Published Again!

The Joplin Globe finally ran a revised letter. They called me over a week ago to ask if they could use it, but that it was too long. They asked if I wanted to cut it shorter or let them, and I decided to do it myself, to make sure all my important points were intact.

I'm hoping Toby and I have turned a corner. We have been pretty bad for a couple of years and really terrible for the last few months. We finally went to talk to the bishop last night, and it helped. For the first time in all this, Toby is not just blaming me. I've been willing to share the blame, but not just take it all. Call me unselfish.

BAWb called Toby last night, by coincidence, and asked him if we were having problems. They talked for about an hour. I think that helped also.

I Am Published!

Last week, I sent a somewhat revised copy of my midwifery rant (see below), to some of the local newspapers and stations. The Springfield News-Leader ran it today, right in the middle of the editorial page, with a nice picture of a woman's hand holding a newborn's. Awesome!

That makes me a third generation politcal pot-stirrer. I feel as if I've joined the club. I pray that some hearts will be touched by what I wrote (and what Mary helped me revise).

ARGH!

I shouldn't be surprised that the Missouri State Medical Association is fighting midwifery legislation tooth and nail. I really shouldn't. I just find it hard to believe that a bunch of doctors can tell me that I don't have the right to choose who will attend me at the birth of my babies.

Oh, I have the right to a home birth, I just don't have the right to choose a midwife who has trained to know how to handle a normal birth and when to transfer the situation to a doctor. I can have the mechanic who lives down the street from me deliver my babies at home. I can decide to "go it alone" and hope for the best. As long as I don't find a person who represents herself as a trained professional, or (and I think this is the real crux of the matter) PAY HER.

That's right MSMA. I think for all your pandering to people's fears about birth gone wrong and the safety of mothers and babies, you are really worried about one thing: PROFIT. Explain to me how the USA is twenty-something in the rankings for birth outcomes when all the world's developed nations are compared? Don't we have the best obstetrical technology in the world? What does that say about our current system?

This is a matter of personal freedom. A powerful group is protecting their own interests at the cost of my freedom to choose. I don't feel I have the right to decide what is acceptable for others, but who is more qualified to choose what is right for me--myself or a lobby group? Other states have passed laws legalizing midwifery which allow pregnant moms a range of options. Missouri women want this freedom, and they have been denied for too long.

Look at my last post. Do you see these four happy, healthy kids? They were all born outside a hospital with the expert and attentive care of a midwife. We had a couple of minor mishaps like a cord wrapped around the baby's neck and a stuck set of shoulders. In both instances, these ladies knew exactly what to do. These occurrences are normal, and a midwife is trained to deal with normal birth. It's what midwives do. Doctors provide excellent care for at high-risk birth. I believe high-risk birth is what doctors should do. I want a choice.

Please, if anyone is reading this, think about it. I don't want to make you have babies with a midwife. I just want to be able to choose it for myself I want my three daughters free to choose when that time comes. There are many other women out there who feel the way I do. If you think we should have this right in our state, call your representatives in Jefferson City. Call the Governor. Write to your local newspaper editor. Missouri families are grateful.

Thank You, Jill

July Already?

Yeah, those are my kids. All four of 'em. In a box. It's okay, the cuteness makes me weak also.

I know...everyone says that time seems to go so fast, and I usuallly disagree with them. In this stage of my life, with little kids and pregnancies, time seems to just molasses by. I am grateful to Kim at Large Family Logistics. She said that when all your kids are little ones, with no bigger ones to help, that is the most difficult time in having a large family. I hope so.

Actually, I may see some light at the end of that tunnel. Livvy is being such a help to me. She likes to vacuum the living room, and does it without being asked after a pick-up. Also, on Friday, she loaded and washed and dried two loads of kids clothes all by herself. No, I am not raising her to take over all my work, but just to know how to do the things necessary to care for a house. I expect Hollis, Maggie, and Ivy to learn in their own good time, and whomever else may come to our home. Then their own homes and families will be blessed by my hard work.

Right now we are working on establishing routines. I hope that it will pay off later, but at the moment, I do a lot of drill-seargenting. I would like to see that someday all my kids (and my husband) know how to take care of their own clothes, toys, and dishes. Let's be honest, I need to do that, too. I'm trying to remember to be fair, as in "Eat only in the kitchen," applies to adults as well as kids. It makes doing the dishes easier and it keeps the rest of the house cleaner.

All that aside, don't get the idea that we have this regimentally organized household. Not even remotely. It is summertime, after all, and I think that summer is a time to just be a kid. I want the kids to know how to work, but I also want time for reading, and playing, and being creative. Hopefully much less TV. On the days when we are home, we have been very good at sticking with naptime, which is an hour of quiet after lunch. Sometimes we nap, sometimes not, but we all have to lie down and relax with a book (and a baby, in my case), or some Tolkien on tape.

Yes, Tolkien. I am very proud to have cultured kids (not unlike cultured yogurt). We are trying to immerse them in good things before they learn they're not cool. This means a lot of Lord of the Rings, Star Wars (the old ones), and Beatles music galore. The Yellow Submarine soundtrack is very kid-friendly. I get all warm and fuzzy when I hear my four-year-old singing "Nowhere Man."