Below are the most recent 17 friends' journal entries.

Monday, November 9th, 2009
co_sleeping [ zechal ]	9:59a	Introduction Name: Amanda Age: 26 Number of Kids please: 1 little girl who is 8 weeks old How long have you been co-sleeping? Only about 3 or 4 weeks How did you decide to do it? Before she born we swore we would not bring her into our bed, I'm not really sure why we were against it, I don't think we realized how beneficial it was for her and for us! Well, basically it happened on accident. I was up nursing every 2 hours and would get up change her, and sit in the nursery to nurse her and then rock her back to sleep, then lay her down hoping I wouldn't wake her up placing her into a cold bassinet. So one night I just pulled her into bed with me, side nursed and we both fell asleep...that was the start of a beautiful relationship! Now we place her in her bassinet and then when she wakes for her first feeding my husband changes her and then brings her to me in bed, and that's where she stays! She nurses and then falls asleep like an angel! She is warm, happy and smiling every morning....and I am warm, happy, and well rested! I feel like I am a much better mother now that I am getting more sleep :) Anything else? Does anyone have any recommendations on books regarding co-sleeping? (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 8th, 2009
altparent [ rocketgeek ]	10:24p	Safety of various types of obstetrics care Back in 2003, birth certificate rules in the US changed to require that the birth location (i.e. hospital, birth center, home, etc) and type of attendant (i.e. MD, CNM, etc) be recorded. That has allowed the CDC to compile reliable data on the neonatal (first month of life) and infant (first year) mortality rate for infants delivered in various settings in order to determine what type of obstetrics care delivers the best outcomes. The report for 2004 can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr55/nvsr55_14.pdf and the raw data set for 2003-2005 can be found at http://wonder.cdc.gov/lbd-current.html. Amy Tuteur, MD wrote it up over at Science-Based Medicine. The results are quite clear -- the neonatal mortality right with direct-entry midwives (DEM, or CPM as they are now called in some states) at home is triple the rate for certified nurse midwives (CNMs) or MDs in hospitals or birthing centers. The neonatal mortality rates of a homebirth with a CNM is approximately double that in a hospital setting. This dataset and associate reports are US-specific, of course. And there's one more thing... The Midwives Alliance of North America has compiled an extensive dataset on the safety of midwifery in the US. According to their data access policies, they have not and will not released this dataset publicly in any form. They will only release it to entities that can demonstrate, to their satisfaction, that they will use it for the advancement of midwifery, and back that up with an NDA. I have no idea what's actually in there, of course, but I've never seen anyone lock up data that says they're good. ETA: Data tends to be rather impervious to insults and imprecations against the messenger(s). (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, November 7th, 2009
mamagotcha	2:46p	boy up high, 1 boy up high, 1 Originally uploaded by mamagotcha. clay parkoured up on top of this monument at indian boundary park. --klsabin (Comment on this)
Friday, November 6th, 2009
mamagotcha	11:18a	And now, a slight diversion... Shinies! The fabulous Lioness is having a sale... just reading the pieces' titles is a sublime treat. How could you possibly resist clicking through to see "Taking My Baby Back To Clown Jail"? And even better... sometime today, she'll be posting bags of beads made of dinosaur bones and star stuff. Just think of the stories THOSE could tell! (Comment on this)
Thursday, November 5th, 2009
mamagotcha	8:31p	Hmm, next roadtrip should go south... visited 32 states (64%) Create your own visited map of The United States (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Saturday, October 31st, 2009
mamagotcha	8:33p	Home safe and some pondering on vaccines We're back safe and sound, the van is unloaded, and the cats have shown their disdain at the return of the dog. We tried to go see the Midnight Circus at Daley Plaza, but only got there for the last 30 seconds of the finale. Still, we had a nice outing in the brisk autumn air. Hardly any trick-or-treaters here tonight, and Linc made a huge haul (that he kindly shared with his big brother). Bill made some cinnamon rolls, and I've been puttering around unpacking, reading magazines, and fooling around on the computer. I've been seeing posts about that WIRED article about vaccines, and had several people questioning my decision process about choosing not to vaccinate my own children. ( Here are some thoughts... ) Anyway, I wanted to put all this into one place, since I've been typing out versions of it recently and thought it would be nice to have a link. ETA: jedusor has one of those conversations going on over in her LJ. Current Mood: thoughtful (24 Comments |Comment on this)
mamagotcha	4:55p	Ghoulish! Ghoulish! Originally uploaded by mamagotcha. Clay and Linc (aka Alex and Ghost) head out in 45 degree weather to collect as much loot as they can before freezing solid. Happy Halloween! I think I'll fix 'em some hot Ovaltine... --klsabin (2 Comments |Comment on this)
barefootmomma	3:02p	I fail at lunch. Today while making grilled cheese and tomato soup for myself for lunch I managed to turn on the wrong burner and burn the plastic spatula handle onto the stove, over heat the pan for the grilled cheese, and scald the soup.  Then when I was getting water for myself the damn dog stole and ate my sandwich.  I fail. Also, it's Halloween and it's raining.  We're supposed to go trick or treating for the first time tonight and I don't know if that will happen. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
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Thursday, October 29th, 2009
altparent [ cookiemommy ]	5:41p	playtime or punishment i don`t have much of a memory from my childhood so i don`t have much to base this on but...my kids don`t really seem to want to play. all they want to do is run around bugging me, bringing me things and telling me everything they can imagine, no matter how many times i tell them to go play with their MILLIONS of toys or with each other. It`s like i`m the most amazing toy they have or something. So i figured maybe they were overwhelmed with the amount of toys they had, and i put most of them away. i often take it as a compliment that they must think i`m totally interesting. i know often they get bored but i seem to remember, when i was a kid, going crazy for alone time. Absolutely LOVING time alone, in my bedroom or the basement or just in general. i seem to remember this happening from age four (my little girls are five and three) or at least around there. I wish i knew what was really going on. if it`s that their room is too small, they just don`t like each other. we get out a lot, at LEAST once a day and we don`t drive (we walk and bus, often with a lot of walking) and we cook and listen to music together and i`m usually good with them being out and around me...sometimes i want a little space. It`s REALLY hard to get them to play for ten minutes in their room (we don`t really have any other rooms for them to play in alone, i live in a two bedroom apartment), nevermind longer than that. It seems my eldest has slowly been letting her imagination faulter as school tells her what to do on a scheduled basis and she doens`t have to come up with it on her own. her playmates are obsessed with brandname imagineless toys (like hanna montana and tinkerbell) so she no longer makes up her own names or games, even though we don`t really encourage any pop culture in our household. And she spends a few hours a day at her grandma`s place, usually watching t.v. and eating whatever she wants. which would be fun were it not EVERY DAY. So... i don`t know if this is a normal stage of childhood... if not wanting to do anything but be around me is a sign of great intelligence *smirk* (no, seriously) or if there`s something going on i can correct so they can better enjoy time alone and time with each other. i think it`s important for them to enjoy time with each other, especially imaginative play but when i encourage them to play together or ask them to give me a few moments of space, they often get mad at me and or react like they`re in a time out. holy crap i have never experience so much flying by the seat of my pants as parenting has made me do!!!! (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
mamagotcha	4:43p	Wall Drug Wall Drug Originally uploaded by mamagotcha. A little memory for anyone who has driven that stretch of South Dakota along I-90... the Famous Wall Drug Store. The sheer tenacity of their billboard campaign is remarkable. Otherwise... a snowy, rainy, dreary driving day, lightened with a wonderful rendition of C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe." This book is read by Michael York, who I'm not familiar with... but Kenneth Branagh and Derek Jacobi read other books in the same series, gifted to us by Uncanny (thank you, thank you, thank you!). --klsabin (5 Comments |Comment on this)
mamagotcha	3:03p	firetruck! firetruck! Originally uploaded by mamagotcha. lunch at the firehouse brewing co. in rapid city, s.d. is capped with a rice-krispie-treat decorate-your-own truck... aunt amanda and linc are dispatching their sticky creation happily. --klsabin (Comment on this)
paquerette	12:46p	Sarcasm Compassion is alive and well in the Poconos. I'm just so freaking happy that we're putting down roots in such a wonderful community where people care for each other and help their neighbors. Current Mood: morose (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, October 27th, 2009
mamagotcha	11:11a	leaving Butte... leaving Butte... Originally uploaded by mamagotcha. after a delightful visit with Uncanny and her family. Next stop, Sheridan, WY! --klsabin (3 Comments |Comment on this)
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