I think that babies, night nursing and sleeping are bf feminist issues!
I think our society places such a premium on productivity and time that
sleep is considered expendable. We are all so busy that we squeeze
every last second out of the day. That means we may wait until the last
possible moment to go to bed, planning to get only the minimum amount
of sleep we deem necessary to survive (not thrive). Then, our child
wakes in the night (as all children do, frequently or infrequently),
and we are exhausted! As a result, we focus perhaps too intently on how
often our child awakens, exacerbating our sense of sleep deprivation
with our anger over not getting what is our "right", a full night of
sleep!
I think this is a women's issue, particularly, because we are the sex
that works the "second shift". It is so difficult to determine what
area in which to cut back--where can we tolerate being less productive,
where are we willing to invest less time? At home, with our children,
at work, in our marital relationships? And, often, the choices that
women are making (often against their own intuition, pushed by
cultural/societal expectations) mean that children, families and women
all suffer--turning it into a breastfeeding issue, as well. Baby gets a
bottle because mother thinks baby will sleep through the night, or
daddy doesn't want to be disturbed. Baby sleeps in her own crib so that
parents can sleep "better". Mother weans baby early so that the baby
will be less "trouble" at the daycare center (you're spoiling her,
holding her so much, it's too much trouble to use breastmilk). Parents
use a pacifier to keep the baby quiet, sabotaging breastfeeding. Mother
feels inadequate because baby cries so much. Ugh.
Just thinking out loud. No flames intended to those with children who
sleep through the night, or who do not sleep through the night (my
oldest slept through at 4 weeks, my youngest--3 yrs old---hasn't yet,
both totally breastfed), and to women who are or are not employed!
Liz Grapentine (B. Mus., JD, but no little lactating letters)
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