By now, I'm sure many of you have seen the infamous cover of the new Times Magazine. If not, here you go:
As a mom, I was very offended when I saw this first thing this morning on my Facebook news feed. While I think it's great that breastfeeding is becoming more socially acceptable and people are more aware of the benefits of nursing your children, I am sad to see that it is being used to further separate mothers and create drama between them.
Yes, I breastfeed, but what can make something more 'mom' than another??
I am part of two different social circles and I don't really fit in either one. I think I've always been that way though. :)
The first group are friends that I've known before I had Baby J, friends from high school, college, coworkers and the hubby's coworkers. The second group is my newer friends, people I've met since having Baby J who share common interests. This list includes moms who do one or more of the following: cloth diaper, breastfeed, babywear, use baby led weaning, co-sleep, delay vax or no vax, and overall strive to parent in the best way they can.
Hopefully, all parents whether they choose to do the above list of things or not, try their best to provide a loving home for their children and raise them to be the amazing adults we all hope, pray and wish our children will one day become.
If you are a breastfeeding mother, you can imagine how many times I've heard, "Your still breastfeeding?" or "Cloth diapers?!?" from the first group. Most people that wrinkled their nose at the latter are amazed at how they have worked for us now, but the breastfeeding questions never end, of course, unless they are weaned, and then you get questions from the second group.
My more natural/attached/hippie (whatever you want to call them) parenting friends will ask my why I'm wanting to wean my daughter. She's not even two. Some people think it's wrong that my child sleeps in a crib or that I had a csec. My first group of friends thought I was crazy for wanting a natural birth, the second will find a reason why I didn't end up with one.
Obviously, they are two extremes, but not entirely exaggerated. Many people that I call friends are somewhere in the middle and more than that couldn't care less how I choose to parent.
As moms, parents, grandparents and people, we need to stop judging each other on what we do and support each others decisions. Maybe a person's choice wasn't right for you, but if it works for them, so be it!
Happy parenting!
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| Hubs did not want to take this pic, but I'm glad he did. :) August 2011-Baby J was 13 months |
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