I have a 4 month old daughter, who I am currently breast feeding. I love being able to bond with her and to nourish her with out having to go to the store (I'm all about convenience). I love that there are health benefits to what I'm doing for my baby. I also pump when at work to avoid the need to supplement.
I LOVE my work environment as a nursing mom. Everyone seems to have nursed, pumped, had a spouse or relative who pumped, or to just think it's an important thing. I've even gotten "you go girl" type comments for pumping when I'm away from baby. And you know what? I do go! I feel proud that I'm committed to this. I do wish, though, that it was such a normal thing that it isn't often seen as a struggle, a thing you do despite the odds against pumping at work and nursing long term.
The truth is though, the odds are against the working and nursing mom. It seems to be getting better. I mean, I hear it's getting better. In my line of work, breaks don't come at scheduled intervals and schedules can be maddening. There's no guarantee that the most private place will also be the most clean place to handle breast milk. This is so common, and yet is a huge step up from when I was a grad student. That setup was hellish for a nursing mom!
I know I'm borderline beating a dead horse here. We know nursing is important. We know society can make it hard in the workplace, in public, or even at home. But it's still worth another mention. I hope that when my daughters grow up, they won't have to be seen as nursing heroes, just regular nursing Joes.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Mindfulness
Earlier today, I read an article on practicing mindfulness. Heard of it? It's a way of being "in the now," and being present in whatever is happen while it is happening. It's probably the most difficult thing I can think of doing, next to resisting that second helping of dinner (if you know nothing about me, know I love to eat). So, for example, I am brushing my teeth. I am to be mindful of what I'm doing: how the brush feels, the taste of the toothpaste. And nothing else. Not how long I have before I need to leave for work, not when I'm going to fit in reading time with my son, not how many hours it will be between when I nursed the baby and the next time I can pump. Whew! If I master that, I will surely be some sort of Jedi who can levitate the clean clothes into the dresser drawers with my mind! I am totally looking forward to trying it, and hopefully gaining the ability to handle stress better. If I could just get my children's voices out of my head...
Thin is not in!
Beware: if you have been struggling to lose weight, you may be irritated by this entry!
So, I have been thinking a lot about the body insecurities that I have, that most women have. We all have something we want to change, and the "perfect" images we see in the media do not help at all.
Most of my life I have been very slim. I've fielded all kinds of questions and comments from "What do you do to stay that thin? Do you eat?," to "Girl what are you talking about,? YOU don't need to exercise!" Though never said with ill intent, I think people often forget that those who feel they are overweight are not the only ones that need consideration in the way you talk about their bodies. They are not the only ones who might feel that they want to improve parts of their bodies. They are not the only people who receive health benefits from exercise. Being slim does NOT make it ok to say any comment you feel like saying about my body! If you wouldn't call an overweight person "fat" to their face, don't tell a thin person that they look like they don't eat!
Sure, the media is filled with images of slender people. Slim is not the same for every person though. I am small, but I don't feel that I look like a supermodel (as ridiculous as some have felt that is). Assuming that someone is thin and, therefore, has an ideal body type that they couldn't possibly want to improve upon tends to reinforce the idea of thin being the most acceptable way to be. I've actually been laughed at for saying I need to work out as I try to explain that I too need muscle tone and stamina to be healthy.
There is also the movement to show the "real" woman, from companies like Dove. While I applaud the effort, I would love to be included! I don't see anyone who looks like me in "real women" campaigns, or the airbrushed supermodel campaigns. I'm not being self-deprecating, I just don't look like that!
That being said, I feel like I've never had a more realistic view of my body. I guess that's part of growing up. I know that I look nice, and I also see what I can do to improve myself. We're all "real women," ladies.
So, I have been thinking a lot about the body insecurities that I have, that most women have. We all have something we want to change, and the "perfect" images we see in the media do not help at all.
Most of my life I have been very slim. I've fielded all kinds of questions and comments from "What do you do to stay that thin? Do you eat?," to "Girl what are you talking about,? YOU don't need to exercise!" Though never said with ill intent, I think people often forget that those who feel they are overweight are not the only ones that need consideration in the way you talk about their bodies. They are not the only ones who might feel that they want to improve parts of their bodies. They are not the only people who receive health benefits from exercise. Being slim does NOT make it ok to say any comment you feel like saying about my body! If you wouldn't call an overweight person "fat" to their face, don't tell a thin person that they look like they don't eat!
Sure, the media is filled with images of slender people. Slim is not the same for every person though. I am small, but I don't feel that I look like a supermodel (as ridiculous as some have felt that is). Assuming that someone is thin and, therefore, has an ideal body type that they couldn't possibly want to improve upon tends to reinforce the idea of thin being the most acceptable way to be. I've actually been laughed at for saying I need to work out as I try to explain that I too need muscle tone and stamina to be healthy.
There is also the movement to show the "real" woman, from companies like Dove. While I applaud the effort, I would love to be included! I don't see anyone who looks like me in "real women" campaigns, or the airbrushed supermodel campaigns. I'm not being self-deprecating, I just don't look like that!
That being said, I feel like I've never had a more realistic view of my body. I guess that's part of growing up. I know that I look nice, and I also see what I can do to improve myself. We're all "real women," ladies.
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