Get Involved!

One of the ways we have brought our family closer together is by doing service for others. A great deal of the service opportunities that we have been able to take advantage of, were born out of our involvement in our community. My wife and I have been part of the Friends of the Library group in our town. This involvement has given us and our children the chances to be involved with the campaign for a new library and the many fun and fulfilling activities that have gone along with that. 

We have had the chance to buy, wrap and sneakily deliver books for Christmas for children that were not going to get much else. We had the chance to help with story telling festivals, and an exceptional ground breaking ceremony where all the children in our town were invited to help out by bringing their Tonka trucks and tractors to help break the ground.

Nursing a Toddler

My daughter turned one on March 12th, 1998.  She's a big girl, she walks, talks (sometimes so only she can understand) eats solids, throws temper tantrums and nurses.  Nursing an older child is definitely different.  Not bad different, just different.  However, continuing to nurse her isn't the issue I thought it would be.  She became a toddler before my very eyes, so quickly that others were calling her a toddler while I still thought of her as an infant.  It was not until my girlfriend brought over her 10 week old that I realized my baby wasn't so much of a baby anymore.

But, in many ways she is still a baby.  She still cries when she's sleepy, or frustrated, or hurt.  She still wears diapers.  She still sleeps with her daddy and me.  And she still needs "na-na's". 

Support Breastfeeding, Anywhere, Anytime

Recently I have been giving a lot of thought to the show of support for breastfeeding. It occurs to me that doctors and hospitals openly advocate breastfeeding, as do support networks like the La Leche League, but I have never seen open support by any other group of people or organization. Breastfeeding is treated like something that is tolerated in our society, not encouraged by any organization outside of the health care profession. I know through my reading and studying of local legislation that I have the right to feed my child any where I have the right to be, but is the average mother armed with this information when she makes the decision on how to feed her baby?

Daily I am surprised at how many women of infants I see using bottles. If breastfeeding rates are going up, then women who breast-feed must be in the closet, because I never encounter them.

Your Child Learns To Read From Birth

Encouraging your child to read is one of the greatest gifts you can give them next to life itself. A child that can read is more confident, learns well, and can amuse themselves for hours. But the question I am asked the most is when do you start to teach your child to read.

Basically you do encourage this from birth. A child that is growing up in an environment where the love and respect for books is encouraged, will feel the same way. Their own natural curiosity will prompt them to try and 'do what you are doing' and this is setting the seeds for their reading proper. I read to my daughter while she was in the womb, I read to her when I was breast-feeding, I read for myself every chance I got. My lounge had a large bookcase, my daughter was bought up in a world of books.

You are currently 6 weeks pregnant, what should you be asking my Ob/Gyn?

Question:

I'm currently 6 weeks pregnant, what should I be asking my Ob/Gyn? I want to keep a list with me so I know exactly what to ask. Any suggestions?
 

Answered:

This is a thrilling time for most pregnant women, and sometimes with all of the excitement we tend to forget to ask specific questions. It is understandable to be fearful and feel a need to be exact. Below are just a few suggestions you might consider asking your doctor during your next visit:

- When is my estimated due date? This is counted by the first day of your LMP (Last Menstrual Period)

Your doctor is really good or not

Question:

I need to know if my doctor is really good or not. See, I'm now 5 weeks pregnant, and I need to know whether or not to stick with this doctor. I want to make the change soon if needed be.

Answered:

Pre-natal care is vital to your baby's health as well as your own. Choosing the right doctor can be a tricky experience, since you must find one early on enough in your pregnancy.

Birth Plans

Birth is a natural bodily function, just like sneezing.  Only rarely can sneezing cause health complications and the same is true for labor and childbirth.  Women's bodies were made to perform this function with little or no interference from outsiders.  The problem is that many of us are so disconnected from our continuum that we cannot fathom that something which will be difficult, likely painful and damn hard work, can be natural and healthy.  We associate pain with disease, something to fixed, managed and medicated away, but the true is that most healthy women can labor and give birth with virtually no intervention.