How do you know if a birth center is the right choice for you?
I am pregnant with my second child and every bit of reading I’ve done has led me to believe I had an unnecessary cesarean delivery with my firstborn. At this point, I am not certain I trust any of the practitioners at my hospital and worry that a change of hospital may result in the same scenario being played out in a different location. I would absolutely never be able to forgive myself if I put my birth experience over the well-being of my child. How do you know if birthing at a center (or outside of a hospital) is the right choice for you?
Co-sleeping families: are your older kids able to go to sleep without you?
I have not yet fallen pregnant, and already I have every mother I know telling me to sleep train. Women who co-sleep are social pariahs, and my family regard the biggest mistake that a mother can make as “taking baby to bed with you.” Friends who have babies who go to sleep at a particular bedtime attribute this to sleep training, and are able to lead fairly pleasant social lives after 7pm because of it. Some women I know even claim that baby sleeps through the night from the get-go with sleep training.
My OB is pushing a lot of scans for my low-risk pregnancy: how do I stand up for myself?
I am 14 weeks pregnant with my first child. So far, everything looks good, and I am considered to be low-risk. My question is about how to say no to my OB. For various reasons, a midwife was not a good option for us. We chose an OB who has a great reputation for low-intervention deliveries and for respecting mothers’ wishes. I don’t agree with the over-medicalization of pregnancy, so I thought we were on the same page.
Did you choose a Cesarean section for a non-medical reason?
My wife and I are beginning the prep work for our anonymous donor assisted baby-making plans. I will be carrying our baby, but I am petrified of labor and vaginal birth. I’ve read all of the C-section posts on Offbeat Families so far, and they’ve been very helpful and gorgeous.
Does anyone write kid’s books about family friends being pregnant?
All the children’s books about pregnancy I’ve seen are “Mommy’s having a baby” or “I’m going to be a big sister.”
I’m not sure I’m comfortable breastfeeding around my 7-year-old: help?
I have a seven-year-old daughter and am pregnant with my second child. I plan on breastfeeding this baby as I did with my first — but I like to keep breastfeeding private. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with breastfeeding in front of others, but I’m just not personally comfortable doing it. How do I deal with my need for privacy while breastfeeding when my older child is around?
How do we break it to our family members that we’re Child-Free?
My husband and I recently tied to the knot, and here’s the thing: I love my mother-in-law. She is a super sweet woman… but she also wants more grandchildren. She has one, but she wants more. Here’s the catch: we’re not having any children. Ever.
Foster parents: how do you deal when your foster child is adopted by another family?
We’re both gravitating to fostering over adoption for a whole bunch of reasons that basically boil down to it’s what we think would work best for us, save for this one issue. How do you emotionally cope when your foster child moves on to a permanent family?