My children were born in the mid-1990s, and I breastfed both for a year. My sister, who lived in various places (I was in Ohio) but mostly West Virginia during that time (also Alabama, Seattle, and Rhode Island, as well as Sweden), breastfed hers even longer. I had sisters-in-law who stopped when they reached 3 months or 12 weeks, when the child goes through a period of growth. Thankfully, What to Expect When you’re Expecting (or The First Year, in this case) prepared me for the growth spurt and the extra feeding requirements and the teething, and I got through the growth spurt. I am so glad I breastfed. It was such a wondrous connection between me and my babies. I’m sorry you’ve had friends who seem to think it’s okay to lay their requirements on you. I wanted to do natural childbirth. With my first, I didn’t make it. With the second, I had no choice. But I have had the same thoughts as you when I see women who don’t follow doctor’s guidelines on no nail polish, no hair coloring, no artificial sweetener, and who diet excessively, and then have something come out wrong with their baby or they are bedridden at some point. I didn’t say anything but I wondered why they couldn’t follow the simple rules when it had everything to do with their baby’s health and their health. I’m glad you are strong and able to withstand the peer pressure, and really thought we’d gotten beyond all that. Mother’s milk is the best thing for babies, and they should all “eat a little dirt” growing up so that they develop natural immunizations against most diseases. I did vaccinate mine, but I don’t believe in giving them antibiotics unless that’s really only the correct course (because it’s a bacterial infection that is beyond letting it heal itself, and it is not a viral infection like cold or flu which is not helped by antibiotics at all). Overuse of antibiotics and other pills is why I think we have so many sick children and adults today, and so many allergies. G-d bless!

In writing, I went so far as to get a degree in Creative Writing back when the belief was that you couldn’t teach writing, only grammar. An Effective Writing class proved that wrong, but it is only now that I am pushing beyond my abilities to return to fiction, and to learn how to write what I want to write.

I suspect that you may have married into a family that is related to Anne’s descendants. Feel free to email me or write back, here. We can connect on FB if you wish as well.

As I bid adieu, the translation of the word “namaste” comes to mind: The light that is within me recognizes and salutes the light that is within you.

Thanks for sharing Corie!

John