Tuesday, January 13, 2009
One Year Check-up
JD had his one year check-up last week. He was 31.5" (90th percentile) and 22 lbs 12 ounces (50th percentile). I guess that means he's tall and skinny, but he looks just about perfect to me!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Splash Lagoon
Jeff, JD and I spent New Year's Day, JD's birthday and our anniversary in Erie at Splash Lagoon. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Update Your Address Books
Because my Alltel e-mail address is going defunct and I don't particularly like Windstream's online web program, I'm switching to Gmail. Please update your address books to jmw280@gmail.com.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
Happy New Year
I can't believe that it's 2009 already, and in case anybody else is counting, Jeff has made it to the one year post-transplant mark without too much trouble. Yay for that!
Now, back to all of these great comments.
Rachael - It took my milk almost 3 full days to come in, but I was in the hospital and was able to get lots of advice from some excellent consultants. I believe that most babies can handle the time between birth and their mother's milk coming in with just the colostrum that they are getting, but JD's mouth got quite a bit dry. So, the lactation consultant suggested we give him an ounce or so of formula, and then had me pump after every feeding for the next 8 hours or so. The pumping, along with the regular feedings helped my milk to come a bit sooner, so thankfully, that was the last bit of formula he had to get.
As nursing becomes more and more commonplace, issues like you had will be much less likely to happen, because there will always be someone around to help who has already been through the nursing process. But you are right, nobody should make you feel ashamed for doing what you needed to do. I do hope that if you have any more babies that you will give it another try. For me, nursing has been one of the most wonderful things about being a mom, and when JD is done, I know I will miss it. I truly believe it's been the most worthwhile and rewarding thing I've ever done.
Now, back to all of these great comments.
Rachael - It took my milk almost 3 full days to come in, but I was in the hospital and was able to get lots of advice from some excellent consultants. I believe that most babies can handle the time between birth and their mother's milk coming in with just the colostrum that they are getting, but JD's mouth got quite a bit dry. So, the lactation consultant suggested we give him an ounce or so of formula, and then had me pump after every feeding for the next 8 hours or so. The pumping, along with the regular feedings helped my milk to come a bit sooner, so thankfully, that was the last bit of formula he had to get.
As nursing becomes more and more commonplace, issues like you had will be much less likely to happen, because there will always be someone around to help who has already been through the nursing process. But you are right, nobody should make you feel ashamed for doing what you needed to do. I do hope that if you have any more babies that you will give it another try. For me, nursing has been one of the most wonderful things about being a mom, and when JD is done, I know I will miss it. I truly believe it's been the most worthwhile and rewarding thing I've ever done.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
By the Way
My last post certainly wasn't meant to offend anyone, and I hope it didn't. I'm just trying to point out that society needs to be more supportive of nursing mothers, so that more mothers nurse.
Also, it certainly is not necessary to show your breast while nursing in public. In fact, you can almost do it so that no one knows you're nursing. Personally, I do not nurse in public because I feel like I'll make someone uncomfortable, which of course, is part of the problem. If pictures of mothers nursing make Facebook uncomfortable enough to remove them, I'm quite sure that a real-live nursing mother is going to make someone uncomfortable. I'm also afraid that I'll get a disgusted look from someone, a look meant to make me feel like I'm doing something shameful. And, I certainly do not want to feel shame about doing what's best for my baby.
Monkey see, monkey do.
Also, it certainly is not necessary to show your breast while nursing in public. In fact, you can almost do it so that no one knows you're nursing. Personally, I do not nurse in public because I feel like I'll make someone uncomfortable, which of course, is part of the problem. If pictures of mothers nursing make Facebook uncomfortable enough to remove them, I'm quite sure that a real-live nursing mother is going to make someone uncomfortable. I'm also afraid that I'll get a disgusted look from someone, a look meant to make me feel like I'm doing something shameful. And, I certainly do not want to feel shame about doing what's best for my baby.
Monkey see, monkey do.
Some Thoughts I Just Can’t Keep to Myself
There’s been a minor little story in the news lately about a group of mothers, women and other supporters that have banned together on Facebook to protest the required removal of pictures from Facebook that contain any portion of the areola, including pictures of mothers breast-feeding their children. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am an ardent supporter of breastfeeding, and anytime I read something like this it really fires me up. I hope you don’t all think I’m beating a dead horse here, but I need to say some things.
First of all, breast-feeding is the absolute best thing you can do for your baby. It is the gold standard. Anything you give your infant that is not breast milk is inferior. These days, that little bit of knowledge is pretty common, and yet, many, many women in the United States choose not to breast-feed their babies. Why is this? I have a theory, and of course, I’m going to share it.
American society and our economy are consumer-driven. Formula is a consumer product that is sold, marketed, and, shamelessly advertised as an acceptable alternative to breast-milk. People will buy anything, and they think that if they are buying something for their baby, then they must be doing something good. Now, you may have noticed that every formula commercial ever made has a little disclaimer at the bottom that says, “Breast-milk is best,” or something very similar. Yes, they actually admit that breast-milk is best, but convey that if you can’t breast-feed, then formula is acceptable. I guess my definition of acceptable does not include babies that are sick more often, constipated, more likely to develop childhood diseases, more likely to be allergic, more likely to get diaper rash, and a whole host of other things that I’m leaving out. (And those are just benefits for the baby – the mother gets a whole host of them, too.)
I am well aware that a very, very small percentage of women truly cannot breast-feed their children, and for them, I feel awful. To me, not being able to nurse my baby would be devastating. However, most of the excuses that women give about not being able to breast-feed or choosing not to breast-feed are just that – excuses.
American society has told them it is okay to give their babies formula, and what I’m saying is that it is not okay. Our society needs to change some things so that women can feel more confident and empowered and make the right choice. We have to accept that a naked breast is not just a symbol for sex, but a symbol of nurture, nutrition and motherly-love. People have to stop being uncomfortable around a women that is nursing. If a nursing mother becomes a more widespread site in the public arena, then women will begin to feel as comfortable nursing their babies in front of others as they are giving them a bottle. Nursing would begin to become common place, and more and more mothers would just believe, recognize, acknowledge and accept that when you have a baby, you nurse a baby. These basic, simple changes need to occur so that we can do what’s best for our babies and for society.
First of all, breast-feeding is the absolute best thing you can do for your baby. It is the gold standard. Anything you give your infant that is not breast milk is inferior. These days, that little bit of knowledge is pretty common, and yet, many, many women in the United States choose not to breast-feed their babies. Why is this? I have a theory, and of course, I’m going to share it.
American society and our economy are consumer-driven. Formula is a consumer product that is sold, marketed, and, shamelessly advertised as an acceptable alternative to breast-milk. People will buy anything, and they think that if they are buying something for their baby, then they must be doing something good. Now, you may have noticed that every formula commercial ever made has a little disclaimer at the bottom that says, “Breast-milk is best,” or something very similar. Yes, they actually admit that breast-milk is best, but convey that if you can’t breast-feed, then formula is acceptable. I guess my definition of acceptable does not include babies that are sick more often, constipated, more likely to develop childhood diseases, more likely to be allergic, more likely to get diaper rash, and a whole host of other things that I’m leaving out. (And those are just benefits for the baby – the mother gets a whole host of them, too.)
I am well aware that a very, very small percentage of women truly cannot breast-feed their children, and for them, I feel awful. To me, not being able to nurse my baby would be devastating. However, most of the excuses that women give about not being able to breast-feed or choosing not to breast-feed are just that – excuses.
American society has told them it is okay to give their babies formula, and what I’m saying is that it is not okay. Our society needs to change some things so that women can feel more confident and empowered and make the right choice. We have to accept that a naked breast is not just a symbol for sex, but a symbol of nurture, nutrition and motherly-love. People have to stop being uncomfortable around a women that is nursing. If a nursing mother becomes a more widespread site in the public arena, then women will begin to feel as comfortable nursing their babies in front of others as they are giving them a bottle. Nursing would begin to become common place, and more and more mothers would just believe, recognize, acknowledge and accept that when you have a baby, you nurse a baby. These basic, simple changes need to occur so that we can do what’s best for our babies and for society.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Merry Christmas
Well, Christmas is winding down, and I thought I better wish everyone who still reads things a Merry one, and a Happy New Year. Our Christmas Eve party was lots of fun, and we enjoyed our first holiday season as a three human family very much. (In reality, we're a 5 member family, because I can't forget about my first and second babies, Hallie and Chance.)
JD did a great job on Christmas morning opening his gifts one at a time, and very slowly. He played with each one, toyed with the paper, tugged on the bows and tortured the dogs in between gifts. He had no idea why he was opening boxes, but it was very entertaining for Jeff and me.
My Dad headed to Vegas on Christmas Day so I'll have to be posting more often with lots of pictures. I don't know how he's going to leave the little bugger for so long, so I guess I'll have to keep him informed. You gotta love the internet.
I got Jeff an electronic drum set, which was a huge surprise for him. He's been playing it non-stop, so I'm pretty sure he likes it. He got me a locket with two tiny little pictures of JD...it's the best gift I've ever gotten.
JD got lots of toys, but our best gift this Christmas was watching him learn to walk over the holidays. He's hobbling from room to room now, after only being able to take a few steps a week ago. What a boy!
JD did a great job on Christmas morning opening his gifts one at a time, and very slowly. He played with each one, toyed with the paper, tugged on the bows and tortured the dogs in between gifts. He had no idea why he was opening boxes, but it was very entertaining for Jeff and me.
My Dad headed to Vegas on Christmas Day so I'll have to be posting more often with lots of pictures. I don't know how he's going to leave the little bugger for so long, so I guess I'll have to keep him informed. You gotta love the internet.
I got Jeff an electronic drum set, which was a huge surprise for him. He's been playing it non-stop, so I'm pretty sure he likes it. He got me a locket with two tiny little pictures of JD...it's the best gift I've ever gotten.
JD got lots of toys, but our best gift this Christmas was watching him learn to walk over the holidays. He's hobbling from room to room now, after only being able to take a few steps a week ago. What a boy!
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