Category Archives: baby

I Wish I Didn’t Have A Daughter

Recently I have been privy to a lot of very disturbing inventions designed for children, under the guise of “toys” and other paraphernalia. I could not believe my eyes at the list, and I could not believe that anyone buys these things for their children, seeing as how five and six year olds do not have the money or know-how to purchase these products themselves.

Then I saw this. Yes folks, this is a breastfeeding doll that teaches your little girl how to breastfeed. It comes with a little halter top that your child dons that the doll “latches onto.” I am not sure what to make of this.

I love my daughter dearly, and only want what is best for her. But seeing products like this almost makes me wish I had had two sons instead. At least then I would not need to worry about how overly sexualized they will be before they even turn ten! I can shield my Munchie as much as I want, but I cannot put her in a box. If this is somehow becoming the norm, then she is bound to see her friends playing with these things, or at least discussing them. I cannot control everything she comes into contact with twenty four hours a day, especially after she starts public school.

Granted, the breastfeeding doll is not as controversial as thongs for seven year olds, or hooker dolls, and my daughter will learn at an extremely young age about breastfeeding as she sees mommy feed her little brother, but learning about it second hand seems like the better way to go. I see no reason for little girls to be mimicking breastfeeding.

Some may argue that this is no different than learning to take care of a baby doll in other ways, such as bottle feeding or changing diapers. But this is different. This is a little girl learning how to use her own body to take care of a baby, which in my opinion should be learned much later on. Like when she turns 30, gets married, and loses her virginity. I know how unrealistic I sound at the moment, but considering my daughter is only sixteen months old I would like to cling to my delusions for at least a few years more.

How do you feel about this doll? Learning tool or not?

Abortion Is Not Selfish

Abortion is not selfish. There I have said it, and now let the lynching begin. But before the virtual stoning commences, you have to read why, along with my disclaimer.
I am a mother of two (the second one is scheduled to pop out any day now). I personally could not envision my life without Munchie and Ducky. I am not even sure I could go through with an abortion.
But there are a lot of people out there who should not have children, either because they are bad parents, or simply because they did not want children to being with and these children will now grow up being resented and/or neglected. Which basically means these are bad parents. Regardless of how you look at it, these children will have deprived childhoods, and this will ultimately affect them the rest of their lives.
Essentially these mothers who are having abortions are saving their unborn children from years of emotional, and in a lot of cases, physical, anguish. Which is the responsible thing to do. Why bring a child into the world that you are going to neglect or resent?
What about adoption? Well, here is another question. Aren’t there enough children in this world who need to be adopted into loving homes? Isn’t there enough starvation, poverty and neglect? Do we need to add more children to the mix?
I agree that abortion should not be the option used in lieu of birth control, and there is a fine line between full on acceptance of the practice and outright misuse. However, before condemning anyone and everyone who has ever had to go through with it, put yourself in their shoes, realize that it was probably a very difficult situation and decision, and the outcome is most likely what is/was best for the unborn child. The mother is not being selfish by looking out for herself. She understands herself better than anyone else, and knows she is not the right person for the job.
How do you feel about abortion?

Don’t Drink Coffee While Pregnant

I was standing in line at Starbucks when I realized two things. One, it seems a lot of my blogs start out this way. Two, appropriately this blog actually has to do with coffee.

I am nine months pregnant and I get a lot of reactions when I order coffee. The Baristas typically do not comment, probably because they don’t want customer complains. The other patrons, however, never fail to deliver an off glance, or provide some type of admonishment. I do not take it personally, or get argumentative with them because I used to have the same belief: if you are pregnant, you should not be drinking coffee.

When I was pregnant with my daughter I stopped drinking coffee altogether. I read some articles stating that one cup a day was alright, but nevertheless I put coffee in the same boat with alcohol, and together they sailed away to the forbidden land.

I was very proud of myself for successfully giving up a life sustaining substance like coffee. What I failed to take into consideration was the amount of caffeine I was consuming aside from my morning, afternoon and evening cups of joe. I was still drinking loads of soda, and ingesting pounds of chocolate in various forms. And I was gulping down glass after glass of iced tea.

During my second pregnancy, taking all of the above into consideration, I figured that if I just cut down on my caffeine consumption in other areas, I would not have to deprive myself of one cup of coffee a day. In fact, by downsizing my intake in other areas I was able to have my morning pick-me-up and still be ingesting less caffeine throughout the day than I previously had been.

So, before you swear off that tall mocha, consult with your physician. You may be surprised what you learn.

How do you feel about caffeine and pregnancy?