Sister Mary Beth and I at the end of the day

This past Sunday morning I had the honor of running with a nun! Sister Mary Beth is running 20 miles per day as one part of Running Hope Through America. Her friend Lisa Smith-Batchen is running 50 miles in all 50 states in two months. From April 19th to June 19th, 2010, they will cross the country, raising awareness and money for orphaned children in the US and around the world. The charities supported are:

• The Orphan Foundation of America: Creates scholarship funds for teens aging out of the foster care system. This includes college scholarships, connecting with mentors and internships, and sending them care packages. Charity efficiency: 91 cents out of every dollar goes directly to support OFA programs and youth.
• AIDS Orphans Rising: Supports children in multiple countries who have lost both parents to AIDS. “The program is unique in that it does more than just provide shelter and food to the orphans. The project teaches the oldest child the skills they need to be not only self-sufficient, but to be able to provide for their family while teaching the younger siblings in schools.”
• The Caring House Project: The foundation’s primary objective is to provide housing, food, water, medical support and opportunity for the desperately homeless around the world.  It also helps to develop a system of self-sufficiency for these communities.

Who is Lisa Smith-Batchen?

Lisa Smith-Batchen is an Idaho resident and has been a top endurance athlete for at least the last 13+ years, completing nine Badwater Ultramarathons (135 mile race) and completed over 90 marathons. Lisa also is an advocate for orphaned children, using her talents to raise money and awareness for several charities. To date, Lisa has raised over 4.5 million dollars for charity. She was even personally invited to meet with Pope John Paul II in 2002 as thanks for the work she has done to support AIDS Orphans Rising.

Why 50 Miles in 50 States?

Lisa turns 50 this year and so decided running 50 miles in all 50 states would be a great challenge.

Our Experience

My husband started running with the group at 5:30am. My three year old son and I showed up about 8:30am and ran one loop, about 6 miles. I talked with Sister Mary Beth a little bit as we walked/jogged and it was such a joy. To be in the company of these two amazing women is to know goodness and spirit and dedication; they are passionate about helping children and it shows. I left to take my son home for a nap but returned later in the afternoon and ran another mile. My husband ended up running all 50 miles with Lisa, even though he had only planned on running 12 or so. It was such a powerful day and he wanted to support Lisa as she worked hard to get her 50 miles in that day in Dallas.

The three people on the right are Sister Mary Beth, my husband, and my son

Lisa (in purple), Sister Mary Beth, my husband and son, and part of the TX group

our son, making himself at home with Lisa and Sister Mary Beth

coming in for the finish, my son joined them!

my son, Lisa, and my husband

Consider Walking/Running with Them

Running 50 miles a day is tough, physically and mentally, and they could use your help and support. If you live near one of their scheduled towns, please consider coming by for part of the day. Much of their pace is walking or slow jogging. You can also be there and go on your own at your own pace. I really recommend coming out for some of the day with your family to share in this great event.

Complete schedule

Consider Donating

Lisa’s goal for Running Hope Through America is to raise $1 million. Are you willing and able to help her help orphaned children? If so, please visit their donation page and give generously and with an open heart.

• Donations are tax deductible
• 100% of donations are dispersed among the three charities mentioned above

Since this is the year of ‘50′ for Lisa, wouldn’t a contribution of $50 be great?! If you can give more, please do!

Lisa, my husband, Sister Mary Beth all done (for the day)

Dreamchaser Foundation’s Mission

The Dreamchaser Foundation was established in 2008 to encourage amateur and professional athletes alike to use their passion for sports for charitable ends. The Dreamchaser mission:

The Dreamchaser Foundation seeks to improve the lives of women and children from around the world. By empowering people to achieve their goals and dreams in athletics, the Dreamchaser Foundation raises public awareness of the hunger, exploitation, illness, and suffering of children around the world.

The Dreamchaser Foundation is dedicated to raising funds to help women and children in need survive and succeed, to improve the quality of their lives and dramatically change their future and the future of the next generation. We encourage athletes in all sports to fund raise while fulfilling their own dreams.

Help Children, Help the World

“How we treat the child, the child will treat the world.” – Pam Leo

Helping women and children is very important to us. You may know we are also big supporters of Hands to Hearts International, another organization dedicated to helping disadvantaged women and orphaned children around the world. If Lisa’s message and cause resonates with you, please consider getting involved however you are able. Together we can achieve so much more than we can alone.

Wendy – Parentingtips365.com

From Mercola.com:

MSG is an excitotoxin, which means that it overexcites your cells to the point of damage, acting as a poison.

MSG is also a probable cause contributing to the obesity epidemic. As the FDA continues to vouch for its safety, scientists have known that MSG causes obesity since the 1960s!

It is clearly not worth a few bites of tasty junk food to give your body the green light to produce visceral fat, the most dangerous type that surrounds your organs and increases your risk of heart attack, stroke, insomnia, type 2 diabetes, and more.

Yet, that is exactly what you’re doing when you eat foods that contain MSG.

I called Annie’s and talked to the customer service representative. He admitted that yeast extract does contain MSG, but tried to explain how low of an amount it is. I mentioned how I thought it was deceitful and unethical and I didn’t think their statement on the box which reads “No icky additives or pesky preservatives” was truthful labeling. He replied that yeast extract is not an additive and it’s “like adding salt”. He also went on to talk about glutamate that occurs naturally in foods like tomatoes and corn, and tried to convince me that it was the same as the MSG in yeast extract. He did get a bit of an attitude and asked me if I stopped eating foods like tomatoes, corn, and fish due to the glutamate they contain. How can someone try to compare a naturally occurring item to a manufactured one? Sorry, that doesn’t work for me.

At any rate, I wasn’t going to argue with him. I just asked him to record my wishes that Annie’s remove yeast extract from all their products. And I informed him that I would no longer purchase Annie’s products and would do my part to let everyone else know about this.

It’s a very deceptive practice, in my opinion. According to NaturalNews.com, using yeast extract (instead of MSG) is a common practice among “health foods” manufacturers. Many people who shop regular grocery stores may not know or care about MSG in their food, so products still contain it and label it as such. But health-savvy customers know to avoid MSG-containing products. So what do manufacturers do? They use ingredients with different names, like yeast extract. Check out this list of hidden sources of MSG. Why do they use it? Simple – money. It’s cheap and makes the food taste good.

Let’s let Annie’s know what we think of this practice. Call them or write on their website to ask them to remove yeast extract from their products.

Since we believe in “voting with our dollars”, we no longer buy any Annie’s products, even ones that don’t contain yeast extract. I took back the four boxes of cheddar bunnies we had to the store and now I’m searching for an easy, portable, alternative snack for my son. Yes, ideally we shouldn’t eat any processed food, even “healthy” ones; real foods are best. But sometimes it’s nice to have an easy snack to give to my son, especially if we are out and about.

In just a few minutes’ time, I was able to do an online search and find many recipes for cheddar crackers. Some of them don’t seem too bad so I am excited to try them! Yes, it seems that if you want any decent food, you have to  make it yourself. I am going to pick a recipe (probably one of the first two below) and make it in the near future and will report back here with the results. Here are a few of the recipes I found, but there are many more online:

• Cheesy Kid’s Crackers
• Cheese Crackers – 1
  
• Cheese Crackers – 2
• Cheese Crackers – 3
  
• Cheese Crackers – 4
• Cheese Crackers – 5
• Cheese Crackers – 6
• Gluten Free Cheese Crackers
• Vegan Goldfish Crackers

Look at the ingredients in these recipes; surely Annie’s can figure out a new recipe for their cheddar bunnies that does not contain yeast extract. Come on Annie’s, step up to the plate!

In case anyone wants more info on MSG, here are some links:

• Hidden Sources of MSG
• Truth in Labeling
• MSG Truth
• MSG Myth
• 12 Food Additives to Avoid
• Shocking Dangers of MSG You Don’t Know

The local tradition of taking pictures in bluebonnets really came into my life after the birth of our son in 2007. I didn’t take his picture in the bluebonnets his first spring (when he was 2-3 weeks old); I was too overwhelmed with parenthood! But last year I found a great location filled with many lush bluebonnets in a safe area. I met a friend and her daughter there and we took our first pictures in the bluebonnets. I must say, I was pretty excited to participate in this important Texas tradition. Photography is a hobby of mine and I jump at the chance to take more pictures of my son; throw in some vibrantly beautiful colors and I swoon at the chance to not only take a picture, but to create art. (Ok, that might be stretching it a bit but I do get excited!) Here are some pictures from last year:

We lucked out with an overcast sky which makes for easier picture taking and beautiful photos!

Even though bluebonnets can be seen in small patches along highways, it’s best not to take them there – it’s too dangerous. The key to finding a great (safe) location is to ask around! I am a member of a local moms message board and bluebonnet pictures are a BIG DEAL to many members. People are always sharing locations around the area and the pictures they took. We all want to find a nice, lush field.

Bluebonnet pictures are so popular that many area photographers have “bluebonnet sessions” which include approximately 20-30 minutes of shooting time and (most often) a CD with the digital images; some photographers do only offer prints for sale. I love looking at photographers’ bluebonnet work as I get to see many creative, artistic, and unique ways to take bluebonnet pictures.

To create a beautiful picture, I learned about color schemes of the child’s clothing. A popular choice is a white shirt with either denim or khaki pants. For girls, white eyelet dresses are beautiful! Last year I saw some beautiful pictures with the kids wearing red shirts with denim pants so that’s what I decided to dress my son in this year. Again, we met up with my same friend and her daughter (our kids are best friends). Here are a few pictures from our 2009 bluebonnet session:

It was a bit trickier to take these photos this year for a few reasons; the sun was shining brightly and our toddlers didn’t want to pose. Thankfully I was able to do my best with a little bit of photography knowledge and bribery (with cranberries).

I love looking back at these two years of photos; what a great way to see your child grow through the years! I love the beautiful colors! I love trying to capture a great image!

What are your local traditions? What traditions do you have with your kids that are unique to your area? Leave a comment and share; I’d love to learn about other local traditions. And they don’t have to include flowers or pictures, but they sure can!

The book is designed to be a step-by-step guide to help parents learn the new communication skills. The information is presented in seven chapters:

1. Helping Children Deal With Their Feelings
2. Engaging Cooperation
3. Alternatives to Punishment
4. Encouraging Autonomy
5. Praise
6. Freeing Children from Playing Roles
7. Putting It All Together

Each chapter is divided into two parts:

• Part 1 discusses the new topic, provides short exercises to help learn and understand the topic, shows cartoons that illustrate “ineffective” and “effective”methods, and ends with a quick reminder page that is perfect for reference.
• Part 2 is filled with common questions, comments, and parents’ stories to help understand the topic further and hear about real situations.

The book starts by addressing how important it is to respect and accept your child’s feelings. Empathy towards another person, especially a child, might be difficult for many people. The authors suggest reading the book slowly so you can practice one aspect at a time.

The book has a great section on problem solving and it focuses on involving your child in the process.

I was surprised to learn how they don’t agree with the common use of time-outs as punishment. Once they explained their reasoning, I agree with them completely.

What I Thought

The book was easy to read and I loved the cartoons they used to help illustrate ideas; the visual aspect really helped me learn the ideas. I did do all the exercises, as they suggest, and it really helped me understand why these ideas work so well. I was also surprised to learn the correct way to give praise; it will definitely take some practice!

This is easily the best parenting book I’ve read! It falls in line exactly with how I wish to parent my child. It will take some time for these new ideas and methods to become more natural, but I’m so glad I have this book to help me.

When Should You Read This Book?

As the authors say, it’s never too early or too late to read this book. I read this book now and my child just turned two. Even if he’s too young for some of the situations discussed, he’s never too young to have a mom that talks to him with respect. I’m glad I read it now; it gives me time to start changing the way I talk – and think.

The book is also great for improving relationships with anyone; it can help improve how you communicate with adult family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc.

Other Books by the Authors

The authors have also written several other books that may be of interest to you:

• Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too
• How To Talk So Kids Can Learn
• How to Talk So Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk
• Liberated Parents, Liberated Children: Your Guide to a Happier Family

I decided to make a small photo album with everyone’s pictures in it; something that our son could look at to help keep their names and faces fresh in his mind. When we were back home for Christmas I took pictures of everyone. I printed them out, mounted them on decorative scrapbook paper, and put them in a pretty brown Creative Memories album I had.

brown Creative memories album

Idea of what the album looks like inside (two of my sisters)

my sister's two cats made the album as well

I keep the album in the living room and a few times a week I bring it to him and we go over the names and faces. I started right after Christmas so everyone’s names and faces were still familiar to him. It’s so cute to see him seeing the pictures and saying the names! Here is a video clip of our son going through his little family photo album:

We knew he recognized our family members’ pictures but weren’t sure if it would mean anything when he saw them in person. Just a few weeks ago my husband’s parents came for a visit. When they walked in the door our son greeted them with an excited “Grandma” and “Grandpa” and was immediately wanting to play with them, show them his cars, and just happy to see them! I think his instant recognition and immediate warmup to them was due to that little photo album!

Wendy – Parenting Tips 365

As I set out yesterday to find organic cotton sheet sets (shopping online), I was hit by the sticker shock. I don’t know why I was surprised about that. I was seeing $200+ prices for king size sheet sets – wow! I kept looking and looking and you will never guess where I found a good deal! OK, since the title of this post mentions it, maybe you *could* guess. That’s right – Macy’s! I don’t know how long the sale lasts, but Macy’s has organic cotton sheet sets on sale now. And it seems they had another deal going, too. Something about buy more save more? I didn’t pay much attention except when it knocked an additional 10% off the price. So this king size organic cotton sheet set, that retailed for $100, was on sale for $60 and I got it for $54. Not too bad, I say! Of course tax and shipping upped the final price, but it’s still much better than $200+! (And I didn’t even have to leave the house – bonus!)

They have four colors to choose from (I bought ‘Seed’) and the reviews are all positive; some even saying this 300 thread count sheet sets feels more like 700 thread count! I am excited for the sheets to arrive (does that make me a dork?) and I will let you know what I think of them when they do!

So if you are looking for some organic cotton sheet sets, check out Macy’s right now. If the sale ends before you get some, I also saw some organic cotton sheet sets online at Bed Bath and Beyond for $100. I usually have a 20% off coupon so that would have dropped it down to $80. Not bad again. (I know those stores might not be the same as a smaller mom-and-pop eco store, but I need to watch the budget, too!)

If you want to learn more about the dangerous chemicals in regular cotton and thus the importance of organic cotton, feel free to read my article or do some research online. And let me know if you find any great deals on organic cotton products!

Me nursing my doll (1977)

I guess you could say that my breastfeeding journey began in 1975 when I was born and was lucky enough to be nursed by my mom. This was pretty amazing considering back then the trend was to formula feed. When my sister was born in 1977 I observed my mom nursing her so I wanted to nurse my dolls, as seen in this photo. My mom nursed my other two sisters as well, so at an early age I was exposed to the normalcy of nursing a baby.

Fast forward many years to when I was pregnant and about to have my first child. I read several breastfeeding books to prepare myself and teach myself. I found information online. I did everything I could to educate myself so I would be successful; simply trying breastfeeding wasn’t an option – it was what I was going to do no matter what! I was confident I would have a great start to breastfeeding right when he was born since I had everything going in my favor; I was delivering at a free-standing birth center with a midwife attending, therefore I would have no epidural and lots of breastfeeding support. I had learned that babies born to moms who had epidurals are sleepier and nursing can have a tougher start. I also learned that one way to have a great nursing start is to bring the baby to the breast within an hour after birth.

My (Sort of Rough) Start

So much for plans! Despite all my preparations, after my son was born I brought him to the breast right away and he had absolutely no interest in nursing. He wouldn’t latch on and seemed like he didn’t care at all, which was not what I had learned. Our midwife listened to his belly and she said it sounded full, so he probably swallowed some mucus on his way out and just wasn’t hungry. Over the next few hours before we went home, we tried to nurse several more times and tried several more ways to get him interested in nursing but we were unsuccessful. I was disappointed that it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be and I was nervous about what would happen next when we got home.

The next day wasn’t much better; I couldn’t get him to latch on. I knew he was latching incorrectly but even though I knew the correct way from all I read, I couldn’t get him to do it. In the process of all our trying, he was wreaking havoc on my nipples; they were bruised and red and sore. I was really starting to worry. Later on in the day I started calling lactation consultants. I knew I needed help from a professional to get this nursing relationship started. One of the top lactation consultants in the area came over to help us on day two.

She was also a bit surprised that he was having trouble latching on, especially for a birth center baby. She showed us the correct technique and latch and he just had trouble staying on; he would pop on and off. It literally took him 20 minutes to latch on and start nursing. By the time she left I felt a world better about our nursing situation. It still wasn’t ideal, but I felt we were getting somewhere. Over the next few days, it did take my son about 20 minutes to get that latch, but once he did he nursed well. After a few days it no longer took him that long. Our LC stopped by a few days later to check his weight and he had gained the right amount in those few days – what a relief!

Physical Challenges

Things were moving along fairly smoothly for the next few weeks, or as smoothly as it can go with those middle of the night feedings and a dreadful lack of sleep. But nursing was great and my baby boy was chunking up quite nicely – which was a great reassurance. I think it was around the five week mark when I got my first plugged duct. I foolishly took a nap with full breasts right around baby’s feeding time (while letting my husband feed him expressed milk from a bottle). I woke up from the nap with a swollen, painful breast. I knew what it was, but I still panicked. I called my friend and asked her what to do. She told me to take a warm shower and massage the area, trying to dislodge the plug. She made it clear I needed to get rid of the plug before it turned into mastitis, an even more serious problem. I did everything she said and everything I read in my book to do, but it wasn’t going away. I had my son nurse on that side first, I pumped while trying to massage it out, nursed on all fours (lovely picture, huh?) – nothing. Finally about 5am (about 12 hours after I first noticed it) while I was nursing my son, I felt better. I felt my breast and couldn’t feel the lump. You don’t know how relieved I was! My breast was pretty sore and red for a day or so, probably from all the pressure massaging I did, but I was just so glad it was gone.

However, I got another plugged duct the next week and one every week for about five weeks. I also developed a bleb, or milk blister. I also developed what I called partial plugs, where I noticed a lump, but could actually spray milk out of the duct to reduce it. Those went away in a day or so, but were still a nuisance to deal with. My stress level always increased until I got rid of them and it was the only thing on my mind. I didn’t figure it out until much later that my recurring plugged ducts might have been due (at least partially) to the high fat content of my diet. In my intense desire to eat enough calories to produce milk I was probably eating too much, and probably too much fat (although it was good fats). I realized this much later on when I had reduced my caloric intake to just slightly above normal, instead of greatly above normal. I never had any more problems with plugged ducts.

Pumping

I went back to work when my son was 12 weeks old. I requested, and was granted, a reduced work schedule and working from home. So I worked 20 hours a week, 16 hours from home and 4 hours in the office one day a week. Of course that meant I would have to leave some expressed breast milk for my son and I would have to pump at work. I am grateful that my company had several small rooms reserved just for nursing/pumping. Overall the pumping at work thing wasn’t too bad at all. Of course there were days when I was worried because I didn’t pump as much as normal, or as much as I knew my son ate. I was so hung up on pumping exactly the amount he used. I needed to just relax about it more; everything worked out fine!

Nursing in Public

I received a nursing cover up wrap for a shower gift and I was happy to have something to cover us up as we nursed. I soon found it awkward to use and just stuck to draping a blanket over my shoulder. Early on I was able to nurse my son like this while sitting at my chair in a restaurant. When he was little and nursing was new, I wanted that cloth shield for my own modesty. As he grew and I became more comfortable with nursing in general, I skipped the blanket and just discretely nursed him. This was so much easier. I now have no problem nursing in public and I no longer feel the need to “find someplace out of the way”, depending on the situation of course. Nursing on a plane – no problem! I still do it and he’s 22 months old! It’s a bit of a tight squeeze but we manage. In fact, I think of myself as a mini lactivist whenever I do nurse in public as the more people see women nursing anywhere the more it becomes normal in our society. I do admit to becoming a bit more nervous about nursing in public as my son got older, as I know people start to judge even more when someone is nursing a toddler (*gasp*). I remember one time sitting in the bathroom at Whole Foods and nursing my son, who was about 17 months old, when a mom came in with her kids. She asked how old he was. I told her his age and then held my breath. She replied that it was so nice to see moms nursing older babies and that she had nursed hers until age four. I then smiled and exhaled. How great was that!

Nighttime Nursing

Another difficult area for me was nighttime nursing. It’s understood that newborn babies wake up in the middle of the night and need to eat. But my son continued to wake (many times) in the middle of the night long past when I thought he “should” be sleeping through the night. I was extremely sleep deprived and I started resenting nursing him. I saw other moms who formula fed their babies getting a full night’s sleep and I thought the two were related. And when babies are formula fed the dads can help with middle of the night feeds, which is not really true for nursing. I also saw other moms who nursed their babies have their husbands do one feeding in the middle of the night (with formula) so the mom could get some sleep. Some might argue that that’s healthy as mommy needs sleep to function and be healthy, too. But I am adamantly opposed to giving my baby formula so it wasn’t an option to me, and I continued to suffer – all for the good of my baby.

I admit that this is probably the hardest part of being a mom, as my son still does not consistently sleep through the night (at 22 months). He still wakes up and wants to nurse and will scream if I send my husband in to comfort him instead. I feel so drained. I give and give and give to him and I am not making sure I am filled. This is one of the biggest reasons I am looking forward to weaning.

I recently wrote a post about how powerful I felt when choosing to nurse my sick baby at night; what a change from how I used to feel about that!

Weaning

As we neared the end of my son’s first year I found myself really ready to be done nursing. I was ready for a break and the constant closeness and being the only one who can provide his nourishment was taking its toll. I had planned to nurse him completely until he was a year old and then have a long taper or weaning period and be done nursing him around 18 months old. Remember what I said earlier about plans? I can pretty much forget them!

I mentioned my plan to his doctor at his one year check up and he recommended I nurse him until he was at least two years old, especially since he’s not vaccinated. He reminded me of all the wonderful health benefits he continues to get from my milk. I chose to see this doctor because I knew he was supportive of a more “green” or natural way of life and medicine so I really valued his advice. And I took it. I then decided I would nurse him for one more year.

That sent me into a brief period of being down because I was already mentally checking out and looking forward to the break. So I had to get support from other extended, or long-term, breastfeeders on my local mommy message board. They assured me that the second year would go so fast and that as he started eating more solids he wouldn’t nurse as much as he did the first year. It took me a few days to get on board but I did and was proud of my decision. I always want to do what’s best for my son’s health and I knew this was important.

The Second Year

And while I initially might have felt some pangs of resentment and bitterness as I embarked upon an unexpected length of our nursing relationship, you don’t know how glad I am that I decided to nurse him longer than I planned. My son is 22 months old now and I can see his second birthday in the near future. And I can tell you those other moms were right; the second year was so much easier than the first year and it went by so much faster! There have been so many sweet nursing moments and most of them have happened since he’s been about 18 months old, which was when his vocabulary really took off. If I had quit nursing him sooner, like I planned, I would have missed out on all these super special moments. He now ASKS for nursing! He first started signing it and now he signs and says “nur”. (All of a sudden, “nur” turned into “newey”. So I hear “newey newey” often; it cracks us up!) And when he’s nursing and pulls off, he says “yum” and “newey yum”. That feels awesome – he loves his mama’s milk! He says “switch sides” when he wants to switch sides. And he says “boobie”, which I really don’t know where he got but it still crack me up!

Current Status

We are two months from his second birthday and I really wanted to be DONE by then, but he still nurses two or three times a day and sometimes four if he wakes up in the middle of the night. I don’t think we can get from here to nothing in two months. I know I shouldn’t watch the calendar for weaning but again, I am ready to be done. And I am finding it hard to reach out for support. Most people I know were done nursing way before age two and so are thinking I am weird or crazy for going this long and have no advice to offer me. When I turn to crunchier folks, they don’t understand why I’m not doing child-led weaning and would just say I should nurse longer. It’s hard being a middle-of-the-road mama!

I guess I will try to reduce one session at a time and see how that goes. I nurse him before his afternoon nap and before bedtime. I just think those nursing sessions are going to be hard to give up.

Wendy – Parenting Tips 365

]]> http://parentingtips365.com/2009/01/16/my-breastfeeding-journey/feed/ 0 http://parentingtips365.com/2008/12/20/the-most-powerful-woman-in-my-world-is-me/ http://parentingtips365.com/2008/12/20/the-most-powerful-woman-in-my-world-is-me/#comments Sat, 20 Dec 2008 14:00:40 +0000 MamaWendy http://parentingtips365.com/?p=968 I had that realization the other night about 11:45pm. Just after I had finally dozed off, I was summoned to my 21 month old son’s room by his intense cries; he’s sick with a bad cold and cough and probably wanted some comfort. Sure enough, when he saw me he held out his hand and simultaneously showed me the sign for “nurse” while saying “nur”. So I scooped him up and sat in the chair and nursed him. After only a minute he let go as his nose was so stuffy he couldn’t breathe while nursing. Normally he knows that when he’s done nursing he goes back into his crib, and he’s fine with that. But this time when he let go, he squeezed me around my waist and looked up at me with a brief look that said, “please don’t go yet”.

Right then, the feeling just overcame me. I felt like the most powerful woman in the world, in my world, in my son’s world. Even though I knew he’d be fine and eventually fall asleep on his own, I chose to stay and rock him and cuddle him and snuggle him, just to provide him comfort. I actually enjoyed it; and that empowered me. To really understand what this meant to me you have to know a little more. I have spent the past 21 months in a very sleep deprived state due to a child that does not sleep through the night. I have never enjoyed nursing him to sleep or rocking him to sleep because I was always SO DARN TIRED. And so wanting a full night’s sleep. And so frustrated by it all. And now by choosing to stay awake a few more minutes in order to bring him comfort, I felt so powerful. I was able to provide comfort to a child, to my child, to my sick child. No one else could do that at that moment but me. I had never really thought about it like that before.

So while you may be thinking that politicians, celebrities, and other rich and famous women are the most powerful women in the world, I would have to remind you – all of you – that indeed YOU are the most powerful woman in YOUR world. Every day you make decisions that affect you and those around you. You can choose to bring comfort to others or you can choose another path. You can choose to eat food that gives life or you can choose to eat food that brings sickness. You choose how you react to life and its challenges. You choose your life’s path by your thoughts, actions, and deeds. Think about yourself – and your life – in this way. When we realize how powerful we are, what a difference that can make!

Me reading to my son