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.
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
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
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!
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?
Wow. I am also breastfeeding my (almost) 4 month old. I can’t imagine leaving him for 3 days. What were they thinking?
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!
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!
This all just sucks. So sorry to hear that it happened to you, too.
Her Bad Mother’s last blog post..Got MILF?
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
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.
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!
I actually don’t have a problem with supply. I’m just a WAHM with no need to store milk!
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
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
in-freaking-sane!