Fed is Best: A Real Mom Story About Judgment & Formula Feeding

This is a story that has been bothering me for a while.

My husband, mom, and stepdad went to Once Upon A Child for a special late-night sale on kids’ clothes. While we were waiting in line, there were other mamas and grandparents around us. I was standing in front of a woman with twins. She was there by herself.

Both of her babies started crying.

Timothy was holding Maddie, so I turned to her and asked if she wanted me to hold one of them. She said yes, but she was nervous because one of her babies was a preemie. She told me that sometimes that makes people uncomfortable.

I immediately told her, “I’m a preemie mom too. My baby was only 4 pounds—small babies don’t scare me.”

I ended up holding one of her babies for quite a while, and we started chatting. We talked about formula, and she shared that her babies were on Neosure to help them gain weight. I told her Maddie had been on it too, but we had to switch because of stomach issues.

My mom chimed in and started talking about my nephew—her grandson—and how much weight he gained once he was born.

Then, out of nowhere, the woman behind her said something that honestly broke my heart.

She told both of us that babies are becoming obese because moms aren’t breastfeeding—and that formula is “poison.”

Y’all… it took everything in me not to lose it right then and there.

My daughter needed a specific formula. Breast milk would have caused her serious stomach discomfort and would have been physically harmful for her. And I could see the hurt on that other mama’s face too.

Because here’s the truth:

Fed is best. Not “breast is best.”

Read that again.

You don’t know someone’s story.

You don’t know their baby’s medical needs.

You don’t know what they’ve gone through just to feed their child.

So maybe, just maybe… we lead with kindness instead of judgment.

Because every mama is doing the best she can. 💗