Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Coming Out of the Closet

No, not THAT closet. ;)

In March I got an exciting surprise. Boy was it a surprise since we were sleeping on the floor since our furniture hadn't arrived to our new station yet! At the end of March I went to the base clinic to confirm. It's also when I learned that not all base clinics are created equal.
I showed up, they drew blood. And an hour later a nurse tells me I'm not pregnant. By this point I should be 6 weeks. Tells me I should just come back in a week. I was very confused....after all below is my tests (can you get anymore positive?!).
I insisted that they draw blood again and this time run a beta. Two agonizing days go by before the nurse calls me and tells me I am pregnant and my numbers are "really high." I asked what they were out of curiosity and she refused to tell me. That same day I loaded DS up on my back and marched to the Tricare office and switched to standard so I can always be seen off base. Best decision I've made! Since that week I've learned from a former worker there that this base clinic has been known in the past to "call" a pregnancy test before actually running it. EEK!
April was a hard month. Before getting my positive I was already feeling off. Within a couple of days of learning why, nausea set in and didn't let up till 14 weeks (and I'm still having an occasional issue!). It really didn't help that I got sick twice in April too (virus sick, not just pregnancy sick)! Unlike with my son snacking is not helping this time around. Anytime I eat anything at all I immediately feel worse. It's been interesting I have to say!
My first visit with a midwife (of my choosing!) was great. We talked about my cesarean section with Squish, my desire for a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), the hospital, and how routine care goes with the office. I also learned that they have no problems letting a woman have a 42 week pregnancy! I felt calm the entire time and walked away feeling so positive. No doppler or ultra sound that visit - I love that they're fairly hands off! 
I just had my second midwife visit three weeks ago. I heard the heartbeat (150s). It was a very quick and boring appointment - the best kind! My next appointment will be in mid June. That appointment I will see an OB who will go over VBAC risks and repeat c/s risks followed by the anatomy scan! Can't wait! 
Hopefully soon I'll finally experience the 2nd trimester surge of energy and will say goodbye to the awful nausea once and for all! 

Monday, May 14, 2012

Am I Mom Enough?

Anyone living under a rock and not know what my title refers to? ;) I would like to thank Time magazine for lighting another huge fire to the "mommy wars." I've read quite a bit of interesting information this week as people spout off AP (attachment parenting) inaccuracies. I've also watched a few extreme APers go off to prove they're "right" in inappropriate ways. *sigh*

I really wish that it didn't cost $4.99 just to get the Time magazine issue to read the story inside. Most people have yet to see more than the cover and many probably won't ever read the story. There have been a lot of assumptions from the cover too. Well, I spent the $4.99 and downloaded it to my iPad so I could know what was behind Time's interesting cover picture choice.

The majority of the article is about Dr Sears, his family, and their lives. Not breastfeeding 3 year olds. Not in depth interviews with families who practice AP (other than the Sears' family). Nothing is mentioned about being mom enough. The cover was there purely to attract attention, which it did. By the way, I have zero issue with breastfeeding being on the cover I just wish they had chosen a picture that shows the bond breastfeeding gives (which you can find here).

Other than information about Dr Sears, the article mentions the book Continuum Concept as being the roots of AP. It goes briefly into Dr. Sears' The Baby Book which introduced AP to most of America. It goes on to state that some moms feel "traumatized" for not being able to do everything by the book. Honestly I own the book, have read it, and don't see how it comes across to others as an all or nothing resource (there's even a chapter for working moms believe it or not!). The article does state that Sears tells people to do the best your can and stick with your instincts, NOT do everything perfectly or your child will suffer. AP is about instinctual parenting, not following a rule book. I feel there is a tone in the article assuming an "all or nothing" stance with AP which many in the AP community probably won't enjoy.

And for those who don't know anything about AP, trust me one of the "attachment tools" for AP is not extended breastfeeding into elementary school. It's simply breastfeeding. And please don't forget that the WHO (World Health Organization) recommends breastfeeding up to 2 years of age and beyond. This is not crazy AP moms going nuts.

In the end I don't really feel that the cover and the actual story had much to do with each other other than the mom practices AP. But that doesn't catch anyones attention and sell magazines does it?

(Sears posted his response on FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/notes/ask-dr-sears/dr-bills-comments-regarding-time-magazine/386851014687448)