A resource to inspire, inform and empower parents.

Archives for June 2013

Attachment Parenting by Accident

Josh Wilker finding his way toward Attachment Parenting.

My son, Jack, was about a month old when my husband and I walked to a nearby restaurant to have lunch on the outdoor patio. We walked Jack in the stroller that we had chosen for our baby registry. I had seen so many families eat lunch while their babies slept in the stroller next to the table. We could do this too. We could be those people! We sat down and Jack slept for about 10 minutes and then woke up. Well, that wasn’t part of the plan, but OK, I picked him up and nursed him while we ate.

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Breastfeeding After C-Section by guest blogger “Keely Riffe”

mother breastfeeding newborn babay

I lost my little girl September 2011 to Anencephaly shortly after she was born. I had a c-section so I could hold her alive. In May 2012 I found out I was pregnant again. I was terrified. After finding out he was going to be perfectly healthy I calmed down. I started researching VBACs and I was dead set on having a natural birth (well as natural and peaceful as I could in a hospital) at 38 & a half weeks I went into labor.

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Perseverance Through Breastfeeding Struggles

by Kimberly

My daughter and I had a very rough start to breastfeeding.  I knew very little about it, besides I wanted to bf.  When she was born, she didn’t latch on like everyone said she would/should.  I had nurses grabbing my breast and shoving it into my daughters mouth (upsetting us both).  Then I was told she had trouble latching because I had flat nipples.  I had never heard of flat nipples but I was suddenly very ashamed of my body.  I felt disgusting and like a failure.  [Read more…]

F*** You, I Won’t Do What You Tell Me

**Disclaimer: This post is referencing mothers who are told that they must cover, not mother’s that choose to cover

Abby Theuring, The Badass Breastfeeder, breastfeeding in public.

There are attempts to control women all around us. A woman is expected to be sexy, but not so sexy that a man can no longer control his impulses. A woman is expected to be smart, but not so smart that she knows more than a man. A woman is expected to be successful, but not so successful so that she makes more money than a man. [Read more…]

Let Them Be: A Breastfeeding in Public Poem

by Tom M.

A mother has the right to nurse no matter when or where,
and should she do it openly the public shouldn’t care.

Her baby is a person with a common right to feed,
and no mother should be forced to flee to satisfy that need. [Read more…]

Happy Father’s Day

Abby Theuring, The Badass Breastfeeder's father and son.

When I was about 12 years old I opened our refrigerator and took 2 of my dad’s beers and slipped them into my back pack. I said goodbye to my parents and went over to my friend’s house a couple blocks away for a sleepover. I thought if we could each drink a beer really fast we might see what it was like to be tipsy. I was at her house for about an hour when her mom said I had a phone call. It was my dad. “Abigail, did you take 2 of my beers?” [Read more…]

Gentle Parenting is Not Anti-Spanking

Abby Theuring, The Badass Breastfeeder, babywearing son Jack.

Gentle parenting is PRO-gentle discipline.

Gentle parenting is not about what we don’t do. It’s about what we DO.

I recently overheard someone telling another person about gentle parenting. She said “we don’t spank, we don’t do leave our babies to cry.” I hear too much about what we don’t do as gentle parents. To me this misses the point entirely. [Read more…]

Growing Up in a Breastfeeding World

by Tom M

I’ve often read the concerns of women who are worried about their children seeing a mother breastfeeding. I’ve heard they might get the wrong idea about breasts, or they could be traumatized if they should happen to see a mother breastfeeding. Or it is disrespectful to other people’s children for a mother to breastfeed in their presence. Until I started reading these concerns I must admit I took my experiences as the son of a breastfeeding mother somewhat for granted. It was a way of life for me that wasn’t out of the ordinary so I never gave it much thought. It didn’t know it was strange to grow up like I did until I started seeing how people look at breastfeeding moms today. I still have trouble understanding how it can be viewed as gross or disgusting. Now I find myself appreciative that my mother took the time to educate and expose us to breastfeeding as kids. [Read more…]

Breastfeeding in Public From a Husband’s Perspective

bybreastfeee Brooks W

When my wife and I had our first child just over ten years ago we tried to breastfeed without too much luck. I never really saw anyone breastfeed before. Fast forward another 5 years we had our second child. Breastfeeding was going great.

Remember ten years ago I never really saw this. My wife was trying to breastfeed out in public. I was one of those guys that always said don’t do that. We will get in trouble or those dudes are staring at your breasts. I never knew laws allowed you to breastfeed in public back then. [Read more…]

The Most Awesome Comeback Ever: Breastfeeding in Public

Today I received an e-mail from a mother who is clearly doing her job to raise kids with a healthy understanding of the human body.

 

Alexis writes…

My son Eli is 6 years old and he is a fierce protector of his baby sister (Sydney, 11 months) and of me. We were in the park the other day and an elderly dude came up and asked him (Eli) if it was, “strange to see Mommy breastfeeding”. [Read more…]