Breastfeeding can be a labor of love for moms. Some women pour their whole hearts and souls into breastfeeding their babies, and other moms choose formula. It is a personal decision that each family needs to make for themselves. Many breastfed babies want to feed only directly from their mothers and have no interest in bottle feeding at all, even if it’s breast milk.
This can complicate things for moms who don’t want to be tied to their babies every second of the day. Eventually, moms all must leave their babies behind for one reason or another and the person in charge has to deal with a hungry baby.
A mom in Reddit’s AITA forum was babysitting her sister’s exclusively breastfed 4-month-old, and the baby refused to take a bottle. The baby had never had a bottle before, but her mom convinced her sister “it should be fine.”
But that wasn’t the case at all. The baby was obviously hungry and frustrated, and the original poster didn’t know what to do. As a breastfeeding mom herself, she decided to nurse her niece.
“After two hours of trying to feed her a bottle and then trying to spoon feed her and her screaming, and me being unable to reach my sister, I informed my sister of what I would be doing and I breastfed her baby,” OP explained. “I guess she didn’t check her phone for several hours because I ended up feeding her baby twice before my sister responded, and she was furious. She said I had no right to do that and I should’ve figured something else out.”
Now she wonders if she was wrong for taking charge of the situation because her sister refuses to speak to her.
Redditors quickly came to OP’s defense.
“Normally, I would be angry if someone had breastfed someone else’s baby without explicit permission. In this case it’s just lucky that the sister picked a babysitter who was also lactating,” one supporter wrote.
Someone else had questions: “Who leaves their breastfed infant with someone for the first time and doesn’t check their phone? And who would rather have their baby starve when there was another option?”
Others thought OP’s sister was totally unprepared.
“NTA but your sister should NEVER have left the child with you without making sure the baby would take the pumped milk from a bottle. PERIOD. And what mother doesn’t take phone calls from the person taking care of their baby,” one person wrote.
“Lactation counselor here. You absolutely need to make sure your baby is comfortable with the bottle beforehand if you plan on utilizing one with a sitter,” an expert agreed.
Several people suggested OP’s sister talk to a professional.
“PLEASE have her go in for a mental health check. When I was six months postpartum I was…in a very bad place,” one concerned person wrote. “And also check in on yourself, two babies, a bad night, and a mad sister is a lot. Hope you get rest and support, OP.”
OP explained she planned to do just that.
“Thank you. I’ll definitely talk to her about that when she cools down about the situation. I’m doing fine, I have more support than she does,” she wrote. “I do what I can to help her out but it’s not the same as having a partner present every day, which I do have. Her husband is gone a lot of the time for work.”
