Change a Baby Bottle and Suddenly, You're a Bad Mom!

I am a mom to a three month-old baby girl. With that being said, my issues of interest have changed. A year ago, it was the latest Coach bag, now it's baby bottles. Whodathunkit????

Recently, I got into a debate on safe baby bottles. There's news out that most of the baby bottles sold in US stores are made with a material called BPA (bisphenol-A) that could possibly cause developmental, neurological or reproductive problems. I did a little research and decided we should switch the bottles we've been using. I had problems trying to conceive and had really basically given up on the whole idea only to find myself pregnant last May. So if there is any way that I might could prevent my daughter having to one day go through what I went through, then I will do what I can right now.

Now I'm new at this whole mommy gig but I thought that's how all or at least most moms feel. You try to do what is best for your children with what you can and with what you have. I mean, sure the BPA-free bottles are more expensive and we have already spent a small fortune on bottles already, but $8 a bottle is a small price to pay for possibly deflecting future health problems. So, I thought it would be nice to share this information with other members of an online chat group I belong to. So off to post, I went.

Little did I know that I was traveling down a treacherous pathway. After posting my research, I started getting replies that weren't the "great job" or "way to go" or "thanks for saving our lives" posts I thought I would get. I got "good grief", "get over it", "you're way too overprotective", and the all-time favorite "kids need germs" posts. Whaaaa???? Wait!!!! Didn't I do good???

Evidently not. I was told that people like me were jumping on the bandwagon way too soon, that we were overprotective, and weren't letting kids be kids. I was told that our moms fed us using the same products and we are all fine today and that I shouldn't waste my time or money on this whole issue.

We're fine? We are? It took me over 2 years, 2 surgeries and over $10,000 to get pregnant. Does that sound like I'm fine? It has been proven that there are more couples today with reproductive challenges than there are women that just get pregnant at the drop of a hat or pants, whichever you prefer. Now is that to say it's all the fault of the bottles my mommy used when she fed me? No, it isn't. Who knows why I had those problems? Only God knows why. But at one time, we thought it was okay for kids to ride in cars just like any other person, i.e. no car seats. Heck, I can remember some of our cars didn't even have seat belts (my dad cut them out cause they "just got in the way"), and I remember climbing over the front seat into the back several times during a trip. We used to ride bikes when the only safety equipment was the grass if we fell. But we have learned and evolved. Isn't that a good thing? Should I be belittled because I want to protect this tiny, little, smiley blob of love when that's really my job in the first place? Does it make you a better parent to make me feel like less of one?