Happy World Breastfeeding Week!
My first nursling, M:

That picture was taken when we still lived in Manhattan, when M was 4.5 months old. Through his birth and our early breastfeeding experiences, M taught me that I had more strength and tenacity than I ever imagined I would be capable of. He taught me the joys of mothering through nursing, and how sweet the closeness of a mother and her nursing child could be.
J, my second nursling:

She taught me to always remember that every nursing relationship, along with every child, …

Then (when I was, maybe, 22): I remember having a discussion with my sister about whether, when I had kids someday, I would breastfeed them. We both decided that we would “try” it. My big concern was whether it would infringe on my sleep and cause me to get more migraines.
Now: I’ve been breastfeeding for 4.5 years straight. Part of that time, including now, is tandem nursing. I help other women to breastfeed their children. I know now that whether you breastfeed or not, …

I’ve been a member of a local API Group – that’s Attachment Parenting International – for the last few years.  We have fabulous leaders that are committed to supporting parents in their goal to be more attached to their children.  API has always been guided by 8 “Principles” which were inspired by Dr. Williams Sear’s list of the “7 Baby B’s” which included breastfeeding and bedsharing.
Here are the original 8 Principles that API used when I joined a few years ago:

Prepare for childbirth
Breastfeed your baby
Wear your baby
Share sleep with your …

It’s strange to think of myself as being unschooled, but it seems to be true. It was part of an interesting dual existence – part-time schooling and part-time unschooling. I didn’t even think of it as unschooling until an astute parent pointed it out at our local unschooler’s support group. I think it accounts (on some level) for my general disregard for authority and groupthink.

I broke out an old sketch book today to do some duck drawings and came across a list that Trish & I made several years back. It’s called Things to do differently with our children and was probably written some evening when the dream of being parents devolved into a round robin on stuff our parents did that we didn’t like. What’s interesting is that we’ve followed it almost 100%:

Non-stressful, non-regimented buffet bbqs: Some of our family have bbqs that are pretty much outdoor equivalents of proper, full-course …