Sunday, May 16, 2010

Ramblings

So...it's been a while since my last post. After the catastrophic earthquake in Haiti (and the many other world tragedies since then), I decided to take a break to breathe, to think, and to get really, really fat. Okay, that last one may not be 100% true, but let's just say that the treadmill is calling my name and I'd better answer that bad boy soon because I cannot afford to court the whole host of obesity-related diseases that plague my family. So, Operation Healthy Weight is in full effect as of yesterday.
In other news, it looks as though the hubby and I are moving toward the possibility of having a baby sooner rather than later. Or at least trying to. For those who don't know, (TMI alert!!!) my ovaries seem to hold onto their eggs like a two year old holds onto his "blankie". Those little gonads of mine just don't want to ovulate in any kind of regular pattern that I can discern. I'm talking period once or twice a year kind of irregular. And before anybody even THINKS, "Oh, you're so lucky to not have a period every month", just consider how hard it would be to try to concieve when your window of opportunity is reduced from a couple of days every 30 - 40 days to MAYBE a couple of days a year. Yeah... So, I'm basically trying to "regulate" my cycle through natural means such as acupuncture, herbs, and homeopathics. And I'm sure losing 15-20 lbs wouldn't hurt, either. We'll see.
To be honest, I'm not in a great hurry to storm the gates of Babyland because it's all kind of intimidating, isn't it? I mean, not the pregnancy and birth part of it all. I'll happily tackle pregnancy and birth because as challenging those aspects of the journey can be, for me, parenting is the monster under my bed. I know I'll do my best like most folks out there and, chances are, the wee ones would probably be no more screwed up than the rest of us. The thing about parenting that worries me the most at this point is the fact that there is no "right" way but there are a helluva lot of "wrong" ways to parent. Or so it seems. The amount of judgement that parents encounter from other parents, well-meaning relatives, and know-it-all strangers is crazy. It's hard enough trying to make the decisions that parents must make: breast or bottle, cloth or disposable, child care, sleeping arrangements, vaccinations, etc. Who needs flack from an outsider looking in? And, unfortunatley, when the choices one makes for their family are unconventional, judgement rains down from every direction and support can be hard to find. Especially for parents of color.
I see myself as someday being a home-birthing, exclusively breastfeeding, co-sleeping, cloth diapering, baby-wearing, organic garden growing, semi-crunchy, midwife mama. And I'd be a minority within a minority within a minority.

4 comments:

  1. Oh yeah. There's no right way, unfortunately. It would make things so much easier if there were, though!

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  2. So true, Jill. But I guess parenting isn't supposed to be easy. Seems like nothing important ever is. :^)

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  3. First of all, welcome back! Second of all, why is this post just showing up in my reader when it was written in May? And third of all, yes the judgment is KaRaZy out there. But you know whatever you choose you'll be doing the best for your baby and your family and thankfully there are a lot of likeminded moms online you can reach out to for support.

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  4. Thanks, Elita! It's moms like you who make it less scary for me. :-)

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