Well, as usual, things didn't turn out quite like I'd expected, but it was good anyway.
Puffer woke up around midnight last night in a lot of pain with a swollen jawbone, so I had to take him in to the doctor this morning when I would have been heading to the La Leche League meeting. UberDad and I thought maybe he'd just been gritting his teeth too hard while playing Bionicle and during kung fu class yesterday, because he does get very focused and tenses up his face when he's concentrating. But the doctor thinks he has an infected salivary gland, so she prescribed antibiotics. He hasn't been on antibiotics since he was a toddler, and we didn't finish that round because they made him sicker than he'd been before taking them. So, hopefully he'll be okay this time.
We got in and out quickly, and made it to the meeting 30 minutes late, but before they'd really gotten started. There were lots of boys in the 2 to 5-year-old range, so mine had a blast. The moms chatted about nursing in public, jaundice in newborns, how to cook and clean while caring for small children, nighttime parenting, and more for a solid two hours before babies started fussing for lunch and naps. Robin and Jenny didn't make it, but I'm sure they'll try again. The bummer about meetings being only once a month is that if you miss one, it's such a long wait until the next one.
I really enjoyed being able to talk about my nursing experiences, and answer questions for some of the new moms. I just hope I didn't talk too much! Sometimes I get a little excited about my favorite subjects and can't shut up. I bit my tongue as much as I could.
So, I still have to figure out where I'm needed most next. Should I start the process of becoming an LLL leader? Should I start a birth-focused support group similar to LLL? Should I teach formal childbirth classes and earn a little money? Should I start a support group/reading club for people who are serious about becoming better parents? Should I stick to knitting and make soakers I can sell in the co-op? Or should I get back to writing and come up with something to submit to a homeschooling or life learning magazine? I'm not feeling as inspired on that last one.
I can see you are emerging from that newborn baby phase that sucks out most of your energy and starting to get back to those dreams of your's!! Whew I have no idea what to tell you - perhaps in talking to the other local crunchy moms they will share what they see is a need?
ReplyDeleteAlso hooray for the unschooling conference in Corvallis. And yay that you'll have help driving up w/o dad. Yikes!! you are brave. I checked the link and see the accomodations are booked up. If you need some help finding another place maybe my parents would have an idea?
I posted about a mom brest feeding in public and would love your take on it. go on, you know you want to visit me and leave a comment.
ReplyDeletehey, what happened to my comment? Did Blogger eat it? Anyway, I posted yesterday about a public breast feeding. Come over to my blog and comment. Come on. You know you want to. :)
ReplyDelete