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You'd think we live in a free country. Here we are as a nation, in the midst of an election season where people are paying more attention this early than they have in the past (at least, according to CBS evening news). We are actively participating in our government, debating amongst ourselves the best leader of our nation. We are making choices. Meanwhile, at this point in time, I cannot choose to have my children at home with a skilled midwife. While homebirth might not be for everyone, why are those of us who fit all the criteria for low risk pregnancies forced to have hospital births that often involve interventions that go against our convictions, or are faced with hiring a skilled, but illegal, midwife to break the law?
I have a number of friends and family who have chosen home birth for their families - 24 healthy children, and their respective mothers. Unfortunately, in the state of Missouri, it's still not legal to have a direct-entry midwife, such as a Certified Professional Midwife (CPM) or Certified Midwife (CM), attend a home birth. As Missourians, we are free to go to the hospital, or, in a few areas, we could go to a birth center. There have been some certified nurse-midwives who are able to attend homebirths, but my understanding is that there are restrictions and requirements that limit their service, primarily because of doctors unwilling to backup midwives, and hospitals are unwilling to allow their doctors to attend or backup homebirth. There are many reasons for such reluctance - misinformation and insurance issues are two notable reasons. We are not free to choose a birth option that evidence backs up as being a safe option for low risk pregnancies.
Last year, there was some legislation in Missouri to allow certified midwives to practice in our state. There has been some trouble with the legislation, however, and homebirth with direct-entry midwives is still not legal. This year there is a Big Push for Midwives across the nation, to "advocate for regulation and licensure of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and to push back against the attempts of the American Medical Association Scope of Practice Partnership to deny American families access to legal midwifery care."
If you think that women should have the right to freely choose where they give birth, and the right to choose what they feel is the best care for their baby and for themselves, then I encourage you to see where your state stands on midwifery. If your state allows non-CNM midwives to practice safely and legally under the law, fantastic! If your state does not allow for the legal practice of CPM's, then contact your legislators. Let them know that their constituents believe in freedom of choice with regards to childbirth.
For those of us who live in Missouri, see the blog link to the left - Friends of Missouri Midwives to follow and support the midwifery movement.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
sharpie baby
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Elizabeth has an especial fondness for my sharpie collection. Thus far, she only dumps them out of the cup, puts them back in the cup, and carries them throughout the house. Wisdom would tell me to not let her play with them, as it is inevitable that she will discover how to remove the caps when I am not looking, and she will inconveniently draw all over herself, the walls, the carpet, but most obnoxiously, herself. I'll take any excuse to get rid of the carpet and paint the walls!
Elizabeth has an especial fondness for my sharpie collection. Thus far, she only dumps them out of the cup, puts them back in the cup, and carries them throughout the house. Wisdom would tell me to not let her play with them, as it is inevitable that she will discover how to remove the caps when I am not looking, and she will inconveniently draw all over herself, the walls, the carpet, but most obnoxiously, herself. I'll take any excuse to get rid of the carpet and paint the walls!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
blow out the candles!
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As a follow-up to the nose blowing story:
Today we had a birthday party for several people who have birthdays in January and February. We had on the cake the following candles: "92" in numerals for the 3 adults (our cumulative age), 6 pink candles for one of the girls, and 1 blue candle for Elizabeth. So, the pink candles and the numerals were blown out, and we were trying to get Elizabeth to blow out her candle. Unfortunately, her understanding of "blow" relates to noses. So, there she is blowing her nose at the candle. Thankfully, no snot was deposited on the cake. It was pretty cute, though.
As a follow-up to the nose blowing story:
Today we had a birthday party for several people who have birthdays in January and February. We had on the cake the following candles: "92" in numerals for the 3 adults (our cumulative age), 6 pink candles for one of the girls, and 1 blue candle for Elizabeth. So, the pink candles and the numerals were blown out, and we were trying to get Elizabeth to blow out her candle. Unfortunately, her understanding of "blow" relates to noses. So, there she is blowing her nose at the candle. Thankfully, no snot was deposited on the cake. It was pretty cute, though.
big dreams (for my computer)
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I've been dreaming big for my Mac. I recently acquired 320 GB of additional hard drive space, and a second monitor. Let me tell you, I dream on....
Intuos3 tablet by Wacom
external hard drive
a sweet large format Epson printer (maybe the new R1900?)
font manager software
more fonts (for commercial use)
upgrade to Adobe CS3
upgrade to Mac OS X Leopard
4 GB more RAM
ergonomic and comfortable chair
I've been dreaming big for my Mac. I recently acquired 320 GB of additional hard drive space, and a second monitor. Let me tell you, I dream on....
Intuos3 tablet by Wacom
external hard drive
a sweet large format Epson printer (maybe the new R1900?)
font manager software
more fonts (for commercial use)
upgrade to Adobe CS3
upgrade to Mac OS X Leopard
4 GB more RAM
ergonomic and comfortable chair
Saturday, February 09, 2008
digi-scrapper
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So, I've never been very into scrapbooking, even though I think scrapbooking looks cool. I haven't the desire to have more space occupied with little bitty pieces of materials. I have plenty of other hobbies that occupy floor space. Jude appreciates my restraint both financially and spatially.
However, I came across Digi scrapping. This could be my downfall, as I already spend too much time staring at my computer screen. I have all the tools; it's not like it's a major investment, software wise.
Today, I created my first scrapbook page. Although there are some things that I don't like about digiscrapping (sometimes it seems a little... uh... fake!) I appreciate the fact that it doesn't take up lots of space!
So, here, is my first attempt:
So, I've never been very into scrapbooking, even though I think scrapbooking looks cool. I haven't the desire to have more space occupied with little bitty pieces of materials. I have plenty of other hobbies that occupy floor space. Jude appreciates my restraint both financially and spatially.
However, I came across Digi scrapping. This could be my downfall, as I already spend too much time staring at my computer screen. I have all the tools; it's not like it's a major investment, software wise.
Today, I created my first scrapbook page. Although there are some things that I don't like about digiscrapping (sometimes it seems a little... uh... fake!) I appreciate the fact that it doesn't take up lots of space!
So, here, is my first attempt:
what to do with a used tissue
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This is a tale of what to do with a used tissue, as demonstrated by Elizabeth (with some background):
Jude has been working with Elizabeth on blowing her nose, as she's had a stuffy/runny nose for a few days. She has been moderately successful at this. Today, she was sitting on Jude's lap, playing with his cell phone. Suddenly, she brought the phone to her face, and blew her nose. On the phone. Nice.
So, Jude gets a tissue and cleans up phone and baby. We then give Elizabeth a clean tissue to play with. Low, and Behold, she holds it up to her face, and blows her nose, several times in a row! (I didn't know that a 12 month old could learn this. Astonishing!)
Jude gives her several tissues over the next few minutes, some she uses by her self, some with assistance. The tissues collect on the sidetable near where she was sitting.
Later, Elizabeth is wandering the house while I am on the phone with my Mom. Jude is doing something else, too. He walks into the room with *part* of a used tissue and says, " I think she ate the rest of it!" Gross.
On further exploration, he finds that no, you're not supposed to EAT the tissue (according to Elizabeth) but you are supposed to rip it to small pieces, and then shove said small pieces into various shoes that are placed by the door. Maybe used tissues help with shoe odor?
This is a tale of what to do with a used tissue, as demonstrated by Elizabeth (with some background):
Jude has been working with Elizabeth on blowing her nose, as she's had a stuffy/runny nose for a few days. She has been moderately successful at this. Today, she was sitting on Jude's lap, playing with his cell phone. Suddenly, she brought the phone to her face, and blew her nose. On the phone. Nice.
So, Jude gets a tissue and cleans up phone and baby. We then give Elizabeth a clean tissue to play with. Low, and Behold, she holds it up to her face, and blows her nose, several times in a row! (I didn't know that a 12 month old could learn this. Astonishing!)
Jude gives her several tissues over the next few minutes, some she uses by her self, some with assistance. The tissues collect on the sidetable near where she was sitting.
Later, Elizabeth is wandering the house while I am on the phone with my Mom. Jude is doing something else, too. He walks into the room with *part* of a used tissue and says, " I think she ate the rest of it!" Gross.
On further exploration, he finds that no, you're not supposed to EAT the tissue (according to Elizabeth) but you are supposed to rip it to small pieces, and then shove said small pieces into various shoes that are placed by the door. Maybe used tissues help with shoe odor?
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