Oh my... not the BOOBIES!

When I began nursing my firstborn just a little over 12 years ago (Happy birthday, baby girl!) I never would have imagined that in 2010 we would still be hearing drama over something so simple as nursing and nourishing our children. Over the past several years, stories have circulated about women's pictures of them nursing their children have been deleted on facebook accounts (this was an occurrence on My Space a few years back, as well). The images are being cited as inappropriate, violating the terms of service and *wait for it!* pornographic.

Hold up! At what point did our backwards society get so far up their own rear ends to think that a normal, basic act such as feeding an infant is inappropriate, let alone pornographic? When God, the Universe, or whomever, created women it was seen fit, as mammals, that we should have breasts. On these breasts are these amazing things called nipples. Nipples are surrounded by a darkened area called the areola. An amazing invention this was! The areola provides a darker contrast against lighter skin to help guide small babies as to where the goods are. Baby takes in the nipple plus areola and the miracle of milk flows, filling baby's tummy. Here I am, at a loss again... inappropriate? Offensive? X rated?!

Moms on social networking sites, such as facebook, have been continually fighting back. Personally, I have at least 3 photos on my facebook account that show my daughter nursing. I take pictures of daily life such as the kids playing at the park, why wouldn't I also document another normal, daily experience? This past week, an event on facebook was created (Facebook "Nurse-In") with the idea to relay back to facebook that there is nothing obscene about nursing children. This event has been up less than a week, was deleted on day two (and subsequently magically reappeared a day later) and the numbers are up to about 7,500 users banded together to support one another, smile and compliment one another's beautiful photos, provide encouraging words and advice.

Taking part of this "nurse-in" this past week has not only put a new fire in my belly to continue to work for the rights of breastfeeding Moms and babies, but it has also made me think. Imagine extrapolating a group like that into every day life? Where a mother would feel comfortable nursing in a restaurant and instead of getting dirty looks, she would get smiles. Where women who are pregnant or newly postpartum have an expanded network of support to encourage and help them during those tough newborn days and weeks when many women are apt to give up. I know by posting my own pictures (and my albums are private for friends only) that I am telling my network of friends that this is something that is part of my daily life. As a result, I know any one of them know if they had a question or needed help with breastfeeding that I am there as a support tool.

If our daughters regularly witnessed breastfeeding as a normal life event, think how much more likely they would be to nurse their own babies and so on and so forth. Imagine how many babies lives could be saved by breastmilk across the world.. imagine the decrease in health care costs... babies with larger immune defenses who get sick less often.. imagine low-income Moms providing their babies with food their bodies make for free and not having to solely rely on WIC to feed their babies... imagine those same Moms not being forced to water down that formula to stretch it out long enough to be able to get more..

This is so much more than just a desire to show our breasts in a non-sexual manner. It's a battle to show society that breastfeeding is a normal, every day act. To show that breasts were made to feed babies, not Nestle (if you ever have a chance, google Nestle boycott). It is a battle to normalize something so very simple... the feeding of babies. What's so wrong with that?

In the meantime, I am happy to do my own part to keep up the fight so that one day facebook will start deleting the actual inappropriate content consistently being posted (in a simple 2 minute search on the site, I found actual pornographic material) and allowing the display of moms feeding their babies.

Kudos to every single Mom out there.

Great expectations

It is summer at last here in the Pacific Northwest...a highly anticipated time where the gloomy rain clouds dissipate and are replaced by sticky humidity and clear blue skies. I couldn't be happier. It also appears to be a season of change. Pattygirl is about to turn two in a few days. I can't believe it has been that long since I held my sweet girl in the confines of my safe womb, nervously excited for her to make her entrance into this world and be my first and only homebirthed baby. She is fiercly independant, yet a momma's girl still. Her vocabulary is growing daily and she cracks me up now by knowing who certain pop stars are like "gaga" and "boom boom" (black eyed peas). She still nurses and shows no sign of wanting to slow down yet and with her being the last of my babies I am in no big hurry to kick her off the boob quite yet.

Speaking of pattygirl's birth, I recently got word that her birth story will be published in the Fall issue of Midwifery Today. In addition, a poem I wrote for Kayla will be published, as well. Change number 2- I will technically be a published writer. It makes me wonder what else I may be able to write.. I don't venture to assume anything as big as a book, but maybe random articles or stories that I could submit to parenting and mothering magazines and perhaps earn some extra cash? Who knows.. we'll see if anything comes to me and I have the guts to send it in. Submitting a piece of work that has come straight out of one's soul is gutwrenching and nerve wracking.

Change 3 is a new position at work. Yep, after 3.5 years in my current position I finally got promoted. I had hoped to move forward long before, but things always change, hiring freezes happen, maternity leave occurs, etc. At this point I am grateful and happy for the new opportunity and welcome change.

Change 4 is I am going to be an auntie. In a few ways, really. One of my dearest friends is expecting her first baby this fall and I have the honor of attending her homebirth as a doula and witnessing her transformation into a mother. She has attended my last two births and I am excited to return the favor. I also can't help but to delite in her choice of birth... knowing that I had a small smackeral of influence in her knowledge about birth and her being able to witness the labor and birth process uniterrupted and in it's natural, normal form when she saw Jaidy quietly slipped into this world in a tub of warm water by candelight and Ava hollar her way out at home on a hot summer's night.

My own sister is having a baby this fall, as well... it is heartbreaking to me to know that I will not likely ever see my nephew because of the relationship between us.. that she won't let me be there for her and value my experiences as a four time mother and woman who has spent the last 10 years engrossed in everything birth, attending conferences, births of friends, education seminars, etc etc. It terrifies me that she will likely become victim to the machine of the hospital birth system.. where one out of three women "can't" birth vaginally, a large majority of women are induced or augmented, pain relief meds are given as if they are skittles and have no adverse affects on mom or baby.. where food and drink are denied, movement and noise are seen as taboo, where moms are expected to push uphill on their backs fighting gravity rather than using it to their benefit. I sincerely hope the best of for her and her new family.. sadly, she will probably never know this and it's not like she'd read this blog anyways...

Anyhow.. now that I have managed to make myself sad and weepy I am up and off to take the kids to the park to enjoy the amazing weather we have upon us. To let them dip their toes in the water, play in the sand and be free to run around, giggling and being silly.

Change is good.

Spring!

I love spring. There is just something amazing about watching the world re-birth itself. Trees and flowers blooming, fresh produce in abundance, the warmth of a long-missed sun... nothing compares.

My kids have started their own little garden. So far they have started growing dill, basil, rosemary, green onions, chives, chamomile, zucchini, thyme, peas and wild flowers. They have plans to start some tomatoes soon along with a "salad bowl" (a pot filled with spinach, argula and spring greens). Today, while sitting outside enjoying the spring sun, and admiring the sprouting zucchini an idea for a recipe hit me. I think it was a total win and wanted to share it!

Zucchini banana bread:
2 cups whole wheat flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp baking soda

--combine in a bowl, set aside

2 overripe bananas, mashed
one medium zucchini, finely shredded
1/4 cup butter melted
2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 TB vanilla extract
generous sprinkle of cinnamon

Mix the above ingredients well together, followed by adding the flour mixture. Place in a greased bread pan at 350 for about 40-50 mins or until an inserted knife comes out clean.

Simple, easy and it tasted amazing! The kids loved it too. You could easily cut the sugar amount down too. The bread is sweet and I imagine a good way to do it, as well, would to substitute vanilla yogurt for the butter (a container's worth) and cut the sugar down to 2/3 or maybe even half. Nevertheless, it was my first made up baking recipe and I was quite proud!

At this moment I have a zucchini gratin baking in the oven that I can't wait to dive into (or as Jaidy would call it, "bikini"). Ahhhh, spring tastes amazing!

Midwifery Today conference

I think I perhaps may be the worse blogger in the world... for one, I constantly forget that I have this outlet here to rant, rave, ooooh and ahhhh.. and second I often wonder if anyone ever actually reads a smidgen of anything I write on here. Anyhow... either way I am back to muddle up cyberspace with more of my blabber.

This past weekend I had an amazing opportunity to go the Midwifery Today conference in Philadelphia, PA. I previously had gone to this same conference 4 years ago and found it to be utterly amazing. This time was no different. I decided to take my two daughters with me and turn it into a girls only trip. We arrived at our hotel at 1am Friday morning after 12 hours worth of traveling. I had to be up by 7am for the all day conference... man, was mama tired!

Being a birth junkie, I can't describe how amazing it is to be in the room with the likes of Elizabeth Davis, Ina May Gaskin and Michel Odent. I guess one can compare it to a football fanatic having a chance to chat with Jerry Rice or Joe Montana. Michel Odent's session on alternative methods for pain relief was nothing short of fascinating. He spoke a lot about the physiological process and how pain plays a factor in labor along with the cascade of hormones and endorphins. It makes sense when put in the perspective of how one can't remove one peice of a puzzle and then still expect for all the others peices to fit together to create the same picture. It just doesn't work! Friday evening we were treated with the most beautiful birth film I have yet to see called Le Premier Cri (The first cry). This film was a montage of highlights of births across the world, including a water birth with dolphins!

The highlight on Saturday was a workshop with Janice Marsh-Prelesnik on expressive arts. This was such an incredibly fun time... singing, dancing and creating works of art with other beautiful women. Lunch was spent with a table of more amazing women... I had the opportunity to chat with several student midwives, a nurse-midwife, as well as lunch with Ina May Gaskin herself. That evening was the cabaret.. 2 hours of more songs, dancing, poetry and a hilarious play put on by Naoli Vinaver and Michel Odent. I some how got the nerve to read the two poems I had wrote about Kayla's birth. It was incredibly scary, but at the same time it was comforting to share such personal peices of me with a room full of supportive and powerful women--doulas, midwives, childbirth educators, birth advocates and more.

The girls had a great time... and I came back home refreshed and ready to get into gear with moving things forward--creating a plan to be able to start midwifery school (hopefully when Ava turns 3) and pursuing some other exciting opportunities in the birth community. I can't wait!