tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349Thu, 29 Aug 2024 07:01:19 +0000breastfeedinglip tietongue tieacid refluxmastitisthrushbaby indigestionbreastfeeding difficultybreastfeeding problemcoliclatchpost-partumpregnancyshapesore nipplessupply issuesupply problemunder supplyCaliforniabeautybellybodybottle feedingchoicedoveendoscopyespressoextended breastfeedingfeminismfrenectomygastritishealthhuffpostillnessmotherhoodnursingnutritionsummersupplementtoddlerulcervacationweaningwellnessA conflation of "spokesperson" and "chicken" resulting from attempts to speak while under the influence of sleep deprivation, a persisting theme in my life. http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)Blogger394125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-3259597131103328558Tue, 07 May 2013 20:15:00 +00002013-05-07T16:15:29.323-04:00 I have decided to launch a new Blog, Mother Meets Media, to reflect a newly found, clearly defined mission for my public writing. "Parenthood is an exciting, confusing, rewarding, infuriating, isolating, and community-building experience. Through writing about my experiences and reactions to parenting-related articles, I aim to foster a sense of inquiry and inclusion rather than to promote any http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2013/05/mother-meets-media.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-981610069722223204Tue, 07 May 2013 13:39:00 +00002013-05-07T09:39:23.060-04:00bottle feedingbreastfeedingchoiceextended breastfeedingfeminismlip tienursingtoddlertongue tieweaningA friend shared this article "Weaning My Toddler" from the Science of Mom, and it got my mind gestating about how I am now in the class of women technically considered "extended breastfeeders," or women who breastfeed beyond the one-year mark.  The funny thing is that it wasn't a decision at all.  It was a natural progression.   When Calvin was one year old, it would have http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2013/05/the-unintentional-extended-breastfeeder.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-3492547062638005242Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:39:00 +00002013-04-26T11:58:43.821-04:00breastfeedinglip tiesupplementI have been thinking about this recent article in the Huffington Post: If you don't support breastfeeding in public, you don't support breastfeeding, in the context of my recent travels. My neck of the woods tends to have higher breastfeeding rates than the rest of the country.  I don't know a lot of women my mother's age who didn't breastfeed for a while, and certainly my http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2013/04/getting-over-breastfeeding-in-public.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-7365561788248538670Tue, 16 Apr 2013 19:23:00 +00002013-04-16T15:23:36.159-04:00beautydovehealthillnesspost-partumpregnancyshapewellnessGreat article:  How to Lose The Baby Weight in Just Three Lightning-Fast Years My favorite line is:"It is a strange state, indeed: neither pregnant, nor out of shape, but showing a visible history of pregnancy. In spite of weighing more and looking different, I was never healthier than when I was pregnant and just after, in large part to the dynamic shift in lifestyle toward eating well andhttp://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2013/04/more-about-female-form.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-9075461856257567908Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:28:00 +00002013-04-16T11:33:44.889-04:00bellybodymotherhoodpost-partumpregnancyshapeI hate to admit this, because it is so trivial, but I have been feeling bad about my physical shape lately. And that pisses me off.  The fact is that I had a baby and my body is going to be different afterwards.  In addition, as the author of the piece I'll link to in a moment states, bodies change throughout a life anyway.  That's NORMAL and healthy.  What's not normal and http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2013/04/im-determined-to-love-my-new-body-way.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-3334986153261162754Tue, 16 Apr 2013 15:06:00 +00002013-04-16T11:07:05.964-04:00breastfeedinghuffpostI recently read this article on the Huffington Post, which brought me to tears.  I do not know why the author's breastfeeding experience was so difficult, and it sounds like she doesn't either.  Although, if I had to guess, it would have something to do with the tongue tie that she refers to some lactation consultants thinking her son might have had.  I couldn't help but comment inhttp://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-second-chance-at-breastfeeding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-2783072014023934295Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:45:00 +00002013-04-09T15:53:16.574-04:00acid refluxbreastfeedingfrenectomylip tiemastitisthrushtongue tieSomewhat to my surprise, my blog is getting real traffic for the first time in years. This tells me that there are a lot of people out there having a tough time breastfeeding and are looking for leads. I am making it a mini life mission to spread the word about tongue tie and lip tie because it had such an impact on me and my child.  I don't think that anyone who hasn't attempted to http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-humble-offer.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-9125329339039317890Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:26:00 +00002013-03-22T08:45:41.651-04:00acid refluxbaby indigestionbreastfeedingbreastfeeding difficultybreastfeeding problemcoliclatchlip tiemastitissore nipplessupply issuesupply problemthrushtongue tieunder supply This post is long overdue.  For those of you who supported me in the early days of my breastfeeding difficulties, I wanted to share that in September when Calvin was 6 months old, we saw a new lactation consultant who LOOKED IN HIS MOUTH and said, oh yeah, "this isn't you -- he has a lip tie." That explained EVERYTHING.  Lip ties and tongue ties are related to problems in the baby (http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-short-version-of-how-breastfeeding.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-8987038268544541104Wed, 30 May 2012 19:22:00 +00002013-03-26T11:55:53.986-04:00acid refluxbaby indigestionbreastfeedingbreastfeeding difficultybreastfeeding problemcoliclatchlip tiemastitissore nipplessupply issuesupply problemthrushtongue tieunder supply Anyone who knows me knows that I meet adversity with determination.   And if it’s not working, I assume it means I’m supposed to try harder.  I am accustomed to success somewhere along the way.  This is the story about my milk supply – still not quite enough to feed my lad.  “Big deal,” say some.  “No, that’s not possible – keep trying!” say others.  But http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2012/05/crying-over-spilled-milk.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-6838646398509463882Mon, 29 Aug 2011 01:59:00 +00002011-08-28T22:05:11.455-04:00I wrote this little paper for the biology class that I took over the summer as a pre-requisite for my upcoming masters' program. Dan suggested that I post it on my blog. Why not? The first two laws of thermodynamics address the constant amount of energy available in the universe, or, otherwise stated, the amount of energy in a closed system. The First law of thermodynamics states that energyhttp://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2011/08/short-treatise-on-thermodynamics.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-5440437380914555509Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:06:00 +00002011-02-21T12:22:24.952-05:00Dan and I had the strangest experience the other day. For Valentine's Day, we have a tradition of going to the Bombay Club Indian restaurant for their Valentine's Day extravaganza where they do a once-a-year gala and pull out all the stops -- a tremendously indulgent experience that we look forward to every year. Last year, we enjoyed their new digs in the South End, even if we missed the http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2011/02/valentines-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-4543209212557887224Mon, 27 Dec 2010 15:14:00 +00002010-12-27T10:45:18.680-05:00Christmas this year was a whirlwind as usual, but it carried the blessings of tradition and ritual to buffer to the blow of what could otherwise be crazy. The last few years, Dan and I have had Christmas Eve with my mother's family, Christmas morning with his mother's family, Christmas night with my father's family, and the day after Christmas with Dan's father's family. It sounds a little http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2010/12/christmas-2010.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-7852297632784709895Mon, 27 Sep 2010 21:10:00 +00002010-09-30T09:31:33.378-04:00Told to Eat Its Vegetables, America Orders FriesCourtesy of the New York Times, this quick little article looks at why even America's health care professionals aren't eating their veggies. We're issued the tall order of eating 4 and a half cups (considered 9 servings) of fruits and vegetables a day, I'm not sure that even my veggie-lovin' self eats that much.On that note, I'm sure that you all http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2010/09/are-you-eating-your-veggies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-3964003274977081886Fri, 10 Sep 2010 12:36:00 +00002010-09-10T09:54:06.343-04:00Courtesy of WebMD6 Best Foods You're Not Eatinghttp://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2010/09/alarmist-titled-article-with-good.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-5778189146372108854Sun, 22 Aug 2010 13:39:00 +00002010-08-22T10:16:11.123-04:00Dan and I are not big home improvement people. Sure, we like to get things settled, and we're not made out of money, so that has taken the form of us doing things ourselves. It's not hard; it's just time-consuming and exhausting. We tend to stay away from exhausting, time-consuming things that aren't inherently pleasurable. That having been said, we have a mouse problem. After multiple http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2010/08/home-improvement.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-1862722799112156985Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:06:00 +00002010-08-19T16:08:55.757-04:00But Will It Make You Happy?She had so much.A two-bedroom apartment. Two cars. Enough wedding china to serve two dozen people. Yet Tammy Strobel wasn’t happy. Working as a project manager with an investment management firm in Davis, Calif., and making about $40,000 a year, she was, as she put it, caught in the “work-spend treadmill.” So one day she stepped off.Inspired by books and blog http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2010/08/courtesy-of-new-york-timesa-fun-article.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-6738222241245051428Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:20:00 +00002010-08-12T12:24:20.785-04:00daN and I spent a good bit of time this weekend outside. When I got home from work on Friday night, I did yoga on the grass in the breezy sunshine, which was a fabulously grounding way to start the weekend. The next day, we went for a good long walk around Jamaica Pond and enjoyed the flowing water, the wind, and even some young baby duckies. That night, we enjoyed a picnic dinner on Boston http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2010/08/making-good-use-of-outdoors.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-3125470984314171455Sat, 07 Aug 2010 19:30:00 +00002010-08-07T15:33:58.841-04:00I love doing yoga in the sunshine on the grass. Something about it brings me a real sense of peace that I'm hard-pressed to find somewhere else. When I am doing yoga in the sunshine on the grass, that's the only thing I'm thinking about. It's important to have stuff like that in one's life.http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2010/08/i-love-yoga-in-sunshine.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-2187339003730068789Sat, 17 Jul 2010 22:04:00 +00002010-07-17T18:16:52.854-04:00Thoughts from the Yoga Block on a Lazy Saturday AfternoonRegardless as to the fact that I might be feeling somewhat professionally bored, and regardless as to the fact that I sprained my cheek muscles two weeks before the wedding and suffered a knee injury four days after our wedding and cut our trip to Monhegan short (read: opportunity for physical therapy to prevent a tired tendon from gettinghttp://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2010/07/thoughts-from-yoga-block-on-lazy.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-1891051897822129469Fri, 04 Dec 2009 23:35:00 +00002009-12-04T21:26:16.245-05:00On Humility and Gratitude. In the age of immediate gratification, it's easy to forget to slow down. I am battling this trend by writing in my blog again after several months rather than just tossing an update on my facebook page. Of course, the irony of this is that many of you will see this because of facebook, but that's just distribution. My mother had a medical emergency about 7 weeks agohttp://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2009/12/this-is-post.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-3320579353609747267Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:14:00 +00002009-10-01T16:16:00.957-04:00Coming Out in Middle SchoolAn interesting, indepth article about coming out from the New York Times.http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2009/10/coming-out-in-middle-school-interesting.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-6195421279817864884Mon, 24 Aug 2009 13:32:00 +00002009-08-24T09:36:45.368-04:00There Will Be BloodDan and I finally watched the movie that has been sitting next to our television at the top of our Netflix cue for about two months: There Will Be Blood. I will say this: they accomplished what they were going for. Watching someone deteriorate -- or watching someone confirm all your suspicions about his unsavory nature -- is uncomfortable. The filmmakers did a wonderful job, http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2009/08/there-will-be-blood-dan-and-i-finally.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-6795085119180050088Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:54:00 +00002009-08-21T09:58:51.073-04:00PLANTS vs. ZOMBIESHave I mentioned how much I love this game? I have played it through twice -- once on my computer and once on Dan's -- and I still can't get enough of it. I have fun experimenting with different strategies, playing around with the effects of emphasizing specific plants, etc. Zombie bowling continues to get harder and harder as the game advances.This is the first computer gamehttp://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2009/08/plants-vs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-8147333539110209742Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:09:00 +00002009-08-19T12:28:11.096-04:00Singing BeachI went to Singing Beach in Manchester-by-the-Sea yesterday, and it was wonderful. It was the first time I'd taken a vacation day to go to the beach, and you can bet your ass I'll do it again. With a M-F 9-5 job, it's hard to get to the beach when it isn't crowded on the weekends, and I don't go for crowded beaches. Yesterday, I found the quiet end of the beach and set up camp. I http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2009/08/singing-beach-i-went-to-singing-beach.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6220349.post-4413438424943152154Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:08:00 +00002009-07-29T16:14:21.293-04:00How the Health Care Mess Affects Entrepreneurshipby Scott A. Shanes, Courtesy of the New York TimesThis article corroborates some of my beliefs that health care is not just specifically only a human rights issue: it's a socioeconomic justice issue. I have never found it fair that larger companies with stronger bargaining power get lower premiums than smaller companies and individuals. http://spokeschicken.blogspot.com/2009/07/how-health-care-mess-affects.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (The Attleboro Post)0