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…
health
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…
Organic skincare in DC – Holeco closing its doors
Local mompreneur Honi Borden has just announced that she will be closing the doors to Holeco Wellness Medispa a the end of August in order to pursue her line of Holeco Life “rooted beauty” non-toxic skincare products and also to spend more time with her family. Follow Holeco on Facebook or check out the products…
Nature center saves the day
Although I was totally annoyed at my son for waking me up at 6:11 a.m., I also felt a little guilty that I was going to be dragging him to an appointment later that morning with nothing in it for him. Well, the practitioner was going to check him out, too, and at least she…
Now I’m the know-it-all
The other day, I took a prenatal yoga class for the third or fourth time. Amid all the cute bellies on first-time moms, I felt compelled to offer a dash of perspective from the side of motherhood — the one that’s been there already. The following post appeared May 25, 2010 as “Reality Check for…
I dreamed a dream Part II: Background
I wanted to stay in the moment in my post the other day about my dream that my baby might have Down Syndrome. But there are a couple of other background factors I’d like to acknowledge. First of all, we didn’t do any early fetal testing, so who knows. I didn’t even look into all…
I dreamed a dream (Part I)
As I slept the other night, a vision came into my head of a child with a crowded mouth of ill-fitting teeth. Then I heard the words, “She has Down’s.” My eyes popped open. It was the middle of the night, and my 4-year-old son lay sleeping next to me, with my husband on the…
Mama needs a massage
So get one — for free! Massage Envy is running a contest that closes Sunday, May 16 just before midnight. Tell — in 140 characters or fewer! — how you told your partner you were expecting. You could win a free three-month membership to Massage Envy. Sounds good to me! Participants tweet to @massageenvydc or…
Time to heal
Sigh. Sometimes it’s easier to mother when your child is really in a rough state. My son has been mildly sick for over a week, just sick enough that he’s been unable to go to school. And I’ve been unable to work. It’s been a delight to see him fully immersed in play by himself,…
Food for the animals?
Today I went to a zoo I hadn’t been to before, and I’m not sure what to think about it. Having yesterday been to the (free) National Zoo — where signs all over tell you the animals are on a planned diet and please don’t feed them — I was surprised that when I was…
Time to chill
I woke last night around 3 a.m. with that sad feeling of having finished something and, though it was successful, feeling like I could have played it better. Said more thank yous, not left Slow Food DC off the resource list, not been so snappy about having to rearrange the room or not having any…
Hot Momma finalist
I just learned that I was a Top 25 Finalist for the Hot Mommas Project whose mission is “to increase self-efficacy in women and girls by providing scalable, global, free access to role models online. “ My case is titled “Spreading the Word About Healthy Living” and can be found in the case library. The…
Reflecting on NIH VBAC conference
As I wrote shortly after attending the first day of the NIH conference on Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) a few weeks ago, the experience was tiring. The panelists might have been trying to convey the message the uterine rupture is really rare — less than 1% — and that it does not deserve to…
Breathe on me, when you’re not strong
I had a hunch my son was not in the greatest health when, on Wednesday morning, his breath didn’t smell right. Whenever he gets a fever, his breath has a metallic or medicinal smell. I get the impression his body is heating up and detoxifying. But it’s hard to justify keeping a child home for…
NIH conference addresses vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)
More personal reflections will follow, but below is my official report from attending day one of the NIH conference on VBAC, a post I’ve also published in my column at the Washington Times Communities. This week, the National Institutes of Health is holding a Consensus Development Conference entitled “Vaginal Birth After Cesarean: New Insights,” a…
The day after
It was nice to have such warm & fuzzy feelings about my son yesterday, but today I just feel guilty. He was so whiny and out of sorts this morning. It’s great that he can adapt well to situations (like yesterday’s marathon of being in others’ care), but I feel like we always pay for…
Tired and missing my kid
It feels good to look forward to seeing your son. Lately I’ve felt so swamped — and especially after all that snow with no break — I haven’t exactly loved all my many minutes with my boy. Today I went to the National Institutes of Health for a conference on Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC),…
Homemade Chicken Stock
Homemade chicken stock is an inexpensive way to make a mineral-rich, healing liquid that can soothe testy tummies and enhance the flavor and healthfulness of any soup or cooked veggie recipe. I just posted a recipe/protocol for making homemade chicken stock on my more food-focused outlets: on my blog “Inexact Science: Raising Healthy Families” and…
Holistic living in the news
So, a columnist whose work I really like wrote about me and my Holistic Moms group in the Washington Post in an article that was titled on paper “Healthier eating, a nibble at a time” but appears online here as “No need to go hog-wild in making healthier food choices.” I already posted some comments…