Watch out, Target! The mamas are coming for you.

Posted on December 28, 2011 | 7 Comments

In the last 24 hours, I’ve received Facebook invitations to *more than 40* nurse-in events all taking place simultaneously tomorrow at Target stores across the country.  What did Target do to gain the wrath of the mama-sphere, you ask?

From an online group about the incident that started it all:

Recently a mama was nursing her babe in a local Houston area Target. When she was asked to move to a private location, she refused, and was harassed and humiliated by three separate employees. She then called Target’s corporate customer service number and was told by a representative, and then her supervisor that they were aware of the laws, but …that just because something is lawful doesn’t mean its acceptable in their store.

Let’s show them just how many mamas they’ve offended. We have a right to shop and meet our babies’ needs while doing so. Public humiliation for doing so will not be tolerated.

These lactivists have called for an international nurse-in event today at Target stores around the globe.  So if you’re near a Target, grab your babe and head on over for a snack.  And if you’re not lactating, grab a doll and pretend.

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Posted in Breastfeeding

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There’s something romantic about trying to conceive.

Posted on December 15, 2011 | Leave a comment

Maybe it’s obvious to some folks, but I’ve been surprised by how sweet, loving, romantic, and sexy my relationship with my partner has been in the last week.

And it’s not the conception sex–in reality, that’s only been a couple times.

It’s getting home from work to find a gorgeous dinner on the table, with 3 kinds of greens included in the spread.  Why’d he make Brussels sprouts, asparagus AND spinach salad?  Because “greens are supposed to be good for getting pregnant,” according to my incredible partner.

It’s him casually poking my stomach in a prodding kind of way anytime someone mentions baby-having.

I think we’ve done so much griping about how tough parenthood is, that seeing my partner anxious to make a baby is really strange.  And really (really really really really really) awesome.

We never did this part before–the planning a pregnancy, the anticipation of when we’d get pregnant and when the baby would be due.  We did more of the ‘Oh shit!’ routine last time around.  And the ‘Oh shit!’ routine was fine and worked out beautifully, but this time is turning out to be more fun than I expected.

Aside from all of the giddiness that comes along with the idea of a new baby, this experience is also bringing a reminder that we’re great parents and that we make a great couple.

A reminder that parenting is a crazy fun adventure, a ride that we deserve to go on again.

A reminder that our daughter will make one fly big sister.

And reminder that the monotonous grind hasn’t actually devoured our souls (or our relationship) yet.

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Posted in Pregnancy

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Ibu Robin Lim Brings Midwifery to the Forefront (and wins $300k) as CNN’s Hero of the Year 2011

Posted on December 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

When I met Ibu Robin Lim last year, she was promoting the documentary Guerrilla Midwife and selling t-shirts to fundraise for her Yayasan Bumi Sehat midwifery clinics in Bali.  Today, she’s basking in the glow of having just been named CNN’s 2011 Hero of the Year.

When I met Ibu Robin Lim last year, she was promoting her new film and selling t-shirts as a fundraiser. Yesterday she was named CNN's 2011 Hero of the Year. I should've bought a t-shirt!

This award isn’t just a gracious nod to all of her hard work.  Rather, it has the potential to move midwifery care forward exponentially, both here in the US, in Bali, and internationally.  It has the potential to skyrocket Ibu Robin and Bumi Sehat’s goals from being ambitious, to being met.

For a few days, everyone who logs onto CNN.com or watches CNN News will know who she is, what she does, and why.  Media consumers will have the concept of gentle birth brought right into their daily lives, whether or not they’re pregnant or involved in mother-baby care at all.

And aside from the massive media attention and the momentum that this could create, there’s also the $300,000 grant that comes along with the award.  That will help, too.

Congratulations to Ibu Robin Lim, the Yayasan Bumi Sehat community, and every family who will ever benefit from this work and this award.

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Posted in Midwifery

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Making a Baby – Maybe?

Posted on December 11, 2011 | 5 Comments

I really thought one of us would chicken out.  We’ve been talking about conceiving a second child this month – December 2011 – for at least a year.  This month is here, and neither of us has chickened out.

We're ready for #2! Is #2 ready for us?

I know it’s enormously presumptuous, and a huge privilege, to have the health to just decide to make another baby.  And I can’t help but keep thinking we might be jinxing ourselves by expecting it to be so easy.

After all, the conception of our first wee one came only 4 months into our relationship, and after several doses of Plan B along the way.  That was years ago, and the contrast between our lives then and now couldn’t be any starker.  We’re a happy, healthy, crazy-fun family who’s ready to grow by one.

But to think that we could just “conceive a baby in December” discounts the monumental struggle that many families face around fertility and conception.  My sister fought to conceive for 13 years, doing round after round of IVF and hormone treatments, and finally giving up. I watched from the outside how difficult that was for her and her husband, and I’d never want to experience that, or neglect to honor the value of their struggle.

So amidst what appears to be a calm/cool/collected and intentional decision to conceive, I can’t ignore the sense of concern that’s creeping up on me.  Concern about how realistic it is to expect to conceive right away, and concern about sounding pompous with all this “we’re going to conceive this month” business.

Maybe we’ll really have to work for this one, like so many people do.  Or maybe it really will be that easy again.

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Posted in Pregnancy

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Circle A Farm: 3 Acres of Food & Family – My article in HipMama #50, the Home Issue

Posted on December 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

The new issue #50 of HipMama Zine is out, and page 18 is sporting a mighty cute picture of some mama weeding a garden with a kiddo on her back.  Woh, that’s my kid!  And that’s me!

Here’s a snippet from my article “3 Acres of Food & Family” in the Home Issue of HipMama:

I was one of those folks who fantasized about motherhood, marriage, and creating a home for my family.  Yes, I’m a radical, post-feminist anarchist, but I still wanted a ring and a big pregnant belly.  When I imagined my future, I saw a couple of acres of vegetables, animals, grass, trees, community, kids and a partner.  I saw a sweet little farm and a sweet little family.

But while all this imagining was going on, there was also a lot of living in cars, crashing in warehouses, and scrounging up enough change to buy a can of black beans to eat for dinner.  There was a marriage and a divorce; there was alcohol; there was poverty, and a whole lot of the other things that come along with it.  There were a lot of circumstances, opportunities and choices standing between me and my acres-of-the-perfect-life.

I never sat down and made a plan of how to get from there to here, but somehow, it happened.  A decade into adulthood, I now spend every day amidst a vibrant tapestry of all those things I dreamed about–a ridiculous, redheaded three year old, a herd of goats and a flock of hens, an orchard, an acre garden, and its fabulous farmer, my partner.  Somehow, with very little planning but an enormous amount of intention and work, I got here, to the Circle A Farm.

For the rest of my story, and for loads and loads more inspiring stories from mamas across the spectrum of mama-hood, order a copy of hipMama Zine #50 here.

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Posted in Radical Parenting

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Dream Job Alert: The Birth Attendants are Now Hiring for Prison Doulas in Olympia, WA

Posted on November 11, 2011 | 3 Comments

It’s not often that your dream job comes along, but I just found mine.  The Birth Attendants in Olympia, WA are now hiring for Direct Service Doulas…yes, you read that right: a paid position providing doula services for incarcerated pregnant folks.

The Birth Attendants are hiring Direct Service Doulas. This includes 2 hours of weekly collective meetings in Olympia and between 16-24 hours a month of direct service support in the women’s prison in Gig Harbor – on Fridays only.

FOR AN APPLICATION PLEASE EMAIL birthattendants@gmail.com.  APPLICATION DEADLINE MIDNIGHT DECEMBER 2nd ; Interviews will be scheduled on December 9th.

Experience in Reproductive Justice, prisoner advocacy, childbirth education, family planning and as a doula are encouraged yet not required. Drivers License required. Parents are encouraged to apply.

The Birth Attendants is a grassroots collective that aims to support the human rights of reproductive freedom and self-determination for pregnant and post-partum people in prison by providing informational, physical and emotional resources and by creating dialogue and action that critically examines and resists ways the prison system divides our communities.

Why, oh why, do I live in Colorado?  If you’re in the area and feel as compelled by this opportunity as I do, please apply.  And please get the job.  And please, please, please enjoy it enough for me, too.

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Posted in Doula

A Patch of Birthy Pumpkins

Posted on October 28, 2011
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This gallery contains 6 photos.

I’m usually not too into Halloween, but this year there’s been a plethora of birthy creativity going on at pumpkin carving time.  Check out some of these fantastic creations:     Thanks to each of these families and artists for … Continue reading →

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