Friday fodder: motherhood, Time Magazine, and E! News
11 May 2012
It’s been a busy few days here in our little family. I wish I could blame my lack 
of posts on President Obama – we live two miles from George Clooney – but whom am I kidding? The closest I got was this morning at the end of our hike, walking by the party rental trucks. I took photos of the tents and some leftover centerpieces.
No, I was busy this week breastfeeding my three children.
Kidding. I’m kidding. I kid.
If you live in a cave, you might not have seen the cover of Time Magazine. There’s a hot mama on the cover breastfeeding her son who looks old enough to not only pour himself a glass of milk, but to actually milk the cow. Needless to say, the photo and ensuing article has caused quite a kerfuffle.
It’s all so silly. It’s not as if this kind of extreme attachment parenting has reached epidemic proportions. I can’t even remember the last time I saw a woman breastfeeding in public. The title of the piece “Are You Mom Enough?” is to goad us all into becoming self-flagellating dervishes, ripping out our hair wondering if we’re the best parents we can be. It’s unkind, really. As mothers, we already doubt ourselves in those micro moments when we’re not busy making lunches, ironing shirts, correcting homework, emptying the dishwasher, driving to Timbuktu, and wiping proverbial shit off the fan.
You can catch more of what I had to say on this subject tonight on E! News, 7pm, check your local listings. It’s important that you watch because, really, when have you ever seen me on television? Since it’s unclear to me at this time how they’ll cut the piece (they’ll hopefully only show my good side), I’ll repeat some of what I said at the studio yesterday:
Nobody has ever once approached me in my minivan – driving the girls around – to be on the cover of their magazine. If the four of us drove around in a convertible, naked, and the ten-year-old was driving – maybe. Maybe. This Time cover was meant to be sensational so you’d buy their magazine, period. How you feel about attachment parenting is the conversation, but mothers breastfeeding their 4-year-olds and/or chewing food to feed their child – at the end of the day has no bearing on your own family situation. For the record, I think it’s weird. I think if a kid can unbutton your blouse, it’s probably time to stop breastfeeding. Also, the food I chew is the food I swallow – but whatever.
I’m tired. After the E! taping, I went to the “Battleship” premiere to hang out with Rihanna because, you know, I’m in Los Angeles. It’s what we do.
It’s been a busy few days here in our little family. I wish I could blame my lack of posts on President Obama – we live two miles from George Clooney – but whom am I kidding? The closest I got was this morning at the end of our hike, walking by the party rental trucks. I took photos of the tents and some leftover centerpieces.
No, I was busy this week breastfeeding my three children.
Kidding. I’m kidding. I kid.
If you live in a cave, you might not have seen the cover of Time Magazine. There’s a hot mama on the cover breastfeeding her son who looks old enough to not only pour himself a glass of milk, but to actually milk the cow. Needless to say, the photo and ensuing article has caused quite a kerfuffle.
It’s all so silly. It’s not as if this kind of extreme attachment parenting has reached epidemic proportions. I can’t even remember the last time I saw a woman breastfeeding in public. The title of the piece “Are You Mom Enough?” is to goad us all into becoming self-flagellating dervishes, ripping out our hair wondering if we’re the best parents we can be. It’s unkind, really. As mothers, we already doubt ourselves in those micro moments when we’re not busy making lunches, ironing shirts, correcting homework, emptying the dishwasher, driving to Timbuktu, and wiping proverbial shit off the fan.
You can catch more of what I had to say on this subject tonight on E! News, 7pm, check your local listings. It’s important that you watch because, really, when have you ever seen me on television? Since it’s unclear to me at this time how they’ll cut the piece (they’ll hopefully only show my good side), I’ll repeat some of what I said at the studio yesterday:
Nobody has ever once approached me in my minivan – driving the girls around – to be on the cover of their magazine. If the four of us drove around in a convertible, naked, and the ten-year-old was driving – maybe. Maybe. This Time cover was meant to be sensational so you’d buy their magazine, period. How you feel about attachment parenting is the conversation, but mothers breastfeeding their 4-year-olds and/or chewing food to feed their child – at the end of the day has no bearing on your own family situation. For the record, I think it’s weird. I think if a kid can unbutton your blouse, it’s probably time to stop breastfeeding. Also, the food I chew is the food I swallow – but whatever.
I’m tired. After the E! taping, I went to the “Battleship” premiere to hang out with Rihanna because, you know, I’m in Los Angeles. It’s what we do.
Thanks for keeping us abreast on all of this! (and break a leg too!)
Oh my, how you make me laugh! Breast feeding your three children!!! I’m dying laughing over here! Can’t wait to check out E! News tonight! Congratulations!!!
Just had a thought for a “Times” cover – you AND Rihanna naked in your minivan, dropping the girls off in carpool, what do you think? Sincerely yours, Janet
Parents need to watch what examples they set for their children. I heard that Mom being interviewed today and she said her mother breast fed her until she was 6 years old, and since she didn’t do it in public…oh, wait a minute…how much more public can you get than the cover of Time magazine?
[...] A ‘Monday motherhood’ post didn’t happen for two reasons: Dad is out of town and soccer can be complicated. In other words, I’ve been a single parent for the last several days now and sometimes, in club sports, we meet a new kind of ‘crazy’. I won’t bore you with the details because, well, they’re boring. And single parents are everywhere, making things work. Instead, let’s talk about yet another magazine cover, but not one that includes suckling. [...]