Catching up on these UOs: -Home schooling: I generally agree that it's a bad idea. I think kids need socialization and need to learn to take direction from someone other than their parents. School is about more than just learning curriculum--it's the basic building block for teaching them to be ok alone in the world. BUT I also think that the education system in parts of the country is SO bad, that it I can see why parents would think home schooling is a better option. I just don't think most parents are actually qualified or well versed in every subject at every grade level. I know I'm certainly not and I consider myself fairly well educated. I tutored at an elementary school all through college and couldn't believe the stuff I had already forgotten--factor trees? Among many other things...
-Spanking: Definitely not pro. I just don't see the value in it at all. I think if the shock value is what gets your kid back in line, there are other ways to get to the same end. I just can't think of a circumstance where spanking would be THE ONLY option to discipline my child. The risks of potential harm far outweigh in my mind.
And, on the subject of outdated medical lingo---the term "natural birth" seriously needs a revamp. As well as "geriatric pregnancy"--I understand that giving birth over the age of 35 comes with a set of potential risks that require special care in pregnancy, but couldn't they just have stuck with "advanced maternal age"? I am not quite 35, but a friend of mine who is pregnant is and was complaining to me about it last night, so it's on my mind...
I went to law school with a guy who was homeschooled through high school. He was so socially...uhh... deficient. He was very bright, but he had no idea how to encounter and pass another human being in a hallway.
Side note and potentially unrelated: he was obsessed with super heroes. His house looked like 40 Year Old Virgin and he was a 30-something year old virgin. I only know this because my "experienced" BF dated him and took his V card.
Sharing the same sentiments as @sls People will always share horror stories about birth before they tell you about the uneventful birth. We were taught to fear the birthing process and it's unfortunate.
I feel like the definition of "natural" birth has been defined here as having to take place in a home. I also cannot imagine wanting to hear music and having candles around me during labour, or giving birth in the middle of a meadow while burning some nag champa, but don't believe where a birth takes place is what makes it natural. I believe a lot of women have chosen to redefine natural as really just limiting the amount of medical interventions if it's possible to still deliver a healthy baby and be healthy yourself after. Natural can very much mean in a hospital, with IV meds for GBS, or a caesarean.
I'm a ftm and I feel a bit like who am I to say anything but my plan is to try to have as natural a birth as possible. I will not beat myself up afterwards if I end up needing interventions, because my only goal is healthy baby and healthy me, but if I can have a say in how that unfolds, that's worth something to me. For me natural means, not being offered an epidural unless I've requested it, I want to be allowed mobility during labour, to be able to birth on my hands and knees or squatting if that's how I feel comfortable, and no episiotomy unless necessary (like shoulder dystocia) but my hospital offers all of this so I feel I already have great support for a natural birth from the medical professionals I chose.
All that said, I would never stand for shaming a woman or making her feel in any way that her birth was not an insanely miraculous thing because she asked for an epidural or needed csection. That perspective is horrible. Women need to support each other through whichever path their labour/birth takes them because if we don't support each other then we have lost something very special.
And, on the subject of outdated medical lingo---the term "natural birth" seriously needs a revamp. As well as "geriatric pregnancy"--I understand that giving birth over the age of 35 comes with a set of potential risks that require special care in pregnancy, but couldn't they just have stuck with "advanced maternal age"? I am not quite 35, but a friend of mine who is pregnant is and was complaining to me about it last night, so it's on my mind...
Wait, they say geriatric pregnancy now and not advanced maternal age? I am "advanced" for the first time this time around. So far I think that I have not heard any terms mentioned...just I get a few more tests for free or recommended to me and whatnot. Geriatric is such a ridiculous term to use. People think I still look 25 and I'm young to be pregnant at all. I'm considered very young within my profession. I don't mind "advanced" -- I do feel advanced in that I've had two kids already! But geriatric? wow, just wow.
I have a UO: I hate Keurigs and K-cups. They're a lazy, environmentally irresponsible invention, and I see absolutely no excuse for them to exist. I don't care that you only want one cup of coffee in the morning; make a smaller pot or use literally any other method that doesn't result in a piece of plastic heading for a landfill.
I've heard that the guy who invented k-cups regrets doing so because he didn't think of how potentially wasteful it would be which I don't understand how that didn't cross his mind. My parents use theirs all the time and when I was home last I did notice that some of the cups are biodegradable, so at least that?
And, on the subject of outdated medical lingo---the term "natural birth" seriously needs a revamp. As well as "geriatric pregnancy"--I understand that giving birth over the age of 35 comes with a set of potential risks that require special care in pregnancy, but couldn't they just have stuck with "advanced maternal age"? I am not quite 35, but a friend of mine who is pregnant is and was complaining to me about it last night, so it's on my mind...
Wait, they say geriatric pregnancy now and not advanced maternal age? I am "advanced" for the first time this time around. So far I think that I have not heard any terms mentioned...just I get a few more tests for free or recommended to me and whatnot. Geriatric is such a ridiculous term to use. People think I still look 25 and I'm young to be pregnant at all. I'm considered very young within my profession. I don't mind "advanced" -- I do feel advanced in that I've had two kids already! But geriatric? wow, just wow.
@Louise_Belcher Yes, excel! I currently have a sheet going to keep track of how much of each type of baby clothing I have for each size group. excel
Swoon. I did this for awhile with DD so my mom could see how much of what we had so she wouldnt buy more than enough. I kind of stopped around 18-24mos and now she has too many 3t pants. Oops?
I wasn't as organized as an Excel sheet. But I hung all of DD's clothes in her closet until she was almost 3. I organized them by size and then type (PJs, pants, shorts, shirts, etc.). That helped me visualize how many we had of each thing. Now that she mostly picks out her own stuff, I still hang shirts and dresses but everything else is in her dresser.
Re: UO 1/19
-Home schooling: I generally agree that it's a bad idea. I think kids need socialization and need to learn to take direction from someone other than their parents. School is about more than just learning curriculum--it's the basic building block for teaching them to be ok alone in the world. BUT I also think that the education system in parts of the country is SO bad, that it I can see why parents would think home schooling is a better option. I just don't think most parents are actually qualified or well versed in every subject at every grade level. I know I'm certainly not and I consider myself fairly well educated. I tutored at an elementary school all through college and couldn't believe the stuff I had already forgotten--factor trees? Among many other things...
-Spanking: Definitely not pro. I just don't see the value in it at all. I think if the shock value is what gets your kid back in line, there are other ways to get to the same end. I just can't think of a circumstance where spanking would be THE ONLY option to discipline my child. The risks of potential harm far outweigh in my mind.
And, on the subject of outdated medical lingo---the term "natural birth" seriously needs a revamp. As well as "geriatric pregnancy"--I understand that giving birth over the age of 35 comes with a set of potential risks that require special care in pregnancy, but couldn't they just have stuck with "advanced maternal age"? I am not quite 35, but a friend of mine who is pregnant is and was complaining to me about it last night, so it's on my mind...
Side note and potentially unrelated: he was obsessed with super heroes. His house looked like 40 Year Old Virgin and he was a 30-something year old virgin. I only know this because my "experienced" BF dated him and took his V card.
May17 Siggy Challenge
Labor
People will always share horror stories about birth before they tell you about the uneventful birth. We were taught to fear the birthing process and it's unfortunate.
I feel like the definition of "natural" birth has been defined here as having to take place in a home. I also cannot imagine wanting to hear music and having candles around me during labour, or giving birth in the middle of a meadow while burning some nag champa, but don't believe where a birth takes place is what makes it natural. I believe a lot of women have chosen to redefine natural as really just limiting the amount of medical interventions if it's possible to still deliver a healthy baby and be healthy yourself after. Natural can very much mean in a hospital, with IV meds for GBS, or a caesarean.
I'm a ftm and I feel a bit like who am I to say anything but my plan is to try to have as natural a birth as possible. I will not beat myself up afterwards if I end up needing interventions, because my only goal is healthy baby and healthy me, but if I can have a say in how that unfolds, that's worth something to me. For me natural means, not being offered an epidural unless I've requested it, I want to be allowed mobility during labour, to be able to birth on my hands and knees or squatting if that's how I feel comfortable, and no episiotomy unless necessary (like shoulder dystocia) but my hospital offers all of this so I feel I already have great support for a natural birth from the medical professionals I chose.
All that said, I would never stand for shaming a woman or making her feel in any way that her birth was not an insanely miraculous thing because she asked for an epidural or needed csection. That perspective is horrible. Women need to support each other through whichever path their labour/birth takes them because if we don't support each other then we have lost something very special.
My parents use theirs all the time and when I was home last I did notice that some of the cups are biodegradable, so at least that?
May17 Siggy Challenge
Labor