I know it i has been awhile since I posted on here. I wanted to address my background story with the TIME cover, but not dwell on it.
Kellymom.com did a Q and A with the four mothers (myself included) that participated in the photo shoot. It explains what happened from our perspectives and is definitely worth a look:
You Asked. They Answered TIME’s AP Moms Take Your Questions
I believe that article says all I needed to say, so there is no need to address it further on my blog.
However, I do want to share my gratitude to all of the people that have supported our family and understood our intentions from the beginning:
To my family:
What a blessing to have been raised in such a close, loving, and large family! The support from my parents, sister, nephew, nieces, in-laws, cousins, aunts, uncles, and of course- Grammy – is not surprising, but so very much appreciated. I love you all with all of my heart.
To my friends:
I have always known this, but I have chosen my friends wisely. I am honored each one of you has loved me back and shown what true friendship is all about. In the wake of all of this happening I was not prepared completely for the magnitude. You all jumped into action without asking – just did it out of love and protection. Monitoring my e-mails, my blog, and facebook page (and thank you for continuing to do so) so we didn’t have to see any silly negativity created from lack of education. We all knew it was there, but we didn’t have look at it. It was comforting to know you were all there handling these areas so my family didn’t have to.
To My breasfeeding and AP support groups:
My LLL ladies, Parenting Bloggers on FB, West Los Angeles AP, Target Nurse-In ladies, and all of the new friends I have made in the breastfeeding and AP communities. The encouraging words I have heard from each one of you has brought me to tears a number of times. You ladies are my heroes. You all stepped up (even if you did not ask for it) after the cover came out to expose the truth about breastfeeding past infancy and attachment parenting. You deserve the credit for being the true trailblazers on these issues.
To the professionals:
Dr. Bill Sears, Dr. Jay Gordon, Dr. Katherine Dettwyler, Bettina from Best for Babes, and Kelly and Carol from Kellymom.com. I am so grateful for each one of you and the work you are doing to help normalize breastfeeding in our country.
To Dionna, Jessica, and Melinda:
I am so happy to have shared this experience with such admirable women. I know some of it wasn’t pleasant, but there was such strength coming from your counter to TIME’s choice of article and cover. You ladies are the epitome of strength and intelligence. I am honored to know you and call each of you a friend.
