Study says homebirth is relatively safe for mom, but holds more risks for baby.

I will be forever grateful for my OB/GYN and modern medical care after my baby’s birth, which included 26 hours of active labor, the baby’s head and shoulders getting stuck, and, well, I’ll spare you the details.

For thousands of years, women have had no other choice but to give birth at home, whether that be a log cabin, a cave, a tee-pee, or wherever they lived.

But rapid medical advances in the last hundred years have dramtically improved survival rates of mom and baby, not to mention their comfort. 

Yet some women opt for the home birth experience. 

An article just out in the medical journal Lancet strongly discourages women from planning to give birth at home. 

It states that research shows home births are relatively safe for moms, but hold plenty of risks for babies. 

The main problem facing home births, according to the article, is the lack of medical equipment at home if the baby has trouble breathing.  Some babies cannot be resuscitated without it.

Only about one percent of births in the U.S. take place at home.

A few years ago, actress Ricki Lake made controversial headlines over her support of home birth, and the film she helped make, The Business of Being Born. 

What are your feelings on homebirth? 

Staunchly against it?  Passionately for it?  Live and let live?

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The age-old question lingers!

That empty stare into your pantry around 5 p.m. yields nothing but a sense of frustration and panic.

My mom always used to say, “If you wait till dinnertime to figure out what to have for dinner, you can never think of anything.”

Sadly, I have found this to be true over and over again.

I'd be lying to say I haven't resorted to a quick dinner fix now and then.

Also, I have found this to be a good way to unnecessarily spend a lot of money – ouch! 

…Either as take-out or whatever looks good in the grocery store that’s fast to prepare.

When I was still in college, my angel mother took a great amount of time and effort to hand-write many recipe cards for me and put them in a vintage Watkins recipe tin that I love – they come in handy often.

Can you imagine the time she took to do that?

She also took one recipe card, and simply wrote “Quick Meals,” one idea for every line.

She wrote things like omelets, spaghetti, black beans and rice, cottage cheese on pineapple or tomato, toasted tuna sandwich, etc.

I have used her list many times.

Yet still, often I have that dreaded sense of disappointment in my failure to plan for dinner time.

So I heard about an online service from my sister called emealz.  (By the way, I am not receiving any type of benefit for mentioning it.)

Two ladies got together and started a business of keeping track of which foods are in season and which go on sale, and from that information, they write recipes and make grocery lists weekly.

The service costs $15 for 3 months, and promises to help you spend less money and more quality time with your family around the dinner table.

You can select from a variety of lists from different stores, from Wal-Mart to Aldi, or vegetarian, cooking for two, or low-calorie.

I joined recently, and so far, I’ve liked most of what I have tried.  (I am guessing the recipes I didn’t like so much resulted from me messing up some direction.)

It has been a great relief to have a plan, where I’ve done my shopping on one day and I know what’s for dinner tonight!

One less decision to make.

I’ve also heard of a book that has weekly grocery lists and recipes for every night of the year called Saving Dinner.

What is your secret to getting dinner on the table?  Do you have a similar system?

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For years, as soon as a woman has found out she was expecting, she swore off coffee and colas - at least for the majority of the time.

The March of Dimes agrees with this practice:  “The March of Dimes recommends that women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant consume no more than 200 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per day. This is the amount of caffeine in about one 12-ounce cup of coffee.”

There are conflicting studies on the safety of caffeine during pregnancy

Yet a new study out by the American College of OB-GYNs  finds drinking 12 ounces of coffee or less each day does not cause miscarriage or pre-term birth.

This is in exact opposition to The March of Dimes’ recommendation.

The new study says there is no evidence that medium amounts of caffeine harm fetal growth. Scientists say it’s still unclear whether larger levels of caffeine are connected to miscarriage.

Did your doctor advise you to avoid caffeine during pregnancy?  Did you decide to avoid it on your own?

Or do you feel comfortable with the results of this latest study and think caffeine is just fine in moderation during pregnancy?

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It’s tempting – allowing your child to snuggle up to something soft as they try to fall asleep.

Whether it’s a stuffed animal, a buddy blanket or an old-fashioned blanket, it just seems natural to let baby have something comforting in their crib.

In fact, I received one-such item from a trusted family friend before my baby was born: it was an adorable, plush blanket the size of a large handkerchief, and at one corner was a sewn-in stuffed animal ducky.

But the American Academy of Pediatrics strictly warns against such items. 

Because of an increased-risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), the academy says not until baby is 12-months-old should parents allow soft items in the crib.

The academy’s site says if parents decide to use blankets, they should tuck the sides in under the mattress, and the blanket should only reach up to baby’s chest.

The academy goes on to say parents should not use wedges even – I made that mistake.

Instead, it suggests parents use sleep sacks – here is an example.  Or, as mentioned, tuck-in the blanket carefully under the mattress at chest-level.

So if items in the crib are so potentially dangerous, why do companies continue to produce and market them as a thoughtful gift? 

One website says, “Babies just LOVE our buddy blankets, so your best bet is to buy them by the bunch!”

But on www.babycenter.com, one father comments about a close-call with death:

“Please use caution in putting anything into a baby’s crib! My wife and I received a buddy blanket as a gift for our newborn. We did not use it for a while and when my son was about four months we started to let him use it. It worked great and he loved it. Until this morning when my wife went to check on him and it was completely envoloping his face like a bag. My son was completely blue. He was breathing but unalert. We rushed him to the emergency room. If my wife would not have checked on him, my son may have passed away. I know other people said these are great. We thought so too. Please reconsider using anything that can cover your baby’s face.”

Like you, shivers ran down my spine when I read that.

Yet companies continue to sell these items, so someone must be buying them.  And putting them in babies’ cribs.

Have you purchased or received a buddy blanket?  Do you use items like these blankets in your baby’s crib?

Or have you found an alternative to helping baby calm down for sleep?  If so, what works for you?

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Okay, I just saw an ad for a local portrait studio online, with examples of a baby’s pictures: “Newborn, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year.”

Instantly, a pang of guilt settled on my heart.

I missed the 3 month marker!  Does every good parent get professional photos taken at these three-

Is there a big difference between the pros and you? Can you tell if this baby's picture is a snap shot or professionally-done?

month increments?

If so, I failed.

Happily, a friend gave me a baby shower gift of a free newborn photo shoot, which, if I do say so myself, went beautifully.

But I let the 3 month opportunity come and go in ignorance.

Make no mistake, we take plenty of photos at home that I think are adorable, and with digital cameras these days, you can take some pretty nice pictures.

And we have made a point to take an official picture of our baby every week ourselves, during the first year of her life, complete with a little card in the shot numbering the week.

But, I don’t know, it seems there’s something very official, historical about a professional portrait.

They can cost a pretty penny, and then there are the painful decisions about which shots to keep, which to let go – never to be seen again. 

(I am sure studios count on that parental longing to add to their sales - it makes business sense.)

My parents had my picture taken during my first year, but I don’t believe I had professional photos taken at those 3-month markers.

Perhaps it’s a conspiracy of guilt!

But on the other hand, who can put a price on that priceless, adorable face, a moment frozen in time, that no doubt you will gaze at for decades to come?

Do you make a point to bring your child to a pro studio at certain increments?  Or do you take most of your own pictures?

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Here is a link to the video of a story I did on the KWWL News.  Just click on the black camera icon.

40 years ago, Reginstered Nurse Susan Wirtjes gave birth to her first child and was planning on breastfeeding.  She said she soon found nursing was not as easy as she thought it would be.

“Because it is natural and free, I assumed it would be easy, and it’s not,” she said.

In fact, she says she spent at least the first six weeks in excruciating pain.  “It’s all worth it for the health of my child,” she told herself, but when she arrived at the doctor’s office and found out that her child hadn’t gained any weight to speak of, she was crestfallen and angry.

“Only because I was stubborn and bound and determined I wasn’t going to quit, did I make it through with no support,” she said. ” I just decided it should never be that hard for anybody else if I can have anything to do with it.”

With only the help of the book The Motherly Art of Breastfeeding to guide her, Susan bravely set out to understand breastfeeding better.

Even though the first experience didn’t go as planned, she said she had a wonderful experience with her younger two children.

She began the first La Leche League in the Waterloo area back in the ’70s.  She claims she made a lot of people mad because she shook up the status quo.

She eventually became a lactation consultant at Covenant Medical Center. 

Now, nearly four decades later she has helped literally thousands of women and babies and families.  She is retiring after 15 years of official duty at Covenant Medical Center.

She has a unique communication style that cuts through any boundaires, whether age, gender or race.

On a personal level, she was an angel in my life recently.  My mother had just passed away, I just gave birth to my first child, and I was clueless, so tired I could feel it in my bones, and feeling very concerned about myself as a mother.

I still remember some of her first words, “You’re going to do great,” she said.  “Your body is perfectly suited for breastfeeding.” 

My guess is she tells every mom this, but it is SO appreciated to hear encouragement when you are feeling so vulnerable.

She made a house call when I truly needed, simply because she is generous. 

“Mom is the queen and you are the princess,” she told my daughter.

Breastfeeding was not easy for me either, in fact, I ended up having to supplement almost from the beginning, because my supply just didn’t cut it.  I’m sure the stress in my life didn’t help that situation. 

But I breastfed longer and with more peace than I would have, had Susan not been in my life. 

Tara Thomas as well credits Susan with helping her navigate the sometimes rough waters of nursing.

Even though Susan is retiring after 15 years of official duty at the hospital, she says she can’t stay away from helping mothers and babies.

She will soon launch a new venture called “Nana’s Love,” which mixes breastfeeding support and care for mother and baby.

Still blessing the lives of others, because of her dedication and love.

What has been your experience with breastfeeding?  Did you work with Susan Wirtjes or have a similar angel in your life?

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In 2004 my husband and I attended his uncle’s wedding in Idaho.

While we visited his grandmother, there was a white and orange calico kitten on her farm that obviously had a lot of spunk and kept trying to sneak in her house.

“You should get a cat,” my mother-in-law said several times.

Before we knew it, we had adopted, or “rescued” the little calico as well as a little black kitten from my husband’s aunt’s property.

We named the calico Clementine and the black kitten Sophie.  They’ve been great friends throughout the years, and were our little “children” until we had a human child.

My husband took over changing the litter when I was pregnant to avoid toxoplasmosis.  Even though I am allergic to my own cats, we have kept them because they are family. 

Luckily my allergies have waned in the last year and a half, to just eye irrition if I pet the cat and then rub my eye.

I hoped that when my baby arrived, she wouldn’t have allergies.  I’ve also read that a child exposed to different animals when young will be less likely to develop allergies as an adult.

It’s interesting to watch my daughter around the cats.  The relationship has gone from zero recognition to loud squeals of excitement and interest when the cats are near.

I try to hold my baby’s hand and gently pet Clementine’s back.

“This is our nice friend,” I say, “We are gentle with her.”

I’m not sure how much this is sinking in.  Usually the interaction ends with a baby hand full of cat hair.  Now mind you Clementine sheds like it’s going out of style, so I don’t think it’s painful, more annoying than anything.

But we watch the baby carefully when the cats are around.  I realize you can’t be too careful.  Animals are often most nervous around children than anyone else, simply because they don’t know what to expect.

On the other hand, animals can play an important role in the development of a child’s character and personality: compassion, responsibility, friendship.  So I am glad we can start fostering good interaction at an early age.

I grew up with a dog, who was truly my best friend.  His gravestone reads, “Angel in Fur.”

What are your opinions about babies and pets?  Do you use extra precautions when the two are near each other?

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For the first six months of my daughter’s life, my husband and I attended no movies.  I missed them so.

There’s nothing like viewing a film in a big theater experiencing the same thrills and emotions as others around you.

I just figured that with a baby, you can’t go to the movies.

Movies came and went, like “Dear John,” and “Date Night,” and “Iron Man 2.”  – All of which I mourned.

I’ve always been sensitive about children’s noises in public places.  Yes, children make noise, I understand that, but I felt it was impolite to keep a loud child in a public gathering for long.

I was talking about this when my mother-in-law visited last month, and she told me it was fine to bring a baby to the movies, and that, in essence, I could’ve been seeing them all this time.

“Agh!” I shouted in frustration.  Now that my own mother has passed, I don’t really have access to what is “normal” while raising a child.

How I would’ve loved to go to movies during maternity leave – for a little “break” so to speak.

My mother-in-law mentioned that when babies are little, that is the best time to bring them, because if you’re lucky, they’ll sleep through the movie.  If they wake up you feed them, and if they are noisy you just have to take them out.

Well, since then my husband and I went to see “Iron Man 2″ before it left theaters, and “The Karate Kid,” and, of course, “Eclipse” from the Twilight Saga.

Every time I went in crossing my fingers.  Luckily, so far we’ve been fortunate when it came to the baby’s noise.  She has mostly slept through or happily watched the films.

We did, however, have to take her out once.  We took turns holding and bouncing her in the back hallway.

I certainly wouldn’t want to abuse the recreation time of others, but so far, it sure has been a nice escape from the demands of work and the wonderful stresses of motherhood.

What are your feelings on bringing young babies to movies?  Would you do it?  Have you done it?

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I do apologize for not writing recently – I think time gets sucked into a black hole as a new working mom!

At the risk of talking too soon, I believe a miracle has occurred. 

My daughter’s grandmother came to visit last week and encouraged my husband and me to let the baby put herself to sleep.

I admit it, I had been reinforcing bad habits – out of desperation for more sleep, I would give the baby a bottle when she cried during the night, anything to help her get back to sleep so I could do the same.

Well, I was just making things worse.  She just turned 6 months old – I can hardly believe it!  She is at the point where she doesn’t need to eat through the night – I learned that her crying came because she didn’t know how to soothe herself back to sleep.

I have been very much against the “cry it out” method.  “You can never spoil a newborn,” has been my motto, and still is. 

But having to wake up at 3 a.m. each day will do things to you.  I tell people I have a vampire’s schedule – we “morning” anchors are actually creatures of the night. 

It’s especially difficult when you’re a new mom and you went to bed at 10:30 p.m. or later.  I have been so sleep deprived, I just didn’t know how I could manage some days.

Well, my mother-in-law encouraged us to put the baby in her crib while she was still awake, and leave the room.  If she cried, she told us to wait a few minutes then go back, pat her tummy for reassurance, but to not speak, so the baby would know it was not play time.

Well, our baby is quite stubborn when she wants to be, and she did cry.  I followed the plan of patting her reassuringly, letting her know she wasn’t abandoned, then leaving so she could learn to fall asleep on her own.

This was very hard for me to do.  Me going in to comfort every 5, then 10 minutes or more continued for a while, but eventually she did go to sleep.  And the first night she almost slept through the night!  Just one waking.

Now, about a week later, the baby has slept through the night for about 9 nights in a row!!!  Hallelujah!

I feel like hope is rising again.  I am so grateful at the prospect of getting more than 4 hours of sleep.

Now if I just weren’t so “trained” myself to wake in the night!  I check on her regularly still.  Perhaps this inclination never wanes.

I am just so happy for her that she gets more rest.  I know she must be feeling better.

A well-rested baby is a happy baby!  Same goes for mom, too.  I hope I’m almost there.

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