The Fall Family Fair, put on by Southern Oregon Birth Connections, is this Sunday, November 3rd, at the Ashland Springs Hotel in downtown Ashland from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Goodie bags, free food, raffle, vendors, kids activities, and more!
I’m one of the panelists for the vaccine discussion, and I’ll also have a booth at the fair where I’ll be selling signed copies of:
1. Your Baby Your Way: Taking Charge of Your Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Parenting Decisions for a Happier, Healthier Family
2. Toddler: Real-Life Stories of Those Fickle, Irrational, Urgent, Tiny People We Love
3. The Baby Bonding Book for Dads: Building a Closer Connection With Your Baby
Come say hello!
(Autographed books make great holiday presents!)
So many good articles to read on-line. In case you missed these:
1) The Saint Louis Post Dispatch reports how kangaroo care and other changes in hospital policy have drastically improved breastfeeding rates.
The changes the hospital must make include no longer accepting free formula, keeping babies out of the nursery and in mothers’ rooms, not giving pacifiers to breast-feeding babies and training all health-care staff—which can be 100 to 200 people—how to support breast-feeding.
“It’s like turning the Titanic around,” said Beth Sevart, lactation consultant and leader of the initiative team at the Kansas City hospital. “It’s a big change to the whole system, to the way we’ve been doing things.”
For example, keeping babies and moms together requires encouraging pediatricians—who are used to bringing their patients into the nursery to do exams one after another—to visit each baby in their rooms. It requires researchers to bring moms along with their babies for tests. And nurses used to assessing babies in an open-bed warmer have to learn to do so on a mother’s chest. With each change, a stalwart requires convincing.
“From the outside looking in, it’s like, ‘What’s the big deal?’ But it’s actually a huge change in practice,” Ustianov said. “It changes the culture.
Read more on why moms and babies should never be separated here.
2) A Jewish dad decides to have a Brit Shalom for his son, instead of a bris.
Instead of circumcising our son, Amari and I decided that each member of our immediate family would bless a part of Kai with olive oil. I blessed his bicep and explained it was so he would have the strength to stay true to his beliefs, to who he was. My wife blessed his heart, wishing him to be full of love for everything and everyone. Each member of our family had an opportunity.
3) Denmark is the happiest country in the world.
Why?
Because new parents are supported, health care is a civil right, biking is the norm, people look out for each other, and everyone tries to put a positive spin on the weather!
What I’m Reading
I just finished reading Jeannette Walls’ The Glass Castle: A Memoir. It’s a stunning book.
I joined GoodReads reluctantly but I love how it lets you write reviews and keep track of when you finished a book. So join me over there if you want to see what I thought of the book.
My 9-year-old son and I are reading Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library.
[In case you’re curious, here are some of our other favorite read-aloud chapter books.]
I’m re-reading Jane Austen’s classic novel Persuasion.
So many good books. So worth the time it takes to read them. ?
What I’m Writing
My article about Sabrina Parsons, the CEO of Palo Alto Software, a tech company in Eugene, Oregon, came out this week in Oregon Business Magazine.
My article on Joseph, Oregon, is on the cover of the Jefferson Monthly.
No matter where you start, Eastern Oregon is farther than you expect, one reason this area of the state has stayed so much more sparsely populated than other regions that boast stunning scenery and lots of outdoor recreation. While small cities like Klamath Falls and Bend have turned themselves into weekend tourist destinations for the Teva-wearing kayak-loving set, Eastern Oregon remains relatively unknown. One of the reasons it has taken me so long to come out this way is because it is so far (nearly eleven hours not including stops).
If you made it this far, thanks for reading.
Published: November 1, 2013
Last update: January 21, 2020
Natalie B. says
I love Persuasion!