Life on the Road

Since this is already all put together, I’m just going to give it to you, as something important to be aware of: 

AMA Supports Proposed Legislation to Make Home Births Illegal

ABC News reported on July 11. 2008 that the “American Medical Association has agreed to support proposed legislation that, some physicians say, could make make having a planned birth in one’s home difficult, to virtually impossible.”  Presently their is no legislation but the AMA is backing what is called “Resolution 205″ which is a request to support the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ (ACOG) position that home births are not safe.

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) spokesperson Gregory Phillips, stated clearly, the ACOG position, “We are against home births, period.”  He continued in the ABC story by stating, “Women who give birth outside of a clinical setting risk putting themselves and their newborns at risk.”

In opposition to this stand the American College of Nurse-Midwives has come out with a strong statement in support of planned home births. Jennifer Block, author of “Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care, who also writes a column for the LA Times stated in her columns that in Britain they routinely ask expecting mothers if they would like to have their babies at home instead of in the hospital.  In her column Block noted that a hand-out is given to expecting mothers from Britain’s National Health Service that says, “There is no evidence to support the common assertion that home birth is a less safe option for women experiencing uncomplicated pregnancies.”

Block also noted in her column that last year a joint statement was issued by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Royal College of Midwives that said, “There is no reason why home birth should not be offered to women at low risk of complications, and it may confer considerable benefits for them and their families.”

Ms. Block concludes her article by noting that she believes this entire issue is nothing more than a turf war by physicians not wanting to give up control. “The AMA’s statement calls for legislation that could be used against women who choose home birth, possibly resulting in criminal child-abuse or neglect charges. The group says this is about safety, but with no credible research to back up its claim, this argument falls flat.”

The various articles noted that the reaction by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ (ACOG) and the AMA came about due to a documentary film called “The Business of Being Born” by talk show host Ricki Lake, where she exposed the American system of birth as a business. Abby Epstein, the film’s director stated in the ABC story, “What the film has done is to cause a lot of women to choose midwives over OBs — especially younger women who’ve never heard of midwives,” said Epstein. “We’ve received calls from midwives saying that their practices have doubled since our film was released. There’s a lot of ego in this — that one would want to choose a midwife over an MD. It’s really a turf war going back 100 years between the medical establishment and midwives.  The trailer for the film can be seen on YouTube at the following address: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DgLf8hHMgo

Our family is featured on the home page of the Yahoo Group Teens and Tots!

Click over just to see a cute picture of me with Nick and Jewel (last summer at “The Home Place” at the Land Between the Lakes preserve in Tennessee), but if you find yourself with two distinct ages of kids you might want to check the group out, as well…  

Sorting and unpacking revealed a treasure-trove of girl clothes I was saving for the next one…  But since I don’t think *he* will want them, I want to sell or trade them.  After posting to one group and contemplating posting to another, it occured to me that it would be far easier to post the info here and just refer to it from other places.

Soon-to-follow posts will include the gender-neutral and boy clothes R.T. is so speedily outgrowing.

I’ve photo’d them in size groupings, mostly (click thumbnail pics to see a larger view).  I’d love to get rid of whole chunks rather than piece by piece, but will take whatever I can get.  We can negotiate a price, and/or see my “ISO” list at the end.

Obviously, I can give you more details about anything, as needed. 

Thanks!

Cute winter things.  Snowsuit says 6-12 mos.  Reversible jacket has no tags - I want to say 2T?  Cute suede/furry boots (Ugg knock-off).

Newborn:

12 mos.

18 mos.

24 mos./2T

TAKEN:
Pink turtleneck

TAKEN:
Black longsleeved dress
Blue longsleeved dress
Pink w/bows dress

TAKEN:
Sleeveless floral dress (top center)

3T

TAKEN:
All 3 dresses

Shorts overalls with hat, 5; 2 pairs of pants, 6

Girly socks

Shoes - new & like new - I got rid of the ones she actually wore…

In Search Of – Just a random list of things I’d be willing to trade for.  Try me on others! 

• Medium-long or Large Diapers, gender-neutral or boyish (fitteds, wool covers/shorties/etc.)
• Cool diaper bag
• Family cloth?
• Modest swimwear / swimwear fabrics (lycra, Taslan (?), ??)
• Wool for dipes (fresh or recycled)
• Handcrafted gifts/toys/household goods
• Modest apparel – clothing for a tall mama & girl (size 6-ish); papa & son (men’s L) and baby (12 mos. and up)
• Modest apparel – fabric & patterns for the whole family
• Fabric & notions
• Snaps (ployacetyl resin (”plastic”), size 20)
• Crochet supplies ? (we’re just learning)
• Books (kids ages 0, 3, 14; Christian fiction)
• Fun food stuff / kitchen stuff
• Old-school homemaking stuff

I am pleased to announce that Life on the Road is once again hosting the Carnival of Homeschooling this coming week. 

I’m writing this in the hopes that you’ll join the party! (Check out our the last adventure, from January, here)

If you have a blog, you’re welcome to submit an article: 

• The post can be new or old - anything you’ve written is fair game!
• Your *blog* does not have to be about homeschooling, only the post you submit.

It’s easy to submit with the Blog Carnival form.

You can also find more info at the website that runs the carnival, “Why Homeschool“.

Hope to see you at the carnival! 

Nick turned 14, and we haven’t really had a party, but…

We spread out the fun by allowing him to open one present each hour.

We took him to Cici’s for an all-you-can-eat pizza buffet, which is pretty much his idea of nirvana.

And Papa got up to his cake decorating tricks again.  I baked a cake using the same Wonder Woman cake pan we’d used for Jewel’s birthday cake, but he decorated it up as Nick’s bud, Wolverine!

Pretty clever guy, eh? 

It’s hard to believe Nick is 14 and starting High School…  Where does the time go?

One thing I’ve been persuing in my quest to be thrifty is changing our laundry soap.

The first thing I tried was a make-your-own-detergent kit from Soaps Gone Buy, to make this recipe:

Powdered Laundry Detergent

1 cup grated Fels Naptha Soap

1/2 cup washing soda

1/2 cup 20 mule team borax

Mix and store in airtight container or bag. For light loads, use 2 tablespoon. For heavy loads, use 3 tablespoons.

Obviously the pre-grated soap and all is more expensive than buying everything totally from scratch, but it seemed like the best compromise for trying it out - and it’s still cheaper than the brand name stuff.

I liked it, especially at first…  But I had the feeling it was just not doing all it could be. 

Did I mention that the water here is disgusting?  It’s very hard, and it’s also nasty well-water with all kinds of yuck in it…

Miss J was still in diapers during the early parts of this quest, and we were having trouble with an amonia smell whenever she wet, as well as varying degrees of diaper rash that looked almost burn-like. 

The consensus of opinion was that this could all be attributed to detergent residue.  Too much detergent, or a “bad” one (for the siutation, at least), so it wasn’t getting rinsed out completely - in spite of a complete extra wash/rinse cycle to re-re-RE-rinse the diapers.

Home-made detergent, as I’d made, is one of the common “good” choices.  Rats.

So I tried ordering some Charlie’s Soap online.  Again, I liked it; again, especially at first.  Over time it seemed to still build up.  And by “over time” here I’m talking about two to four washings, not months or years…

Then I tried Purex, another popular cloth diapering choice.  Same result.

By now I was very frustrated.  I guess that’s not bad, since probably nothing but that level of frustration would have gotten me to shell out for Allen’s Naturally (although it is still supposedly a good value, since you use so little).  And…

It works!

Jewel is out of diapers, so R.T. may just have different chemistry.  But we’ve been using this for over a month now, and I’m still happy.

I also just found another option, though.  Someone from a cloth diapering online community discussed diaper laundry wuth a friend who is a chemist.  She (the chemist) looked at what was out there, then created this recipe:

1 55 oz. box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup Mule Team Borax
2 Cups Oxygen Cleaner-She recommends Sun ($5 @ Dollar General)
1/2 cup Simple Green
1/2 cup Calgon Water Softening Powder

Empty all into a bucket and mix together with your hands. Use 1 heaping scoop (1/8 cup) for diapers, 2 scoops for regular laundry. After we’ve used this for a while some have had to increase to 2 scoops for diapers, 3-4 for regular laundry….you will probably have to experiment a bit to see what works best with your water.

I chuckled when in her comments she said “this should work comparably to Allen’s.”  Made me wonder if I shouldn’t just stick with Allen’s…  But someone sent be a baggie full to try, so what the heck. 

I just finished reading a book about tandem nursing (Adventures in Tandem Nursing: Breastfeeding During Pregnancy and Beyond), and although I would highly recommend it, after four months it didn’t really have a lot to say on the subject that was news to me.

I was fascinated to learn, however, that a mama kangaroo makes different milk in each teat!  She makes baby milk on one side for the tiny joey finishing his development in her pouch, and “toddler” milk on the other side for baby’s older sibling who will still stick his head in and nurse.  What a great trick!  Doesn’t God think up cool stuff?

And kangaroos have it down pat for carrying the kids around, of course.  We even name a parenting philosophy/practice after them: Kangaroo Care.

If you’d like to see some lovely photos of mamas in other cultures “wearing” their babies, check out this babywearing slideshow.

Sorry, but that’s all for today.  We’re all sick, so I’m even more behind than usual… 

Check these out:

Win a Bum Genius 3.0 Starter Kit from Nature’s Child - Wholesome Goods for Mothers and Babies

Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap)

I am so very, very tired of being sick…

And I NEED to SEW, since Mr. Grow-Like-a-Weed no longer fits well in Medium diapers and I have barely anything to put on his booty.

 Okay, I’m done whining.  Thanks for listening.  It’s tough being in a new town with no friends and family to whine to…

Hard to believe, isn’t it?  And I’m still just trying to catch up!

I went to the ER Thursday, April 24th when I woke up with chlls and fever (over 102) and an inflamed and swolen breast.  Yowch!  (This on top of the ongoing kidney/UTI situation).

I ended up being admitted to the hosptial, and stayed until Monday evening (who knew they would discharge someone after 7pm!). 

The whole thing was a nightmare of conflicting opinions, fighting for the right to nurse my baby, and uncommunicative doctors.  I think “An Open Letter to Homestead Hospital” will be appearing here soon…  It was really so frustrating that I’ve sort of tried not to think about about it.  But on the other hand, it’s just not going away.

I called my PCP for a follow-up appointment, and was told that I couldn’t get an appointment for months, but that I could come in as a walk-in.  She suggested coming on a Wed or Thurs, and coming early in the morning.  Great.

So I went in that Thursday, and was standing outside at 8:45 am (they open at 9).  That made me #4 in the walk-in line.  Which meant I got to see the doctor…  at 1 pm!  (Not, of course, that they told us that right away so we could go do something in the meantime.)

I got a referral to a Urologist, but just got the run-around from them regarding a referral for a lactation consultant, as well as getting the insurance to cover my medications. 

When I got hold of the Urologist they gave me, it turned out that they were pediatric only.  So I called the PCP back and got another name (after a big hassle).  When I got hold of that office, they said that they no longer take my insurance.  I called th PCP back (grrr!), and they said they would call the insurance for a current provider list and call me back.  Excuse me if I don’t hold my breath.

Frustrated (happens a lot lately, doesn’t it?), I called my insurance company.  They said that I could self-refer to a Urologist, and didn’t need a referral at all! 

So I started calling down the list of Urologists from the insurance company’s website, which they said was the most current list.  Pediatric only.  Doesn’t take that insurance any more.  We can see you at the end of June (that’s 2 months away at the time!).  Doesn’t take that insurance.  We can see you next year(!).  Phone disconnected.  And on and on…

After calling a dozen doctors (I kid you not), I found someone who could see me in two weeks, who was an hour’s drive from my house.  Not ideal, but sounded pretty good after I’d been worn down by all the others!

The insurance has a transportation benefit, so I figured I’d let them pay the gas to drive all the way up there.  Well, it turns out that they will drive the patient and one “escort” person.  If I bring the baby (which I obviously have to, for a trip that will easily be three hours), I then have to bring Nick or Wolf to hold R.T. while I’m with the doctor.  But they won’t allow 2 people to come… 

So we ended up driving after all.

At least we all really liked Dr. J.  He’s built like a football player, shaved bald head, and wore motorcycle boots under his scrubs!  And he was very nice and seemed very competent.

It seems that although the kidney stones aren’t causing any of ther own kinds of problems, they probably are responsible for the recurring UTIs.  As foreign bodies, they make a place where things can hide and grow in there…  Eeew!

So we scheduled an outpatient surgery for Lithotripsy - the ultrasound breaking up of kidney stones.  They can only do so much at a time (since it’s also hard on your surrounding healthy tissue), so he said we might need as many as three sessions to get the three stones taken care of.

We also scheduled another in-office procedure for further diagnosis, as well as treatment, of the recurring UTIs and the constant, but perhaps at this point self-perpetuating, symptoms.

Whew!

Obviously, there’s pelnty more to tell…