Nursing Moses

A friend let me know about an article that is in People magazine, a wonderful story of what a community of women can do. The story is about baby Moses, whose mother died right after giving birth. The baby's father knew it was important that the baby be breastfed and knew how passionate his late wife was about it. So a group of 20 woman got together to nurse this little baby, this is what women use to do when a mother was sick or had died, women took care of women. How wonderful that these women are willing to help this baby and family out.

You can read the article here : http://www.miningjournal.net/page/content.detail/id/528296.html

Calling All Pregnant Women: The BPA Industry Wants YOU!

This article was written by a former student of mine. A great read.

According to internal notes that were leaked out by the Washington Post, companies like Coca Cola and Del Monte are seeking out “young pregnant women” to tout the benefits of Bisphenol A or BPA. A meeting took place on May 28th with canned food and beverage industry representatives to combat legislative efforts to restrict the use of BPA.

The Lie of the EDD: Why Your Due Date Isn't when You Think
How the 40 week pregnancy myth came about and why it's totally wrong.
http://www.associatedcontent.comarticle/1047180/the_lie_of_the_edd_why_your_due_date.html

Quote:

"I realized I could enter the world of endurance sports after I gave birth to my daughter without drugs."

Jennifer Beals - June 2009 Runner's World Magazine

We Should Be Better Than This

There is a great article written by, Lisa Girion in the L.A. Times about the maternity care in the U.S., my journalist daughter sent it to me.

If we really care first about the lives of mothers and their babies we need to do something about it. Yes, it would be really nice if Obama did something about this, he says we need to reform the health industry, and this would be a really good way to not only improve the lives of moms and babies, but also save money.

Once reserved for cases in which the life of the baby or mother was in danger, the cesarean is now routine. The most common operation in the U.S., it is performed in 31% of births, up from 4.5% in 1965.

With that surge has come an explosion in medical bills, an increase in complications -- and a reconsideration of the cesarean as a sometimes unnecessary risk.

It is a big reason childbirth often is held up in healthcare reform debates as an example of how the intensive and expensive U.S. brand of medicine has failed to deliver better results and may, in fact, be doing more harm than good.

You Never Know

You never know about the people that come into your life and how they will affect you. Several years ago when my son Oliver was in first grade I got to know another teacher, my first impression of her, was well she was spoiled (she will even admit this as an only child). A few years later she was suggested to be my daughter's 2nd grade teacher, we needed a strong teacher to work with Alanna as she is very smart and we needed to make sure she was challenged. Well we couldn't had a better 2nd grade teacher for her. Volunteering every day, Ruth and I soon became friends. She was just dating her now husband and we talked a lot about love, marriage and children. She became engaged during the year and we had the privilege of going to her wedding the next year.

When they decided to start a family, she talked to me all the time about birth and when they moved, we found her a Bradley teacher where she lived. Ruth emailed me all the time with questions. Even though her birth didn't go as planned, she ended up needing a necessary c-section she was still dedicated to breastfeeding. Things didn't go very smoothly the first few weeks, but she stuck with it and I am just really proud of her. She doesn't have too much friend support where she lives, as they have all given up nursing or only bottle fed.

She recently sent me this:

I am really happy breastfeeding. You're right, I am surprised that I love it so much because I initially did it because I knew that it was best for Max. Once we got the hang of it, I was able to relax and enjoy it. I think that breastfeeding has benefited me just as much as it has benefited Max. Some of my best memories are of the quiet moments he and I shared nursing, just staring at each other. It's moments like those that are going to be the most difficult to part with when Max begins to wean. God! I don't even want to think about it right now.

You know, becoming a mother has really changed me. You once told me that motherhood was the hardest job I'd ever love and you were 100% right. It is a hard job, but the things that are hard about it don't even compare to the things that are awesome about it. I used to think that my life would be defined by my education and by my career as a teacher but once Max was born, I realized that he is my biggest and best accomplishment and that being his mother is the most important job I'll ever have and the proudest of myself I'll ever be.

I am just so proud of her and thank her for being an example to all the other mothers she is around. You just never know what you say might make a difference.

Mother's Day

I wish all you Mother's out there a wonderful day. I have always felt that one of the greatest gifts my husband gave me was the gift of becoming a mother, six times over.

I am an easy to please mother on this day, no need for expensive gifts, just let me know I am loved. So the kids woke me up this morning to breakfast in bed and some homemade cards, fresh cut roses from our backyard and some coupons for back rubs, car washing and one of my favorites a "Shut up" coupon from my son Oliver, who tends to argue every point. We later drove up to the local mountains and had a picnic. We also had an uninvited guest a 5 ft. diamondback rattle snake. My husband said it first was headed towards me and then went back under one of the picnic tables we had our stuff on. It stayed put and we kept an eye on it and still enjoyed our picnic.

I felt extra blessed as two of my son Eric's friends texted him to tell me Happy Mother's Day and then after Ian went to work he texted me that one of his friends texted him to tell me Happy Mother's Day.

So I hope you all enjoy your day.