I've got a bloggy secret! Find out next week!

I really like my OB. At this week's appointment, he had some extra time (most patients cancelled due to flooding) and we got to talking. We had an hour long conversation about the causes of skyrocketing STD's in the teen population, air quality on airplanes, Christian witness in a professional setting, and more. It was so much nicer than when Mr X was born - that OB practice had 8 docs and 4 midwives, and it seemed I never saw the same person twice until I had complications and "my" doctor started seeing me consistently. But when X was born, the assisting midwife was someone I had never even met.

Some friends of mine sent me a virtual baby shower. Now I'm in the market for a sling. I have one with rings, but I've never really LOVED it. Are the mei tei/Asian style wraps really as good as they say? The Maya wrap? I want to not drop the baby, nurse, and not get a backache. The sling with rings went over one shoulder and the weight wasn't distributed evenly. I also felt like I needed to keep a hand on the baby because he just didn't feel secure. But front carriers/snuglis aren't really nursing friendly. Recommendations, please!

Speaking of baby slings, Consumer Reports recommends against them. 4 babies have been hurt in the last FIVE years from falling out of them. They recommend using a stroller or infant carrier. The Common Room has some good points about Consumer Reports bias - and some mothers do actually want to touch their babies! Besides, a stroller's not exactly nursing friendly.

Wonder when they are going to recommend against parents using their arms to carry infants? I'm sure babies have been dropped at least once per year.

I found a new site with great activities for littles! Preschool Post offers lessons, printables, and and activities based around a theme (current theme is Spiders). I don't think 3 and 4 year olds need to sit at the school table and do worksheets all day, but it's nice to have something "schoolish" for them to do when they want to join their siblings in the classroom. I'm planning to print out some of the sequencing cards, and the Spider theme has lacing cards for littles to make their own spider web.

More thoughts about the swine flu. I'm not as worried about the swine flu decimating our population; so far, it seems to be about equal or even milder than the common flu.

I'm more worried about how people will react to the sickness. The National Guard has been called out in Wisconsin, there's talk floatiing around about mass vaccinations (of a vaccine that hasn't even been created yet), and states are declaring emergencies (possibly to get funding.) I applaud the aggressive, proactive approach to preventing the spread of the illness (although why do we need the National Guard, but don't need to close the border?).

However, "proactive" can easily cross over into mass hysteria, and that's why I stocked up on children's ibuprofen and other things. If people go nuts, I'm not going to want to go to the store (if it's open). Mexico has shut down government offices, schools, restaurants, and public gathering places. The same happened during last year's hurricane. There was rationing at the grocery store! Are you prepared for that?


I've got a bloggy secret! Oops, I already told you that!

Labels: 7 Quick Takes, education, Freebies, In The News, preparedness