Controversial Topics

Breastfeeding Testimonial: I was a Breastfeeding Extremist

August 6, 2014 By Thaleia Leave a Comment

My mom breastfed all three of her children, each for increasingly shorter periods of time; I think she nursed me for 6-8 months, my brother for less than 6 months and I think she may have made it to 3 months with my sister. However she talks a lot about her time breastfeeding and while she endured some trials I get the feeling that she is very proud of that time and having done it the way she did. I’m not sure about my husband’s mom and what she chose to do. I will say whether it was my family or my husband’s family they have all been fairly supportive in letting us make our own choice when it came to breastfeeding and I have not come against any negativity concerning our choice to breastfeed.

For me breastfeeding was just the natural choice. Besides it being free, I figured if my boobs are going to fill up with milk I may as well at least try to use it to feed my baby. What I didn’t realize was just how strongly I would come to feel about breastfeeding when I first set out to breastfeed our first born. As it turns out I’m somewhat of a breastfeeding extremist when it comes to my kids, not to say I look down on others for the choices they have made for their children but when I decided I was going to breastfeed I totally committed to it (in sort of an extreme way).
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Breastfeeding Is Natural

August 4, 2014 By Thaleia 1 Comment

Breastfeeding is something that I hold very dear to me. I have breastfed all six of our biological children and I was planning on breastfeeding our adoptive daughter. However, my breastfeeding journey didn’t start when I became a mother.

I am the oldest of my parents five biological children, my mom breastfed all of us. I have a large and close extended family. We spent most Sunday afternoons at my Mema and Papa’s with my mom’s siblings and their children. It was normal to walk in to the living room to see my Aunt Mary tandem nursing her twins with her two year old son sitting in her lap. We had a hobby pig farm and I raised a sow named Beverly, she nursed all her babies. Nursing a baby was always just a normal part of life at our house.

When my husband Brent and I got pregnant with our first child I didn’t even stop and think about by what means my child would eat and when our first was laid on my chest I latched him on without even thinking. It was second nature.

But that’s not always how things went down. I had gestational diabetes with several of my pregnancies and a couple of my babies had a hard time regulating their blood sugar on their own, baby boy #2 had to be admitted to the special care nursery because it was such a struggle for him. Another one of my babies wasn’t gaining weight around 4 months. Twice I nursed after having C-sections. And two different times I had to have surgery while nursing. I have had mastitis and nursed in odd positions just to unclog the milk duct. With our youngest things were all kinds of crazy but through it all we perservered and fought through the challenges. My baby girl is even nursing away as I type.

Through my journey I had support. I had lots of it, I needed lots of it. Breastfeeding is a wonderful and natural thing but it’s not always easy. There are always people who can make it uncomfortable and people who have unwanted advice to give and those who will tell you which formula they think you should be using.

My biggest advice is to secure a good base of supportive people before you start nursing and don’t ever be afraid to reach out for help. Most breastfeeding counselors I know love their job. Find an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) in your area and join a LLL group (La Leche League) and as silly as it sounds wear a good nursing bra. I love Bravado Nursing Bras they can be a little pricey but are well worth the investment. They can even be converted into a regular bra when you are done… plus they don’t look frumpy and have a dual cup sizing which is WONDERFUL!

There are some really great online resources, too. Kellymom.com is my go to site.

When you are out and about and see a mama nursing her baby remember to tell her “good job!” If you have kids they will learn that breastfeeding is a really great thing. I am confident that my family’s positive attitude toward breastfeeding so openly is what has built a foundation for my passion of breastfeeding and the desire to help mamas overcome obstacles in nursing.

Happy National Breastfeeding Week!

Amy Welborn is a homeschooling mama of seven kids living in rural Ohio. She is a family herbalist who is currently working towards certification as a Birth Doula through Childbirth International and has plans to further her education in breastfeeding counseling and childbirth education. Amy is sure to have a baby attached to her boob or placenta if you ever bump into her. She can be found at awelbornbaby.com and new Facebook page: AWelbornBaby Photo credit Belle Hess Photography

This post is part of our series celebrating National Breastfeeding Month! Thaleia added affiliate links to Amazon and for the Free Udder Cover’s Nursing covers to support her site.

Let’s Celebrate Breasts- It’s National Breastfeeding Week

August 1, 2014 By Thaleia 2 Comments

Got your attention didn’t I? As a breastfeeding mom who is now nursing her fourth child I feel I have some thing’s to say about the topic of breastfeeding. Just because you don’t know all about my breastfeeding journey and since this may be my last chance to have a nursling- I wanna go big and celebrate!

August 1-7 is World Breastfeeding Week and August, the entire month, is National Breastfeeding Month.

Here are some facts about my time as a breastfeeding mother:

1. I’ve never weaned a child before 12 months.
2. I’ve tandem nursed babies that WERE NOT twins!
3. I pumped for 3 1/2 days exclusively while my firstborn was in the NICU.
4. My babies have never stayed the night away from me while breastfeeding.
5. Our nursling’s accompany mom and dad on dinner dates.
6. I do not drink as much water as I should or take a multivitamin. Working on it!
7. I love full fat coffee creamer, sour cream, and avocados.
8. I have tried and owned more nursing bras then I can count on my fingers and toes!
9. Nursing tops are great IF you get started using them early on in your breastfeeding journey.

I plan to spend the month of August sharing my personal stories, tips & tricks on breastfeeding as well as a guest post or two.
Join Honey from Honey’s Life and I all month long to celebrate breastfeeding. Share your posts (family friendly) about breastfeeding, tips & tricks, tutorials, or reviews for breastfeeding support items. Please refrain from linking up giveaways. All links will be checked to ensure relevant content. Please visit a few links comment, pin, etc.

Please feel free to share our Latch On and Link Up button on your posts,

sidebar, or facebook page!

An InLinkz Link-up

Epilepsy and Journey of the Amazing Roz

January 26, 2014 By Thaleia 7 Comments

Journey of the Amazing Roz

Dear Loyal readers,

I need your help. I need an all out social media blast to help put some pressure on Anthem Insurance to allow little Roz (Journey of the Amazing Roz) to have the surgery she needs. Please take the time to read the letter by Anne, her mother, below and hop over to facebook to read more. She is just a wee bit younger than Lil’ Red so this hits very close to my heart. We are in the same homeschool support group. I met her mom 1 1/2 yrs. ago and am amazed at all this family has had to deal with.

My goal is for 10,000 likes by Monday January 27, 2014. (I know this family personally and can vouch for validity. Thanks, Thaleia)

Here’s what Roz’s mom has to say:

Our 3.5 year old daughter, Rozlyn, has Complex Partial and Intractable Partial and Localized Related Epilepsy and has been through multiple tests, scans, VEEG, EEGs and we have found a focal point to her seizures at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (4th in the nation for neurology and epilepsy treatment). She has been on 5 different seizure meds and none have helped. After a panel of specialty neurologists, surgeons and epileptologist conferenced over her week of diagnostic testing, they concluded unanimously that she is a great candidate for brain resectioning surgery to remove the section that is causing the seizures. We were so excited and blessed that she would have a normal healthy life after her surgery. We have waited over 3 months for her to be reviewed and accepted as a candidate.

Well here we are 1.5 weeks away from her surgery date of February 5th and we have just found out her surgery has been denied by insurance (Anthem BCBS). They claim it is an experimental surgery. How can it be experimental if it has been around for years all over the world? My doctors have sent them all their findings, notes, scans and still being denied. They are going to send personal letters to Anthem to try and change their minds. My husband has worked 10 years and paid into the same insurance and have dealt with the increasing cost monthly and major jump in deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. We were ok with that because we knew we would one day need it.

So now our normal little girl will have to continue to suffer through her multiple seizures a day. We will get to watch her slip away as her seizures start to create delays in a normal, intelligent little girl. We will have to watch a once hyper, spunky, happy little girl sleep all day after her seizures and be sad and tell us her eyes and head hurt. We will have to watch her vision increasingly begin to deteriorate due to the seizure focus being in her right back occipital lobe. She has already lost her left eye peripheral vision. We will have to worry about SUDEP and pray that doesn’t happen to her. All because insurance now says no. They have accepted everything up until now, all the testing, all the scans, inpatient VEEG, medications, appointments. SO why now, when we are so close to having a normal life for our daughter, are we being punished? Why is it ok for Anthem’s doctors to tell us we can’t give our daughter the medical procedure she needs to not have seizures?

Something needs to be done. My daughter does not deserve this. Should my husband quit his job and get the medical card so we can have her covered for the surgery. It seems the medical card gets you everything. If something happens to my daughter, I will sue Anthem because ultimately, they will be the cause of anything else happening to her. If it was me, I would be mad but deal with it as an adult. But she is a little girl. She can’t help it. She is innocent.

Please get the word out so HER story is heard. We don’t want anything accept an acceptance for the surgery. She is our little Wonder Woman and only want what she deserves. Please go to her facebook page and read more about our little Amazing Roz. Word of Mouth is a powerful tool and hopefully someone who can help hears our story.

Thank you for your time,

Anne H. Abbott

Please read, comment, tweet, like on facebook, and share on facebook. We are on an all out media blast to get Roz’s story out all over in a very big way.

Here’s a couple suggested tweets:

Insurance company refuses surgery for #epileptic little girl #specialneeds https://something2offer.com//on.fb.me/1iyuWm8 #amazingRoz PLS RT

#advocate Epilepsy surgery could save ROZ but insurance deny’ s the surgery. https://something2offer.com//on.fb.me/1jwphgC #amazingRoz PLS RT

Heaven is for Real for Kids Review & Giveaway

October 27, 2013 By Thaleia 7 Comments

Heaven is for Real for Kids Review & Giveaway

I have had this book for months as part of the Tommy Nelson Mommy program. I have really had a hard time bringing myself to open the book. Yes, I know it sounds very silly for a grown woman, wife, and mother of four to be scared of a book! I believe in Jesus and heaven, but I guess sometimes I try to put the whole idea of death out of my head. Again I know it’s silly not to embrace the wonder and splendor or heaven, but as a realist I do not like to think of the unknown. I have so many questions related to death and heaven. I’m a planner and goal-setter and the unknown can just make me a bit crazy and uneasy. I am very thankful God answer’s prayer and I can rely on his grace and strength.

TODAY I finally brought myself to open the book and read it. I feel so much more at peace. I think I would be able to use this book as a tool to share Jesus and heaven with my two youngest sons. I can feel the tenderness and attention to detail that the Burpo family took in depicting Colton’s trip to heaven. Surprising that the images are similar to what I have envisioned in the past. I am very thankful to have Heaven is for Real for Kids as a resource to share when talking about heaven with adults or children.

Heaven is for real, and you are going to like it!

Colton Burpo came back from his trip to heaven with a very important message: Jesus really, really loves children. In an effort to reach even more families with this eternally significant story, this runaway bestseller is now told from Colton—kid to kids! Children will receive the same comfort and assurance that so many adults have received from the trade book.

Beautifully illustrated under Colton’s direction, he shares his experiences in first person and comments on things that will be important to kids. A letter to parents is included to guide them as they talk to their children about heaven. Scripture along with a Q&A section with answers from the Bible are also included in the book.

I plan to use the free coloring sheets that go along with this book and possibly look into the Sunday School Curriculum for a future year of homeschool Bible.

Your chance to win Heaven is for Real for Kids:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This book was provided for free as part of the Tommy Nelson Mommy Program. I was not compensated for my review and all opinions are my own.

Controversial Topics

Here are some facts about my time as a breastfeeding mother:

Please feel free to share our Latch On and Link Up button on your posts,

sidebar, or facebook page!

Journey of the Amazing Roz

Here’s what Roz’s mom has to say:

Here’s a couple suggested tweets:

Heaven is for Real for Kids Review & Giveaway

Your chance to win Heaven is for Real for Kids:

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