Amanda Hirsch is a blogger and writer who has published a book on motherhood called Feeling My Way: Finding Motherhood Without Losing Myself. It's the kind of book that every new mom should be reading and Hirsch has a blog, to boot.

In honor of Mother's Day, she has shared one of her favorite posts with The Stir. Please see below:

NOTE: I realize I've probably opened myself up to some unsavory traffic by writing about my boobs, but I couldn't write about new-mom-body-image without mentioning them; so -- if you're only reading this because it came up in a search for "boobs," I'm sorry to disappoint you, there are no pictures or exciting descriptions here. Unless you find descriptions of spit-up exciting. In which case, you're worse than I thought.

I think women should get to decide whether breastfeeding is right for them and not be judged by other women for their decision. I know a woman who couldn't produce enough milk for her child and needed to supplement it with formula, and yet my other friend, who is not a judgmental person on the whole, said she just "hadn't tried hard enough." Woah. Women really get crazy on this whole breastfeeding issue. So I have no problem with the fact that model and Miss USA runnerup Shanna Moakler, who used to have a realty show with her former husband Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, didn't breastfeed any of her three children. But her reason is the wackiest I've ever heard!

Moms, we've got another breastfeeding brouhaha on our hands. Only -- dare I say it? -- Dawn Brahos tangle with an American Airlines flight attendant over her right to pump her breast milk on a plane might end up helping moms in the end?

Did you know some airlines actually have mom friendly pumping policies? I confess I didn't! But thanks to Dawn Brahos, now more moms should know the deal.

Heard the warning that breastfeeding will change your boobs forever and decided you don't want to take that chance? You might want to listen to what Snooki has to say first. Yes, THAT Snooki.

Nicole Polizzi may not be who most moms first think of when it comes to parenting advice, but the Jersey Shore star has come a long way since her son came into the world last fall -- if nothing else, she's learned from experience. And according to her experience, even nursing alternatives will harm the girls.

Oh. My. Word. Are you ready for the dumbest argument against breastfeeding in public yet? When someone wrote in to the advice column at a Texas magazine to complain about women breastfeeding in church, the columnist warned women shouldn't be "putting on a show in the house of the Lord."

Putting on a show? My word. How do they feed babies in Texas?

Oh moms. Just when you think you've heard it all, someone sets up an Etsy shop and starts selling "breast milk jewelry" made out of moms' own boob juice. And you thought the mom who couldn't throw out her baby girl's umbilical stump was clinging a little too tightly to her memories? You ain't seen nothing yet!

Apparently there exists a whole subculture of mothers who need wearable evidence of the fact that they breastfed. And Mommy Milk is happy to cater to them for the low, low price of $64 (that's on the low end, you can go up to $125 for something truly fancy).

If you think the sight of a woman nursing her child is obscene, then you are not supporting the act of breastfeeding. It's really that simple. This goes for when a mom is nursing in public or when posting a photo of her feeding her child on Facebook. And even though Facebook claims they respect a woman's right to post photos of a child breastfeeding, they once again went back on their word and not only deleted breastfeeding images from a page devoted to supporting breastfeeding mothers, but blocked the page's owner from accessing her page for 24 hours.

Kristy Kemp's Breastfeeding/Mama Talk is a community page that answers questions and gives support to breastfeeding moms. Members help other members with questions and concerns. It's exactly the kind of support that many mothers need. When Kemp posted a new photo of a mom breastfeeding (among the many, many others), that photo was removed and she was locked out of her page. But now Facebook is saying "sorry."

Breastfeeding. It’s a personal decision. It’s the way God made mothers; it’s best for baby; blah blah blah. Look, in a perfect world, breastfeeding would be a beautiful, wonderful bonding experience for every mama out there, and we would all do it for just the perfect amount of time before creating a national scandal by nursing your preschooler on the cover of a magazine.

But it’s not a perfect world, and that’s why God gave us scientists and nutritionists to make formula. Or something. But if any of you moms-to-be out there are still wavering on the whole issue, a new discovery might influence your decision: Breastfeeding exclusively for six months significantly reduces your chances of getting cancer later in life.