Author: Reedu

Mylostone – First Museum

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Yesterday my husband Jason offered me a proposition. Go to a museum with him and he’ll take me to Chipotle. Normally I’d say no dice. After all, we have a Chipotle in our neighborhood and I could go any time I wanted. Trek into the city to stare at dead things or antiquated things? No thanks.

But he wasn’t asking to go to MoMA. Nor was he asking to go to the Museum of Natural History or the Museum of Sex, affectionately dubbed MoSex, but the New York City Transit Museum located for my lucky convenience, just two blocks away.

It was Saturday, I was in a good mood and who was I to deny our son Mylo another Mylostone: his first trip to a museum. So, as much as I’m not for museums, I agreed.

Lord knows Mylo’s dad will be dragging him along to many more as he gets older. That will either be a good thing, or if the little fella’s got my genes for museums then I’ll do everything in my power to get him out of it!

The NYC Transit Museum was actually a lot of fun. You walk through subway-like tunnels where memorabilia, photos and stories about the evolution of this city’s transit system are on display. And perhaps the coolest part was going in and out of the subway cars and elevated trains that spanned the better part of the 20th century.

On the way out, there is a wall of black and white photos from the 30’s and 40’s of New Yorker’s going through subway turnstiles and I found myself scanning them for a familiar face. My grandmother and aunt are after all, from Brooklyn.

NY Times Article on Slaughtering Chickens Humanely

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Most people who know me know what kind of vegetarian I am. I don’t eat meat from animals that had a mother. However that doesn’t make me a vegan. I do eat cheese, yogurt, ice cream and eggs. All products that contribute to the suffering of farm animals. I struggle with this fact – that I’m a bit of a sell-out of sorts – but at the same time I am not of the mentality that humans will ever live solely on a plant-based diet. We will always eat meat. So what I advocate for is a better quality of life for farm animals, as well as more humane killing of them.

As a result, I am all for the news that two premium chicken producers are preparing to switch to a system that would kill their birds more humanely. The article, covered in detail by the NY Times, points out that this humane sort of slaughtering “is sure to appeal to a segment of the chicken-buying public,” and I couldn’t agree more.

Read the full article here.

Giving Birth at Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn

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I gave birth to my first baby, a boy, at Long Island College hospital on August 9, 2010 under the care of midwife Beverly Woodard and I can say that the hospital and Beverly’s services, were excellent.

I write about our decision to switch from using an OB/GYN to a midwife halfway through my pregnancy in an earlier post, here. So I thought it was important to follow it up with my experience at LICH, seeing how I went into it with negative and mixed reviews. Not to mention an article in the NY Times about Brooklyn mothers choosing Manhattan hospitals to give birth, that came out six weeks before I went into labor.

First off, it all comes down to your health care provider. In the case of my long, 30 hour labor (24 of which was spent at home), I believe I would have had a c-section had I been under the care of an OB/GYN whether at LICH or any other hospital.

LICH wasn’t perfect. There was a cleanliness factor that turned my stomach and the postpartum breastfeeding support was disappointing. But for the most part my experience at LICH was a very pleasant one. From the nurses to the pediatric residents and even the orderlies — everyone at LICH was polite, helpful and nurturing.

The labor & delivery floor at LICH.

My husband Jason, who was in and out of the hospital many times throughout the two days we were there so he could tend to our menagerie at home, even found the security  guards and the cashier he paid to room-in on the maternity ward, extremely helpful and polite. By the way, the price for partners to room-in at LICH is $210, which is a fraction of what it costs at most Manhattan hospitals!

It took us some time to write it, but we wanted the supervisor of the maternity ward at LICH, Wanda Hernandez, to know about the people who helped make our experience a positive one.

—

October 21, 2010

Dear Ms. Hernandez:

My husband and I welcomed our first child into the world, a boy, on August 9, 2010 under the wonderful care of Midwife, Beverly Woodard at Long Island College Hospital. In short, our experience at LICH was an exceptional one.

On our list of things to do since we’ve been adjusting to new life with a baby is to write to let you know that being under the care of a few specific people made our experience at LICH that much more memorable. Paulette and Janelle on the labor and delivery floor, Bebeth in the maternity ward and Myra in the nursery went above and beyond to treat myself, my husband, my mother and of course my son, with a great deal of warmth and compassion.

Giving birth, while not easy, was at least pleasant thanks to your staff. Thank you for making our experience such a positive one.

Yours,

Reedu Taha Wood

Lovin’ the Two-Month Mark

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My son Mylo is just over two months old and I am happy to say that life has gotten much easier. We haven’t had to swaddle him in weeks, he sleeps much better at night (though not through the night, yet) and he is an absolute joy to be around. He smiles and laughs and coos all the time and is simply a very present baby.

For me the “in love” feeling wasn’t immediate. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a great deal of love that comes with birthing such a helpless creature but what I felt more was a sense of obligation and responsibility. Luckily though, with each day that passed I fell more and more for him. And by now I think it is safe to say that I am head over heels, wildly in love with my son.

Today we will be at Brazen Head on Atlantic Avenue enjoying some spirits & spit up! I’m meeting other moms and their infants from the neighborhood for happy hour. The owner is thrilled to have us – seriously, who else is drinking beers at 2:30 in the afternoon?!!

ReeFuge Rescues

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One of ReeFuge’s animal rescuers saved these little itty bitties from certain death at NYC’s Animal Care & Control. These boys were dumped at the city shelter at a mere four weeks of age.

These 7 week old kitties need a forever home.

They are now seven weeks old (almost as old as my son Mylo)  and thriving in foster care but do need a forever home. Contact me directly for more info. or to meet this precious pair!

Mylostone – Swaddling

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Another Mylostone to report! We stopped swaddling my son Mylo at about 6 weeks old.

I’ll admit, the swaddling has been a lifesaver but because the little guy is such a mover, he finds a way to come out of the swaddle no matter how tightly we wrap him. In fact we recently woke up to him lying in his crib with the swaddle wound around his neck. I know, NOT GOOD.

So at about 6 weeks old we decided to eliminate swaddles and houdinis all together, and, believe it or not, he seems to be ok with it.

This was one of the last few times he was swaddled.

Memorizing Mylo

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I knew I was going to be tired and busy once the baby came, but nothing could have prepared me for just how tired and busy I am. So tired and busy that I often don’t know what day of the week it is, and so tired and busy that I have had no time to write in my blog… though I want to.

I want to write so many things about Mylo.  Like how much he has grown in just three weeks! And about his affinity for being held — how he likes to fall asleep over your shoulder. You know he’s asleep once you hear this faint, panting breath in your ear and only then can you lay him down. He also has a deep affinity for my breasts. I’ve always liked my breasts. They’ve been good to me, and now they are being good to him – providing him with nutrients and fuel and life.

And wow is it true what they say about breast feeding helping to shed the pregnancy weight! It’s been three weeks and I’m almost back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Sure it’s demanding and painful at first, but I’ve actually grown to enjoy this special time together.

And what about how Mylo smiled at me for the first time when I was changing him the other day? It nearly froze me in place with the delight!

I want to memorize these early weeks together. I want to memorize each sound, each expression and absorb it – like sunshine, braille or rain – through my skin.

It’s A Boy!!

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The cracks in my skin are like cracks in the floor
Been waiting all year, I’ll be waiting some more
I sit here and think of the summer we had
The winter is cold, the winter is black

And I, I’m haunted
And I, I want you
Hundreds of miles of falling apart

I’d give anything to go back to the start
Hundreds of miles but less than a day
To just hear your voice, to just see your face…

After 30 hours of a grueling, albeit drug-free labor (24 of which were spent at home), on Monday, 8/9/10 at 8:55am Jason and I welcomed our son, Mylo Taha Wood, into the world. We are absolutely elated!

Birth story to come…

Meeting Mylo…