So what would I write about if I was feeling really superty-duperty Pollyanna-ish? (she says with a scary clown smile)

Well I’d definitely have a kick butt video to share with you for Ameda’s Why I Breastfeed campaign. Regardless of the fact my husband never wanted a video recorder on our computer and our real video camera broke a few years back (thus no vlogging for me!) Even though I won’t be counted, you, like Elita from Blacktating, can still contribute to this charitable campaign that for each 20 second video received will donate $5 to the Human Milk Banking Association of North America.

credit: My Baby Experts

I’d rant and rave about the fact that Shari Criso, the award winning author of the Simply Breastfeeding DVD has a brand new video website that will stream her entire Simply Breastfeeding DVD for FREE during World Breastfeeding Week. If you are unable to afford a breastfeeding class or Shari’s DVD, take advantage of this offer. I reviewed Simply Breastfeeding and highly recommend it to any new or seasoned mom who plans to breastfeed. Shari will help you commit to making it work! *If you know a friend who might benefit from Shari’s free video please share this with them via Facebook or twitter or email.

With World Breastfeeding Week comes concerned mothers who ask “what can I do to help?” Annie at PhD in Parenting has a good post to get you started. First, if you don’t already, start boycotting Nestlé. If you think that no longer buying Häagen-Dazs might ruin your life then you need to head over to her post Why I Boycott Nestlé’s Unethical Business Practices for an overview of how Nestlé ruins other people’s lives and make a full-on switch to Ben & Jerry’s like I did.

What else can you do? Well the theme of World breastfeeding Week this year is Just 10 Steps, the Baby-Friendly Way. If you live in British Columbia like I do, you may be just appalled as I am to learn that we only have two Baby-Friendly designated hospitals in our province. In Quesnel (huh?!) and Vancouver.  All together, in Canada there are only about a dozen hospitals that have this status. So like Best for Babes says, If you are expecting or thinking of starting a family, the single most important thing you can do, long before you go to the hospital or maternity center, give birth at home, or waltz the Ten Steps, is to PREPARE.

That means educate yourself, Prepare for hospital booby traps (most doctors and nurses receive little if any breastfeeding education. See this post and this post for more details), commit to breastfeeding, gather up a supportive network of other breastfeeding moms, friends and family. If you are isolated, that’s okay. There are plenty of places on-line you can turn to. Kelly Mom is my favorite resource, and even if you are calling long distance, there is always a La Leche League leader you can speak to for free about any breastfeeding problems you are having. If you already breastfeed, and if you can, plan to breastfeed a little longer than you intended, or give breastfeeding in public a try. The more often the public sees breastfeeding and/or sees or hears about breastfeeding older children, the more normal it becomes.

So yes, I know it is World Breastfeeding Week and this is my post. The other thing I am doing this week today, which I am pretty proud of myself about, is FINALLY getting around to posting a “Nestlé free zone” image on my site. I wonder how many of my readers were thinking I was a big Stouffer’s fan? …… Yeah right. And as a result of this post I hope your IQ has jumped a few points and that you are now inspired to become the world’s most influential breastfeeding educator. I will now softly creep into my bed in hopes of not disrupting my nursling’s sleep and can pretty much bet you a breastfeeding-friendly chocolate bar that I’ll be nursing my three year old within half an hour.

Happy Breastfeeding Week Breastfeeding Moms!

Related posts:

1. Monday Musings: What Are You Doing For World Breastfeeding Awareness Week?
2. What I’m Doing For World Breastfeeding Awareness Week
3. World Breastfeeding Awareness Week Starts Today

The Mission:

To follow the rules of both awards while also answering the all-about-me questions from A Lot Of Loves.

Here I go.

A Blog With Substance

The Rules:

1) Thank the blogger who bestowed the Award on you.

Thank you to Judy at Mommy News. You are one of the first blogs I ever followed and I was drawn to you for your compassionate and informative breastfeeding posts as well as your successful breastfeeding and maternity wear business. You are still one person I aim to be a little more like.

2) Sum up your blogging experience, philosophy and motivation in 5 words.

• To express, support, encourage and inspire.

3) Pass the award on to 10 deserving bloggers.

Here are 10 bloggers who are extremely deserving of this award:

1.) Spoonfed. Raising Kids to think about the food they eat. Spoonfed marries my two favorite topics: parenting and food. I love every single article I read here!

2) At Mother’s Breast: Photographing the Beauty and Normalcy of Breastfeeding. Katrina is a photographer and wants to photograph breastfeeding moms of Utah for a project she is working on. If you are a photographer outside of Utah, you can participate too.

3) Heather at It’s All About The Hat just had her second unassisted birth. She’s amazing. She blogs about pregnancy, breastfeeding, birth and mothering unlike any other blogger I know.

4) Catherine at My Birth Tree always inspires me. She’s a doula, breastfeeding counsellor and Birthing From Within Mentor and while her posts aren’t always about these topics, her passion for mothering and mothers always shines through.

5) …Infinitely Learning… Hilliary is a woman of positive intention. Each post she writes is like a cherished treasure. Like a wild flower your child picked for you. If I could stuff her blog in a vase I would!

6) Speaking of inspirational and positive intentions, Sarah Sophia of tout-est-des-roses is another fave whose posts bring to mind night time rose gardens and children swinging barefoot in handmade dresses.

7) Ayala’s Herbal Water. Dr. Ayala blogs about nutrition and health. She’s the other vegetarian real foodie I know. I love her informative posts. Seriously, every single one of them rocks.

The Mommypotamus. Heather is really smart and really great to read. She really gets me thinking and most always agreeing with most of everything she says, whether it’s about natural parenting or healthy living. Currently one of my top favorites.

9) Grumbles and Grunts. Jamie is super cool. She also wrote a kick-butt primer for pumping at work, which I adored, and I just like her. She’s nice. She’s real. And she pumped at work. Women who do that are pretty much my heros.

10) Hobo Mama. Because this is so not in order, Lauren always comes to mind when I think of a blogger with substance. Fabulous writer, excellent mom. You’ll want to be like her if you don’t already know her.

The Versatile Blogger

The Rules:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you this award.

Hey Alex of A Moderate Life. You know I think you absolutely rock and I so appreciate what a big supporter you are of me!

2. Share seven things about yourself: (This is where I start answering some of the other questions from A Lot of Loves post.)

1) Events that have most shaped me.

• Living in a cottage in the woods, on a lake, with two of the nicest guys a girl could ever meet, finding my spirituality, losing a pregnancy and being surrounded by so much love and support. This time in my life modeled for me what true passion, friendship and life, for me, is all about.
• Meeting my husband. The one guy I can’t say is like any other man I’ve known. Entering into a relationship and life with him was like consciously choosing a new path for myself.
• Having children. Breastfeeding them. Need I say more?

2) If I had a whole day without commitments I would sleep in, take myself out for a fabulous breakfast at my favorite breakfast spot, wander around downtown, have a two hour massage, write a letter (a real one on fancy note paper) to my best girlfriends, and go out to see a movie.

3) I could never give up Earl Grey tea and soymilk. I’ve tried. I know soy milk is bad but nothing tastes quite as good. Since it’s only a Tbsp per day I will not beat myself up over this tiny imperfection in my real food journey.  I could also never give up cake. Not completely anyway.

4) If I could travel anywhere (I just played this game with my husband yesterday morning) I would go to Europe. France, in particular. I went when I was 18 and stayed one month with a French family. I loved it there but I wanted to see more and I also never once got to eat in a real French restaurant. So I want to go back and be my own tour guide. I also want to visit West Africa because no one ever seems to go there, and I’d love to return to Botswana one day. Great people. Gorgeous countryside.

5) I have a crush on Robert Downey Jr. It’s a big one. I basically told my hubby that if RDJ ever wanted to be with me, he’d have to let me go. He has reluctantly agreed. I get Robert Downey, he gets Maggie Gyllenhall. That’s a fair trade I think. What do I love about Robert Downey Jr? His facial expressions… that smile (swoon), those see-into-my-soul eyes (faint). He is so fine! Oh, Edward the vampire is pretty hot too.

6) I thought I was going to teach English in a French-speaking African nation when I grew up. That’s what they said about me when I went to collect my diploma at my high school graduation. So I took French, dropped out after two years because I got two B’s when I was used to getting A’s, and then decided to become a Travel Agent instead. Took the course, passed with flying colours, went to Africa and when I returned I decided that I didn’t want to contribute to that continent’s exploitation. So I became a waitress and met a deaf man who taught me American Sigh language. I decided I would become a translator, nope even better, a counsellor for the deaf! So I took psychology courses in preparation but couldn’t keep up with my Sigh Language courses on the side. So I let that go and ended up in mental health, where I found my passion. Thank the Goddess!!

7) The character trait that I admire most is confidence. Confidence wins a lot of tickets to a good life. Being confident in who you are means telling the truth to others and to yourself. It means you are living authentically and passionately and that you will take risks and grow.

3. Pass this award along to ten bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are fantastic for whatever reason!

1) Mud Spice: Mucking about in Art and Motherhood. Why do I love Mud Spice? Because of art as prayer and because her blog embodies her beliefs about this. Interested to find out what I mean? Go read her blog. She’s a beautiful person.

2) Chill Mama Chill. Meet Babe_Chilla. She’s real, she’s funny and she’s really fun to read. I’ve been following her on Twitter for awhile but only recently started reading her blog. Boy was I sorry I wasn’t reading earlier!

3) Me and Mine in a Small Town. I love this woman because she’s as crunchy as Christ (I just made that up but it’s pretty good hey?) and I loved her posts about the homeless man she and her husband let stay with them one night. The power of humanity people. Right here.

4) The Leaky Boob. Because she provides support and information for moms everywhere too. Love the ones you’re with ladies. We all need all the support we can get. Plus her blog name rocks.

5) Earth Mama: Gentle mothering, gentle living. Drawn in by the name. Stayed for the content and the peace and joy. Like our real earth mother, I just like rolling around in the lushness and beauty of this blog.

6) Modern Alternative Mama: Living the non-mainstream life. My newest find. Such a treasure. Studying to become a breastfeeding specialist and child birth educator, into home birthing, non-vaxxing, cloth diapering, organic real food. I hope she’ll be my friend. I want to hang out with her, breastfeed and eat raw cheese.

7) Sacred Appetite is about restoring harmonious and happy family meals. Really good stuff here.

My Sweet and Savory. I can eat almost all the recipes Chaya posts and love the warm person she is.

9) Finding Summer. I’m kind of cheating here. I’ve been following Summer for quite awhile but this blog is new to her so I’m adding it to my list. Because she’s “one of those radical homemakers” and because she’s outspoken and rocks my blogosphere.

10) Health Food Lover. Why do I love Michelle’s blog? Look at the title. Need I say more?

Mission Accomplished!

And see! I wasn’t at all self-absorbed, but I have now given the writers of these blogs the bragging rights to be so themselves. And that makes this little post completely worth it.

Related posts:

1. My First Award and Love Links
2. One Lovely Blog Award
3. A List of Carnivals For Crunchy Mamas

I really wish I was going to Blog Her’ 10

See my tribe of bloggers who I’ve never met but feel a certain kinship with are pretty damn popular. These are the women who I would band with in the protest of any massive swag attacks by Nestlé. (Elita from Blacktating wouldn’t be there to help us but she’s voting with her feet due to the Nestle sponsorship scandal). There’s Gina from The Feminist Breeder, and Annie from Phd in Parenting. But although I consider both of these highly intelligent and downright awesome women my bloggy friends, they probably wouldn’t be hanging out together. (Please don’t ask me to explain. I don’t want to ruffle any feathers here.) Which puts me in the middle. Just like in high school when my two of my best friends didn’t get along and I had to choose sides even though I could see both sides and just wanted everyone to get along already. Not that I think either of them would make me choose sides. It’s just an analogy people. Easily remedied by spending time with them separately or hanging out with Danielle from Momotics and Arwyn from Raising My Boychick. Who else among the lactivist and birth activist bloggers are going?

*Update: Gina and Annie have reconciled. So make sure you still continue to adore both of them and ignore what I said above. 

I don’t think any of my Natural Parenting friends are going. You know who I’m talking about. Dionna from Code Name Mama, Amber from Strocel.com, Lauren from Hobo Mama, Paige from Baby Dust Diaries, Heather from It’s All About The Hat, and Maman A Droit. In a way I’m just that much more relieved that I’m not going because without them I think it would be like getting invited to a cousin’s sleep over party and not knowing anyone there. That always sucked.

There’s one crowd I really want into. My idea of the “cool crowd” but I’m really not sure if they’d accept me. Other than a choice few like Heather from The Mommypotamus and Alex from A Moderate Life I’m not sure if they accept me now. This would be the “real food” crowd. And I’m pretty sure at least some of them are just putting up with me because I do a good job of linking to their posts every week on my Vegetarian Foodie Fridays. See, I don’t eat meat and they do, so I think that they think (yes, this is so totally high school) I shouldn’t be allowed to hang with them because I’m doing my body a disservice. I disagree but I don’t make a big stink about it. They’re smart and know nutrition and that’s why I like them so much. And then my would-have-been, could-have-been vegan friends who I also think are pretty cool because they don’t eat dead animals don’t want to be my friend either (I’m just guessing) because vegetarians aren’t as pure as vegans – even though they think eating tofu is good for them and I know better. Although I also know that eating dessert is bad for you too but I’m still a fan of the mainstream food bloggers who know how to make a mean white chocolate cheesecake with blueberry sauce and table scape some mean napkins and matching dishes with a pretty sponge cake right in the middle. Oh, it doesn’t matter, I don’t think they’re going anyway. Where oh where do I fit in?

Maybe with the green bloggers? I do love them. Crunchy Domestic Goddess among others. They’d be my after school club friends. But I probably wouldn’t get too much time with them either. You know, because I wasn’t as committed in the club to saving the earth (even though I was at home!) and I chose to major in breastfeeding and minor in foods instead. Sigh.

Then there’s the über-popular crowd. I wouldn’t even bother trying to infiltrate this one. (Unless I ran into Cecily from Uppercase Woman who is nothing like most of the people I’m thinking of. She totally rocks my world and is super nice to boot.) I would like to meet and worship at Her Bad Mother’s feet but I think Catherine has enough of those kinds of followers already and I wouldn’t need to make a fool out of myself just to say hello, although at one of these shin digs I could liken to prom for strangers I would likely do or say something stupid to someone at some point. Even though I know they’re just people like me, I’d expect these rich kids (aka, profiting bloggers) would be too busy networking with each other and stroking each other’s virtual blog awards to take much notice of the crunchy breastfeeding blogger in the corner. Even though I’m hard to miss being 6 ft tall and everything. Hm, maybe that could finally start working for me. There’s no short men to intimidate at Blog Her right? To me these ladies are like the super hot jocks in high school. Everyone admires them and thinks they’re pretty smokin’ but no one is quite sure how to approach them.

Then there’s everyone else. Most of them who write blogs I’ve never even heard of yet. Some of them I follow on Twitter but until yesterday never checked out their blogs. (@mamabmy @militarymama @measamommy and @babydickey) Is subscribing to 103 blogs not enough? (I just counted). I’m pretty sure I would meet some of these women and be smitten with them immediately. But then I’m back at high school and I’m the the new kid and don’t have the confidence to approach them. I would feel like I should have something interesting to say to these people. “What’s your blog?” is probably the most asked question at Blog Her. But I guess that’s where a person starts right? We all go to Blog Her for the first time at some point and if we aren’t making triple digit dollars plus then we have to make connections somehow. I guess we’re all the new kid in the beginning. I’m just glad I get at least one more year to figure out how not to make Blog Her like high school. Or so I will keep telling myself once those Blog Her tweets start up in August.

Photo credit: Rustic Roads

Related posts:

1. Seven Reasons I’m Sending My Child To Public School And The Three Big Reasons I Wish I Wasn’t
2. Random Acts Of Kindness To Defeat The First Day of School Jitters
3. Caring For A High Needs Baby During The Holidays

This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have waxed poetic about how their parenting has inspired others, or how others have inspired them. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.

***

My goal in writing this blog has always been to inspire and inform new and/or breastfeeding moms. No matter if the nursling is a newborn, toddler or older child. However, when anyone tells me that I have actually done that, I am surprised. Me? I’ve inspired you? I’ve taught you something? How can that be? I’m just flying by the seat of my pants. It makes me realize that anyone and everyone can make a difference in somebody else’s life, if only we try.

It’s a humbling and wonderful feeling to be told that you’ve made a difference in someone’s life. I remember one of the first personal emails I received from a reader who told me that because of my blog she learned that it’s perfectly natural and beneficial to breastfeed past one year. She said,

“I believe that I found you through twitter when I made an uneducated comment on breastfeeding after 1 year. My views on breastfeeding after 1 year where not very positive, but I have now come to understand this is not only great for the health of baby but the mother and child get a chance to bond even more…I wanted to let you know you have opened my eyes to breastfeeding long after 1 year and how to stand up for my rights to breastfeed. I believe with your help and support of others I will succeed with breastfeeding and if I ever need help I feel I can always come to you.”

Someone else told me that because of my blog she feels more comfortable nursing in public.

“You’ve also made me less shy about talking about breastfeeding publicly and doing it in public too! I’ve still never seen another mom nursing in public except at family gatherings at hubby’s grandma’s house, which isn’t really “in public.” And my own parents and extended family actually think nursing in public or around company is rude and you should use bottles and formula in those situations. So for me, knowing that there are other women nursing their babies proudly everywhere was a big deal!”

I’ve had commenters thank me for not making them feel like weirdos for practicing natural parenting. Many of you have identified with issues I’ve had and have come forward to say thanks for making you feel not so alone. (Don’t you know that in saying that you’ve made me feel not so alone?)

But the personal messages I’ve received that resonate the most for me are the ones that tell me I’ve made a difference to moms around feeling more comfortable nursing a toddler and nursing in public. Something I am passionate about has found its way into the hearts and minds of others! My gratitude to you for telling me this surpasses everything. For this reason, I continue to write.

I write about topics that I know a lot about, and I write about topics that I don’t know a lot about. Sometimes I’m happy to ask readers for help on a certain subject and sometimes I’m a little reluctant. What if you think I shouldn’t be writing a breastfeeding blog if I’m asking for breastfeeding help? What if you don’t agree with my ideas? What if I’m the only mom in the universe who has struggled with this issue?

Yet, every time I post something I’m almost too scared to say, someone comes out of the woodwork and says “Me too.”

When combined, “me” and “too” have got to be the best two words a mother can hear from another mother. I always think that everyone else is doing a way better job at parenting than I am. I often feel like the outcast in my parenting values. So each time I get a validating comment from a reader, as much as my post has made you feel better, your comments make me feel better.

I think we inspire each other just as much by sharing our faults as our successes. I think the more human we are, and the more honest we are about our fallible natures, the more we want to connect with each other and support one another.

Now every time I feel less like supermom and more like the old lady who lived in a shoe, your comments and letters remind me that I’ve already made a difference. Knowing this helps me to make a bigger difference in the lives of my own children. And for that, I’m grateful to you, and I’m inspired to keep on.

***

Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

(This list will be updated by the end of the day May 11 with all the carnival links.)

• Woman Seeking Inspiration — Seeking Mother’s struggles and joys to find her own path in motherhood have inspired others — to her surprise! (@seekingmother )
• Paving the Way — Jessica at This is Worthwhile makes a conscious effort every day to be a role model. (@tisworthwhile )
• No Rules Without Reason — The Recovering Procrastinator wants to inspire her husband to discipline their children gently. (@jenwestpfahl)
• Creating a Culture of Positive Parenting Role Models — Michelle at The Parent Vortex shows parents at the playground how to do a front wrap cross carry and tells nurses about her successful home births, as a way of modeling natural parenting in public. (@TheParentVortex)
• Making A Difference for Mamas — Shana at Tales of Minor Interest took an embarrassing pumping incident at work and turned it into an opportunity for all the employees who breastfeed.
• Inspiring Snowflakes — Joni Rae at Tales of Kitchen Witch Momma is a role model for the most important people: her children. (@kitchenwitch)
• Paying it Forward — Amber at Strocel.com inspires new (and often scared) mamas with these simple words: “It will be OK.” (@AmberStrocel)
• A SAHD’s View on Parenting Role Models — Chris at Stay At Home Dad in Lansing doesn’t have many role models as a SAHD — but hopes to be one to his daughter. (@tessasdad)
• Am I a Role Model? A Review — Deb at Science@home brings attachment parenting out of the baby age and shows how it applies (with science fun!) to parenting through all of childhood. (@ScienceMum)
• Say Something Good — Arwyn at Raising My Boychick reminds women that it is within our right to be proud of ourselves without apology. (@RaisingBoychick)
• Try, Try Again — Thomasin at Propson Palingenesis wants to inspire like the Little Engine that Could.
• I’m a Parenting Inspiration, Who Knew? — Sarah at OneStarryNight has received several beautiful comments about just what an inspiration she has been, if not in real life then definitely online. (@starrymom)
• That Little Thing — NavelgazingBajan at Navelgazing demonstrates the ripple effect, one status update at a time. (@BlkWmnDoBF)
• How Has Your Day Been? — mrs green @ littlegreenblog inspired her friend to be an active listener for her children. (@myzerowaste)
• No, Thank You! — If you are reading Maman A Droit’s post, you’ve probably inspired her. (@MamanADroit)
• My Top 3 Natural Parenting Principles — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now describes how her family’s natural and Montessori principles inspired others. (@DebChitwood)
• My Hope for a Better Life — Mandy at Living Peacefully With Children hopes her choices inspire her children toward a better life.
• Natural Parenting Felt Natural — Sheryl at Little Snowflakes didn’t plan on natural parenting — but her son led her there. (@sheryljesin)
• Rest. Is it even possible? — Janet at where birth and feminism intersect has found that even role models need rest — and that there are ways to fit it into everyday parenting life. (@feministbirther)
• May Carnival of Natural Parenting: Role model — Lauren at Hobo Mama was the fortunate recipient of a seed of inspiration, and has been privileged to plant some of those seeds herself, though she didn’t know it at the time. (@Hobo_Mama)
• crunchspiration — the grumbles at grumbles and grunts wants to inspire others to parent from their heart. (@thegrumbles)
• No Extra Inspiration Required — Zoey at Good Goog doesn’t think she inspires anyone and wasn’t inspired by anyone in return — except by her daughter. (@zoeyspeak)
• Upstream Parenting — Luschka at Diary of a First Child blogs for that one mother in one hundred who will find her words helpful. (@diaryfirstchild)
• Parenting Advice for the Girl from Outer Space — If Mommy Soup at Cream of Mommy Soup could give one piece of inspirational advice to new parents, it would be to parent with kindness. (@MommySoup)
• Natural Parenting Carnival — Role Model — Sarah at Consider Eden feels the pressure at trying — and failing — to live up to her role models. (@ConsiderEden)
• May Carnival of Natural Parenting: Role Model — Dionna at Code Name: Mama encourages natural parenting mamas to take joy in the fact that they are touching lives and making a difference to children every day. (@CodeNameMama)
• Inspiration Goes Both Ways — Melodie at Breastfeeding Moms Unite! is flustered that people consider her a breastfeeding role model — but the lovely comments she’s received prove it’s so. (@bfmom)
• My Seven — Danielle at born.in.japan has identified seven role models in her life who brought her to natural parenting. Who are your seven? (@borninjp)
• A Quiet Example — Alison at BluebirdMama was one of the first parents in her group of friends — and has come to see almost all those friends follow in her natural birthing footsteps, whether intentionally or not.
• Gentle Discipline Warrior — Paige at Baby Dust Diaries has inspired a gentle discipline movement — join her! (@babydust)
• Change The World… One Parent At A Time — Mamapoekie is more comfortable inspiring parents online than she is in real life. (@mamapoekie)
• Inspirational Parenting — pchanner at A Mom’s Fresh Start has intentionally tried to be a role model but was unprepared for how soon someone would take notice. (@pchanner)
• My Inspiration — Erin at A Beatnik’s Beat on Life has written thank-you letters to everyone who’s inspired her to become the lactivist and natural parenting advocate she is today. (@babybeatnik)

Related posts:

1. Blog It Forward: Inspiring Change in Breastfeeding and Birth

I’ve enjoyed a real mixed bag of posts this month as I think you will agree.

Along the same lines as the posts on the terms extended breastfeeding vs. full term breastfeeding by myself and Hobo Mama, Maman A Droit wrote a piece called Do we need a new word for co-sleeping? In it she discusses the semantics and dangers of the blanket term “co-sleeping.” I think it would best benefit society to have multiple terms. What do you think?

CaroLyn at Breeder Brain wrote a post called Some Partially Formed Thoughts on the Word Breast where she talks about destigmatizing the word “breast.”

Here’s an excerpt:

I want to say that we need to stop calling it breastmilk and breastfeeding, because that helps to linguistically maintain the sense that feeding our babies naturally is unnatural, and that it needs qualification; that we need to distinguish it from bottle and/or formula feeding. However, with corporate advertising normalizing bottle feeding of babies, if we lactivists just start talking about feeding our babies, we might disappear linguistically.

So what to do?

Heather at It’s All About the Hat answered a question I asked her about checking her own dilation during labour and whether or not she’ll do it or ignore the “Rule of 10.” Go read her post Inquisition Monday: Dilation for the answer, because if you ever wanted to know how to check your own dilation, she can tell you.

Annie at PhD In Parenting wrote a piece called A step backwards for reproductive rights. She tells us

“Abortion is legal in the United States, but the current legislation may make it unaffordable and inaccessible to most women.”

We Canadians who have free and legal access to abortions have a government who is questioning not including provisions for contraception or abortion when it comes to financially aiding maternal and newborn health initiatives in developing nations.

This is an eye opening and important post, but one that is not without heated opinion on both sides. If abortion is a topic that you feel passionate about, I invite you inform yourself further on the US and Canadian positions and have your say where you feel your voice will best be heard.

Lastly, the posts I’ve probably enjoyed and been inspired by the very most this month are all on Pink and Green Mama’s blog. She had two parties for both of her daughters and inspired me greatly with her creative ideas. My youngest will be three in April so I’m stealing a couple of the activities from her daughter’s Mermaid and Pirate themed birthday party. If you want to see how to throw a fantastic homemade Rainbow themed party go here. And then look around some more because she’s got about four posts for each party sharing all the fun things they did.

Oh yeah, and did I mention I’m co-hosting a Body Image Carnival in April with Maman A Droit? You need to get your submissions in to both of us by April 9th and post on your blog by April 12th.  It’s going to be a week long of fun and there are tons of themes to write about, so swing by and check out the announcement post either at my blog or Maman A Droit’s. We hope you’ll play along!

Related posts:

1. My First Award and Love Links
2. Announcing The Body Image Carnival (April 12-18)
3. Missing: Long Lost Love

Instead, I’m going to do some horn tooting. (Toot toot!) On Thursday Annie from PhD in Parenting alerted me to the fact that I was in the Top 10 Lifestyle Family Blogs on Technorati. After seeing it for myself, sitting rigid in a state of shock (recognition of achievement is new for me), I spent at least half an hour trying to find the error. Then, to ensure I wasn’t losing my mind, I checked back every few minutes to make sure I was still there. On Friday not only was Breastfeeding Moms Unite! in the Top 10 but my blog was # 2 (and continues to hold this spot). In the # 1 spot was Breastfeeding 1-2-3, which sadly has been recently and abruptly shut down. See The Motherwear Breastfeeding blog for more information. Best For Babes pointed out to me that this kind of put me in the defacto #1 spot. Thanks Bettina. My ego needed that extra inflating.

Now for those of you who don’t understand Technorati, and I barely do, placement in the Top anything requires “authority” which is measured by a blog’s standing and influence in the blogosphere within its subject category. You obtain authority by producing subject matter relevant to current blogosphere interest and having other blogs link to your content. And your authority can rise and fall radiply; however, I’ve been in the Top 5 for at least 3 days now while watching a couple top fivers disappear. Also, if you aren’t signed up with Technorati your blog can’t be counted. So while Annie from PhD in Parenting will always have more people linking to her blog than people do from mine, she was not listed in the Top 10, which either means a) she’s not registered at Technorati, or b) my content is more relevant to current blogosphere interest. So being #2 on Technorati doesn’t mean I’m a Top Blogger, but to me, it means that my blog has obtained some worth. People are reading and liking what they read enough to link back to me on a regular basis. It also means breastfeeding is a hot topic on the net right now. And that makes me very happy. I’m actually beyond thrilled that 3 out of the 5 top family blogs are about breastfeeding or written by a breastfeeding mom. Whozat from Lucy and Ethel Have a Baby Toddler is also in the top 5 (and has been maintaining that at least as long as I have). Go Whozat!

Anyway, I’m feeling proud. Sure it’s one of the 7 Deadly Sins, but I don’t care. I’m also feeling grateful to everyone who reads and links to my blog. Without you, well, I wouldn’t be in there at all. You rock. Thank you.

I’m also proud of a couple other people. For one, my oldest daughter. Today she read a 64 page Level 2 Reader all-by-herself! Most of the pages were text instead of pictures. I was amazed. She’s been reading since she was 4 1/2 but her continued growth spurts in this area continue to astound me. Even her Kindergarden teacher is speechless.

I’m proud of my youngest whose nighttime diaper I took off four nights ago and who for four nights has kept our bed dry. I think this is the end of diapers for me forever. A wistful/happy/proud moment. Let me take a minute here….(heavy sigh).

I’m also proud of my husband. Three weeks ago he joined Bikram’s Hot Yoga, where he has been going at least 5 days a week. Sure his drenched yoga towels make me gag a little, but I can already see an improvement in his physical and mental health.

And last but not least let me share my pride of a fellow blogger who I greatly admire and who has had one of the best months of her life. Not least of which is being recognized for her work by the fabulous Ricki Lake.

Well, that felt good to get off my chest. Now it’s your turn.

What made you proud this week?

Related posts:

1. Technorati – What Does It Do For Your Blog?
2. Sponsor Auditions on Breastfeeding Moms Unite!

I’ve been inspired.

Let’s start with the post that really knocked my socks off this month. Feminist Breeder posted it on her Feminist Breeder Facebook Fan Page and after reading it I posted it on my own Breastfeeding Moms Unite Fan Page. It is called “The Rule of 10″ Versus Women’s Primal Wisdom by Lydi Owen. It discusses how the rule came about that birthing women cannot push until they reach 10 cm cervix dilation, even though some women feel the need. It enlightens and empowers women with the knowledge that if you feel the need to push before 10 cms, it is possible to do so and not tear your cervix. It’s all about following your instincts, which again, proves to be the “right” way. An excerpt:

“The first time I witnessed the cervix miraculously responding to being pushed on at 6 cm dilation was when a woman was giving birth to her third baby. Susan had a quick and easy labor. When she reached 6 cm, she could not hold back from pushing. Her body gave her clear signals that it was time for her to aid the uterus in the expulsion of her unborn child, himself pushing to be born. She began to grunt and bear down involuntarily, making primitive animal sounds that emanated from deep inside her throat.”

Another informative post by Annie at PhD in Parenting called How to report unethical promotion of formula, bottles and other breast milk substitutes tells the reader how to do just that. If you’ve ever seen unethical advertising of breastmilk substitutes and have wanted to do something about it, Annie’s post tells you how and why this is important.

Jenny at Chronicles of a Nursing Mom recently did a post entitled Medical Reasons for Breast Milk Substitutes. This post discusses the WHO and UNICEF’s 12 page publication, released  in 2009, that contains an updated list of the acceptable medical reasons for supplementation. I found the list of reasons, for and against supplementation to be both encouraging and surprisingly disappointing. But I am not a Lactation Professional, so I am interested to see what you think.

A courageous woman who’s well known among top bloggers but new to me, Maggie at Okay, Fine Dammit, wrote a very moving piece called 9 Days Sober which revealed to the world her problem with alcoholism. I really admired her courage to speak out, and I encourage anyone who suffers from the weight of a disease of addiction or mental health issue, to speak up and reach out for help. There are so many of us out there who have experience, either personal or professional, who can help.

That being said, Arwyn at Raising My Boychick is hosting a series of anonymous posts called Naked Pictures of Faceless People. So if you want to get something personal off your chest but don’t want to put it on your own blog, Arwyn will do it for you.

FInally, I was very moved by Amber’s post at Strocel.com With The Touch of My Hand all about how the magical touch of a mother can soothe her babies at night. Here’s an excerpt:

“I am like a talisman in the night. I am Safety and Comfort, and my mere presence means that everything is OK. It baffles me and inspires me, the way that I am not just a 30-something suburbanite who can’t figure out what she wants to do with herself. I am not just Amber, math whiz and all-around crunchy sort with a tendency to talk too much and rush to judgment. I am also Mother, the source of all things, the symbol of nurturing and abundance.”

Were there any posts in February that inspired or informed you in a way that knocked your socks across the room? Let me know so I can have a read too!

Related posts:

1. My Top 10 Most Commented On Posts of 2009
2. Links To Some Great Breastfeeding Posts
3. March Love Links