"Are you Mom enough?"

    By now we have all seen the controversial Time magazine cover. By now we have also had time to ingest and form our own opinions...

     Jamie Lynne Grumet a 26-year-old mother from California has forced us all to take a look at our definition of being "Mom enough" What exactly does that mean anyway? Mom enough... While the title of the article was sure to evoke anger over the implication of  a sea of unfit mothers the message is simple. A mother exercising her right to do what she feels best for her child. If she feels that nursing her child to the age of six and possibly beyond... is that not her choice? If her child shows signs of emotional trauma she will have to then also make decisions for her child's welfare and well being...

    While I think that the door for judgement was swung wide open by herself and others who subscribe to attachment parenting...is OK to let it become such a controversial issue?  Invading our homes with ferocity. Are you mom enough to not be bothered by what the world thinks? Being a mother is a certain special life calling. Having worked outside of the home full time and now being a WAHM has changed my perspective a whole hundred and eighty degrees. Each day right or wrong I do what I feel is best for my children albeit I will not be contacting Time magazine to encroach on my personal life and choices...

    Who are we to tell a mother that she is wrong to attachment parent. Does it have a direct impact on your life? It is time we settle down and worry about the happenings inside our own homes. Nursing is a bond that cannot be described until you have experienced it. My goal was to BF Sweet baby K to six months. Six months came and I simply could not break this bond. The most beneficial time for a child to nurse is the first year of life. Although physically I was miserable my heart settled for another six months. I wonder if this is the reasoning for attachment parenting.... It is more about the parent than the child?

    A week shy of her first birthday my baby was weaned. I rode a roller coaster of emotions. While believing that I would dance with joy around a burning pile of nursing bra's....I cried. I had to fight my own emotions for her to succeed, because I felt it was the best for her. I was mom enough to put my own heart aside so our emotional bond could grow in other ways.

    If attachment parenting works for some...so be it! It does not work for me and I shudder now at the thought or rather reality of the possibility of extended nursing.

What are you thinking about this issue?