The Fish Pond

Sleeping In for the Cure

The Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure is coming up on June 7 and I won't be able to be there in person. Thanks to the state of my ankle I can't walk it, even though a fellow member of the DC Metro Moms Blog Team will be doing it 8 months pregnant (WOW!). I also have a family obligation out of town on the same day. I was majorly bummed about not being able to be there this year. But leave it to the race organizers to think of everything, because they have an option to Sleep In for the Cure.

You simply register for the race like you normally would. You'll get a shirt and a race number anyway, in case you change your mind, I guess, and a Snooze banner, plus a small gift. Mine was a little box with a travel toothbrush and toothpaste.

My grandmother died in 2006 of breast cancer. She believed in the importance of research for finding cures not just for breast cancer but for any disease that affects us so much that she was participating in a breast cancer drug trial when she died, and she chose to donate her body for medical research after she died. NOTE TO George Washington University Medical Students - I hope you were kind when "learning" from her.

Please join me in supporting the Susan G. Komen National Race for the Cure. Register yourself. If you can't, please consider supporting me by sponsoring me to Sleep In. Even if all you can do is $10, that $10 will be greatly appreciated, and every single dollar adds up to great things. The link should take you directly to my personal page where you can pledge anything you want help reach my modest goal of $500.

My grandmother would want us to be able to say we found a cure.

And the List of Idiots Keeps Getting Longer - A Message to YouTube

It seems it wasn't bad enough that Applebee's, Facebook, and Bill Maher publicly and vocally oppose public breastfeeding. YouTube has done it, too. In their infinite wisdom, they have BANNED the League of Maternal Justice's breastfeeding video montage produced as part of the Great Virtual Breast Fest. Not flagged it, BANNED it. And they haven't offered any reason as to why they have banned video of photos of women doing something they are LEGALLY permitted to do. Somehow, it is permissible to post and share all kinds of video showing more skin than I show when I nurse my child in PRIVATE, much less publicly, but the League's video montage is BANNED. Oy.

Due to my somewhat incognito status, I can't post a video reply, but I am most certainly letting my fingers do their stuff. Please do what you can - go, tell YouTube that you support the rights of women to share photos of them doing what is natural, and legal, and not, in any way, obscene. Put up a post on your blog. The League of Maternal Justice is going to re-post their video montage with new music soon - please visit the site and comment in SUPPORT of their efforts.

There is still so much more work to do.

Please Please Please Pick Up the Phone Today and Support the Mothers' Act

As any of my regular readers know, I struggle with postpartum depression. Every. Single. Day. But I am blessed in that I am lucky enough to have known about the disease and how to get help, and I have health insurance that covers my visits, at least partially.

But too, too many women don't have what I have. They don't know about the disease. They think that they are alone. They don't have health insurance, or what they have is inadequate to cover what they need to get better. And this is a crime.

Only 15% of women get the help they need for postpartum depression and related disorders. Education is needed for both women and healthcare providers, so that this disease can be effectively and quickly identified and treatment administered. And women and families who can't afford it should never, ever be at risk because they can't pay for treatment.

Now, Congress is finally doing something to help those in need. Senators Durbin and Menendez have introduced the Mothers' Act, S. 3529, in the Senate. This bill will provide much needed funding for education and screening for postpartum depression, and will also fund research into diagnosis and treatment, as too little is known about the disease and the treatments that are available are sometimes not effective, or have side effects that lead to women discontinuing treatment. Improvements need to be made.

Please join me, BlogHers Act, Postpartum Support International, and Postpartum Progress in supporting this bill. Look at these links to find out how to contact your senator and tell him or her that supporting this bill is important to you. Together, our voices are strong and can't be ignored.

Those who have no voice, or think they have no strength, need our help.

The Great Virtual Breast Fest -- Because Breasts Are For Feeding First

  I am proud today to step up and participate in the Great Virtual Breast Fest, sponsored by the League of Maternal Justice. I am tired of all the garbage associated with feeding our children the natural way, the way nature intended, just because we happen to be out and about and some people think we should be cloistered away in our bedrooms or, worse, in horrid public bathrooms. Unfortunately, those people seem to be a vocal minority. It's time we nursing mothers, and those who support them, become the Vocal Majority.

Here, in all our nursing glory, are Nemo and me, taken this morning as he had his morning nummies:

Oh, the horror! Oh, the indignity.

Yeah, whatever. I happen to think it's beautiful. I have breastfed all four of my children, for various lengths of time, based on how long they, and I, wanted to nurse. I cannot imagine staying in my house and going nowhere for the better part of the first year of each of their lives - who would have done the grocery shopping? The transport to and from school for the bigger kids? Was I supposed to tell Trout no she couldn't take ballet, tell Little Man he couldn't take lacrosse, tell Sunny she couldn't take gymnastics, because the baby might want to eat then?

It's people like Bill Maher, organizations like Facebook, with their prudish attitudes, that made it so that my sister thinks breastfeeding is icky, that have made some people think we should be relegated to feeding our children in bathrooms, sitting on toilets. If I have to do that, then they are welcome to join me, with their dinner, of course.

Breastfeeding is amazing. It is one of the most rewarding and pleasurable experiences of my life, when Nemo's not biting, that is. I am beyond grateful that I got to experience it, that I stuck it out when things got tough, which they do, because this is hard. It takes guts and determination and, sometimes, lots of support. If you are nursing or want to nurse, you can do it. It is wonderful, and you will love it. If you love someone who is trying to breastfeed, tell them they are doing a fantastic job. Be a cheerleader. If you see someone nursing in public, give them a smile, or a kind word of encouragement.

I support the work of the League of Maternal Justice, and I urge you to do the same. Put up your nursing pictures, or nurse live with a webcam. If you feel uncomfortable doing that, visit their site to get a copy of their Boob Montage, and put that up. Put up a button, like this:

Go to their site, view the Boob Montage on YouTube, post some comments. Raise your voice loud, so we can drown out the idiots.

The Wheels of Justice Sometimes Spin Slowly, But At Least They Are Spinning

Remember my post about idiots and breastfeeding, and in particular the woman who was denied extra time to pump during her medical boards? Yesterday an appeals court judge in Massachusetts granted her the extra time she requested, saying the accomodations that the board had proposed would still unfairly disadvantage the mother. Unfortunately, she was supposed to take the test earlier this week; the mother has postponed it until October. I wish her the best of luck, and am happy that she stuck to her guns.

On that note, two of my online friends (and favorite reads) have started the League of Maternal Justice, aimed at harnessing the power of the interwebs to fight for justice in matters that affect all mothers. Right now, they are specifically calling for any Facebook users to deactivate their accounts and to make sure to let Facebook know why. They have also announced the Great Virtual Breast Fest to take place on October 10 at 10am ET. Be sure to check out these initiatives and show your support. Cancel your accounts. Flash your boobs, whether you are nursing or not. Write a post. Put up a button. Go see Motherhood Uncensored for a great post about why she's doing this, and then do whatever you can to support the League. Together we are Superheroes.

There's also strength in numbers. My friend and senior editor over at Props and Pans, Izzy, is one of the voices involved in Moms Speak Up, a place where moms can speak out about all kinds of issues, from breastfeeding to the environment to consumer safety. Hop on over there and make sure to add your voice to the din.

In other news, a woman in Russia has delivered a 17-pound baby. Ouch. Even with the c-section, ouch. Can you imagine what her back felt like for the last month of her pregnancy?

Angi asked what disaster Sunny requested OxyClean for, and I'm glad to report that there was no disaster, at least, not then. She happened to be watching Nick Jr. so I could do some dishes and keep an eye on her so she didn't paper mache the bathroom with toilet paper dipped in toilet water (one of her favorite projects of late), and saw a commercial for it, so she asked me if we had any. My answer?

"Of course we do. We have 4 kids - it's a requirement." Isn't it?

Blogging Might for Right

When I was a child in the 70s, there was a commercial for Jhoon Rhee self defense with an incredibly catchy jingle that was all over the airwaves for years. If you lived in the DC metro area and had a television, there is no way possible you could have missed this thing. The line that has stuck with me through the years the most (besides the "Nobody bodder me" kids - how cute are they?) is "Jhoon Rhee means Might for Right."

In light of the Lexus vs. Litterbug incident of last week, I've been thinking about how I use this space. About what part it plays in my life and what I hope to achieve with it. I originally started it for two reasons. One was a very important social outlet for me once I became a stay-at-home mother, to help me cope with the isolation that being a SAHM to (then-three+expecting) four brings. The other was to offer support and advice to other moms who may be coping with some of the same struggles as I am. As time went on I recognized the role it plays in keeping my writing skills current for when I eventually return to work in a professional environment. And, through the work of my fellow bloggers, I've learned what a tool it can be for change and for good.

This blog has been a great social outlet for me. I don't think I've mentioned before how deeply I appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to listen to my blathering and even make comments. You have kept me from being evil mom on more than one occasion. I hope that I have helped some of you with some of your parenting dilemmas, or even just helped you know you are not alone in this. I hope I have given a balanced portrayal of parenthood; it is damn hard, but it is rewarding, and can be a whole lot of fun, too. I want to continue with those same functions, but I feel it's time for me to take up the blog as tool role.

Here's what I want to do. Send me your links, either to your posts or to posts you've found, that post about something Right. A situation that needs Might, or that demonstrates Blogging Might for Right. Individually, we are strong, but together, we have Might. Every Monday, to break up the monotony of poop stories and crazy antics, I will post a Blogging Might for Right post, and if I can figure out how, I will make a little linky button to put up on those posts. Spread the word. I'm not Jhoon Rhee (does anyone know if he's even still alive and in business?), but he had the right idea.

Simple Gifts

Her Bad Auction, which was held to raise money to benefit research into Muscular Dystrophy, raised over $3000.  I am proud to have been able to help in my own small way, by linking to the auction - I hope at least some of you checked it out.  However, a whole lot of people helped out so much more than I did - please take some time to check out the Magi by clicking the button below.  And please remember, this holiday season, the most important gifts of all are those that are the most simple, and the most rewarding, to give.