Cedar's Birth story

*Here's my birth story. I wrote it last year about a week after he was born. It was on my doula blog so some may have read it. Cedar Knox Richards was born on June 29, 2010. It was a beautiful and enjoyable (yes, I said enjoyable) home birth!!*

Let's just say first of all, I'm not a very good client of myself as a doula!! :) I tell my clients all the right stuff, but it's hard to take your own advice. I started getting very antsy and ready to have this baby about 2 weeks before this baby was due. Now, in all fairness, I have to say that most of this was due to anxiety of how big the baby was going to be. My last baby was 11 lb. 4 oz. and she had shoulder dystocia. So I didn't want this baby to get that big. Plus, my labor with my last one was 9 hours long with 2 hours of transition because of her size. I didn't want that again either!! So I talked with my midwife about some natural labor progression techniques. I used some of the ones that I have put in my blog before. I used some homeopathics, borage oil, and then castor oil. None of it worked!! That was about 3 or 4 days before my due date. My midwife said she wasn't worried about the size of the baby at that point. She did not think it was going to be nearly as big as the last. So she told me just to relax and wait. So I did....

Three days after my due date, on June 28th, I went in to my midwife's office for my scheduled appointment. I had been 4 cm, 90% effaced, at 0 station for four days now!! I had been woken up nightly with huge contractions--each time thinking "this HAS to be it" only to have them fizzle out after a few. I had had diarrhea for a couple of nights in a row as well, and I had lost my mucus plug a few days earlier. I couldn't imagine what was keeping this baby in!! I knew though that all the signs were there, and my body was ready!! After checking me, my midwife said that none of the above had changed, but really, I couldn't be much more ready!! She did say, though, as she manually felt the baby that she thought it was definitely time to get baby out. She said she estimated about 9 1/2 pounds. And although we both agreed that I could certainly handle that, we didn't want to push it any further--especially since we couldn't know for sure!! So we agreed that if nothing happened that day, she would come that night and rupture my membranes (break my water) to get the contractions really going. I obviously had some oxytocin working there to get the contractions going but just couldn't keep them strong.

All day I had regular contractions--just not really strong ones. But I knew my body was in early labor (I think it had been for a week!) So my midwife came that night around 10. Oh, I forgot to say earlier that I had tested positive for Group B Strep so I was going to have to have 2 rounds of antibiotics while in labor before the baby was born. That was a reason as well to try to "control" the labor as much as possible--to make sure I got those. If not, the baby would have had to have a blood work up afterward. I wanted to avoid that if possible. So that afternoon around 5, I went into the birth center and got my first dose of antibiotics. I got the second dose at 10 when she got to my house. She checked me and my cervix had dilated to 5 cm at that point. She felt really good about that because she said she really liked moms to be at least 5 cm if they needed their water broken. So at 10:30, she broke my water. 

Contractions still continued to feel the same but just came closer together for about an hour. I timed them for about 30 minutes just to see. They were about 4-5 minutes apart and about 1 minute long--pretty standard for knowing you are in labor. Around 11:30, I started feeling like they were getting a lot stronger. I got on the birthing ball and got my husband. He sat behind me and rubbed my back and especially my lower back. I leaned over the footboard of the bed while I swayed on the ball. His counter pressure on my lower spine really helped relieve the pain of the contractions. He HATES using oil to massage so this was a huge sacrifice for him b/c I made him use a lot! :) He did some hip squeezes and good massage for about 45 minutes. It was amazing as I was sitting on the ball, completely in tune with my body. I could feel the baby turning and descending even more. I could feel every move he made and knew that he would be making his arrival soon! Around 12:15 I sent my husband to tell my midwife that I was ready for the bathtub. Contractions were coming fast and strong. And I knew I was about 7 cm. She wanted to check my vitals first, but when I had three contractions right on top of each other she said, "Just get in!!"

The water was such a huge relief. It truly is the natural epidural for me! Once I get in, I get a break in my contractions for probably a good 7 to 8 minutes. They started back up though coming fast and strong. I couldn't get the water as high as I wanted to cover my whole abdomen so my husband poured water over my stomach over and over. That felt great, and it was so much harder during the ones where my midwife was checking the baby with the doppler and he had to stop! I was in the bathtub for probably about 30 minutes when things REALLY  started getting hard. I knew transition was coming--I just didn't know how long it would take!! Those last 2 cm are the real test of labor. I knew to just relax and surrender to what my body was doing. That's the only way. When you fight labor pains, it makes it longer and harder. So all my concentration went into relaxing every part of my body and telling myself exactly what I tell my clients--that my body is doing exactly what it's made to do, trust my body, and allow it to open up and let my baby descend out. I started to groan with my contractions, making sure that my throat was open and never closed. Your sphincters are related so when your throat is closed, your cervix has a harder time opening up. My body was shaking all over, and I knew I was in the middle of transition and the end was near. I could do this. I am strong, and my body is capable. I only had about four transitional contractions and I had to push. I told my midwife, and she had me breathe through one pushing contraction. She checked for fetal heart tones with her doppler. We both knew that I would need to get out of the tub. We didn't think that I'd have the same problem with shoulder dystocia, but we both felt better about me being in the bed--just in case. 

I stood up to get out and had another pushing contraction. I grabbed onto my husband but had to sit on the edge of the tub. I was seriously afraid that the baby was going to come out right there. I could feel the baby's head coming! I knew from previous experience that I was not going to have to push very many times to get this baby out. After that one, my husband helped me quickly to the bed, called in all the entourage of people (plus our children) who were there to witness this blessed event, and we were almost there! 

As the kids came in with their sleepy eyes and bedhead, they had many emotions. The older ones were totally excited while my five year old was a little apprehensive. I had talked to them all about it before, and they knew that they could leave if they wanted. I asked them if they wanted to stay or leave, and all of them wanted to stay. I got another urge to push and pushed the baby's head out with that one. My midwife told me that the whole head was out--which meant that there was no dystocia. I was so relieved!! I looked around at all the beautiful faces of all of my precious miracles witnessing this one, and I was overwhelmed with gratefulness. They were in awe. After a couple of minutes I gave one last huge push to get the shoulders and body out, and immediately my baby was on my chest--as pink as he could be from the beginning! It was 1:26 am--less than 3 hours after she ruptured my membranes. I didn't even think to look and see what the sex was (because we hadn't found out) until my midwife asked! :) I lifted him up and saw that my "hunch" had been right. He was indeed a boy! I announced that he was boy and then made the long awaited announcement of his name (which we had also kept a secret) "Cedar Knox Richards." He didn't scream right away, but he was breathing great. He was just peaceful and calm. His birth was amazingly quick and empowering--right in the comfort of our own home. There were 15 people in the room at the time of the birth--all people who will care for and love Cedar and be a part of his life. I couldn't ask for more for my baby--to be welcomed into this world by all this love! We all laughed and celebrated together at the miracle of another child of God.

We waited for the placenta to detach and be expelled naturally. Then we waited for the cord to stop pulsating before it was clamped. My husband cut the cord along with two of my children who wanted to "help." After drinking some orange juice and celebrating, I put Cedar to my breast. He immediately knew what to do, and didn't even need prompting!! He nursed for about 20 minutes on one side. I then gave him to my midwife to weigh, measure and check over. He weighed 9 lb. 9 0z. and was 20 1/2 in. I'd say my midwife is a pretty good estimator of weight!! :) She gave him back, and he nursed on the other side for another 20 minutes or so. 

This is one of the many reasons I love homebirth!! Maybe if I could get the hospitals to add king size
beds in the delivery rooms to accommodate my amazing kids after the birth, I might
consider birthing there!! :) No, not really!

Eventually, the room cleared, and my husband and I were left with our precious miracle. It was about  3:45 am at that point. My husband was exhausted, but I had that adrenaline rush that wouldn't let me sleep!! I spent most of the night staring at my new bundle. I went to sleep around 5:30 I think.

I'm still in awe of how God has blessed my life with all six of these amazing miracles. Motherhood is an overwhelming joy and an overwhelming job! It's my privilege and joy to be able to help other women as they enter this sacred calling.

Nursing older babies/toddlers

It's been forever since I've had a post. I think about it, and then I can't find a time to write. Then when I have time to write, I can't think of what I wanted to write about!!

But I've been thinking lately about what it's like to nurse an older baby in public. I've nursed my last four babies way beyond a year and up to two years. But after they start eating solid food, there usually isn't a huge need to nurse them when you aren't at home just because it's easier a lot of time to give them food when they are hungry. Now, there are times when it's more necessary.... when they are tired, hurt, whatever. But in general, I've personally found it easier just to nurse them at home and give them something easy to satisfy them when we are out.

The reasons for this are many. One reason is that older babies are more likely to "pop off" for no reason or without notice! :) Any sudden sound or noise or someone who comes up and talks usually peaks their curiosity. They need to look around to see what this new noise is--usually leaving you exposed for a second or two until you can get covered. While this doesn't really bother me, I am aware that there are others around that may take issue and (contrary to popular belief) I do like to be sensitive to their feelings! Another reason is because even if you do use a cover when babies are small, by the time they are older they are usually not as happy to be under that cover while nursing. Older babies (mine anyway) also tend to move around a lot. Mine seem to get up on their feet and dance around while still continuing to nurse. It's truly amazing that they can do this. But they do!! It's quite hard to control when you're out in public.

So in saying all that, my reasoning for writing this is because with Cedar I've found myself having to nurse him as an older baby out in public way more than my others. He will be a year on the 29th, and he's a big baby anyway so people tend to notice, make comments, etc. The reason that I find that I need to nurse him more is that he's gluten free. If I don't have a snack already prepared (which I usually don't because I'm not that organized) then I can't just give him crackers from the salad bar or goldfish from the nursery. I can't break little pieces of bread to appease him before his meal (usually consisting of fruit, chicken salad, beans or a baked potato depending on where we are dining--since we usually frequent the same places.) So I end up nursing him to keep him happy. I have noticed many more looks and stares in the last couple of months.

Even though I don't use a cover (because I think it screams "I'm nursing a baby under here") I'm very discreet. I have many people come all the way up and say "Oh, do you have a sleeping baby?" As long as he's still, that is! When he decides to do his "nursing dance" there's not a lot I can do about it. I still make sure I'm covered, but I just do my best to keep his dancing to a minimum.

But even with all of this, I've found people's comments interesting. I haven't had anyone say anything negative--mainly because I haven't had any comments from anyone I didn't know. I've certainly had looks from people I didn't know, but not comments. But the comments have mainly come at church and most of them in the nursery. Ha! I've been amused by how many people ask, "Um, exactly how old is he?" :) It does make me laugh. This is usually from women in their 50's or 60's. I think many of them didn't nurse because that was the big formula push in America. So I've found that some of them seem a little uncomfortable with nursing all together. So when you throw in the whole idea of nursing a baby who actually has teeth and can walk (oh the horrors) it just wigs them out! Like I said, if they don't see me start to nurse in the first place, they usually don't know what I'm doing. So they come up and see if he's asleep. Usually when they talk is when he does his whole "popping off" thing, and they kind of freak out. It's actually rather amusing. So that's when the question inevitably comes, "How old is he?" It's like they've heard of people out there nursing their babies beyond 6 months, but they didn't know that they actually knew someone who did it! :)

Thankfully, another friend of mine at church is still nursing her almost 13 month old as well. This is also her 6th child so we are just plain weird together!! :) One day we were in the nursery together nursing, and the volunteer who was in there was just kind of overwhelmed. I didn't really notice it at first, but then she asked the question, "Exactly how old are they?" I felt like giggling. That was when he was only 10 months and she was 11 months, but it was still quite the big deal.

I'm trying to do my part to normalize nursing older babies/toddlers for a year and beyond. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends nursing for 2 years and then beyond that for whatever time is mutually enjoyable for mother and baby. This just means that as long as mommy and baby are both happy with the situation--go for it! The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has always recommended nursing "at least" one year and has recently changed their stance to two years. When you look at the amazing health benefits of breast milk, you really can't argue with it. It's physically and emotionally healthy for babies and their mommies. And I think that normalizing 'nursing in public' makes it easier for women to continue the breastfeeding relationship which is so important between mommy and baby. Personally, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Happy Birthday, Breck!!

As you can see, he was a chunk!! This was about 2 1/2 months.

This year my sweet Breck shared his birthday with Easter. It's always hard to share your birthday with a holiday. It makes me feel really sorry for anyone whose birthday is on Christmas!! It's hard to get it all fit in during the day or even weekend! But since I started this year posting their birth stories on their birthdays, I'll do that with his today.

Breck's birth was so amazing because he was my first home birth! I had a midwife for my first, but he was born in a hospital in Chattanooga. After we moved to Naples, I found out that midwives were not allowed to attend births in the hospital here so I set out to find out more about alternative avenues. I had done lots of studying about home births and water births when I was going through infertility for all those years so I was pretty informed. I knew what I wanted. Convincing my husband was a little bit different!

After we adopted Liza-Hill, I found out that I was pregnant with Breck when she was almost 6 months old. What a shock!! So I called the free standing birth center in town and made an appointment as soon as possible because I had needed to take progesterone with my first pregnancy. I had really done a lot of natural stuff to balance out my hormones before I got pregnant this time (which is probably why I was able to get pregnant!) so I didn't need anything extra. I took Jon in with me, and he agreed to letting me have my baby at the birth center. What I really wanted, though, was a home birth. After talking with him for awhile and bringing him back to talk to my midwife, he agreed. I was thrilled! Plus, at the time we lived about 2 miles from the hospital so he felt better about that. These days, that's not even a thought in his mind!! :)

Because of high blood pressure, I was on bed rest for about the last 2 weeks of my pregnancy. My mama had come down to help with the other kids and Jon and help take care of the house. I remember vividly just lying around reading Francine Rivers novels--waiting and waiting..... He was due May 1.

So I was woken up around 2 am April 24 with pretty regular contractions. I did exactly what I tell my doula clients NOT to do. I got up and started timing contractions! :) If I knew then what I know now, I'd have tried to go back to sleep as well as I could and deny it as long as possible. But by 7 am, they were coming very regularly and stronger. I called Dawn (my midwife) around 8 am just to let her know that things were probably on their way. By 10 am, everything had stopped!! So I know the feeling, ladies. It stinks! I worked for hours trying to get things to start again--walking and walking all over the golf course!! I talked to my midwife again, but she decided to come by around 3 anyway just to check. She didn't have anymore appointments for the day, and she thought she'd see how I was doing before going home.

She checked me, and I was 5 cm. So my body had done some work. I can't remember exactly how much I was before I went into labor that morning, but I'm usually around 3 cm for a couple of weeks beforehand so I'm sure that's what I was then as well. Well, she figured she shouldn't leave to go home with me being 5 cm--especially because she lived about 35-40 minutes away. So she got me using the breast pump. I pumped and pumped, and things started getting going again. We did that for a long time. All the while, my blood pressure was going up. Although things were continuing, and I think I was about 6 cm at 6 pm, she really wanted to rupture my membranes because of my blood pressure. She wanted to get that baby out so as not to risk having to go to the hospital!! So I said, "Okay."

Well, of course as soon as she did that, we were off to the races. Up until that point, I didn't really consider myself in labor because nothing really hurt. I didn't have to work through any contractions--they were just there. That's always nice when you still feel that way at 6 cm!

So things started rockin' then. With my first, I had planned on going natural, but I ended up getting an epidural at 9 cm. That's how I KNOW how hard it is to have a baby in a hospital and resist the pain medication!! So this was going to be my first time with nothing. I did fine breathing through the contractions, and got into the bathtub around 7 pm. Up until that point I was in the bed on my left side because of my BP. By that time it had gotten low enough to get in the tub. It stayed down in the tub. That was heavenly and I really wanted to stay there and have the baby in there. As I went into transition, I started to do and say what most moms do and say at that point (at least the first time they labor without pain meds) and that was, "I can't do this!" I started to tense up, and I remember Dawn being so great at calming me down and bringing me back to where I needed to be. My mom told me later that she and Trand were in his room while I was in transition. His room shared the wall with my bathroom. She said she was trying to read him books to keep his mind off of hearing me so she kept reading louder and louder. When I yelled, "I can't do this!" he looked at her and said, "Well, I guess mom's never gonna have this baby." :)

All of a sudden I really needed to poop. She told me it was just that I needed to push, but I was convinced that I needed to poop. She let me get on the toilet but made me promise not to have the baby in there! :) After a few minutes, I figured she was right. But I was so afraid that I was going to poop (because I had been having diarrhea which is totally common during labor) that I didn't get back in the tub. I was so sorry for that later because I never did!

So around 9, I went and got on my bed. I remember being so uncomfortable with Jon sitting behind me to help me--but we were not in the best position. I couldn't figure out how to get in a good position at that point in labor though so I just stayed there. We called Trand and mama in to let them come and join us for the birth. I don't remember a lot about pushing with him except for when we got to the "ring of fire." I just remember saying, "THIS IS THE RING OF FIRE!! AND NOW I KNOW WHY!"

At 9:33 pm, I pushed out my big bundle of love. He was 9 lb. 2 oz. and I was immediately in love. It was so different from the first time around. My birth experience with Trand wasn't necessarily a bad one, but I certainly didn't have the same feelings surrounding the birth. I'm sure it was the pain meds and over medicalization of the birth. But Breck was wide awake and completely ready to nurse! I knew I didn't want this baby to leave my side, and he didn't for probably the first six months of his life!! I don't know if it was because he was my first home birth or just his personality or what, but he has always been like that with me. He is my sweet Mama's boy, and I love it! He loves his mama more than anything on earth, and he doesn't mind telling it to the world! :)

Trand was six years old and so excited to be at the birth. He was excited about every step of the pregnancy. We let him cut the cord, and he loved that. And this story about his was published in DONA International (a doula journal.) When the placenta came out, he asked what it was. I told him that's what fed the baby while he was in Mommy's tummy. Trand said, "Well, I wish he had eaten all of it because I don't want to look at it!" :) It was hilarious!! My midwife broke up, and she said she has shared that story so many times over the years! It's still something we laugh about.

So after a couple of hours, my midwife left and my sweet baby and I settled in to our own bed for the night. It was so wonderful not to have nurses coming to check my vitals all during the night or having to try to get comfortable in a hospital bed. I had my other two sweet little ones in their beds and my newest addition right next to me in mine. Life couldn't have gotten any better!

Breck continued to love to nurse, and at 12 weeks old, he weighed 21 lbs. That was ONLY breastmilk!! Crazy!

My three sweet little ones!!

Breck now--with no shirt, as usual!

Sweet Breck with his little brother. Now he's the big brother, and he loves that role!!

Teaching our kids to be fast food junkies

*I realize that this post may make some readers mad. I'm sorry. I'm not apologizing for writing it. I am sorry if you get mad when reading it. I'm talking to myself as well (my past self and even sometimes my present self.)


Let's face it. We live in a face paced, give-it-to-me-now world. It's all about convenience and how quick we can get it. Think back 15 years ago. We had the internet. We had email. But most of us had dial up. To get online we sat down at our computer, clicked on AOL, signed in and heard that horrible screechy sound then a loud ring. Screechy sound again before we connected, and if we were lucky we'd connect the first time and hear that beloved, "You've got mail." I remember being about to sign in then get up fix a snack before coming back to actually surf the web (which also took forever!) If we had to go through that today, we'd be on the phone so fast with our internet provider it would make our heads spin! We wouldn't put up with that. Nor should we. We have the technology now to make it quicker, and that's okay. Sometimes quicker IS better. But in the case of food--it's not, and it's scary what our expectations are doing to our children.

This starts very, very early. Breastfeeding isn't always the "quickest" thing to get. It's not just easy for most people. Yes, it's the most natural thing in the world--except when it's not. It's work. It takes commitment. And it takes time. Lots of moms aren't willing to give that time. They know that "breast is best" but they are way too quick to say, "It's just not working for me." I believe that formula is way too accessible in this day in America. In other countries, you have to have a prescription to get it. So there it starts.... an easy fix. Give the baby a bottle. After all, the pediatrician tells us it's almost just as good, right. I've even heard that some pediatricians today are still saying it's JUST as good. And you can find it anywhere--justification. Yes, there are reasons for not breastfeeding. There are instances (very few) when moms really, physiologically can't do it. In old times, these babies would have had to have a wet nurse or have been given goat's milk (which has much closer proteins to human milk that cow's.) But everyone expected that they would nurse their baby because that's how babies ate!
So most moms in America turn to formula.

Around 4 to 6 months (because that's when the doctors start telling them to) they start strolling down the grocery aisle to the baby food. What are they in? Jars. Jars that have been sitting on the shelves for quite some time and have an expiration date of at least a year away. Hmmm, I wonder how vegetables and fruit can sit on shelves for over a year? Preservatives. That's the only way. So from the very beginning, we start spooning preservatives in our babies' mouths. Not to mention the cereals. We aren't even asked to give them cereal with any nutrition--just dehydrated flakes of white rice that do nothing but expand and sit in our babies' tummies to make them full. Hey, it does the trick to make them sleep through the night, right? Everyone knows today that white rice isn't good. We all know to eat brown rice for any nutrition. White rice (along with white flour, white pasta, white potatoes, etc.) is pure sugar once it's in our bodies. Why would we give that to our babies? Their guts are not ready to digest all that so it sits and rots in their tummies--causing all sorts of gastrointestinal issues including leaky gut syndrome early on and all sorts of other colon trouble later.

As they get older, look a little further down the aisle. You will find more preservative filled snacks--quick and easy. Baby food companies know exactly what moms want to hear. They claim to be nutritious. They are also quick and easy. What more could we ask for? So we fill their bowls and tummies full of grains that they can't digest well because, let's face it, it's easy! It keeps them busy for a few minutes or happy in the car or while we are sitting at a restaurant. What are we teaching them, though? Bad eating habits and the fact that food can fill the time as well as their stomachs.

So then our babies are toddlers. We venture into the world of microwaveable toddler meals. Quick and easy once again--all under the guise of good nutrition. Carrots and peas--what could be bad about those? Well, maybe the fact that they are loaded with preservatives once again. Sometimes we're still shoving jar food down them because it's easy to make sure they get their "veggies." And don't forget the fast food meals that come into play at this point. Which of us hasn't been guilty of driving through the drive thru to get our toddler a happy meal? Now, I'll admit it happens a lot sooner with the later ones coming a long. You can keep your first ones away from that stuff a lot longer. Then by the time number 3 or 4 comes--forget it! Right? Well, I admit this is where I fail a lot. Our life is busy. I'll admit. What's the solution when you are out and it's lunch time? I know lots of moms who pack lunches to take. I've done that. I really have. It's not so bad. But doing it a lot with six kids gets really time consuming! So a lot of times I go to Jason's Deli--trekking in with all six kids and one adult is quite the show, I can promise. The workers there know me, and the managers talk to me personally! :) I guess I bring a lot of business when I walk through the door! But it's so much more worth it than another meal of chicken nuggets.

But still.... is Jason's Deli really the answer? If I'm honest, I'll tell myself "no." The answer is more nutritious whole food at HOME!

So there it begins.... from the very beginning we choose the fast and easy way. What our children need is whole, nutritious food from us. They need to be taught that faster is not always better. They need to know that they don't turn to food for comfort or entertainment. Our children in America are obese. Look around. It's sad! They eat crap and they don't get enough exercise. And starts with the nutritional habits of mom and dad. Let's commit to doing better. There are tons of resources to help you with ways to get good food into your children in easy ways. Children eat what they are given (for the most part.) Train them early and it's much easier than having to untrain and train again! Smoothies are a great way to get wholesome fruit in them plus throw in a little green spinach as well. My 7 month old is already drinking them. I don't use dairy so I don't worry about that--just a little coconut water. Also, let your babies eat what you eat. This solves a lot of the texture issues that children have as they are growing up. You may need to pulse it through a food processor a couple of times, but that's okay. They can eat it!

Play with some recipes. Have fun in the kitchen with your children. They are more likely to eat it if they help make it! And start from the beginning teaching your kids to be Health Nuts rather than Fast Food Junkies!!

On my soapbox

Okay, I'm going to take a few minutes to get on one of my soapboxes here. I figure if I can't do it here, where can I? I've recently seen a couple of editorials written in online newspapers about breast feeding in public. These were written by women who claimed to have breastfed their own children--although one said for only a couple of weeks. Both of these women were vehemently against nursing in public. One even started her column with how much she absolutely "hated" when women breastfed their children in public. She stated how it made everyone around them feel self-conscience and not know what else to do besides stare. Really? When you don't know what to do, you stare? One lady agreed with the manager of a furniture store who tried to throw a lady and her three children out of his store for nursing there. Thankfully, she knew her rights to be able to do this and stated them as so. But the writer of the article thought it would have been better for her to take her three small children out to the car (up north where it was freezing cold) and nurse her baby there, then come back to the store to finish her shopping--all so that it wouldn't make others feel uncomfortable. I'm sorry, but I just have to say that it's their problem if they feel uncomfortable. The baby is hungry. He needs to eat. Would you like to eat your lunch in the bathroom or in the freezing cold? I didn't think so. Not every outing can be scheduled around babies' feeding times--especially when you have more than one child.

I think this is the mindset that causes women to stop nursing earlier than they or their baby would like. It's inconvenient. When women are made to feel uncomfortable about nursing in public, they often stop before they would if it were "easier" to do. Not all women are as confident about it and willing to stand up for their rights as someone like say.... me. I've never had anyone confront me about it. Oh, I've wanted them to. I've waited for someone to ask me to leave or make a snide remark so that I could make a quick comeback. And that was a wrong attitude of me!! I have since mellowed some. Maybe I'm getting older. Maybe God's working on my heart a little more. Maybe both. I'm still very confident to nurse in public and would defy anyone who tried to take the right to eat away from my baby. But I would do it in a much nicer way these days. I also try to find an out of the way spot if I can, but that's not always possible with five other kids around.

In actuality, all I've ever gotten were nice comments when I've nursed my babies. I've had several older women tell me that they were so glad to see that women had the right to nurse in public these days. They always were made to feel like they had to hide--they could never have a social life when their babies were young because they had to be home to nurse. Wow! What commitment those women made to their babies. Talk about sacrifice! I even had a man in his 80's at church when Cedar was very young tell me that he never took a medication in his life until last year, and he knew that was because his mother breastfed him! :) I don't know if that's true, but that's what he believed. He said, "You know, it went out of style there for awhile, and I'm so glad to see you young moms doing it again. It's the best thing you can do for your babies." I loved it! He was so encouraging and supportive. I was sitting right there in the back of the church in the narthex nursing my baby. He could have been embarrassed or outraged that I was doing that AT CHURCH!! But he thought it was wonderful.

So I would encourage anyone who is feeling nervous or scared about nursing in public to do what you need to do for your baby! Make sure you feel comfortable with nursing at all first. Sometimes that relationship is hard to establish, and you need to work on that at home. But once you feel like the two of you have got it--go for it! Make sure you are confident in your decision and know your rights just in case you are confronted. Every state has laws that allow for breast feeding your baby in public. If you feel more comfortable covering up, there are great nursing cover-ups made specifically for that. I have many friends who use them. I cover up sometimes, depending on where I am. I used to never--but that goes back to my mellowing as well!! When I don't cover up, it has nothing to do with "wanting to expose myself" in order to make a point (which is what so many seem to think.) I can promise you, you see nothing when I nurse, and more than one person has thought that I was only holding my sleeping baby.


So now I'll step down off my soapbox.... and go nurse my baby!

The Obstetrician Song- International Midwives Day is May 5th!

This is great!!

Wonderful government control....once again

Surrogate mom in Canada has been kicked off Craig's list three times for trying to help parents by donating her breast milk!

This lady is trying to give something very precious--for free--to a family in need!! And the government won't let her do it! I personally know a couple of families right now who would be thrilled to take breast milk for their babies but either can't pay the price of a milk bank or wouldn't be high enough on the list to ever get it at all!

In a way, I understand the skeptics. I mean, who knows about this lady's milk, right? Well, I would certainly think that any family who was educated enough to look into getting the best nutrition for their baby would certainly be smart enough to do a thorough background check on the donor! And I'm sure the donor would be happy to accommodate! She is already being a surrogate mother--so I'm sure those parents did their homework on her! That would be somewhere to start.

I'm so tired of "higher-ups" thinking that the rest of us don't know how to think for ourselves. How could parents ever decide on their own that this lady was worthy of donating her milk to their baby?

Dear Governments, please allow people who actually want to think and use their brains, to do so!! Thank you!