Complete stranger shames mom in middle of Walmart for shopping for baby formula: ‘You think my child should starve?’
A mom shopping for baby formula says her brain “short-circuited” when a stranger shamed her in the middle of Walmart — and now, her story is going viral on Reddit.
Posted to the subreddit r/Mommit, the post, with the title, “The audacity of some people,” quickly gained nearly 2,500 upvotes and 400 comments.
Buried in debt? A financial expert weighs in on how to get back on track
“I need to vent before I lose my mind. I’m so angry,” the post began.
As the poster told the story, she and her husband went to Walmart to pick up groceries — and hopefully some formula. “So far, we’ve been super lucky, and our Walmart has been well stocked for the most part,” she wrote.
When they walked in, they made a beeline for the formula aisle — and to their surprise, the store had quite a few cans of the formula they use.
“However, it was only our type and one other. The rest of the shelves were completely empty, and I made a comment to my husband about the shortage,” she wrote.
“I then hear a derisive snort from behind me. ‘This is why people should breastfeed their babies. This is what they get for not feeding their babies as God intended.’
“There was a woman behind us that we hadn’t really been paying attention to, and she kept yammering on about how ‘breast is best’ and whatnot. She had her own kiddo and was looking at something or another. Pedialite or whatever. She even giggled like the whole situation was hilarious.
“My brain kind of short circuited for a minute before I got angry and embarrassingly enough I started to tear up. My husband was looking at her like she was crazy.
“I calmly reached up and grabbed 2 of the big cans of formula and plopped them in my cart while raising my voice: ‘So you think my child should starve because I couldn’t make enough milk for her? Do you think it’s funny that other babies might be starving because they don’t have access to the food that they need?’
“She blinked at me like she was surprised I was talking to her, like she was surprised I was calling her out on her bulls***. Cue stuttering and gaping like a goldfish.
‘Well if they just breastfed — ‘
‘I’m glad you could breastfeed your child. That’s great. Congratulations. But you know what? Not every mom can or wants to. F*** you.’
“I know my husband stayed and said a few choice words to her but I didn’t stick around. I was trying not to start full on crying so I left with my baby to find a secluded aisle to calm down. It wasn’t my best moment but I don’t give a flying f***.
“I’ve been struggling with the fact that I couldn’t keep up my milk production. I’ve lost count of the nights I’ve cried and cried because I felt like a failure for not being able to provide for my baby like I felt I should. I know that there’s no shame in going full formula, and I certainly don’t shame anyone who chose that option from the get-go. But I wanted to breastfeed.
“F*** you lady. This situation isn’t funny and it’s not an excuse for you to make such nasty comments.”
She later edited the post to add, “Woah I didn’t expect this to blow up like it did. Thank you everyone for all of the love, support and encouragement. I’m trying to get through all the comments, even if I don’t reply please know that I’m reading every single one.”
She went on to add in the comments, “I just don’t understand why people feel the need to be so nasty. As long as a child is happy and fed, why does it matter how?”
Shop Jordyn Woods’ stunning cover looks from her In The Know cover shoot:
‘Some people are trash and deserve to be confronted…’
Hundreds of Redditors shared their strong opinions on the matter in the comments.
“She’s a nasty person. I don’t think it was wrong to say something,” one Redditor wrote.
“I also wanted to breastfeed, but my body wouldn’t make very much so we had to mostly use formula. I gave what little I made to our baby. This was devastating to me at the time. I drank special tea, upped water intake, pumped, nothing worked, my body just wouldn’t make much and my baby would have starved without formula,” another Redditor shared.
“Sometimes [breastfeeding] just doesn’t work. No matter how hard you try. That’s why we have formula. This isn’t a new concept or problem. Humans have a hard time nursing. There’s even ancient pottery bottles. Luckily modern formula is great and feeds a baby well, much better than the old alternatives,” commented another Redditor.
“And what are adoptive parents supposed to do??” one Redditor asked.
To this, another Redditor replied, “And people who are fostering babies. I guess because their birth mother can’t take care of them they deserve to starve? Some people are trash and deserve to be confronted for their idiocy and selfishness.”
For those in need of baby formula, the Human Milk Banking website and the Department of Health and Human Services have lists of resources available for parents.
Christian Cowan grew up idolizing pop music’s biggest stars — and now he’s dressing them:
In The Know is now available on Apple News — follow us here!
If you enjoyed this story, check out this first-time mom who was shamed for her 12 “insane” delivery day rules.
The post Complete stranger shames mom in middle of Walmart for shopping for baby formula: ‘You think my child should starve?’ appeared first on In The Know.
More from In The Know:
The do's and don'ts of switching auto insurance policies to save money
The 10 best minimalist bed frames you can buy online, according to shoppers' reviews
