A little disclaimer and update

I didn't realize it'd been so long since I wrote! I can't really claim to have been too busy... just not feeling inspired.

I know I've recommended the Mothering.com boards a lot on this blog. I still think there is some good information to be found, but these past few months I've seen too much crazy. If you go there for information on attachment parenting, breastfeeding or natural living, please, be careful to not believe everything you read. There is CRAZY stuff on there. Read everything with a handful of salt and remember that not everything works for every family. I don't want to get into the weird and awful things I've read there, I just wanted to make sure that if anyone finds them from this blog (not likely since I never update) that there is a disclaimer.

Otherwise, life is good. Gideon is growing like a weed. He's having some caps put on next week and I'm kind of freaking about the anesthesia. I'll be glad when it's over.

Why we chose to keep Gideon intact

Before we found out that we were having a boy, I hoped we wouldn't. At that time, I assumed that everyone circumcised their sons- that it was somehow mandatory.

After the ultrasound, when we knew we were going to be parents of a boy, I worried about circumcision. The thought of handing my baby over to someone and allowing them to cut off a part of him seemed SO WRONG. My momma bear instincts were kicking in already.

So, I started doing some research. Since becoming pregnant, it seems all I've done is research. I'm so thankful for the Internet and all the information it has lead me to.

Information wasn't hard to find. Planning a home birth and planning to cloth diaper led me to lots of natural parenting web sites. Mothering.com forums were my biggest help. The Case Against Circumcision forum has intelligent and well informed women (and a few men) who are committed to educating interested parents who come to the forum. There are hundreds of helpful threads with links to blogs, research and websites. This thread in particular that helped me make my decision.

It all came down to keeping our baby the way God made him. This picture is from the day after he was born. Every time I look at these early photos, I'm thankful again that we decided to keep him intact. He was perfect when he was born and he is still perfect.

I've included some other helpful websites in case anyone wants to do more research.

intactamerica.org
nocirc.org
circumcisiondecisionmaker.com
drmomma.org (just search for posts about circumcision)

It's been awhile!

But, I'm 18 weeks pregnant today! It seems like it's going so fast... I've been feeling great. A little heartburn but nothing that sitting up straight doesn't help. I'm showing and Dave and I have decided that we'll start taking weekly belly pictures so we can watch the change. I might try to post some, but it also may never get done!

I've been reading the book "Pushed" by Jennifer Block. It gets me so riled up and frustrated that Dave told me I'm not allowed to read it before bed anymore! I just can't understand how maternity care in the United States got to this point. I'm so glad that we've decided to have a natural birth, free of interventions as long as there are no problems.

I don't think women- or anyone really- in the US understands how far birth has gone from what is normal. Dave has a few coworkers who have been giving him "advice" about birth. When he told them which doctor we were seeing, they said they didn't like her. The reason? She's not quick enough to do c-sections, apparently. Well, that's good to know and I'm glad. I would very much like to avoid major abdominal surgery.

There's so much I've been learning since I got pregnant. I've subscribed to Mothering magazine and I love it. So much wonderful information about natural birth, breastfeeding and raising healthy kids. I like to lurk on the natural birth boards over there as well and read birth stories that are inspiring rather than scary (the ones that everyone seems to think are appropriate to tell pregnant women.) I'll try to remember to post links to the sites I've been reading and talk more about the natural birth that I want.