Give it a rest!

Alright moms...
some of you may love this. Some of you may not.

I had not seen the Time magazine photo/story until today. After hearing about it from some just plain disgusted grandmas, I checked it out for myself. I wanted to cry.
I felt as if something I feel so deeply about (breastfeeding) had been just torn to pieces.

I am an Attachment Parenting mom. I believe in it with ALL my heart. The first time I read Dr. Sears book, I had 3 children, was pregnant with #4 & felt like someone had heard my very heartbeat. I had never heard of Attachment Parenting (AP), but was relieved to know that what I "just felt was right", had a name!

Along with MY, personal AP style, comes things like baby wearing, co-sleeping, not having "babysitters", staying at home rather than working, homeschooling, home birth & of course breast feeding as long as is mutually enjoyable for mommy & baby. For me, this usually accompanies another pregnancy, but oh- how I long to nurse a baby to age 2!

So, today I see this magazine cover & I actually shed a tear. I understand normalizing things like birth & nursing. I am the greatest proponent of showing people what a natural birth is like (if they so choose) or for helping a mom learn about a natural way to feed her baby (if she wants to). Here's where I am sad...

Why does it have to be a slap in the face to other parenting styles. Why does this mother's choice mean that every other Attachment Parenting mom is "sexualizing" her child?! Can we all just get to the place where one parents' decision isn't so harshly judged? If you choose to nurse, YOU GO GIRL! We all know breast is best, but can we be honest about the fact that not every mom is at a place in her life where she can handle the 24-7 duty of full-time breast feeding? Some moms choose formula & in my opinion, as long as she's been offered the opportunity to nurse or is given all pros/cons... she should not be judged for that!

Why do we compare our decisions & judge each other based on them?! Even on a daily basis...
I recently posted on facebook about having such a great day as a mommy. My kids were sweet, we did school together, had fun outside. I got about 5 comments like "I love those days", "How sweet", "good for you"... & then one comment that says:
"on a day like I just had, your post makes me sick. It's really hard for me to read about your perfect day".

Well then DON'T! We all have good days & bad days! Why should a fellow mom (particularly one with 5 kids, who probably doesn't have these days often) ever be made to feel bad for having an awesome day?!

On the flip side, why should we judge another's BAD day by telling them a million reasons it could have been better!
"If you made your kids nap..."
"If you did school first thing..."
"If you quit caffeine..."
Blah, blah, blah!

My challenge to all the moms out there is this- Cut out the judgements! Every family, every mother, every situation & every child is different. If we feel strongly about a situation, there's always room to inform/be informed, but not everyone has to agree with you!
Seek the Lord on what's best for YOUR family!

Let Him judge each person for how they raised the babies they've been given...
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. (Matthew 7:1-5 NIV)