Comments on: You Asked. They Answered. TIME’s AP moms take your questions. (Question 16 – The End)

By: Courtney

Courtney — Fri, 28 Dec 2012 05:20:00 +0000

Personally, I am more of a “conventionalist” when it comes to parenting; but I must say, hats off to these women! They are the perfect embodiment of motherhood empowerment! When my daughter was born, I made the choice to breastfeed. I had a rather poor support system however as my husband was serving in Afghanistan and my mother-in-law was avidly (and quite vocally) against breastfeeding. I suffered from postpartum depression after my daughter’s birth and the negative response I got breastfeeding my daughter only helped to deepen my depression. It doesn’t matter if you agree with AP style of parenting or not (after all, we all do what’s best for our situation), these women should be commended for standing up for their parenting beliefs and for offering a strong hand of support to those struggling with their own parenting choices due to opposition. I truly wish I’d had the type of support system these women are lucky enough to share with their peers, and I hope that I can make myself a beacon for my own peers regarding my views on breastfeeding the way these women are.

(On a side note: I would like to proudly mention that I nursed my daughter 10 months and am now happily nursing my son who is 23 days old today)

By: A Sillito

A Sillito — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 03:37:00 +0000

In reply to Eleanor Stribling.

Good reply, Kayla. There’s that defensiveness again that always comes up with mamas – just being happy and confident in the fact that you did/are doing the best you can for your child should be enough. Unfortunately there are still people who see any articles like this as a personal attack on their parenting skills – not so. If you’re taking it that way then maybe there is something you feel guilty about and feel the need to lash out instead of turning around and realizing its a personal issue. Congrats on dealing with negative reviews diplomatically : )

By: Eleanor Stribling

Eleanor Stribling — Wed, 30 May 2012 16:03:00 +0000

I appreciate that all of these ladies look the time to elaborate on this and share their experiences. However, the fact that AP is a movement and a philosophy is part of the problem. If we really just want to respect one another’s choices and be respected ourselves, why do we have to put labels on things and “advocate” for them? While we all look for like-minded people to support our choices, I don’t get what possible purpose broad promotion of co-sleeping, breastfeeding or baby-wearing as the way to treat your child in a nurturing and respectful way has aside from asserting that your way is the correct one, and moms who aren’t doing that are selling their kids short (even if you add the everyone’s-different/not-that-there’s-anything-wrong-with-that disclaimer at the end). My son’s an alert, happy kid who constantly has a smile on his face, and my husband and I are both happy and healthy. If other moms do things differently, or think my mothering is inferior to theirs, I really don’t care.

By: Tom Steenhuysen

Tom Steenhuysen — Sat, 26 May 2012 01:14:00 +0000

My hats off to all the ladies. Well done! ~Tom