Sunday, February 1, 2009
Breastfeeding
Well, we've been struggling a lot. Nursing started out fine, but after the first full day and night of Aliyah wanting to stay latched on 24/7 I asked my midwife for advice. She said to get a pacifier and give that to her when she just wants to suck.The next day (after using the pacifier) she refused to nurse on one side. I have one fab. nipple and one wonky one and she was not interested in the weird one. No dice.So I call a lactation consultant. She comes over and watches me try to nurse Aliyah on the left side and gives me a nipple shield. Okay, great. Now she's nursing on that side, but she refused to get on the right side as well now without the shield. Grr. On top of that, weight was still dropping.So we started pumping. I got on herbal supplements and kept nursing and pumping. Weight kept dropping. We got formula to supplement so we were doing expressed breastmilk and formula with an SNS. Weight still kept dropping.We get her off the shield and I started waking her up every 2 hours to nurse. Weight still kept dropping. At our last weight check Aliyah was 8 lbs 8.5 oz down from her 10 lb 1 oz birth weight. So now we're on special weight gain formula, I'm still pumping and nursing and every second she's awake I'm trying to get her to eat. So fun.Anyways, keep your fingers crossed for us. The LC said she was impressed that I was still keeping with breastfeeding. I'm impressed too. It's crappy that it's so hard. I hate using stupid formula and I hate watching her weight drop. It pisses me off because my biggest regret with Ziva was not nursing her. On the plus side, I now feel a lot less guilty about not nursing Ziva because I now know that the challenges were not because I slacked off, but we're more likely all the stuff I'm dealing with in regarts to milk production, my reduction surgery and the like. I can at least stop beating myself up over it.Bluh. There it is.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Baby News
I'll get around to writing out the full birth story at some point, but here's the Reader's Digest version...Aliyah Kirabo Bond was born 1/12/2009 at 11:45 pm. We had her at home unassisted in the water. Malachi caught her. It was perfect! She weighed 10 pounds and 1 ounce (just like Ziva!) and was 22 1/2 inches long. Breastfeeding is going well! She's a sucking fiend, so I'm expecting my milk to come in soon. We'll post pics within the next week or so.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
The True Thinker
"There is none so blind as he who will not see."
The True Thinker is not content proving what he believes to be true. He is not satisfied with cliches nor is he pacified by traditional practices or accepted beliefs. The True Thinker must see it for himself.
This is not a skeptic, nor is he a heretic. This is not a person who has no faith, but a person who understands the difference between faith and ignorance; between faith and foolishness. This is a man who believes in Logic, Reason and Truth and he will not settle for any less.
Logic is that which binds facts together. "If this, then that." The man who says, "Take it on faith!" spits in the face of Logic, and therefore the face of the True Thinker. If a man can logically prove that 1+1=2, he ought also be able to prove that 2-1=1. To say that 2-1 is anything else is to deny Logic. And to esteem illogical thought as pious or faithful is foolish and ignorant. This is not the way of the True Thinker.
Reason is that which bring order to chaos. It is the belief that there are causes and effects; actions and reactions. To believe that man is swirling about in a sea of meaninglessness or to suggest that things are simply because they are deny Reason. A lack of Reason leads to a lack of order. A lack of order leads to anarchy, subjectivity and immorality. The pursuit of Reason leads to Logic and Logic to Reason.
Truth is the Immovable Stone. It is the thread that connects all people together at the core of their being. It is the foundation of Logic and Reason and the prize of the True Thinker. Truth is not something that varies from person to person. To say such denies the very essence of Truth. Truth is not true because it seems to work. It is not acceptable because if fits our agenda. It is not something that changes with the seasons, can be modernized, amended, altered, abolished or ignored. If it can, it is not Truth. It may be tradition, theory, interpretation, standard practice, belief or understanding, but it is not Truth.
The True Thinkers in this world are few and far between. He will not be comfortable in many places that the rest of mankind may be at ease. You may have to leave your churches, your schools, your clubs and your markets to find him, as those are not places that stimulate him. When you meet a True Thinker, you may identify him this way: He will feel free to question everything. He will not show partiality to tradition or accepted thinking. He will not be persuaded by authorities unless they are armed with Logic, Reason and Truth. If you are not a True Thinker, this will make you uncomfortable.
You will try to challenge him. You will show him a passage in a book and he will question it's validity. You will show him the results of a study and he will question the motives of the conductors. You will say to him, "Take it on faith!" and he will be filled with pity, anger and sadness.
The True Thinker desires to bind facts together. He aims to bring order to chaos. He wants to find the Immovable Stone, to climb to the top of it and to pitch a tent. This is the True Thinker. That is why you will not find him within the walls of your cities. This is why he will not be able to rest while the rest of the world rests. He is on a mission that cannot wait until spring. It cannot wait even until morning.
Are you the True Thinker? If not, have you found him?
The True Thinker is not content proving what he believes to be true. He is not satisfied with cliches nor is he pacified by traditional practices or accepted beliefs. The True Thinker must see it for himself.
This is not a skeptic, nor is he a heretic. This is not a person who has no faith, but a person who understands the difference between faith and ignorance; between faith and foolishness. This is a man who believes in Logic, Reason and Truth and he will not settle for any less.
Logic is that which binds facts together. "If this, then that." The man who says, "Take it on faith!" spits in the face of Logic, and therefore the face of the True Thinker. If a man can logically prove that 1+1=2, he ought also be able to prove that 2-1=1. To say that 2-1 is anything else is to deny Logic. And to esteem illogical thought as pious or faithful is foolish and ignorant. This is not the way of the True Thinker.
Reason is that which bring order to chaos. It is the belief that there are causes and effects; actions and reactions. To believe that man is swirling about in a sea of meaninglessness or to suggest that things are simply because they are deny Reason. A lack of Reason leads to a lack of order. A lack of order leads to anarchy, subjectivity and immorality. The pursuit of Reason leads to Logic and Logic to Reason.
Truth is the Immovable Stone. It is the thread that connects all people together at the core of their being. It is the foundation of Logic and Reason and the prize of the True Thinker. Truth is not something that varies from person to person. To say such denies the very essence of Truth. Truth is not true because it seems to work. It is not acceptable because if fits our agenda. It is not something that changes with the seasons, can be modernized, amended, altered, abolished or ignored. If it can, it is not Truth. It may be tradition, theory, interpretation, standard practice, belief or understanding, but it is not Truth.
The True Thinkers in this world are few and far between. He will not be comfortable in many places that the rest of mankind may be at ease. You may have to leave your churches, your schools, your clubs and your markets to find him, as those are not places that stimulate him. When you meet a True Thinker, you may identify him this way: He will feel free to question everything. He will not show partiality to tradition or accepted thinking. He will not be persuaded by authorities unless they are armed with Logic, Reason and Truth. If you are not a True Thinker, this will make you uncomfortable.
You will try to challenge him. You will show him a passage in a book and he will question it's validity. You will show him the results of a study and he will question the motives of the conductors. You will say to him, "Take it on faith!" and he will be filled with pity, anger and sadness.
The True Thinker desires to bind facts together. He aims to bring order to chaos. He wants to find the Immovable Stone, to climb to the top of it and to pitch a tent. This is the True Thinker. That is why you will not find him within the walls of your cities. This is why he will not be able to rest while the rest of the world rests. He is on a mission that cannot wait until spring. It cannot wait even until morning.
Are you the True Thinker? If not, have you found him?
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