Saturday, February 25, 2012

A mother's quandary: how do I raise a good man? one who won't behave like those #&$! in Virginia?

Up until recently, I've kept my political self and mommy self somewhat separate.  It's hard to take in all of the political hating that's been going on these days and be a loving, attentive mommy.  So, I've compartmentalized those two selves.  Until now.

In Virginia legislature, there have been some pretty despicable bills being filed (and passed!) Need catching up?  One of them will redefine rape, lessening the offense for old men who sleep with young girls.  Awesome.  Or the one that requires a transvaginal ultrasound for women seeking an abortion.  Great.  There are more.  They are disgusting.  As I've worked through the shock and horror of all of this woman hating, I'm left with a few questions:

1.  What should I do as a woman?  That's kind of easy.  Make my voice heard.  Support the women in Virginia (and other places too, like Missouri).  Any one know good organizations?  I want to support them.

2. Why do these ass clowns want in my vagina so badly?  I'd like to warn them that my husband will jiu jitsu their asses.  Seriously though, please get out of my vagina.  And to their mothers, wives, sisters and daughters, to their fathers, husbands, brothers and sons, could you encourage them to please get out of my vagina?  Thanks.

3. Most importantly, and most difficult, what should I do as a mom?  How can I raise a good man who will opt to love over hate, who will respect people like him and people who aren't like him, who will understand that he has had incredible privilege, and instill the responsibility/value to help and empower those who have less?

Any ideas?  Things that your parents, friends, cousins did or do?  Things that you are doing?  This political mommy would love to hear them.

One final word, a shout out to my home state on the other side of the Potomac: we're celebrating gay marriage bills passing the House & Senate.  w00t! w00t!

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

eating with ollie: questions about food

life with ollie has become quite a delight - smiles and giggles, chattering and singing.  he's a high energy little dude and i love that (most of the time).  and he's quite a comedian, quick to take in and make jokes.  our time together is so sweet and fun.

lately, ollie has been feeding himself little bits of food.  it's hilarious, as you can see, and he's quite into it.  until recently, ollie's been eating fruit, vegetables and some grains.  at our 9 month appointment the doctor noted that it was time to introduce protein into ollie's diet and this raised some questions for us.



right now, logan eats a vegan diet and i eat about 95% vegan.  i eat milk chocolate and occasionally cheese or yogurt or some meat.  but mostly, i eat grains and fruit and vegetables.  so the question is what should we feed ollie.

logan raised the question months ago, early in his vegan days.  at that time, i suggested that he should eat like me (70% vegan, 20% vegetarian, 10% carnivore).  since then though, my eating has shifted closer and closer to veganism.  so eating like me isn't the same thing.  it's almost vegan.

i asked our doctor about it.  she didn't seem judgemental: she admitted she didn't know enough to advise us and she suggested we talk to a nutritionist.  she did ask some questions, but they were pragmatic: what kind of milk would we switch to when he stopped breastfeeding?  what kinds of snacks would we offer?  she noted that her kids ate lots and lots of dairy.  she suggested that he could continue drinking breastmilk instead of transitioning to cow's milk.

there isn't a lot of info out there about a vegan diet for little kids, which makes me uncomfortable.  it isn't helped by the results of googling baby and vegan diet.  apparently there were some kooks killed their newborn by feeding the teeny one soymilk and applesauce.  who does that?  anyway, PETA needs to do some work on that google search because it's pretty awful.

but over the past few years, veganism has gotten a lot of great press: lots of public figures are eating vegan (Alec Baldwin & Bill Clinton, Mac Danzig & Carl Lewis), and the documentary & book Forks over Knives (streaming on Netflix) have gotten great reviews.  even the USDA has agreed it's a healthy way to eat!   i saw the documentary and read some of the books & studies and they are compelling.  so compelling that i'm eating 95% vegan.  but making a decision for myself is different than making it for my child.

i've heard folks argue that people shouldn't choose for their child whether he/she eats meat or not; they should allow the child to make that decision.  of course, i find that ridiculous.  i'm going to make LOTS of decisions about my son's nutrition (no soda, no fast food, we're staying away from canned food, we prefer organic,  et al.) and i'm comfortable with that.  it's just that babies can be finicky and selective and i want to make sure that we can provide appropriate nutrition for him and his tastes.

for now, we're doing a little dairy (we found that ollie loves yogurt) and we're looking for a nutritionist to consult.  more on to vegan or not to vegan as we continue to learn.