A New Experience

I could have done without.

I spent eight hours in the emergency room today. I have a concussion. On Wednesday I slipped on some ice at the grocery store and smacked the back of my head on the concrete.

I thought I was fine, other than the pain from the fall, at first. I went home without reporting it to the store. I just wanted to go lie down. I went to the chiropractor less than hour after it happened at the insistence of my midwife. I was quite sore. Falling down did not cause such lasting pain when I was a kid.

Friday I started feeling dizzy and nauseated. It got worse. The midwife and my husband wanted me to go in a be checked out. The ER was slammed. It was six hours before we got back to a room. I had a CT scan. Thankfully, nothing is broken and no bleeding in my brain. I do have a concussion. Wonderful thing is the doc can't tell me exactly how long the headache and dizziness will last. A few days or a few weeks.

*Sigh* I don't have time for this.

Well at least I can scratch that off my bucket list. :P

Breasts...

were made for feeding babies. It happens to be a perk that my husband likes them, but their primary purpose is to feed a baby. Breasts were specifically made to feed babies. Their position on the body and the fact that when a woman gives birth her body makes milk in them. Milk that changes as the baby ages to best meet the needs of the nursing child. God really did think of everything.

So many times I have heard or read people equate nursing in public to urinating, defecating, or having sex in public. Apples and swingsets. Breastfeeding a child is in no way comparable to elimination or copulation.  I've heard people say, "If the child is old enough to ask for it, they are too old". Seriously? So if your kid can ask for an apple or a drink of water you won't give it to them since they are too old? What kind of crazy logic is that? The real kicker was when I was told by a woman regarding breastfeeding, "We are Christians. We don't do that sort of thing.". O.o The idiocy of that comment made me speechless. For real, lady? Why did God make breasts and cause those breasts to make milk if not to feed your baby?

This idea that breastfeeding in public or breastfeeding a toddler or preschooler is dirty comes from a perverted mindset. What people are saying when they say that a child is too old to breastfeed when the child can verbalize their wants is that the child is asking to perform a sexual act with his mother. They are ascribing sexual connotations to the child's desire for sustenance. That is disgusting. It is a perversion of what God created. It shows a preoccupation with sex in the individual who holds such opinions. Projecting sexual motivations onto a child is what pedophiles do. This mentality needs to be rooted out.

 Women, we must not be afraid to do what is right, and it is right to feed your baby whenever or wherever he is hungry. It is my own opinion that trying to be 'discreet' by using a cover just draws more attention. It is a hassle to have to carry around a cover and then put it on before you get to feeding your baby. Most of the time when I have nursed in public (NIP) no one noticed. Those who did were usually mothers themselves and I would get a shy smile of encouragement. There have been a few times when I've had negative reactions, but knowing that those who are disturbed by it are perverted in their thinking makes it easier to ignore them. Let us not allow those individuals to disturb our relationship with our children.

Our Rescue Kitten

My children have such soft hearts for animals. Especially my 11 year old son. He is forever bringing in pathetic stray kittens. They all need food and medical care. We've had a few of the ones he's brought in die. Two of them from FIP. Those two were so sad because it happened so fast. In the afternoon they started showing symptoms and by night they were gone.

Currently, we have a little orange kitty. She is adorable and so sweet. Ellis found her in the neighbor's front yard but she wasn't from any of their cats. I think someone just threw her out, not wanting to deal with kittens. She is injured somehow and cannot walk right. She stumbles and rolls. She has a persistent bloat that we have tried many different things to alleviate. A couple weeks ago she came down with what the vet was certain was FIP. She recovered. The first time we had her to the vet the vet said, "You won't be able to kill that thing with a bat." I am starting to believe her.

Here's some pics.

See how fat her little belly is?

That's when she was sick.

When we first found her

I set up a facebook page for my son to tell about the kittens he has (and will) rescued. Also, I hope it will be a way for people to donate to help pay for the care these animals need. It strains our budget to provide that. LINK

Too many thoughts...

banging around my head. I can't decide what I want to write about most.

I was wanting to wait to do a politically toned post about the Sandy Hook shooting, but the stuff I've been reading makes me impatient and infuriated. The President pushing for speed in gun control and promising to use all the power of his office to accomplish that.

Then there are a few pregnancy/labor related topics I want to write about. I've learned some new stuff about placental insufficiency and I have some thoughts about labor "management" I'd like to write about too.

Then there is just some random life stuff I could write about.

Ah well, maybe I'll get motivated tomorrow. :P

Sandy Hook...

I was going to write something about this, but my daughter beat me to it and she is much more eloquent than I so...
Senseless Tragedy

Christmas "Shopping"

My eldest son, an eleven year old, is an expert dumpster diver. Where he learned this craft I know not. For the last three years he has obtained Christmas gifts for everyone in the family "shopping" in this manner.

He finds some good stuff. Today, he found a nice pair of roller blades. His other finds from today's foray are now wrapped and sitting under our tree.

His ability to find this stuff doesn't amaze me as much as the fact that it was all just tossed in the dumpster to begin with. There are numerous charitable organizations in town that people could donate their stuff to. Some of them will even come and pick it up from your house. The careless way people throw away perfectly useful things is rather sad.

Over the years he has brought home numerous purses/bags, a television, a DVD player, a stereo system, myriad toys, chairs, clothes, Christmas lights, and so much that escapes me at the moment. All useful, all still in good working order. Why do people just toss this stuff for it to pile up in a landfill instead of being of use to someone?

Ah, well, at least it gives my son something to do. :)