Friday, November 21, 2008

A fun way to kill some time

This website is too funny. Here's a sample:

Friday, November 7, 2008

Caffeine during pregnancy?

This is an interesting article about the effects of even small amounts of caffeine during pregnancy. Since I am not a coffee drinker at all, and only drink caffeine-free herbal teas, I have never really given this issue much thought other than wondering how caffeine could be good for a tiny baby when it has such obvious effects on me.

Of course, no pregnant woman will ever be able to live in a bubble free of all environmental hazards. But this one is a pretty easy one to reduce/eliminate/avoid, I think.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Breast milk donation

Okay, I am not talking about Ben & Jerry's here!

Before you declare me crazy, read this post, and then you have the right to call me nuts if you like. I just won't post your comments.

Like any mother of 5 young children, I have lots of spare time on my hands. NOT. Like any woman, I love using a breast pump. Very funny. Like any large family, I have lots of extra room in my freezers. Maybe once the kids leave home?

So why on earth donate breast milk?!? Honestly, because I feel bad for any baby who has to drink formula, and much more so if it's a tiny, premature baby to whom it could make the difference between life and death. My milk supply has been getting better and better with every baby, and I would love to share the abundance.

There are many milk banks out there who take donations. The sign-up process is lengthy, and you will need to have your blood checked for just about every communicable disease out there. The milk bank will cover all the costs for the tests, supply you with all necessary equipment, and take care of the shipping. You will not get paid for the milk you donate. If you have thought about donating milk in the past, you should definitely look into it. If you do, and you are like me, you want to make sure that 100% of the milk you donate goes to a cause you want to support, such as premature infants. There are other critically ill patients using human milk, such as cancer patients who can no longer tolerate food. There are also critically ill HIV-positive patients using it, but the last person I want my milk to go to is some old, decrepit queer. No, not all people with HIV are gay, but I wouldn't want to take my chances. With a newborn at least I can be sure of that.

I signed on with International Breast Milk Project. This particular milk bank ships 25% of their donated milk to critically ill infants in Africa, and uses the rest for premature babies in the US. I wonder what the person who commented on my daughter's birth announcement saying that I am overpopulating the earth because I "don't like brown people" has ever done to actually help children in Africa other than just feeling all fuzzy and pitiful about them.

Anyway... I think every liberal hippie would love me if it weren't for the fact that I am a Christian. I am a homebirthing, babywearing, "co-sleeping", non-circumcising, Birkenstock-wearing, granola-eating, make-up hating, natural medicine practicing and now human milk donating lactivist.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

My two cents on babies and scheduling

With five children, I would consider myself pretty organized, and more and more so as our family continues to grow. I have a basic schedule that I follow every day, and I will not go to bed until I finish up at night unless I am very ill. It's just easier for me and the kids when we know what we need to get done when, and who is responsible for it.

Having said that, let me give you my thoughts on scheduling young babies. First off, we do not practice birth control. Breastfeeding, if practiced right, naturally spaces children. So any method of scheduling babies that interferes with on-demand breastfeeding is out of the question for me. There are many books out there, such as My First 300 Babies and Babywise, that I cannot condone for that reason. These books were developed for bottle-fed babies, and the schedules were later adjusted to "fit" breastfed infants. Even if your milk supply will not suffer from feedings spaced that many hours apart, most women will not be able to hold off ovulation that way, and will find themselves pregnant within months of giving birth if breastfeeding is their only form of spacing pregnancies. Obviously, I feel strongly about not bottle-feeding babies, but that is a different post for another day.

So what are you to do as a mom if you still want to get a shower and get at least the basic housework and cooking done, while your baby wants to eat around the clock?

The first few weeks after your baby is born, you really should just focus on getting rest and holding your baby. Hopefully, your husband or other family members and friends can help you around the house during this time. Once the baby gets to be a couple of weeks old, you will usually be able to see a predictable pattern of when they sleep best (most do so in the morning), and then you can schedule your errands etc. accordingly. So you will be able to follow a simple, basic schedule, but it is one set by the baby, rather than imposed on him/her by an author of a book who probably had 2 kids themselves.

As the baby gets older, the nap times will change (they will be fewer, but longer), until most children will eventually only take one long nap per day (starting around age 1).

I think where many parents miss the boat is that they allow their children to dictate their own schedule as said child gets older and older. This will also make the child want to have their way in every other area of life, and you will soon find yourself with a brat on your hands.

My rule of thumb is that once a child is capable of understanding what I tell them to do, they are expected to do it. So while I can't explain to my 2-week old that she needs to go to sleep on her own, and that I will be in bed myself shortly, a 9-12 month old baby does have a concept of bedtime. I don't think kids should ever be left to "cry-it-out". If they are too young to understand, it is your job as a mother to comfort the child just like it is your job to feed and care for them in every other area of life. But once they get to an age (usually around age 1) where they understand that it is now bedtime, they are not allowed to throw an angry fit just because they would rather stay up and play longer.

Our kids are taught to go to sleep on their own once they only take one nap per day and are around 1 year old. To ease this transition, I start by putting said child down for their naps on their own when they are still awake, but sleepy (as opposed to feeding them until they fall asleep and then laying them down). I will then find something quiet to do in the room as they fall asleep, such as folding laundry. If they get up, I remind them to put their head back on the pillow. It has never taken me more than a week to get them to take their nap on their own. Once they have learned that, I do the same at nighttime, with the same results. Your life will become easier at this point, and your child will have learned about obeying in general, not just in regard to bedtime.

I guess what I am saying is that you can and should expect more and more from your children as they get older, but that it does not mean neglecting your babies. Just like you would not expect a young baby to go to the fridge and feed themselves a meal, you can't expect them to settle themselves down when they are upset and wanting to be held, but you can expect that as they get older, smarter, and more independent.

Just my thoughts.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

A Wasted Vote

by Chuck Baldwin
October 10, 2008
When asked why they will not vote for a third party candidate, many people will respond by saying something like, He cannot win. Or, I don't want to waste my vote. It is true: America has not elected a third party candidate since 1860. Does that automatically mean, however, that every vote cast for one of the two major party candidates is not a wasted vote? I don't think so.

In the first place, a wasted vote is a vote for someone you know does not represent your own beliefs and principles. A wasted vote is a vote for someone you know will not lead the country in the way it should go. A wasted vote is a vote for the lesser of two evils. Or, in the case of John McCain and Barack Obama, what we have is a choice between the evil of two lessers.

Albert Einstein is credited with saying that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result. For years now, Republicans and Democrats have been leading the country in the same basic direction: toward bigger and bigger government; more and more socialism, globalism, corporatism, and foreign interventionism; and the dismantling of constitutional liberties. Yet, voters continue to think that they are voting for change when they vote for a Republican or Democrat. This is truly insane.

Take a look at the recent $700 billion Wall Street bailout: both John McCain and Barack Obama endorsed and lobbied for it. Both McCain and Obama will continue to bail out these international banksters on the backs of the American taxpayers. Both McCain and Obama support giving illegal aliens amnesty and a path to citizenship. In the debate this past Tuesday night, both McCain and Obama expressed support for sending U.S. forces around the world for peacekeeping purposes. They also expressed support for sending combat forces against foreign countries even if those countries do not pose a threat to the United States. Neither Obama nor McCain will do anything to stem the tide of a burgeoning police state or a mushrooming New World Order. Both Obama and McCain support NAFTA and similar free trade deals. Neither candidate will do anything to rid America of the Federal Reserve, or work to eliminate the personal income tax, or disband the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Both Obama and McCain support the United Nations. So, pray tell, how is a vote for either McCain or Obama not a wasted vote?

But, back to the he cannot win argument: to vote for John McCain is to vote for a man who cannot win. Yes, I am saying it here and now: John McCain cannot win this election. The handwriting is on the wall. The Fat Lady is singing. It is all over. Finished. John McCain cannot win.

With only three weeks before the election, Barack Obama is pulling away. McCain has already pulled his campaign out of Michigan. In other key battleground states, McCain is slipping fast. He was ahead in Missouri; now it is a toss-up or leaning to Obama. A couple of weeks ago, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Florida were all leaning towards McCain, or at least toss-up states. Now, they are all leaning to Obama. Even the longtime GOP bellwether state of Indiana is moving toward Obama. In addition, new voter registrations are at an all-time high, and few of them are registering as Republicans. In fact, the Republican Party now claims only around 25% of the electorate, and Independents are increasingly leaning toward Obama.

Ladies and gentlemen, Barack Obama is headed for an electoral landslide victory over John McCain. John McCain can no more beat Barack Obama than Bob Dole could beat Bill Clinton.

I ask, therefore, Are not conservatives and Christians who vote for John McCain guilty of the same thing that they accuse people who vote for third party candidates of doing? Are they not voting for someone who cannot win? Indeed, they are. In fact, conservatives and Christians who vote for John McCain are not only voting for a man who cannot win, they are voting for a man who does not share their own beliefs and principles. If this is not insanity, nothing is.

So, why not (for once in your life, perhaps) cast a vote purely for principle Vote for someone who is truly pro-life. Someone who would quickly secure our nation's borders, and end the invasion of our country by illegal aliens. Someone who would, on his first day in office, release Border Patrol agents Ramos and Compean and fire U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton. Someone who would immediately, upon assuming office, begin leading the charge to dismantle the Federal Reserve, overturn the 16th Amendment, expunge the IRS, and return America to sound money principles. Someone who would get the US out of the UN. Someone who would stop spending billions and trillions of dollars for foreign aid. Someone who would prosecute the Wall Street bankers who defrauded the American people out of billions of dollars. Someone who would work to repeal NAFTA, CAFTA, GATT, the WTO, and stop the NAFTA superhighway. Someone who would say a resounding No to the New World Order. Someone who would stop using our brave men and women in uniform as global cops for the United Nations. Someone who would stop America's global adventurism and interventionism. Someone who would steadfastly support and defend the right of the people to keep and bear arms.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

A couple of simple science gigs

Here are a couple of my favorite science experiments for the kids to do on their own while I am busy or need to sneak in a nap:

1. Fireworks in a glass

Fill a clear glass cup or jar with water. Mix about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil with 5-10 drops of several food colors (a couple of quick stirs with a fork is enough). Pour oil mixture on top of water in glass. The oil and food color don't mix, but as soon as a drop of the food color reaches the water, it burst into a streak of color, creating the fireworks effect. Here is a picture of our fireworks once they had been going for a little while:


2. Surface tension of water

Lay out various coins for your child, as well as a cup of water and a dropper (you can use one from a medicine kit, an old supplement bottle, ask for one at your local pharmacy, or buy one in the science section of any school store). Tell your child to guess how many drops of water will fit on each coin, and have them write down their guesses. Then have them try and count, writing down their results, which are VERY surprising! They can then try to see if clean coins fit more drops than dirtier coins, or if one side works better than another, etc. Be sure to provide (paper) towels. You can use this activity as an introduction to a lesson about the surface tension of water and maybe even get a couple of library books on the subject.