We knew that Csections increased risk to both mom and baby. However in the last couple of weeks a few studies have gone public that demonstrate the ultimate risk, that of death.

Baby, twice as likely, and mom, more than three times as likely to die as a result of this increasingly common surgery.

Both are still a relatively small risk, but with the rise in "emergent" and elective Csections, it is something that needs to be taken into consideration.

I'm a cliche!!!

Okay, I wondered how this would be... cause we've all seen the "little kid" games - where 10 kids are on the field per team, and they are ALL chasing the ball around, like a giant amoeba.

Well, AYSO has wised up, and they've made split games at this level. They used two half fields, so the kids played width-long (if that makes sense), and they split the teams in half and so each "team" now only had five or six kids on the field. Made for more foot-to-ball time for kids, and easier visibility for parents. It was awesome. The kids played SO well. You could see that they were still timid to run up and start sticking their feet in against the other team's feet.... but after enough yelling from me (yup, yelled myself hoarse), they were starting to.

A couple of the kids, Phoebe included, started out the game with stitches in their sides - not used to this level of intensity in their running. But by the end they were all running end to end... to end. The game was the perfect length (which, frankly I don't even know how long it was... about two 20 minute halves? I think?), and the kids were JUST starting to wilt by the end. Perfect.

Amazingly, Phoebe went off to play at the park with Grandma and Piper immediately afterwards. Couldn't have been wilting TOO hard.

The advantage to having the last name Aaronson? We got "snack mama" out of the way already. Phew! :-)




Stretching on defense.





Oranges at halftime.





Game ON!





A little pink at the end.

I admit it, there is a prejudice against birthplans, on the whole, from hospital staff. Now, there are definitely those individual nurses who feel that birthplans are a great method of communicating, and admittedly there are those few patient's who are irrationally married to their birthplans, but on the whole, birthplans really ARE just a great method of communicating. Labour is NOT a great time to communicate, and things sometimes just move to fast. and frankly, if the baby isn't with you 110% of the time, then you CAN'T communicate on their behalf all the time.

So I was at work the other night, and across the top of my report sheet on one baby was "BIRTHPLAN" in huge bold letters. Oh horror, right? HA! First of all, birthplans don't bother me at all. Advocating for one's infant? That doesn't bother me at all, in fact, it bother's me more when parents blindly accept what we do without question. So I went and looked up this birthplan. It was THE MOST innocuous document I had ever seen. Just a cute letter of introduction from a very excited couple with the addition of the request that we, the staff, help facilitate a natural experience, and minimize separation from their baby so maximize bonding, and that we don't give the baby bottles or pacifiers. That's it. SO cute, and SO non-threatening.

Frankly, I love me a well written birthplan.

Please pray to whatever entity, being, or force you pray to, or at least keep Matthew in your thoughts. He has been diagnosed with relapsed lymphoblastic leukemia, again.

Matthew received a bone marrow transplant from his sister, Megan, a close friend of Phoebe's, last December. He looked clear at the six month point. The fact that he's relapsed within the year is devastating.

Think of him, and visit his website.

Thank you.

It's not all about nursing all around.

The girl just bumped her head, and started crying. She was happy to have Daddy pick her up and comfort her. It can be done. Now that it's not always about nursing, Daddy will do, even if I'm here.