Rixa's giving stuff away!

Stand and Deliver (formerly The True Face of Birth) is giving away some makeup! I am translucent this time of year so I'm entering for sure!

Giveaway!!!

Welcome Baby Z!!!

Jan Mallak is a grandmother (and oh, her daughter is a mama). Baby Z made his grand entrance early, arriving tonight -- about 6 weeks early but seemingly in quite good shape!

Please keep this family in your thoughts -- we hope to continue to hear good news!

Salma Hayek Breastfeeding

Have you seen this?

Salma Hayek on why she breastfed another woman's baby

I thought this was so beautiful, spontaneous, and natural. It does bring up issues about the safety of breastfeeding another baby -- that a nursing mom may unknowingly transmit a blood-borne virus... and I really don't know about that. Do I think that the chance of transmitting something to a baby by nursing him once has a lot more benefits than risks? I'd imagine so.

What do you think?

Yay, a February client!!!

I'm so glad to have a new client lined up! It has been since November (yes, 2008!) since I have attended a birth. This mom is due 2/20 -- right between Valentine's Day and my birthday :) Let's cross our fingers that my husband and I get to go on a date on 2/21, for which babysitting was graciously offered by a friend who totally knows we'll never leave the house alone again after Thing Three arrives!

WOW, six Superbowl wins? Has that ever been done before?

The answer is, no. Not until last night. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the first!

We all had a very late night last night, which for Badger always means a terrible sleep. My husband had the horsesense to sleep on the sofa since, as predicted, I had a whining, flopping-around two-year-old sharing my bed starting around 2am. We had a surprisingly productive speech therapy session at The Children's Institute, where Badger began today a 6-month series of weekly sessions to supplement his already weekly sessions here at home.

Once the boy was napping, I did something I hadn't done in a while -- I sat and read stories to ChimChim for an hour. Lately it's always been SOMETHING, we've been so busy. It was nice to take the time and relax together.

Superbowl XLIII and Doulas having Doulas

Is everyone ready for the Superbowl? This will be ChimChim's second Steelers Superbowl and Badger's first. Their black-and-gold is ready to wear and I even got a new T-shirt for the occasion since my cute Steeler T-shirts aren't really housing my 14-week-pregnant belly. Obviously, much like our president, we're rooting for the Steelers even though you have got to be happy for the Cardinals as well.


In a note related to doula-ing... one of the great great perks about working with a doula service is that we can choose whichever doula we'd like, pending availability. I confess: I am nervous about "performing" in labor in front of a colleague. What if I don't do what I "should"? What if my worrying about what I "should" be doing interferes with my doing what I REALLY should be doing, which is laboring in the way that feels best for me? Just the sort of thing I think about at 3am when I can't get back to sleep after my twice-nightly visit to the potty.