Whats the big deal?

I post on a message board for new moms and lately I've been seeing tons of posts about Breast Feeding and Breast Feeding in public. It seems to me that there are two sides to this hot debate and I can't figure out what the big deal is either way.

I started out nursing Asher and it was apparent from day one that nursing....is DIFFICULT! It is not the easy process that a lot of people think it is. In the hospital I almost had a nervous breakdown because he couldn't latch right and then he couldn't suck and swallow and he would scream! The nursing consultant even told us, "He may never be able to nurse, I'd buy some formula" And Immediately I felt like the worst mother on the face of the Earth! Why? Because so many people had said to me throughout my entire pregnancy "I hope you plan on nursing!"

Heres what I find strange about it. So many people were quick to tell me that nursing in the best thing for my baby, but those same people got embarrassed at my shower when my sister gave me a breast pump, and I guarrantee those same people would have something to say if I nursed Asher off to the side at a function or something. But heres what I have to say.....Nursing a baby in a public bathroom is disgusting and you have to leave the house at some point. I just find it interesting that those same people who talked my ear off about the benefits to nursing are the same ones who think the act itself is something disgusting and should be hidden. So you want me to nurse, but you want it to be really difficult. Nice logic.

On the other side of the debate is the formula feeding stance. I have to admit, a small part of me was relieved when I was told that I could no longer nurse Asher. I felt sad that I couldn't and sad that he had a medical condition that made it so, but relieved that I would no longer have to struggle with something that frustrated both Asher and I and was super painful to boot. But I have to say that even though I have no choice but to formula feed, I still get defensive when people look down on me for doing it. I can't tell you how many people have remarked "Oh, you're feeding him formula? Well breast feeding is best" Thanks a lot...... I've even been accused of being too lazy to breast feed. And I absoultely hate that I always feel the need to defend myself and explain! I hate that I feel ashamed about it. Because the truth of the matter is, it shouldn't matter to other people how you feed your baby, it should matter that you do feed your baby, and that your baby is thriving and happy.