We know that Pope Francis has supported breastfeeding women (even in church) and Our Lady offers a beautiful example of motherly love when she's depicted nursing in the tradition of Christian art. There is wonderful encouragement for nursing mothers in our faith, but some of us still face difficult challenges when we try to breastfeed. As a mama who has struggled with breastfeeding, I was … [Read more...]
Finding Your Groove When Nursing a Toddler
With a firstborn who hated nursing due to reflux issues, breastfeeding started as a struggle and quickly ended with regrets and feelings of failure. Then when my daughter, Lucy, was born, I got the special nursing relationship I had hoped for and planned to go on for at least two years (partly because it was going so well and partly because extended breastfeeding decreases my risk of breast … [Read more...]
2 Wardrobe Tips for Nursing Confidently in Public
I’ve written before about breastfeeding (nursing in public because the Pope said to and because the Blessed Virgin Mary does it) and I’m often asked how to be modest when nursing a baby. I think this is the wrong question because breastfeeding is not immodest. In most places in the world, women don’t have to think twice about feeding their babies in public. Breastfeeding is not viewed as … [Read more...]
Breastfeeding in Public, Hungry Babies, and Pope Francis
I saw this snippet of a recent interview with Pope Francis on Jimmy Akin's post: "At the Wednesday General Audience the other day there was a young mother behind one of the barriers with a baby that was just a few months old. The child was crying its eyes out as I came past. The mother was caressing it. I said to her: Madam, I think the child’s hungry. 'Yes, it’s probably time…' she … [Read more...]
Women Speak on NFP: Navigating NFP Post Partum
This is a guest post by Mandi Richards in the Women Speak on NFP series. In this series you will hear from women using various methods of NFP, some to avoid pregnancy, some trying to conceive, and their experiences. Disclaimer: This series is not meant to be a substitute for any method of training in NFP! If you are interested in one of the methods introduced in this series, please contact a … [Read more...]
How My Kids Didn’t Ruin Mass
Confession: my kids are not typically little angels at Mass. ‘Typical” Mass behavior being our 3-year-old banging the kneeler open and closed and then dropping it on his own foot. Commence siren-like wailing. Or the kids tussling over who gets to hold the Baby Jesus finger puppet. And, to no one’s surprise, the preschooler throwing the St. Joseph finger puppet at his baby sister’s head doesn’t … [Read more...]
Choosing Maternity Items You Can Use for Your Post-Partum Wardrobe
And now for more thrifty and versatile maternity wear! Earlier this week, Katherine shared some of her favorite non-maternity items that can do double duty as maternity and today I want to share some of my favorite maternity essentials that can help carry you through the post-partum days. The post-partum days are tricky wardrobe-wise. And since I usually gain half my pre-pregnancy weight during … [Read more...]
In Defense of Jamie Lynne Grumet and Attachment Parenting
So yesterday I wrote about how I HATED the cover image and the title (Are You Mom Enough?) of the piece in TIME about Attachment Parenting and extended breastfeeding (the cover image is included in yesterday's post). I still hate the cover image and the title (oh, that title!). I still hate that TIME is trying to make AP and extended breastfeeding look as weird and sensational as possible. I still … [Read more...]
The Cover of TIME and the Blessed Virgin Mary
Ok, so I promised I wouldn’t talk about sex for awhile after my two-part ramble on contraception, etc. But then I saw this TIME cover: You guys know that I’m a huge supporter of breastfeeding in public. Breastfeeding is not a sexual act. Breasts are not merely sexual. Breastfeeding in public IS NOT immodest. So, why does this image look so sexual? Some might claim that nursing is an … [Read more...]
Why I Hated Breastfeeding (And How That Changed) Part II
In Part I, I described my horrible experience breastfeeding my firstborn and how after four months I gave up. I was stressed out. My baby was stressed out. It wasn’t working. I am so glad to say that round two has been totally different! Part of it must be due to Baby Number Two's easy temperament, but I think other factors are lower stress, and a shift in my attitude and mothering … [Read more...]
