I know I’m late to the latest mommy wars battle royale, but I was too busy being “mom enough” to my two little girls to carve out some quality time with my laptop without passing out on the keyboard. If you haven’t seen or heard about the cover of “Time” magazine which shows a woman breastfeeding her three year old son, then you must have been under a rock for the past week. The cover article talks about “attachment parenting” which supports things like co-sleeping and long term breastfeeding.

  First and foremost, I have to say if things like breastfeeding your child past their first birthday and letting them sleep with you works for you, then great for you. But, slapping a headline “Are You Mom Enough?” to an image of a woman breastfeeding a kid with a full set of chompers really irks me. As a Mom, I already feel pressured to be some type of sleep deprived multi-tasking superhero who can still look semi-decent 24/7.  I don’t need someone to suggest that I need to carry my kid in sling and breastfeed her when she’s old enough to down a T-bone in order to be classified as a good mother. As you may be able to guess, I don’t co-sleep with  my kids (at least not voluntarily) and I’m not into breastfeeding once my kids break that first tooth. Just not going to do it. Period. 

  With all that said, I think I’m a pretty darn good mother and so are millions of other women out there. My children are loved, fed, and well taken care of. Both my kids had breast milk and formula. They are fine. I’ve never carried them in a sling. They are fine. My children sleep by themselves, except of course when my oldest gets out of bed and climbs into mine. Does she sleep with us sometimes? Yes. Is it annoying? Yes. Do we try to get her back to her be? You betcha. But, they are both fine.

   I don’t think women need to be pressured to conform to a certain type of parenting to be considered “mom enough.” What works for you and your family, may not work for me and and mine, and vice versa. I think when we start labeling parenting “styles”, we get off course. We all want the same thing in the end…to have happy and healthy children. If you want that and strive for that everyday, you’re “mom enough” in my book.