Fans of Southern Charm know Cameran Eubanks has always been one to tell it like it is and as a new mom, the reality star has continued to keep it 100 for her followers.
This week, Cameran took to Instagram to share that she’s decided to stop breastfeeding her daughter Palmer. Cameran’s post was accompanied by the caption, “I know I’m opening up the flood gates with this one,” noting her decision may seem like a controversial one to some.
“Today marks the day I am DONE with breastfeeding. Gave it a good almost 3 months and I am retiring the boobs,” she wrote. “Writing this in hopes it will make other mothers feel less alone. You see, I’m not quitting because my milk supply dried up or because I’m sick… I’m quitting because I’m just plain OVER IT. By CHOICE. I know I will get lectured and judged by this but it doesn’t bother me. I need some freedom back for my sanity and the bottle and formula will allow that. You are NOT a bad mother if you don’t like breastfeeding. A happy Mama is the best gift you can give your baby. (At least in my opinion).”
While Cameran may have expected a wave of negative comments from the mom army, the majority of the (nearly 20,000!) comments on her post were from those applauding her honesty and relating to her message:
“Do what’s best for you and your baby,” one of the comments read. “A happy, rested mama can make all the difference! Who cares what anyone else thinks?”
“I did the same exact thing at 3 months,” a fellow mom commented. “It was mentally making me insane. I was SO relieved the moment I stopped. Good for you for listening to your mind and heart. THAT is girl power.”
In addition to the many kind words from followers, one of Cameran’s ‘Southern Charm’ cast mates, Craig Conover, also spoke in support of her choice, crediting his famously luscious locks to being a formula-fed baby.
Cameran and her husband Dr. Jason Wimberly welcomed Palmer in November. Before her Bravo days, Cameran appeared on The Real World: San Diego in 2004 and went on to compete on The Challenge “The Battle of the Sexes 2” and “Gauntlet 2” seasons.
(Photo: Bravo)
21 Responses
Breastfeeding for me was so hard. I tried everything but my body wouldn’t produce much milk; I even went to a lactacian consultant a few times. I gave up after 3 months.
I think women who breastfeed their kids past 1 year are Super Woman.
I’m glad that she posted this. Especially the part about where she says she’s stopping because she just doesn’t want to do it anymore, she doesn’t like it, it was t easy for her. Whenever we have the breast vs bottle conversation, moms who are bottle feeding feel like they need to go through a whole list of “good reasons” why they couldn’t breast feed or had to stop. Illness, medication, couldn’t make enough milk, had to go back to work and couldn’t pump, etc. I think it’s great if we can finally get to a place, where like Cameron, we can just say “I don’t want to do it because I don’t like doing it, so I’m not going to do it anymore,” and have that count as a valid enough excuse. I did not have s good experience with breast feeding. I don’t think I was doing it right either because my baby seemed to be hungry all the time. I feel horrible looking back and thinking that maybe I wasn’t feeding him long enough, or maybe I was t making enough milk, or maybe I wasn’t feeding him often enough. It was hard for me to know how much he drank and if he was crying because he was hungry or for some other reason, and I really muddled through those first 2 months when I was nursing him. We switched to bottle feeding after two months. I was being prescribed a medicine that was technically safe for breastfeeding, but I used that medicine as my “valid excuse” for why I had stopped whenever anyone asked. Once he was on formula, he was a happier baby, he got what he needed. And I was a happier mother because it wasn’t always on me to feed him, and I could KNOW how much he was eating.
I’ve always loved her…ever since the Real World when she was describing how Charlie was hoping that Britney Spears would see him on the show and they would fall in love, and when Robyn and Brad got arrested…Her and Jamie (Chung) were some of my favorites that season…thinking back, that was a good season lol…Cameron was always been so funny and so witty….I follow her on IG and love and appreciate how real she is about motherhood.
If you follow her on Instagram you can understand why she posted that. Women are constantly asking her. I think she’s a nice girl and whatever works for that person is all she’s said, and I agree ??
Anyone commenting “why did she announce this she just wants attention” clearly doesn’t have kids.
The second you go in for delivery the medical staff are up your butt about breastfeeding. The second you leave family are voicing their opinions. And the Mom community online and in the real world LOVE to make you feel guilty for not breastfeeding, cloth diapering or co-sleeping. Because apparently those are the best and only options. No clue who this chick is but I applaud her.
I have two kids and I have literally never had a single person ask me if I was breastfeeding or bottle feeding them. I really don’t think anyone else cares so I’m not sure what the point is with her post besides attention.
Could be a cultural thing? I never heard of it being such a big deal either, but I know baby trend in Europe are very different from the USA (also it greatly differs per country, so I can imagine it would differ greatly within the US as well).
First World problem much?! 😉
It’s her decision, but the post seems a bit attention seeking…
Where I grew up I had another problem: the general norm or expectation is, you should breastfeed, but after around 6-9 months you stop. If you continue much longer then 12 months many people think it is unnatural and start asking “but not until he is 6 or?”…. you get a lot of unwanted critical comments. Very intolerant – even if you just do what the WHO suggests, you have to defend it.
I never really planned before the birth of my first since I was bottlefed. For me breastfeeding worked fine, so I just continued and continued until he was 30 months. But I had to be quite strong to do what my son and me wanted – since everybody was so worried I would not stop. *He was 2 not 7!* I never tried to convince anybody… just do your own thing. But I wondered if my friends brandished longer breastfeeding as weird to not feel guilty about stopping after a few months.
Just do your thing and do not try to get reassurance from the outside/others.
Back to the original topic: Just my opinion – there are many things while raising children which can be annoying. Changing diapers while your baby won’t stop moving and protesting is my least favorite … sometimes I am so over it… but I won’t stop changing diapers because of it. First it is not optional (if you don’t have a nanny) and second it is kind part of the whole ‘parent adventure’ and Life. Most things in life don’t consist only of fun stuff… reality is a mix of the pleasant and unpleasant emotions – and the bad times make us appreciate the good times even more. If you chase being happy/excited/special every second, you might be disappointed.
3 months after birth the hormones drop again and often e.g. depressive feelings worsen. It is a sensitive time and the lack of sleep and the hormone chaos can make you feel real shitty and exhausted (been there 2x). So often stopping to breastfeed can be a relief and I completely understand if a mom has to put her own needs first to stay healthy and sane.
The statistical benefits of breastfeeding are just the overall trend and do not need to be the case in every Child 😉 My breastfed sister always put on weight more easily and all the other things are not really different. So don’t stress yourself if it doesn’t work.
(No native speaker)
For all of those commenting, “I don’t know why it has to be made such a big announcement.” She says right in her post that she’s saying this publicly in hopes that she can make other moms who are doing the same thing to feel less alone. Breastfeeding vs formula feeding is a hugely controversial topic and everyone feels that they have the right to tell a woman what to do with her child, without knowing a person’s circumstances. Her post may help another woman to realize their she isn’t a bad mom for wanting to quit breastfeeding and that she isn’t the only woman to ever feel this way.
She’s also had many people commenting throughout the entirety of her pregnancy asking if she’s planning to breastfeed. This isn’t the first time she’s felt she needed to address it, as the commenters were out of control with their other-mothering
I will never understand why other moms care what others are doing. It’s not your baby, your home, your finances..soo not your business. Mom shaming and competitiveness is lame, and I bet while you were busy being a keyboard warrior your kid ate an old Cheerio off the floor or their own boogers. ??♀️
I’m not sure why to make a big post but okay. I bf my second for 18 months (I got really sick and was hospitalized with my first so I had to stop) and I’m two months in with my third. I get it. It sucks. I’ve had a 101 fever with mastitis all day. The babies want me a hundred times more than daddy and I’m the one who has to get up. It’s mentally a huge challenge. That being said I think it’s worth it.
Yeah that’s great. It’s YOUR choice, listing your maladies put upon you while breastfeeding does not earn you a metal.
If anything it comes off smug like “ohhhhhh look what i can do while also breastfeeding, suck it Cameron Eubanks!”
it goes both ways. Cameron doesn’t deserve a medal for quitting breastfeeding. if anything it comes off as “hooray for moms for quitting breastfeeding. your body, your choice. happy mommy, happy baby.” but moms who say that they will continue to breastfeed because it’s what’s best for baby and it’s worth it get this kind of flak from you and are accused of shaming mothers who don’t. double standards much?
It’s not worth it if the mother is mentally about to break and HATES it.
Your post is the exact problem. “I had mastitis and it’s hard and exhausting but I still did it because it’s worth it and the best choice”. It stinks of smug.
I couldn’t breastfeed because I threw my back out. Ever tried to pump while having a back spasm? Any idea how much judgement and guilt I felt because I had to stop? From people like you no less.
You’re projecting, and you’re “shaming” her for doing nothing more than telling her story. That is part of the problem. You judging someone because you felt judged by others is part of the problem.
I didn’t breast feed, for reasons that are my own. Im well aware of the pressure and judgement those of us who make that decision face. Someone who did make the choice to breast feed, whether it was easy or difficult for her, is not making a statement about own choice not to. Breast-feeding moms talking about their choice does not challenge my own, and does not give me reason to be combative towards them.
Women who breast feed are not your enemy, and don’t deserve you judgement any more than you deserve(d) anyone else’s. Stop looking for “smug” and support people who make the right choice for them and their families, and you want them to do for you.
I honestly don’t know why you got so many downvotes. They applaud a mom for quitting breastfeeding but condemn moms like you who continue to do so. You can’t say anything positive about breastfeeding nowadays without being accused of mom shaming.
I didn’t know we had to write a post about giving up on breastfeeding? I didn’t realize it was anyone’s business. Smh
As soon as I pulled a bottle for my kids in public I would be asked if it was BM or formula and the lectures I got from STRANGERS for the formula were crazy. I really had no desire to tell them my medical history about why I wasn’t breastfeeding but for some reason a lot of people think it’s entirely their business how you are feeding your baby. She was probably putting it out there so she could deal with all the a’holes now rather than when the info aired.
If she doesn’t want criticism or feedback then DON’T ANNOUNCE IT. Problem solved. Not everything needs to be a PSA. ?
For some reason she just annoys the crap out of me!!??