Breastfeeding? Too Bad for You! Or, Me!
Last week was a rough one, if you remember correctly. I was in desperate need of my one night away. I had spent weeks on end pumping a total of fifty-two ounces to leave with my Mom who would be watching LittleBrother for less than twenty-four hours. The anxieties and issues kept piling one on top of the other and I was just simply ready for my break.
In the midst of everything, I got an e-mail reminding me of the invitation to Johnson’s Camp Baby. (Apparently my first e-mail came during a sleepless phase and I missed it completely.) It was a three day, all-expenses-paid trip. Considering “Baby” was in the title and I have an almost four month old infant, I e-mailed my contact back asking one simple question: Was my infant invited as well?
You see, I had no problem leaving BigBrother with one Grandma or the other. He loves spending time at either house and, quite frankly, I love for him to have that bonding experience. My Grandparents were hugely important in how I grew up. But LittleBrother is exclusively breastfed. As I said, it took me a few weeks to get enough milk to leave the child for less than twenty-four hours. And I respond well to the pump.
So, imagine my surprise when my contact e-mailed me back saying that children were not welcome, citing something about legal issues and insurance costs. (While another mother was told that it was meant to be a child-free getaway for Moms… so, which is it?) My contact then told me to forward her e-mails of any blogging mothers who might like to go. I didn’t reply. I didn’t tell other mothers. And over the past week, I’ve gotten even more miffed.
LittleBrother is exclusively breastfed. No formula. None. Due to the short notice, I don’t even think it’s humanly possible to pump enough milk for him to be away from me for three days unless I just sat attached to the pump and didn’t feed him anything between now and then. Apparently Johnson’s is not a breastfeeding friendly company. I didn’t ask to bring my loud, active, bouncing two year old along. I asked to bring along the kid who thinks that my breast is his permanent location. I asked to bring along the kid that uses me as his only source of sustenance at this point in time. Heck, the only time LittleBrother cries is when he’s hungry… which would be the point of bringing him along so crying should have been minimal.
I’m not quite sure why it’s named “Camp Baby” if babies are not welcome. Perhaps a better name would have been “Camp Mom.” Other mothers have been dis-invited as well, though that one is for a different reason. See this blog for another experience exactly like mine. I find it ridiculous, insulting and a blatant indication how our country doesn’t support breastfeeding mothers. We’re harassed in public if we try to feed our children. We’re told to cover up. We’re told to feed our kids in dirty bathroom stalls. And then a company that makes products specifically for my child’s age range doesn’t want to accommodate my breastfeeding infant?
That’s okay. I won’t use my money to accommodate your business. No problem there.
It might behoove the company to a) research the bloggers you are inviting, b) come up with the same answer when replying to people who are wont to write about anything because now you look like a bunch of liars who can’t keep your story straight, c) you know, cater to the people who actually buy your products instead of ostracizing them. Apparently logic is so yesterday.
March 18th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
The whole event seems a little lets-throw-an-idea-up-in-the-air-and-see-what-happens. It really doesn’t seem like they put a lot of thought into it at all. In one of the emails I got from my contact there, she cc’d 5 other people, which makes me think that they probably threw a bunch of people on this at the last minute and it’s major catch-up time right now. I’m excited to go an meet many of the bloggers going, but J&J definitely isn’t scoring many points in my book.
Jane, Pinks & Blues
March 18th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
In their response to me, they did cite liability issues as the reason for not providing child care. However, I neither requested nor expected child care to be provided. But the gist of the response concerned the distraction that a baby would pose.
Interestingly, they suggested that I might cut my trip short so as to be away from my baby for a shorter period of time. But the reason CityMama was given for her dis-invitation was that she couldn’t be present for the entire conference.
mothergoosemouse’s last blog post..No babies allowed at Camp Baby
March 18th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
What short-sighted shame from the people who were running ‘camp baby’. I breastfed all of my kids as well and wouldn’t consider formula if mother’s milk was at all available.
I used to pump pump pump and then store excess milk in the freezer. Have you tried that to keep up your supply?
Best wishes,
Barbara
Barbara Ling (aka Owlbert)’s last blog post..Easy way to let people Twitter your blog posts - TinyURL plugin usable for tweets!
March 18th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Asking a nursing mom to leave an exclusively breastfed baby at home to hear seminars about baby care is … stunning. Just stunning.
I’m glad you spoke out and expressed your frustration about it. Rightly so, I think.
WhyMommy’s last blog post..No babies allowed?
March 18th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Wow. I am also breastfeeding my (almost) 4 month old. I can’t imagine leaving him for 3 days. What were they thinking?
March 18th, 2008 at 3:11 pm
Ridiculous - I can’t believe all the people that are being disallowed to go to something with BABY in the title. Just stupid on their part!
Dawn @ Coming to a Nursery Near You’s last blog post..Dancing with the Stars - Live Blogging!
March 18th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
Wow. I wasn’t invited, and now I guess I’m glad! Whomever organized this event and decided that BABIES WHO NURSE aren’t allowed at an event run by a company that MAKES NURSING SUPPLIES really wasn’t thinking.
Elizabeth’s last blog post..Kaitlyn says yes you can!
March 18th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
This all just sucks. So sorry to hear that it happened to you, too.
Her Bad Mother’s last blog post..Got MILF?
March 18th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
See, I can understand not having older children there. Any child who is mobile is a liability to a company - I get that. But an infant who is breastfeeding? You’d think they could allow that.
Mira was with me at all times at BlogHer, and she was no trouble at all to the conference. If she got fussy, I moved to the back of the room or just outside to calm her down. No one was bothered. Simple.
Christina’s last blog post..Recycled, And Yet Brand New
March 18th, 2008 at 4:15 pm
Christina; I totally agree. I’d never think to take BigBrother to something like that as, well, he’s a noisy creature. And he’s also quite clumsy. So when he trips over his own feet, he cries loudly about it. HA! But LittleBrother? He hangs out in the sling(s) all day long and is quiet, content and happy. (You know, to balance the loud, impatient, cranky one that is deep in the throes of the Terrible Twos.) I just don’t “get” it.
March 18th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
This is strange. A party promoting baby but no baby.
this kind of reminds me of my sisters in-laws. They like to have parties and want all the kids to come. Just not their kids kids. No grandkids. Not cool.
Jessica’s last blog post..Oh Baffle Me!
March 18th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
I actually don’t have a problem with supply. I’m just a WAHM with no need to store milk!
March 18th, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Whhhhaaaa???? What the heck are they thinking? As one of the few big pharmas that DO NOT make formula (not knocking formula, just sayin’) I cannot believe they want you to attend a three day conference ABOUT BABIES and not BRING YOUR BABY. I mean, HELLO?????
Sheesh.
The Domestic Goddess’s last blog post..I Survived Day One and All I Got Was This Lousy Tee Shirt
March 18th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
And you are totally right - they could have easily researched bloggers and gone for the ones NOT attached to a baby or a pump.
Which would still be insane considering this is not marketed as Camp Mom.
Ugh.
Dawn’s last blog post..Conversation between siblings
March 18th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
in-freaking-sane!
March 18th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
I am going - and am looking forward to going - but am sad that I’ll miss seeing some folks who would have otherwise attended if they didn’t have nursing babies.
I appreciate the concept of “retreat,” but 99% of the nursing mothers I know are respectful enough to know when to “exit stage left” when their child needs attention. If there are women nursing discretely and quietly, their presence would not distract from my “retreat.”
So yes, I am disappointed to read about the controversy surrounding what I hope will be an amazing event. But as this is their first year, and as they are already responding to the posts surrounding various issues, I expect that if they do something similar again, it will be with the “hindsight” of what happened this year.
March 18th, 2008 at 11:00 pm
Yikes! Sounds like a really bad move on their part.
tanya@motherwearblog’s last blog post..Does beer really increase milk supply?
March 19th, 2008 at 12:19 am
Liability? I call bullshit. I have employed child care agencies at several of my events (I am a professional event planner). They carry their own insurance and you sign releases, blah blah blah. Next time maybe they should call someone like KiddieCorp. They are a profession, well organized team with tons of experience at events exactly like this.
And a note to J&J: if you’re putting on an event, hire some meeting planners, not just a PR firm. It is a real career and not just something someone does because they helped plan their cousin’s wedding once.
March 19th, 2008 at 11:00 am
That’s absolutely ridiculous! I’d be furious. As much as I enjoy a getaway from motherhood every now and again, to be UN-INVITED to something called “Camp Baby” specifically because I planned on bringing a baby with me, would just burn my shorts. That doesn’t even make sense!! Idiots.
ValleyGirl’s last blog post..wellness wednesday
March 19th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Wow! I actually probably wouldn’t have even thought of asking if it was okay to bring along my newborn… So, I probably would have shown up with my LO. You know, I wouldn’t go to a LLL conference or a babywearing conference and expect to have to ask if my LO was invited so why would I think any differently for something named “Camp Baby”? Very poor on their part… and if they had that “rule” they should have just stated it on the invite. Considering their target market for their products, it is truly amazing how much they do NOT understand their audience. I hope all of you were were uninvited pool together a complaint about this and how badly it reflects on their corporation.
March 19th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
[...] disinvited after-the-fact because they were told they weren’t allowed to bring slung babies, breast feeding babies or simply because they would be unable make it to the entire camp due to another popular female [...]
March 19th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Thanks for stopping by my blog and leaving a comment on the Camp Baby post.
Susan Getgood’s last blog post..Camp Baby Blogstorm
March 20th, 2008 at 7:34 am
This is crazy. I’ll be sure to boycott their products.
March 21st, 2008 at 1:01 am
[...] their apologies at City Mama’s and Mothergoosemouse’s blogs. As it turns, out both Firemom and Sweet|Salty Kate were disinvited because of nursing babies as well. Check out a [...]
March 28th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I’m so outraged on your behalf.
RookieMom Heather’s last blog post..Read this: Naptime is the New Happy Hour