A few weeks ago, I went to a wonderful event with Gloria Feldt. She is one inspiring woman! Once a teen mom, Gloria went on to raise three children and to work for 30 years for Planned Parenthood, serving as its national president until 2005. I’ve only made a dent into her book so far…
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(Parental) craziness at the zoo
I witnessed some unfamiliar and disturbing behavior yesterday at the zoo. I’m not talking about the animals. So much whining, taunting, complaining, aggression, and general crankiness. I’m not talking about children. Some of the most pissy parents were out in force at the National Zoo yesterday, the most gorgeous Columbus Day ever (when arriving after…
Happy Midwifery Week!
I just found out that it’s National Midwifery Week! I want to publicly thank the midwives I have worked with who have supported me before, during and after pregnancies. Thanks to the midwives at BirthCare and Women’s Health, to Tammi McKinley, CPM, of Northern Virginia Midwifery, Susan Dodge, formerly of BirthCare, and Marilee Pinkleton, CPM,…
No, I don’t think I’ll become a Bradley instructor
I remember the first time I got a message from the Bradley Method® of Natural Childbirth after my son’s c-section in 2006. The subject heading — “The World Needs More Bradley® Instructors!” — didn’t exactly feel warm and fuzzy to my tender belly and the emotional guts beneath it. But it was the contents of…
Arlington County sponsors Journey to Parenting event
This afternoon/evening, Monday, October 4, Arlington County is putting on an event called “Journey to Parenting: A Resource and Information Fair for New and Expectant Parents,” 4:00-7:30 p.m. There will be talks with local resources like Postpartum Support Virginia, and my chapter of Holistic Moms Network will be exhibiting. Location: Human Services Center at Sequoia,…
Baby’s first photo shoot
Professional photos are not something I’ve pursued for my family. It took me over a year to redeem a free shoot I won from Holistic Moms Northern Virginia chapter‘s one-year anniversary party for pregnant belly shots. When I connected online just a week later with DC-area newcomer Lisa Hager of Red Thread Photography, I was…
CNN report on high fructose corn syrup
The CNN report for which I was interviewed about high fructose corn syrup is now online. View it here! Thanks to reporters Brianna Keilar and Lesa Jansen for taking on this issue! Read more about my opinions on HFCS here.
Wellness events in October
October is a crazy-busy month for natural-minded health and wellness junkies in and around Washington, DC. Pathways, the free magazine you see at massage therapy centers, health food stores, and the offices of alternative medicine practitioners is having its Natural Living Expo on Sunday, October 3 in Adelphi, Maryland. Folks who like to teach their…
“So what do you think about high fructose corn syrup?”
I am not sure how well I recently answered this question about my concerns about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). I don’t want to imply that I’m knocking anyone else’s choices, but I also feel pretty strongly that our bodies and our planet would both be healthier and happier if we gave this substance the…
Performance workshop for cesarean and VBAC mamas
A year ago, at the Kennedy Center’s Page to Stage weekend, I saw a staged reading of Karen Brody’s play Michelle Obama: Taskmaster. Now the author of Birth: The Play is holding what sounds like an amazing workshop for moms who have had cesarean sections and VBACs. If I didn’t have a newborn and live…
“It has gluten.” Escape route from junk food?
Not so long ago, my husband took our son with him to get a haircut, where the boy was offered a lollipop, something he previously didn’t know existed. In my world, we would just say no thank you. It’s just Not. Something. We. Eat. End of story. If he asked, I would have just said…
Consumer confession
Bless me, Earth Mother, for I have sinned. To cut to the chase, I drove a full 22 minutes on a perfectly gorgeous sunny autumn day to buy a bucket of plastic toys. Virgin plastic. $29.99. Lots of petroleum. Bad precedent. I know, it’s not pretty. So why did I fall so hard? It’s complicated….
The clothes make the man, but do they make the baby?
I don’t understand why people get so defensive when strangers make the wrong assumption about their baby’s gender. Who cares what other people think? Why is it an insult either way? I’ve heard lots of people complain about ignorant commenters, “I mean, she had bows in her hair. She was wearing pink!” Or “He had…
Counting the minutes
There are a lot of emails I haven’t responded to and much more interesting posts I’ve written and never finished getting list to and so never posted. There are a million books I could read while I’m nursing, but at this moment, I feel the need to shout publicly that I am going insane! Yesterday…
Perspective, after two weeks
It’s been one heck of a week, filled with peaks and valleys. Beginning on Saturday night when my sister said she wouldn’t be able to come because her daughter was sick, I was thrust into Plan B, otherwise known as Find People To Take My Son Out of the House So That We Do Not…
The second time around
I have an essay called “The First Time Around” in an anthology that is coming out soon, From the Heart: A Collection of Stories and Poems from the Front Lines of Parenting. It compares my first year mothering to my first year teaching high school and explores the desire for a do-over, to fix all…
I had a baby! HBAC story
This is the story of my home waterbirth, a VBAC.
ACOG’s new guidelines in VBAC seek to reduce repeat c-sections
Woo hoo! The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has revised its guidelines to say that “vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) is a safe and appropriate choice for most women who have had a prior cesarean delivery, including for some women who have had two previous cesareans…” Finally! Maybe they were listening at the…
Giveaway for Strathmore’s Backyard Theater July 29
I’m giving away four tickets to one of the July 29 performances at the Backyard Theater for Children at Strathmore. Performances are at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. On July 29, the show will be “Banjo to Beatbox with Cathy Fink, Marcy Marxer and Christylez Bacon.” The description of this act is: “Family folk meets hip…
If you like my body…let me know!
Being pregnant in the summer is a different experience than having a baby due in March. My body is really out there. And I mean out there. But still, people have been pretty nice. One friend complimented me on how good I looked and then made the analogy: “like an olive on a stick.” I…