sarathurgood

Question for those of you who said that slurping sounds made folks uncomfortable--do you think those same folks would feel equally as uncomfortable if the baby was slurping from a bottle, or is it the fact that the noises are coming from the baby's mouth on mom's breast that makes them feel ill-at-ease? Also, for those of you who are pro-loungers, are you okay with moms feeding babies from bottles in the chapel? Should they excuse themselves as well with a fussy, hungry, slurping baby? I ask b/c there seems to be an inconsistancy here--is the lounge for the privacy of the potential exposed breast, or is it due to the noises that hungry babies make? Or both? Is it that people are bothered by the idea of mothers breastfeeding and the potential for exposure--the mental image nursing creates--rather than the actual sight? I respect the opinions of those who are pro-lounge and I totally understand where you're coming from (my mom and sister-in-law are loungers and probably think a little less of me for nursing anywhere I feel like it); but I am also bothered by the stigma breastfeeding in public has. Perhaps if folks opened their minds a little more and got over the subconscious adolescent "heh, heh, boobies" mentality (ESPECIALLY the men), more mothers would be willing to nurse their babies longer.

I feel very strongly that women should feel uninhibted to nurse whenever and wherever they like. Our puritanical culture inherantly looks down upon anything that might involve the removal of clothing in public, which is great for preventing the exposure of pornographic images to young impressionable minds, but terrible in light of the fact that less than 30% of mothers nurse their children through the first six months. Of course being discrete is a courtesy nursing mothers should consider extending to others, but I for one would rather nurse in the chapel than pack everything up and step all over people trying to get out of the pew, disrupting the service as I drag a screaming infant across the chapel and out the doors. It's easy to be discrete (I use a "hooter hider"--$8 at Target), and most people don't even notice. The nursing lounge is great, but women shouldn't feel like they're "banished" there to feed their babies. If she wants to stay put, I say let her and bravo for nursing her baby :)! ETA: If those missionaries were disturbed by a mother discretely and modestly nursing her baby during sacrament meeting, they should thank their lucky stars they didn't get sent to any South American missions :)!

As a medical student and someone who has battled depression for years now, I can tell you that drugs are a wonderful option. In our society, we tend to view mental health as a very black-and-white area--you're either sane or you're, well, not :). People are very hesitant to question the state of their mental health, which is, IMO, very myopic. I view mental health as I do physical health--everyone has had a cold at some point in their lives. When you get sick, do you deny it? Do you figure it's just a bad day and tomorrow will be better? Most people suck it up, see a doctor, and take the Robitussin until they feel better. I think that everyone, like having a cold, is at least mildly mentally sick at some point in their lives--be it depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, what have you. It would be a shame to ignore one's feelings or dismiss them as just a "bad day/week/month/year", or to assume that one simply doesn't have enough faith (I've heard that one a time or two and it just makes me cringe--"you wouldn't feel so bad if you just prayed/read your scriptures/fulfilled your calling more..."). It's great that you're seeing someone about your depression--DEFINITELY a step in the right direction. You may want to consider medication in addition to therapy. For most, it works, and it's a great way to feel balanced again. Nothing works 100%--I still have days that aren't so good. But it's definitely something to think about. Best of luck to you--you're not alone :)!!