Okay, I am really working on letting this go, but I think I have to type it out to do that. When is the allopathic medical community going to recognize the importance of breastmilk??? (That is a rhetorical question - I do know the answer is *never*)
Little Joey has an intestinal disease. We know that his intestines do not function properly. But are the doctors promoting breast milk for him since it is the perfect food for him? **** no!
He's back in the hospital and this time they suspect it is reflux unrelated to his Hirshsprung's disease. So what are they recommending for this 6-week-old baby? They want Mom to try adding some rice cereal to his formula. The sound you just heard was my head exploding.
Did you know that in their entire medical schooling doctors get a 2-hour lecture on breastfeeding? And I don't mean a semester class worth 2-hrs credit. I mean literally 120 minutes of someone talking and that is it!
Don't get me wrong, this is not just the doctor's fault. It just doesn't matter to way too many people. And that really breaks my heart. I hurt for every baby who doesn't get to breastfeed. Now I'm not talking about those who try and are not successful. Sometimes, it really doesn't work out, and for those cases I am glad formula exists (still sad, but understanding). I would never judge a woman I see bottle-feeding. First of all, I don't know what's in the bottle. It could be breastmilk and for some reason the baby won't nurse, or mom is not comfortable nursing in public. Or perhaps this mom tried her best and it didn't work out and her heart is broken over it. I am talking about those who really don't want to breastfeed. Those who think it's yucky or it ties them down too much. And I know way to many of them.
I'm starting to feel a tug in the direction of becoming a lactation consultant. I've just done some basic research and it seems harder than I thought it would be. But I still feel the tug. Maybe that's what I'll be when I grow up.
"Real wisdom is not the knowledge of everything, but the knowledge of which things in life are necessary, which are less necessary, and which are completely unnecessary to know." Leo Tolstoy
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Monday, November 19, 2007
Joey
Once again I call on my prayer-warrior friends for little Joey. He's back in the hospital unable to keep feedings down. I was so sick when I was sick (ages 16-18) that I have watched my own son like a hawk for any signs of gut problems. Thankfully, none have surfaced. It was honestly a bit of shock to hear that Joey was facing gastro surgery. I really felt if it was going to be passed along, it would be to Gregory. But, like me, Joey has IBD on both sides of his family. None of this is bigger than God, and He can make the nerves grow in Joey's intestines just as easily now as when he was in-utero. I know He has a bigger purpose for this, whatever the outcome. He will carry us through.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
My niece
I became an aunt for the first time 32 years ago. My first niece was born 27 years ago, and her daughter was born 8 years ago. This week I got to meet my newest niece, Stella Rosalie, born to Greg's younger brother & his wife. She's a little bit - only 5lbs 6oz - but she's quite the keeper!
I love seeing my hubby holding a baby :)
She was asleep &/or nursing for a good while after we got there. Then when Mommy decided to change her diaper she woke up! Here she's holding onto her daddy's finger and looking straight at him.
Her Grandma Joan didn't want to hold her since she's so little. We talked her into it anyway. I think she's glad we did.
She slept in my arms for a bit too. Look at the sweet little hands...
I love seeing my hubby holding a baby :)
She was asleep &/or nursing for a good while after we got there. Then when Mommy decided to change her diaper she woke up! Here she's holding onto her daddy's finger and looking straight at him.
Her Grandma Joan didn't want to hold her since she's so little. We talked her into it anyway. I think she's glad we did.
She slept in my arms for a bit too. Look at the sweet little hands...
Thursday, November 1, 2007
an interesting article re: "minimally invasive education"
This article is really long but it's really worth the read!
From a Businessweek Online Daily Briefing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sugata Mitra has a PhD in physics and heads research efforts at New Delhi’s NIIT, a fast-growing software and education company with sales of more than $200 million and a market cap over $2 billion. But Mitra’s passion is computer-based education, specifically for India’s poor. He believes that children, even terribly poor kids with little education, can quickly teach themselves the rudiments of computer literacy. The key, he contends, is for teachers and other adults to give them free rein, so their natural curiosity takes over and they teach themselves. He calls the concept “minimally invasive education.”
To test his ideas, Mitra 13 months ago launched something he calls “the hole in the wall experiment.” He took a PC connected to a high-speed data connection and imbedded it in a concrete wall next to NIIT’s headquarters in the south end of New Delhi. The wall separates the company’s grounds from a garbage-strewn empty lot used by the poor as a public bathroom. Mitra simply left the computer on, connected to the Internet, and allowed any passerby to play with it. He monitored activity on the PC using a remote computer and a video camera mounted in a nearby tree.
What he discovered was that the most avid users of the machine were ghetto kids aged 6 to 12, most of whom have only the most rudimentary education and little knowledge of English. Yet within days, the kids had taught themselves to draw on the computer and to browse the Net. Some of the other things they learned, Mitra says, astonished him.
The physicist has since installed a computer in a rural neighborhood with similar results. He’s convinced that 500 million children could achieve basic computer literacy over the next five years, if the Indian government put 100,000 Net-connected PCs in schools and trained teachers in some basic “noninvasive” teaching techniques for guiding children in using them. Total investment required, he figures: Around $2 billion.
On Feb. 25, BW Online Contributing Editor Thane Peterson sat down with Mitra, a stocky 48-year-old with a mustache and a mop of graying black hair, in his tiny, triangular office at NIIT’s R&D center on the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology in the south part of New Delhi. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation.
From a Businessweek Online Daily Briefing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sugata Mitra has a PhD in physics and heads research efforts at New Delhi’s NIIT, a fast-growing software and education company with sales of more than $200 million and a market cap over $2 billion. But Mitra’s passion is computer-based education, specifically for India’s poor. He believes that children, even terribly poor kids with little education, can quickly teach themselves the rudiments of computer literacy. The key, he contends, is for teachers and other adults to give them free rein, so their natural curiosity takes over and they teach themselves. He calls the concept “minimally invasive education.”
To test his ideas, Mitra 13 months ago launched something he calls “the hole in the wall experiment.” He took a PC connected to a high-speed data connection and imbedded it in a concrete wall next to NIIT’s headquarters in the south end of New Delhi. The wall separates the company’s grounds from a garbage-strewn empty lot used by the poor as a public bathroom. Mitra simply left the computer on, connected to the Internet, and allowed any passerby to play with it. He monitored activity on the PC using a remote computer and a video camera mounted in a nearby tree.
What he discovered was that the most avid users of the machine were ghetto kids aged 6 to 12, most of whom have only the most rudimentary education and little knowledge of English. Yet within days, the kids had taught themselves to draw on the computer and to browse the Net. Some of the other things they learned, Mitra says, astonished him.
The physicist has since installed a computer in a rural neighborhood with similar results. He’s convinced that 500 million children could achieve basic computer literacy over the next five years, if the Indian government put 100,000 Net-connected PCs in schools and trained teachers in some basic “noninvasive” teaching techniques for guiding children in using them. Total investment required, he figures: Around $2 billion.
On Feb. 25, BW Online Contributing Editor Thane Peterson sat down with Mitra, a stocky 48-year-old with a mustache and a mop of graying black hair, in his tiny, triangular office at NIIT’s R&D center on the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology in the south part of New Delhi. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Halloween
We were planning to go to New Orleans today. It would have really been my last chance to see my SIL pregnant. And little Joey (my great-nephew) is 4 weeks old and I've not seen him since he was a day old :( . He's doing pretty well and I wanted to visit him at home while I'd have the chance.
Joey & Mikey...
Last night Gregory told me he didn't want to go. No big surprise there. He doesn't want to go anywhere lately. This morning he was dragging butt getting ready and I eventually found him in tears. I wanted to go so bad. I had already made phone calls (MY phobia!) and we were expected and I'd have to call AGAIN to cancel. My spirit could see that he couldn't do it but my flesh wanted him to get over it. I got very frustrated and wasn't helping. I finally just picked him up and held him and said we wouldn't go. That got him even more upset and he started insisting we would go (I know he was thinking he'd be blamed) because I wanted to go. I told him that yes I wanted to go but that his feelings were more important. I told him I was upset because I don't want him to cheat himself out of ever doing anything because of the fear of leaving home. I even told him I knew how he felt - a burning hole in the belly. BINGO. His face just transformed. I saw the trust return to his face. I wasn't just blowing smoke; I did know how it felt. Anxiety. Not the road I want him to go down. But it's part of the package. He's super sensitive and that applies to food additives, clothing tags, "joking" comments, and any stress around him. He knew I wanted to go. And I know a part of him wanted to want to go. But he couldn't. We went outside and I made my phone calls (I lived) and we just hung out and had a nice afternoon outside.
We watched a spider build her web...
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And Gregory finally believes that he can swing himself. He's been enjoying our "fall" weather. Today he was working on his dismount...
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And just to show how much he doesn't want to leave home - no trick or treating tonight! We've never had any TrT in our neighborhood. There really aren't any other kids. So we usually go with some friends to a neighborhood nearby that really goes all out. Saturday he got to go to a trunk or treat with his best friend and that was about as big of a crowd as he can handle. When we were talking about it today, he sounded like he didn't want to go (and that didn't break my heart). I told him he didn't have to go and he said, "Well I want some candy, so, yeah, I kinda have to go." His face lit up again when I said I had some candy & he did NOT have to go trick or treating. So he and his dad have been having a superhero cartoon marathon complete with dragging out comic books and the DC "encyclopedia" of superheroes.
As I typed all of this it occurs to me that the reason Gregory doesn't like to go to church with me is that it's a big church - seats about 1100 - and it's always crowded. He likes to watch it online with me sometimes & I take what I can get. I've had to really teach my faith by living it. No way could I get away with schooling it. But that's a blessing too. It's made me dive deeper.
Joey & Mikey...
Last night Gregory told me he didn't want to go. No big surprise there. He doesn't want to go anywhere lately. This morning he was dragging butt getting ready and I eventually found him in tears. I wanted to go so bad. I had already made phone calls (MY phobia!) and we were expected and I'd have to call AGAIN to cancel. My spirit could see that he couldn't do it but my flesh wanted him to get over it. I got very frustrated and wasn't helping. I finally just picked him up and held him and said we wouldn't go. That got him even more upset and he started insisting we would go (I know he was thinking he'd be blamed) because I wanted to go. I told him that yes I wanted to go but that his feelings were more important. I told him I was upset because I don't want him to cheat himself out of ever doing anything because of the fear of leaving home. I even told him I knew how he felt - a burning hole in the belly. BINGO. His face just transformed. I saw the trust return to his face. I wasn't just blowing smoke; I did know how it felt. Anxiety. Not the road I want him to go down. But it's part of the package. He's super sensitive and that applies to food additives, clothing tags, "joking" comments, and any stress around him. He knew I wanted to go. And I know a part of him wanted to want to go. But he couldn't. We went outside and I made my phone calls (I lived) and we just hung out and had a nice afternoon outside.
We watched a spider build her web...
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting
And Gregory finally believes that he can swing himself. He's been enjoying our "fall" weather. Today he was working on his dismount...
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Share Photos - Free Video Hosting
And just to show how much he doesn't want to leave home - no trick or treating tonight! We've never had any TrT in our neighborhood. There really aren't any other kids. So we usually go with some friends to a neighborhood nearby that really goes all out. Saturday he got to go to a trunk or treat with his best friend and that was about as big of a crowd as he can handle. When we were talking about it today, he sounded like he didn't want to go (and that didn't break my heart). I told him he didn't have to go and he said, "Well I want some candy, so, yeah, I kinda have to go." His face lit up again when I said I had some candy & he did NOT have to go trick or treating. So he and his dad have been having a superhero cartoon marathon complete with dragging out comic books and the DC "encyclopedia" of superheroes.
As I typed all of this it occurs to me that the reason Gregory doesn't like to go to church with me is that it's a big church - seats about 1100 - and it's always crowded. He likes to watch it online with me sometimes & I take what I can get. I've had to really teach my faith by living it. No way could I get away with schooling it. But that's a blessing too. It's made me dive deeper.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Babies...
Well, Joey has been home for over a week and things are going pretty well. If his feedings and enemas continue going well, he should have his surgery in January. It was slow going for a while and there was talk of a temporary ostomy, but he's had several good days now and has surpassed his birth weight(finally!).
Still waiting for my other niece/nephew to be born. Only 16 more days till EDD! There's been a little concern about baby's size and the ammount of ammniotic fluid, but so far just "watching" things. My poor FIL is a nervous wreck. It doesn't take much to get him upset and his anticipation has gotten the better of him.
We're going ice skating today w/a few HS groups and hopefully there'll be a baby or two for me to snuggle. :)
[UPDATE] No babies to hold! Oh well. I had to follow the toddlers around instead.
BTW - I crocheted the hat Gregory's wearing!
Still waiting for my other niece/nephew to be born. Only 16 more days till EDD! There's been a little concern about baby's size and the ammount of ammniotic fluid, but so far just "watching" things. My poor FIL is a nervous wreck. It doesn't take much to get him upset and his anticipation has gotten the better of him.
We're going ice skating today w/a few HS groups and hopefully there'll be a baby or two for me to snuggle. :)
[UPDATE] No babies to hold! Oh well. I had to follow the toddlers around instead.
BTW - I crocheted the hat Gregory's wearing!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Hirshsprung's disease
Well, unschooling has proven it's validity once again. This week, my whole family is learning all about Hirshsprung's disease. My nephew's son was born last Tuesday. By the weekend, it was clear something was wrong with little Joey's gut and he was in the hospital. Basically, the nerves that cause bowel movement are missing &/or incomplete, leaving him without the ability to eliminate properly. Treatment involves surgically removing the affected intestine and reconnecting the rest. But docs want to wait until he's 12 pounds, and he's now only 6 pounds. Until surgery, he'll have to have enemas to help him eliminate.
This is in the IBD (inflammatory bowel disease - not the same as IBS, irritable bowel syndrome) family of diseases. And we are an IBD family. I have Crohn's disease. I have one sister w/ ulcerative colitis. My mother has 2 cousins & 1 brother w/UC. My father's brother died of complications from UC 10 years ago. And if that weren't bad enough, little Joey's mom has a brother very sick with Crohn's. This little man's gut didn't almost didn't have a chance. Thank God for God!!
The blessing here is that this could not have been caught sooner. He wasn't even dehydrated yet when he was hospitalized. And his days are getting better. He's able to keep formula down (we won't go there!!) and had a small BM on his own yesterday. They may get to go home today. So prayers for good weight gain are appreciated. And feel free to join me in praying that these nerves continue to grow and develop making surgery unnecessary! AMEN!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Baby Joey
I met my 3rd great-nephew yesterday. Joseph Paul was born Tuesday, October 2 @ about 1:15 PM. I got to hold him for a while, but never saw his eyes - he slept the whole time. Older brother Mikey was pretty tired too and fell asleep just after we got there. Oldest brother Chase was happy to see Gregory - he thought he'd found a play mate. But yesterday was not a fun day for Gregory. Well, he ended up having fun, but he really didn't want to go. I did what I could to validate that feeling, but staying home was not a good option. He just wanted to be home and we talked about it and agreed to just keep our visits short. Thankfully, once we were there, he did enjoy himself and I really had to drag him out of his Grandpa's house to go home.
I have to say that the more time we spend in NO, the more I realize I really do not want to live there anymore. I used to think we'd end up there again, but I don't see it now. The main drags all seem to be up and running, but you can go down just about any side street and find abandonded buildings - often very large buildings. It's creepy. And I have to say, everyone we know went home and rebuilt/repaired. And everyone of them have said never again. They have all said that next time, they are not coming back.
BUT life DOES go on, and here's some proof:
Joey
Mikey
I have to say that the more time we spend in NO, the more I realize I really do not want to live there anymore. I used to think we'd end up there again, but I don't see it now. The main drags all seem to be up and running, but you can go down just about any side street and find abandonded buildings - often very large buildings. It's creepy. And I have to say, everyone we know went home and rebuilt/repaired. And everyone of them have said never again. They have all said that next time, they are not coming back.
BUT life DOES go on, and here's some proof:
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Baby shower, New Orleans style
My SIL's baby shower was Saturday. It was a suprise, thrown @ the Rib Room of the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, on St. Louis St. in the French Quarter. It was lovely. The food was incredible! Mmmmm the gumbo! It was even worth having to wear dress/hose/lycra/heels.
For some reason, I thought I would be the only person from Jason's side of the family attending. I thought it was a suprise from him also(it wasn't) and knew that I was the only woman in our family they knew well. To my suprise, their grandmother was there, 2 aunts, & 3 cousins. I hadn't seen most of them in several months, but one cousin I hadn't seen since Gregory was 5 months old! It was such fun.
We were treated to a 3 piece jazz band, and an open bar.
Outside the giant windows of the hotel, this couple sat and entertained passers by. LSU was playing Tulane @ the dome, and the streets were crowded.
After Katrina, both of Darlene's sisters moved out of state. Her older sister is 14 months older, and the other is her twin, so they are very close. It's been hard on Darlene for them to be gone. Renee has 2 boys, so her family is ready for a girl. Our family, however are all pulling for team blue (Did I mention that they aren't finding out the gender before birth?). Lately, I am secretly hoping for a girl because I know that's what Darlene wants, but I'm still getting that boy vibe. We shall see!
For some reason, I thought I would be the only person from Jason's side of the family attending. I thought it was a suprise from him also(it wasn't) and knew that I was the only woman in our family they knew well. To my suprise, their grandmother was there, 2 aunts, & 3 cousins. I hadn't seen most of them in several months, but one cousin I hadn't seen since Gregory was 5 months old! It was such fun.
We were treated to a 3 piece jazz band, and an open bar
Outside the giant windows of the hotel, this couple sat and entertained passers by. LSU was playing Tulane @ the dome, and the streets were crowded.
After Katrina, both of Darlene's sisters moved out of state. Her older sister is 14 months older, and the other is her twin, so they are very close. It's been hard on Darlene for them to be gone. Renee has 2 boys, so her family is ready for a girl. Our family, however are all pulling for team blue (Did I mention that they aren't finding out the gender before birth?). Lately, I am secretly hoping for a girl because I know that's what Darlene wants, but I'm still getting that boy vibe. We shall see!
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