Category: Anecdote (Page 15 of 30)

What National Breastfeeding Awareness Month Means to Me

August 19, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, so I thought I’d share my own breastfeeding journey. I come to this post with no agenda other than to share. How a parent feeds their baby is a highly personal choice and many factors go into it. Breastfeeding is simply something I’m committed to and it’s been a wonderful experience, even when it’s been tough.

There was a big campaign to have all breastfeeding mothers nurse their babies out in public on August 1st. Honestly, I’m a big shy about breastfeeding in public; the thought of it gives me anxiety, not so much over the actual act or the possibility that I may expose part of my breast (after nursing two babies, modesty about my breasts is pretty much nonexistent), but more about how other people are going to react. So many people get squeamish about seeing it (even those near and dear to me), and there are even those who are downright against breastfeeding in public and are rude or belligerent about it.

However, I did actually breastfeed in public on August 1st. That evening I attended the CT Free Shakespeare’s outdoor production of AS YOU LIKE IT. We hadn’t started the baby on bottle yet (just to be clear, the bottle contains pumped breast milk, not formula), so my choices were to take the baby with the possibility of having to nurse him there or don’t go at all. So I went and I nursed him, and it wasn’t a big deal. It was pretty dark out and everyone’s attention was on the show. I don’t even think the people around me (even the ones I had come to the show with) knew I was doing it.

Once again it was a case of me needlessly having anxiety over something that turned out fine. And though this time was uneventful, I still try to schedule our outings so I won’t have to nurse the baby in public (or so I can at least do it in the car or somewhere moderately private). I know other breastfeeding moms would tell me to get over my worry and just do it, while others would agree with my strategy, and others still would never breastfeed in public. Again, it’s a personal choice and this is where I’m at with it.

Because frankly it’s nobody’s business how/when/where I feed my baby. I strongly believe women should be able to breastfeed where ever they want or need to do it. And no one can really tell me how to do it best. I know my body best and I know my baby best. I’m proud to have been able to exclusively breastfeed my older son until he was 6 months old and to have continued breastfeeding him until he was 20 months old. I plan on breastfeeding my younger son exclusively for six months as well, and we’ll see how long I continue once he’s on solid food…at least until he’s a year old, I hope, and maybe longer.

Nursing my babies has been one of the most personal, emotional, wonderful, and difficult things I have ever done. The bond truly is like nothing else. The time I’ve spend with my boys nursing them is time to be treasured. It has created so many special moments. But it’s demanding on my body and my time. Even when the baby can get the milk from the bottle (and someone else can feed them), I still have to pump around that same time to keep up my milk supply, especially in these early months.

It’s hard to describe the demanding nature of breastfeeding to someone who hasn’t done it. You literally have to drop everything when the baby needs to be fed. This has been particularly hard on my older son (The Boy), who for 2-1/2 plus years had mommy’s undivided attention. He’s been known to say about his younger brother, “I don’t want to keep him anymore.” Because, yeah, it stinks to have to share mommy! This from the child who stopped taking a bottle at five months old, before he was on solid food, and while I was still working full time. Some days I didn’t want to have to share myself with anyone else, but that sure as heck wasn’t happening! I gave up many a lunch break to drive home and nurse The Boy.

Overall, though I’ve been lucky. Breastfeeding has come somewhat naturally to me and my boys. I know other mothers who have had to struggle to keep up their supply or whose babies weren’t able to latch. I’ve been through mastitis (a nasty and painful infection that many breastfeeding moms experience), the aforementioned bottle strike, soreness, engorgement, feeling like I’d never have my old body back again (What are these huge things on my chest? Where did my tiny mosquito bump boobs go?) and that my body no longer belonged to me, and baby acid reflux (which is much more common among formula fed babies, but both my boys were afflicted with it and had to be medicated for it). But through it all I’ve been able to breastfeed very successfully.

See breastfeeding is full of contradictions. Great feelings of accomplishment that my body alone can sustain another human. Great feelings of inadequacy when things aren’t going right and overcoming the huge learning curve that is nursing a baby who has his own ideas about how things should be done. Great feelings of freedom because I don’t have to worry about toting around extra feeding supplies; I’ve got all I need right under my shirt. Great feelings of being trapped because no one else can really take care of the whole feeding the baby thing without me (even with bottle feedings, I have to supply the milk).

For me, it’s all been worth it. Nursing my babies has been made up of a million little special moments that no one else can or will ever experience. The moment when he first latched. The little half smile he gave me while still numming (that’s the word we use for the sucking motion the baby does when latched) away at the breast. The little songs and games we play to keep him awake during feedings. The boob drunk look of fulfillment and contentment he gets after a good feeding. The first night he didn’t nurse and he was fine but I cried after I left his room.

And now that I’m nursing baby #2, my older son has provided even more entertainment over nursing. He loves to point to my wet shirt and say, “Uh oh, Mommy. Your booby is leaking.” Or ask his grandmas whether they have milk in their breasts (or his father or grandfather or any random stranger for that matter). Or very wisely observing how his auntie (who has a baby girl) does in fact have milk in her boobies. Then there was the time he called the breast pump the “milk fountain” or when he wanted to play with me and insisted that Daddy could nurse the baby. Endless entertainment!

Admittedly, my boobs–much like my stomach with all those lovely stretch marks–will never be the same again. But I’ll take saggy boobs in exchange for what I’ve got with my boys and having breastfed them because my heart will never be the same again either.

Adventures and Writing Prompts in the Backyard

July 29, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

When people ask where my ideas come from, I always tell them from any and everywhere. As I’ve mentioned in my Confessions of an Author series, coming up with ideas is not a problem; it’s whittling down those ideas to find the gems and then following through on them that’s the hard part.

Out in the backyard the other day, just playing with the boys, there was no shortage of visual prompts that could easily turn into book ideas (and it was a different black butterfly on the butterfly bush that inspired my current WIP–see first pic!). So I thought I’d go ahead and share those visuals with all of you (and of course some cuteness with pics of said boys).

Whenever I find mushrooms in the yard, I wonder what kind of magical creatures might live there. Though I knew The Boy had created the little rock formation, I thought about someone who didn’t know its origin coming across it and wondering how it came to be. And bubbles are always magical and fun!

Where do your ideas come from? What gets your creative juices going?

How Newborns Are Like Hobbits

July 15, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

Having spent a good part of the last month with my newborn son (and several years ago, lots of time with my first son when he was a newborn) and given my good working knowledge of characters created by J.R.R. Tolkien, I’ve come to realize that newborns are a lot like Hobbits.

Let’s start with the obvious physical similarities. Not only are newborns and Hobbits smaller than human adults (The Lord of the Rings prologue puts Hobbits at between two and four feet), but they both tend to be chubbier. Also they have different proportions than human adults. Though not necessarily mentioned in the books, in the movies, the Hobbits’ feet appears to be large for their sizes. And we all know newborns have proportionally large heads compared to their bodies.

And then there’s the hair. Hobbits have hair in weird places, namely their feet. If you’ve never had a baby, you might not realize it, but newborns often have hair in unexpected places. Many are born with fine hairs (called lanugo) on their bodies, commonly found on the back, shoulders, ears, and forehead. My own baby has adorable little hairs on the helix of his ears. Yet neither Hobbits nor babies tend to have facial hair.

Of course, there’s also the matter of food. Hobbits and newborns eat frequently. One of my favorite quotes from the LOTR movies is when Pippin asks Aragorn about “second breakfast” and Merry say, “I don’t think he knows about second breakfast.” Pippin replies, “What about elevenses? Luncheon? Afternoon tea? Dinner? Supper?” Going back to the LOTR prologue, we learn that Hobbits will eat six times a day when they can. My own newborn is on the twelve nursings a day meal plan. He has all the meals mentioned by Pippin, plus brunch, dunch (dinner-lunch), midnight snack…

I think the most interesting similarity is in their general philosophies in life. Granted no one can really know what a newborn’s philosophy in life is, but based on observation, I think it’s safe to say that a newborn is happiest when life is simple. Keep newborns fed, make sure they get their rest, and provide a fairly tranquil environment and they’re happy as pig in…well, newborns do quite a lot of that too (but we’re not here to compare newborns to pigs). Hobbits, too, prefer a simple, quiet life. In fact, Bilbo Baggins is considered highly unusual and outlandish for his adventurous ways.

That’s not to say there aren’t differences. Hobbits are fond of smoking tobacco in pipes, and with the exception of those very disturbing images of that smoking baby in Indonesia several years back, babies aren’t known for smoking. Going back to the LOTR prologue, Tolkien notes that Hobbits have keen eyesight, not so much for newborns. Tolkien also mentions that Hobbits are swift and silent, while even the quietest of newborns are full of cries, squeaks, snorts, farts, and any number of other strange noises.

Overall, though, I’d have to say that Hobbits and newborns are more alike than dissimilar, and they are both pretty darn adorable!

The Precipitous Birth of Baby Boy #2

June 24, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

Seems my boys always arrive with excitement. My first son (a.k.a The Boy, who will be three at the end of August) arrived 17 days early in the middle of Hurricane Irene (you can read his birth story here). Baby Boy #2 (which admittedly is not a great nickname…any suggestions on what his Internet name should be?) arrived during storm free weather, but with haste.

The word used by the nurses and doctors was “precipitous” and I was warned that if I should have any more children, everyone should know my last labor was fast. My water broke while we were getting The Boy ready for bed, and since my water had broken (which supposedly only happens to about 15 percent of women before labor starts…but I’m skeptical on this number b/c of my two labor experiences) with the first baby, I actually knew it was my water breaking this time (last time I was kind of hoping it was a bladder control issue!).

So we settled The Boy into bed and called the on-call doctor. Based my my history, which was a 12-hour labor with induction the first time around, she said it was up to me whether or not to labor at home or to come right to the hospital. We had to wait for my mother-in-law to come and to finish up packing the essentials in our bags, so we said we’d head to the hospital soon.

My contractions were steady at about 7 minutes and not too bad. Fast forward an hour or so and they were closer to 4 minutes apart and we were ready to go. Fast forward another few minutes while we were on the way to the hospital and they were coming hard and only 2 minutes apart. Yikes! The hubby picked up the pace and we made it to the hospital (which is several towns away) in 12 minutes, despite getting stuck behind some slooooow construction vehicles.

I had a contraction in the valet parking area and three more on the short trip up to the triage area where they check to see how far along you are. The pain was intense and there was some kind of emergency so the staff was scarce. I could barely stand and couldn’t get on the table, and the hubby was frantically trying to get someone to check me out.

It was a long few minutes until someone came in and when she checked me she was like, “The head is right there.” Then yet another contraction hit and with a panicked face, she was like, “Please, don’t push.” And I was like, “I’m trying not to push.” But this baby was coming!

Then things started happening really fast. My doctor hadn’t arrived at the hospital yet, so a bunch of nurses, a resident, a midwife, and the NICU doctor all squeezed into the tiny triage room with me, my husband, and all our bags. A handful of pushes later and an 8 lb 2 oz, 20.5 inches long baby boy was born, healthy and happy.

My two older sisters were supposed to be there for the birth. One made it in the middle and wasn’t allowed in (and couldn’t fit in the tiny room anyway) and the other arrived shortly after the birth. Needless to say, no one expected our little bundle of joy to arrive so fast. All the staff in the triage agreed it was a very exciting birth and that we certainly spiced up the night for them.

We’re home now and getting used to our new, bigger family. The Boy is such a sweet big brother, and the baby has been great so far too! Loving my time with the family, even with the expected sleep deprivation.

A Sweet Valentine’s Post from Penny Estelle Author of A Float Down the Canal

February 14, 2014 / Katie L. Carroll

A sweet treat for all of you on Valentine’s Day from Penny Estelle, author of the MG short A Float Down the Canal. Leave a comment and your email address for a chance to win a copy. Welcome, Penny!

Since Katie was nice enough to let me visit her blog on Valentine’s Day, I though I would talk about what some folks have done for their sweethearts on this special day. I put out a request for some of my blog followers and friends as to what they have actually done. I received many stories of going to dinner, receiving candy and jewelry, going to a favorite Bed and Breakfast, etc…..all wonderful stories. I did receive three that I thought were quite unique.

1. Mr. X happened to be off work on this particular Valentine’s Day and flipped the TV to the Oprah Show. She suggested having her favorite dinner ready, spreading rose petals from the front door to the couch where a new nightie would be spread out. Run a bubble bath for her just before she gets home and have chilled champagne waiting for her at the door. He ran out and bought all the above and completely set this scenario. He had just finished the bubble bath when Mrs. X drove into the driveway. He grabbed the two glasses of champagne and waited at the door. The door opened and in walked his wife, with their neighbor’s twelve year old son. (The neighbor’s other son had broken his wrist at school and asked Mrs. X to pick up her other son.) Now this is why men should NEVER go off track with a proven, first class, plan), He decided to be naked…with a rose tied to his….uhm…best friend. After Mr. X ran to the bedroom, the neighbor’s son said, “Somebody’s planning on getting lucky tonight!”

2. This time Mrs. X went to where her husband works and completely decorated his car. She painted all the windows with “Happy Valentines Day” “Hurry home for a big surprise”. She put helium filled balloons inside the car with messages about what her plans for him were when he got home. Pairs of sexy panties were laying in the front seat complete with a picture of Mrs. X in a bubble bath holding a glass of champagne and blowing him a kiss. Well he was hurrying home when he got pulled over by a policeman, because he felt his car was a distraction. With a penlight, the policeman, saw the panties and read some of the balloons. He looked at Mr. X and said, “You are one lucky man. Drive safe!”

3. THIS WAS MY FAVORITE – This Mr. and Mrs. X lived off the PacificBeach. Mr. X loved steamed clams. The day before Valentines Day, at night, Mrs. X and a friend went to the beach and buried a bottle of champagne, plastic glasses, clams (in Ziploc bags) a deep sauce pan, two gallons of water and lighter fluid. She also had wood that she hid up against a cliff wall. Now it’s not warm in February, so as the sun was just starting to rise, Mrs. X got Mr. X up and headed to the beach, with a blanket. She drew a huge sigh of relief when nothing was bothered. So as the sun rose into the sky Mr. and Mrs. X had a fire going, clams steaming and toasting champagne. Now that’s love!!!

A Float Down the Canal blurb:

Not a Valentine’s Day story, but a sweet story of puppy love

and one where the underdog finally wins!!!

Twelve-year old Pam Simpson gets dumped on when her mother is called into work. She must cancel her plans for the mall to babysit her younger brother and his friend and take them to the public pool. To make matters worse her cousin, Candy, is also coming over for the day. She doesn’t even like Candy!

Much to Candy’s dismay, transportation to the pool is on inner tubes, floating down the canal. One thing leads to another and it is Pam who, once again, must save the day.

When things couldn’t seem worse, the day takes a drastic turn for the better and it is Candy, and the float down the canal, that makes this the best day of Pam’s life!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CUQEZYE

About the Author:

I write stories for the young and for the young at heart. More about my stores and myself can be found at the following links. Stop by anytime. I love visitors!

http://www.amazon.com/Penny-Estelle/e/B006S62XBY

www.pennystales.com

www.pennyestelle.blogspot.com

https://twitter.com/Pennystales

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5820078.Penny_Estelle

http://www.facebook.com/pennystales

https://museituppublishing.com/bookstore2/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146&Itemid=82

Thanks to Katie for having me today. I would love to offer a PDF copy of A Float Down the Canal to one commenter who stops by and leaves an email address!