing" not to nurse our babies. I know people are entitled to personal opinions, but some comments should just be kept unsaid. No doubt Breastfeeding is the healthier choice for both mother and baby, but not all woman are fortunate to breastfeed. And those who choose to formula feed - it is completely their business. I have people leaving me feeling bad after comments such as;  
-Oh you chose to formula feed, thats too bad,  
-Do you know what they put in that stuff nowadays,  
-Breastfed babies are healthier  
 
Then when I am seen breastfeeding I get comments such as;  
-Your such a good mother  
-Excellent choice  
-Good for you, not all mothers have the patience.....  
 
The list of comments goes on and on. I know people mean well, but comments such as that do offend mothers, especially first time mothers, or mothers who are not able to breastfeed.  
Another topic we touched on was strangers touching our babies in public. Again, I know people mean no harm when admiring my baby, but there really is no need to be touching my baby on his face or wrapping his fingers around their finger. We are in public - where unfortunately germs and bacteria is not controlled. Hundreds of people touch the store doors, carts even items on the shelves and then touch my baby. I had an elderly lady admiring my son and began touching his hands. I politely asked her not to because of germs and she got really offended and made a very rude remark. Babies are adorable, but people need to realize that their immune systems are not as strong and can easily get sick. Does anyone remember the tests they did after taking swabs from a shopping cart from a shopping mall? (Sorry, I forget where they did this...) thousands of types of germs were found including feces - I'm sorry but I don't want that on my son's hands and then have him put his hand in his mouth.