Bringing Home Baby - Why do I watch?

[MarcyC]

The mom on Bringing Home Baby this morning is, of course, bottle feeding. She said she made the decision not to nurse because it was too painful and with all the other pain she's in she just couldn't handle it.

Well, at least she didn't make some lame excuse. She just outright said she couldn't handle it. Okay...

So who is feeding the baby? Grandma! Mom is just handing off the baby to grandma for feedings. Here's little tiny newborn gazing up into the loving eyes of Grandma. I'm not trying to pass judgement - I'm really not. But even though I formula fed my first (by choice), some instinct in me said *don't let anyone else feed the baby*...that was MY time with him and I'd take him away to a quiet dark place and have that special time with just him and me.

Oh...and where is baby sleeping? Well, there's a pack & play bassinet in mom's room but it's at the foot of the bed, not next to mom.

Wait...she just said she did pump while he was in the NICU so he got the good colostrum to make him healthy, but not decided not to continue BF'ing once she got home because it was too darn painful.

And get this............you know how sometimes they blur out t-shirts or certain "brand" names on things so you don't see the brand or advertisement. Well, they showed very prominently in this episode the ENFAMIL!!!!! Nothing blurred out there! Hmmm...? Wonder who sponsors the show?


Not sure where I'm going with this, I guess I just had to vent! I'm struggling so much with BF'ing and here I am at 9 mos. still using an SNS and then this mom just says, "oh it hurt too much so I stopped." Makes me want to cry! Why did God make me with such low supply but want to BF so much and why did God give her a good supply only to shrug it off like it's no big deal?

edited to add: at the very end they are outside eating with friends and mom's got the baby in a sling - somewhat redeeming.

[JamesMama]

((hugs)) I often wonder that myself, why are moms with a desire to breastfeed sometimes unable despite their best effort and then you have women with no desire and they have enough milk for 10 babies. Not fair at all.

[~Nikki~]

Does anyone know if Enfamil, for a fact, sponsors this show? I've caught a few episodes where there were women who were adament about breastfeeding. There was one, in particular, who didn't decide to formula feed until the last 5 minutes of the show. But towards the beginning, when she came home from the hospital, there was this one shot of this lovely pyramid display of Enfamil cans in the background on the kitchen counter. I was like: "Huh??" It was no wonder she decided to FF, with all of that junk being given to her. :P

[bri276]

I wouldn't be surprised if Enfamil owns that entire channel, between the baby story and the bringing home baby it's almost ANTI-bf at times. I swear to myself I'll never watch it again and then mysteriously I find myself drawn in. It's awful. I keep yelling at the TV. Too painful. Too painful to give my baby the food it has the right to, to lower his chances of SIDS, cancer, improve his IQ, at the very least let him have less gas or reflux. I've been thru 6 months of pumping and 4 episodes of mastitis but it's too painful for her. Whatever.
I haven't seen ONE episode yet where the mother was still bf'ing when they go back for the 2 month visit. I think one might have been because her DH said "I've learned sometimes mommy is the only answer" when his baby was crying but I wondered if that meant to nurse or that he just wanted his mommy.

[mighty-mama]

You know, I've caught this show several times and I swear every time I've watched it, I think the baby was ff by the end. The mom was always made an announcement saying she was ffing...ans why

Gee, in this twisted country we live in. I wonder if these mom's are somehow getting encouraged to state their ffing.

I wonder if $$$ is getting them to say there ffing.


*******while we are on the subject, Has anyone seen a baby still being bf'd by the end of the show?

[Janice in Canada]

Hmmm, that's a really good point - that other products and T-shirts and signs on shows, are all "blurred" out. But these formula cans are not.

I've read that now, and even more so in the future, products will be embedded in TC shows. With TIVO and other technology, people are totally ignoring the commercials. So advertisers, and TV producers will be working harder and harder to make sure that people see the products, somehow.

We all seem to forget, that TV is completely funded by the advertising. The reality is, that the TV shows only exist, to make us see the products. So, somehow or other, the TV producers and the advertisers have to work together to get the value to the the advertisers - ie show the products, or have positive interactions with the products.

I read that the TV show "24" (Keifer Sutherland) already has a contract to only use Ford vehicles. (This article was in a newsmagazine). The products are embedded right into the story lines. Think of "The Apprentice" - it was all embedded advertising.

If you only ever see Enfamil, and never any other brands, I think you can 100% be sure that there is some financial connection between this show and Enfamil.

A pyramid of cans - is another pretty strong hint, too, I think!!!!

Janice

[MaryJaneLouise]

I know this is a vent thread.... but don't we have to ask ourselves WHY it was so painful for her? What kind of pain was she having? Where was her real support? Where were the LCs with advice on how to pump / b-feed with a minimum of pain? Sometimes their really IS a lot of pain with bfing -- most of it unnecessary and easily remedied.

Yes, she does have a responsibility to try to find solutions to her problems -- but don't we, as lactivitists, have a responsibility to try to build a better system so as to minimize her pain, and increase the odds that she will continue to bf?

[KatWrangler]

I only watch the ones where Mom is BF. Yes there are some including two I saw the Mom had twins. Otherwise, it just makes me sick at the lame excuses given to not bf. I don't understand why they can't show the struggles of how a new Mom has with BF and how she overcomes it. What she can do and where she can seek help.

I agree that Enfamil must have connections to the show. They NEVER blur out the formula. Oh and its always Enfamil and no other brand of formula.

[zaksma]

I've never experienced a c-section so I can't speak to her pain level from that- but she just kept going on and on and on about being in so much pain from birth. What did she expect when she was pregnant- there would be no discomfort at all? Breastfeed or don't breastfeed- that's your choice, but at least be the person who is feeding your child. What the hell was that? The mom fed the baby, what, once during the entire episode? She always more han happy to pass baby off to grandma. I can count on 1 hand the number of time someone else (including dh) fed Alden. I missed the last few minutes because Alden and I feel asleep for our mornign nap, but by that point, I was so irritated by her total attitude that there was little redeeming value in her. She seemed so unmother-like to me, personally.

[FitMama]

Pampers and Clorox wipes also are 2 brands they do not blur out. In fact, they show them on purpose, and have little promos before they go back to the program from ads. So I think they give the moms all this free stuff so it gets "sold" within the show. I hate that.

I noticed they blurred out Huggies. Not a sponsor of the show, I guess.

[TCMoulton]

Originally Posted by zaksma

I missed the last few minutes because Alden and I feel asleep for our mornign nap, but by that point, I was so irritated by her total attitude that there was little redeeming value in her. She seemed so unmother-like to me, personally.

Seems a little harsh to me - just because the 30 minutes they chose to show only had Mom feeding her baby once doesn't mean that that was the only time she did the feeding - maybe they edited the hours of tape to show different people feeding the baby because they thought it would be more interesting, who really knows.

I just would hate to say that a Mom has "little redeeming value" based on a television show. JMHO.

[JessasMilkMama]

You know whats a really good show? Runway moms, on Discovery Health. Its about pregnant and nursing models. Ive found it to be very pro BF, and its really interesting. This one mom had her son in the Nicu with serious intestinal problems for 3 months and shes been pumping the whole time, hoping to one day nurse him. It was heartbreaking really. But overall I think its a great show.

[Finch]

: That's really odd about the enfamil stuff. Hmm. I wonder how you can find out if they are indeed a sponsor??

Speaking on the painful c/s end, I had one. Okay, let me clarify that. I had a c/s, an emergency c/s. I lost a lot of blood and fluid and got a post op infection. The pain was just really soreness for me. *shrug* Maybe I'm a freak, but I swear to you it was really not a big deal. My best friend who had a vaginal delivery was in worse shape than me. The nurses at the OB office were amazed I'd had a section when I came for my 1 week post op checkup, because I was moving so well and not in any obvious pain.

ANYWAY, I had lots of post op complications, AND nursing troubles to boot. I still nursed, pumped, and used the SNS. It really irks me when women use having a c/s as an excuse to not bf. Gimme a break.

[KA29]

Originally Posted by MarcyC

Makes me want to cry! Why did God make me with such low supply but want to BF so much and why did God give her a good supply only to shrug it off like it's no big deal?

I don't know. But that would make me want to cry too. Heck, I've shed many tears over my own low supply problems. I went into nursing both of kids fully intending to do childled weaning at 2 or 3 or whenever. And ending up just struggling to get every drop out I could and then drying up anyway. My son (5 mos) nurses for comfort but precious little ever comes out to him or to the pump. I'd take painful nursing and a plentiful milk supply any day of the week just so I could give my babies more milk. It really just isn't fair.

Anyway, all that to say I feel your pain.

(oh and with the painful c-sec. Maybe every one has different tolerances, but I had an emer c-section with dd AND ended up with a uterine infection and I would still say the pain was manageable. Definitely there but not unbearable. So I don't know. Like I said, maybe it;s a pain tolerance thing?)

[zaksma]

Maybe I was a little harsh and I do understand that they shoot hours of footage and it is all in the editing but seriously, come on- she whined the entire time about being in pain (more than once). I'm sorry- I would have to be in a serious not-made-for-tv amount of pain of not being feeding my newborn at every feeding. And she was up in the middle of the night with the grandma- how do you just sit there and watch someone else feed your brand new infant? It's not like she was getting an rest by allowing her MIL to feed the baby.

As for little redeeming value- I didn't mean that she was a horrible mother or anything, I meant that from the majority of the episode- she didn't give me the warm fuzzies and seeing the baby in the sling at the end (which a PP mentioned) probably wouldn't have changed my opinion. I'm sorry but when you put yourself out there like this (allowing your first 36 hours at home to be televised) you open yourself up for some scrutiny.

[Finch]

Zaksma, I don't think you were harsh. Some women never cease to amaze me how they simply can't let go of that "it's all about me" mentality, even AFTER the babe is born. Something is wired wrong in them, IMO. Sorry. I think it's natural to let go of all of your agendas (for the most part) when your baby is born and focus on them.

Yes, self care is important and noone should be a martyr, but please...not feeding your own kid? Unless your arms are broken or something similar, I see no reason not to.

[savannah smiles]

I have this show set to record on my DVR so I've seen most of the episodes thus far. I have seen a couple where bf'ing was a struggle but the mom prevailed but it seems the majority of the moms end up formula feeding (for various reasons). I was really turned off the one I saw yesterday where the mom was going on and on about how she hated being pg and that she hated feeling frumpy and that being pg was no reason not to look stylish. She and her dh both talked about how their baby would be dressed stylishly and so on. She didn't want to deal with labor so she scheduled an elective c-section. Needless to say, I was not at all surprised to see her formula feed as well. Most of the moms I sympathize with who at least try to breastfeed but I have a feeling she didn't even give bf'ing a thought.

[JamesMama]

I went to the TLC website and found the bringing home babies page and where you can see the synopsis of the past shows there is a website listed, A Mother's Haven and they don't even sell bottles, just a "Breast Bottle" and "Just Like Mom Nipples" no bottle feeding pictures, several breastfeeding references and pictures. Interesting....

[Finch]

Originally Posted by savannah smiles

I have this show set to record on my DVR so I've seen most of the episodes thus far. I have seen a couple where bf'ing was a struggle but the mom prevailed but it seems the majority of the moms end up formula feeding (for various reasons). I was really turned off the one I saw yesterday where the mom was going on and on about how she hated being pg and that she hated feeling frumpy and that being pg was no reason not to look stylish. She and her dh both talked about how their baby would be dressed stylishly and so on. She didn't want to deal with labor so she scheduled an elective c-section. Needless to say, I was not at all surprised to see her formula feed as well. Most of the moms I sympathize with who at least try to breastfeed but I have a feeling she didn't even give bf'ing a thought.

Okay, women like that make me want to barf. A baby is not a purse or a pashmina or a new piece of jewelry. It is a human being, not an accessory. Gag. People like that just shouldn't be having children. Period. Get a dog. Dress up the damn dog. Leave innocent children out of it.



Ugh.

[elf68]

I used to watch those stories. Baby Story was the birthing experiences, etc. But when I saw all those moms lying on the hospital beds not being encouraged to move about, I got annoyed and stopped.

It's got to tell you something about a person (trying not to be judgemental here) who will air their personal time with a newborn on tv. Makes no sense. Don't let it bug you. Stop watching. How about reading a book (for entertainment purposes - not a parenting book) or watching a movie or just tuning out and resting. I have about one hour an afternoon that I will let myself watch tv.... I love "Yes, Dear" reruns!!!! and hopefully I get to watch the two a day without the boys waking up too soon from their naps.