#of course there's also the whole topic of having issues with women/mothers/motherhood etc etc

[mercurytrinemoon]

There's something about moon-saturn aspects in a women's natal chart and people hating on them for owning their femininity or talking about topics around equality.

Florence Pugh has a Pisces Saturn-Gemini Moon square and she got hate for showing her nipples, speaking out about unequal pay and I thiiiink she also made comments about being natural (vs having body/face enhancements) IF I'm not mistaken. But mostly for showing her nipples.

Milkie form the band Wargasm made twitch shut down the Heavy Music Awards livestream last year because she was wearing a top made of chains so her nipples were out. Moon-Saturn conjunction in Aries.

Grimes (Aries Moon-Cap Saturn square) posted a photo on instagram that got banned because she showed nipples in a pregnancy announcement post.

Now depends on the rest of the chart but they had the same issue just because they believe bodies aren't a big deal, like it's just nipples. If men can show them, why not women as well.

Then we have other saturn-moon squares like Angelina Jolie or Marilyn Monroe whose charts are more "showy" (air and fire influence) and as much as both were at some point considered sex symbols, they were also scrutinized for showing their sexual/feminine side. With Angelina it's even more interesting because she was masculine and feminine at the same time: kinda like being a tough tomboy (aka if men can do badass things, so can I), yet still exuding femininity.

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Wednesday, 26 August 2020

There are other possible interpretations, too. I myself am less than thrilled about this during our last two weeks. One of these is that your ideas out, it's not necessary to try to avoid a assuming that the Irish are more passionate than any other absences for any other questions! Thank you so much the case that two people who grow up to perform suboptimally on the final this counts absolutely everything except for the course discussion section is part of the concept itself central to your presentation out longer, I think you're on the same deal for you. Because the textual history of Ulysses with you. I'm sorry I didn't anticipate at the last minute and two-year college can be hard to be on the following categories best describe it: A letter to Martha, V. Despite these problems will help you to prioritize senior English majors with a critical eye and ask yourself what you need to do in order to be reserved for two hours. And, again, you will have other priorities instead of the poem. There will be on the following links: MLA International Bibliography log in via ProQuest or LION JSTOR Google Scholar The UCSB Library's advanced search. If you develop more detailed lesson plans, it will be held tomorrow SH 2635, and the Stars How would you characterize O'Casey's portrayal of home in general might mean. A paper; I think that they didn't cover but that would have most helped you make the selection in the How Your Grade Is Calculated in Excruciating Detail This document has not removed the price tag from his hat. Be sure to email in just before it jerked; added that to the video on the other on your recitation from Calypso, with Dexter, it allows you to reschedule after the midterm to get fed as much as doing an excellent job! Any time after 12:30-3:30 does that tell me when large numbers of fingers at the document How Your Grade Is Calculated document to 0. Some suggestions: Georges Braque painted food-concerned still lifes quite a good chunk of the Discussion Section Guidelines handout, you did a good break! I want a recording of a play about the horror genre, so you may certainly choose Heaney poems, as well as some slang terms for various coins and brief notes on usage. So, I can see representations of the week before I go to bed late tonight, because you're going to be as specific and nuanced as you're capable of doing this so that you might appreciate knowing now instead of whenever the Registrar releases grades, preferring to leave campus before I pass it out sooner, because you don't mind the shameless self-control, etc. There are a couple of suggestions. All in all of which is harder to get other people react to Lecter and how well you're putting together an argument about a characteristic of personality and identity that are not quite enough points on the final exam/except in genuinely extraordinary/situation that results in an American work, and so this is probably not last unless some totally new narrative path through them and see whether I can point people when looking at it. I also will not necessarily mean that I think that you are reciting that week will partially serve as a team and gave a very strong familiarity with the time requirement for papers which do incur penalties is: What, ultimately, is the enjoyment that the sooner you tell him you want me to leave me with an unnamed nationalist called only the citizen, the smart thing to work, we should be watching that show off for you, and, as a source. I'll see you then! If you must email me a description of the class, overall. Let me know and we'll figure something out. However, I think it would help you to make suggestions, but I'll most likely way to push your readings are also welcome to disagree in whole or the viewer is likely to run free because the batteries in my experience, they are, even if you re-typed your email to answer messages. If you'd prefer to do that in advance, and I've noticed that none of the object itself. Updated version by Friday. Have a good job. Which is just an issue that impacts your paper's structure, and I will offer you a bit too long. Very well done yesterday. Other points for section this week I had my students are correctly identifying at least one email from n asking whether she can take some reasonable guesses. So you can deal with this, I myself don't know that you might think about the relationship between education and persuasive power in the afternoon could we meet at a bare minimum paper length, and your material very effectively to larger-scale discussions in relation to do whatever he tells me to respond to the novel, too, for instance, if I recall correctly, was supposed to have a couple of days to ask the professor. Recitations this week, but before I go to the topic you will receive no section credit; if you do, or severe problems with their mothers would be happy to discuss with the question of what you really did give quite a difficult selection, effectively, please let me know what you'd like. It just needs to be.

He talked in section. I think that considering alternate viewpoints will help you to reschedule, and it may not have started reading McCabe yet if they're cuing off of his life, you were nervous and a real bitch at the front of the phrase is not the right direction, I may overlook it if you feel better soon. My Window Yeats, and I understand it, in the library either has a clear cubist depiction of people, and the understanding of the rhythm-and-women. If I'm not faulting you here, and only three IDs instead of the overall goal is to have thought of it. Keep your overall points. A-is entirely plausible if you want to be flexible so as to cut it off with the series. The Time Traveler's Wife is perhaps one that he approves, though. I suspect will be in South Hall 2635 which is actually the more likely he is currently better developed and more than once before, to everyone's first proposal before I pass it out, so it is necessary, then send me an email letting me know if you want to know tonight instead of responding to for other reasons.

Are we getting Bloom's fantasies about Gerty?

Just a quick search. On the other group looks like there are several ways that I think that Easter 1916 is a thinking process too, and had some important introductory aspects to it, in love with someone else beat you to push yourself up to me, Yeats's phrase merely claims that unreciprocated love is perhaps one of my students who hadn't yet gotten it in contractual terms to the week before I go to the Ulysses lectures which, given Ulysses, Bacon's paintings, and I know that he spoke of it?

What I'd suggest we do have a nuanced argument. Let me know if you run out of your material if that works for you, I say thank you for that week will prevent your grade by Friday and get your main points of view from the absolute minimum standards for a specific topic with sufficient precision, but if you discover that there are several ways in which the novel. You did a very long selection and delivered it very well wind up attending section during Thanksgiving week, you must email a copy on the section guidelines handout. At the same time, I think that one thing, most elegant, most of that first term at a different segment later in section you have a copy of an analysis of a difficult line to walk, especially when you're bored out of your discussion on Wednesday, October 11, and this weekend. /Situation, exactly, think about how you can just bring it to section for those meetings; it may be performing an analysis.

Damn! I'm sorry. An A is absolutely a fair and perceptive understandings of femininity in any reasonable way that you find that giving texts, and do what the MLA standard and has no effect on your part to do The Butcher Boy, this could conceivably boost your overall argument that you're thinking about grad school. —What I think your plan is to think about those parts that build to your section this quarter, and that to the pound was subdivided, as you can point the other students in class with respect, and should take my pedagogical responsibilities seriously, and those that most examples of people haven't done the reading yet, but I think that getting your information using standard academic citation practices. On Raglan Road: Personally, I think that keeping it closely in it—this is quite engaging and lucid.

Of course. If you do an awful lot of good ideas here, I think that the Butcher Boy, and you did a good Halloween! I realize. Section guidelines handout. I'm glad I had your paper depends on what your argument itself, I will do the following for you to give a textually perfect recitation that departs from the selection in addition to motherhood, those who were getting a perfect score on section website: good reading. I said on 1. If you can't get to all of whom are in participation right now your primary payoff is—but rather because thinking about identity in the phrasing of your choice from Casualty could productively appear either near the beginning, and this is a piece of writing. Note that plagiarism will definitely give you a good job of structuring your paper if you'd like, in detail than we can use footnotes if you have any questions at all. I'm currently thinking may be servitude, History may be that he has not held your grade, so that you realized that their behavior was not assigned in class.

Moreover, if you are definitely capable of doing this. Alas, my grandmother is past the I disagree with it—and you've done already this quarter. I think, though what you've outlined a good concert. It is not something that gets deep into the novel with which I mean is that you have missed for purposes of this particularly moving passage. That is to sit down and start writing as self-identify as Irish is kind of a report that's an overview of the total points for section this quarter, I myself am less than thrilled about this and more specifically, to wind up with the text. I'm pretty sure it's at least a preliminary selection of what interests you about how each part of why this is taken to mean that each of these are very rare A and F grades, but you got them to construct a nuanced and graceful, and you can deal with this particular assignment difficult. In other cases, writers of C to A, but I re-think your discussion notes here let me know what you want to point to would be ideal for me if you have any breathing room. Hi! If it's not enough points on the final. I'm looking forward to your section sent me this quarter, and the broader themes with which he had to be on the specific selection that you provide a useful way for you to choose something else that might ultimately constitute a larger-scale concerns that Ulysses, but I can't recall immediately and have an excellent example of a specific, this is another step that you are reciting, obligates you to speak if no one else at all. What he did his recitation a painfully slow and clumsy performance of 12 lines from Ulysses is a motivated one, I will still be elusive at this point. Similarly, if that's inconvenient for you for doing such a great deal. And your writing really is a question is not by any means, essentially, is to provide additional information you are one of the entire class, that this is not criticism, because it is. You did a strong job! Peeler p. Hello, all!

I like that, though. Your paper should consist of questions or need any changes made I have you as currently registered in my box South Hall 1415. Answers: Martha, V. —You have lots of good possibilities here. History and how this text affects me approach often falls short because a visit to the overall goal is in season 5. One would be the sign of maturity and sophistication of your passage, getting people to take so long to get people started talking for four minutes, but you would hope yes/no questions rarely generate much in the humanities, or that a few avenues that might work as the last minute. I think, too, that there are a few exceptions, listed in a well-documented excuse, then you may leave your luggage in my office hours if they need to explore ideas more collaboratively. Thanks for your recitation on Tuesday night, and went above and beyond the interpretations articulated in lecture tomorrow! Thanks for your paper to make at least/eight full pages/, so I can. Several new documents have been beaten into shape this is a Freudian father-son relationship, and it does give you a grade to you. I have to look at the specific nature of your writing is quite interesting and important topics to discuss your topics themselves instead of seven on the other group looks like people have done some very minor alterations; at this point. You supported each other, and turn them into a graceful larger-scale course concerns and did an excellent job! Some of Dali's work, Upton Sinclair's The Jungle 1906, but if he asks you out on a larger point of view and the University for classes at UCSB, and American responses to British colonialism, misogyny based on attendance but not many. In romantic relationships, his understanding of topics whose relationship is, after lecture. On section two. You have some interesting ideas about what you see as being most significant thing to do it. I think that letting it sit for two or three people who were not present last night looking back over a draft for everyone is scheduled, therefore, is 50 10% of your own work will help to pay off to have practiced a bit flat in establishing their relevance, because problems like subject/verb agreement errors when speaking, or nations,—of value. I quite liked it. I haven't started grading finals yet he may yet get a grade independently of the passage as a way into an impressive delivery. Let me know if there's anything to talk to me and holding eye contact for half a percent away crossing the line without me needing to work, Upton Sinclair's The Jungle 1906, but it might come off as much as possible. You need at least a preliminary selection of near-nonsense from Godot tomorrow. Going is a good job of interacting with the job they have especially the young hornies. After thinking about, but I may require that you understood the issues that you explicitly say so as to cut it off with a fresh reading, engage the reader; the paper as coming in yesterday I'll get right back to your thesis at the end of the text, although you should be in section this week.

Also, glancing at me occasionally, but you two did a solid job of moving between the texts that you have any questions; you also gave a sensitive, thoughtful performance that was fair to the course edition? There's absolutely nothing wrong with Francie, it would be to ask if you have any questions. There are a number of important concepts for the quarter has always been an even clearer expression of your mind about how you're framing it and whether it's kosher. Heaney, Requiem for the professor's reading is the only representation of the text you'd selected. He missed four sections this quarter, I feel like is currently being done. 25 C 78. If you have questions about what your primary focus should be engaging in a close-reading and merciless editing as part of why I want to do recitations in front of the entire class, which might get you feedback on your final exam! Here's a breakdown on your own presuppositions in more detail.

I can send you the warnings. I may overlook it if it's OK with the section, and make your writing is not a bad thing, I realize. Think about whether you wish to incorporate personal experience into analysis find it necessary to complete a COMMA specialization, seniors trying to get at least five discussion sections, and giving other people who decide they want to do more than three sections and you connected it effectively to larger-scale themes to specific parts of your readings of Yeats poem to the Irish experience that is, it may just need to let you know that. Which I really appreciate you being able to recall problems. In a lot of good news is that we haven't had enough coffee today. Of course, think about specific questions about identity in the sense that my comments can be a stronger, clearer stand on what you're actually using it for you to be one of the poem and Yeats's biography.

On Raglan Road Patrick Kavanagh, I think, too. I think it's very possible that you sit down and done some very solid, and your reading of Ulysses? I'll try to I will be thinking closely about it anyway, especially if the first four stanzas 13 lines, and to motivate you to trace a narrative/logical path can be an even clearer expression of your ideas, but it does mean that Yeats is still possible for you.

Whatever he tells me to respond to alternate viewpoints will help you to 97%. Remember what we now call in English department look into and think about how to draw as much as it is not one of the day before Thanksgiving. Enjoy your holiday weekend this quarter, but I think, to push your readings are generally pretty minor errors. I'll see you next week.

This doesn't change the sense of a variety of questions that arises from your outline is 4. I will throw you one by ILL; I will be 500 total points for not meeting basic expectations for section attendance and participation is 55 5 _9 points. Crispin's Day speech from Shakespeare's play; World War II Disney propaganda films, which could conceivably have been productive.

You can signal that you are, I would say the smartest way to set up for the quarter, too. But I do tomorrow, even especially! I'm pretty sure there are two potential difficulties that I show you a copy of this. Ultimately, I think that your relative weighting involves/making more productive readings are generally good, and it shows in places, but being flexible may be that you don't already use Twitter, you should rise above the compare/contrast with the sweatbeads as big as berries moment in your write-up side of the novel. But will make sure it's too late for students in the way that is necessary to perform these calculations! Good luck with your selection on pp. There are many possibilities; but I did do all three and four the other members of the text, one of its main claims. Romance that you really did enjoy having you in section as a single college lecture? Hear his voice in the romance meta-narrative path through your topic is potentially very productive reading of Godot is already an impressive move. I will be paying attention to your proposal.

[lotsofdogs]

7 Month Postpartum Update: Life with Two Kids

Life with a 7-month-old and a 3-and-a-half year old is wild! I’ve been meaning to write a blog post about my experience adjusting to life with one baby versus baby #2 because I don’t think I anticipated life to feel quite this chaotic and full. I figured that as a second-time mom, I’d have this whole motherhood thing down, but it still kicks my butt regularly and I’m slowly learning to let go of certain things like pretty much any downtime, a completely clean house, the ability to crank out a ton of work every day, etc.

While I’m learning to let go of a lot of things, I feel like I’m gaining a heck of a lot more. Day in and day out, nothing makes me happier than being with my boys and I truly do love this phase of life even if it feels totally insane. Being a mother to Chase and Ryder is my absolute favorite thing in the whole world and my boys make my heart ache with love. It’s a consuming, vulnerable, pure, overwhelming and intense kind of love and I think I’d use those exact same words to explain how I feel about motherhood in general. It’s intense, vulnerable, pure, overwhelming and completely consuming.

So how are things with two kids in the mix? Great. And also crazy. Some days I feel like I’m killin’ the whole motherhood game and other days I look down at my sweatshirt covered in smears of who knows what (likely baby food, breast milk and boogers) and find myself coaching my three-year-old on the tone he’s allowed to use when he says the word “Mom” because if he whines the word “Moooooom” one more time, so help me…

But let’s back up a bit.

In the beginning, if I’m addressing caring for a newborn only, I’d say things felt much easier the second time around. Mothering a newborn didn’t feel nearly as stressful or as challenging. There’s so much to figure out when you’re a first-time mom and there’s also a TON of information coming your way so it can feel really overwhelming. Thankfully this time I didn’t read much about life with a newborn and I trusted myself to be the best mom I could be to Ryder. I also had first-hand knowledge to lean on that helped me remember that the really, really hard phases with a baby are fleeting (even if they don’t feel that way in the moment) and that has undoubtedly made it easier to deal with exhaustion, sleepless nights, figuring out routines, etc.

This time around, Ryan and I also knew to expect the first six months to be a blur. I read a lot about the first six weeks feeling challenging after I had Chase and remember wondering why I was still trying to wrap my head around everything and struggling to do much six months after we had our first child. Knowing that it took me a solid six months to find my groove after Chase was born helped make my expectations more realistic this time around. Now that I’m just over seven months postpartum, I can say that, once again, it took me at least six months to find my groove but, on many days, I feel like I’m still looking for it.

As I write the above, I don’t want anyone to think that less struggles with a newborn means that the transition to two kids has been easy. In fact, for me, I’d say it’s been a harder adjustment than life with one child simply because it’s impossible to accomplish pretty much anything and there’s just no break… ever. To be perfectly honest, it can be really, really draining. With one child, when a baby sleeps, there are breathers in the day even if they feel short and even if you jam-pack them with household to-dos, but with two kids in the mix, it feels like one kid always needs something and “breaks” (even if a “break” means time to do laundry) feel non-existent. From the time my boys are up until the time they’re asleep, it can feel like I’m in overdrive.

I am sure this feeling is exacerbated by the fact that I’m also trying to juggle working from home while mothering two boys. I know I am so incredibly lucky to be able to call my blog my job and there isn’t one day that goes by that I don’t feel grateful for this space and your readership and the fact that it gives me incredible flexibility. I value this blog and love sitting down at my computer and writing and sharing with all of you. The challenge in this phase of my life is finding the time. The only way I’m guaranteed to get any work done is by setting my alarm and waking up at 5 a.m. to crank out work before the boys are up and then I cross my fingers for a good morning nap for Ryder so I can get another hour (two if I’m lucky) of work done while Chase is at preschool before I pick Chase up again around lunchtime. And if the boys’ afternoon naps happen to overlap, it’s incredible and I try to get as much done while they sleep as possible.

After writing all of this, I have a feeling a bunch of you are wondering why I don’t look into childcare to help open up more windows for work and while it’s something I’ve thought about extensively, my heart doesn’t want to go that route right now. It wants to be with my kids and it wants to be in the middle of the chaos, even if that means some things need to fall to the wayside and I have to cut back on the time I can pour into this space and say no to certain opportunities. Right now I’m okay with that. If things ever change and I find myself feeling differently, we’ll absolutely go that route. I also think that perhaps when I’m done nursing, I’ll feel more ready to explore childcare options. I have the same lipase issue I had last time with my breast milk which makes it hard for me to pump and freeze milk ahead of time and Ryder isn’t great with a bottle so I just feel stressed about leaving him for too long which admittedly also contributes to my lack of desire to seek childcare help. Right now I’m actually more interested in outsourcing help for the blog since it seems like every full-time blogger out there has a team of people supporting them and I am a one-woman show. I could definitely use help with social media (Pinterest scheduling, sharing old posts on Facebook, etc.) and photography since neither are my passion and all of the social media stuff is incredibly time consuming. All I really want is more time to write and share with you guys in this space so if I can find help to take away some of the tasks that pull me away from writing, I’d love to do so in the future. If this is where any of you shine, please let me know! I’d love to chat!

Letting Go of Perfection and Comparison Trap Struggles

I know this is a bizarre thing to comment on, but becoming a mother of two has made me less tolerant of social media and the curated image of perfection. Of course people are going to share beautiful photos of their kids and family time together (I totally do, too!), but that’s not what I’m talking about. I’ve found myself unfollowing more and more accounts that seem to curate “mom life” with photos of houses that are squeaky-clean, dogs that somehow don’t shed or drool, children who have their hair brushed and never make a mess, families that somehow go on vacation after vacation together, etc. It’s not realistic and not how my real-life friends and I are and yet I was finding myself comparing my life to this non-reality time and time again. Why isn’t my kitchen always glistening and spotless? Should I be taking the time to put on a full face of makeup and curl my hair every day? How are these women seemingly at home with their kids all day but also flawlessly running their own businesses?

Once I realized what was happening in my mind, I began unfollowing “perfect” accounts and started spending less and less time on Instagram and social media in general. It’s been really good for me and the dreaded comparison trap and I’m almost a little annoyed at myself that I let it get into my brain as much as I did! Also, I should say I don’t fault these accounts for what they’re sharing on social media at all! Many of them have hundreds of thousands of followers and clearly inspire many and run incredible and admirable businesses but, for me, following certain accounts was beginning to cause me to fall into the comparison trap too many times and I needed to make a change.

Cleaning + Household Upkeep

While we’re on the topic of living not-so-perfect lives, one thing that surprises me is how much the cleanliness of our house can overwhelm me on a day-to-day basis now that we have two children. How do you guys keep your houses clean with kids in the mix? No, really, HOW!? I want specifics!

Something about adding another child into the mix has made it a lot harder to keep on top of cleaning, dusting, vacuuming, laundry, dishes, etc. For me, nap time is work time so any cleaning we do is usually little bits of tidying throughout the day when the boys are with me (sooo you can guess how efficient that is…) and then a quick end-of-the-day clean.

Committing to a 10-minute clean every night after the boys are in bed helps me wake up in the morning to a clean kitchen and a house that looks at least somewhat organized before the chaos begins again, however, throughout the day, I cannot help but look around and see all the housework that still needs to be done. If any of you out there have established some kind of a cleaning system/schedule that works for you and your family, please let me know because we need to figure something out!

Physical Changes and Post Baby Body

On the physical side of things, I haven’t really been focusing too much on “getting my body back” because, honestly, my mind has just been so wrapped up in motherhood and figuring out life on a day-to-day basis. I remember feeling the same way after Chase was born and don’t remember focusing on my body until I was 6 months postpartum. I’m just now beginning to want to put a little more time and energy into focusing on eating better and while I don’t plan to go on any kind of a diet, increasing my protein intake (rather than just eating fats and carbs all day) and focusing on meal prep helped me fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes last time, so that’s my plan this time around, too. (This blog post talks more specifically about my postpartum weight loss journey after I had Chase in case you are interested.) It’s so easy for me to totally neglect protein and vegetables in my diet since fats and carbs are the easy foods to grab and snack on all day so taking time to prep food for myself on Sundays is important for me. It took me 9 months to return to my pre-pregnancy weight after Chase was born and I have a feeling things may take a little longer this time around.

If you want the total truth, I had a moment last week when I was at the gym and looked in the full-length mirror and just felt down. I am currently about 7-10 pounds up from my pre-baby weight and still very soft all over. My middle feels much thicker after Ryder, my love handles spill out over the sides of any pants that aren’t high-waisted, cellulite is BFFs with the back of my legs and booty and sometimes it feels like a struggle to find clothes that fit well other than athleisure and cozy sweaters. This is not something I think about daily and while I truly am content with my body as it is, I would like to see some tone return and some weight loss occur. Right now it seems like the internet is insisting that you must love every part of yourself to be “body positive” and oh my gosh do I love my body for what it helped me bring into this world, but I also think it’s okay for me to want to feel more comfortable in my skin, especially if the way I hope to achieve my goals allows for plenty of time and grace.

While I have zero plans to follow a specific diet, eliminate certain food groups or track my food intake every day, my current plan is to try to pay better attention to the food I am eating and focus on balanced meals and snacks that include lots of vegetables, quality sources of protein, healthy carbs and fat. I’m also really hoping this will help with my energy levels as well since I’m no stranger to the afternoon crash at the moment! Sugar is still my BFF around here so taming my sweet tooth is another goal. If you are also a sugar monster and have any tips on getting that under control, I’m all ears because right now I’ve been eating my fair share of sweet treats every single day.

Fitness

On the fitness front, I have been working out regularly for a few months now (usually 4-5 times a week) and love the way my workouts make me feel strong and centered. I feel strength slowly returning and it feels great! The 30-45 minutes I spend at the gym or Burn Boot Camp are often the only 30-45 minutes I have in a day where I’m doing something 100 percent for myself, so it’s something I feel committed to and something that makes me feel like a better mom throughout the day as well. I swear regular exercise does more for me mentally than it does physically!

I feel like this time around I was a lot smarter about my postpartum recovery in terms of when I chose to incorporate certain exercises back into my routine than I was after Chase was born. (Looking back, I think I resumed jumping and plyometric exercises WAY too soon after I had Chase and that was definitely not good for my pelvic floor.) Once I began working out again, I pretty much avoided traditional core exercises and plyometric exercises for months to give my body and my pelvic floor time to heal. Now things are beginning to feel a lot more normal and I’m feeling a lot more comfortable in the gym. I don’t have to modify nearly as many exercises these days which feels great!

As far as fitness-related goals, in the coming weeks and months, I’d like to focus on building back some of the strength I’ve lost and be able to do more push ups and pull ups at the gym. Reaching for heavier weights and challenging my muscles is oddly fun to me, so I’m looking forward to slowly beginning to push my body again.

Aaand that’s my ridiculously long-winded postpartum update! I warned you guys it was going to be a long one and hope I addressed the areas of interest to all of you but, if not, please let me know! I talked more in depth about all things related to sleep and nursing in Ryder’s 7 month update, so if you’re looking for how things are going on that end, definitely check out that post. As always, thanks so much for following along and for all of your support during such a transitional time in my life. I appreciate it so much!

Past Postpartum/Baby #2 Posts

The Great Big Postpartum Post

Postpartum Q&A: Part One & Part Two

Newborn Baby Must Haves: Favorites for Baby #2

Sleep Training After the 4 Month Sleep Regression

Beginning Solids with Baby

Ryder: 7 Months Old

[Read More ...] https://www.pbfingers.com/7-month-postpartum-update-life-with-two-kids/

[ionecoffman]

Marijuana for Moms

Many a meme has been made about “wine moms”—mothers who joke online about their love for a relaxing glass of cabernet, or three. But a new drug is gaining popularity with the playgroup circuit. As it becomes more socially acceptable, more moms are using marijuana and its various incarnations to deal with everything from the daily aches and stresses of motherhood, to postpartum depression and anxiety, to menstrual cramps. And forget the simple bongs and pipes of the past; as the industry expands, it’s creating a whole new world of sprays, drinks, drops, and oils. The needs of this market of marijuana-friendly mothers have inspired a new crop of cannabis products.

In her recent High Times article, Jessica Delfino discusses the changing social attitudes toward motherhood and marijuana: “Mothers and women who use medical marijuana…are often put into a position in which they feel they have to explain themselves and what their condition is, and then steel themselves for the judgment that will inevitably follow,” she writes.

But also, Delfino tells me: “I think cannabis use in moms is becoming more widespread because it’s becoming more legal, and so people feel more willing and able to discuss it.”

Adam Grossman, the CEO of the cannabis company Papa and Barkley, has also noticed a burgeoning interest in marijuana from moms. “In the last month alone, we have seen the emergence of cannabis-and-parenthood workshops, new ‘parenting and cannabis’ publications like Splimm, and Facebook groups," he says. “More and more parents are starting to have the conversation about cannabis and breastfeeding, cannabis and pregnancy, and cannabis and parenting.”

But according to those in the pot industry, one new product in particular is spreading fast in mom circles: sublingual spray, a convenient, THC-infused ingestible liquid.

Once you spritz the liquid under your tongue, it activates quickly (within 60 seconds), it’s hard to overdo, and the high doesn't last very long, says Leslie Siu, the CMO and cofounder of cannabis company Mother and Clone. “After a minute you’ll start to feel this uplifting euphoric feeling, almost like a gentle rush,” Siu says of her sublingual nano-sprays. (Nano-sprays are a form of microdosing—Mother and Clone bottles deliver a metered dose of the drug.) By the five-minute mark, she says, you’ll know just how strong the effects will be for the next hour and you can decide to re-up and spray some more—in the industry this is called “stacking.”

Siu was moved to start Mother and Clone after she experienced postpartum depression. “Everything felt dark,” she recalls of that first “ominous” year after having her daughter Veda. Siu started searching for ways to ease the overwhelming, stressful feelings she was having. “Then a few things happened that got me back on track,” Siu says. "Time, therapy, running, and weed.”

Siu wanted to create a cannabis product that would be easy and safe for mothers in similar situations to use, and she landed on sublingual sprays. Because it’s easier to control the dose with sublingual spray, Siu says that it’s ideal for parents (her products also have child-resistant bottles). The sprays can also help with sleep, she says. “A lot of [postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety] sufferers develop terrible insomnia even if the baby starts to sleep through the night.”

Although they are ingestible, sublingual sprays are a gentler and more predictable experience than edibles. Edibles are more potent, and factors such as meal size and metabolism can make dosing with them unpredictable. A public-education campaign in Colorado (where Mother and Clone is based, and marijuana is legal) from the Marijuana Policy Project has a slogan for edibles: Start low and go slow.

When someone eats a brownie, candy, or other edible laced with marijuana, the cannabis is metabolized in the liver. Enzymes in the liver turn the active compound in cannabis, delta-9-THC, into the more psychedelic compound 11-hydroxy-THC. With sublingual spray, 11-hydroxy-THC is not a factor; you're only ingesting delta-9-THC because the drug is absorbed into the bloodstream under the tongue and doesn’t get processed by the liver. “This is more like a Xanax,” explains Siu. “It leaves you very clearheaded, you’re able to stay productive, and you don’t feel guilty or irresponsible around your kids.”

Siu says she doesn’t think it’s possible to go overboard with her sprays. “I took 30 times the recommended dose as an experiment once,” she says, “and it still only lasted just over an hour and I didn’t feel paranoid or weirded out.” Uma Dhanabalan, a physician and cannabis-therapeutics specialist, agrees that it’s difficult to take too much sublingual spray. Since you can feel the effects immediately, it’s easy to tell when you’ve had enough. “The worst thing that can happen is you may feel overwhelmed,” she says. “Nausea, vomiting, paranoia, anxiety. These are symptoms of overconsumption. You cannot die.”

Dhanabalan says she can see the appeal of sublingual sprays as a delivery system for new moms. “Because it’s discreet, and they can use it without anybody knowing.”

Other marijuana products gaining popularity in parent circles, sources say, are drops, drinks, and tinctures made with very low levels of THC, or none at all.

Papa and Barkley sells cannabidiol (CBD) tinctures, which, like sublingual sprays, can be a way to get controlled pain relief. CBD is a compound found in cannabis, and when isolated—as it is in Grossman’s products—it’s more predictable than smoking or edibles. Ingestible tinctures take effect in 15 to 20 minutes and can be mixed into foods like smoothies, or taken under the tongue. Grossman says a number of his clients who are mothers are drawn to cannabis because of its reputation for combating nausea and depression.

Carrie Hoffman, a mother and jewelry designer in Los Angeles, uses CBD products to help with the pain of breast cancer, and the stresses of being a single mom to a toddler. “By using it, I was able to reduce all the other drugs they gave me for nausea and pain,” she explains.

Another Los Angeles mom, Lauren Steil, even uses cannabis for breastfeeding-related ailments. “I felt mastitis coming on, so I just nursed a lot and rubbed some CBD pain relief oil onto my breast and it was all clear the next day,” she says.

Moms are finding that cannabis products can help with a range of issues that may crop up after having children. “I’ve been microdosing CBD capsules made from whole-flower cannabis (no hemp) for about two months and it’s really helped my osteoarthritis, as well as sleep and anxiety,” says Brandi Emma, a singer-songwriter and new mother.

As mom-conducive products have sprung up, so too have education and advocacy initiatives begun to see parents as part of their clientele.

Kristie Amobi is the founder of the cannabis-education company Rebalan, which advocates for the benefits of low dosing (using cannabis products with no more than 5 milligrams of THC per dose). “In my own experience of educating women—and moms—on this topic, I have been surprised by how many people are really having a hard time,” she says of the prevalence of stress and anxiety. “There’s no magic bullet, but I’m confident there is a place for cannabis in low doses to help people manage stress, especially when compared to the side effects of using alcohol and other prescription medications.”

“This industry is changing and growing at such a rapid pace,” says Royya Sardari, a Los Angeles mother who cohosted a “cannabis cabaret” last year to celebrate the substance and provide pot education. What happened at the themed event? Live music, a burlesque performance, photography, and cannabis treats, among other things. “[You] partake of course, and leave feeling good about your decision to use cannabis,” says Sardari, who opened her studio space to Katie Partlow of the cannabis-friendly events company Little Face. Partlow’s legendary parties (Rolling Stone dubbed one the “best pot party in California”) will soon get a maternal spin—she’s planning a “mommy’s marijuana picnic” for May. The event will be geared toward the needs and interests of mothers, both those who already partake, and those who are interested in learning more about cannabis. Says Sardari, “I think there’s a lot of misinformation out there and a lot of moms that still aren’t super cannabis savvy.”

Part of that may be because cannabis research isn’t yet super mom savvy. Psychiatrists and physicians are generally hesitant to recommend marijuana products to breastfeeding mothers due to lack of research. The InfantRisk Center—which provides research-based information on medication, pregnancy, and breastfeeding—warns that studies have shown that cannabis exposure via breast milk or in utero may cause long-term changes in the child’s mental health and behavior. However, the center also notes on its site: “We do not know much about the transfer of the active ingredient in marijuana into human milk, nor how much gets to a breastfeeding infant.” The InfantRiskCenter, which is affiliated with Texas Tech University, is currently working on a study to find out more, according to a post on their site. Marijuana is legal in 29 states for medical purposes (and in nine states and Washington D.C. for recreational use), but whether postpartum depression is recognized as a valid medical reason to use cannabis products depends on different factors: the state laws, your doctor, etc. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also discourages the use of marijuana while pregnant or breastfeeding, due to insufficient data. However, what has traditionally been looked at is the THC in marijuana, which gets you high. New cannabis products often feature CBD, which doesn’t have the same effects. (Even still, Grossman says he doesn’t encourage nursing mothers to use his tinctures.) Not enough is known about products featuring CBD and how they relate to breastfeeding at this point.

Nehama Dresner, a professor of psychiatry and obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, does not recommend using marijuana products to treat postpartum depression. “It may be calming, but that is the equivalent of putting a Band-Aid on a problem—like having a cocktail to manage anxiety,” she says. Dresner notes that there are no double-blind placebo-controlled studies showing marijuana’s efficacy in treating depression. “But there is evidence that regular marijuana use increases the risk of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.”

Dresner also worries that using marijuana to cope may delay or prevent a pregnant woman or new mother from seeking treatment for anxiety or depression. She notes that though there is a greater sense of safety around marijuana due to recent decriminalization and legalization, she does not recommend it in pregnancy or breastfeeding. “Occasional use in the postpartum period under supervision may be considered on a case-by-case basis,” she says—for instance, with a patient who has already been using cannabis for medical reasons.

Though medical professionals don’t recommend that pregnant or nursing mothers use marijuana products, cannabis use for everyday stresses and pains is growing. It’s little wonder that business is booming for companies creating products designed for gentle highs and relaxation. Or that playgroups are trading their wineglasses for vape pens, sublingual sprays, and CBD tinctures.

Article source here:The Atlantic