Breastfeeding...Where's the profit in that?

The Washington Post reports today that our government department of Health and Human Services, in 2004, caved in to lobby pressure and changed ads promoting breastfeeding. The formula manufacturers were "grateful" for intervention which stopped health officials from "scaring expectant mothers into breast-feeding."

The original print ads displayed asthma inhalers and insulin syringes topped with a bottle nipple; bluntly insinuating when you feed formula to an infant, you are feeding them asthma and diabetes. These ads were never shown in the United States, but here is an international ad with similar imagery.


The pressure from formula companies caused the U.S. health organization to abandon the scary, shocking ads for softer, less assaulting suggestions that plainly inform parents of breastfeeding benefits. The Human Health and Services department was informed beforehand that these ads would be ineffectual, but they spent our money on them anyway. Current reports show that the number of breastfeeding mothers is decreasing.

Is anyone surprised? After all, infant formulas are manufactured by the pharmaceutical industry and big drug companies are known for their powerful influence and generous spending in Washington.

I imagine pharmaceutical companies would not only lose money from the decrease in formula sales, but later on, sales would be lost by the fewer number of people taking diabetes and allergy medication.

Why do we allow these companies to make decisions about our health?

I am sure we would not let a company who makes money per every high school drop-out decide how we educate our children. Doesn't it seem just as logical that an industry that makes money from sick people should not be pulling the strings in our government health offices?

Everyone should take an interest in our government's soft promotion of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is more than the premiere bonding experience for mother and baby, it is the only way newly born human beings were intended to be nourished.


All mothers should breastfeed, plain and simple.

If a mother's health or physical limitations prevent her from doing so, fortunately formula is available as an artificial substitution. Keep in mind that this substance is a man-made chemical solution that is industrially manufactured. This should not be a mother's first choice for her baby.

In our society it seems acceptable for mothers to opt out of breastfeeding because it is an inconvenience.

If cooking dinner for the kids become too much of an inconvenience are we going to insert feeding tubes with a liquid supplement into each of their bellies? I'm sure they would all "turn out just fine", but really, it's just not an option!

Some parents believe that because their own mothers used formula and they turned out o.k., then that is what they should do too.

I guess that makes sense for some, but I was never able to look at any of our newborn children and maintain the philosophy of only trying to provide what is "good enough".

You Know You're a Parent When...

You find yourself cleaning an excessive amount of glue from your preschooler's forehead, resulting from his six-year-old big brother's plan to glue his head to his desk.

The funny thing is, the four-year-old "victim" was completely compliant because he thought that this was a pretty neat idea, too.

(Another great day of homeschooling!)

Diaperless Parenting - Are you trying to make me feel bad?

Yesterday was a homeschooling challenge for our family. I had a dental appointment at 8:00am and struggled with a very numb mouth for the remainder of the day. We all worked hard to stay on schedule, but the kids were understandably distracted a bit by their mom's sagging lip and unintelligible speech.

"Tomorrow will be better," I vowed. But, I am only more aware of my parenting short comings today after reading that I should have potty trained my toddler over a year ago!

That's right folks, the latest and greatest coup de grâce in the "Who's the best mommy?" death match is diaperless parenting!


Reports reveal that there is

... a growing “diaper-free” movement founded on the belief that babies are born with an instinctive ability to signal when they have to answer nature’s call. Parents who practice the so-called “elimination communication” learn to read their children’s body language to help them recognize the need, and they mimic the sounds that a child associates with the bathroom.

Wow, I really have fallen short on this one. I wouldn't even know what grunt to begin with!

Although I pride myself in trying to interpret and anticipate the needs of my children, I will be the first to admit that I am no where near passing this parenting test. With the daily challenge of just keeping up with the location of each of our children, I have very little time for maintaining a constant "poop-watch" vigil for anticipatory grunts and body language.

I'd be lying to say that I never notice the signals of the secret language of poops, but seeing that this communication is usually very subtle, I regrettably concede that I am much more in tune with the not-so-secret odor of poops.

There are days when we are so busy that even the odor goes unnoticed for a while! (But as you can imagine, that's not often.)

After reading a bit about this potty training idea, I began to wonder why this story is considered newsworthy?

I seriously doubt that this technique is really an option for most parents. The experts and doctors both seem to agree that there is no scientific or medical basis for the belief that infants are even able to be potty-trained.

I guess they need something to report on... but come to think of it, aren't we still at war?

Don't we face an environmental crisis with global warming? Not to mention the our dwindling energy resources, rampant government corruption and an economy that continues to teeter on the brink!

I would imagine that these things would all be great topics for the aspiring investigative reporter, but I guess most people think it is more interesting to read about a 12-week-old infant pooping on a potty.

Actually, it is pretty interesting!

My Secret Obsession: Etsy

The Chronicles have suffered this week because I have developed a minor obsession.

This past week I have spent all of my internet "free-time" visiting and revisiting one website. This website is an eclectic artists' market, www.Etsy.com.


Have you heard of it?

My sister introduced me to it a few months ago, but I had only glanced at it a few times until this week. This website showcases handmade items from all over the world. The depth of creativity realized in this one site can be overwhelming, but the site designers have devised a lot of interesting ways to showcase each artist's work.

The only thing that seems to be lacking from Etsy is an advanced search filter, but the items are so much fun to browse, it doesn't really matter much.

I must admit that viewing the ideas of so many thriving artists has stirred my own creativity. My long neglected art training seems hard to ignore and I find myself wanting to rediscover those forgotten skills.

Because time is so scarce, and my days are so busy, I know it will be a challenge to squeeze anything new in, but I am going to try. Even if it only means carrying along a tiny sketchbook so I can scratch out a few drawings while waiting for soccer practice to finish, swim practice to let out or dance class to end.

Why This Soccer Mom Supports Ron Paul

You may have heard a bit about the Iowa straw poll in the news the last couple of weeks, but it is unknown to many that other states also have straw polls that are never recognized by mainstream media sources.

A Republican straw poll was held in West Alabama last week and you may be surprised at the results. Ron Paul, a much ignored, neglected and often smeared libertarian-republican, came in first place by a landslide. Here are the results.

I must admit that I usually lean to the left in politics, but gosh darn it I like Ron Paul! Let me tell you why.

If you are a parent of more than two children you have probably experienced the whining, grabbing, and the cruel crossfire that ensues between two siblings who are vying for the same toy. I would estimate that at least once a day I have to resolve some sort of fight over something the kids want at the same time or don't feel that they can share.

This is much like our political system.

Republicans and Democrats squabble and bargain for their share of tax money. Sometimes they agree to share, but mostly they just whine, grab and harshly shred the opposition. If I have to choose a side in this "who gets the money?" battle, I usually side with the Democrats, but the whole system makes you feel bad because the end often does not justify the underhanded means.

That is why Ron Paul is an alluring candidate.

Any good parent knows that when kids continue to incessantly fight and argue over one stupid toy, and the brawling disrupts the house and begins to destroy their relationship, there is only one thing to do!

Nobody gets it.

I can't count the number of times that I have had to take away something, sometimes even throwing it in the trash, because no matter what, it was going to cause a fight.

And maybe that is what needs to happen in Washington with federal spending, the eternal squabbling needs to be put to a stop by simply declaring, nobody gets it.

Ron Paul wants to send most federal programs back to the state level. He actually believes in a smaller federal government that limits itself to upholding the constitution.

This could be exactly what our country needs. Perhaps we wouldn't be as divided if most decisions were made on the local level. Citizens would feel like they could still play a part in the political process and our individual needs, unique to each area, would be taken into greater consideration.

The idea of reducing federal control and spending is obviously taboo. Large corporations, political action committees and even foreign interests have a lot invested in our current way of doing things. They know how to pull strings and make things happen, all of that is threatened if the states were given decisions that are now made in Washington.

I think that it is pretty safe to say that the mainstream media has mostly ignored Ron Paul, but hopefully that will change. Fortunately, many people do not have to rely only on television, radio and print. Citizens are now able to seek out ignored information on the internet.

Ron Paul has a very strong following on the internet. Some people have even taken to calling all Ron Paul supporters fat, pimpled-faced computer geeks that sit in their parents basement and spam online polls.

I certainly don't fit that description and these people don't either.



If you would like to learn more about Ron Paul, here is his official website.
There are also countless interview videos on Ron Paul's YouTube channel.

You Know You're a Parent When...

...you've realized that the most effectual way to get poop out of a bathtub is to scoop it quickly with your hand before it breaks into smaller pieces (the bath soap is close-by for afterward, so don't hesitate).

Remove the children first and then get the poop out before the water drains, while it is still floating, or it will smear onto the bottom of the tub.


By-the-way, I don't think Henry's body knows how to digest grapes.

"Pop!" Goes the Nursemaid's Elbow

Yesterday, around 11:30, I started our nap-time routine by herding together our two youngest boys.

Being three, Jacob is old enough to dread his nap, and he began to protest, while Henry, 18-months, held my hand and climbed the stairs next to me. In playful retaliation, the J-Man, decided to grab hold of Henry's leg during our climb. Trying to prevent a serious fall, I was forced to maintain a firm grip on our toddler's hand while the full weight of our 3 (almost 4) year-old son threatened to pull everyone down the stairs. The end result of this tug-of-war was the sound and vibration of a firm "pop" from little Henry's arm, followed by crying.

He cried for a good 15 minutes, but was very tired and fell asleep for a short bit. About half and hour later, Henry was awake again and crying. He held on to his left arm and would not move it. For a while I was able to distract him as I called and consulted our pediatrician's office. The nurse advised me to bring him to an Urgent Care clinic or the ER so that he could be X-rayed.

While waiting for my husband to drive home, I carefully observed our injured toddler, so that I would be able to answer any questions the doctor might ask. I noticed that he was holding his arm slightly bent and perfectly still, almost as if it were in a sling. He was in good spirits and even smiled and tried to play. If he forgot about his injury and tried to move his arm he would flinch or cry.

It is amazing to me how resilient children are, because for all little Henry knew his injury could have been permanent but despite this grim idea, he continued to play. When he encountered a situation where he wanted to grab something but could not because his right hand was full, he would stop and carefully calculate what to do.

"Ok, I've got my Thomas train in this hand, but I want to grab that tricycle. Hmmm, what can I do....well, that other hand is no good anymore, so let me think.....I can try to grab both in the same hand...no, no, that doesn't work....this is the only arm that moves, so I need to find somewhere safe where I can put my train down and then I can grab on...."

All of this seemed to play-out in his head as he held his useless left arm firmly paralyzed at his side. It was a very, very sad thing to watch, but I was amazed at his ability to adapt to the situation!

After Corby arrived home to stay with the big kids, I was finally able to leave for the ER. Worst case scenarios accompanied by visions of little Henry toddling around in a cast played out in my head as I drove into Huntsville.

When we arrived at the Pediatric ER, the administrative nurse look doubtingly at Henry, who was all smiles in his stroller. While I described what had happened to him she calmly stated,

"It sounds like Nursemaid's Elbow."

We were admitted without a wait, but there was no urgency. Next the triage nurse assessed Henry,

"Probably Nursemaid's Elbow."

No one seemed surprised or worried. The doctor came in and I began to explain what happened. Before I could even finish, while holding Henry's arm and twisting inward, he said,

"There, it's fixed. It was Nursemaid's Elbow."

Wow, it really was fixed!

No x-ray or cast needed. He was diagnosed and cured in an instant of something I had never heard of before.

It turns out that Nursemaid's Elbow is a common injury to children whose arm has been pulled too hard. The doctor said that once it occurs it is more likely to happen again, up until the age of 6 or 7. Needless to say, I had the doctor show me how to "pop" the elbow back into place.

Henry began to use his arm almost immediately after the "fix" and never showed any sign of residual pain.

I guess having the experience of parenting three toddlers doesn't show you everything there is to know. Does anyone ever get to the point of being a hardened parenting veteran with encyclopedia like knowledge?

Maybe these parents.