Aaron Family Adventures: The Great Debate

No this isn't about law or politics - it's about breastfeeding. You have been forewarned and can now switch back to ESPN.com or TMZ online.

I spent much of Leah's first 3 months struggling with the breastfeeding vs. formula debate. It seems that every parenting book ever written, and the entire internet, was convinced that I should breastfeed my child. Just Googling the word "breastfeeding" will bring up countless message boards where people express their opinion that you should breastfeed for a full year and that formula is poison. And But what no one talks about is that it's a two person operation. I felt enormous pressure to breastfeed Leah, but as it turned out, she felt no pressure to reciprocate and could care less, really.

My sister did a wonderful thing for me. She sent me Tina Fey's auto-biography, Bossypants. I told her I didn't have time to read for fun. She said, just read the chapter that I've tabbed; you'll appreciate it.

The Chapter is called "There's a drunk midget in my house" and it's all about Tina Fey's attempt at breastfeeding. Here are some of my favorite parts.

Invented in the mid-1800s as a last ditche option for orphans and underweight babies, packaged infant formula has since been perfected to be a complete and reliable source of stress and shame for mothers.... There's a lot of different opinions as to how long one should breast-feed. The World Health Organization says six months. The American Association of PEdiatrics says one year is ideal. Mothering magazine suggests you nurse the child until just before his rehearsal dinner. I say you must find what works for you. For my little angel and me, the magic number was seventy-two hours."

Hahahahahah. I love this. And I love my sister for pointing this out to me. The pressure to breast-feed in our culture is intense, yet I have a sneaking suspicion that most mothers at least supplement with formula, and at some point, sometimes very early on, use formula exclusively. I like formula. There, I said it. You know why? Because it's easy. I don't have to worry about how long to store it. I can't ruin the nutrient qualities by using a bottle warmer to heat instead of running it under luke-warm water. I don't have to pump to get it.

I have tried to continue to pump twice a day to give Leah the best food possible. But I'm also using a lot of formula and I've decided not to feel guilty about it. It's what works for us. And I don't know ... she looks pretty happy and healthy to me.