This post is just a personal rant, so feel free to skip if you are not interested at all. I just needed to vent out my personal feelings and thoughts as it has been bugging me these few days and I think only by writing it out and putting it off my chest that I'll be able to find some closures of some sort to this.
A little bit info about me before I started my storytelling: I'm very passionate with matters related to natural birth, breastfeeding (exclusive, during pregnancy, beyond 2 years, tandem), hand expressing breastmilk, co-sleeping and anything related to baby care (as long as I have experience or read about it).
I shared my thoughts and experience with friends, ex-colleagues, relatives, strangers on the cyber world, mums-to-be, new mums, mums, dads etc whenever they asked me. Be it via personal emails through my blog, or via my Facebook page or via my blog posts, I shared without hesitations.
About 3 months back, I joined this group on Facebook, a group that is passionate about breastfeeding matters. Initially I was just commenting and sharing my feedbacks and experience. Then as and when I stumbled upon any articles on the web about breastfeeding topics, I also shared them (from my Facebook page) on this group. I also did that when I blogged about breastfeeding, tandem nursing or parenting topics on my blog here.
All in the name of sharing experience - this is all I wanted to do.
Sometimes I get my inspirations to blog when I read the questions posed by these mummies in the group. It got me motivated to write a post about the 5 Ds to Remember If You Plan to Breastfeed Your Baby which I shared it when I published the post.
Few days back, there are quite a number of new mums posted in the group about needing to supplement with formula milk and I decided to share the link to this blog post again on the group asking the new mums in the group to have faith in their body, to hang in there and not give in to supplementing with formula milk.
Some mums commented and asked questions and I happily shared my feedback on the same thread until one mum commented she can't view the link and can't help but wonder whether I am trying to sell things in the group as she keeps seeing the links being posted in the group (when I had only posted the same link twice in the group).
I was shocked at reading that.
To be frank, I was hurt.
Never in a million years I thought of selling anything in the group other than the ideas that breastfeeding is the best for our child and it takes a strong will and determination to go through the journey successfully.
And yet, because someone is not able to view the link (and did not bother to try again), they assumed I am selling stuff.
Long story short, I explained that I am not selling anything and the link is some tips I shared about breastfeeding. No more response from the person after that but yes, I do think I deserve an apology. Oh well...
But then, that got me thinking, maybe I've been a nuisance for sharing all these articles and info. Maybe I'm a smart aleck and people out there don't like it. Am I being over sensitive? Maybe, but I think it's time to stop being such a busybody to share and help when people just don't seem to understand my intentions and don't even appreciate it.
So, I have decided to take a step back, slowly cut down my interactions in the group and letting go of my passion to share info in that group. Oh, I also have some personal reasons why I think it is better for me to step away from this group. Personally I think the group is getting a bit too dramatic lately, to the extent that there are some cat-fights in some threads (I learned the term cat-fights via some private messages with the founder of the group as I sent her a message telling her briefly about my rant)
Nowadays the most I do is just click 'Like' when I see my friends sharing their experience and testimony in the group, other than that, I have refrained myself from being a smart aleck. Maybe one day, I'll click the 'Leave group' option. I think it is very possible.
Image credit: Google search
Although the group's founder told me "don't let one (or a few) insignificant people put you off wanting to help other people" and "as long as you are sincerely helping, it will pay off, and these negative people will somehow not be significant anymore", I think for the moment I am better off staying away from the heat and drama and silently nursed my bruise ego hahaha...
Yes, I'll still share info and articles on my Facebook page so if you don't like what you see on my page, feel free to click 'Unlike'.
But seriously, I have more important things to focus on now. Some other updates, I've also started my 11 months old girl on cloth diapers (not everyday though as I only have 4 inserts to use on her), also bought a baby sling to babywear my girl (will blog about it later if I can) and still clearing up tons of pending product and book reviews (16 on hand now!). And I'm also wishy-washy in a potential little project of mine... can't quite firm up whether I should go full steam ahead or not... hmmmm... (no, not baby #3 yet hahaha..)
So I don't think I should waste my precious time and brain cells on something that is not rewarding. There you go... Rants done. Sorry for taking up your precious time in reading this silly rant of mine.
Thank you for your support if you are still following my blog and FB page so far!
