Happy Mothers’ Day

To all the moms out there, and moms-to-be, and women who some day hope to be moms, Happy Mothers’ Day!  The task you have taken (or will take) on is of enormous importance–the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world!

In Honor of Mothers’ Day, a Film Showing

I will be hosting a showing of the film “Born in the USA” on Sunday, May 17 at 6 p.m.  Yes, that’s a week after Mothers’ Day…but I expect to be busy with my kids on Mothers’ Day. 

I have used snippets of this film in my childbirth classes for a few years, but have never shown the full length feature since there simply is not enough time for that in my classes.  However, I’m excited to invite people to join me in watching the film, then an open discussion afterward.   The film was produced for PBS, and looks at low-risk childbirth in America in a hospital setting with an obstetrician care provider, an out-of-hospital birth center with a certified nurse midwife (CNM), and homebirths with a licensed midwife.

This showing is open to anyone, whether you have children or not.  There will be a period of discussion following the film.  Contact me for more information!

Birthing women in the Lehigh Valley loose another option…

I just learned today that The Midwives and Associates are no longer going to be allowed to attend VBAC’s at Lehigh Valley Hospital.

There has not been a negative outcome with VBAC’s that they have attended…it’s just a decision that was made by “folks higher up.”  I have to wonder if this decision is just related to The Midwives, or if all VBAC’s are being forbidden at this hospital?

Either way, why am I not surprised?

I believe there may be one midwife attending VBAC out of St. Luke’s Bethlehem, but her offices are located in Stroudsburg, so many women find her to be geographically inaccessible.  She’s also not an option for women who have “Valley Preferred” insurance, which ONLY allows women to birth out of Lehigh Valley Hospital.

There are a few OB’s who attend VBAC at area hospitals, but for the woman who desires the midwifery model of care, it appears that the only option for her now is homebirth.

UPDATE on Friday, May 7:  I learned yesterday that saddly the midwives have lost ALL birthing priviledges at Lehigh Valley Hospital.  As women, we can not sit back and allow this to happen without a fight.  Please contact The Morning Call with your thoughts about this situation.  I will keep you updated on what you can do.  Thank you!

Works for me Wednesday - Getting enough sleep

From college, to single life, to married with kids, getting enough sleep has always seemed to be a difficult thing for me, mostly because I tend to burn the candle at both ends much too often.  But as I age, I have found that I tolerate lack of sleep less than I used to.  So being able to sleep well with an infant in the house is very important to me.

For me to sleep well, one thing that is imperative is that I don’t get out of bed in the middle of the night.  Since infants tend to need attention in the middle of the night, that means that my baby sleeps right next to me.  For some people this would not work because they wake with every little noise the baby makes, or baby wakes with every noise that the parents make (tip to new parents–do NOT allow your house to be quiet every time your baby sleeps, or you will just train your baby to NEED quiet in order to sleep.  Wash dishes, vacuum, or turn on a radio when you put your baby down to sleep.  In general, let household noises continue!  Newborns are used to being in a noisy environment (the womb) and will sleep just fine with noise.).  But, it WORKS FOR ME.  Thus the theme of this post. 

No matter where your baby sleeps, it is important to keep the environment safe.  This is fairly simple to do, but attention should be paid.  In my case, we have an Arms Reach Bedside Cosleeper for our baby to sleep in, and keep that free of blankets & pillows.  I have a cousin who took the drop down side off her crib, and pulled it along side her bed.  Other people will keep the fully assembled crib or a Pack & Play in their room, but not right next to the bed.  

When my baby is in bed with me for nursing, I make sure to keep my pillow and blanket away from my baby.  Further, I have a head board that does not have cutouts that a baby could get trapped in, and I make sure to keep the night stand close enough to the bed that a baby can not get wedged between the nightstand and the mattress.

Finally, a few little details do make a difference for my night time sleep.  Those details are a night light in the bathroom, and the positioning of my alarm clock.  The night light is important just in case I need to get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.  Having a night light that can be turned on rather than the overhead light helps to keep me from fully waking up, which allows me to go back to sleep easier.  For the alarm clock, I turn it around so that it does not face the bed.  The red glow alone can be something that draws me awake if I happen to see it in a light phase of sleep, but even further, the psychological impact of knowing that I am nursing at 3 a.m. is much greater than if I am just nursing and enjoying a quiet moment with my baby, unaware of what time it is.

Now nighttime sleep is often not quite enough…so I’m a big fan of naps.  But not wanting to make my bed twice a day…I simply will lay down on my bed on top of the bedspread, and pull a “throw” from the living room over me.  Aaaahhhh….a nap after lunch is wonderfully refreshing, and makes me a better mom for the rest of the day.  Unfortunately, my 5 year old son does not do so well with naps.  So we have found that my nap time is a great time for him to play some computer games.

And this…works for me! 

Don’t forget to swing by We Are That Family for all the other wonderful participants!  Today’s theme is “Frugal Living.”

Can I Just Disappear Now?

I was inspired by “Johny’s Mommy” over at Boondock Ramblings and Sue at Farvel Cargoto tell you all about an embarrassing church moment…so sit back and enjoy!

My family used to attend a church that had one of those old style long and narrow sanctuaries–two pews wide, but about a hundred long.  Normally, being parents of small children (just 2 of them at the time), my husband and I would sit near the back in case we got summoned out to attend to one of our children who were being cared for in the nursery.

About the time we were ready to have Katie dedicated, Jessica was just recently potty trained, and she had developed a rather unique way of indicating that nature was calling her.  Try as we might, we were having great difficulty convincing her to use an easily understood “I need to go potty.”  It was just always “The Phrase.”  We always warned the nursery attendants of “The Phrase” so that:

• They’d know to take her to the potty, and
• They would realize she wasn’t being impolite.

So anyway…along comes the date of Katie’s dedication, and we of course sat near the front of the church, with Katie and Jessica snuggled between us.  When the time came for the dedication we all went up front, and it went off without a hitch.

And then we returned to our pew.

And at the top of her little toddler voice, Jessica said “The Phrase.”

“Poopy, yucky, you farted Mommy!”

And with that, while I wanted to sink into the floor, I was obliged to take her by the hand, and walk straight up the center aisle, with my face turning about 15 shades of red.