Extended Breastfeeding, Attachment Parenting and the Working Mom

I like to think of myself as a pretty normal mom. But breastfeeding a rather large toddler, I can see why people can see why it is extreme. Attachment parenting is hot right now, I have yet to read Mayim Bialik's book Beyond the Sling, but I follow her blog at kveller. I love her, I mean who doesn't love Blossom and Amy Farrah Fowler? I like that she nurses her son beyond age 3. That is something I can see happening if Evan has his way. I agree with baby wearing, I just got a new carrier today, I was geeked and tried it on while Evan slept. I am so excited to back carry him now! It goes to 45 lbs so I can carry him til he's 4 if he wants. I also cosleep with Evan, but that came out of necessity rather than parenting style. This is where my similarities with Ms. Mayim end. She and so many others in the attached parenting camp also babyled wean, don't vaccinate, practice elimination communication, home-school, eat organically (especially vegan). All things I don't do. So does that make me a half attached parent?
I feel really strongly about vaccinations. Plain and simple, I don't want to see my child sick or hurting, especially if it could have been prevented.

The conversion of my new sling and the TIME magazine issue that comes out tomorrow has lead me to air my opinions and grievances. I subscribe to much of the attachment parenting theory, but from what I can tell, the typical attached parent has the luxury and fortitude to stay at home. What about us working parents? There is one piece in particular that struck a nerve with me. The author compares attached kids to daycare kids. I do the best for Evan but he is cared for 9 hours of each day by someone else and he spends over an hour and a half in the car commuting with me. Comparing the benefits of having an attached child to that of a child who attends daycare really labels us working moms as bad mommies. I am not a bad mom. I am doing the best I can.

My son is well loved and well cared for, even if I'm not doing the caring 24/7. I am supporting our little family and providing the best possible life for him that I can. The controversy over attachment parenting has once again striked up the mommy war of the SAHM and WOHM. Neither side is better. (I hope that squashed it.) I just know that at the end of the day, my son knows I love him and that I'll do anything for him. Even if that anything is carrying him on my back or feeding his giant self mommy milk... in public.

Evan walks, ok? Enough with the pissing contest

So this weekend Evan became a "full time" walker. It literally happened over night.

• Friday: He was stepping and lunging at furniture. 
• Saturday: He walked in the morning and resorted to caveman walking most of the afternoon (we skipped a nap)
• Sunday: He was a biped (he had many wipe-outs but he was walking no less).We tested his walking abilities by going camping, he had dirt and rocks to walk on and he mastered the dirt to cement transition. 
• Monday: We tested him even more by taking him to the beach. He walked pretty will but all he really wanted to do is lay down in the sand and run his hand through it.
• Tuesday: Uneventful, just perfecting some skills. He became an expert faller as he really really wants to run.
• Wednesday: He added a hop to his step, literally. The kid started hopping.

After all this amazingness that my child is doing, I am STILL getting crap about how old he is and that he should have been walking sooner and their child or grandchild is way better than Evan because they walked before their first birthday. Ugh. Evan started walking well within the normal age range. Then they proceed to tell me that my life is over because he will get into everything. I reply with that's not true. Anyone that knows Evan knows that he can already get into everything. I kept saying that he had no motivation to walk because he could already climb and reach the counters and cause plenty of destruction. I should also mention that the climbing milestone is supposed to come after, well after walking. But my super awesome kid has been climbing since 9 or so months. And he can get out of our bed without tumbling.

None of this matters to judgmental women. Its walking or not. There is no developmental gray area.

Maybe I should just nod and smile when people tell me that their kid is better than mine. But I am sick of nodding and smiling. I am sick of parenting "advice". I am sick of people acting like I'm holding Evan back or implying that he is developmentally slow. I am sick of people that feel like they can say insulting crap after asking about your child. Why did you ask me how he is doing in the first place?