Mohawks R Us

So, getting a kid's hair cut is never easy.. or fun.  But with Cole, it is taken to a WHOLE OTHER LEVEL.  Seriously.  We've been saying we need to cut his hair for a while.  It's super long and hanging in his eyes.

Cole decided to take things into his own hands last night, and took a few snips before I caught him.  So, it was definitely time for a cut.  We looked at pictures, and everything he wanted was SUPER short, but he also likes a mohawk now and then, for kicks I guess.  So we picked something out.

Our FAVORITE hair-creationist (hahaha) Rexanne fit us in this afternoon.  Here is what followed:

Arrive, winded (from rushing).  Get Cole in the chair, with his "keep the hair off me" cape.  He is still (hooray), only moving his head a bit to look around.  This lasts approx. 5 min.  Then he starts to lose it.  Within 10 minutes, he's snatched off the cape, and next he's running UPSTAIRS and playing "I'm going to run away and you have to catch me".  NOT COOL.  I finally get him back in the chair.  Bribe him with everything imaginable... ice cream, pizza, friends, my bracelet, my keys, chapstick and finally my phone.  That occupied him for a bit.  Meanwhile, Rexanne is cutting his hair in many fun positions (standing, sitting, sliding, me holding him, etc.).  It was... interesting.  Finally it's done, and he lets us style it in a mohawk, and it looks awesome.  That lasts about 45 seconds, at which time he promptly squashed it, and messes it up.  WOW, thanks.  After getting in the car, he put his hat on (geez).

He does like it though.  After he took the hat off, he played with it all the way home.

Anyway, after chasing him around to re-style and get a photo, here it is.  Not the best picture, but the hair cut ROCKS.

Coffee House Chat

There is a blog.  You need to check it out.  NOW.

http://chc-gals.blogspot.com/

Rules of Parenting

Don't swear around children that are learning to talk.  And under no circumstances should you call other people names in their presence.  This will come back to bite you... in the ass.

Inspirational Quotes

"You got it, bitch."

-Lafayette (True Blood)

Empowering Birth

Our BirthNetwork Meeting today went AMAZING!  Our speakers were fantastic, the kids were loud, the mom's were funny and inquisitive.  It was perfect.  I may discuss this more in depth, when I'm feeling less silly, and more intellectual.

Also... Jane's raw coconut creme pie was.. OMG.  No words.  Yum.

Adventures at CHC

Topics this week included:

• Nonsensical Hilarity
• Things we shouldn't have words for, yet do.
• Photography

Also, Green Tea Chai is AWESOME.

In related news...

‎"Girl! You better shake your hotsy-totsy ass in front of someone else's man, or there won't be more than a tittynope left when I'm done kickin' it. That's right. Mmm hmm..."

Rules of Parenting

"One thing they never tell you about child raising is that for the rest of your life, at the drop of a hat, you are expected to know your child's name and how old he or she is."

-Erma Bombeck

Having an Empowering Birth

What is an empowering birth?

How do you achieve one?

This month, the Wiregrass Birth Network will be discussing how to have the best birth for you. We'll talk about birth plans, VBACs, doulas and childbirth education, immediate breastfeeding, and more!


Speakers:

• Jodie Kilpatrick, La Leche League of the Wiregrass
• Amanda Martin, ICAN of the Wiregrass
• Lee Ann Murray, Co-Leader WBN
• Rachel O'Donnell
• Ashley Motzenbecker, Co-Leader WBN
• Jazmin Price, Midwife

These meetings are family-friendly, so please do not let children hinder you from attending! We love kids!

Date: Tuesday August 16, 2011
Time: 10:00 AM

Location: Allen Heights Neighborhood Center, Fort Rucker, AL

Feel free to show up without an RSVP, but we'd love if you'd join the Meetup group!

Battling Birth, Part 2... BARF.

Part 2 of the WDHN Story: Birth Battle: Moms Say Alabama Law Stands In The Way

So, I'm still pretty annoyed.  I'm irritated with the way unassisted birth vs. homebirth is being portrayed. We are bluring the lines on two very different types of birth! I think unassisted birth should be an intensely personal choice that should be combined with research and soul searching, and should not include a doula (as that changes the very definition of a UC), and should not be included in the midwife/OB debate period.

As a doula, I've been asked to attend an unassisted birth before. I have always said no. It's not because I'm against it, because I'm not. I think unassisted births can be amazing. It's because it is not fair to allow a pregnant woman the advantage of emotional and physical support, without the precaution of emergency medical support. It's not fair to them, that you would be forced to choose between standing by while something devastating happened (even with the risk being ridiculously low) or attempting to help and doing more damage, or being no help at all.

My personal feelings on unassisted birth are one of the biggest reasons I feel this way. If you think you need the support of another individual during your birth... YOU SHOULD NOT BE HAVING AN UNASSISTED BIRTH. If you need to have that crutch there to feel secure, you aren't yet secure enough to do this.

Getting back to the main article... Dr. Scott is doing what I think other women will do... blur the lines! Of course midwives are trained to repair perineal lacerations, and deal with hemorrhages. They are trained to handle the emergencies and complications that can arise during birth. They provide excellent prenatal care, that is far superior to that of an OB practice.

Stop confusing the issue! Stop presenting misleading "opinions" that are represented as fact. Stop telling women where they should give birth.

Adventures at CHC

Topics this week included:

• Unassisted Birth
• Copious amounts of Swearing
• Minimal Supernatural Talk

Breastfeeding happened and no one got hurt.

Except Jodie, because LeeAnn knocked her in the chin with her shoulder...

Rules of Parenting

No matter how old you are, no matter how badass you think you are, if a toddler hands you their ringing toy phone...
You answer it.

-Unknown

The Big Latch On

On Saturday 6th August at 10:30am in multiple locations and time zones across the globe, 4123* women and their children came together and breastfed simultaneously across 294* locations as part of the Big Latch On. (*provisional total)

In Dothan, at the SAMC Women's Center, we had 18 breastfeeding mothers participating, and 12 stayed latched on for the full minute!

Inspirational Quotes

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

— Dr. Seuss

Battle over Birth? or Misinformation?

So, last night, WDHN aired Part 1 of their piece on home birth.

http://dothanfirst.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=176837

On the whole, the piece was fairly concise and well done, but it started to go south midway through. While I appreciate the look at home birth, I'm agitated that Dr. Johnathon Scott (the local OB who was interviewed for the piece) presented misinformation about shoulder dystocia and midwives training with such.

In the piece, he discussed when "home birth goes bad". He relayed his story about a home birth transfer of a shoulder dystocia, and the outcome resulted in a "neurologically devastated" baby. He did not explain any other circumstances surrounding the transfer, including whether a midwife was present or not. He then went on to state that woman are not trained to handle shoulder dystocia's, nor are midwives. This is where I lost my head.

Does he not pay attention to the research in his own field? Ina May Gaskin, a world renowned midwife, pioneered the "Gaskin" maneuver, which is one of the best methods of resolving a shoulder dystocia. The maneuver is named after her, for heaven's sake! Fear mongering against midwives is NOT helpful. They are competent, trained professionals.

Ok, so maybe I'm not agitated, maybe I should say I'm irritated, angry, disgusted, fuming... whatever, I'm mad. Frankly, if you're going to run a piece on something this important, at least stop allowing fear mongering... stick to the facts, make sure that your sources are stating actual facts!

The British Medical Journal's CPM (certified professional midwife) 2000 study (the largest prospective cohort study of American home births by CPMs, including 5418 births), the overall transport rate from home to hospital was 12.1%, but only 3.4% were considered urgent. The cesarean section rate was only 3.7%. This shows that 70% of the transports DID NOT require an emergency cesarean, which contradicts the claims reported in this coverage.

Well, I guess I'll get prepared for tonight segment. Maybe I can keep flames from erupting from my eyes...

Dancing to the Beat

So, tonight the kids and I danced in front of the computer for a while.  We were eclectic in our music preferences.  The soundtrack to the jaunt included:









Among others...

Inspirational Quotes

"I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not to shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply ALL my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy."

— Og Mandino (The Greatest Salesman in the World)