Why a Blessingway is Way Better Than a Baby Shower

Everyone I talk to doesn't mind going to baby showers, but it never fails....there is always a complaint.

"If I have to try to guess a melted candy bar in a diaper one more time I think I will throw up."

"I really hope I don't have to taste any unlabeled baby food jars again."

"I never know what to get the baby, it all seems too impersonal."

All pregnant women crave the same thing for their baby showers....a feeling of support and connection.  You'd have to be pretty shallow to just be in it for the gifts.

Traditional baby showers try their best to provide this support and connection, and to some extent they do.

But why not make your celebration as meaningful as possible?

Why not throw a Blessingway instead of a baby shower?

Just what is a Blessingway?

I've put together a nice pictorial of my niece, Julene's blessingway.

Enjoy....

To learn more about making your birth meaningful, please visit Birthologie.com

A Rare Hospital Indeed.....

Oregon Health and Science University Hospital is doing something unheard of in this country.....

They are developing evidenced based policies.

Vaginal Breech Births and VBAC after 2 cesareans.

While I applaud them for moving ahead and practicing according to what is safe rather than what is obstetrically trendy, I have to question their motives for doing so.

Says the article:

In 2008, 2 percent of home births in Oregon involved breech deliveries, Cheyney said.

"Part of the reason we decided to start this program is we felt it would be safer for those expectant mothers to have a hospital option and there wasn't one," Pereira said. "Some of these women would like to deliver in a hospital, but there wasn't a hospital to take care of them.

"We are just worrying about patients doing higher-risk type deliveries at home," he said. "We want to be able to offer them a safer option."

Oregon is a state that sees a high number of homebirths.  And apparently, the competition got to them.  They aren't offering these options because they think they are safe and support them, but are doing them to save those poor, helpless mothers and babies making ignorant choices and having their babies at home and oh yeah, they were losing business because of their backwards policies. 

As I wrote in one of my VBAC articles:

If I’ve learned one thing as a doula and childbirth educator, it’s that you have to be willing to walk away and say no in order to get adequate care sometimes.  I’ve also learned that the obstetric community doesn’t change until a certain threshold number of women will walk away from them.

In Other Words, OB’s Eventually Do What We Tell Them To. Period.

Now, this is not to vilify OB’s or pit you against your OB, but you do not have the luxury of time.  You cannot afford to wait until your OB’s ‘gets it’.  But let me suggest this.  If you aren’t willing to research, work and question your OB…if you aren’t willing to walk away and go somewhere else, if it is true that OB’s eventually do what we tell them to do (and I personally testify that that is the case), then may I suggest that the problem is not your OB, it is YOU.

I am glad that women have one more choice of how and where to birth, I just wish the motives were more authentic.

To learn more about VBAC and your birth options, please visit Birthologie.com

Women are Choosing this Option In Birth 20% More...Should You, Too?

There are a lot of trends when it comes to childbirth.  A LOT.

In the early 1900's it was Scopolamine

Starting in the 1930's, it was routine forceps

The 1940's-60's were big on the use of Twilight sleep (no, no vampires were involved)

In the 1980's, continuous electronic fetal monitoring and epidurals became the norm

And in the 1990's to today, induction is a big issue

All these interventions have or will eventually be just a part of history.  Sooner or later something 'better' and 'safer' comes along.  But one thing that has always been around since the beginning of time, and always will be around for childbearing women is......

Homebirth.

And from 2004 to 2008 (when this study ended), homebirth rose a whopping 20%.

Why such a large leap all of the sudden?

From the 1920's to the 1980's, access to homebirth was all but obliterated due to political and socio economic factors, but since the early 1980's homebirth has been slowly but steadily growing and it seems as though women in the 21st century have finally gotten the message that they not only have choices, but that they have viable, safe choices and that birth can actually be enjoyable!

This article is a great synopsis (and my good friend Sherry is also interviewed) on why women are looking at out of hospital births as a viable option.

To learn more about the History of Childbirth, please visit www.Birthologie.com

Doing This While Bottle Feeding Can Really Mess Your Baby Up

Can you bottle feed incorrectly?  It's easy right?

Fix up a bottle
Put it in the baby's mouth
Done

Most people think that it's as simple as that, right?

How your baby bottle feeds can determine just how healthy your baby is.  And finally, a lactation consultant has spelled it out for you.

So, if you are planning on using a bottle - whether it's breastmilk or formula - there are some simple guidelines you can follow to minimize colic, gas, indigestion, and increase the odds of your baby being smarter and sleeping better.

Thank you to Best For Babes for this great article!

In regards to bottle feeding after a feeding at the breast:

I often hear from moms who are afraid that they aren’t producing enough milk because their baby will gulp down a bottle after breastfeeding. It’s important for parents to understand that with traditional bottle feeding methods, babies have no choice but to gulp down everything in their bottle in order to protect their airway. If you hold a bottle upside down (even one with a slow flow nipple), it drips. When a baby being given a bottle swallows, the negative pressure created draws more milk into the baby’s mouth, meaning the baby has to swallow again to avoid choking. This is stressful for the baby, and babies will often display stress cues such as splayed fingers or toes, milk running out of the corner of the baby’s mouth, trying to turn their head away, or trying to push the bottle away. The picture above is a good example of this.

Other tips for healthy bottlefeeding:

1. Hold your baby sitting upright, and start by placing the nipple of the bottle against your baby’s top lip. Wait for your baby to open up before putting the bottle in his mouth. Never force a bottle into a baby’s mouth.

2. Your baby should be sitting up enough that the bottle is horizontal (parallel to the floor). Tip the bottle just enough to keep the tip of the nipple filled with milk (as the bottle empties, you will have to tip the bottle up more). It’s fine if there is an air bubble at the base of the nipple as long as the tip is filled with milk. This works much better with a straight bottle rather than an angled one.

3. If you are supplementing a breastfed baby, or pumping and bottle feeding in the hopes of getting baby back to nursing, it is beneficial to let your baby suck on the nipple for a minute or two without getting anything, and then tip the bottle so your baby is getting milk. When breastfeeding, babies have to wait a minute or so for mom’s milk to let down, and they have to suck to trigger that let down. Babies who have been bottle fed sometimes get used to the immediate reward from the bottle and then are impatient at the breast and don’t want to wait for let down. By letting baby suck for a short while without getting anything from the bottle, you are mimicking the process at the breast, and it can help with the transition. There is no need to worry about your baby taking in air, one end or the other it will come back out!

4. Watch your baby’s cues. All babies, whether breast or bottle fed should be fed whenever they show signs of being hungry, and not according to any kind of schedule. During feeding, if your baby starts to show any signs of stress (splayed fingers and toes, milk spilling out of mouth, turning head away, pushing bottle away – see picture above) then your baby needs a break. Keep the bottle in your baby’s mouth, but tip the bottle so that the nipple is pointing towards the roof of the baby’s mouth. By doing this, your baby knows that the bottle is still there and will start sucking again when ready. At that point you can tip the bottle back up so that baby is again getting milk. It is frustrating for your baby if you take the bottle out of his mouth to give him a break because he doesn’t know where it has gone or if it’s coming back. If your baby is showing signs that he is done (turning head, trying to push bottle away etc), then respect those cues and end the feeding.

5. Alternate sides part way through the feeding to mimic breastfeeding and allow stimulation to both eyes and both sides of the body. This also helps to prevent the development of a side preference when feeding.

6. Find a nipple that works well for your baby. There are no black and white answers as to which bottle nipple is “best” for a breastfed baby, because all babies are different. For young babies, make sure you are using a slow flow nipple. Even with older babies a slow flow nipple may be best if your baby is struggling with the flow of milk. Don’t worry about the recommended ages on the bottle nipple packaging, watch your baby to determine what works best for them. Unfortunately, “slow flow” is not something that is standardized, and some “slow flow” nipples actually flow quite quickly, so again, watch your baby. I do not recommend the “Nuk” or orthodontic type nipples because mom’s nipples don’t look like that! (If mom’s nipples are pinched or flattened after baby feeds, it’s a sign that baby isn’t latched on properly, or some other issue is causing baby to compress the nipple). Your baby should be able to “latch” onto the base of whichever nipple you use. Some bottle nipples that are advertised as having a wide base and being “more like mom’s breast”, are so wide that baby ends up being just on the nipple, which is something to be avoided. There are some good pictures of how your baby should look when latched onto a bottle nipple on this Best for Babes post, titled How to Bottle-feed as You’d Breastfeed, and more information at the website www.breastandbottlefeeding.com.

Things to avoid:
1. Never prop a bottle. It’s a dangerous practice that is stressful for your baby.

2. Don’t bottle feed your baby while he’s swaddled. You need to be able to see your baby’s hands to watch for stress signs, and your baby needs to have his hands free to participate in feeding.

3. Don’t feed your baby with him facing away from you. Feeding is an important time for the development of social interaction in babies. Make eye contact with your baby, talk to him and enjoy the feeding as a fun interaction with your baby rather than another task to get through as quickly as possible.

4. Don’t force your baby to finish a bottle by twisting it or moving it around in baby’s mouth. Let your baby decide when he’s done. Overfeeding can lead to an uncomfortable and unhappy baby!

To learn more about healthy babies, please visit Birthologie.com

If This Doesn't Move You....

If this doesn't move you, you are made of stone.  Concrete.  Wood.  You should just cry, that's all I'm sayin'.

Just How Many Kids Does the U.S. Government Admit Were Killed or Injured by Vaccines in 2010? Became Autistic?

Of the 13,797 families petitioning the U.S. Government in 2010, through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, for compenstation for injuries or deaths resulting from vaccines, 2,699 have so far been awarded to the tune of $110 mil tax dollars.

101 of those families were compensated for vaccine related autism.  In the past 23 years, the Program has recognized that 2,561 autism cases have been caused by vaccination.

What?  Hasn't that been dis proven?  Not according the government.

And these studies:

Marking the sixth major study in recent months to condemn the use of mercury in medicine, the new study reveals that mercury causes serious brain damage, and is linked to autism and other developmental diseases in children and Alzheimer's disease in adults.

Mercury, which is still in flu shots given to babies and pregnant women, is not the only culprit when it comes to the vaccine-autism link.  Other heavy metals, like aluminum, are also suspect as well as neurotoxions like MSG that vaccines contain.  Not to mention that the virus' and bacteria crossing the blood brain barrier and causing brain inflammation and gut disorders, which toxins leak into the bloodstream and affect the brain. 

The most dangerous vaccine according the the NVICP?

The most dangerous of the vaccines is the DTP (diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis), which was the subject of 3,979 claims, including 696 deaths.

And this, moms and dads, is why the vaccine questions will not go away - because they shouldn't.  Despite the AAP's, the government's and your doctor's protests, by their own admissions vaccines kill or injure just as many - if not more - than they are claimed to 'save'.

To learn more about vaccines, please visit Birthologie.com

Vaccinate or Leave? Why Pediatricians HATE Discussing Vaccines With Parents

A new survey among pediatricians and family doctors reports that:

nearly 80% of doctors have at least one vaccine refusal a month. And 89% reported at least one request a month to spread out the administration of recommended immunizations rather than giving them all during the same visit.

About one in two doctors reported spending up to 19 minutes on the topic with parents who have substantial immunization concerns.

Is this a problem for them?  Apparently it is:

About one in three physicians said discussing the issue during office visits is affecting his or her job negatively.

"Everyone expects parents to have questions about vaccines. But what used to be a discussion that would last several minutes is now, for some parents, lasting a great deal of time," said Dr. Kempe, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora and director of the Children's Outcomes Research Program at The Children's Hospital in Aurora.

She said such conversations often prevent physicians from addressing additional health issues and can make doctors late to see other patients.

"Primary care physicians are already really taxed in terms of the short time they have to deliver a great deal of medical care. ... This is another additional burden," Dr. Kempe said.

Burden?  Doing their job is a burden. 

But should the doctors really be directing their frustration to the parents? 

Honestly, it's the vaccine manufacturers and the government who they should be frustrated with.  For many decades they have been overstated the benefits, while downplaying or ignoring the risks altogether, meanwhile demanding that every single child get multiple shots or suffer the consequences of not being allowed into school or other places.  Now that parents have gotten wise to the facts - that vaccines aren't a magic bullet to avoiding illness and that they can do some permanent harm or cause death, we are asking questions.  

Enter in the pediatrician - they are the middle men in all this and while it's understandable that they feel like parents are 'killing the messenger', the point is if they are going to choose to be that messenger, they've got to accept some responsibility and take more time to educate and answer hard questions.  

Many pediatricians are telling patients to leave their practice is they don't vaccinate.  Each pediatrician I suppose have their own reasons for this position.  Some may be just tired of patients who dare question them, and others may be in actual fear for their patient's health, but either way, is it ethical to deny and essentially bully parents into doing something they feel unsure of doing?  Are they violating their Hippocratic oath?

Yes, they are.  To force vaccines on us, not fully inform us and then deny us care or compensation when those vaccines harm us is insane and shows just how little they stand behind their product.  If they truly believed in their product, they would have no problem disclosing everything about it and being liable for when it is defective.

To learn more about vaccines, please visit Birthologie.com