Choosing how to feed your baby is a decision that should ideally be left up to the parents of that baby, right? Well … that's not always the case. One mom recently wrote on Reddit that after her brother and sister-in-law left their infant with her, she ended up breastfeeding the baby, which wasn't what the baby's mom and dad intended.
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The woman begins by explaining that her own baby and her brother's baby are close in age: "Me and SIL gave birth around the same time this year , so we have babies of similar age, just that mine was born a month earlier than hers."
The woman was babysitting her niece one day and ran into an issue.
"2 days ago , brother and SIL came over for lunch with their 4 month old," she explained. "Everything was cordial between us till then. After lunch , SIL and brother hands over my niece to me for babysitting so that they could attend a formal event held by SIL's extended family near my location."
Her niece was hungry, but her mom and dad didn't leave any formula.
"During the time they were gone , my niece starts crying because she was hungry. Unfortunately we ran out of formula and don't really rely on it in our household as I nurse my own baby most of the time. I really did not have any other alternative except nurse my niece which I did a few times because they were gone for quite long."
Her sister-in-law got angry when she found out.
"They come back and me and SIL had a casual conversation till I tell her that niece was hungry and we ran out of formula, so I nursed her. SIL looks at me sternly with a hint of disgust and berates me for nursing niece. I did not retaliate because I was too shocked at why she would be so agitated when all I did was feed her child."
The woman says she had no way to buy formula, either.
"If I had formula I would have used it for niece but I ran out of it and it was only me , my child and baby niece. How am I going to leave them alone and then run to the supermarket to buy formula???I don't have two seater baby prams either so I can't bring them along to the supermarket."
The woman seems genuinely stumped.
"If SIL had a preference she should have brought some formula in the baby essentials pack she passed to me. There were only diapers, rash cream and pacifier in the bag she gave me, no formula powder. So am I just supposed to let niece be hungry till they come back? I don't know what she expected me to do."
People think the brother and sister-in-law are in the wrong.
One commenter said:
"What kind of parent leaves a child with someone without any formula? It’s probably the most important thing to leave with the child."
Although some people believe everyone is in the wrong.
One commenter pointed out that she should have at least asked permission: "Everyone sucks here. You for nursing a baby without permission from the mother. There are diseases that can be spread via nursing.
"The mother for obviously not having anything planned for their baby."
However, it's not clear what alternatives the woman had.
"So what should OP have done instead?" asked another commenter. "The baby’s mom didn’t bring any food for her baby. The baby would have cried and been in distress until the mom returned, took the baby home, and fed the baby formula there."
It's easy to understand both sides of the story.
Another commenter stated what seems to ring true for most people: The situation is hard all around. "Babies need to eat, so I understand why you did what you did. But as a new mom myself I would feel weird about someone else nursing my child. It shouldn't matter really, but my gut feeling is I wouldn't want someone to do that."
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