Congratulations!

I read a favorite blog of mine recently, Raising Arrows, and found out that after a recent miscarriage, Amy was expecting again!  I am so very happy for her.  And since she is due in January, I felt that I would share something with her, too.  It's something that I hadn't shared with anyone else yet.  And it's something that I'm not sure about sharing now.  But a very nice lady named Sarah contacted me from that Raising Arrows comment about linking up to her pregnancy blogging and I just couldn't resist.

So, yes.  Baby #7 is on the way here at our house.  Unless you count the two miscarriages we've had, then it's Baby #9.  Even though I don't really mention those to others, in my heart they are still my children and I love them.  My heart just breaks at the thought of their loss.

Well, congratulations to us!  Here is a brief overview of how things are going, thanks to My Joy-Filled Life linky.





How far along are you?  I am 9 weeks 2 days.  My baby is the size of a grape.

Yes, it's a grape tomato, but it's the same size.

Prayer requests?  I'm putting off telling people because I'm tired of the culture of death that we have.  People just don't understand the beauty of life, birth, children.  Anything more than 2 kids is considered odd.  7?  I may be locked up.  Pray for my hesitation at sharing this news.  I have God's perfect peace about the baby, but I foresee many well-meant concerns expressed by others we know.

Medical Stuff?  I saw the midwives at an unseemly early date to have an ultrasound to determine dates.  This baby was a surprise not heralded by the usual restarting of the cycles after the birth of Chicky Punk.  My next appointment isn't until July.

Cravings?  I crave to keep food down without feeling sick. 

Gender?  I don't know.  I'm feeling so sick, just like I did with all my girls.  With the boys, I felt okay.  I think it's a girl.

What I miss.... Sleeping.  I can't sleep the night for the life of me.

What I'm looking forward to.... The birth.  I'm having my second home birth and I'm very excited about it.  I loved the last one, even though it was my longest labor.

Discussion Question:  More kids? Why or why not?

Here's my thoughts on the matter.  What children we do or don't have is between me, my hubby and my God.  Being Catholic, we don't believe in "standard" birth control.  Natural Family Planning (or fertility awareness) is the way to go and it's extremely effective (99%) when used properly.  No, it's not the rhythm method of the 1960's church, but a scientific method of recognizing and charting your body's fertility signals.  You simply abstain if no pregnancy is desired.  (Many people use it "backwards" in order to achieve pregnancy.)  I used to think that was dumb, abstaining for half of the month when I just wanted to be active with my hubby.  But the older I get, the more I see how NFP works with God's plans.

So those people who wish to lynch me for "overpopulating" and "geez, get cable tv" will be hearing my new party line, which is something along the lines of "Why? Will you be raising them?" or perhaps "How is that your business?".  I am feeling confrontational about this just now.  Hello mood swing.

What scripture is speaking to you this week?  I put off this question until the last because I just didn't have an answer.  What was God saying to me this week?  After that big blowout on the discussion question, this verse came to mind:

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

What is more of God's purpose that a baby to further His kingdom?

(If you aren't a pregnant blogger, but know someone who is, please help spread the word about the link-up.  Also, if you aren't pregnant, or a blogger, please feel free to stop by the linked up blogs and offer encouragement and support if you feel led!  Thanks!)




grape tomato image via Rutgers.com

Blatently

I am nothing, if not a Pro-Life mama.  I will stand up and cry foul in the face of abortion every time.  But I simply did not realize how insidious the abortion proponents are!

A Girl Scouting tradition is in my background.  My "no time for anything" mom made time to be a leader for my troop one year.  I enjoyed the projects and camps.  But have you seen who the Girl Scouts have thrown in with?  Planned Parenthood, the abortion giant.

Look at this snippet:

Several years ago. a quarter of the Girl Scout councils nationwide admitted to partnering with Planned Parenthood, the nation’s abortion giant. When questioned about the affiliation on NBC’s “Today Show,” Girl Scout CEO Kathy Cloninger had no compunction in confirming it.

The Girl Scouts have been “pro-choice” for years, but now they’ve been caught supporting promiscuous sex for girls. The Planned Parenthood sex guide offered at that “girls only” U.N. meeting offered this advice on Page 11: “Some people have sex when they have been drinking alcohol or using drugs. This is your choice. … If you want to have sex and think you might get drunk or high, plan ahead by bringing condoms and lube or putting them close to where you usually have sex.”

Heard enough? There’s a lot more at 100questionsforthegirlscouts.org.

Earlier this month, a young Girl Scout employee, Renise Rodriguez, made the mistake of stopping by the office to do extra work on her own time in a T-shirt bearing the words: “Pray to End Abortion.” A supervisor ordered her to turn the shirt inside out or leave the office. She left, for good.

So should we all.

Cross dressers?  Boys in a girls group?  "Hot S#x" brochures?

I will not EVER let my children be involved with Girl Scouts ever again.  Period.  Not to mention that the kids' troop only get 10% of the price of a box of seriously overpriced and overrated cookies.  That $3.75 you are forking out?  The kids get 37 cents.

Walking Through Fire

A Twitter friend wrote this article and I just enjoyed reading so very much.  There is so much truth inside her words that I just couldn't NOT share it with you.  There is so much running away from the hard things in life, especially in marriage.  One out of every 2 marriages ends in divorce.  How sad is that?

True.  I have never had a divorce of my own.  But also true, my mother has been through two, so I have been through two.  My parents divorced when I was in the fifth grade.  Can you imagine what trauma that was to an on-the-cusp preteen who was already dissatisfied with her self image?  Not to mention that on top of the divorce, my mom went out and started dating immediately and eventually brought home the biggest loser of all: my physically and verbally abuse to children, unfaithful to her, first step-father.

Yes.  She apologizes left and right for this mistake.  And she is now married to the very best man around, other than my own dad.  But imagine what this taught my vulnerable self?  Marriage was temporary at best and not something to stay committed to for long.  And any old guy to hop in the sack with was okay: the kids and their feelings sure didn't matter.

I'm not saying stay married for the kids' sake, especially if the marriage is abusive.  But God doesn't want us to divorce, be abusive or make the wrong choices.  My religion tells me that no man can dissolve what He has united in marriage.

So read this article in its fullness.  Please take the time to read and ponder upon it. Pray about it.  Pray for those who feel that divorce is the easiest (and only) answer.  May God with them and you.  It starts out like this:

If ever there was a romance that started off with a bang it was ours. It was love at first sight—the kind of love affair that many have trouble believing exists until they find themselves swept up in one of their own. We fell, rolled head over heels, and saw stars. It was cliché, yes, but also extraordinary.

Continue reading Refined by Fire

Another great read by a Twitter "tweep": Hooking Up, Shacking Up & Other Marriage Busters


image courtesy MorgueFile

Cluttered English?

I found this article on Unclutterer and it sure is burning my butt. See what you think:

...demonstrators gathered in front of the hotel were adamant supporters of phonetic spelling, what they call Simplified Spelling. From a Washington Post article covering the protests:

The protesters believe English is mired by too many spellings for identical sounds and too many sounds for identical spellings. If they got their way, “you” would become “yoo,” “believe” would become “beleev” and “said” would become “sed.”
The cost of clinging to traditional spellings, they say, is millions of illiterate English speakers who struggle to read signs or get good jobs, and billions of dollars in lost productivity.
The campaign for simple spelling, which activists say started more than 100 years ago, is experiencing a revival with kids who have taken wholeheartedly to phonetic spelling in electronic messages.

And this was at the Scripps National Spelling Bee!

Seems to me that Simplified Spelling is sure smackin' of Ebonics...

Honestly, it makes me mad to think that just because something is "hard" (say it with a whine) it should be changed.

Having a baby is hard - let's drug up the mom and pass those affects onto the baby but it won't be so hard!

Breastfeeding is hard - let's formula feed and fill our children with synthetic food that has a link to adult obesity.  But it's not hard anymore!

Raising children is hard - let's hire a nanny, a babysitter, dump them on gramma because she's so experienced and has done such a good job with me!  Yay! No more hard for me...

Simplifying some things is a big black FAIL.

Offended? Pope Condoms

The Catholic Church has been around so long, it's like the original butt of all bad religious jokes, excepting maybe the Jews.  Everyone has heard a joke that starts with "A priest, a rabbi, and a (fill in the blank) go out in a boat..."  Those usually aren't too bad.

People have even poked fun at the doctrines of churches: the "excessive" laws of Orthodox Jews, the rituals of services, the idea of symbol versus real presence.  Making fun of what you don't understand seems to be natural for most people.

But when the Pope tried to make our doctrine of open-ness to procreation in every sex act more understood by making the statement that  the spread of HIV and Aids in Africa should be tackled through fidelity and abstinence and not by condoms, more hecklers in a mean spirit come to the forefront.  And this in a society of extreme tolerance.  Tisk, tisk.

I'm not a Catholic scholar.  In fact, I'm a convert who is still learning about the Church, the rich history, and the 'whys' behind them all.  And maybe I'm looking at this with a skewed perception, but Pope Condoms raise my hackles.

A Dutch company is planning on giving away what they are calling Pope Condoms to make a point about STDs and unwanted pregnancies.


Uh, what point?  We are not animals.  Humans have the ability and responsibility to control our urges, sexual and otherwise.  Just as we (should) control our urges against porn, over-eating, drugs, pediphelia, violence, too much make up and cell phones while driving, we must control our sexual urges.  We are not animals.

Says the Pope: 

 "It is of great concern that the fabric of African life, its very source of hope and stability, is threatened by divorce, abortion, prostitution, human trafficking and a contraception mentality," he added.

Agreed.  Africa has a real problem with HIV and STDs.  

Agreed.  Something must be done.  

However, education, abstinence, and virtue are the keys to stopping this plague upon men.  And just as we in America, Canada, England, Europe, are NOT ANIMALS, neither are the men and women of Africa.


I am Catholic.  I fully believe that the sex act should be reserved for the sacrament of marriage and always be open to the transmission of life.  I believe that allowing the use of contraceptives is a step on the road to hell. 

"Just one wafer thin mint" says the fat man in Monty Python before he explodes.

Just this one "lesser of two evils" says some of the clergy.

I am now braced for your hate mail.  But realize this: Who is to say that these poor people actually would use condoms? If not before, then why now?

Carbon Footprints on My Blog?

We all know that the carbon footprints we leave is a big deal.  But did you know that even your BLOG has a carbon footprint?  Me neither.  Check out this tidbit:

"A blog with 15,000 visits a month has a yearly carbon dioxide emissions of 8lb"

It really blows my mind that an electronic blog has a carbon dioxide emission.  But think about it.  Really think: the electricity comes from where?  Sure, the wall, but before and beyond that?

Blogs aren't bad.  They are my creative expression.  My way to talk with real adult people rather than the five hooligans munchkins running around here all day doing their part to drive me fully into the asylum.

Take a second and visit Make It Green! to find out how you can join in on neutralizing your own footprint on our big, beautiful world.  Join me in the cause!

We Noticed.

This has been going around the internet falsely attributed to Sherry Hackett.  The truth is that Faye Parrish of Bunnell, Florida is the artist.

President Obama:

Today I read of your administration's plan to re-define September 11 as a National Service Day. Sir, it's time we had a talk.........

During your campaign, Americans watched as you made mockery of our tradition of standing and crossing your heart when the Pledge of Allegiance was spoken. You, out of four people on the stage, were the only one not honoring our tradition.

YES, "We noticed."

During one of your many speeches, Americans heard you say that you intended to visit all 57 states. We all know that Islam, not America has 57 states.

YES, "We noticed."

When President Bush leaned over at Ground Zero and gently placed a flower on the memorial, while you nonchalantly tossed your flower onto the pile without leaning over.

YES, "We noticed."

Every time you apologized to other countries for America's position on an issue we have wondered why you don't share our pride in this great country. When you have heard foreign leaders berate our country and our beliefs, you have not defended us. In fact, you insulted the British Crown beyond belief.

YES, "We noticed."

When your pastor of 20 years, "God-damned America" and said that 9/11 was "America's chickens coming home to roost" and you denied having heard recriminations of that nature, we wondered how that could be. You later disassociated yourself from that church and Pastor Wright because it was politically expedient to do so.

YES, "We noticed."

When you announced that you would transform America, we wondered why. With all her faults, America is the greatest country on earth. Sir, KEEP THIS IN MIND, "if not for America and the people who built her, you wouldn't be sitting in the White House now." Prior to your election to the highest office in this Country, you were a senator from Illinois and from what we can glean from the records available, not a very remarkable one.

YES, "We noticed."

All through your campaign and even now, you have surrounded yourself with individuals who are basically unqualified for the positions for which you appointed them. Worse than that, the majority of them are people who, like you, bear no special allegiance, respect, or affection for this country and her traditions.

YES, "We noticed."

You are 9 months into your term and every morning millions of Americans wake up to a new horror heaped on us by you. You seek to saddle working Americans with a health care/insurance reform package that, along with cap and trade, will bankrupt this nation.

YES, "We noticed."

We seek, by protesting, to let our representatives know that we are not in favor of these crippling expenditures and we are labeled "un-American", "racist", "mob". We wonder how we are supposed to let you know how frustrated we are. You have attempted to make our protests seem isolated and insignificant. Until your appointment, Americans had the right to speak out.

YES, "We noticed."

On September 11, 2001 there were no Republicans or Democrats, only Americans. And we all grieved together and helped each other in whatever way we could. The attack on 9/11 was carried out because we are Americans.

And YES, "We noticed."

There were many of us who prayed that as a black president you could help unite this nation. In six months you have done more to destroy this nation than the attack on 9/11. You have failed us.

YES, "We noticed."

September 11 is a day of remembrance for all Americans. You propose to make 9/11 a "National Service Day". While we know that you don't share our reverence for 9/11, we pray that history will report your proposal as what it is...a disgrace.

YES, "We noticed."

You have made a mockery of our Constitution and the office that you hold. You have embarrassed and slighted us in foreign visits and policy.

YES, "We noticed."

We have noticed all these things. We will deal with you. When Americans come together again, it will be to remove you from office.

Take notice.

If you agree with this please pass it on.

No Phone Zone

I don't watch tv, much less Oprah, but I get her newsletter. And when I saw that she's advocating a No Phone Zone while driving, I was INTO that!! Since I am nothing if not caring of my fellow drivers, I'm posting the plea to join the No Phone Zone (I keep wanting to spell that with an F!) with me. Come on, you know you spell even worse when you txt and drive.

Distracted driving is a deadly past time. You can get on that Oprah site and see the stories of lives lost, children hurt, studies on what your brain actually does in these times, but please don't run the risk of hurting someone else this way. Remember that next time it could be you on the receiving end of the distracted driving accident.

I keep my teenager busy sending my txt from the passenger seat but she's not for loan. At least not today...

Telling it Like it IS!

Thought you might enjoy this interesting prayer given in Kansas at the opening session of their Senate in January 1996. It seems prayer still upsets some people.

When Minister Joe Wright was asked to open the new session of the Kansas Senate, everyone was expecting the usual generalities, but this is what they heard:

Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance.

We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good,' but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.

We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

We have killed our unborn and called it choice.

We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.

We have abused power and called it politics.

We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our fore-fathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us, Oh, God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by you, to govern this great state.

Grant them your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of your son, the living savior, Jesus Christ.

Amen!

The response was immediate. A number of legislators walked out during the prayer in protest. In 6 short weeks, Central Christian Church, where Rev. Wright is pastor, logged more than 5,000 phone calls with only 47 of those calls responding negatively.

With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called 'one nation under God.'

If you don't stand for something, you will fall for everything.

I looked for an item debunking on Snopes for this article and found nothing on numerous searches, although this prayer has been attributed to Billy Graham.

I've said it before: Please pray for our President, our country, our morals.

Compassion and Love

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, 'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'

The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.

In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to
reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell.'

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, 'I don't understand.'

'It is simple', said the Lord. 'It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves'.

'When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you'.

Prayer Opens the Windows of Heaven and Touches the Heart of God....

CPSIA Law Overly Broad

I didn't vote for Obama, but if he will make these changes, I will feel better about his presidency. I think.

Regardless of what my politics are, please write your congressional reps and the president about the upcoming CPSIA law. Here's a snippet from the summary:

"Anyone who produces or sells any of the following new or used items will be required to comply with the law: toys, books, clothing, art, educational supplies, materials for the learning disabled, bicycles, and more.

Any uncertified item intended for children under the age of 12 will be considered contraband after February 10, 2009. It will be illegal to sell or give these items away to charities, and the government will require their destruction or permanent disposal, resulting in millions of tons of unnecessary waste, and placing an enormous strain on our landfills."

Not to mention the pocketbook.

I'm all for the safety of children's goods and toys. But an overly broad law does nothing but stifle the rights of the people to give, share, donate, make.

Dear Mr Obama

Car Seat Safety - Rear Facing Rules

Help with Co-Sleeping, Bed Sharing Survey

This post taken from information on the Great Co-Sleeping Survey Site.

There is a stigma that you all have had to unfairly deal with. At the very least you have had a mother-in-law, family member, friend or even husband, negatively comment on your sleeping arrangement with your child.

That was bad enough.

There is a bigger problem on the horizon however. That very special parenting choice that you had the instinct to make is now being considered “NEGLECT” by public health officials and may someday be illegal. There is something that YOU can do about it. The kind efforts and commitment to your child may have originally just been a personal experience. One you might have wanted, or needed to keep private. You may have been LUCKY enough to be able to tell everyone you wanted to about co-sleeping and bed-sharing’s wonderful effects on your child. Either way, that choice needs to become a part of something bigger now, and can no longer go unnoticed. Your co-sleeping experience, united with others, can change the public course of co-sleeping discrimination. Your choice needs to be counted!

Now is your chance to show the world that Safe co-sleeping and bed-sharing is safe. Click here to take our survey. This number will give solace and choice to women who respond to this very basic parenting instinct, like you have.

Interestingly enough, much of the organized negativity comes from crib manufacturers. They are probably scorned about your original choice not to use their product. Some people are saying that co-sleeping and bed-sharing causes SIDS. SIDS organizations are endorsing media that intends to confuse SIDS deaths with co-sleeping/bed-sharing.

Why are SIDS organizations expanding their mission statements to include “all infant deaths”? The purpose of a SIDS organization should be to support those who have been affected by SIDS. They should embrace the common factors found in properly diagnosed SIDS deaths, champion the scientific efforts to end SIDS, and tirelessly be working to put themselves out of business. They should stay away from co-sleeping where SIDS does not happen. Co-sleeping deaths are due to positional and accidental asphyxiation, not SIDS.

By answering this short survey you can help give respect and recognition to yourself and the many families who co-sleep safely. Click here to take our survey, and please visit the Co-Sleeping In The News section regularly for updates.

We believe that some parenting choices, like bed-sharing or co-sleeping, can mean big things to a lot of different people. One thing is guaranteed, your children will love you for it. Everyone else in your life will fall into one of two groups. One group will support and understand your choice, the other will scorn you. We are trying to prove that there are many people co-sleeping and bed-sharing safely, just like you. This survey and its results will provide relief for anyone who has ever felt “pressure”, or is currently under “scrutiny” from the second group.

The Great Co-sleeping Survey is simply a decision by US to include YOU as a monument to stand up to people who say that YOU DO NOT EXIST, or that you are a BAD PARENT. We believe that in a large number, and complied in an easy to understand format, it will mean something different.

In reference to people visiting this site antagonistically or who would label a good co-sleeping parent as neglectful, or say that safe co-sleeping and bed-sharing is not possible, WE ARE THE ORGANIZERS OF SOMETHING YOU WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HIDE. The statistics gained here are from generations of women that are willing to tell you that you are WRONG.

So, in many ways now that the groundwork has been laid, YOU are “The Great Co-sleeping Survey”. And we thank you very much for that, as it is something that we truly believe in.

send emails, comments and questions to Support@Co-SleepingSurvey.com

Gramps and Hector

Grampa on the Farm (my dad) and Hector (stuffed vulture). Notice, Hector is no longer wearing the bib he sported when my brother announced his impending fatherhood - it went straight to baby Ella!



Coming tomorrow: More about safe bed sharing.

BPA and Baby Bottles - Deadly Combo

I'm very pro breastfeeding but I realize that it doesn't work out for everyone. When I found this information about bottles, my fingers turned white from the clench and red swam before my eyes!

After years of concern about the safety of baby bottles, children's care products, and other food and beverage containers which contain the chemical bisphenol A (BPA), the verdict is in--and it's not good.

In the past few weeks the Canadian government announced it is planning to ban the use of BPA in baby bottles, and declared BPA dangerous.[1] And the Los Angeles Times reported that the U.S. based National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that there is "some concern" that babies, fetuses, and children are in danger because BPA harms animals at the low levels found in nearly all human bodies.[2] Sadly, a recent study found this chemical in all five leading brands of American baby bottles.

WHAT DOES BPA DO? Growing children are especially at risk to chemicals as they face greater exposure per pound of body weight. Even fetuses are susceptible as chemicals, including BPA, cross the placenta in pregnant women. Over 130 studies suggest that BPA exposure, even at low doses, is linked to many health problems, including early puberty, breast and prostate cancer, obesity, attention and hyperactivity disorder, brain damage, altered immune system, and lower sperm counts.[3]

This is a widespread issue which we need to address together. Recent reports found that all five leading brands of baby bottles leached BPA at levels found to cause harm in numerous laboratory studies.[4]

It is time for all parents to take action!

Great News! The voices of mothers are being heard. Last week Toys"R"Us, Babies"R"Us, and CVS announced they'll stop selling baby bottles which contain BPA, and Playtex committed to stop using BPA in all of their baby bottles by the year's end.

If you'd like to support this movement and help make the 20,000 signatures required, please follow this link: Moms Rising. Sign on now and we’ll send the petition to the CEOs of Avent, Disney/First Years, Dr. Brown’s, Evenflo, Gerber, and Playtex in collaboration with Center for Health, Environment, & Justice and other organizations.



Pssst - Don't forget Mother's Day - May 11th!!

Support Breast Feeding Bill

Dear Bloggy Buddy-

I just signed the Statement of Support for Breastfeeding Mothers, and I hope you will too. Why? Well, doctors agree that breastmilk is best for infants, but their own licensing board isn't following doctor's orders. Sophie Currier recently learned that when it comes to supporting breastfeeding, many of our leaders--whether they are in the medical establishment (as in Sophie's case), business sector, or elsewhere--still don't "walk the talk." You see, Sophie was denied breast pumping breaks during her nine hour medical licensing exam. She's not alone. Even in this day and age when the medical evidence is clear that breastfeeding is best for infants, women are regularly denied the time and location to pump.

JOIN ME IN SUPPORTING THE BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION ACT! Sign the Statement of Support for breastfeeding moms everywhere now: "Health care professionals inform us that breastfeeding is the best possible way to ensure that babies thrive. In turn, we must ensure that breastfeeding mothers are able to breastfeed, and given the time and environment to pump at work or during other professional obligations." Congress and the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) need to hear that breastfeeding must be supported for all moms, and that we support the Breastfeeding Promotion Act which is currently before Congress.

*To sign the Statement of Support for breastfeeding moms, just go to: http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/momsrising/signUp.jsp?key=2614&t=petition.dwt

After you sign the Statement of Support, please forward this email to friends and family so they can sign on as well! Your voice can make a difference: When a subsidiary of Delta Airlines kicked a woman off an airplane for breastfeeding, we sent them a petition with more than 20,000 MomsRising signatures, and shortly afterwards the airline apologized and instituted a new training program for their employees.

STAND WITH SOPHIE, JANEE, AND MOTHERS ACROSS THE NATION! Women like Janee McConnell could also use the Breastfeeding Promotion Act. Janee worked in a grocery store that had a health consciousness she admired. She was such a committed employee that she rose to a management job quickly and was called a "rock star" by the other employees. After her third child was born, she tried to pump at work but there was no private place to go other than a dirty, windowless electrical room. When her milk supply dropped she spoke up but store management was unsympathetic. She resigned from her management position and eventually from the store all together.

Frankly, we all lose when we don't support mothers--businesses lose excellent employees, infants lose important nutrients, and women lose needed jobs. No mom should have to choose between keeping her job and feeding her baby and protecting her own health.

SHARE YOUR STORY: Many of us mothers know personally what it's like to juggle breastfeeding babies and work. Some of us have also experienced the pain of engorgement and the risk of mastitis when feeding or pumping doesn't occur every few hours. Stories like this are common. You may even have experienced something similar yourself. *Share your story on our blog at: http://www.momsrising.org/node/573

All too often women aren't able to breastfeed their babies even though the American Academy of Pediatrics tells us it's one of the most important things we can do for a child's health. Let's send a strong message together that it's time to "walk the talk" for healthy infants and mothers.




*Don't forget to sign the Statement of Support to tell the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) and Congress that we want breastfeeding to be supported for all moms--and to forward this email to friends so they can sign on too. Just click here to sign on now: http://www.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizationsORG/momsrising/signUp.jsp?key=2614&t=petition.dwt

Thank you!

Click to Give - Breast Cancer Awareness

My cousin was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. She knew around November that she was ill and didn't tell me until almost February. B and her husband wanted to take care to keep it to themselves, I understand. She chose the non-surgery option and is very closed mouth about it. She lives in the town just south of me, about 20 minutes away, but I don't see her much anymore.

The kicker is that B is just 35 or so. Just a few years older than me. B and T have 5 kids from age 11 to about 2. How they are managing I just don't know. What can I do to help?

How about this: Click to give at The Breast Cancer Site. Every day you can help fund free mammograms for women. The sponsors of the site pay the money, you Just. Click. Daily. 100% of the funds go to charity.

If you want to give more, shop at the Breast Cancer Site store - lots of goodies in there.

Click for my gramma, a survivor. Click for B, a mom of 5 and not yet 40. Click for your sister, mother, aunt, cousin, gramma.

Just. Click. Daily.

How Do I Feel?

I have a shirt that says "Not Fat... Just Pregnant" and one that says "Who's Barefoot?" but I'd like one like this:


Only it would say my actual due date, 19 July, and that it's a boy, and it would add "STOP ASKING ME HOW I FEEL!!!!"

I feel 6 months pregnant. 22 weeks. Cranky, tired, hungry, and I just "failed" my 3 hour glucose test.

Grrrr....

However:
The baby is measuring exactly on the dates predicted by conception and is beautiful. The Drs use these extremely unpredictable and results un-reproduceable glucose tests to tell if a woman has gestational diabetes or not.

I have issues with the whole test and should have just refused it. After all, who fasts 10 hours and then drinks 100 grams of straight sugar water and then doesn't move at all (no exercise allowed) or eat anything else (to help absorb the sugar). I also didn't take my insulin resistant meds that day until after lunch because of the no food thing (you are supposed to take them with food).

I'm rambling, but it makes me mad! Long story short(er): I failed my gestational diabetes challenge and will have to "control" it with diet. Which I was already doing by eating the right way. I will refuse any other tests or interventions that come with this false diagnosis and just keep doing the correct eating and exercise, which is what they tell you to do with this dx, anyway.

Good article: Henci Goer




And how come no one read my awesome post on the 2 new car seats I picked out?

Stems Cells in Breast Milk

This article is the most awesome thing I've read on the internet in a while! I'm no scientist and don't know what is viable for research or how things like that work, but I do find this information highly intriguing. Imagine that this source of stem cells is available without killing babies!!

Here's a quote:

[W]hat Dr Mark Cregan is excited about right now is the promise that his discovery could be the start of many more exciting revelations about the potency of breast milk.

He believes that it not only meets all the nutritional needs of a growing infant but contains key markers that guide his or her development into adulthood.

“We already know how breast milk provides for the baby’s nutritional needs, but we are only just beginning to understand that it probably performs many other functions,” says Dr Cregan, a molecular biologist at The University of Western Australia.

I've been saying it for a long time. Breast milk is SUPER FOOD! It gives me superpowers, I think - WAIT!! I need a superhero name now! Super Mom? Wonder Mom? Milk Machine Wonderific?

As an accredited La Leche League leader, I can tell you that any amount of breastfeeding, even just ONCE, is of more value to your baby than none at all.

See more of this article at ScienceAlert.com