Raw Challenge - Day One

Well, Monday was a challenge - hence Raw Challenge - but we finished well.

Our Meals consisted of:

Breakfast:
Green Smoothie
Raw-nola and Almond Milk

Lunch:
Walking Salad (celery, carrot, green pepper, green bean sticks)
Misc Dips
Apples and Naked Almonds

Dinner:
Asian lettuce wraps with raisin and walnut "pork"
Mango/Banana salad drizzled with agave and topped with sunflower seeds

Snack:
Cucumber "chips"
Hummus

Here's to a successful (albeit crave-full) first day!

Raw..... Take 2...

Alright -

I have tried to do this in the past, but this time we are serious.

While frequenting Harvest Health in my area, I came across a wonderful woman who has an amazing story, she is a raw foodie and gave me the last umph I needed to take the plunge.

So now, with two other gals from my work joining me, along with my wonderful husband and eldest daughter, we are committed to a Raw Week!

Raw foodists, feel free to send your favorite recipes here for us to try... if you feel like sending us a truckload of fresh produce or a raw-volution snack bar - we take gifts. :)

Those readers who would like to join us for a day, or two, or the whole week, we are starting on Monday and ending on Friday - although Calvin and I may continue on afterward, depending on how well we do the first week.

To give you an idea of what we are doing, see The Sunny Raw Kitchen, Raw Delight, and Happy Foody - all fun blogs with lots of inspiration.

If you think the food we will be eating is going to be bland and boring, see here for mouth watering and tantalizing photos of raw goodness. If you want your eye-candy in video form, watch below:









and my favorite:



So, here's to a fun and challenging week!

Watching Birth

The New York Times recently had an article on the inclination that many women of childbearing years have to seek out, and watch, births.

This inclination is a natural, almost instinctual, reaction. Women were made to give birth and women were made to understand birth, helping other women prepare for and give birth.

It is hard wired into our make-up, stitched into our primitive minds, that birth is natural, normal, and good.

Years and years ago, women used to help other women give birth. Birth was in the hands of other women and it was understood that it was women's work.

Then, something happened... and women forgot how to birth instinctively... That, I believe, is why now, when it is available, women gravitate toward good birth stories full of beauty, power, and our bodies abilities - that instinct is still there, lying dormant through all of the statistics and horror stories.

Just a small reminder to gear us up for The birth of Amerlyn Grace.

I Got Yer Consent Form Right Here

There is a great post here by a woman fed up with lack of patient rights when it comes to childbirth... I can't help but agree. How can it be that we have the right to refuse treatment for illnesses but not unnecessary over-treatments (in some hospitals) for a naturally occurring event such as childbirth?

I am not speaking for all women, but, as a populous, we are enabling our medical system to put these strictures, these regulations, on our bodies and birth. I am not talking about medically necessary cesareans... but about a growing number of hospitals that are 'disallowing' VBACS or optional epidurals (you heard that right - a growing number of hospitals** requiring epidurals for 1st time moms, moms of multiples, and as a term of allowing a trial of labor for VBACs) with no good reason.

My body, my birth, MY choice.

**added for clarification: I have attended 2 births in Tennessee (same hospital both times) that the nursing staff, as well as the practitioners repeatedly stated "we pretty much require first time moms to have epidurals in place because we don't know if you are going to a) be able to stand the pain and b) be one of the 1/3 that need surgery." Nursing staff even went so far at one of those births to state "if you want to have no medication, your doctor has to let us know, otherwise you get an epidural at 4cms".

In addition to this I have spoken to scores of women whose spouses were in the Army, Navy, or Marines that gave birth on base. Frighteningly, many stated that they were forced to have epidural medication. None of these women knew each other. (And, on another hand, other women that I have spoken to who have given birth on bases have been refused medication).

Finally, we all know women, I am sure, that have 'fired' their doctors for saying that they had to have an epidural to have their twins vaginally or to have a trial of labor for VBAC.

Sorry no linky for this stat, simply word of mouth and personal experience... Bottom line, many medical facilities are toeing the line when it comes to our rights.

Careers in Maternal-Child Health

Childbirth Professionals - Please visit here to help with an online survey for others seeking professions in the childbirth field.

If Serta or Sealy Made These Ads...

Isn't it a shame that we can only wish America would see birth as such a natural, normal part of life that we could make 'Hallmark' ads and mattress ads portraying the event?

Instead we get:



And wonder why the young girls in our society battle with self-image issues.. when we see young, flirtatious skirts flipping up coyly for the camera instead of strong and beautiful couples working to bring love into the world.

Do You Doula?

What a wonderfully educational video.

This video will be on my top list of sends whenever someone asks What's a Doula do?