AMEN…you always state things so well. I appreciated the free formula – AND I got all my breastfeeding friend’s samples of free formula, SCORE.

Formula sample….ok. Rogaine sample…no thanks!

I have no problem with pretty much anyone sending me free samples! Yay free samples! Even if I don’t use it, I know other mothers who could really use the cans of Similac I received – formula can really add up!

I agree that this blogger/comic seems WAY over the top, but I think that the underlying issue regarding marketing formula this way has to do with its marketing in populations of women that do not receive equal information about breastfeeding vs. bottle feeding. For example, teen mothers from poor backgrounds who may not be in the best position to make an educated decision for themselves about whether to bottle or breastfeed without nonbiased information. And, while I’m absolutely with you on the idea that formula will always continue to be necessary to nourish babies whose mothers cannot or choose not to breastfeed (and it’s certainly not “poison,” jeesh), I also think there could be a lot more done in this culture to support women in making an informed decision one way or the other. From a strictly “bottom line” financial viewpoint, the government could save probably millions of dollars a year by teaching and encouraging women on WIC funding to breastfeed rather than just handing out formula.

I love the way you write, by the way!

Absolutely! I kept getting them even after my kids were too old for it. I bundled it up with the clothes they’d grown out of and took them to a local women’s shelter. The samples were very much appreciated! And really, Ty Pennington as a spokesperson for formula? Odd!

Personally, I think the reverse side is driven into mother’s heads more than formula. My wife always used to comment about the posters on every wall of the maternity ward about the importance of breastfeeding. It was about 1 step short of a WWII propaganda film.

And somewhat like you, my wife had trouble breastfeeding. Not completely, but it was difficult and didn’t last long. And, even during the time she was, we would still occasionally supplement with an occasion formula bottle.

Also, the right to breastfeed in public is defended like the right to live. Even suggest that it might be nice, if possible, to TRY to be discreet about it and you’ll be sure to find a load of burning formula cans in the shape of a female symbol on your front lawn.

GOD DAMNIT-WHO’S THE BASTARD WHO SENT ME STOOL SOFTENER? DON’T THEY KNOW I HAVE DIARRHEA?
Snort.

I formula fed my first kid and I’m doing it again JUST BECAUSE I WANT TO. It’s not heroine, people, it’s formula-news flash-GENERATIONS of babies have thrived on it. If you feed it to your baby, it is NOT the same as whacking them with a rusty nail-riddled stick at every feeding time. If you enjoy breast-feeding, then super for you and your little ones but, holy hell, do you have to be totally convinced that NOT doing it is a fate worse than death?

I was really frickin thankful for those free cans on the first night home with my 9 pound infant. He was SCREECHING from hunger and my breastmilk hadn’t come in… I called the nurses at the hospital, and they said OHMYGAWD he’s probably starving, feed him anything, do you have a can of free formula? It totally saved a 2 am drive 30 miles to the nearest open store, and made him very happy… plus when my milk DID come in, he was great with either me or a bottle. Now he weighs more than me, and will STILL eat anything.

SHARE THE LINK!!!!

Um… Ty Pennington ??

For Baby Formula???

I’ve got a 5-month-old who is exclusively breastfed. While I think it’s important and that there should be more breastfeeding education, I was psyched when I got the free formula in the mail. Even though I don’t ever intend to use it, I can’t even begin to see a problem with having a back up emergency food source readily available. I don’t want to think about the circumstances in which that would come into play, but I’m glad it’s there.

Plus, the black Similac diaper bag I got free at the hospital is one of my favorite things. My breast pump didn’t come with a carrying case, so I use that. Plus, it came with a cooler bag and reusable ice packs. Score! So it says Similac on it. Who the fuck cares?

Good lord, this woman turned her hatred into a comic strip? I had gestational diabetes while preggers with my oldest son. He just turned 10 and every now and then I get a phone call or junk mail offering the newest glucometer or whatnot. I just politely tell them I haven’t been diabetic in 10 years but thanks for calling. Any free samples either go to friends or the local battered woman’s shelter. Sheesh!

Oh, AMEN! I’ve been rediscovering her lately, and have been more and more troubled. I got into her comic while pregnant and planning to be all crunchy attachment-parenty. Well, here we are, six months later, formula feeding and sleeping for 12 hours at night in a crib in the room next door. *gasp* We’re all happy and loved and ATTACHED. While I appreciate her views, I, too, cannot get over the narrow-mindedness, and that horrible, “My way is the right way, everyone else is WRONG” attitude. So sad.

I would rather get formula in the mail than the occasional “feminine” product. Try explaining THAT to your 5 year old son :)

When I was pregnant last time I remember being all miffed about the formula samples and the bottles I was given, but once I actually needed them I was very appreciative and started scrounging for more, not to mention the totally awesome formula checks. Sometimes formula is what a baby needs in lieu of, you know, death. Yes, the formula people are big marketers, but I don’t know anybody who did not breastfeed because the formula was sooo tempting. If you don’t need it, ask not to be sent it, or pass it on. Lots of people could use it.

And I use cloth diapers, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like getting free disposables in the mail for emergencies. You never know what might come up!

People who think in extremes scare the shit out of me. And yes, having gone through multiple miscarriages myself, there will be a special place in hell for the cartoonist who suggests that it renders a woman incapable of making parenting decisions. A big problem with all extremists is their lack of empathy – if more people could put themselves in other people’s shoes for just a minute the judgment levels in this society would drop considerably.

can I get a HELL YEAH!

I breastfed my little guy, but I was psyched when I had those cans from the take home bag from the hospital to give to my sister-in-law who happened to be using formula. I also signed up for whatever program that they had to get the formula checks, again to pass on to my sister-in-law because it really helped them out. I’m happy that breastfeeding worked out for my situation, but yeah, totally different strokes for different folks.

If I received something like that in the mail, I’d most likely think “Score–something useful to offer on Freecycle”.

Oh, totally. I once got a free sample of CIGARETTES and managed not to flick the fup out.

Come on! What is the big deal about getting a formula sample in the mail?

My son is almost 7 and I still get diaper samples in the mail! Should I freak out because somebody out there thinks that my son still poops his pants at 7? God, some people.

CHRIST almighty woman, this – “a Samuel Jackson-esque tantrum of great vengeance and furious anger” – made me shoot tea out of my nose.

ditto on the rest…a sample of formula?!? WTF!

I found it odd that two different formula companies each sent me two cans of the stuff just a couple weeks after I had a baby when I hadn’t signed up for it, but I wasn’t morally offended by it, either. Even though I am exclusively breastfeeding my son, it’s nice to know that if something were to happen to me (or my milk supply) all of a sudden, we have formula as backup once our small stockpile of frozen breastmilk ran out. The woman who was so bothered by it should just donate it to someone who’s not able to breastfeed and be thankful she is.

It’s just downright mean that anyone who formula feeds is made to feel guilty about it even for a minute. I’ll admit to feeling sheepish shaking the little powder pack into a bottle when out in public, even though breastfeeding wasn’t an option for me.

Not that there is anything wrong with breastfeeding either. But the hospital where I have my second baby apparently is skewing more and more heavily to the breastfeeding side, to put it mildly. I mean, I am all for education and knowing all your choices, but the formula manufacturers won’t even give them those diaper bags to hand out anymore. I loved getting that bag, formula or no. Those new mothers are getting gypped.

Heavens. I get that everyone has opinions about stuff, but it wasn’t until I became pregnant and had a baby that I found how crazed some women can get.

I don’t even think swinging gets people this up in arms. But formula does? Hmmm.

(P.S. I still find the foil cover on the new Similar containers completely maddening.)

(P.P.S. The mention of swinging should not be equated with my use of formula. Husband and I are not that exciting.)

Totally. Thinking that getting a little free formula will automatically get your baby hooked on the stuff is ridiculous. I also happen to think that every breast-feeding household should have a little bit of formula on hand JUST IN CASE. Because when baby is hungry, BABY IS HUNGRY.

my kid was formula fed and was just identified as gifted. We asked for free formula when we went home from the hospital.

I got a lot of shit for formula feeding my kid — and I just gave them the “Your number one” salute with my middle finger.

I am so very tired of all the fucking uppity issues. Really WHO THE FUCK CARES, I don’t, I really really don’t give a fucking fuck what anyone else does with their kids as long as they ARE fed, occasionally cleaned, not abused, and just fucking generally cared for. I wouldn’t even care about any of that shit if young children could care for themselves, unfortunately that is not the case. Fuck. Thank you Linda for being a voice of reason on this obnoxious side of society.

I agree with one of the above that mentioned being frightened by anyone who goes to such extremes. Life is too short to get so worked up about formula. Send it my way…I love getting the coupons and free cans. I have both breastfed and formula-fed my kids and having options is a blessing in my opinion.

Yeah, I’m with Anne. I think that the uncomfortable-ness with the formula samples stems from some really shady practices by formula companies over the past few decades – the formula dumping on poor countries of products that had been deemed illegal in the US, for example – and the fear that corporate interests might override the health advice given by doctors in hospitals.

There is no question that formula is life-saving for many babies, and that it’s certainly not anthrax. On the other hand, so many policies in this country are SO anti-breastfeeding (and really family in general) – yeah, we tell women over and over again that it’s breastfeeding or you’re evil (which, agreed, shouldn’t do) but then we have no paid maternity leave, no guaranteed access to nurse your baby or pump during work, stupid hang-ups about breastfeeding in public, etc. I wish we could figure out some way to make it better overall, so people could make the decisions that work for their family and not have to feel so screwed regardless of what choice they make.

I agree with other people on the best use of samples and coupons – for ahile, Target had those pre-made formula packs on sale for $5.50 and I would take my $5 coupon and buy the hypo-allergenic one (apparently shelters have the most problem getting that kind) and took it to the crisis nursery in our area along with the cans I got in the mail. The end goal should always be that babies end up healthy and fed.

I was going to say what Anne and Katie said – my first thought was the only reason that I find those “Breastfeeding Support” kits that they give me at the hospital kind of annoying is because I feel like formula doesn’t *necessarily* support breastfeeding, especially in the beginning. I have a complicated Hate/Mostly Hate/in a small way Love relationship with breastfeeding and it was really freaking hard for me in the beginning the first (and second, and I’m sure third – grrr) time(s). I had my breastfeeding support kit in a bag under my bed for, I am not kidding, like the first 8 months of my son’s life. But if I had found it in those first days I think I might have used it and maybe I wouldn’t have continued on the breastfeeding path? So I might have been annoyed with getting it then, especially when it’s called a breastfeeding support kit, but really – I have like 900,000 other things to worry about with my own kids before I worry about what other mothers are doing with theirs.

I am always suspicious of The Man, and I know that Nestle and other formula makers have been accused of pushing formula in not just poor areas in our country but in third world countries and that, I think, is abhorrent. BUT I know that people can get ca-razy about formula v. breastfeeding and I think it’s bullshit. Of course, I can’t believe MOST of the things that mothers say to each other about how they are/are not raising their children.

Ah, ran across Hathor, did you? She’s a judgmental see you next Tuesday. Among her many gems: the comic suggesting that c-section birth was “birth without love.” Me and my two beautiful, and yes very loved, little girls would beg to differ.

And I second the hope for a special place in hell for a person who uses someone’s loss as a way to guilt trip them. As a mom who lost her first child at birth, and then (non-traumatically) Ferberized her second due to extreme sleep deprivation – I say she can kiss my ass.

Hi, by the way. I’ve been reading your blog for a while and you’re a wonderful writer. :)

A-freaking-men.
There is no one right way to raise a kid — or for that matter, give birth to one or feed one. If we could all stop judging and start talking about what works and sharing tips in a I-want-to-help-not-shame-or-brag sort of way, we’d all be happier parents.

I’ve seen this woman’s stuff too. I wish I had her address so I could send her a free sample of the organic material that fills diapers.

I never really got that either. I breastfed both of my kids and was never bothered by the free samples. I usually gave them to someone who could use them or later used them in rice cereal when I was out of frozen milk I had pumped. Plus I always used the free diaper bag or changing pad given to me by the formula companies.

These are probably the same women who get their undies in a bundle about having tampon commercials on tv. Heaven forbid someone might first think women have their periods. Second they might think we need a product that goes along with getting our periods.

Wild. Love your post. Love the comments. Am laughing.

I am TIRED of this MOTHERFUCKING formula in the MOTHERFUCKING mail!

Anyway, this seems like one of those situations where the comic’s rants are telling more about herself than the actual issue.

Also – I used the insulated bottle carrier that came in my free diaper bag to carry my Couldn’t BreastFeed So I Pumped milk around. I still use it to carry toddler snacks.

Not being able to breastfeed was one of the most heartbreaking, crushing, emotionally difficult times in my life. It pisses me off that this “comic” would make such a blanket judgement of the decisions other moms make. We are all doing the best we can and we shouldn’t assume that the parenting things we see and disagree with are a result of crappy parenting. Sometimes it’s because we made hard decisions under hard circumstances. I got lots of dirty looks when I bottle fed my bebe in public. I always wanted to jump on a table and yell, “It’s breastmilk bitches! I’m doing the best I can here, so STFU!”

After my first was born I got smart. With the next I snagged as much free formula as I could get from the hospital. Managed to get a few cases of the 4oz bottles. Of course they are like the 500 infant diapers you get in the box. You think they will last but there gone in three days. BTW, did you ever notice a breast pump sounds a lot like another personal product that runs on a battery?

I … really? I don’t get the het-uppedness, either.

As a person who is extremely qualified (for once!) to talk about this, as I am pregnant and getting A LOT of information, I will say that breastfeeding, at least where I live, is shoved down your throat to the exclusion of everything else. Which is great! Admirable, even! Whatever!

And I just don’t see how receiving a stupid formula sample in the event that your boobs don’t work, you can’t breastfeed, you hate it — WHATEVER REASON YOU PICK, WHICH IS SO TOTALLY ACCEPTABLE — is going to undermine all that.

Hell, I BOUGHT a can of formula early on in the event my Plan A doesn’t work, for whatever reason, so I don’t have to haul my ass out to get some. Which, PS, if it doesn’t, I’m not going to sweat one ounce. (Ha! I said ounce.)

Eh. I can comprehend the political reasons to object to it, but I don’t agree with them.

wow.

I dunno who the blogger is you speak of, but it sounds to me she needs to drag her patchouli smelling ass off her high (only organic vegan fed) horse, shave her pits + STFU.

who is this evil comic blogger?? someone please share :)

Ha! biscuit made me laugh.

I was one of those mother’s running out to buy formula for my 5 day old when my boobs had yet to produce any type of milk. A little formula helped her stay ALIVE! However, by day 7 we were breastfeeding exclusively, and were able to do that for almost eight months. I wish I had one of those damn cans in the mail, would have saved me the trip to the store.

As the mother of two biological children who I breastfed and one adopted child who I could now, I lived for those samples and coupons for my adopted child!

Thanks, dude. I try to break out my Snakes on a Plane whenever possible.

I paid hundreds of dollars to a lactation consultant, and cried hours of tears before I realized I couldn’t do it. I had bought into all the “breastfeeding bonding” hype and was terrified that I would be starting out my relationship with my son at a deficit if I couldn’t breastfeed. Like crying, cringing, and yelping was creating a bond. One night my husband finally convinced me that what was happening to us wasn’t the Warm Fuzzy Attachment thing I wanted it to be. The next day we rented a pump. I spent 6 hours a day for 9 months attached to a breastpump. As if being a brand-new mom wasn’t hard enough, pumping was a part time job. When I quit pumping, I had over 2000 (that’s right – two thousand) ounces of milk in the freezer. My oldest got breast milk for 14 months, and to this day, the fact that I stuck with it is one of my proudest achievements. It also taught me that we have no idea what goes on in other people’s lives. Whether I see a mom give her baby a bottle or a breast, I know I don’t know why she chose that path, or if she even had a choice. But I try to believe she is doing her best. I agonize over every decision. And anyone who has something to say about the way I do things based on a few minutes of contact with me and my family can fuck off.

BTW – I really enjoy your blog! We used to live in Seattle and I miss it every day. In fact, I am trying to talk my hubby into going back.

Not to be a comment hog, but I couldn’t resist writing again:
So you mean to tell me women who breastfeed in public get bitched at AND women who bottlefeed in public get bitched at as well??? Seems like less of a controversy about what is healthier and more of a commentary on our society at large who should maybe mind their own business and then eat a dick.

I LOVE that I have a cabinet full of free forumula as a backup if I need it! The sample I got in the mail last week, though…I threw it away because Simon pointed out that it’s a little sketchy to feed the kid something that came in the mail from god knows where. (Which of course got me all paranoid about food in general because, my god, even if we buy something at the grocery store, who knows where it comes from, right? Right?! (New mother freakout!))

Anyway, the thing I was really surprised to see in all the packaging and literature that came with all this free formula was how pro-breastfeeding it all was. I get why they forumla companies are doing that, but I couldn’t help but wonder if it’s frustrating for mothers who have chosen not to breastfeed (or can’t breastfeed) to be bombarded with “breast is best” propaganda when they’ve ALREADY MADE THE CHOICE TO USE FORMULA.

Having a miscarriage=bad parenting choice?
I didn’t realize that having a miscarriage was a CHOICE. Having had two of them, I will say that it most assuredly wasn’t something I chose to do!
With everything else in the world as it is, it seems ludicrous to have a coniption about formula. If you don’t want it, chuck it or pass it on to someone else who might. Sheesh!

So, I’m not a mom and I’ve said it here before that I read (devour) writing/commentary here to help me better understand what my friends and relatives who have children think about and the *ahem* “challenges” they face. Who knew the fury and vitrol breatfeeding v. formula, CIO, etc. could inspire. I am a much more informed and sensitive person (I hope) for this education.

Kind of a funny parallel, but I could not resist commenting this afternoon on a post in the before/after section on Design*Sponge where people were killing each other over the question of; Wood Furniture: Is Painting It A Crime? It reminded me of the strong feelings on the issues above.

TESTIFY SISTER!!!