You have breastfed your baby (or twins) since birth, and now you have to go back to work. It takes dedication to continue nursing when you are away from your little ones – obviously, a mother’s breasts were designed to feed her babies directly from the source and. But, thanks to technology, increased awareness and breastfeeding-friendly laws, there are some ways to make it a little easier (not easy!). The following are are some tips from those who have been there. Continue reading Six Tips for Pumping Breastmilk at Work
Author: rhughesparker@gmail.com
Debunking Twin Myths
Debunking Twin Myths
Twins for Kate? The princess’s hyperemesis gravidarum (a condition worthy of further research) has led to speculation that she is having twins. It is true that a multiple pregnancy is associated with a 7.5% increased chance of HG. My own anecdotal evidence is a bit different — I had significant nausea and vomiting with both of my pregnancies, and it was actually worse with my singleton the second time around than my first twin pregnancy. But, people are speculating about where the royal baby was conceived, what the princess should eat, the name of the royal baby, the maternity styles we will see, so it is not surprising that our endless appetite for royal gossip on both sides of the pond has fueled twin talk.
With this speculation about twins, though, comes the misconceptions about twin zygosity and twin inheritance that have persisted (she could have twins because William’s uncle Charles has identical twins!), even among skilled medical professionals, even as twins have become much more common, increasing 76% over the past 30 years to 3.3% of births in the U.S. Continue reading Debunking Twin Myths
Tales from a Breadwinner With Breasts: The Incomplete Role Reversal
(A different post on this same topic and drawing these ideas was published on the site Professionelle in April 2013, called “The Unsteady Rise of the Power Mom and the Diapering Dad“)
I have been the sole (or virtually sole) breadwinner for the past eight years of my 11-year marriage. I can happily report that for those eight years, during which we had three children, the arrangement has worked out well enough for both of us that we plan to continue it. Based on Hanna Rosin’s research in her book “The End of Men,” our situation appears to be fairly unique – my husband does the lion’s share of the childcare and all (yes, all) of the housework and cooking. We have never had a nanny or a housekeeper, at his insistence.
That said, as Ms. Rosin said she found, switching traditional gender roles was not as seamless on my end as I thought it would be. This has left me to think that biology has had more of an influence on the childcare part of our labor division than I had anticipated. Continue reading Tales from a Breadwinner With Breasts: The Incomplete Role Reversal
Should Twins Be Separated in School?
The Motherlode blog grappled with this, and while my emphatic answer was yes, as pointed out in the blog, many adult twins said they wish they had not been separated. My twins would have never wanted to be separated – they were 5 years old and they had spent virtually their entire lives together – so I am glad NYC DOE made this decision for me. As I said in my comments to the post, my twins made great strides apart, and though it is much more confusing for us as parents to deal with double sets of instructions and trips and worksheets that are similar enough to make one crazy, it is much better for them to be separate during the school day.
Choosing to Latch On
The backlash against New York City ‘s Latch On initiative has been swift and strong, coming from all stripes of female commentators, from FoxNews to the Daily News to Feministe. Mayor Bloomberg is depriving mothers of “choice;” dictating what they should do with their breasts and of course, making them feel guilty for choosing formula.
This policy is not doing any of those things. Continue reading Choosing to Latch On
Santa Issues
Santa Claus has an expiration date. Every parent who has introduced Santa Claus to their kids knows this. You get a few good years and then the doubts start creeping in. Other kids at school are usually the catalysts in this process, which seeps through school lunchrooms with the first signs of frost every year. Usually it’s the hand-me-down scoffings of older siblings. Sometimes, however, it’s an axiom discovered through a child’s deduction alone. Continue reading Santa Issues