Not going to do it.

Remember earlier how I mentioned I was going to give my response to that Time magazine cover photo and article? Well...I changed my mind. I changed my mind because it's getting way too much coverage, and media attention- and it doesn't deserve it.

Instead I am going to reiterate what I've said in previous posts. Children don't come with manuals. They don't arrive in your lap, with a booklet telling you what you should do, and how you should do it. Its up to us as the parents {I'm talking mums , dads, whatever!} to figure it out and give our children the very best start we can. Whether that means breastfeeding , or formula feeding in infancy- is beside the point. I have some fairly strong opinions on extended breastfeeding past the age of 2yrs, but I will just note here, that it's not for me. I plan to make it to 1yr with Mia and no more.

I know so many wonderful parents. I don't associate with mediocre parents, or "so-so parents". I only associate with parents {and people in general} whose values I believe in, whose opinions I trust and whos practices I support. I don't jump on bandwagons, I never follow 'the curve'. I remember reading ALL the parenting books that were available, when I was pregnant with my first, Mason. I read them all cover-to-cover as though they were the most important things I would ever study. All about pregnancy, all about nutrition, all about breastfeeding, all about sleep, all about ...everything. You name it, I read it. Do I conform to the lessons found in those pages? I certainly do not. I do what works for me, my baby, my family. C'est tout. I don't care if your brother Bob's , friend's sister said that her baby liked it better swaddled. I don't care that your mother's neighbour's son's baby couldn't sleep with a window open. We as parents, adapt. Our babies and children adapt. Once you figure out your family's groove- go with it. Move with it, and flourish. I always had the babies that slept through the night before they were even 2 months old, and they were breastfed. { *ducks and hides*} While I say "slept through the night" at 2 months, that was 5hrs. Not too shabby though- considering my other friends would be up every 2-3hrs with their newborns up until toddlerhood. Mia took the longest to sleep through the night, at 6 weeks. {..I know...right? ;-)  }

Here's a good rule of thumb, for those people you're associating with: If you wouldn't trust them to watch your child {babysit} then you shouldn't be wasting your time with them.

So..... are you mom enough? I certainly am.

Bravado photo shoot. Me nursing Manning at 8 weeks old.