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A recent video proved there is no one set way to care for and feed your child, but people will still love to comment on your choices.
Grace of @gregariously_grace on TikTok shared a video of her and her best friend sitting on a bed together, holding Grace's baby.
Grace and her friend were pregnant back-to-back and had children who were very close in age. The two had both decided to breastfeed.
Because her friend's child was out of town with family and she was becoming engorged without being able to feed him and because Grace had a few drinks, they decided Grace's best friend would feed Grace's baby, so everyone could be cared for.
You can watch the first video here:
After seeing the video, TikTok was divided.
While the reason—consumption of alcohol—wasn’t traditional, the sharing of the responsibility for feeding infants by a community of lactating individuals was and is traditional in many communal, matriarchal or matrilineal societies around the globe. While modern comforts such as bottles, breast pumps and formula and changing social customs have eliminated communal child rearing in many societies, at one point it was essential for survival.
On the one hand, some thought it was beautiful.
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
On the other hand, many found it problematic or too intimate of an act to share with another mother.
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
@gregariously_grace/TikTok
After seeing the more skeptical comments, Grace shared another video of her friend breastfeeding her child again.
Grace explained in the video that it was a unique bonding experience for the three of them, which was helpful for their friendship and the love they felt for each other.
But more practically speaking, it was helping Grace's friend avoid becoming engorged or to decrease her milk supply while she was unable to breastfeed her own baby. Either way, Grace's child was being fed and experiencing love, which was the most important thing to the two women.
You can watch the second video here:
Though the commenters on these videos could not come to an agreement, there's a reason why the phrases "it takes a village" and "fed is best" exist.
While not everyone would choose this method with their own baby, it's clear these best friends found a solution that worked for them, made them happy and provided for their children in the way they believe to be best.