Wonderful Book

I am currently reading a wonderful book called Breastfeeding and Catholic Motherhood, by Shiela Kippley.

I haven't finished reading it yet, but I am so inspired by it that I have to post about it now!  I have read many books on breastfeeding.  I even teach a breastfeeding class, but this book still had a lot to offer.

I like that it is specific to Catholic mothers.  Kippley touches on Blessed John Paul II's Theology of the Body.  She also discusses how breastfeeding actually teaches a new mother how to care for her child.  This book is full of insight and a must read for any Catholic mother!

Here is a link to buy the book. (I have no financial gain here)

http://www.amazon.com/Breastfeeding-Catholic-Motherhood-Gods-Plan/dp/1933184043/ref=pd_sim_b2

Birth Choices and Morality

This is a post that I have been considering writing for quite some time.  I just haven't been quite sure of how to tackle it.

I am a birth fanatic....I love to read about birth, watch videos of women giving birth, go to births, birth children of my own...you get the picture.  I even teach classes on how to give birth.

As a Catholic I bring important decisions to prayer, and pray for God's will.  In my prayer about the births of my own children, I began to reflect on the ways in which women give birth and care for their babies.  My conclusions, and where I think God has led me through prayer, is contrary to the main stream (popular) thought of how women are supposed to birth their babies and how they're supposed to care for them.

God made a woman's body to be able to birth a baby.  Even before there were doctors and hospitals, women got pregnant, labored and birthed well enough to populate the earth.  Women and babies have died during childbirth, (we no longer live in the Garden of Eden) but we have discovered ways to monitor them and to prevent some things from going wrong.  But, in the name of technology and in order to try to escape the pain of birthing, we have interfered with God's design.  For example,  the majority of women in the United States chose an epidural for pain relief during labor. There are many hormones that orchestrate the birthing process.  When a woman has an epidural we change the amount and the way these hormones are released in the body.  (www.sarahbuckley.com).  When we interfere with hormones, we interfere with bonding and breastfeeding, and "mothering".  I would go so far as to say that we can interfere with the potential relationship and parenting of that mother and child.  Is it a sin to get an epidural during labor?  I would say no, but perhaps there is a better way. 

(I often hear to argument that you wouldn't have a root canal done without anesthesia, so why would you want to have a baby without an epidural?  These things are so different that they cannot compare.  Birth is a normal body process that involves many normal hormones.  Having a root canal is a remedy for a sick or dying tooth, birth is just the opposite, it is the transition to new life).

The reason the devil is to be greatly feared, is not so much that evil is always obvious, but because he is sneaky, the "father of lies", things often appear good on the outside, but underneath the fruit is rotten.  What if getting an epidural during labor (numbing the pain seems good, right?) is really an attempt to interfere with God's design for mothers, babies, and families?

The next step would be to interfere with Breastfeeding.  It's no secret that most mother's in the United States use formula or use bottles to feed breastmilk to their babies.  Breastfeeding is the way God made a woman's body to be able to care for her child.  It is so much more than just food.  Breastfeeding, is about bonding, parenting, and loving your child.  Again, there are so many intricate hormones that are at play in both the mother's and the baby's body.  Why do we think that we can do it better than the way God made it?  Is it a sin to give your baby a bottle?  No, but perhaps there is a best way (God's way) and an other way that Satan tries to make popular, in order to create yet another division in the family.

It's no secret that our culture is hurting,  Families are hurting.  Families are broken and many children in our country are hurting.  Divorce isn't the only thing that is tearing our families apart, I would dare to go back even farther, to birth.  Satan attacks the unborn in the womb, of course he tries everything he can to tear these precious ones from their parents even at birth and during infancy.



Parenting is difficult, I am learning everyday how to be a better parent, but I do believe that I have given my children the very best start to life that they could get!

Cool Mom

When I was pregnant for the first time, I remember thinking that my life wasn't really going to change that much.  I thought I would keep the same friends, keep the same hobbies, workout everyday, and be a "cool mom".   People kept telling me how much my life would change after I had the baby, but I just wouldn't listen.  Looking back, no matter what anyone told me, it could not have prepared me for motherhood, it has to be experienced.  I was sure though that I was going to be the cool mom.  The mom, that all the other kids wished they had.  I would never go out in public wearing sweat pants and no makeup.  I definitely wasn't going to wear granny panties or buy frumpy "mom" clothes.  I just couldn't understand these moms that I would see, who didn't care about themselves or the way they looked anymore.  I was not going to let that happen, no way!

Now, I have 4 kids.  I have been pregnant 4 times and would consider myself to be an experienced mother of young children (I know....I still have a lot to learn, I have not been the parent of a teenager yet).  I'll admit it, yes, I have gone out in public in sweats, without taking a shower that morning, and with no makeup on.  Let's be honest here, sometimes you just don't have time to take a shower or do makeup....and sweatpants, just fit better.  Same thing with the mom clothes and granny panties, they just seem to fit the post-pregnancy body better than the clothes in the "juniors" section.  Well, I guess I'm not as cool as I thought I would be, afterall.  But ya know what?  I don't really care that much about being a cool mom anymore, I just want to be the best mom to my children that I can be.  I can love my kids, clean up after their messes, and teach the right from wrong wearing sweat pants. Heck, I'm probably a better mom in sweats than I am when I'm wearing clothes that I don't want to get dirty.  My kids are still young enough that they think I'm pretty cool, I'm sure in a few years that will change, but I'm OK with that now.

And I do have some non-granny panties that I save for date night with my husband :)

Sleep

The other night as my husband and I were getting ready for bed, our dog, Trey, who was in his kennel, started barking. We thought this was unusual because he had just gone out to potty and he is used to sleeping in there.  Jokingly, I told my husband, we should just let him "bark it out" tonight.  Of course, we went to check on him and let him out of his kennel, and he came upstairs and got in bed with us (being a small dog, he easily fits at the foot of the bed).

After I made the joke about letting him cry bark it out, I started thinking about the way we treat our babies.  I wouldn't keep my dog locked in his kennel barking, even though I knew he was fed and had just gone potty, why would I ever keep my baby locked in his crib crying? (Ever notice how much cribs look like cages?)

Yet, I hear parents, frequently talking about how their babies eventually learned to sleep after they were left to cry it out in their cribs.  How much more do we love our children than our pets?  It was unthinkable to me to leave my dog in his cage barking, even if for purely selfish reasons-that I wanted to get some rest and not listen to him barking.  How many parents who have listened to their child cry, have been able to rest themselves?

I have tried to let my babies cry while I waited outside the room.  I felt terrible.  I wasn't at peace, and everything inside of me was also crying, "Go pick him up and hold him!"  It wasn't a quiet voice inside of me, but my instinct, my intuition was shouting at me, that this was not right.

And so, as I reflect on my apparently, lonely dog, and about to give birth to my 4th baby, I think back to those early days with my other children.  Granted, I have my share of some sleepless nights, but overall the majority of our nights were very calm and peaceful.  When my baby woke, I also woke to sounds of movement, thumb sucking and lip smacking, not crying.  My babies didn't need to cry to wake me, for they were sleeping right next to me.  Usually, all I had to do  was roll over and start nursing, before drifting back to sleep.  My husband and my dog slept through the whole exchange.  In the morning, was I always ready to jump up and start my day?  No, but I wasn't sleep deprived, I was ready to face another challenging day as a mommy.