Ever seen a “super mom” badge for those women who exclusively breastfed for 12 months ? If you’ve had a kid in the past 5 years, you would be living under a rock if you haven’t seen one of these badges on social media. My personal favorite type of these awards comes from the “Boobie Awards” seen over on HeartSoulBirth where gold pieces and diamonds represent breasts and their ability to produce essential nutrients. It’s all beyond camp. Whatever floats your boat, I guess.
I don’t mind it if bragging about your one year of breastfeeding gets you through a year or more of blood, sweat, milk, and the occasional rude remark from anti-breastfeeding weirdos. I think it’s great and I know it has to be hard work. Breastfeeding moms are doing a great job feeding their kids tirelessly. But you don’t have to breastfeed to be a super mom in my book. You just have to do your best and love your baby. I’m almost at the end of that now and it’s not easy. We all deserve a standing ovation for keeping a tiny human destined to injure itself severely on a daily basis alive for an entire year, or two, or three…
For those reasons, I don’t think you should stop posting your badges if that is your thing. If you exclusively breastfed, you rocked it. If you struggled through pumping or combo feeding, you did good. If you adopted a baby and fed formula, you definitely shouldn’t feel left out of motherdom. So, I asked myself “what if ALL moms could share in the achievements of getting a mom through that first year?” And “What if achievements weren’t tied alone to breastfeeding?”
Well, ladies, thanks to a bit of time on photoshop, I have less-passive-aggressive and more-real-as-can-be badges for moms with babies turning one. Sorry, no diamond or jade boobies are included.
I started off thinking about moms who are struggling with a mood disorder or mental health issues:
And then moms who inspired me in their ability to overcome struggles I didn’t have to with such grace:
And then I thought about the formula feeders and why they feed. A good group of friends reminded me that while I did not make the milk in my body that R drank, I still spent countless hours feeding her and preparing her meals. I had never thought about it that way. So, I created these badges for formula feeders:
What about other feeding choices? Well, don’t worry, I thought of you, too!
If you like them, feel free to share. And if you don’t see one here you’d like, let me know! I may get a few minutes to spare to make you a badge. Please tweet or comment and I will do the best I can.
The Mama Politic 