Homeschooling And Socializing

Today, my mom stopped by to spend some time with her grandkids.  We see the world very differently, and she was less than enthusiastic when I gave her the news that we are going to homeschool our children.  "Children need to have socialization!"

Who ever said that homeschooling would prevent them from socializing?  The way I see it, there is more time and opportunity for socialization with homeschooling than in public school.  The typical school day lasts about seven hours.  The only time children have during these seven hours to socialize are during lunch (about 30 minutes), moving from class to class (only a couple of minutes), during recess (two 15-minute sessions, for younger kids),

That means that students are sitting at their desks for just under six hours a day, and longer for older students.  When they get home, they get to spend 1-4 hours a day (depending on age) doing homework.  All told, children are spending between 7-11 hours each day on school work.  How much time does that really leave for socializing? 

And what are our kids getting in return for sitting dutifully at their desks for those 7-11 hours a day?  Are they receiving an education that inspires them, stimulates critical thinking, and encourages creativity?  The answer, in most cases, is a big, resounding, "NO".  They primarily are taught to take standardized tests.

It doesn't take much effort to locate email lists, groups, or forums that can put you in touch with other local homeschoolers.  Homeschooling parents can coordinate museum trips, concerts, science fairs, visits to the zoo, and basically any other field-trip that kids mights attend through their school.  Parents can divide up the various subjects based on each parent's skills and specialized knowledge to teach the children in a group environment.  There are so many other outlets- 4H clubs, scouting, little league, etc., that socialization (or lack there of) should not be a reason to avoid homeschooling.

Our children are still very young.  Before they are old enough to attend kindergarten, I'm sure my mom will overthink this issue and come up with a dozen other reasons why homeschooling is a bad idea.  My husband and I, however, believe we can do a better job of educating our children at home than in a crowded public school with underappreciated teachers where high scores on standardized tests are the only real goal (and rarely acheived).

And now, it's up to me to network, research, and prep for homeschooling our children.  While Karl has been a bit of a late talker, he's now saying lots of words, letters, numbers, and it is exciting to watch him learn, especially since we were part of it. 

Live better, a little every day.

Back Home With Baby

As many of you already know, and as many others may have suspected, I haven't been updating this blog for a few weeks because our beautiful baby girl was born.  While we were trying for a VBAC this time, we ended up with another c-section.  Labor was going along well.  Pain was being well managed with accupressure, music, breathing, and vocalizations.  Labor felt more like an intense trance.  Unfortunately, there was clear evidence the baby was in distress.  The heart rate monitor showed her heart rate to be too high early in labor. 

The midwife (who has a low c-section recommendation percentage) recommended the c-section, and remained with us during the surgery.  When our daughter was born, we found out she had swallowed meconium.  This is one of those complications with no real way to prevent it.  Thankfully, she did not develop .She needed to be monitored for her respiration's oxygen saturation, as well as blood sugar levels, which were low due to her glucose stores being used up while under stress in labor.  On a positive note, the midwife, nurses and doctors were all amazing- nothing like the hospital staff we encountered during the birth of our son.  It is comforting to know that there are some facilities that actually put the patient first.

Regular blog entries will resume again tomorrow.

Live better, a little every day.

Planting Time Begins

Even though I'm still waiting for labor to start (any day now), it's time to get planting.  The sun has chased away the clouds that brought historic floods to our area.  We have a much bigger garden planned this year than last year, divided into three shares.  The first is for our consumption throughout the season, the second is for preserving for the winter, and the third is for sale or barter.  We also have several new additions to our gardening efforts, and that has us very excited.

Today was a great opportunity for Eddie to get outside and prep one of our beds for planting, and he Onions, carrots, and beets are going in this week.  We have flats of sauce and slicing tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers, along with swiss chard is repurposed yogurt cups, just doing their thing in the windows. They will get transplanted to containers and hardened off on our balcony before finding their home in the back yard. 

This year's seed purchase total was a mere $35.  While we have more edible varieties planned, the ones that I'm particularly excited about are the melons and pie pumpkins.  But, those are still some time away.

And now, back to hoping that labor will start soon!

Are Any Baby Items Made In The USA Anymore?

In general, I try to avoid purchasing foreign made goods.  I see no long-term financial benefit from transfering our nation's wealth to another nation.  This is especially true when the other nation involved is China.  Unless you've been living under a rock, you're probably aware of China's civil rights violations, as well as the many international safety recalls involving Chinese-made products, including those imported to the US.  Melamine-tainted pet food and lead-loaded children's toys attack us where it hurts the most, by injuring those most precious to us.  Yet, our government doesn't do a whole heck of a lot to intervene.  Perhaps that is because we owe China a boatload of money?

Over the past couple of weeks, I've spent a good amount of time putting clothes away that friends and family have given us in expectation of our daughter's birth.  Almost without fail, each item has originated in China (the few exceptions being items made in Korea, Cambodia, and Thailand).  It was the same thing when our son was born.  In order to find baby items made in the USA, the only option was shopping online.  No local store, whether discount, specialty, or department, carried baby clothes or toys made in the USA. 

Even if one wanted to make their own baby clothes, blankets, sweaters, etc., just try to find yarn or fabric made in the USA without shopping online.  If you're like me, you'd probably either learn to make these yourself from local sources, or find someone who does and keep the money local.  As a backup, the internet is your next best bet.

For many things that, for one reason or another, I cannot produce myself (lack of skill, time, etc.), I prefer to shop online and have it sent to my home.  It saves me a trip, often there is free shipping on orders over certain amounts, and delivery services (such as UPS) are switching to more fuel efficient vehicles.  But, when it comes to clothes, yarn, and material, I'd like to be able to be able to see and feel it.

For many people, their older relatives still do not shop online.  My mom doesn't.  My parents still don't have a computer in their house!  However, she did tell me that several times when she went shopping for baby items for my son, she was just one of many grandma's looking for items made in the USA.  No one could find anything made in the USA.  Just about everything came from China.

What this tells me is that there is a market demand for baby items made in the USA available beyond the internet.  I do understand that would probably translate into more expensive baby products, as we cannot compete with companies that cut costs with the slave wages paid to Chinese workers.  It can be hard to justify spending a lot of money on baby items, especially when most infants will grow out of outfits after only wearing them a few times. 

From a patriotic-financial point of view, however, I would prefer to see people give away their old baby items to new mothers or bring them to consignment stores.  This would reduce the amount of money spent on new purchases of Chinese imports, while reducing the amount of money spent overall our of the ever-shrinking American Wallet.

If you know of any sources of baby clothes, items, toys, etc., that are made here in the USA, please pass them along here in the comments section.  Also, for those that know a bit more about raising livestock for fiber than I do, any info on good breeds for baby fibers/fabrics, please pass that along as well!

Live better, a little every day.

VBACs, C-Sections, and Pregnant Patient's Rights, Part Three

This is the third and final installment of my series on VBACs, C-Sections and patient rights.  This blog post will focus on whether or not hospital bans on VBACs is legally enforceable or not, and what you can do if your hospital has a ban on VBACs.

First and foremost, bans on VBACs are policies, not laws.  I recall the way my former ob-gyn explained things to me just before I was backed into having a c-section.  She made it sound as if it were the law in Massachusetts that all future deliveries would be mandated to be c-sections.  She didn't come out and specifically say that, but she implied it.  When I was training to specialize in Prenatal Massage, Labor Support Massage, and Postpartum Massage, many other Massage Therapists in my class were also under the impression that our state had made VBACs illegal.  Thankfully, we had several midwives taking the course that set the record straight.

Here's the bottom line: hospital bans on VBACs are NOT legally enforceable.  No hospital can lawfully force you to have any treatment or procedure that you do not want to have!  As a patient, you have the right to refuse treatment.  If your healthcare provider or any medical facility claims that you are required to have a c-section, or any other procedure for that matter, they are violating the law. 

That does not mean that hospital staff and ob-gyns won't try to convince you that they do have the right to enforce the policy banning VBACs.  Dealing with authority figures, and doctors often play that role, can result in a perceived imbalance of power unfavorable to the patient.  This is where it pays to be properly informed about your rights as a patient. 

Hospitals are also required by law to treat any woman who comes to their facility in active labor.  If that hospital has banned VBACs, you may NOT be turned away for refusing a c-section.  You are protected by the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA).  A common response for hospitals with a ban on VBACs is to attempt to transfer you to a different hospital by ambulance.  However, the hospital must get your consent to move you.  Understand that they are trying to skirt the law, and stand your ground.  They are in the wrong- not you!

For a step-by-step guide to protect your rights, check out the International Cesarean Awareness Network (ICAN) web site, specifically this page where you will find instructions on how to file a grievance with the hospital's Chief Compliance Officer, what to do if they dismiss your complaint, how to document your refusal to an automatic repeat c-section, how to report EMTALA violations, and information on filing lawsuits. 

As a reminder, my posts are referring to repeat c-sections that are not medically necessary, but repeat c-sections to accomodate policy only.  The first surgery was risky enough, even in those cases where they were necessary. 

Live better, a little every day.