We have folks joining our blog team all the time, here are a few new women you'll hear from in the coming weeks!

Denise D'Abramo considers herself a crafty lady with a special love for textiles. She has worked as a craft maker for various craft & design magazines, studied fibers at Savannah College of Art and Design and explored traditional textiles and dye techniques as a Fulbright Fellow in India. In 2004 she began naturally hand dyeing all manner of woolen and silk objects and still really enjoys using botanical dyes to produce her Vermont Wool knitting yarns. At any time of year you may find her knitting up wool sweaters, spinning wool, wearing wool, updating her Etsy page                           ( http://vtwool.com/ ), horseback riding, gardening or busy in dozens of other ways. Denise calls Plainfield her home and lives there happily with her husband Jason, two funny kids, a pile of sheep, and various other farm animals.

Bettie Bransfield is a working mom with three small children living in Montpelier with her wonderful husband. She has a Masters degree in Business and spends her spare time as a volunteer EMT. 

Linda Pruitt (aka Librarian Linda) can be found in the thick of the rambuncious-train table-Storytime  crowd at Montpelier's Kellogg Hubbard Children's Department. Linda was cofounder of Mama Says (2004), Mama Says Action! (2006), and Vermont Birth Network (2007). Once a teacher of prenatal yoga, bellydance, creative writing...Once owner of Vermont Diaper Company/Sorella Luna (2006-2011). Linda lives in Montpelier with her husband, Triple Gemini daughter, and two felines.

I am doing it.
I am weaning him.
I love this little person so much and I am taking away something he loves.
These are just facts.
I had told myself that I would wait until he is three. For no reason other than it’s a date, and I thought far enough away to prepare.

But yesterday I woke up and thought “this is it”. We are beginning.

It’s not that I can’t do it anymore.
I don’t want to.

And it’s him. The him that I love so intensely, my first born. The him that I know by the way his eyes dart what he is thinking. Whose curls and voice charm me endlessly.

I am done nursing him.

This morning he yelled “but I haven’t gotten any milk yet!” as he curled up on my lap. He screamed. He cried. He was breaking my heart.

We sat on the couch and I held him, wishing I could transfer love by osmosis of the heart.
Trying to trust that he knows I love him enough.
Hoping we can see each other through this. Hoping that I am doing the right thing.

Katherine’s voice went through my head “there is something in this for both of you.” I imagine her looking at me directly in the eye and saying it sternly.
Lovingly.
Convincingly.
“We can do this.” I tried to mimic her.

I said it over and over, making it our mantra:
“We can do this.”
Remembering I said the same thing to him two years and eight months ago-before I knew he was a he, when the pushing felt like it would never end.
But it did.

And we did it.
Slowly,
stubbornly,
did it.

Now,
We are in this moment.

In this moment, I am not questioning myself. I am not considering his age, or what others think. The words “child-led weaning” are not floating around in my head, pushing me towards guilt. I am not thinking of how much I still love nursing his sister, or wondering if she will be the same. I am not wishing my husband would come and save us. I am not feeling cheated because no one told me how hard this part would be.

It’s me and him.
Him and me.

Suddenly, the crying stops. He looks up at me, blue eyed and teary.
We are quiet.
We stare.
We breathe out.

We are on the other side.
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Maria Rossi Noyes lives in Montpelier with her husband, two kids, a dog and cat:) Aside from Mamahood her day job is working with transitional age youth at WCMHS. Maria is passionate about learning about all things birth, baby, mothering. She’s an aspiring childbirth educator and post partum doula. Maria is a new Mama Says board member. She also love to garden, cook, and have family dance parties.  

Brisson, Pat. Wanda's Roses.

Cooney, Barbara. Eleanor.

Fleming, Candace. Gabriella’s Song.

Hoffman, Mary. Amazing Grace.

Hopkinson, Deborah. A Band of Angels.

Isaacs, Anne. Swamp Angel.

Lowell, Susan. Little Red Cowboy Hat.

Schaefer, Carole Lea. The Squiggle.

Steig, William. Brave Irene.

Manna, Anthony and Christoudoula Mitakidou. Mr Semolina- Semolinus.

Current Favorite:
Tia Isa Wants a Car  by Meg Medina (2011)
Whoa. Aye mami, get a load of Tia Isa who wants to buy a car (old-school with fins!) but doesn't have the money. She saves what she can from her job at the bakery, but sending money away to family "at home" means working even harder (and smarter) to make it happen. Fortunately, she has an enterprising and wholly endearing niece on her side. Beautifully illustrated (great color palette and Tia Isa hand- on- hip making breakfast is priceless) and fantastic text.
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Librarian Linda can be found in the thick of the rambuncious-train table-Storytime  crowd at Montpelier's Kellogg Hubbard Children's Department. Linda was cofounder of Mama Says (2004), Mama Says Action! (2006), and Vermont Birth Network (2007). Once a teacher of prenatal yoga, bellydance, creative writing...Once owner of Vermont Diaper Company/Sorella Luna (2006-2011). Linda lives in Montpelier with her husband, Triple Gemini daughter, and two felines.