My Libra Horoscope

It was fun to read! And I agree with it! I spend most of my time keeping things balanced.

Fun things for kids: Bug Bites Play Food

My grandson loves "play food!"

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Mmmmm Pumpkin Milkshake

Sounds delicious!!!!

Cool fall flowers

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If I knew then what I know now...A Story about Breast Feeding

On a new patient's admission , I ask about breast feeding choice. Most women say "yes."  Women who have had difficulty breast feeding their first child often reply: " I'd like to try again."
As a nurse, woman & mother, I believe that particular answer deserves more discovery. After asking more questions, I sometimes share my  first experience breast feeding.
At 18 I found myself pregnant with my first child.(It was an Italian "shotgun"wedding, but that's another story.) Little did I realize what a "tug of war" would ensue when I made my decision to breastfeed. My mother was appalled that I would choose something so "old fashioned." My mother-in-law wrote me letters about how mother's milk is "God's Milk." Needless to say,at eighteen, I didn't know who to rebel against. Being my mother's daughter,the path of less resistance was to bottle feed.

I was in a daze after a rapid,painful no drug labor. My baby had arrived. The next thing I knew,there was a nurse standing next to me with a syringe aimed at my arm. She asked me," bottle or breast ? " In that split second I answered, "I'll breast feed!"
(This was in 1970. Deladumone injection was given to suppress lactation.)

In the dark age of 1970, hospital policy was that babies that had not been examined by the pediatrician after their birth, had to remain in the nursery until the following morning. (David was born @ 1027 am.) However, it seems that he drove the nurses crazy crying and not wanting to be nipple fed, so they relented and brought him to me at 1:30 am. I knew nothing about breast feeding and the nurse gave me no specific  instructions. He sucked voraciously...I think for 20-30 minutes on each side!  My nipples were so sore that when he latched on, painful tingles went through my body!

After my 4 day hospital stay, I went to stay with my parents while my husband finished the college quarter. Arriving home, I found my mom had borrowed an antique looking baby scale. She explained that I would never know HOW MUCH milk David would get, so we needed to weigh him before and after he nursed. Looking back, that made no sense, but I never thought about it then.

Can you imagine trying to figure out how much milk he got?

My mother had never nursed me. She did try with my youngest sister, but was unsuccessful. Having no frame of reference, she couldn't understand my choice to breast feed.

Because Davey was her first grandchild, I think she missed not feeding him herself. In retrospect, I think I knew understood that feeding my baby was my right. Unfortunately, I was young and didn't have the nerve or energy to bump heads with my parents. Neither my mom nor my dad would enter the room when I was nursing. I felt ostrasized.

As it turns out, I nursed David for three weeks! My mother kept saying he wasn't gaining weight.  He was starved because he wanted to eat every two - three hours. And something was wrong with his bowel movements....it was mustard colored and seedy looking!  So finally I quit! My mom called our family doctor, and before you knew it, I was on pills to stop nursing.(Parlodel) And David was on formula.

One week later, I returned to my own little college apartment, and took David to see the pediatrician. He had gained two pounds! He didn't just gain the weight from one week of bottle feeding! It was from breast feeding!

Now I tell moms (who are receptive) that I almost didn't nurse my second child, because of my experience with my first with my first. Nursing my second child was sooo much easier. And I nursed my third child ,too! 

Moral of the story:
Give breast feeding a try. Again. Yes it is natural, but it's a learning situation,too!(for baby and mom)Be PATIENT and RELAX!  ASK for help.(from reliable, trusted people)

I am grateful working for a hospital that earned the international certification "Baby Friendly."  The feedback from the patients is great! 
So check it out!
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm?aid=4092

SISTERS

This was e-mailed to me from my daughter Lori's Mother-in-law, Carol.
Again, I just wanted to share this.

Sisters


A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day,drinking iced tea and visiting with her mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter..


'Don't forget your sisters,' she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them..'


'Remember that 'sisters' means ALL the women...your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women always do.'


What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman thought. Haven't I just gotten married?


Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!'


But she listened to her mother. She kept contact with her sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her mother really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, sisters are the mainstays of her life..


After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I've learned:


THIS SAYS IT ALL:


Time passes.


Life happens.


Distance separates.


Children grow up.


Jobs come and go.


Love waxes and wanes.


Men don't do what they're supposed to do.


Hearts break.


Parents die.


Colleagues forget favors.


Careers end.


BUT.........


Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach. When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley's end... Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you...Or come in and carry you out.


Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers, Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family: all bless our life!


The world wouldn't be the same without women, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other... Every day, we need each other still.


Pass this on to all the women who help make your life meaningful.
I just did.




Love, Carol

Grandson Noah Sings June 2009

Lori had just gotten her new i phone 3GS.So she recorded Noah and emailed it to me. I love it each time I hear it! Enjoy!

Grandson Noah sings

The 'Middle Wife"

My husband's friend e-mailed the following story. I don't know the author, or it's origination, or even if it's true. But it sure is HILARIOUS!


"The 'Middle Wife' by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher


I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself,
but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade
classroom a few years back.


When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions
with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually,
show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes,
pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any
boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school
and talk about it, they're welcome.


Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid,
takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow
stuffed under her sweater.
She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and
I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'


'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put
a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine
months through an umbrella cord.'


She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to
laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her
in amazement.


'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh,
Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around
the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a
hysterical duck walk and groaning.)


' My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have
a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in
bed like this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)"


'And then,pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)


'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push,push,' and breathe,breathe. They started counting,but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden,out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said came from my Mom's play-center,(placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there. When he got out the middle wife spanked him for crawling up there.'


Then Erica stood up and took a big, theatrical bow and returned to her seat.


I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show and tell day, I bring my camcorder,just in case another 'Middle Wife' comes along.