Breast is best....or is it?

I'm starting to feel like the Age of Information is turning into the Age of Confusion for me.

It all started when I found out I was pregnant. Suddenly my love for knowledge turned into the scavenger hunt from hell to find the best advice, best products, best care..etc..possible for the little bun in the oven.  Then she came out. And it got worse. Am I burping her enough? Am I simulating her enough? Too much? Is that detergent ok? Is that onesie too tight? Are these diapers the right size? DHA. BPA, MSG....AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Oh man.. Are the walls melting for you too?

Through it all however, I was confident in my choice to breast feed over bottle feed. Because after all "Breast is Best!". Easy to remember and a simple choice just like "Tummy to Play, Back to Sleep" and "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!". My life has gone from a series of acronyms to a series of catch phrases. (Ok, that last one isn't a catch phrase, but it is a great line nonetheless)

So imagine my surprise, and confidence shaking horror, when I learned that while I personally had rapid brain development, early-developed language and comprehension skills and a relatively disease-free childhood, I was a 100% bottle fed baby. I mean I rarely even got the 1x a year cold/flu most kids get (sans flu vaccinations too!) So it led me to wonder, was formula better then than it is now? Was it worse? Where is this hatred and panic over formula coming from?

Organizations such as Baby Milk Action and UNICEF stand pretty united in standing up against evil corporations such as Nestle who over market their formula products and donate hundreds of pounds of formula to 3rd world countries which many grass-roots breastmilk organizations believe are responsible for increased illness and infant mortality rates. (See all the hub-bub at: http://www.babymilkaction.org) However, I wonder if this aggressive pro-breast stance is really any less terrorist in nature than the aggressive marketing campaigns of the baby product conglomerates. Can't we find a happy medium and get back to caring about moms and babies, rather than agendas?

HEY, YOU WITH THE WEBSITE! STOP MAKING MOMS FEEL BAD!

I think in the end, breast milk will help me give E a head start on her early immunities and so it is our primary choice. However, I will feel a whole lot less guilty about supplementing a meal or two with proper formula from now on.

Lesson of the day: Everything in moderation. That and I need to lay off the internet for a while.