"Safe bed-sharing, breastfeeding, and attachment parenting are like seat belts..." I really like this idea expressed by Nikki. I was thinking along the same lines last week. I can't remember the post that triggered that thought but I know I was thinking that life seems so contradictory. I can say for myself that I enjoyed breastfeeding, bed-sharing, and attachment parenting but there were times when I was definitely not joyful about it. Life is like that. There are times that the people I love the most, irritate me the most. I guess it is the duality of life. I remember an art teacher telling me that the opposite of love was not hate but apathy. I get the impression from some mothers that unless everything goes perfectly--breastfeeding, childbirth, etc.--they feel like they have somehow failed. I was once told that I mustn't have had a "good" homebirth because I had said that my labor was painful. I guess the perfect birth is suppose to be without pain. Just like the perfect breastfeeding relationship is without pain or trouble? I can say that as I near the half-century mark that life isn't about perfection. My births and my breastfeeding relationships with my children were filled with imperfections(likewise my parenting). They brought me enormous joy but there were problems..there was pain at times. Living the best we can is not about having a perfect life but how we handle the imperfections of our lives. Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html