Just. Say. NO.

If you deliver at a hospital, a nurse may come in and say your baby "needs" to go to the nursery. This is not the case. Tell them that you would prefer the baby stay with you in the room. Your baby does not need to be taken away from you, ever. This is YOUR baby. Hospitals can't make you do anything. Any baby care and tests can be done in the room with you, it's just more convenient for the nursing staff to have the babies in the nursery. But they can keep your baby for hours! If they insist that baby must go to the nursery for a procedure, then you can always insist that you or your partner go with the baby. Your little one was just brought into this world. Why send them off with complete strangers??

JUST. SAY. NO. –> You can’t take my baby……

http://obnurse35yrs.wordpress.com/2012/0...

JUST. SAY. NO. You CAN’T Take MY Baby to the Newborn Nursery! All too often, we as hospital staff in Labor and Delivery- Mother Baby units or the Newborn Nursery want to take YOUR baby away f...

To prepare for this situation, a good idea would be to tour the maternity ward at the hospital that you are planning to deliver at. Ask questions. Ask LOTS of questions. Not sure what to ask? Start with my Hospital Tour Questionnaire! If you're not happy with their responses, find a new hospital! I toured my hospital twice and realized I was not happy with them. At 32 weeks, I realized my OBGYN and I were not on the same page about me having a natural birth. She scoffed at me when I told her my plans for an unmedicated birth and was not encouraging at all. I toured 6 hospitals before I found one that I was comfortable with, was very family friendly and was in agreement with my wishes for baby staying in the room, lactation support, etc. I found an amazing practice with 3 midwives and 8 OBs - of which I chose to see a midwife - and I was more than willing to do the 45 minute drive from Fort Lauderdale to Boca Raton, (past 3 hospitals that would have been closer) just so I could go to this midwife and deliver at this hospital! It can be done!! You can do it too!

If you're in South Florida, I highly recommend:

- Terry DeFilippo, CNM at Women's Healthcare Partners
- Rachel DeVaney, CNM at Women's Healthcare Partners

and Boca Raton Regional Hospital. They will let the baby sleep with you in your room, all newborn procedures are done in the room and should baby need to go anywhere, dad can go with the baby to nursery and stay by baby's side the whole time.

Military Mamas

Can't we just be proud of our soldiers that are moms? They are serving our country while still trying to balance motherhood - let's encourage these ladies instead of bringing them down!!

Seriously. Does it really matter what they are wearing? I see two proud soldiers not just serving their country, but serving their children and families the best they can. The Air Force should be PROUD to have such dedicated women on their team. Truly inspiring!

Military Moms Breastfeeding in Uniform Stir Controversy

shine.yahoo.com

In a country where breast-feeding in public is already controversial, pictures of two military moms doing so while wearing their uniforms is sparking outrage.

What Your Toddler Thinks of Discipline

As a mom of a very spirited 2 year-old girl, sometimes it's hard to be calm and patient when it seems like she's testing my limits. She's so smart and talk so much, sometimes it's so easy to forget that she's still a little girl! I loved this article about toddlers and discipline. Such a great reminder!

What Your Toddler Thinks of Discipline
http://www.janetlansbury.com/2012/02/what-your-toddler-thinks-of-discipline/

Documentary - The Greater Good

Have you heard about this documentary? It recently aired on CurrentTV (I missed it) and I keep hearing about it. It's a documentary that discusses the controversial topic of vaccines and if we are doing the right thing by injecting them into our children. If you've seen it, I'd love to hear what you thought!

The Greater Good
"Back in the 1980s, children were asked to get 23 doses of 7 different vaccines. By 2010, parents are being asked to give their children 69 doses of 16 vaccines. That’s triple the dose of those recommended in the 1980s.  And today, many states have made certain vaccinations mandatory… with parents having little or NO say in whether or not their children will receive a vaccine.  Are we doing the right thing? Should all of this be stopped? Or, are we completely taking vaccines for granted?"

21 Scary Reasons to Say No to Pitocin, According to Manufacturer

When you're in labor, your body makes the hormone oxytocin which is the hormone that controls contractions. As birth gets near, the contractions become more intense and more painful - but your body is in control and it knows how much you can take. Pitocin is artificial oxytocin. Doctors often offer this to "speed up labor" when things aren't going as fast as they would like. When pitocin is control, your body cannot regulate it, it just reacts to the hormone. Contractions therefore become more painful and much more intense! Doctors are very quick to induce or speed up labor using this drug. You never hear them telling you what risks, consequences and side effects are for accepting it. Here are 21 Scary Reasons to Say NO to Pitocin, according to the manufacturer itself! Let's educate ourselves, mamas!

Breastfeeding, Bed-sharing and Infant Sleep

Bedsharing and co-sleeping from an anthropological perspective. Makes so much sense!

BED-SHARING AND CO-SLEEPING: RESEARCH OVERVIEW
http://www.evolutionaryparenting.com/bed-sharing-and-co-sleeping-research-overview/

What to REJECT When You're Expecting

When you're pregnant, it's so easy to get caught up with everything you need to do to get ready for baby, that sometimes we forget that the pregnancy itself is an important time. Mamas, please take care of yourselves! Research procedures for yourself - don't just follow doctors blindly. They may have good intentions, but you should be the one in control of what is happening to your body.

Check this article out... Even ConsumerReports.com recommends avoiding these procedures!

"What to reject when you're expecting 10 procedures to think twice about during your pregnancy"

USA Today - Breastfeeding Toddlers

Great article on USA Today - "Breast-feeding a 3-year-old is normal, anthropologist says."

"Despite a breast-feeding brouhaha kicked off last week by a Time magazine cover photo of a mom nursing her 3-year-old son, that's actually the norm worldwide, experts say. But in the United States, breast-feeding children that old is practiced among a tiny sliver of mothers. Some online are calling it "perverted" and "dangerous" to nurse a 3-year-old, but "it's normal for our species," says Katherine Dettwyler, a professor of anthropology at the University of Delaware in Newark..." Read more.

Baby Breastfeeding From Mom Standing on Her Head

This is hilarious! It has an annoying 2 sec intro, but it's so funny! He wants his milk!!

50 Reasons to Leave It Alone

Which is your favorite reason?

50 Reasons to Leave It Alone

www.thewholenetwork.org

A list of 50 important reasons why you should leave your son's penis alone. Written by: ErinKate23 (Read the original article here) Posted with Permission from Author I know, talking about baby...

Newborn 10 Commandments To Parents

Dear Mommy and Daddy,

I come to you a small, immature being with my own style and personality. I am yours for only a short time; enjoy me.

1. Please take time to find out who I am, how I differ from you and how much I can bring you.

2. Please feed me when I am hungry. I never knew hunger before and clocks and time mean little to me.

3. Please hold, cuddle, kiss, touch, stroke and croon to me. I was always held closely in your womb and was never alone before.

4. Please don't be disappointed when I am not the perfect baby that you expected, nor disappointed with yourselves that you are not the perfect parents.

5. Please don't expect too much from me as your newborn baby, or too much from yourselves as parents. Give us both six weeks for me to grow, develop, mature and become more stable and predictable; and six weeks for you to rest and relax and allow your body to get back to normal.

6. Please forgive me if I cry a lot. Bear with me and in a short time, as I mature, I wil spend less time crying -- and more time socializing.

7. Please watch me carefully and I can tell you things which soothe, console and please me. I am not a tyrant who was sent to make your life miserable, but the only way I can tell you that I am not happy is with my cry.

8. Please remember that I am resiliant and can withstand the many mistakes you will make with me. As long as you make them with love, you cannot ruin me. 

9. Please take care of yourself and eat a balanced diet, rest and exercise so that when we are together you have the health and strength to take care of me.

10. Please take care of your relationship with each other, for what good is family bonding if there is no family to bond to?

Thank you,
Your loving child