Results Are In!

Many of you voted in the poll: "How Do You Feel About CIO
(Cry It Out)".

The poll ended last night and you may be surprised to hear the results!  While 11% of the voters were happy with their CIO experience and 22% couldn't stomach the idea of CIO (our two "extremes" in the selection of answers given) 1% said they tried it and would never do it again, but 55% of voters agree that a modified version of this parenting technique is for their family!  These results just reiterate the notion that most parents feel most comfortable and successful with a parenting style geared toward their specific family and baby.

It is tempting to give and take advice on baby rearing.  The truth is, there is no right or wrong way to nurture our little ones.  Choosing a parenting style involves considering many factors including (but not limited to) your babies age, your babies temperament & your families style.  Before becoming a mommy (and still on the weekends today) I was an MC at parties.  When I was learning to MC, I studied many successful party entertainers and their approach to getting the crowd involved in the party.  I learned very quickly that success was not in the actual approach used but the confidence behind the approach.  The very best entertainers were those who did what made them comfortable and who had fun in the process!

Thanks to all who participated in the poll!  It was fun to see were the numbers where falling with each visitor!  Check out our next poll: "Does your Baby have a Nap Schedule??"

Jillian and Jack-The Truth Behind the Decision

When I found out I was pregnant with my first child I traveled through the wave of emotions that rush in as soon as the stick indicates that yes, your intuition was correct. It was not long after that I tapped into the many resources I had bookmarked on my computer while I wished and hoped and dreamed as my husband and I navigated the world of trying to start a family and dealing with infertility. We were blessed. We are blessed.

Almost immediately, the decision making begins. All of a sudden what I ate,drank, and did had the profoundest of impacts and while I was rearranging how I lived my life, I was also thinking about what I wanted for my child. Breastfeeding was always the option for me. I had read and read and read and knew it was what I wanted for my child but I also know that nothing is as easy at it seems and had witnessed many women in my life struggle with feeding their own child.

The small amount of breastfeeding we do see in the media or popular culture portrays breastfeeding as an easy task. It's always serene and peaceful, not learned but inherent and punctuated by the smile of a mother and a doting father. Having witnessed the struggle of women around me, I quickly enrolled my husband and I in a breastfeeding class for expecting parents. It was here that I thought I would learn it all.

The class covered the mechanics and spurred my husband and I to talk about breastfeeding and what it would mean to us but what more could it do? While I knew it would be a challenge, with the class under my belt, I was ready to face it head on.

No one told me about the pain, the crying, the frustration, the lack of energy, the amount of energy (two people spending thirty minutes trying to get a newborn to latch on through tears), the feeling of empowerment and the feelings of failure. Breastfeeding is natural but it does not come naturally. It is an art that mother and baby must learn during the precious time they are becoming acquainted. I would argue that there is no task so difficult to learn with such great rewards.

I am blessed. I had a wonderful and encouraging support system in my husband, family, and a few nurses who sensed my determination and frustration. I had opportunities to attend support programs and join groups of supportive women who understand. I have formed friendships and am surrounded by great people who share their knowledge. And I have learned. I have learned that every woman not only has a right to choose what is best for her and her child but to make an informed decision and receive support.

Knowledge is power.

There is no right or wrong here. This is not a place to comment on another's story but instead to read and learn. We all have our own breastfeeding truth and it is my hope that by sharing our stories we can empower other women, mothers and mothers-to-be and help them understand that they are not alone and that there is no judgment to their truth. -Jillian, nursing mama to Jack Angelo 10 months

Meet Amy

In my search for voices of the nursing community, I came across a great little blog called "Toddler in Tow" by Amy,
nursing mama of Abbey, 27 months.

I quickly read through her blog and knew she was a mama to be in touch with! Her post on "extended" nursing inspired me to forgo my own nursing goals and allow Teddy to wean at his own pace. I guess I was leaning more and more to this route as Teddy got older. Perhaps that's even one of the many reasons I started this blog. Nursing mamas need a lot of support in the way of knowledge-questions answered, problems solved, etc in the beginning. As our infants slowly (or rather quickly) become toddlers and we fall more outside the norm for nursing in our families and communities, support from and moms "like me" becomes much more important. At least for me, as a first time, self doubting mom, the idea of being around mamas with the same peaceful parenting style is comforting. Here is a little excerpt from what Amy has shared with me:

"My mom is a child development professor, so she had gifted me some infant and child development books when I was pregnant - and as I re-read them, I saw the importance of breastfeeding and natural parenting all over the place - as it relates to infant development, breastfeeding really does make is easier for infants to learn. The studies on higher IQ in breastfed babies don't really cut it. It's more about the process than the outcome. Babies who are breastfed, especially through toddlerhood, take to every aspect of life a little more readily, and their brain development is more fluid than those who are bottle fed - simply because of the natural positioning of a baby at the breast. Cool, huh?"

You can read more about Amy's experience with nursing past infancy here:
http://little-willa-lamb.blogspot.com/2010/11/why-should-i-call-it-extended.html

Amy has generously agreed to write a guest post for my new blogging venture! I am so excited to share her story and her voice on Milk Mamas Speak with all you mamas!