Boobs vs. Bottle

I'm a little confused, per usual.  Why do we continue to go back and forth about who is the best parent when it comes to feeding our babies?  Boob or bottle?  Yes, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says "breast is best", got it, however doesn't anyone remember that we are blessed with the knowledge and technology of infant formula for when a mother can not breast feed? 

There are many reasons that anyone one of us are unable to breast feed.  Some mom's milk does not come in fast enough to nourish their baby.  Not mom's fault.  Maybe mom survived cancer and had a double mastectomy resulting in her reconstructed breasts not producing milk, not mom's fault.  Maybe the baby can not suck correctly, not mom's (or baby's) fault. Maybe mom is constantly stuck down with mastitis that she is tired of living with flu like symptoms and needs to stop nursing, not mom's fault.  Or mom is going back to work and does not have the option to sit down for twenty minutes in a private room to pump, not mom's fault.

And it isn't like those moms that need to feed their babies a bottle don't try the boob.  I know women who would wake up every hour to pump so that their baby, who would wake up every hour and a half, could be feed with that milk in a bottle.   If you do the math, that women is now up every other hour for an hour.  A breast feeding mom just wakes up, puts baby to boob for 20 minutes and then back to sleep. 

Within the past century, children died of malnutrition for many of the above reasons.  That stopped when we developed formula.  Maybe we should stop judging those who use that technology and move on with our lives. There a plenty of problems that we could use that energy for like the fact that one in every four kids live in poverty in this country.  68% of the kids that my son goes to school with are on free or reduced cost breakfast and lunch. 5.2 million children do not have health insurance.  22% of children have experienced food insecurity with the past year (2012).  Can we try and focus what matters? 

Geeking Out

I‘m a political geek. I love politics. I have two degrees in the study of politics. I work in Washington. I have a news channel on throughout the day, even if it’s muted, I’ve got it on. I just had the best Monday ever.

On Monday, I got the rare opportunity to sit and listen to oral arguments at the Supreme Court of the United States, aka SCOTUS. In fact, my line number was 8. Yup, that’s only 7 people in front of me out of 60 seats. To add to my luck, my seat was, basically, at the 50-yard line of the chamber. I couldn’t see the Chief Justice because the lawyers arguing the case were right in front of me. I had better seats then members of Congress. The Secretary of HHS and the Attorney General was about 10 feet away. No big deal.

The case I heard, was arguing the application of the Anti-Injunction Act of 1867 (AIA) to other cases being brought against the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act (heath care reform/ACA). The AIA says that no one can sue the government regarding a tax until it has been levied. The lawyers were arguing that the individual mandate penalty in the ACA is actually a penalty not a tax. (I just bored you didn’t I?) I understood about half of what was being argued. It was a lot of legalize and I am no lawyer or law scholar but hey, half ain’t bad?

Katy Week

I love my birthday. In fact, I love the week (or week and a half) of my birthday. It is not just because there is a day where people celebrate the birth of me (although, that is somewhat cool) but I have had the best times of my life surrounding my birthday. I’m by no means a sports fan however March Madness tends to bring people together even though I like to think it’s because of my birthday! It is the day before St. Patrick’s Day, which always helps! Growing up it was usually around spring break and what kid doesn’t like a week off school as a birthday present? In college, I had some of the best times with my closest friends before, during, and after my birthday.

I tend to get lucky around the month of March also. I was engaged during the month of March. I got my dream job at the end of March. My daughter was born two days after March (I count that!) and this year was no exception. Since we have been blessed with an unusually early spring with temperatures in the 60s and 70s (my favorite kind of weather) we decided to take advantage of the weather, March Madness and my birthday. On Friday night, we set up a projector towards the wall of our house and a computer so that we could watch basketball, outside to enjoy the nice weather. We had friends over and just enjoyed the evening when the beer man showed up. A bartender who works at our local brewery (of which we are loyal customers http://www.portcitybrewing.com/) was driving by, saw our “set up” and dropped of a box of my favorite beer. Yes, free…delivered…beer. Happy Birthday to me!

Sidelined

I just was sidelined. I got sick and I am not talking about a cold that my kids picked up from the petri dishes we call day-care but a 2-week stomach, head, sinus, cough, throat killer. It started when, of course, my husband when out of town for a week. In the middle of the night my stomach decided it did NOT like what I had for dinner and then I got a fever. (The last time I remember have a fever, my mom was taking my temperature as I was lying in my childhood bedroom.) Nevertheless, as most moms do, I powered through, got the kids and myself out the house. Then the headache, sinus and cough started and has not really stopped two weeks later.

I am eternally grateful to have wonderful friends. A few days into this virus from hell, my son had basketball practice. There, my friends saw how miserable I was. They took my son for the afternoon so that I only had to care for my daughter. Just those few hours of laying the couch while she played did wonders.

The next morning I picked up my husband from the airport with my kids. The minute I saw him the white flag went up and I decided, “I’m sick.” I took a day off work, went through two economy-sized bags of cough drops, and had the humidifier on in my bedroom for a week.

Two weeks later, I feel okay. Not great, but better. I am still coughing in the evening some but my son has finally stopped asking, “When are you going to get your voice back?” I did not think moms could get sick. Aren’t they supposed to be able to conquer the world in any situation? I guess I did not get that gene when it was being handed out!

Jinxed

I'm notorious for jinxing myself. Just last week, I was picking up my son at his pre-school and had my daughter with me. We are waiting, very patiently until she gets admitted into the school. The director, who knows how patiently we are waiting until she gets admitted into the school, came by to talk. She saw my daughter looking around at all the toys and asked me, "So, what kind of personality does she have?" (Did I tell you how patiently we are waiting until she gets admitted into the school?)

Now before I tell you my answer, I need to give you a little background on my son. Simply put, he has temper. Now, this is not a bad thing. He doesn't hit. He doesn't bite. He just cries...and cries...and cries...and cries. Do I need to go on? When he first started in the "Two Year Old Class" the teacher figured out that the other boys thought it was funny to watch my son come apart so they would take a toy away from him and then sit back for the "entertainment." And once the crying starts, it takes a patient, soft spoken adult with about 20 minutes to burn to bring him off the ledge. Luckly, his teachers in the Two and Three Year Old classes knew how to deal with him.

My son is now in Pre-K. The teachers do not have that patient, soft spoken touch (nor should have to have it) and when my son gets to "that place" they have actually brought him back to the Two Year Old class so the teacher could deal with him.

So back to my story, the director asks me "So, what kind of personality does she have?" I point to my son and say, "complete opposite of him!" I think I heard angels singing in the director's head for a moment. I told her that she is easy-going kid who loves playing by herself and with other kids and eats anything that is given to her. Basically, an angel with blond streaks.

THAT IS WHERE I WENT WRONG.

It has only been a week since this conversation. My daughter turns two in less than a month and has decided to act like it. She is now throwing tantrums and food. When asked a question, her immediate response is "no" and then thinks about it, sometimes changing her mind. She has discovered that grabbing her brother's hair by the fists full makes him scream, very loudly. She can push other kids to the ground. Basically, she has turned me into a liar.

Fall Out

Have you have heard of Fall Out? You know, what happens when a bomb hits and what happens to everything else. I believe in Fall Out in the context of relationships. Growing up when my sister would get in trouble, I made sure my room was clean, homework done and sitting on the edge of my bed staring at the wall otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble I might find myself in. The same goes in the adult world. When a colleague sends a document out into the world without the necessary edits included from the CEO/President and my boss finds out....I'm sitting at my desk, typing away in a Word document about nothing. Just as long as I look like I'm "working hard." I'm also hoping my boss just leaves me alone for the rest of the day!

Thanksgiving

It's that time of year again when we strap the kids in the car and hit the road to be with extended family. This is when I stop and think about how thankful I am for what I have been given. I have two, extremely healthy, happy, beautiful children so don't have a care in the world. I have a job that I enjoy going to. I live in an area where my kids can play from backyard to backyard while enjoying all that metropolitan areas have to offer; museums, parks, and cultural events. I have never had so many friends in my life that we have trouble finding time to just do nothing! I don't know who could ask for anything more?

I hope I don't do anything to screw this up! ;)