The Clan Update

I want to tell Dana and I's "Story of Us", but I thought I would get caught up on my blog reading during lunch and ran across Amanada's blog about breastfeeding and feel I would like to share some thoughts of my own. I wanted to first say, how amazing I think Amanda is. Not only doesn she manage to look stunning every time I see her, but she also is a natural borm mom. She is so good with Avelyn and motherhood really looks good on her. I am sure you all would agree. Everytime I hear a mom feeling upset because she is not breastfeeding as long as she had hoped, fears giving her baby formula, scared of introducing solids too early, ect.... I feel I little ping in my gut. I too have felt many of these pressures, percieved or real, in almost every decision I have made for Kynan. I am constantly torn and feel like an awful mother when someone starts saying why I should have made the latter decision, on both sides of the spectrum. I don't understand why as mothers, as woman, we can't just be empathetic and band together to support one another as we go through these experiences. Motherhood is one thing that binds us all. Our experiences are so different, but yet the same. For instance, when I heard of my friend's baby being breached and she is due within days, I immediately wanted to hug her and tell her it's not her fault and she is doing the best she can. Since when is having a C-Section, less of a birth experience. Or having a baby in the hospital not ideal. Or having a baby at home not safe. All of these things puzzle me. I firmly believe that we do what we feel is best for our child and ultimately that makes us heros. Putting up with the pressures from society to be a certain way, or the guilt we face when feeling like we have failed, the stress we feel when something looms over our shoulders. I look up to so many of my friends, my mom, my sister-in-law, my mother-in-law, my Grandma... really mothers everywhere. We have all had children and done the best we could, are doing the best we can, and will continue to do so. Something happened to me today, that made me feel very vunerable. Like I have posted before, I have been ultra emotional lately and that one comment has spiraled and then reading Amanada's blog sparked the writer in me to speak up. This post is not meant to anger, if anything it is meant to say "I support you". If you see a mom today, embrace them and tell them they are doing an incredible job. We all need a little positive reinforcement every once in a while.