The Daily Sadie

Lessons from Sadie. Or, My thoughts on 'Other Peoples Children'

2010-10-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

Sadie and I stood in the coffee line at the grocery store today. As I tried to convince her she (nor I) didn't need a Double Glazed Doughnut, I heard the joyful screech of a toddler. But I didn't recognize it. Definitely not Sadie's brand. I looked around in time to she an adorable ginger-haired little girl closing in on me, and fast. My gut reaction was to catch her and pick her up.

So I did.

As I held her, I looked around for a Momma, and she was behind us in line. We chatted about how loving and (obviously) overly-friendly her children were. The little girl pointed at Sadie's fish crackers. Momma said it was okay so I fed her a few. Sadie was so excited to see this little person. 'Bebe! Bebe!' she exclaimed. I transferred Bebe back to her Momma. Coffees were distributed and we exchanged pleasantries and went on our ways.

Did all of that register?

I picked up and held a stranger's child.

It wasn't until about half way home I realized that might freak some people out. Including Bebe's parent. Three years ago, in the Before Sadie Era, I might have pushed her away or even tried to ignore her. But it's funny how a little one of your own can soften your heart. Restore your trust in humanity even. Okay, that may sound a little dramatic. But shouldn't we be able to trust our communities? Our neighbors? I think so. And it's because of Sadie I feel the trust in humanity again. So thanks, Sadie. And thank you, Bebe's Momma , for not freaking out on me.

Good bye, Breastfeeding Support at local hospitals!

2010-10-19T11:30:00.000-07:00

I logged into Facebook this afternoon. Expecting to see the usual pointless banter the first post I came across fas from Lori Daley, the Delco Doula. I was shocked. Read this:

"I wanted to share some information with you regarding lactation services at area hospitals. As you know, we are in difficult economic times, and health care has been hit along with everyone else. Two weeks ago, on October 6, Main Line Health System announced 105 layoffs throughout the four hospitals in the health system (Lankenau, Bryn Mawr, Paoli, and Riddle). Apparently the decision was made at the corporate level to lay off lactation consultants at all four hospitals; however, the president at Paoli identified that the lactation consultants were important to patient satisfaction and chose not to lay off those positions at Paoli, and the lactation consultant at Bryn Mawr effectively presented the need to keep a lactation consultant at Bryn Mawr. Unfortunately, the lactation consultants were laid off at both Riddle (Kay Hoover, IBCLC) and Lankenau (Michaela Kent, RN, IBCLC and Geraldine Wismer, RN). This means there are no lactation consultants on staff at either Riddle or Lankenau to help mothers and babies at the hospital; it also means that the mother's group that met at Lankenau every Monday and was run by Mickey Kent has been discontinued.

I'm sharing this news with you for two reasons: to be aware if you (or anyone you know) is expecting a baby and delivering at one of the affected hospitals that there will be no lactation consultant there to help you; and to encourage you to share your concern about this decision with the top decision-makers at the health system and the hospitals.

If you delivered at either Lankenau or Riddle, and received help from the lactation consultants there, write about your personal experiences. If you delivered at Bryn Mawr or Paoli, and received help from the lactation consultants at those hospitals, you might also wish to write. You might address your letters to the appropriate hospital president, and copy the president and CEO of Main Line Health. The contact information is below.

We appreciate your support of lactation professionals! Please, as always, don't hesitate to share La Leche League information with anyone who may be having problems with breastfeeding."

If you're as outraged as I am at what a ridiculous 'budget cut' this is, please write!!!

John J. Lynch III
President and CEO, Main Line Health
Bryn Mawr Hospital
130 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

Phillip D. Robinson
Interim President
Lankenau Hospital
100 Lancaster Avenue
Wynnewood, PA 19096

Gary L. Perecko
President
Riddle Hospital
1068 West Baltimore Pike
Media, PA 19063

If you also want to contact Paoli and Bryn Mawr to thank them for keeping lactation consultants on staff and emphasize the importance of doing so, here are those contacts:

Barbara Tachovsky
President
Paoli Hospital
255 W. Lancaster Avenue
Paoli, PA 19301

Andrea Gilbert
President
Bryn Mawr Hospital
130 S. Bryn Mawr Avenue
Bryn Mawr, PA 19010

All information Courtesy Lori Daley.

Why do we fall?

2010-06-22T08:26:00.000-07:00

I haven't felt this worm out at 11am since Sadie was newborn.

The combination of late night out, coming home to an AWAKE daughter, and then having said daughter up at 630 with no milk in the house seems like a complete home planning failure. My head was splitting (and still is for some reason) so thankfully Joe got Sadie out of her crib and set up on the couch when she woke up TWO HOURS ahead of schedule. While he was getting ready for work I made my way to the couch to lay with Sadie, who had decided sitting outside the bathroom door and whimpering was fun. She wanted nothing to do with anything we offered her until I remembered I had a sample of toddler formula in the cabinet. Even then she only drank half. I gave up. We were both tired and cranky. And that's okay. I looked at Sadie and said,"Kid, we can be miserable until 9:30, then we have to get over it and get ready for the store." And we did, mostly. I will admit to wearing my pajama shirt and jeans and sandals to the grocery store. But I did brush my teeth. And thank goodness I decided to throw together a quick batch of banana muffins yesterday, because that was breakfast. We made it through the store and home again. She kept it together long enough for me to put away the food. I got her settled down and it barely took a minute to knock out. And I'll admit that for a second I shut my eyes as well.

It's mornings like this that are possible to get through for several reasons, but I'll highlight one. I have an amazing partner in Joe. I don't think Sadie could have a better father. He is always there to get to the things I can't and to encourage me through the things I need help with. Without his help with Sadie this and many other mornings it may not have had the thus far positive outcome today. He truly is my better half. It may be two days late, but Happy Father's Day to Joe.

Breastfeeding 101

2010-05-11T10:51:00.000-07:00

I read this during naptime today:

What Can We Do To Help American Women Nurse Their Babies?

After reading this amazing and interesting article I left the following comment:

I have so many emotions running though me after reading this article and all the testimonials.

1. Sadness-With little support I abandoned breastfeeding my daughter at 4 weeks. I was pumping and feeding through bottles, and when I went back to work there was no space or time provided to pump, so when the freezer stock ran dry we switched to formula. Almost instantly my daughter began having hard stools, difficulty passing, days between BM, etc. Several calls to pediatrician and nurses resulted in being told that it was ‘normal’ to go up to TEN DAYS without passing a stool. On what planet?! I felt like a failure and a bad mother.

2. Jealousy-Oh, that I had been more determined! I have several friends that had no problems breastfeeding, and some that never tried. I have a girlfriend that just decided to stop BFing one day because she thought it was time. She decided she was done and switched to formula. At 6months! In my head I ran her up and down a list of ‘if I could go back’ scenarios but luckily kept my mouth shut. She’s my best friend and nothing is worth an argument. Her son is healthy and happy.

3.Knowledge-I love my daughter. She was an unexpected gift from God whom I was woefully unprepared for. She was my first ‘pancake’. Looking ahead, I now know what amazing resources there are available, and what rights I have. Eventual Baby #2 will be exclusively breastfeed for as long as they like. And besides all that, I now also know that breast feeding is that best way to lose baby weight anyway!

I would really like to get discussion going.What are your thoughts? What do you believe to breastfeeding?

Promises, Promises

2010-05-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

I told myself if I posted even just once a week on this blog I'd be happy. Silly me. I have been steadily enjoying both our gorgeous weather and my gorgeous little family. Who wants to be stuck behind a screen when the sun is shining? That being said I am still going to try and be as present to this blog as I can, but family will always be first!

Coming up this week my SuperFresh savings and a trip to the brand new Whole Foods!

Be Frugal Anywhere!

2010-04-23T07:54:00.000-07:00

Along with checking out all my favorite sites, which you can find through buttons on the right side of this page, a fantastic way to find deals in your area is The Frugal Map. I have used this many times since it's roll out to help find bloggers here in the Philadelphia Area. It's how I found www.ForTheMommas.com!

I've added the map to the bottom of this homepage!

Thanks, www.moneywisemoms.com!

Man, it feels good to be a gangsta!

2010-04-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

Sadie and I did it again! Superfresh was running a great sale on items we actually use and needed this week. Hamburger Helper, Huggies wipes, etc. I did splurge for my trip home this weekend and got 2 boxes of Tastee Kakes which were not on sale, but they're not for me ;).I used some of my coupons and they all were able to double (yay!), and the store savings card helped a bunch as well.

Pre-savings we were at $110.48. Between card and coupons we saved $59.10 for a total out of pocket of $51.38!!!

I am loving how couponing is working for us. What about you? What were you big savings this week?

Couponing Strikes Again!

2010-04-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

I have really been trying to buckle down on our grocery bills lately. I would haphazardly attempt using coupons and watching sales, but you don't save if they are left at home!

Last week I had my best couponing experience to date at Superfresh. My pre-savings total was $30.52, after store savings card and coupons tendered my OOP was only $15.69!! Can I just tell you what an awesome feeling that is?!

Today in the Target Dollar Aisle they actually had coupon organizers! I'm cracking down on myself today and clipping and sorting these little paper wonders. No more shoving them in the cookie jar for me!

"The Will of God will never take you to a place that the Grace of God will not protect you".

2010-01-19T09:55:00.000-08:00

Sadie woke with a start today at 4:45am. Well, she woke us both with a start today. We live with my in-laws temporarily, so we're in the basement and she's om the second floor. By the time I got up those stairs I was winded and she was hysterical. A little love and a bottle later she was ready to start her day, and I was definitely not. It's 5:30am, we should both still be dreaming! Then I remembered what I had read from another mommy on a different blog (forgive me for forgetting who and where), she said to treasure these moments. When Sadie's 16, emotional, and rebellious, I will long for the days of 5:30am tea parties with Monster, Puppy, and Elmo.

Small potatoes in the grand scheme of life, but these are the things our children can teach us I guess. She inspired me to relax and enjoy. Take a nap when you can, and be thankful for God's Grace to carry you when you can't.