Perimenopause
I am experiencing fluctuations in my cycle now. It is inevitable... I'm on the far side of 45. I am still recording my temperatures every morning, watching the inevitable change that will happen. It makes me profoundly sad. Yeah, I know it is a normal part of life... I don't have a problem with that. I am profoundly sad that I will never feel another butterfly flutter inside. I am sad that I won't ever be able to see my belly grow and ripen with the progression of a baby. I am sad that I won't get kicked in the ribs again... from the inside. I am sad that I won't ever feel those overwhelming surges that propel that baby out of my uterus and into my arms. I am sad tha

2 Year Old Helps with Sibling's Birth
In a news story that is making the rounds on Facebook, little 2 year old Jeremiah Favazza helped his mother while she birthed his new brother at home. No one else was in attendance. His mother, Bobbye, was expecting to have her 4th cesarean section for this baby. Both mom and baby are healthy and fine.I don't find this amazing in and of itself. What I find amazing is that everyone thinks this is a miracle. Small children handle birth very well. At several of my births, I've had a 2yo sitting right alongside me... calm, cool and collected. Sometimes they moaned with me. Sometimes they held my hand. They were always fascinated. This woman experienced a healthy birth af

Lynsee's Birth on the Internet
A woman in Minnesota, Lynsee, decided to broadcast her birth live on the internet. When I heard she was in labor, I tuned in to see what would happen. Since I hadn't heard much about her plans beforehand, I was surprised to see she was in the hospital. I certainly didn't expect that any hospital would give permission for their procedures to be filmed.She labored well for the most part. She used the shower, the tub and the birth ball. She leaned on her husband. All of these are fabulous techniques for handling labor. Lynsee seemed to be handling the contractions well. My sound quality was bad, so I could not hear most of what was said, but it seemed that she was doing really well

The Art of Childbirth
The Art of Childbirth is a two day art exhibit at the Cabell County Public Library, located 455 9th St. Huntington, WV. The exhibit will run November 19th and 20th in Meeting Room #2, on the 3rd floor of the library. The exhibition will be open from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm both days. Admission is free.The art will bri

Infant Circumcision... What Happens to those Foreskins?
I just read this article on Dr Momma's blog... in it she traces some of the uses that circumcised foreskins are put to. Some are used to grow skin cultures that will be used for skin grafts. Some are used to make cosmetics. Did she really say cosmetics? Yes, she did. In fact, she goes in depth about how one very expensive skin cream advertised by Oprah Winfrey uses them. Oprah is silent on the issue. I had heard rumors of infant foreskins being sold for use in cosmetics, but I never took the time to do the research myself. With the growing controversy about circumcision, it is no wonder that suddenly the CDC is promoting the practice aga