Another internet thingy

Your Personality Is Like Cocaine

You're dynamic, brilliant, and alluring to those who don't know you. Hyper and full of energy, you're usually the last one to leave a party. Sometimes your sharp mind gets the better of you... you're a bit paranoid!

What Drug Is Your Personality Like?

Why do they scare laboring women

I left this comment at the Hospital Birth Debate today. She discussed why nurses and doctors create a climate of fear, with the best of intentions.

http://hospitalbirthdebate.blogspot.com/2007/03/reason-they-disrupt-mothers-in-labor.html

Thanks for making it clear. I have wondered why the nurses and doctors seemed intent to set me up for a surgical birth. Once we see it as normal, we produce similiar results.
The more I read your blog, the more I see how much I escaped from with my first birth. I shouldn't have had to fight for a chance at a vaginal delivery. But I wouldn't consent to a C. The magic 25 hours was up since he had prematurely broke my water, at 37.5 weeks. They said I was at 9, and they wanted to cut me. I said no I want to push, and they let me try. I'm amazed the my first born is still alive. The mercury, the induction, the stupidity (mine). She is not nearly as healthy as my next two. Thinking about starting EFT to try and help her.
I have said that birthing fixed me. This post helps me understand why I'm so much healthier now than before birthing out of the hospital. By creating a new model, I am closer to my natural self.

And on a similiar note this was in the news today

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070315/ap_on_he_me/tb_exposure;_ylt=Aq.Bttjhjf5jEWyALjddHsu9j7AB

TB exposure in NY at the hospital. Another reason to birth at home.

More unsolicited Advice

I left this at unexplain this, she is returning to work soon. The doc found a lump in her milk makers which may be a plugged duct. http:\\unexplainthis.blogspot.com



I really like Yeast Defense. It is probiotics and cayenne, and keeps my milk makers happy. My midwife thought it was terriffic while nursing and pregnant. Available at most health food stores.
While your there maybe some organic flaxseed to sew into a pillow. I nuke it until it is hot, and apply at the first sign of any duct trouble. The heat will help to unplug it.
I remember how hard it was putting my first baby into daycare. Can you stagger the hours that your husband and you work? He did dropoff, and I did pickup so she could spend more time with a parent.
Two wonderful resources for nursing moms are www.kellymom.com and mothering.com
I found that reading a hardcover book while I pumped at work improved my speed and supply. The hardcover was easier since I didn't have a handsfree setup, and it distracted me enough to help with letdown.
I figure that the one pump produced more than 4000 ounces of milk for my children. After eleven months I stop pumping, and my supply is well established for extended nursing after that.
Do you have an area set up for pumping at work? An extra set of horns was worth it, so I didn't have to wash them at work, just throw them in the dishwasher when I got home.
So happy for you. Thanks for sharing the baby moon with us.

Out of the Box

Wow, I love the ways Breast & Belly writes. People get so angry with me when I think outside the box. This post gives me some insite into why.

http://homeschoolislove2.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-come-no-one-is-ever-concerned-when.html

Hello 911, there is a pregnant person on my porch.

http://frectis.net/?p=603#comment-3651

This post by Frectis strikes my fancy. Imagine the nerve of some people. Thinking he can show up on a midwifes doorstep, against his wife's wishes to save money. And what the bleep, insurances that no longer covers maternity services?

Been reading a bunch on birth recently. How are we harming children with all these confounded medical experiments. Really we don't know if hospital birth routines are safe.

I'd love for homebirth to be then norm, but without planning, it would endanger Frectis beeing able to help the women who want it.

After unplanned relative shows up on porch:

Hello 911, yes, I have a pregnant person on my porch who sounds like she may kill her husband. I think she's in labor.

Healthy Baby Diagnosed with Failure to Thrive - again

Hi, your internet healthcare provider here, another diagnosis on the nets in which I counter a doctor's horrible advice to wean since the scale said her baby lost a pound in ten days. In short, her baby is happy, healthy, and passing milestones promptly but the almighty scale said the baby lost a pound in ten days. So the doctor told her to cut out nighttime nursing and give water instead. To limit the nursing and give more solids. After a return visit where the baby had gained weight, she was coerced into supplementing with formula, and the baby only drank an ounce and then played with the bottle. Here's what I replied in her thread on Mothering.com:

So sorry to hear that your ped is putting you through this grief.

Is he using a BF baby weight chart, or does it have formula ads on it? Did he recommend a lactation consultant? Does he have one on staff?The advice he gave you is aimed at weaning, not producing more milk. Most of the education he's had recently comes from the formula rep who visits with free samples and helpful office items. There is no boob rep.

When babies get mobile, they slim down. A one pound weight loss in ten days is not something I would believe. Something must be wonky with that scale. When you press on the baby's skin, does it go white and then return to normal quickly? Did he even show you how to check for hydration? If your baby had actually lost a pound that fast, you probably would have taken him to the ER for the more obvious signs of trouble, like projectile vomiting for a week.

I feel sorry for your ped, he can't handle the way that boobs don't have rings to measure ounces, and is trying to force you to use methods he can see.If all other signs are good, weight is not the end-all be-all of health. Milestones, temperament, skin color, and a full diaper pail of breastmilk poop are your health indicators. Please reconsider the slippery slope of supplementation he has coerced you to ride. How heavy is that diaper pail when you empty it? Diapers weigh very little, that weight is your milk.

Bender - Patrick

Here's a comment I left on Julia's blog. She was concerned her four year old was taking a liking to lipstick and tiarras. (Here There Be Hippogriffs - Bender http://julia.typepad.com/julia/2007/02/bender.html Jenny left a nasty comment about how could she not force Patrick to comform, and soemthing about Julia's struggles for a second child being wrong if she considers tiarras appropriate for a boy. )


My six year old girl likes to wear dresses, in the winter, in Michigan, to school. We compromise, and she wears pants under the dress, and looks very nice. (Dress is short enough not to be a problem for gym.)

I put my two year old boy in a dress sometimes, just for giggles, and of course pictures. Especially if Daddy didn't want to change that last diaper. I think that by denying little things, they become big things. Unless you make a big deal of it most phases will pass.

Notice how Jenny didn't link to her blog? Can you imagine how many new visitors she would have, and the helpful comments we might have left?

Interfaith Diversity Retreat

That sure was interesting. Exploring interfaith diversity through music. I just went on a 24 retreat. The price was right, it was close to home, and I brought lots of yarn.

I finished my scarf on the knitting loom. I finished the purple squares for my afghan, and started on the fuchsia. I had 22 hours away from the baby, and the big baby (DH).

It was interesting seeing the dynamics among the clergy who attended. They'd done this before, and seemed to be building friendships. All except on of the Muslims who kept trying to lead. He thought they needed to get the message out there, and crystallise the intent. I thought it was very nice just seeing them share together. The room really seemed to change every time he went out to answer his phone. He seemed to be on a very different wavelength. I think he had good intentions, but he appeared to bully the rest.

I was an outsider, being the only one who didn't have a congregation. They all seemed to lead a church, or mosque, or whatever. I received an invite through work, and it didn't really say what the group was about. Sharing spiritual music seemed like something to broaden my horizons. I just didn't know how far.

And, for the punch line. They wanted to continue the dialogue online, and no one knew how to set up a yahoo group, except me. So now I hold the moderator keys to their continuing dialogue.

Still here

Yeh, I went quiet for a while, but all is okay.

Thinking about trying for a little girl. Could be a possibility at this very minute.

Worried about the re-evaluation of support payments. We're 50/50 on custody, but he gets more nights the way it is set up. I get more time with them when they are awake. I pay him now, because I was making more when we set up the initial amount. Now he probably makes more, but they have probably forgotten the initial deal. Besides, I have another child now.

There is a spot where I can mark pregnant but at this point it's only a maybe. Knowing me, it is a probably, but the form is due before I'll be sure.

I may never be able to afford taking the girls on a vacation like their daddy does. He has bought a jet ski and a four wheeler, and a new grand prix. He can't be doing that bad. I'm selling my second car, since I need the money to pay bills. No sure if adding a page to the form is a good idea or not.

This year, the tax return didn't even dig me out of the whole. Hopefully I can recover my three weeeks salary lost from maternity leave and sell the car, but then what if I get hammered with more support?

I've been reading hosptial birth debate, and it really is convincing me I should do my part for the gene pool. So sad how all these well meaning people are hurting the future of the human race. (My Darwinist slant) Even premature cord clamping seems to be harming every baby.

Now that I found a care provider, getting pregged again really seems like a good option. I know, how will I afford it? The kids aren't really that expensive, its the household. I have a five bedroom home, and I think we'll all fit.

I've been reading a little bit pregnant. Wow, she is an amazing writter.

I'll try to write more often.

Prayers for her Boobies, and Praise for Herbie

Lavendar has Mastis, please send prayers her way. Here's the comment I left on her blog:

Sending prayers your way. Mastis is often a signal that you need to care for yourself, more.

At the first sign of trouble, I have my hot herbie. Organic flaxseed, sewn into a bit of fabric, about a pound. Then I microwave it until it is warmer than I can take, and put it on any sore spot on my mighty milk makers, with a shirt or something to mitigate the heat.

I rest and apply that at the first sign of trouble.

You may want to check with your midwife if heat is okay first. I've been lucky in my half dozen years of production not to get mastis, so I don't know the rules.

I think Herbie has kept my jugs a flowwing. I keep some in the freezer for booboos too. They can go from freezer to microwave in case a sore muscle wants heat too.

(Hopefully some unsolicited internet advice and a chuckle can help too ;)

For the Baby, not for the 'experience'

http://neonataldoc.blogspot.com/2007/01/home-ii.html

A small clip from his post: "I still think that the best solution is for hospital based deliveries to get better, to ditch the impersonal and degrading garbage associated with them."

Today NeoHero may have saved more babies than he realizes. The link above should lead you to his post. My reply is below:

Pro-homebirther here, I fled from the hospital based infirmary system to protect the baby, not for the experience. In all my reading I've only seen pro-hospital folks think we did it for the experience.

After reading Henci Goer, Obstretric Myths vs Research realities, I knew that the interventions cause the majority of the depressed babies. Even the IV was shown to delay labor. It dilutes the hormones in your bloodstream that the baby put there to say, "Now". The intake forms dismiss labor. Literally we get scared and shut down labor. Animals need a safe quiet place to labor, if they are threatened, they can delay labor until safe.

Thanks for acknowledging that hospitals must change if we want fewer dead babies. How 'bout if we start by forbidding the docs to say, "We must break your water or you have to go home"?

Too Much for Mothering

I posted the previous blog entry minus the title and the first paragraph at Mothering.com, with the Title Disappointed to see this moved to Breastfeeding. It was moved from the Lactivism forum to the general breastfeeding area.

My post was yanked and I was told that critisizing the moderators was against the user agreement. I thought disappointment expressed my feelings, not a critique of her skills. The mods must have a hard enough time with so many diverse members (chrunchy?). My disappointment is that people still don't get it, the way doctors are always putting down the boob, and honoring the formula through the formula reps repeated 'free educational' visits.

Any message from a doctor which states that formula has it, but breastmilk doesn't, so you need to do X to make up for not using formula should be countered by lactivism.

Thinking about sending the mod a note, but it would probably just make her bad day worse. I reposted the entry, minus the title line. What do you think? I removed the disappointed part, and just posted the rest. Capitualation?

I can't really think how to phrase a reply to the mod that wouldn't dig a deeper hole. I think I'm growing. Like how yesterday I started with a compliment about how I liked the new paper towel dispensers at work, before I asked to have one adjusted. The new ones you just pull the paper out, no handle to push.

Breastfed Infants Hassled gain - Lactivism vs the Doctors/Formula Reps

Disappointed to see the thread where a doctor suggested iron drops for a breastfed infant moved from the Lactivist forum at www.mothering.com to the Breastfeeding forum.

Peds give the message that "formula has X level of iron, and Breastmilk doesn't. You must give these drops (of basically poison if given in a higher dose) to make your milk as good as formula."

I see this as another message that breastmilk is less than formula. The formula reps have mal-educated the doctors, again. Yes it is true that formula has higher levels of iron than breastmilk. What they leave out is that the iron in breastmilk is much more adsorbable, and doesn't have the harmful side effects of artificially added iron. Also, since breastmilk doesn't irratate the stomach lining and cause that blood loss inot the intestines, a little iron goes a whole lot farther.

http://www.naba-breastfeeding.org/images/Just%20one.pdf

Let's go for a Walk

( posted as a commnet on a friend's blog. hoping to remember to post more about his later.)

What's the name of the diet? Which magazine?

I'll probably be starting Weight Watchers again here at work, but only because it's free, and that way I get on a scale every week. I signed up last time to see if I was losing too fast for no reason. Thinking about going back to Sommersizing again. The good old food combing from the sixties, seems to work for me.

Seems like I've tried everything except Atkins. Sommmersizing is close, but not restrictive on good carbs. The no white stuff rule seems to help me feel good.

Let's go for a walk when you have a minute. I've been pushing Nicky around, can't wait for his little legs to get a little longer. I figure he gets enough miles in my living room.

Can cord clamping increase Bilirubin levels?

( a comment I left at neonataldoc's blog, he was commenting on billilights possibles causing moles. )

Wondering if anyone has a link to support that the premature clamping of the umbillical cord may be the cause of high bilirubin levels.

Many natural birthers believe that you should at least wait for the cord to stop pulsing before clamping it. This allows the blood to go where it needs to. Funny thing is when I asked to delay clapming the cord at an OB practice, all four doctors gave me different answers why they had to clamp right away. Two were in direct conflict. One said the baby will get to much blood, another said that baby will loose blood back into the mom, another said mom would bleed too much, and the other said they needed to get the baby under the warmer right away or the baby would get cold. Funny none of that happened when I had a baby at the midwife's birth center, where they wrapped up the placenta and put baby, husband and I down for a nap, in the same bed, before clamping and cutting the cord hours later.

Sure, if neohero needs to help the baby, waiting for dad to fumble the scissors is silly, but for healthy full term babies I don't see the rush.

Where do we draw the line?

Welcome to Blogspot Fellowman, http:://bulgingbag.blogspot.com

In my mind there is no debate, it should be up to the parents to decide the fate of their baby, everytime.

When interviewing my care provider for my last pregnancy, one of my questions was, 'Will you help protect my baby from aggressive care?'.

I had a feeling with this one, that it wasn't meant to survive. I wanted to protect it from being delayed in becoming an angel, or tortured. Turns out that I chose well. When I called her at 10 weeks (LMP) to see what her protocol was, she said I could go for a D&C but she didn't recomend it. A previous provider had sent me to ER, and that was horrible. So much easier this time, just letting my body handle it. The medical industry messes with birth, why didn't I realize they would mess with miscarriage also.

I'm a natural birth advocate. I firmly believe we are safer birthing at home, with a qualified attendant and a nearby hospital.

Should I have tried to rescue my blighted ovum? Many people would think that by just miscarrying, with only a phone call for care that I didn't do enough. Where do we draw the line?

She seems Definate

Saw the Doctor last night. From what I described she said blighted ovum, no longer pregnant. No tests, just call if I have any extra bleeding. Since I hardly spot the pad after only three days, I think it's over.

I look pale as a ghost. My husband sugested the tanning booth to fix it. I asked him to go make me another chocolate milkshake, and he packed me lunch. I haven't really lost that much blood, I think it's just the hormones making a sudden change. I'm back to work today. I took two days to lay around the house. My timing is terrible. The misscarriage occured the last night of our holiday shutdown. At least this time I was only out for two days. Last time I was out for a week and in misery. It figures, the medical industry would be hurtful and harmful about miscarriage just like birth. Without the trip to ER, and the drugs, this time it was much easier. My body rocks.

Asking about birth control slipped my mind. Do I want another child or is four enough. (counting three I gave birth to, and one step-child.)

Well, if I think about it long enough, Gods will decide for me.

Likely to be over now.

Well, I think I have miscarried. It was easy this time. I wonder if the doctor's drugs made the first one harder. The first time I was given methergine and pain pills. I was in agony for more than a week.

This time, I spotted a little and lost the plug in the morning, and then that evening I emptied my uterus with a spash. Can't see how there could be a baby left in there after that much glop. I see my doctor tonight, and we'll see what she says. When I paged her to see what her protocol was, she said I could go get a D&C but she doesn't recommend it, and to keep my appointment today. That trip to the ER with the first was hell, glad to skip it this time.

It really wasn't a good time to have a baby anyways. My youngest is only two and we are still nursing. I work full time, and they just gutted my benefits. Maybe later, but the idea of hauling another one around seemed daunting.

Going to ask about birth control. I don't think there is any safe answer.

Really glad I didn't spared the news around in real life. Don't feel sad about this, I already have three children and a step child, five may have been to many.

Nine weeks and counting

How long can I maintain the illusion of getting fat? Naked it is really obvious that my belly is getting bigger, but when I'm dressed, I just look like I'm getting fat.

I guess being well endowed with curves has its advantages. I started out this preg around 160. Other have started at 178, 162, and 138, and I ended up just shy of 200 each time.

Since that day I walked into Ma's and she said, "Please tell me you're not pregnant.", about six months ago, I don't think I'll be telling my family anytime soon.

Waiting as long as I can to tell the girls. At 6,8 and 10 they think a week is a long time. I get big quick, so I'm hoping for baggy sweaters for Christmas. Since it's winter, I get a little more bulky clothing advantage.

The cult of Vaccines

Bring it on, go ahead with your no-sense. Why should I torture my healthy child to protect your sickly one. Why is it safe to inject newborns with mercury? Why do we keep having those scarey news articles about polio outbreaks among the unimmunized, which fail to mention that it is the vaccine strain of polio, and the wild one hasn't been seen in the US in decades?

Then let's discuss the skyrocketing rates of cancer and adhd, and diabetes, and autism, which are temporally related to the increase in 'mandatory' vaccines. Temporally related means at the same point in time, and doesn't prove a causal link.

I'm angry. The hoo hoo the people spewed over at neonatal doc upsets me. How can these very intelligent people be so misled? That new Gardisil vaccine is scarey. Just barely approved, and now heavily advertised. I doesn't prevent cancer, it provides some immunity against a virus which may be linked to cervical cancer. People are pushing to make it mandatory, and we don't really have any data to show it it even safe.

Immunizing your child puts mine at risk. My friends keep their children away from the recently immunized ones. Shedding the manmade virii, frankencreated for vaccinations hasn't even been studied. The recent rise in shingles seems to coincide with the varicella vaccine. Why vaccinate against chickenpox? Oh, because the immnocomprised ones soemetimes die from it, rarely a healthy child. Why are there so many immunocompromised ones, vaccinations. Kids need to get sick to train their immune systems.

Please go see www.909shot.com for more details.