Baby-Friendly rap

Words cannot express how much I love this video!



Via Kellymom's Facebook page, which is basically a neverending stream of greatness.

Crunchy moms say...

So maybe instead of actual posts, I'll just do funny comics and videos for a while? How does that sound?

Another great breastfeeding comic from Married to the Sea!

Man, I love Married to the Sea. I think this is breastfeeding comic #3 I've seen from them in the space of 6 months.



Link to original, see many more great comics on various topics here.

The fantasy doula league

Fantasy football is ending. Sad? You won't be after listening to this podcast which envisions...a fantasy doula league!

These dads are obviously quite familiar with the doula trade and are fantasy doula league experts. They really pick up on the crucial skills and stats of doula practice. And, then of course, there's the placenta-kiwi foam.

Fantasy Doula Report - Comedy from Jon Cragle on Vimeo.

"With Rebozo moves like this, she will not be available long!"

Too late for me, T-Rex

Dinosaur Comics may be - no, definitely is - my favorite webcomic. There may be - no, there definitely is - a Dino Comics whiteboard on my fridge.

[True story about how DC tied into my birth/breastfeeding/etc. life: whenever the newest comic is particularly great, I make it my Gmail status. Then people I was e-mailing professionally, like the midwife who ran the Centering program I volunteer for, started showing up on my Gchat list and I thought "Huh, they can see my status too; maybe that doesn't look very professional and I should stop doing that." The next time I saw that midwife she said, "Oh, I have to tell you - you have gotten me completely addicted to Dinosaur Comics."]

So you can imagine that I got special joy from today's comic:



Too late for me to heed T-Rex's advice! But some good points there.

(For more comics, the archives are here. Tip: hover the pointer over the comic to see the "alt-text" for extra commentary.)

P.S. There's a post coming soon about my long radio silence, not to mention a lot of links and even new content! It's been a busy month and I've been low on the posting mojo.

In the category of blogs that I am enjoying this week

Privilege Denying Dude!

I think privilege denying dude would also say related things like "If you don't want to have a baby in a hospital, don't get pregnant" and "Birth trauma is all in your mind" and "Maternity leave is discriminatory".

Of course, he would do it while condescendingly mansplaining.

(For the record, women can also be privilege denying dudes. Lest anyone think I'm being sexist.)

Bonus link: If you are having a baby, and don't want your baby's pee or your milk to get on your mattress, I can vouch for this mattress pad: Queen Size SafeRest Premium Hypoallergenic Waterproof Mattress Protector - Vinyl Free

Link party, August blogcation

I guess my blogging is on an August hiatus? Between traveling and bracketing the traveling with long shifts at work, I am not doing much blogging (also, my e-mail inbox hates me - at least, I assume the feeling is mutual. So if you've e-mailed me and not heard back, that may be a factor.) Early September may not be much better, but I promise to post again soon!

In the meantime, some links:

* Jessica Valenti on learning to love her baby through a harrowing delivery and long NICU stay


* From Birthing Beautiful Ideas, these are many of the reasons that I too love being a doula!


* Elita at Blacktating ponders the idea of the "relief bottle".


* A doula's birth story that highlights some of the ways a doula can play an important role in a planned cesarean


* The Unnecesarean links to this excellent piece on the co-opting of "pregnancy is not a disease" by anti-contraception organizations, and then breaks it down:

...this whole conversation is ridiculous. We are only having it because somebody, somewhere, is upset that women are having sexy non-babymaking funtimes they don’t approve of, and they’re determined to make us all pay for their inability to deal with not everybody agreeing with them that this is bad.

Go on, read the whole thing!


* And for the lighter side of things... I've just discovered the webcomic Married to the Sea, and in celebration they clearly did a comic just for me:



There are lots more!

Boring factual infographic

Via I Love Charts



Thanks to my friend (& LC-in-training) Allison for the link!

Attachment parenting the baby Jesus

When I visited my grandmother over Christmas she had a sweet story to tell me. Every year since I can remember she has set out a small nativity. It's pretty standard: wise men, shepherds, goats, Mary and Joseph all gathered around the baby Jesus in his manger, their arms spread wide - in worship or awe, I suppose. Every year since I can remember, the manger is empty until Christmas Eve, when my grandmother places the baby into his little cradle. This year, though, my youngest cousin (age 2) came to visit a couple weeks before Christmas. My grandmother wanted to show her the baby, so she put him in early. This cousin was breastfed until she was about 18 months and still often co-sleeps with her mom - not for any kind of deep attachment parenting philosophy as far as I know, but just because that's what works for them.

The day after my cousin's family left, my grandmother realized the manger was empty. She wondered if she had managed to keep track of the little baby figurine all these years only to lose it. Maybe the little girl had done something with him or hidden him somewhere? My grandmother looked all around the house, but when she finally found the baby, he had never left the nativity: my little cousin had taken him out of the manger and placed him back in Mary's arms. It was a bit of an awkward fit - she kind of had to hook him over one of the arms, legs dangling, in a feat of fine motor skills I was surprised she was capable of. All the more impressive that she was so determined that Mary hold him!

My grandmother hadn't touched it since - I so wish I had gotten a picture. It was a sweet reminder of how children can model what they're used to seeing - in this case, a mom hugging her baby.

Because it's just too funny

A new take on mom-baby yoga:


Why Moms can't do yoga
Uploaded by Hubzesailor. - Sitcom, sketch, and standup comedy videos.

Via 4-Way Split.

One man's take on breastfeeding in public

One man objects to public breastfeeding, but not for the reasons you might expect.

A new technique for enforcing delayed cord clamping?

The new xkcd:



Or an object lesson on some of the many problems with directed pushing?

Xkcd for the maternity care win!

This says so many things on so many levels about modern maternity care, I can't even begin to list them. In fact, there are so many that I'm pretty sure Randall Munroe couldn't have actually meant them all.

The best birth plan

Tiffany at the Midwives of Bethany Women's Healthcare blog posted one of the best birth plans I have ever read. I was giggling the whole time I read it.

I was asked to give feedback on a birth plan the other day, and spent some time crossing out things that didn't really need to be on there, explaining that other things should really be discussed in advance, etc. etc. Maybe I could have just suggested they xerox this plan and use it. If nothing else, I think it would put the staff in a great mood!

Sen. Stabenow to Sen. Kyl: Oh SNAP!

United States Senator John Kyl (R. - Ariz) said in health care reform hearings: "I don't need maternity care", so health care reform should not require insurance companies to provide it.

Senator Debbie Stabenow (D. - Mich) fires back: "I think your mom probably did."



(Via Feministing.)

Sen. Kyl then snorts "Yeah, about 60 years ago." Perhaps someone should also show him the evidence that prenatal (AND preconception) health of the mother have impacts on the health of her baby, decades into the future. Or is that just an "I got mine" statement?

If we pass health care reform that does not mandate maternity coverage, we're not getting true health care reform.

Kanye + VBACs

So I try not to link to the Unnecesarean aaaaall the time, and hope and trust that my readers have it in their feeds as well. But you can't miss Kanye talks VBACs. As I noted in the posts, it is right up there with Kanye interrupts Barack Obama.

Barbie breastfeeds!

Did you know breastfeeding is glamorous? Sure it is! Barbie does it!

Babies Suck!

Babies Suck by Renee

My friend Renee just sent me a fabulous birthday present - I had to share. Now the only question is where to hang it? I need someplace where I can put up a shelf of my doula books and hang this just above.

Childbirth ed via crochet

I love this! It's a childbirth crochet doll giving birth (and baby, cord, and placenta). I'm a crocheter and am now eyeing it and wondering if I could figure out how to replicate something similar.

Home On the Breast (a breastfeeding song)

At a singalong, my mother ran into a guy who had written a breastfeeding song. Given my interest, she asked him to send along the lyrics. I enjoyed it - I especially love the chorus - so here it is:

Home On The Breast (sung to the tune of Home On The Range)
written by Steve Baggish as "channelled" by 8 month old son, Eli

Oh give me some food,
I don't mean to sound rude,
But I'm hungry and cranky and tired.
You've got what I want,
You're a fine restaurant,
And there's no reservations required!

CHORUS:
Home, home on the breast,
Where the love and the milk are expressed,
On the left or the right,
In the day or the night,
That's the place I like hanging out best.

I must think somehow
You're a magical cow,
You've been there since the time of my birth.
So give me one sip,
Or just one little nip,
And I'll milk you for all that you're worth! (CHORUS)

Someday I'll grow up,
And I'll drink with a cup,
And I'll eat with a fork and a knife.
But please don't be sad,
I'll be just like my dad,
And love breasts for the rest of my life! (CHORUS)