7 Quick Takes Friday {#4}

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1.) Mary is eating solid food now!  So far, just bananas (mashed up with a fork), but she  LOVES it.  Yes, she is eight months old and I'm just now getting going on fruits and veggies.  I like to breastfeed exclusively for as long as possible, and that time has varied with each child.  I didn't do rice cereal with Mary at all.  Anyway, I have a super cute story about Mary's first foray into banana eating, but I will save that for a later post.

2.)  Speaking of breastfeeding, I have become such a nursing advocate.  I love, love, love nursing and it is so good for my babies.  Nutrition (isn't it amazing that everything a baby needs is contained in our milk?), bonding (having that sweet baby so close several times throughout the day), baby-weight-loss (burning a whole bunch of calories just by sitting on the couch?  Yes please!), a natural way to space your children (and delay the return of that pesky once-a-month issue that I haven't seen too often over the past several years, thanks to pregnancies and breastfeeding), reduced risk of cancer (nursing babies for a combined total of two years during your life dramatically reduces your risk of various types of cancer)...yes, God's design is amazing.  No it is not always easy.  One of my babies took forever to figure out how to nurse.  So stressful.  All three times I began nursing it was incredibly painful, some of the worst pain ever for the first couple of weeks or so.  But then somewhere along the way it became very natural (and I stopped doubling over at every feeding), and when you look down at your sweet, contented little babe and realize that she needs you, and loves you, and you are participating in nourishing her and making her feel so safe and secure...yeah...amazing.  Miraculous.  Oh so worth it.

3.)  I'm thinking about all of this right now because of an article I read this past week, written by a woman who pretty much resented her time spent feeding her babies.  Her point was that doctors and the government should NOT be promoting breastfeeding because it leads to a woman's inequality in marriage, emotional issues stemming from being tied down to your child, etc.  Ugh.  She is of course entitled to her bitterness opinions, but really.  I'm sorry if her nursing her children somehow contributed to her husband treating her like a second-class citizen (sounds like she picked the wrong baby daddy), but that is simply not the reality for many (most?) nursing mamas.  Sometimes I think we women struggle so hard against God's design when wouldn't it be so much better to view something like our ability to nurse as EMPOWERING?  Yes, it's true, men can't breastfeed.  (Well, except for the guy in the above picture.  'Cause he's talented like that.)  We are not "the same" in that way.  Well, I say we ladies are the lucky ones.  It may mean sleepy nighttime feedings for us but it also means we get to participate in something positively amazing.  Not to mention, this doesn't have to dictate who holds the power in the marriage.  I say being able to produce food for another person is pretty darn powerful.  (And a GREAT excuse to get out of doing other various household tasks.  Really.)  But that's just me.

4.) I've also been pondering women's and men's roles as of late.  I used to belong to a faith community that taught that women and men have complimentary roles.  Created equal, but created to fulfill different roles.  I now belong (and have for the past couple of years) to a faith community that embraces the concept of egalitarianism: women and men, being created equal, are not limited to particular roles based on their respective genders.  The submission mentioned in the Bible is to be completely mutual.  Women are free to pursue any position whatsoever in the church, may teach men, etc.  Lots of implications, really.  And I have to say that I have seen some really healthy results of this egalitarian worldview working themselves out in church life.  For example, the concept of community seems to play out quite naturally when people aren't seen first and foremost as simply an embodiment of a gender role.  And, mutual submission is Biblical.  I think it works.  Allllllllllll of that being said, I am still not certain of the practical implications when it comes to the concept of raising children and motherhood and all of that.  I'm an at-home mom and that is something I really believe in.  Kevin and I are not, at this point anyway, interchangeable in this sense because I have no earning potential I'm the one who can feed the baby.  Natural law says that I ought to be home with my children right now, since one of them needs me to be there to feed her every few hours.  And why did God give women the exclusive ability to nurse a child?  And does this point towards some sort of role distinction that should be playing out not only at home but at church too?  Hmmmm.  It's interesting.  Well, to me anyway.  'Cause that's how I roll.

5.) Breaking out of the theme of the top four Quick Takes--which, let's face it, were none too quick--I feel like it's taking forever to transition out of sick mode around here.  I'm tired, I'm trying desperately to get back on top of the laundry and housework, but it's tough.  Wednesday I cleaned the floors and made dinner, and yesterday I cleaned the bathrooms, so I suppose that's a good start.  The kids are all healthy again too.  As evidenced by how they spent yesterday racing around in dress-up clothes, shouting, and "building" a playground outside with (heavy) bricks.  Yes, they voluntarily lug bricks around for fun.  No, this is not a form of discipline, although it might work quite nicely if they didn't LIKE carrying the bricks.  (Can I just say how thankful I am that my kids LIKE playing together?  They spend HOURS upon HOURS in the world of make-believe, or Barbies, or GI Joe.  All together.  Usually with minimal fighting.)

6.) Speaking of cleaning the floors, I bought this nifty difty Swiffer wet mop thingy recently and tried it out yesterday.  Typically I would use a mop and a bucket to clean our (extensive) hardwood floors.  But I thought I'd try something different.  I think I liked it, although I don't know if I prefer it.  It seems to leave a bit of residue behind.  Also, it could get expensive replacing the cleaning solution, though I'm thinking I could just refill it with water and my own cleaning stuff, to save money.  Basically I think this mop is probably better for small spaces.  If you have lots and lots of hardwood floors, what do you use to clean them?

7.) I've been having trouble getting to sleep lately.  This is so not like me!  So strange.  I have no clue why.  We switched bedrooms recently, and we sleep with the window open (no AC and Denver is HOT in the summer!), and the sounds of traffic and sirens on Broadway and the trains passing through probably aren't helping.  Oh yes, the trains.  They start up at 11 pm or so and keep coming...and blowing their horns...it is loud.  I actually like the sounds of civilization and the city, but lately it's been a bit much.  We have had a fan going a couple of times and I really could tell that I slept deeper.  However, as nice as white noise is, I don't like that I don't have the ability to hear my kids in their rooms.  On the other hand, it might be NICE to "not hear" Kaitlyn's night terrors.  Hmmmm.  :)

That's it for today, friends.  Hoping you have a great weekend!