Tag Archives: breastfeeding

We Need To Change Our Conversation: Stop the Violence In Our Language

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I keep reading about all the conversations we need to be having.  About guns.  About mental health.  About the privacy of our kids’ identities.  And yes yes yes to all that, but before we can actually have hard conversations, we need to take a hard look at how we converse.

we need to stop this

we need to stop this

What are we are saying?

One of my more recent videos for Partners in Torah touched on the power of language.  Most of us understand that the adage “sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” is quite untrue.  Words are capable of crippling a person to the point to which they are no longer functional.  Our sages teach us that words have immense creative, but also destructive, potential.  For parents this is very applicable.  Everything we say to, about and around our children shapes their view of themselves, life and the world.

But no pressure.

Something I noticed in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown is the amount of violence we use in our language.  Just last night, I used the phrase “don’t kill me” in jest to a friend, in reference to how hard it was to get through a crowded room.  WHAT WAS I THINKING?  I wasn’t.  This kind of violent language has just crept in.  And that is not cool at all.

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Around the Web and Pictures of the Week

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[Amusing sidenote:  I wrote this on Friday and totally thought I published it.  Not sure what happened there.]

Well, it’s really crunch time now.  In less than two weeks, the movers are coming.  I’m trying to tie up loose ends and get everything in boxes, etc.

So, I’m feeling a little blah about doing a post today.  I apologize for the lack of enthusiasm, but I wanted to do a post to let you all know that there will be at least one guest post (hopefully more – contact me if you want to contribute!) while I’m moving, but I doubt if I’ll be able to do much myself.

As they say, see you on the flip side!  (Okay, I don’t really know anyone who says that)

Here are a couple of links I thought were interesting this week:

A Mother in Israel had a nice, informative post on Breastfeeding Basics.

on the Atlantic, a mother/therapist asks if wanting our kids to be happy can land them in therapy (I don’t agree, but I thought it was a good article for thinking about what it is that makes us as people happy – A.S., I enjoyed discussing this with you last night!)

An amazing post on Kosher on a Budget reminded me of how people can really go above and beyond when others are in need.

And now, pictures to illustrate why I won’t be blogging as much (probably) until we’re settled in Baltimore:

my big helper!

my littler helper!

Have a great Shabbos!

[right, not so relevant on a Sunday, but, hey, have a great Shabbos anyways!]

Things newborns like to do

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Waiting for a clean diaper to make it dirty

I change his diaper and once he’s covered with the nice, clean, dry diaper, he makes a poo, and I have to change him again before putting him down to nap.  It’s like he has a preference for a non-wet diaper for his bathroom needs.  What’s with that?  I’m burning through diapers twice as fast here.  Well, change him afterward, you might say.  It happens to be that this baby is a bit of a sleepyhead, so I need to change him to wake him up enough that he will nurse adequately.  Gah!

Waiting for mommy to lay down for a nap to start crying

Sure, he can nap very nicely during the day when I’m taking care of Little Man, but when I decide to lay down for some much-needed shut-eye, he decides that he’s uncomfortable, or his pacifier falls out of his mouth.  Every.  Nine.  Minutes. It’s like the snooze alarm, but I’m not the one pressing the button.

Falling asleep while nursing

It’s cute.  It’s yummy.  It’s cuddly.  It makes nursing last twice as long, which is fine, unless there’s a toddler needing attention, or it’s three in the morning.  Really, though, I don’t mind.  It’s  delicious and snuggly.  while I was in recovery, one of the residents told me that if you stick something in a newborn’s mouth, they fall asleep.  That wasn’t the case with Little Man, so this is a new experience for me.

Striking unintentionally cute poses

just look at that pose!

I know that my baby is too little to be smiling or assuming cute positions, but he still does it, and I love it!  Sometimes his hands just find the right position and he is picture perfect.  Scrumptious.  And I don’t care that the smiling is on account of gas. It’s still extremely cute.

Snuggling up to mommy

When my baby is feeling uncomfortable, and pulling his little skinny leggies up to his chest and crying, all I need to do is pick him up and pat him on the back, and he snuggles right up to me.  His little head lies on my shoulder, his little arms rest on my arms and chest, he takes his little breaths and I can inhale his baby scent and all is right in the world.