CNotes

Here we go ...

well, I've been talking about starting a blog for a long, long time. so, here it is ... my plan for topics includes:

• Cause Branding
• Community
• Creativity
• and, other topics that start with "C"

I look forward to our conversations and hope you find CNotes a place to talk about the things you care about. xoxo ~

Career

As a new mom, I think I'm supposed to feel guilty for going back to work. But, I don't. I like my work and I love my co-workers. Naturally,I don't love them as much as I love tadpole, but still ...

So, tadpole is in daycare at our church. I say "our church" somewhat loosely, because while we're members and donate, we don't have the best attendance record.  The daycare at our church has a great reputation and tadpole's in a new infant classroom.  There are 8 munchkins with two adults in the classroom at all times.  Miss P is our lead teacher and she's been there for 18 years. Seriously. She bought a doll for tadpole on Tuesday.  We love Miss P. And tadpole has great days there.

Do I miss her? Sometimes. But we go home and walk, play on the floor, have a bottle and ease into our night. She has great mornings with her daddy ... I love to wake up to sound of her babbling away to him at 6 or 6:30. (i have night duty, he has a.m. duty)

I think I'm a better mom because I work.  I don't really know how NOT to work.  That said, I have wonderful friends who stay home with their kiddos and they are fantastic moms. I don't think working or staying at home defines whether or not you're a good mom.  These mommy wars are ridiculous.

So, this is my first full week back in the saddle. I'm glad I took a month to ease into it.  I'm glad tadpole stayed with her grandmothers during my transition back. And, I'm happy to be back at work fully contributing to my team. Is it exhausting? Yes. But, so was staying home. 

So, here's to ALL you moms out there - working or staying at home. Slainte! On this beautiful St. Paddy's Day! (and, yes, I even remembered to dress tadpole and myself in green ... although I forgot a green dish for potluck).

Commit

Or, perhaps re-commit.

I returned to Weight Watchers today after 7 months off - there's no pregnancy program, so I stopped going after the first trimester. Low & behold, there's a new program now, PointsPlus(r), which is good because it will help me retrain my brain and motivate to learn something new.  What's cool about the new program is that it's all nutrient-based, which means not counting calories.  Points are developed by counting protein, fat, carbs & fiber.  So low energy density foods will have lower points values and nutrient-poor foods will have higher points values.

Of the 50 pounds (ouch!) I gained during pregnancy, 30 of it is off.  That's good. So, 20 more to go to get to pre-pregnancy weight and then 50 after that to get to goal.  Here's the plan:

• Plan meals. Since Tapole's arrival, meals have been hit or miss and sometimes not well-planned. Keeping my milk supply up means making sure I'm getting good nutrition, so planning is good. Perhaps we'll take a real adventure to the grocery store together this week!
• Exercise 4-5 times per week.  Yearly target of 200 workouts.  Milestones include Little Rock Marathon Relay on March 6 and OKC Memorial Half Marathon on May 1. (won't be my best time, but it'll be the third year in a row, so I need to do it.)
• Embrace the new program and find ways to include Power Foods in every meal & snack. So even when I want to be indulgent, include Power Foods (essentially low energy density foods - formerly known as Core Foods) in the rest of the meal/day.
• Attend a meeting a week. I know meetings motivate me.  I have the best leader - Heather -at the Kelly & Danforth location in Edmond. She leads meetings on Thursday (5:30 p.m.) and Saturday (7:00 a.m., 8:30 a.m., 10:00 a.m.).

So, there you have it. I owe it to myself to get back on track. And, I owe it to the Hub & Tadpole to be the best wife & mom I can be. I can achieve that by being healthy - physically, mentally and emotionally.  For me, it's amazing what physical health can do to influence the other two. 

Watch for more updates. 

Related posts: Weight Watchers on CNotes (note, the last few entries from 2010, we were pregnant so I wasn't pushing weight loss)

This time last year on CNotes: Charity

 

Crazy

NOTE: this is a first for CNotes - a product review.

The hormones & exhaustion can make you feel overwhelmed. Crying is fairly normal ... it's good to have friends & family who understand. Over-reaction can be normal, too. All of this is not post partum depression. Whew. It's still surprising, though, that you can feel so out of sorts at a time when you're responsible for keeping this tiny human alive and well. 

Six weeks in and we're settling into a nice life. I have so much to learn & tadpole is mostly patient with me as we learn together. The Hub is exceptionally patient with me when he comes home and all I've managed to do is feed, change, clothe (multiple times - loving the spit up), rocked and soothed tadpole. (she's fairly low maintenance and not too fussy, but it happens).

The thing that I was most crazy about, though, was breastfeeding. After calmly proclaiming prior to delivering this 9 lb. 2 oz. giant that if breastfeeding didn't work, I'd move on to formulas & bottles without a blink. Ha. While I said that, I truly believed I'd be one of those women who produced a ton of milk. Had great plans to donate excess milk to the Texas Mother's Milk Bank  (you can contribute at OU if you're one of these over-producing gals), etc. Well, instead, I'm one of the 5% of women with low milk supply.

So, only a few days into this experiment, our pediatrician recommended supplementing with formula. Why?  Well, tadpole had jaundice and we had the bililights at home (already experimenting w/ tanning beds ... seriously, kid?) and she wasn't gaining weight, the bilirubin levels were going up, not down and the kicker ... no BMs.

So, we'd been sent home with a formula sample from the hospital at least we'd had that. And, we had bottles. Since I was going back to work, even my plans to exclusively give tadpole breastmilk meant that bottles were in our future.  How did I select the Tommee Tippee bottle brand?

Over the summer, I attended the BlogHer Business conference and BlogHer conference. Clearly pregnant, I had some great conversations with many women about pregnancy, products, raising kids, etc. I, however, sat next two women from the Mullen agency in Boston who rep Tommee Tippee. I'd never heard of the brand (it's a British brand and had been in the US for less than a year), hadn't been to register for anything yet and had no idea what bottle we'd use. After the conference, one of the women sent me a few bottles and pacifiers.  I had no idea at the time how soon we'd need them.

Five days in and I was really, really concerned about nipple confusion.  Would tadpole continue to nurse as well as she had (even though she apparently wasn't getting enough nutrition?). The answer with this bottle was, "Yes!"  She's never had an issue. 

As I worked with a lactation nurse to understand how to maximize my milk supply and supplement correctly, she was very interested in the bottle we were using. The nipple looks very much like a breast nipple. (once, I forgot to bring a bottle with me to a lactation appt and we had to give her a "regular" bottle and nipple - tadpole had no idea what to do - she chewed it!)

So, we developed a three step feeding routine: nurse, give breast milk supplement that had previously been pumped and then finish with formula.  This worked very well during the three weeks my mom was here, but now that the Hub's back at work and I'm solo most days, I've actually dropped the nursing part of the equation (except the overnight feeding) and stuck with pumping.  That way, I know how much breastmilk tadpole's receiving to the milliliter and we can measure the formula supplement appropriately.

I knew I was very supportive of breastfeeding, but I had no idea until tadpole arrived that I would feel committed to provide as much breastmilk as possible, especially while I'm on maternity leave.  The nice thing about bottles is that many people have been able to feed her, especially her daddy.  They have some nice quality time together in the morning for what will become my regular gym time. (made it once this week - the prioritized sleep for two days after a couple of long nights)

When I head back to work in a few weeks, I plan to continue pumping, but will probably have daycare give her formula and save the breastmilk for home.  We're fortunate to have a very pro-breastfeeding pediatrician who is also very realistic about our lives and supportive of what we need to do. The same is true for our lactation nurse and I can't say enough about the great support we've received from the Breastfeeding Clinic at Mercy. And, the Hub has been so incredibly supportive and we've worked together to get to where we are now ... which is a good place, indeed!

Who knew that a woman I randomly met at a conference would help me achieve breastfeeding goals when things didn't go as planned? Tommee Tippee products are exclusively available at Babies 'r Us in the U.S. Ask tadpole ... it's good to be queen.

 

Post one year ago:  Cancer

Child

Hello, my name is Hanna Marie Woodworth and I was one day old when my Crazy Aunt Becky took this picture of me at the hospital. I am now one month and two days old, but mommy needs to upload some more pictures.

Wow. This motherhood thing is incredible ... and, incredibly hard. Hats off to all the Moms I know, I honestly had no idea. I also had no idea the my heart would explode when I first heard Hanna Marie's cry ... one friend told me that I would fall even more in love with my husband after she arrived and I have. What incredible joy.

The path to that joy wasn't necessarily the one we'd laid out in our birth plan. I was induced because of high blood pressure, which meant constant monitoring, an earlier (and much needed) epidural limited my mobility. The pitocin drip meant taking me from zero to 60 in an hour or so, so the typical build up during labor was bypassed. What worked in the birth plan was having her given to me immediately to start nursing and she stayed w/ the Hub and me for more than an hour before going with him up to the nursery for a bath.

So, here's what I've learned in the last 5 weeks:

1. Cervadil is uncomfortable.

2. If you're induced, epidurals are a very, very good thing. (likely they're good at other times, but what do I know?)

3. 9 pounds 2 ounces hurts.

4. I get the sleep when she sleeps part ... but, when do I eat my breakfast & lunch?

5. I am actually in the 5% of the female population that does not produce enough breastmilk to exclusively breastfeed. So, I nurse, then pump, then HMW gets a formula supplement. Know anyone else with breastfeeding issues? I highly recommend the Breastfeeding Clinic at Mercy. We've received wonderful guidance and a good plan to maximize the amount of breastmilk HMW receives.

Anyone have thoughts on formula types? (powder or liquid)

6. Nursing is uncomfortable. So is pumping. Not sure which is more.

7. Disposable diapers for us. Still shopping for a favorite.

8. Excursions are good. We've been to lunch a few times and went to see Santa. Rookie Moms-worthy? Not yet, but we're getting there. The mall is NOT a fun excursion, but we went yesterday anyway.

9. Number of loads of laundry has increased. And, I have dishwater hands from bottle washing - two bottles per feeding equals a lot of bottle washing. (the Hub does a lot of bottle washing, bottle prep and bottle feeding, too.) Wonder what the water bill will be like.

10. Jaundice can make your first few days/weeks a living hell. Poor HMW baked away in her little tanning bed for 5 days while the Hub & I broke the 24 hour day into 3 hour shifts so she could get her 16 hours of light per day.  We were so glad when that was over ... and, now I know a bunch of people who've had to do the same thing ... I had no idea.

All in all, I think our little family is doing pretty well. Today was hard - bad night's sleep and very few (and short) naps for HMW means I haven't showered yet today (hey, there are still 7 more hours left to Jan. 3, I'll get to it.) and might be the tineist bit cranky. But, we'll get through this day and move on tomorrow. 

I'm so in love with Hanna Marie, I can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring. 6 week checkup is next week, so hopefully I'll get clearance to get back to exercising, etc.

 

Countdown

The countdown is officially on ... tadpole should be here by the end of next week. Why do we know this? Well, last week my blood pressure spiked and my ob/gyn sent me home.  After a restful weekend, another spike at the doc's office on Monday and she sent me home for the duration.  No going to work. Not supposed to be doing housework, errands, etc.  Must recline/lie on my left side.  Good news? Can work remotely. And, I'm going crazy after 2 days of this!

Good news? The doc agreed to my birthday date with the Hub tonight to go to the fancy movie theatre to see Harry Potter 7. Have clearance to recline at the in-laws for Thanksgiving.  Then recline at home for football on Friday & Saturday. No guarantee there won't be a BP spike during either the FSU v. UF game or OSU v. OU game.

Bad news? The nursery is so not done ... and no sitting at the sewing machine for me.  Also, the Hub has picked up even more of the heavy lifting around the house. He's so awesome ... planted the pansies I bought, already set up the Christmas tree (my MIL is coming over on Saturday to decorate for me ... says she's bringing a long pointer for me to direct her).

So, now I'm thinking about the bag for the hospital.  I've seen lots and lots of "must take" lists and I have a pretty good idea, but I'd love to hear from you what was your #1 item packed or what was the thing you forgot that you really wish  you'd had ... music? your own pillow? snacks for the Hub? what? ... and, what did you bring that wasn't necessary?

So, as my doc said on Monday, the only way to get my BP down is to become "unpregnant." That means on Monday, she'll examine me and we'll determine a date next week to introduce tadpole to the world.  Wow. It's finally here.

Content

Big Twitter brouhaha over Amazon.com's decision to sell a book in its e-store called "The Pedophile's Guide to Love and Pleasure: A Child Lover's Code of Conduct." Seriously. This is not a joke.

I found out about the sale of the book from two women I follow on Twitter.  After checking it out and reading what the author had to say about the book, I was appalled that Amazon would offer this book for sale. The #amazonfail hashtag was running rampant. Boycott Amazon.com facebook groups popped up ... totaling more than 10,000 fans.

People called & email Amazon. Major news outlets picked up the story.  Here's Amazon's initial statement:

 Amazon believes it is censorship not to sell certain books simply because we or others believe their message is objectionable...however, we do support the right of every individual to make their own purchasing decisions. (reported by AolNews)

The challenge?  This statement is in direct conflict of Amazon.com's own guidelines:

 Publishers are expected to conduct proper research to ensure that the Titles sold through the Digital Text Platform Program are in compliance with all local, state, national, and international laws. If Amazon Digital Services, Inc. determines that the content of a Title is prohibited, we may summarily remove or alter it without returning any fees. Amazon Digital Services, Inc. reserves the right to make judgments about whether or not content is appropriate. (Read full guidelines HERE.)

Um, I'm pretty sure that fondling a child is against the law in every state in the U.S.  Don't you?

So, on this topic, we're not talking about protected free speech.  According to those who have read the book (I have not), this is a how-to manual that gives explicit advice on skirting laws and encouraging adult-child sexual activity.  Children are to be protected from adults who want to abuse them.  Whether this book qualifies as protected free speech is a question for the legal community.

Interestingly, Amazon.com has issued no statement since pulling the book sometime last night after freely defending its decision to offer the book for sale earlier in the day, as well as allowing the author to publish the book through the company's Digital Text Platform.  As a PR practitioner, I wonder when they will. This will make an interesing case study on crisis communications.

It appears that Amazon broke no laws in publishing or offering the book for sale.  It is a private company and can certainly can sell this book should it choose to do so. However, the public can vote with its wallet and use response speech to decide to spend its money elsewhere - there are consequences to free speech that we all need to understand.  In a commercial or retail environment, this is where money comes into play. I think it is the very real impact of a possible boycott from consumers (especially at the holidays) that led Amazon to do a complete 180 without explanation. 

Choices

Learned something really interesting in prenatal yoga class last night. Ok, I thought it was interesting and hope you will, too.

Our instructor was giving us an exercise during relaxation and she told us she wanted to think about Choices.  This exercise is something she learned in yoga instructor training. 

The next time you're stressed out about something or find yourself in a situation that isn't going your way, what if you re-framed the situation and thought, "How would I feel if I chose this route?"

An easy example is running late ... sitting a stoplight, freaking out that you're going to be late. (happens to me)  What if I thought, "What if I chose to be late?" What would the positives be to being late to wherever I was headed?

Since we're only about 4-5 weeks out from delivery and since I"m high risk because I'm on blood thinners, we've tried to imagine almost every delivery scenario ... from our plan, to au naturale because we can't stop the blood thinner early enough ... to a C-section, which I'd like to avoid, but could be reality.  I hope I remember this exercise.  What if we chose this delivery method?  Then, I could focus on the positives and feel better about something the Hub & I won't have 100% control of ...

Karen, our yoga instructor, also said this is a great lesson to apply to parenthood.  Yep - I can see me trying to imagine, "What if I chose to wake up every two hours?" Hmm ... maybe she was thinking of a different scenario.

Condone

One of my least favorite statements I hear people make, "I don't condone the gay lifestyle."  Ok, who appointed you judge and gave you the right to "condone" the way another human being lives.

I've been saddened by the number of teenage gay kids who have committed suicide recently, including here in Oklahoma, following bullying by schoolmates.  There's been a rise of media coverage of bullying overall, not just against gay kids, but all sorts of students.

I was happy with the US Department of Education reminded school districts that they are responsible for providing a safe and nurturing atmosphere for children and that tolerance of bullying could, in some cases, violate federal law as enforced by the Department's Office of Civil Rights. This includes preventing and having zero tolerance for harassment between students for any reason, including race, sezual orientation and more. Local news here seems to cover parents' disappointment on how local school officials are handling complaints of bullying.

This same week, a school board member in northern Arkansas posted vitriolic language on his personal Facebook profile stating he celebrates suicides committed by gay teenagers, and in fact, thinks all gay women & men should commit suicide. This is NOT. OKAY.  Never mind Clint McCance's personal views, which I find disgusting. He's an elected public official who is responsible for creating a nurturing environment for ALL students in the Midland, Ark. school district. I'm not sure how he can achieve this when he is so openly hostile to a student population.  This story has been covered by MSNBCand CNN's Anderson Cooper.

McCance certainly has a first amendment right to speak his views, and with that freedom of speech comes the responsibility to accept the consequences associated with that speech.  The calls are nationwide for McCance to resign ... will he? The local district has distanced itself from McCance's remarks and the Arkansas State Department of Ed has issued statements condemning McCance's posts on the matter. However, McCance is only responsible to the voters and cannot be "fired" from his position for these views.  He should resign.  Period.

I'm not gay. I have no idea what's like to grow up gay, much less grow up gay in rural Arkansas.  But, I know what it's like to be made fun of for being a geek, dork, etc.  Middle school girls are mean. Middle school boys are mean.  And,I can't fathom the pain a child would experience at the hands of his or her schoolmates for being gay.  Bullying for any reason is not acceptable.  And, bullying is on the rise. Everywhere.

I do that I believe that everyone has a right to live their lives how they want to and a responsibility to be a productive member of society.  These beliefs have nothing to do with who you love or spend your life with. And, I believe Clint MCance has absolutely no business serving his local school board if he isn't able to champion a safe and nurturing environment for all students in the district.  And, given his views on homosexuality, I don't see how he can.

 

Campaigns

Mid-term campaign season. I hate it.  I hate the robo calls, especially since I'm one of, oh, 30 democrats in my congressional district. Calls from MIke Huckabee don't work for me, I lived in Arkansas while he was governor. Nice enough guy, probably not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

The challenge of being a Democrat in a red state like Oklahoma? Getting a Dem elected from any district.  What about moving to an open primary? Let's face it, Dems in Oklahoma aren't coastal lefties. In  FL, CA, NY, MA and other states, they'd probably be considered moderate Republicans. So, my moderate Republican Hub has ultra-conservative options in the primary season and the more moderate candidates tend to live on the Dem ballot.  But, the Democrat probably won't be elected in the general election.

So, if you're a moderate Republican in Oklahoma's 5th District, you might take a look at Billy Coyle.  He's a local attorney, Oklahoma native (although lived in FL and graduated from FSU, always a plus for me!),  a veteran and seems to have a good head on his shoulders. Click HERE to find out where he stands on many issues. The Republican candidate is not someone I'll cast a vote for - he's too conservative for me.  And, I just don't see how managing/running a church (albeit, a large one) translates into the ability to represent Okahoma's 5th District. I don't have a strong sense of confidence in his understanding of the issues facing Oklahomans and our nation, except from a personal standpoint. 

So, the BIlly Coyle sign will go up in our yard.  (Thanks, Hub, for agreeing to the sign.)

And, regardless of who you vote for, please vote.  The national elections get all the attention, but in reality ... it's your City Council, County Commissioners, School Board, Bond Elections and State Questions that impact your daily life much more than Congress.

Cast

Cast ... as in cast your vote.

Ninety (90) years ago today the 19th amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which granted women the right to vote, was ratified by the state of Tennessee by a one-vote margin. Tennessee was the 36th state to ratify the amendment, thereby making it the law of the land.

The language in the amendment is simple

The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.

Creation & passage of the amendment was decades in the making. (my home state of Florida didn't ratify the amendment until 1969 and Oklahoma was the 33rd state to ratify the amendment in the spring of 1920.)

Supposedly the legislator in Tennessee who cast the deciding vote did so at the request (probably demand) of his mother.

You can read more about my thoughts on this day and Women's Equality Day (Aug. 26) in a post from last year: Coequal.