Grandma's decision to dry nurse her daughter's baby – without asking
"She rooted. I offered. She accepted"
Every now and then a story comes along that seriously gets people talking. And THIS is most definitely one of them.
Grandmother Elizabeth Gooden - who herself has a 13-month old baby - has revealed how she offered her granddaughter her breast to suckle on (though she was no longer producing milk) while she was looking after her.
Elizabeth explained to ScaryMommy that she'd offered to look after her granddaughter, who was colicky, while mum went back to work - but was also trying to juggle looking after her OWN crying baby.
"Taking a seat on the sofa, I took my granddaughter out of the Bjorn and held her close in my arms," Elizabeth explains.
"She was rooting around, and I felt the letdown even though my milk had been dry for months. It was a phantom sensation, but my maternal instincts kicked in and so I latched her on my breast.
"I didn't think about it really. She rooted, I offered, she accepted. Within a few minutes, she was sound asleep."
As it turns out, her daughter was quite happy with what her mum had done - though her actions have split parents down the middle on social media.
"What in the line-crossing hell is this nonsense?! Someone needs to look up the word "boundaries" and stop over-inserting themselves...literally," said one commenter.
"I'm all for wet nursing (a woman other than the mom, with permission) But dry nursing just seems wrong - give the baby a pacifier and hold them close to your chest," said another.
"This is something that baby will definitely not want to hear about when older. Start saving for the psych bills."
Though many more didn't see the issue:
"I don't see what the big deal is. A pacifier is for this specific purpose and the baby obviously doesn't take a pacifier, so I don't get why replacing it with a body part is wrong?
"She had no ill intentions. With all the abuse around the world I don't understand why people are in such an outrage over this
? The mother said it was fine they obviously have a very good relationship. Calm down."
And finally this: "It's such a shame breasts are so sexualised now that people genuinely think it's perverse to nurse your grandchild when in many cultures this would be so natural and normal!
"Such a personal decision and no one has the right to judge when a child is safe, loved, fed, and happy."
What do you think?
Was grandma right to do this - or was she overstepping a boundary? Should she have asked her daughter first, perhaps? Tell us in the comments below or over on Facebook
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Authors
Tara is mum to 1 daughter, Bodhi Rae, and has worked as Content Editor and Social Media Producer at MadeForMums since 2015
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