Search Results for: blog telling your family your plans for home birth

Nursing Necklaces: A Solution for the Distracted Nurser

When my daughter was a newborn, breastfeeding was pretty relaxing. Once she latched on, she’d eat for about 20 minutes straight without ever coming up for air. I could count on relaxing during these times, and often caught a few ZZZ’s while she filled up her little belly. The older my daughter got, the less relaxing nursing sessions became. I still cherish our special breastfeeding moments together, but I’m definitely not getting any power naps in while she dines. Where she used to be blissfully unaware of the world around her, my baby girl is now as nosy as they … Continue reading →

Reassuring Kids in Times of Disaster

Even if you don’t let your kids watch the news, they likely know about the earthquake in Haiti through all the fund-raising projects going on (for more information about children’s fundraising projects, click here) and from hearing people talk about it. Maybe your child was afraid that they would be in an earthquake. Maybe you could get out of it by saying you don’t live in an earthquake zone. I couldn’t say that, so I’d have to go into detail about houses being built better, our earthquake kit having all the necessities in it, and having police and fire personnel … Continue reading →

Downsizing Hollywood Style

Of course, “downsizing” is relative when you’re talking about people who drop $500 a day so their dog can get a massage. So when you see headlines screaming: “Candy Spelling is Scaling Back” don’t get ready to hand over your hanky just yet. The bazillionaire widow of TV mogul Aaron Spelling and the mother of reality TV star Tori Spelling is selling her world-famous 56,500 square foot Holmby Hills estate (better known as Los Angeles County’s largest home) and moving into a paltry 16,500 square foot penthouse. According to the Los Angeles Times, Spelling just shelled out $47 million of … Continue reading →

Book review: The Handle and the Key

Posted on by

Seldom do we find books written from the perspective of a foster child. In The Handle and the Key, one of the few adoption books for children in between the picture book stage and the teen novel stage, John Neufeld manages to get inside the head of the young boy, Dan, who is being adopted. He shows us little things, like Dan not knowing what is meant when other boys ask him to play “tag”. Indeed Dan is not sure what to do when told to “play” at all. In his previous foster homes he had to work. He longs … Continue reading →

Other Considerations in Adopting When You Already Have Children

Posted on by

My last blog talked about how your other children will handle becoming a visibly different (or even more different) family. In addition to getting used to stares, your children will be asked questions about adoption. How will you help your children to answer these? One resource can be the WISE UP Powerbook, a workbook (designed for adopted kids, but it could be adapted for use by a sibling, child with a disability, or anyone who gets asked intrusive questions. It helps kids consider whether they wish to Walk away, say “It’s private”, Share something small, or Eduate people about adoption. … Continue reading →

What is Adoption Loss?

Posted on by

We all know of miscarriage, or pregnancy loss. “Adoption loss” is the bereavement felt when an expected adoption does not occur. Although less than one-tenth of a percent of finalized adoptions are contested each year, parents are often heavily invested emotionally before finalization or before placement. Often they have been meeting with birthparents for several months. They may have seen the baby via ultrasound, chosen a name for the baby, shared the news with their families, prepared the baby’s room, and bought clothing specific to the gender of the expected child. Some birth parents even invite the adoptive parents to … Continue reading →

Book Review: The Adoption Decision

Posted on by

The Adoption Decision, by Linda Christianson, is not a how-to manual for adopting. He book’s subtitle, 15 Things You Want to Know Before Adopting, only hints at the insight contained within its pages. This book doesn’t just tell you 15 facts about adoption. Its 15 chapters deal with issues families who contemplate adoption must think about. The issues include: attachment and feeling like a “real” parent, affording adoption, managing the grief of infertility, waiting for an unknown length of time during the adoption process, birthparents, open adoption, adopting an older child, international adoption, transracial adoption, integrating a different culture into … Continue reading →

Getting Ready to Shoot the Fourth

It doesn’t get more American than a Fourth of July BBQ with friends, family and fireworks. The ultimate summertime holiday is teeming with amazing photo ops from flags to family reunions, parades to pie eating contests. It would be a shame not to make the most of these Independence Day events. So grab your camera, charge up those batteries, go out and splurge on a new memory card (or extra rolls of film) and get ready to snap your loved ones in action as they proudly celebrate our country’s 232nd birthday. Fourth of July Parade I addressed the challenges involved … Continue reading →

Unassisted Childbirth

Unassisted childbirth, also called freebirth, is when a woman gives birth at home with no midwife present. Often the woman’s partner or another family member is present, but no medical personnel. The stories of unassisted birth are not the scenario we typically envision where the birth takes place in the car on the way to the hospital or after a very short labor at home. These women are giving birth at home, without any medical assistance on purpose. This movement is growing in the United States. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, 7,000 babies were born unassisted in … Continue reading →

Let’s Talk About Who to Include at Your Homebirth

Giving birth is no doubt a personal and intimate time for a woman. Perhaps you already have an idea of whom you would like present at the birth of your child. Even more important is to decide whom you do not want present, for your comfort is the most important factor to consider. Sometimes there are people that are very eager to be present, but you aren’t comfortable with them being there. You will have to determine the best way to explain this to them, and remember that it is ultimately your decision who is there. If there are certain … Continue reading →