Nursing in Public

Ace, at 3 months old :)

So this could be a controversial topic.  Nursing in public.  When is it okay? When isn't it okay? Well my opinion on this is obvious.  IT'S ALWAYS OKAY!  There is absolutely nothing wrong with breast feeding a child in public.  If a bottle fed baby can have his/her lunch in public, then a breastfed baby has the same rights.

• In 45 states, there are laws that specifically allow women to breastfeed in any public or private location.
• In 28 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands exempt breastfeeding from public indecency laws.
• 24 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have laws related to breastfeeding in the workplace.

Click here to learn more about breastfeeding state laws :)


So why do people think it's so "abnormal" to breastfeed in public, uncovered?  Is it any worse than a half naked girl walking in the mall with her tits half way hanging out? Absolutely not!!! In my opinion, nursing in public is amazing!  It's so empowering!  And it is a special bond that a mother and child share!

I have no idea why people think that a breastfeeding mother needs to cover herself while feeding her child.  Firstly, from experience, babies don't really enjoy being covered up while trying to eat.  It gets hot, and I'm sure it's pretty scary under there!!! Secondly, what is more natural than nursing your child? Animals nurse their babies.. I saw a picture the other day on Facebook of a gorilla nursing her baby... The caption said "'Like' if you think this is cute".  I swear that picture had hundreds of thousands of likes.  That's funny, because you NEVER see human beings walk up to a nursing momma and say "AWWW HOW CUTE!". Not that I want people to do that to me, but still...

One thing that really grinds my gears is when men say that breastfeeding isn't sexy.  Seriously? Last thing I heard, our breasts weren't meant to be 'sexy'.  They were made to FEED our children!!! I hate this worldly view on breasts and how they're just for looks.  So to all you men out there who think it's nasty, get over it! Breastfed is BEST fed!

So on to my story for today :)

I have always been weird about nursing in public mainly because of the worldly view on it.  Or should I say the American view on it.  I honestly felt slutty or indecent if my boob was out in public like that... So I always covered myself.  I made a point to constantly make sure that not even an inch of my chest was showing. It slowly changed from covering myself completely, to just covering the top of my breast so my sons head wasn't covered, to no covering at all.  

Today, I nursed, uncovered for the very first time at the mall.  I was actually eating a milkshake at this delicious ice cream shop called Mitchell's Homemade Ice Cream and it is THE BOMB! Anyways, :) this guy walks in, stares at me, and I'm just like 'HELLO?? You're staring at my sons lunch thank you very much".  I smiled and he just walked away.  Nobody really bothered me.  But it's so hilarious catching someone in the middle of a double take.  WHAT? YOUR BOOB IS OUT? um, yes... I am feeding my child. So, I'll keep this one short and simple, nursing in public is totally natural, normal, and beautiful.  And I love it. <3  You can call me indecent, slutty, or gross.  But honestly, I really don't care. Because that is how my son grows and stays healthy and that is all that matters to me :)

Go follow the badass breasfeeder!!!!  She is amazing and I get a lot of my inspiration from her :)
  thanks for reading!!!!!!!!

Attachment Parenting

Today I got into an argument with someone over attachment parenting.  I was explaining to this person why I am always holding my son.  This answer is so obvious! I love him! Who doesn't want to hold their precious child?  They argued that it is not healthy for a baby to be held all the time and it makes them dependent on others for the rest of their lives.

I also believe in gentle parenting.  Prior to having Little Man, I was all for the spanking and hardcore discipline because I did not want my son acting like a wild animal while we were out and about.  This all changed when I held him for the first time. I no longer believe in spanking, downgrading, or yelling at my children.

I did not know there was a such thing as attachment parenting before my son was born.


The vision of attachment parenting is to raise children who will become adults with a highly developed capacity for empathy and connection.  It eliminates violence as a means for raising children, and ultimately helps to prevent violence in a society as a whole.

The essence of AP is about forming and nurturing strong connections between parents and their children.  AP challenges us as parents to treat our children with kindness, respect and dignity, and to model in our interactions with them the way we would like them to interact with others.


Ever since coming home from the hospital, I've had a hard time putting my son down.  Mainly because I can't help it :) He's so darn cute!! I feel so attached to him and I feel guilty if I put him down.  My dad has said to me a couple times "Don't you ever put that baby down?!"  My response to him was "Yeah when I go pee, and shower!"  I hold him constantly because that is what feels RIGHT to ME.

I can't bear the sound of his pitiful cries! So, I take care of him and nurture him.  So far it has been absolutely WONDERFUL! I exclusively breast feed, co-sleep, and baby wear :) The bonding experience is indescribable! My son trusts me, and knows that I will tend to his needs.  The more I give to him and respond to his needs, the more he gives back to me.

Sooooo with that said... I will be breastfeeding my son until he decides to wean himself, even if that means breast feeding until he is 4 years old.  He will continue to sleep with me in my bed, and I will continue to wear him :)

Being an attached parent is honestly the best thing ever <3

Please keep in mind, these are my beliefs and opinions.  I will not point any fingers at people who do not share the same beliefs.

Thanks for reading :)

My Birth Story

Hello! So I am new to this blogging thing and I have spent almost the past 2 days trying to figure out what I want to write about. The only thing that I could think of to write about is of course, my son.  So here's my birth story! I hope you enjoy :) 

2 days before Little Man was born :) 

May 25, 2012. I woke up with a feeling of excitement, hope, and joy.  I was due any day now and I prayed to God that this precious life would soon decide to meet his mommy.  My 40 week appointment was that morning.

The midwife I was seeing was a 30 minute drive from my house, and the entire drive there I was  feeling "contractions'.  Or what I thought were contractions ;)  They were beginning to feel intense and about 5-7 minutes apart. We arrived at the midwifes office and I was put on the monitor for 45 minutes to see how my contractions and the baby's heart rate was matching up. At this point I was dilated to 3cm and about 50% effaced.

I went home, packed my bags (I knew I was going in that night), took a nap, and when I woke up my contractions were starting to get a little bit more uncomfortable.  I waited for about an hour or so and told my mom and sister "I think it's time to go"!  We left at about 5pm.
On the way, we picked up my boyfriend from work and stopped at walmart to get an ice cooler for my placenta and some snacks for the night. And also stopped at Taco Bell... I had to pig out to celebrate my last day of being pregnant :)

To make sure that I was dilated and effaced enough to be admitted to the hospital, we decided it would be best to go to the outdoor mall to climb some stairs and do some major walking.  We parked at the very top of the parking garage and walked 4 flights down.  We did some walking around at some stores, and finally decided to go to the hospital to see if I was able to be admitted :) My contractions were lasting about a minute each now, and about 3-4 minutes apart!

I was feeling very calm, excited, and SOOO ready for this baby to finally arrive!  My plan was to do an all natural water birth.  No medications, no iv's, and no interventions whatsoever!  That included no breaking of the waters.  My midwife arrived shortly after we got into my hospital room to check if I had any improvement.  I was dilated at a 4 and effacement went up!  My midwife told me I could either wait and do some exercises on the yoga ball, do some walking and see if I progress any faster, or I could have her break my waters.  She left the room and let me think about my decision especially since it was not something I really wanted to do.

< < <Taking a break from walking the hallway.  Back Labor really started to kick in!  I started feeling even more uncomfortable now.  And I was beginning to feel the real onset of  real Labor. It hurt so bad that I had to literally stop in the hall and  moan.  

After some praying, and hard thinking, I decided I wanted to have my waters broke.  My midwife came back in, and in less than 30 seconds, I felt this disgusting rush of fluids come out.  I remember yelling "EWW! IT FEELS LIKE I PEED MYSELF!" It was definitely a good laugh!

I was finally able to transfer into the Holistic Birthing Center.  It was one giant room, with a hospital bed, couches, a fridge, a JACUZZI! And a complete full bathroom.  It looked a lot like a hotel room actually!  I wanted so badly to just get in the Jacuzzi  but had to wait until I was 6cm.

So the time is 11:05pm and Baby Ace hasn't made his arrival yet.  I was standing in the shower for the previous two hours and was really feeling ready to get into the Jacuzzi.  I seriously felt that if I got in the water, everything would be okay and the pain would just end.  My momma prayed over me that I would dilated to 6 quickly. And not too much longer and I was at 6cm! I was waiting for this moment the entire night! FINALLY! :) 

About 12 minutes past 2am Jimmie fell asleep while I was relaxing in the soothing warm water.  I cannot even explain what I was feeling.  As soon as I was submerged in the water, everything went away.  I took very deep breaths in and out, closed my eyes, and relaxed.  That's it.  The nurse just brought in a chair, sat it in front of the jacuzzi and watched me.  For almost two hours she watched in amazement how well I was dealing with the pain.  The only funny part is that I wasn't really feeling much pain.  I felt as if I was watching from above. I didn't feel like I was actually there.  

At one point, I almost passed out.  I was breathing in and out so slowly it was like I wasn't getting enough oxygen.  Everyone who was watching (Mom, Sister, Jimmie and the nurse) said my eyes kept rolling into the back of my head.  I honestly don't even really remember much from being in the Jacuzzi.  It was almost like a dream or something.  

These next couple of hours were about to be the most intense, life changing moments in my life.  

My nurse came in and told me that I had to wait push until my midwife got to the hospital.  This was almost impossible!  I seriously could not help but push.  I wasn't even trying to and it was like my body was pushing itself!  As she left the room again I had to call her back in right away because this baby was coming NOW and there was nothing I could do to stop it.  She grabbed the Doppler to monitor the baby's heart rate and she said the heart rate was dropping so I had to get out of the water and onto the bed.

I just wanted it all to be over at this point.  I was physically exhausted and felt like I could not do it anymore.  That's how I knew it was about to be done.  I knew my prince would be here so very soon!   As soon as I stood up it felt like Baby Ace was about to fall right out of me! It took me about 5 minutes to get out of the water and onto the bed. As soon as I got up onto the bed, my midwife walked in! Thank God!!! She checked me, and said I am good to go.  She gave me the option to stay on the bed, or get back in the water.  I would have so much loved to get back in the water but I just could not even move anymore.  I was so tired. And hungry! So I Stayed on the bed.  

Another nurse came in to help with the birth.  She brought a mirror so I was able to see Little Man's head as I pushed.  3 pushes later my son was in my arms.  He had the most pitiful, soft cry I had ever heard.  And I fell in love instantly.  

I thought I was going to have an emotional break down but once he was in my arms I was speechless.  I had no tears.  No screaming. I was so happy that my son had finally decided to meet me :) 

My Precious Angel <3
Born May 26, 2012 at 4:48 AM
8#2oz 20 1/2 in long

Latched on and this marks my first day of my breast feeding journey!!!! (A whooole other topic!!)

Jimmie was so supportive the entire time.  I was so lucky to have him by my side. <3

Thank you all for reading my birth story!!! Graysen (Ace) is now 15 1/2 weeks old! His 4 month birthday will be September 26 :) I cannot believe how fast time has gone by!!!