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I’ll bet you guys though that when I lost my job that I’d be blogging more often. Well, so did I. But instead I’ve been spending more time playing with my son, hanging out with the Holistic Moms and pursuing some of my hobbies, such as cooking, crafting, reading and spending time outdoors. Its been a very fulfilling lifestyle, and I wish it could last forever.
But, I know its not going to. As we speak, I’m applying for a seasonal night time job and applying to go back to college next semester to finish my bachelors in environmental science. Or I might change my major, considering that I don’t really intend to make a career out of anything I can major in at the Metropolitan State College of Denver.
I also really want to keep this blog active so I can share with the world what I’m doing now in my newer, better life. I am probably getting out of the Army in January and I’m moving on to bigger and better things. I am grateful for everything that the Army has given to me, but for this Soldier, it is time to move on.
I’m working very hard on a home made Christmas. I have to be even more strict about it this year because my income has dropped so dramatically. I’m also scouring Freecycle, and hopefully putting to good use what I learned last year in my first attempt at a Freecycle Christmas.
I’m trying to get more involved in community activities and I’m doing a lot of interviews for doula work. I expect to be certified within the next six months. I’m moving forward with my midwifery training, and feeling really good about the present.
I look forward to sharing all of this with you again!
This company and this state that just don’t have their priorities straight.
An Ohio woman was fired for taking unauthorized breaks for pumping breast milk. She sued, stating that the firing was sexual discrimination. Here’s a story on the matter.
While the Ohio supreme court ruled against her, it was a close call. One judge, Justice Paul E. Pfeifer, disagreed with the ruling, and wrote “The appellate court does not explain why Allen’s trips to the restroom outside scheduled break times were different from the restroom trips other employees made outside scheduled break times. There is no evidence in the record about any limit on the length of unscheduled restroom breaks and no evidence that employees had to seek permission from a supervisor to take an unscheduled restroom break. There is evidence only that unscheduled bathroom breaks were allowed and that LaNisa Allen was fired for taking them. What made her breaks different?”
I agree. A milk pumping break is no different than a bathroom break.
Here in Colorado, we have a law that requires any employer of more than two employees to provide reasonable break time for nursing mothers to pump breast milk, as well as a private place to do it that isn’t a bathroom stall. We have enacted this law because it is best for public health and workplace efficiency. Mothers who nurse their children miss less work because their children do not get sick as often. The mothers also get sick less often, they are less likely to suffer from post partum depression and some studies suggest that nursing reduces your chances of developing breast cancer. Children who are nursed, in addition to getting sick less often, are less likely to become obese, develop allergies, get cavaties, are less picky eaters (and therefore more likely to eat healthy as adults). Breastmilk is also cheaper than formula, which frees up mothers to spend money on more important things, such as better health care, healthier foods, better education for her child, etc.
Mothers who nurse and children who drink breast milk are healthier. This equals less work missed by the mother, less school missed by the child later in life, and less of a burden on our health care system. Both mother and child are able to be more productive members of society and more productive workers in the long run. Encouraging mothers to nurse creates better citizens and making it easier for them to continue nursing after going back to work makes their lives and jobs happier and easier, meaning they will be more productive.
It is in our nations best interest to encourage mothers to nurse and to do what it takes to make it easy for them. Apparently the State of Ohio and the company this woman worked for (Isotoner) were too short sighted to see that.
Many mother’s groups are calling for a boycott of Isotoner and I agree. I don’t buy their products anyhow, but I certainly never will now.
Here are my birthday wishes for today, my 26th birthday.
- I wish everyone in this country had access to top quality health care. Health care that includes as many holistic options as conventional ones.
- I wish single mothers got paid as much as married mothers. I wish mothers got paid as much as single women. And I wish all women got paid as much as men.
- I wish parents who abandoned their children would be held accountable for their actions, and that conservative talking heads would stop spouting cruelty about the parents who actually do stick around.
- I wish every consenting adult is able to make a legal commitment binding them in love to any other consenting adult.
- I wish the government would stop subsidizing junk food.
- I wish the whole world would go see Food Inc. and The Business of Being Born.
- I wish you would become a fan of Rock Your Birth Doula Services on Facebook.
- I wish all single moms, and especially all single pregnant women, would read Mari Gallion’s book, The Single Woman’s Guide to a Happy Pregnancy.
- I wish that President Obama would actually do something worth getting the Republicans this angry.
- I wish people would start voting for third parties.
- I wish world governments would take the 350 goals seriously.
- I wish Whole Foods hadn’t bought out Wild Oats, and Wild Oats hadn’t bought out Alfalfa’s.
- I wish Placebo hadn’t cancelled their American tour.
- I wish this country and culture would make ease of breast feeding for all women a top priority.
- I wish the United States had a maternity leave policy like Canada does. One year off at 60% of your pay, plus one optional year off, unpaid.
- I wish mothering were recognized as the full time job that it is.
- I wish men would stop lying about how tall they are.
- I wish companies built consumer goods to last, instead of to break, become obsolete, or go out of style within a year or two (or less!).
- I wish we’d get serious about alternative fuel and energy resources.
- I wish CAFOs would go away.
- I wish we would crack down on companies who hire illegal immigrants, instead of cracking down on the illegal immigrants individually. Companies who hire illegal immigrants usually do it so that they can commit grievous human rights violations without fear of penalty.
- I wish we focused more on Fair Trade and less on NAFTA.
- I wish all chemicals had to be tested for safety before they are put on the market in consumer goods.
- I wish drug companies weren’t allowed to advertise to the general public.
- I wish there were an ocean in Colorado, and also a place where avocados, bananas and citrus fruit would grow, then I would have no problem going to an entirely local diet.
- I wish I could speed read.
- I wish that I will be able to send Elijah to schools that don’t focus on standardized tests, especially not in Kindergarten. On that note, I wish every parent in America would read Crisis in the Kindergarten.
- I wish I was a size 10 again.
- I wish my mouse would stop doing the weird stuff its doing.
Now I’m going to go make some potato soup for my birthday meal. Yum.
The CDC is talking about making routine circumcision a recommended procedure for all newborn males in this country to prevent the spread of HIV, based on some studies done in Africa that seemed to conclude that circumcision may reduce the chances of contracting HIV in heterosexual males through sex.
The studies were done in Africa, where most men are un circumcised. Volunteers came in to participate in the studies, and men were given the choice whether or not they wanted to be circed, rather than randomly assigning, which makes the studies biased right there.
The studies were also flawed in that the study groups were too small to get an accurate conclusion and there were no controls, basically setting the study up to support the hypothesis. That is not science.
How does circumcision prevent the spread of HIV? That is a question that these studies have failed to answer because they have not been conducted scientifically. For all we know, the spread of HIV in these studies could have easily been less in circumcised men because the circumcised men were more hesitant to show their unusual looking penis, and therefore had less promiscuous sex. In fact, a look at these studies makes that seem very likely indeed. Until I can be given an explination as to how circumcision prevents the spread of HIV, I can’t believe these studies. They just don’t make sense.
Furthermore, even the CDC is quite clear on the fact that circumcision would have very little effect on AIDS rates here IF (and its a big if) the conclusions of these African studies are correct. Most AIDS transmissions in this country take place between gay males and drug users, these studies say nothing about circumcision protecting from transmission in these cases.
Even if we can conclude that these studies are correct, the alleged effectiveness rate of circumcision in preventing HIV is still WAY below the effectiveness of condoms, and leagues below limiting sexual parters. I see very little justification for making a recommendation for a surgical procedure that carries a long list of risks when there are more effective, cheaper, and less dangerous preventative measures out there.
We need more scientificly based studies to confirm this alleged link between circumcision and reduced HIV rates. Remember, only 15% (most of whom are Muslims) of the world’s male population is circumcised, so clearly there are large pockets of uncircumcised populations (say, Europe) where AIDS is not as big of a problem as it is here, where some 75% of men are circumcised. Those are some large numbers that suggest these studies may not be accurate enough to start suggesting routine circumcision.
I think its seriously flawed to start telling people that being circumcised is going to protect them from HIV. It has about the same effectiveness rate as the pull out method does in preventing the spread of HIV. I’d hate to see the country take this as an excuse to no longer use condoms. Circumcised men contract and pass on HIV every day!
Today marks the end of my first week of unemployment, or, as I prefer to think of it, my first week as a stay at home mom. Its different than I thought it would be. I really need to get into the swing of things.
I was going to go to the zoo with a friend of mine today, but I am just exhausted, I’m hoping we can reschedule for next Friday. I don’t know why I should be so tired, considering I’ve been home all week … except for all the running to meet potential doula clients and go to job fairs and get groceries and drop a disc off at Buckley I forgot to leave there and waiting on hold with unemployment for literally four hours. Ugh. I just want one day to do nothing. Is that so much to ask?
But I probably won’t do nothing. I’ll probably pick up around the house, maybe vacuum, maybe mop, maybe scrub a few toilets. And I really need to take my giant zucchinis and make some zucchini bread. And I’d like to peel Elijah away from the TV long enough to go for a walk to the bank, and I have laundry to do, and dinner to plan, and …
How did this stuff ever get done when I was working? Actually, judging by the size of the laundry pile I’ve been working through, it didn’t. And we didn’t eat many home cooked meals, and we rarely ate before 7 pm, because that’s how long it took us to get home from work and get the kitchen cleaned enough to cook in and then make dinner. Ugh.
So, although I already knew all this, I feel that this week has allowed me to really appreciate this article I found today, Parenting … a Radical, Political Act. I thought you guys might enjoy this.
Total Money Makeover is, hands down, the best personal finance book I’ve ever read.
To be fair, its the only personal finance book I’ve ever read.
I’m not good with money. Never have been. I’ve got substantial debt for a person who’s only ever owned two credit cards (one of them, I didn’t even understand I was applying for a credit card when I got it!). My credit score is on the lower end of so-so. For years I’ve been wanting to pay off my debt, but I just haven’t had the motivation to do the things necessary to do so.
Having a baby complicated the matter further. Single mothers aren’t known to be living in the lap of luxury. Nearly half my paycheck goes to child care. Throw diapers, food, clothes, and all the other little expenses that kids cost on there, and I don’t know how anyone who makes less than I do can afford to have children. I’m not paying for fancy stuff (except the diapers, I do buy Seventh Generation) either.
That’s why I think every single mom should read this book, especially if you don’t already have good financial habits. Dave takes you through everything you need to write up a budget, stick to it, save up an emergency fund, pay down debt, and then start investing. He advocates living entirely on cash. No financing anything ever again! I don’t know if I’m 100% behind that. Things like student loans can be a godsend, and I don’t think its the end of the world to get a mortgage to buy a home. But other than that, I’m totally with him. I will certainly never finance a car again!
Dave’s tone is a little harsh, but I find that motivating, personally. Since listening to his book, whenever I go to buy something I hear his voice in my head asking if I really need that. Would I rather have that, or a debt paid off? Would I rather have that, or be able to quit working full time one day because I have no bills to pay?
His tips are simple, practical, and within reach, I think, of every single mom out there. His faith obviously plays a big role in his life and comes through in his book, but if you take the Bible quotes the same way you would take a fable with a moral from some other culture, I think even atheists can get a lot out of this book.
I definitely recommend this one on audio, because he is a riot to listen to. The same material might be pretty boring on paper.
Who here knows about ICAN? I didn’t, until a friend of mine from the midwifery training program I’m enrolled in was named president.
ICAN is a great organization that provides support and advocacy for women who have had a c-section. Whether you are unable to have babies vaginally, or you have had many a successful VBAC since your cesarean birth, ICAN is a great recourse for you.
They also dedicate themselves to preventing c-sections. Of course c-sections are life saving operations, but they come with many health risks to mother and child, and they are best avoided, if possible. Kind of like chemo therapy. Of course, it kills cancer, but you’re better off avoiding getting cancer in the first place because chemo therapy is awful. If there are ways to prevent cesareans (and cancer), they should be found and implemented, and that is what ICAN is helping to do.
