a dream May 31, 2007
Last night I dreamed that I had newborn quadruplets. It’s was a very vivid, realistic dream. There were three girls and a boy, named Charlotte, Georgia, Anabelle and Sam. I couldn’t keep them all fed properly via breastfeeding, so they also had to have bottles, which freaked me out. In the dream, I couldn’t figure out how to properly mix the formula, and I was afraid they weren’t getting enough to eat. At one point, Jon accidentally left two of them sleeping in the trunk of a car, and I felt guilty because I had to tell him this was NOT an okay parenting practice.
I dreamed of having a preemie for w while, a while back, but lately I haven’t dreamed much about the baby. I am having a very hard time imagining a real, live, human newborn will be joining our family by the end of the summer. It’s still surreal to me. I think Jon can’t really envision it yet either.
most people dream of something horrible happening. Only Katie would dream of formula as that horrible thing. Get some perspective. It would do you a world of good if something happened and you DID have to live with giving your kid formula. Especially if it was a situation unlike your firstborn that you couldn’t just blame on the nasty mean male medical staff that you believe sabotaged you. Especially if it was just one of those unavoidable things and you just had to live with it.
I’d be very disappointed if I couldn’t breastfeed. Is there something wrong with that?
And you actually hope I am unable to breastfeed? That’s really unkind.
As I have said until I am blue in the face, however, in instances where human milk isn’t available, of course infant formula is the appropriate replacement.
Do you really think “most people” dream of something “horrible” happening?
[...] mentioned earlier that she’s finding the upcoming birth to be hard to believe. That is so [...]
Dream intepretation isn’t necessarily literal. My take: The four “dream” children represent Katie’s four children, even though the genders do not match. Katie is giving birth to a new experience, that of being the mom of four. Katie wonders if she can handle it all and be a great mom. Breastfeeding is important to her specifically, being a good mother is a general concern. Yes, I worked with a Jungian therapist and we did lots of dream work.
Barbara - I think you are spot-on. I thought the same thing!
-Katie
My best friend Betsy dreamed she gave birth to a turtle and when she tried to breastfeed it, it hurt so horribly (of course!) I think that might be evidence of someone dreaming something horrible! (And it related to breatfeeding too!)
When her son Jonas was born, I took a small stuffed turtle to the hospital. Hehe.
most people I know of had dreams about forgetting the baby somewhere or someone taking the baby or someone hurting the baby. But having to bottlefeed???? I mean COME ON…lets get some perspective here…..
and yes, I think it would do you a world of good to have to bottlefeed especially if it was a situation that you couldn’t sit around and blame the doctors for.
You have said over and over that feeding formula is equivalent to poisoning the baby. And, I guess that is why you had a nightmare about it.
That is completely false. I have never said any such thing. I challenge you to show me where I’ve said or written such a thing.
Katie
Gladly. In your post entitled
“Bottlefeeding kills third world babies” from May 15, 2007
The first line is:
“Thousands of children die each day all over the globe for one reason only: they are fed infant formula instead of their mother’s breastmilk.”
That is one example.
Taking one line out of context isn’t a particularly clever way to make your point.
Infant formula is obviously the next best choice when mother’s milk is unavailable.
yes, but you use a situation in a third world country as fodder for guilting women in the good ole U S of A that are not breastfeeding. I suspect if we had the time here (not to mention access to your book without having to fork over our own hard earned money for it) we could lift quite a few quotes about how American women who formula feed are only a few steps away from child abuse. I remember thumbing thru your book in a bookstore and being absolutely appalled that someone could write something so judgemental and so hateful under the guise of “supporting mothers”. Especially when your own parenting foibles are laughed off as an unimportant joke or excused away as actually being strengths in disguise. How DARE you single out this one thing when your own parenting house is obviously so unclean itself. Like I said, it would be perfect act of karma if you had to bottlefeed AND if it was a situation you couldn’t turn around with your “lactivism” and blame the doctors or the formula companies or men or who knows what all else for it.
Chris - you seem really bitter and sad.
You clearly haven’t read anything Katie has ever written, except for trying to find faults, and when you don’t find them you bend her words to say what you want.
What happened so bad in your life that you must be so negative about other people? Why do you bother coming here just to be so negative? What do you get out of it?
Are you this mean and nasty when you’re not hiding behind a computer screen?
what??? Bitter, nasty? Have you READ some of the comments some of the people on here write??? As long as they basically agree with the liberal, PC worldview I don’t hear a peep. I happen to disagree with a lot of the blog content. So what??? As far as I can tell, the person who writes this blog seems to spend far far far more time than I do scoping out blogs that contain material she disagrees with so that she can post it for the amusement of all. How is my commentary “bitter, angry and nasty” when that is not? It seems that the quickest way to discredit someone is to cut straight to telling them that “they must have had something horrible happen and they need therapy”. I wouldn’t even stoop that low with Katie. I think that she spends a lot of time unable to see the forest for the trees but I don’t think that means she is “angry bitter and needs therapy”. Give me a break.
You know what? I made a mistake thinking I could call you bitter and have you hear me. Nevermind. Forget I said anything. You think you’re bright and cheery and that bashing people through misinterpretations is the thing to do. Go for it. Teach your kids to do it. Y’all will just be a bright happy family.
um..I don’t think there was much “misrepresentation” in the nastiness and vileness in Ms Granju’s first book. Now maybe she has lightened up a bit as I seem to remember that book came out quite a while ago. Maybe her divorce humbled her a bit. Who knows. I seem to remember thumbing through that book and thinking that someone who was insecure about their parenting and happened to pick up that book could be just crushed by her attitude. If I don’t feel like spending time hunting up exact quotes to satisfy you that I am not “misrepresenting” her then that makes me “bitter”??? You do not even know me and to say that? That’s pretty much a HUGE assumption about my thought processes from someone who does not even know me.
Hey, like I said, forget I said anything. You’re Mr. Cheerful. How could I have thought otherwise?
hello pot, this is kettle….
I also find it rather interesting that you called me “Mr”. Why? Is it because you think that only a man could be a jerk?(I am not calling myself a jerk, only echoing what you clearly assumed about me yourself). Why is that? Do you believe that men have somehow cornered the market on what you are accusing me of? Thats pretty sexist you know. BTW..I am a woman….one who gets sort of tired of the male bashing. If most of the cracks women make about men were made by men about women, there would be a HUGE uproar.
I called you MR. because I assumed Chris was a guy’s name. And because “Mr. Cheerful” sounds better than “I assume you’re Mr. but you might be Mrs. Miss or Ms. Cheerful”
Funny how I also assumed poster “Chris” was a man,
I thought it was Katie’s ex husband.
“Chris”
Stop wishing bad things to happen to Katie she does not deserve anyone’s ill will.
All babies deserve the advantage of breastmilk. Yes, it would be tragic if Katie’s baby was born with a disability that prevented her from breastfeeding or Katie developed a medical condition that stop the production of her milk supply.
My name is “Christine” As in the Stephen King novel.
And I would seriously think about what you would define as “tragic”. Babies born with AIDS in Africa. Children having both parents killed in a car crash. A young mom dying of cancer. Thats “tragic”…but being fed formula???? That is SO not tragic…..
and well, yes, you assumed I was a man because well, really, we all know that the really BIG jackasses in the world are men now don’t we???
Yes, Ms. Positive, being fed formula would not be the end of the world, as Katie has said a million times. Formula is invaluable for kids who can’t breastfeed. It would be tragic and disheartening but no one would die, it’s true.
The fact remains that you’re wishing ill of some new baby out there. You are angry - God knows why - at Katie, and you - Ms. Nice - are hoping bad things will happen to other people to get back at her.
And you can lay off the “male bashing” crap. As a guy, I tend not to spend too much time bashing my own sex over the other.
Funny how you defend all guys, but for no apparent reason you lash out at one random person and her unborn child.
um, I didn’t wish “ill will” on Katie’s child. Unless of course you consider formula to be ill will….
And someone, maybe it wasn’t you, but someone DID say that it would be “tragic” if Katie’s baby wound up on formula. Please. Define your terms. That is most definately so NOT tragic. You said its “not the end of the world” No, its not. But using the word “tragic” to describe sure does make it sound like the end of the world.
I just reread your comment. Yes, you DID say “tragic”. Make up your mind. If its not the “end of the world”, then its not “tragic”. Disappointing maybe. But “tragic”..no, I think not.
Hey, you win. Whatever helps you sleep at night. You’re positive and cheerful, and you definitely wouldn’t ever wish ill of other people - certainly not their babies.
Somebody should give you a medal for being so positive and caring of others.
uh, I don’t think I wished ill on someones baby. I don’t think being fed formula is the end of the world.
I just find it interesting that with all the truly awful things that could happen to a baby that Katie would dream of feeding formula. Most people would be relieved if that was the only bad thing that ever happened.