Tuesday, December 30, 2003
( 11:21 AM )
There's a big bruhaha going on about a new PSA campaign on breastfeeding. Basically it was planned to come out and scare parents (mothers) into breastfeeding their babies. Formula companies got wind and freaked. The President of the American Academy of Pediatrics wrote a letter to Sect. Thompson of the Dept. of Health & Human Services asking to tone down the ads. Now pro-breastfeeding advocates say that the formula lobby got to the AAP. *BIG SIGH*
Listen, I breastfeed Miss Ella and plan to do so until her first birthday. That was my plan for years and so far it's working out. Around day 4 of Miss Ella's life, my breasts weren't cooperating. I was thisclose to losing it just contemplating that I would fail as a mother by subjecting her to formula. I had built up that guilt in my head from my own knowledge of breast is best. Sometimes life gets in the way and we decide to give up on breastfeeding. Should we submit new mothers to even more guilt?
The Milky Way of Doing Business by Katie Allison Granju is a good piece about the situation. Here are some good quotes:
It worried me, as it did them, that parents whose kids got cancer or grew up dumb might feel guilty if they did not breastfeed.
“As far as a negative tone goes, most successful public health campaigns rely heavily on making the public aware of negative consequences of certain behaviors. While it may be a new way to approach breastfeeding promotion, it’s a common advertising device.” says Dr. Gartner. “We don’t tell parents about the ‘benefits’ of carseats. We tell them that studies indicate that if they do not use a carseat, their baby has a greater risk for being injured or killed in an accident. And telling them this has worked. Thousands of lives are saved every year because this message works.”
While I understand the need to sometimes bring out the corpses to prove a point, but I am always hesitant to see anyone pressuring a mother into one way or making her feel guilty if she can't breastfeed.
I just saw an old friend over the weekend and she talked about her decision to already not breastfeed whenever she has kids. "It hurts a lot, right?" I calmly explained that yes it does, but you get use to it, the baby latches on better and that breastfeeding not only great for the baby in terms of immunity, but it offers a great way to bond. I didn't ram it down her throat. I think I'll revisit it with her at another date.
Not all moms can have access to a lactation consultant or get to one to help get thru the rough spots. Not all moms can breastfeed exculsively for six months. Not all can pump at work. There has to be a better way to push breast is best without making us moms feel even more guilty.
...
Monday, December 29, 2003
( 1:03 PM )
Miss Ella had what one could only label a hands-down-fabu-Christmas. As expected, grandparents & aunties spoiled her diapered tush rotten. My younger sister took advantage of a local Kids-R-Us going out of business and bought up a ton of summer clothes in what we hope is the right size. My dad bought a few "My First Christmas" outfits that she either slept in that night or pooped in the next day. Ah, babies.
The hubby & I agreed to only buy her one gift. I lied. I bought her my own lil gift of a shirt & sweater that I couldn't leave on the sale rack. Our big gift was a Megasaucer Activity Center. She plays with one like this at daycare and LOVES it. So we thought, why not?
It's funny to watch her in it. She plays with one toy, gets bored, whirls around and finds something else to play with. She can't stand up flat-footed in it, so she holds on to something just behind her and yanks herself around. It's a hoot!
The hubby took a ton of pics of Miss Ella in her pile of gifts. My favorite is above. I even had it printed out at CVS for framing.
Ella's other special 'gift' for Christmas was the yumminess of bananas. Yes, Miss Ella is eating solids and has mastered rice cereal & oatmeal enough to add bananas to the mix.
She LOVES to eat. She starts to grunt and yell if we're eating and she's not. Of course, with the change in diet comes a change in poop. There are times when having a faulty nose comes in handy.
ps: Congrats to Shana on the arrival of Max. Obviously he didn't get the memo on arriving on my birthday. Hmph!
...
Thursday, December 18, 2003
( 9:41 AM )
Thanks to Dawn, I have a new place to buy Miss Ella some clothing her daddy is going to (not) love. I'm so bad and Dawn is my enabler.
Woman sign
Closets are for Toys
Future Folk Singer
Goddess Bless America
Proud girls make powerful women
...
Tuesday, December 16, 2003
( 11:20 AM )
Maybe I'm too truthful, but I also feel like that is why I feel that a lot of my child-free girlfriends ask me so many questions. I don't mince words when it comes to having Ella. She's the best thing that I've accomplished, but also the hardest.
While I have lost a lot of weight since having her, I still am struggling with my body image. So after reading Postpartum Body Image and Weight Loss, I feel better. I feel better cause it just confirms what my inner voice has been telling me. That it's normal, that it will take time.
I went to one La Leche League meeting before I had Ella. One of the leaders was talking about how a father had called asking them to tell his pregnant daughter that breastfeeding won't make your boobs sag. So here I am, four months into breastfeeding and I gotta tell ya grrls, they do. Before Ella, I had great boobs. I didn't need a push-up bra, no padding necessary. The grrls are still nice, but I know once I stop breastfeeding, I'm making a beeline to Victoria's Secret for a great push-up bra. I'm just going to need the extra support. Althou, I am hoping that they are smaller than pre-Ella...maybe I can finally fit into a button-down shirt!
Motherhood: The toughest job you'll hate and love.
Thanks to Ms. Lauren for the link!
...
Thursday, December 11, 2003
( 9:37 AM )
Ella shares her daycare room with two other girls. One is 7 months-old and obviously more coordinated than Miss Ella and her other friend. Well on Monday, Miss Ella was chilling back on her Boppy pillow, stretched out as if tanning. The older girl was playing near her and decided to reach out and touch Ella. They ended up holding hands. (everyone...awwww) The teachers say it was adorable and I bet it was. The older girl must be thinking, "WOW, there's a baby in here!" lol
Yesterday Miss Ella was introduced to the wonderful world of chalk. Yup, I didn't think a 4 month-old could use chalk either, but she can. They had Ella and her girlfriend draw in construction paper and then the teachers glued cotton balls on to make snowmen. Isn't that a riot? Her first craft! I'm a little sad that I missed that, but in reality I wouldn't have even attempted it until the summer. I know I have finger painting penciled in for sometime in June. Now that should be fun!
...
Tuesday, December 09, 2003
( 12:34 PM )
This past weekend marked the first time I've been sick while a mommy and let me tell ya...IT ROYALLY SUCKED!
Thursday night I started to feel a bit icky so I did my usual routine of chugging hot teas. It didn't do the job. At the same time I noticed that Miss Ella had a runny nose. Oh, dear goddess, please don't let her get sick too! She heard my prayers and let Miss Ella just have the sniffles. *whew* But Miss Ella still wanted her mommy during her first bout of the sniffles. So by Sunday, I was fully sick, Miss Ella was cranky and we had all the fixin's for a meltdown.
Yup, Sunday evening I lost it. I put Miss Ella down in her crib and she wouldn't stay there. No amount of pleading could get her to sleep on her own, even for 5 minutes. So I picked her back up and just cried. I was tired, hungry, cold (heater had just busted), and sick. Thankfully the hubby came to the rescue and plucked Miss Ella out of my hands. I ate, she nursed, and then I went to bed.
Yesterday I stayed home while a recovered Miss Ella went off to daycare. OMG...did that help soooo much! Sadly, I'm back at work and I feel my throat starting to get icky again. I left my meds at home since I was over the allotted max dose for 24 hours. But damn, this better get better soon....the hubby's looking like he's gonna come down with it soon too. aaahhhh!!!!!!!!
...
Friday, December 05, 2003
( 2:53 PM )
She's not really chubby, but I've heard other people call her that many times. She's about in the 50th percentile according to her last check-up. But the label gets me itchy. I don't want her to grow up worrying about her weight. I know I can't protect her forever, but I'm bound and determined to keep family from labeling her. So of course, I clicked on this link for Mommy, Am I Fat? Helping overweight children after seeing that no one sent me anything at hotmail.
I liked the tone of this article and gave some great tips on just telling if your child was overweight. In recent days, Chicago has been a buzz with word that our public schools are jam packed with fat kids. Fingers are being pointed everywhere and today the Sun-Times takes it's jab at parents. I think we would all love to be able to put a nutritious meal on the table every night - if we could afford it. Thankfully the Sun-times article that got this started pointed that fact out.
Back to the MSN article...it's not until near the end that you realize that this piece is directed towards MOTHERS and only really deals with GIRLS who are overweight. This is the family section, right? And families can be made up of fathers, right? And sons, right? *ugh*
Again, this article is great! But I wish is addressed parents in general and kids in general. I've mentioned before that my nephew is getting a tad chubby and my in-laws rib him about it. I wish I could print this out and not have to explain, "But it holds for boys too!" Feminists get a lot of flack for pointing out when women are excluded, but you know what? We also point out when men are excluded. And that's good for everyone. With that, I bid you farewell until next week!
...
Tuesday, December 02, 2003
( 10:21 AM )
For those of you who have ever tried to give your cat or dog a pill, I present a new challenge: Use a bulb syringe to clear a stuffy nose from an infant and have her still love you.
Miss Ella has quite the stuffy nose. I really hope it's a baby thing and isn't a sign that she got my horrid allergy-infested nose. So what's a mom to do? Grab her while she's laying down, drop water into her nose, wait until she coughs (water goes down her lil throat, I assume), get her to smile, then BAM! Suction the hell out of her nose. It's not a nice job. Sometimes you hit the jackpot and get a bit glob of snot...then you pull the syringe out and wa-la! snot trails out.
I usually know when to do this because when I nurse her, I can hear her struggle to breath and eat. Babies should be able to do this without a problem. *sigh* This morning I did after we had some nice play time on the bed. She screamed bloody murder.
This is when I think she knows more than she's letting on.
See after I cleared her nose this morning, she didn't smile at me. I put her in her car seat...no smile. I sing to her in the car...no smile. I hold her at daycare...no smile. I give her to her teacher...smile.
I admit, my heart broke at that one. To think that she's mad at me and was happy to be away from me...*sigh* But I also know that she is only 4 months (yesterday) and she can't possibly be bratty like that already. Right?
...
( 11:21 AM )
Breast is Best, right?
There's a big bruhaha going on about a new PSA campaign on breastfeeding. Basically it was planned to come out and scare parents (mothers) into breastfeeding their babies. Formula companies got wind and freaked. The President of the American Academy of Pediatrics wrote a letter to Sect. Thompson of the Dept. of Health & Human Services asking to tone down the ads. Now pro-breastfeeding advocates say that the formula lobby got to the AAP. *BIG SIGH*
Listen, I breastfeed Miss Ella and plan to do so until her first birthday. That was my plan for years and so far it's working out. Around day 4 of Miss Ella's life, my breasts weren't cooperating. I was thisclose to losing it just contemplating that I would fail as a mother by subjecting her to formula. I had built up that guilt in my head from my own knowledge of breast is best. Sometimes life gets in the way and we decide to give up on breastfeeding. Should we submit new mothers to even more guilt?
The Milky Way of Doing Business by Katie Allison Granju is a good piece about the situation. Here are some good quotes:
While I understand the need to sometimes bring out the corpses to prove a point, but I am always hesitant to see anyone pressuring a mother into one way or making her feel guilty if she can't breastfeed.
I just saw an old friend over the weekend and she talked about her decision to already not breastfeed whenever she has kids. "It hurts a lot, right?" I calmly explained that yes it does, but you get use to it, the baby latches on better and that breastfeeding not only great for the baby in terms of immunity, but it offers a great way to bond. I didn't ram it down her throat. I think I'll revisit it with her at another date.
Not all moms can have access to a lactation consultant or get to one to help get thru the rough spots. Not all moms can breastfeed exculsively for six months. Not all can pump at work. There has to be a better way to push breast is best without making us moms feel even more guilty.
#:::
( 1:03 PM )
Ella's First Christmas
Miss Ella had what one could only label a hands-down-fabu-Christmas. As expected, grandparents & aunties spoiled her diapered tush rotten. My younger sister took advantage of a local Kids-R-Us going out of business and bought up a ton of summer clothes in what we hope is the right size. My dad bought a few "My First Christmas" outfits that she either slept in that night or pooped in the next day. Ah, babies.
The hubby & I agreed to only buy her one gift. I lied. I bought her my own lil gift of a shirt & sweater that I couldn't leave on the sale rack. Our big gift was a Megasaucer Activity Center. She plays with one like this at daycare and LOVES it. So we thought, why not?
It's funny to watch her in it. She plays with one toy, gets bored, whirls around and finds something else to play with. She can't stand up flat-footed in it, so she holds on to something just behind her and yanks herself around. It's a hoot!
The hubby took a ton of pics of Miss Ella in her pile of gifts. My favorite is above. I even had it printed out at CVS for framing.
Ella's other special 'gift' for Christmas was the yumminess of bananas. Yes, Miss Ella is eating solids and has mastered rice cereal & oatmeal enough to add bananas to the mix.
She LOVES to eat. She starts to grunt and yell if we're eating and she's not. Of course, with the change in diet comes a change in poop. There are times when having a faulty nose comes in handy.
ps: Congrats to Shana on the arrival of Max. Obviously he didn't get the memo on arriving on my birthday. Hmph!
#:::
( 9:41 AM )
Family Evolutions
Thanks to Dawn, I have a new place to buy Miss Ella some clothing her daddy is going to (not) love. I'm so bad and Dawn is my enabler.
#:::
( 11:20 AM )
TMI - You were warned!
Maybe I'm too truthful, but I also feel like that is why I feel that a lot of my child-free girlfriends ask me so many questions. I don't mince words when it comes to having Ella. She's the best thing that I've accomplished, but also the hardest.
While I have lost a lot of weight since having her, I still am struggling with my body image. So after reading Postpartum Body Image and Weight Loss, I feel better. I feel better cause it just confirms what my inner voice has been telling me. That it's normal, that it will take time.
I went to one La Leche League meeting before I had Ella. One of the leaders was talking about how a father had called asking them to tell his pregnant daughter that breastfeeding won't make your boobs sag. So here I am, four months into breastfeeding and I gotta tell ya grrls, they do. Before Ella, I had great boobs. I didn't need a push-up bra, no padding necessary. The grrls are still nice, but I know once I stop breastfeeding, I'm making a beeline to Victoria's Secret for a great push-up bra. I'm just going to need the extra support. Althou, I am hoping that they are smaller than pre-Ella...maybe I can finally fit into a button-down shirt!
Motherhood: The toughest job you'll hate and love.
Thanks to Ms. Lauren for the link!
#:::
( 9:37 AM )
Snowmen & Holding Hands
Ella shares her daycare room with two other girls. One is 7 months-old and obviously more coordinated than Miss Ella and her other friend. Well on Monday, Miss Ella was chilling back on her Boppy pillow, stretched out as if tanning. The older girl was playing near her and decided to reach out and touch Ella. They ended up holding hands. (everyone...awwww) The teachers say it was adorable and I bet it was. The older girl must be thinking, "WOW, there's a baby in here!" lol
Yesterday Miss Ella was introduced to the wonderful world of chalk. Yup, I didn't think a 4 month-old could use chalk either, but she can. They had Ella and her girlfriend draw in construction paper and then the teachers glued cotton balls on to make snowmen. Isn't that a riot? Her first craft! I'm a little sad that I missed that, but in reality I wouldn't have even attempted it until the summer. I know I have finger painting penciled in for sometime in June. Now that should be fun!
#:::
( 12:34 PM )
Being sick with child...lesson one
This past weekend marked the first time I've been sick while a mommy and let me tell ya...IT ROYALLY SUCKED!
Thursday night I started to feel a bit icky so I did my usual routine of chugging hot teas. It didn't do the job. At the same time I noticed that Miss Ella had a runny nose. Oh, dear goddess, please don't let her get sick too! She heard my prayers and let Miss Ella just have the sniffles. *whew* But Miss Ella still wanted her mommy during her first bout of the sniffles. So by Sunday, I was fully sick, Miss Ella was cranky and we had all the fixin's for a meltdown.
Yup, Sunday evening I lost it. I put Miss Ella down in her crib and she wouldn't stay there. No amount of pleading could get her to sleep on her own, even for 5 minutes. So I picked her back up and just cried. I was tired, hungry, cold (heater had just busted), and sick. Thankfully the hubby came to the rescue and plucked Miss Ella out of my hands. I ate, she nursed, and then I went to bed.
Yesterday I stayed home while a recovered Miss Ella went off to daycare. OMG...did that help soooo much! Sadly, I'm back at work and I feel my throat starting to get icky again. I left my meds at home since I was over the allotted max dose for 24 hours. But damn, this better get better soon....the hubby's looking like he's gonna come down with it soon too. aaahhhh!!!!!!!!
#:::
( 2:53 PM )
Chubby Ella
She's not really chubby, but I've heard other people call her that many times. She's about in the 50th percentile according to her last check-up. But the label gets me itchy. I don't want her to grow up worrying about her weight. I know I can't protect her forever, but I'm bound and determined to keep family from labeling her. So of course, I clicked on this link for Mommy, Am I Fat? Helping overweight children after seeing that no one sent me anything at hotmail.
I liked the tone of this article and gave some great tips on just telling if your child was overweight. In recent days, Chicago has been a buzz with word that our public schools are jam packed with fat kids. Fingers are being pointed everywhere and today the Sun-Times takes it's jab at parents. I think we would all love to be able to put a nutritious meal on the table every night - if we could afford it. Thankfully the Sun-times article that got this started pointed that fact out.
Back to the MSN article...it's not until near the end that you realize that this piece is directed towards MOTHERS and only really deals with GIRLS who are overweight. This is the family section, right? And families can be made up of fathers, right? And sons, right? *ugh*
Again, this article is great! But I wish is addressed parents in general and kids in general. I've mentioned before that my nephew is getting a tad chubby and my in-laws rib him about it. I wish I could print this out and not have to explain, "But it holds for boys too!" Feminists get a lot of flack for pointing out when women are excluded, but you know what? We also point out when men are excluded. And that's good for everyone. With that, I bid you farewell until next week!
#:::
( 10:21 AM )
Blue bulb of doom
For those of you who have ever tried to give your cat or dog a pill, I present a new challenge: Use a bulb syringe to clear a stuffy nose from an infant and have her still love you.
Miss Ella has quite the stuffy nose. I really hope it's a baby thing and isn't a sign that she got my horrid allergy-infested nose. So what's a mom to do? Grab her while she's laying down, drop water into her nose, wait until she coughs (water goes down her lil throat, I assume), get her to smile, then BAM! Suction the hell out of her nose. It's not a nice job. Sometimes you hit the jackpot and get a bit glob of snot...then you pull the syringe out and wa-la! snot trails out.
I usually know when to do this because when I nurse her, I can hear her struggle to breath and eat. Babies should be able to do this without a problem. *sigh* This morning I did after we had some nice play time on the bed. She screamed bloody murder.
This is when I think she knows more than she's letting on.
See after I cleared her nose this morning, she didn't smile at me. I put her in her car seat...no smile. I sing to her in the car...no smile. I hold her at daycare...no smile. I give her to her teacher...smile.
I admit, my heart broke at that one. To think that she's mad at me and was happy to be away from me...*sigh* But I also know that she is only 4 months (yesterday) and she can't possibly be bratty like that already. Right?
#:::
