The Ruling on Judgement

Sage wisdom came to me yesterday at a play group; this time from my doula (aka "woman I am indebted to forever and ever and ever), Patience Bleskan.

I talked to her about my sheepish admission of occasional judgement toward other mothers, and I mentioned that it was both liberating and terrifying to speak this out loud.

She said this:

"Judgement is part of the process of identifying who you are as a mom.  You look around and you decide what is and isn't "you".  It's just a natural part of the process of parenting."

Ah, yes.

And thank you thank you thank you for normalizing this for me.  And here I thought I was just sometimes acting like a total jerk, but in fact I was finding my *way* which apparently includes limiting candy, allowing a little tv before the age of 2, hiding spinach in chocolate brownies (thank you, Jessica Seinfeld), and breastfeeding until my child starts college my child self-weans.

And suddenly this piece on judgement didn't feel so uncomfortable anymore as it actually began to fit nicely and neatly into the whole purpose behind my blog, which is to say:

This is MY *way* of feeding and nourishing my child.
What is your way?
What resources do you need to get there?
How can I help?