My mantra for the day... or year:
God grant me the serenity to accept that I have a two year-old;
The courage to know I cannot change her;
And the wisdom to back down from arguments I can't win.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Thursday, February 25, 2010
When I get to it...
I believe in the importance of sharing birth stories - positive birth stories and sometimes scary ones as well. They are powerful, personal experiences which women have stopped sharing with each other - fearing that we might alienate each other.
Here's an idea, become a birth-choice advocate. It frees you to take a non-judgmental, neutral, supportive position. Once, I was a natural-birth advocate and I certainly still am for my own family and any woman who knows that's what is best for her and her own family. However, women who are not interested in natural childbirth for any number of reasons may feel judged and they have certainly lashed out at me for my choices. In no way can I define or experience another person's pain - I have not lived their life. And certainly, I have been blessed with a supportive partner, mother and family who have helped me stick to my choices and my labors have been textbook - slightly longer but not by much.
A healthy fear inspired me to thoroughly prepare for labor and birth - as well as you can prepare. And in our childbirth preparation classes they introduced me to a novel idea: many women prepare for birth but few for breastfeeding - preparing essentially for something that (hopefully) lasts less than a day while neglecting a relationship that will (again, hopefully) last a year or more. We have been told that breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, what we are not told is that it is a learned behavior and we might not have grown up seeing it, and there may be challenges that we cannot possibly anticipate.
All this is to say that I will be sharing my boy's birth story when I can get to it...
Here's an idea, become a birth-choice advocate. It frees you to take a non-judgmental, neutral, supportive position. Once, I was a natural-birth advocate and I certainly still am for my own family and any woman who knows that's what is best for her and her own family. However, women who are not interested in natural childbirth for any number of reasons may feel judged and they have certainly lashed out at me for my choices. In no way can I define or experience another person's pain - I have not lived their life. And certainly, I have been blessed with a supportive partner, mother and family who have helped me stick to my choices and my labors have been textbook - slightly longer but not by much.
A healthy fear inspired me to thoroughly prepare for labor and birth - as well as you can prepare. And in our childbirth preparation classes they introduced me to a novel idea: many women prepare for birth but few for breastfeeding - preparing essentially for something that (hopefully) lasts less than a day while neglecting a relationship that will (again, hopefully) last a year or more. We have been told that breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, what we are not told is that it is a learned behavior and we might not have grown up seeing it, and there may be challenges that we cannot possibly anticipate.
All this is to say that I will be sharing my boy's birth story when I can get to it...
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Welcome to the (Wintery) World
Good morning Simon!
Our delightful little chap was born January 6, 2010. (Which means it's taken me almost a month to get around to posting this...) Big sister is very proud.
Born in the water on a stormy night.
Our delightful little chap was born January 6, 2010. (Which means it's taken me almost a month to get around to posting this...) Big sister is very proud.
Born in the water on a stormy night.
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