“Juanita thinks you should stop breastfeeding the baby during the day and give her more bottles,” my mother said matter-of-factly.
I moved the phone from one ear to the other as I looked down and noticed that I had successfully rocked my baby to sleep.
“Wait, what? Why would I do that?” I asked, already feeling the agitation welling up inside of me.
I had to ask for clarity because from where I stood, it sounded like my mom was telling me that a relative was suggesting that I wean my then-2-month-old daughter off the boob. But being that it was such an absurd suggestion, I was certain that I was misinterpreting things.
“She said you should start giving her more bottles during the day so that you can start weaning her off of the breast to make her a little less clingy so that other people can take care of her,” my mom explained.
My daughter, who would willingly take a bottle but primarily preferred the breast, was going through a stage where she was all about mommy. She didn’t really want to be held by anyone else for longer than a few minutes. She’d start to cry within minutes of me leaving the house and wouldn’t truly stop until I returned. She appeared to be the happiest baby on earth when she was in my arms, nestled under my chin. Based on all of the research I had done, I was convinced that this type of behavior was developmentally appropriate for babies her age, so I didn’t think much of it. Sure, this phase made things slightly challenging for both my husband and I, but we established a plan that allowed us to cater to her needs during that time and we were making it work. She didn’t really need to be taken care of by anyone else because her parents had made the necessary adjustments. Apparently, this relative, who hadn’t even laid physical eyes on my child yet, had determined that her behavior needed “fixing” and that breastfeeding was the culprit.
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