- What is your name? What is the name of your book and what is it about?
My name is Katherine Havener. My book is Nursies When the Sun Shines and it’s a book that is meant to help moms communicate with their toddlers that nursing is for the daytime and that nighttime is for sleeping.
- What is your background?
I’m a mom to four breastfed, attachment parented girls ages 11, 9, 4 and 18 months. Before motherhood, I was an attorney that specialized in political and ethics law. Shortly after my first babe was born, I realized I couldn’t stand being away from her, so I happily quit my job and haven’t looked back. Motherhood changed me in so many ways and my journey became about making the world a gentler place for babies and children. In 2007, I co-founded one of the then largest Holistic Moms Chapters in the country. A few years later, wanting to focus solely on breastfeeding, I became a La Leche League Leader and co-led a large and fabulous LLL group. Last year, I became a Certified Lactation Counselor and retired from LLL Leadership. I am now preparing to sit for the IBCLC exam early next year, and plan to start a private lactation practice. I just loooove helping mothers and babies with breastfeeding. It feeds my heart and soul!
- What inspired you to write this book?
My second daughter, Elea, who was my first toddler nursling, woke up every two hours from birth until about 22 months old. At that point, even with co-sleeping, I was exhausted and crabby and not the best mother I could be – so I knew nightweaning was what I needed to do for our family. I wanted to do it as gently as possible and not change the family bed/breastfeeding-to-sleep dynamic that was so important to us. Nightweaning was challenging because it was so hard to communicate the concepts of day and night. I wished there was a book I could show her that would help her understand! One night, well after she was night weaned, the idea and text for the book came to me. I wrote it in pencil by moonlight while lying in bed next to my sleeping girls and my husband.
Incidentally, my third and fourth babes have been every-two-hour night nursers too so I have now used my own book to nightwean both of them. J
- Who is this book written for?
For toddlers and their breastfeeding mamas who want to nightwean them.
- What can someone expect to gain from reading this book?
Hopefully, a toddler that sleeps through the night (or mostly sleeps through the night); a mom that is more rested and thus has more patience and sanity during the day; and a toddler that has come through the nightweaning process still bonded, attached and feeling loved.
On a larger level, it is my belief that the book helps lengthen breastfeeding terms because it gives an option to exhausted moms other than cold turkey full weaning.
- What do you want people to know about this book?
That the hard copy book is available online from Amazon and Barnes and Noble, and as a PDF from the book’s website nursiesbook.com.
- Where can we read/see more from you?
Nursies is also available in Spanish – entitled Lechita al amanecer. I have a second book that’s been written and is awaiting illustration. It’s in the same vein as Nursies in that it helps parents communicate a difficult concept to their toddlers/pre-schoolers. It should be out early next year. I’m very excited about it!
