Parents that can’t co-parent for the sake of their kids are the pits.
I’m not talking about moms or dads that took their kids out of abusive situations or single parents that have terminated the rights of their baby daddy (or mommy) with good reason. You have to do what you have to do for your kids and honestly, those parents – and really all parents that parent or co-parent with their kids as top priority – are pretty kickass.
No, I’m talking about the mom and dad that had a one-night-stand or get divorced and can’t seem to put aside their differences and compromise for the sake of their kid.
This seems to be the case for a Maryland mom and dad that took their breast-feeding issues to court. See, the pair had their son around 6 months ago and split shortly after. Dad wants to take their son for overnight visits but mom wants to exclusively breast-feed and can’t pump enough to make it happen for dad.
The courts ruled that the baby, whose pediatrician says he can’t tolerate formula, according to the mom, must stop breast-feeding and wean her son onto formula.
Now, there isn’t anything wrong with formula. If a mom wants to formula-feed or can’t breast-feed, do that formula thing and rock it. If mom wants to breast-feed, there are some seriously awesome benefits for the baby and that should be supported, as well.
However, the child’s health and well-being should never be put into question in order to appease the feelings or desires of either parent – and that doesn’t seem to have happened here.
Co-parenting is hard. It sucks having to deal with your ex every day but if you come to the table with an open mind, set aside your differences and listen and respect one another, you can create a peaceful and loving environment for all involved.
In this case, mom could have easily offered dad the couch overnight and dad could have done the same for mom. It’s uncomfortable, sure, but it allows the child to have both breast milk and bonding time; plus, it’s temporary: when the kid starts eating real food, this issue is moot.
I really hope these parents attempt every avenue of compromise because if not, mom, dad and kid are in for a rough 18 years.
What do you think of this court case and how the parents handled their predicament? Let us know in the comments.
