I was looking for a picture of a waterfall and happened across an image wiki build on Google maps.
http://wiki.worldflicks.org
I had a hard time navigating to a specific place, but The Smithsonian is a good place to start.
Have fun!
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Burping Baby Baboons
Do other species than humans have to burp their babies? Do non-human primate mothers walk around all day patting their babies on the back?
If not, why do human infants need help getting gas out?
If not, why do human infants need help getting gas out?
Sex ed is viewed differently from other ed
This morning NPR's Diane Rehm show had a panel discussion about abstinence only versus comprehensive sexual education. I only listened to part of it, but it struck me that the panelist in favor of abstinence only sex ed thought that teaching students how to have sex safely before marriage would make it likely that the students would do so.
That's a common argument against sex ed, that giving the information in school also gives permission, and I've heard that argument before. But today I thought about what else is taught in school and therefore has the same authority and acceptance; iambic pentameter for example. Various forms of poetry are taught in high school English classes, but parents don't worry much about their children becoming poets against their wishes.
Clearly there is something about sex that entices kids that poetry, history, chemistry, or other school topics lack.
I'm in favor of comprehensive sex ed; I think children should have the information and that parents can try to guide them about whether or when to use it.
Remember that kids talk to each other. Someone who won't have sex before marriage likely has friends who will. Let's educate everyone so that the locker room conversations can be accurate and useful.
That's a common argument against sex ed, that giving the information in school also gives permission, and I've heard that argument before. But today I thought about what else is taught in school and therefore has the same authority and acceptance; iambic pentameter for example. Various forms of poetry are taught in high school English classes, but parents don't worry much about their children becoming poets against their wishes.
Clearly there is something about sex that entices kids that poetry, history, chemistry, or other school topics lack.
I'm in favor of comprehensive sex ed; I think children should have the information and that parents can try to guide them about whether or when to use it.
Remember that kids talk to each other. Someone who won't have sex before marriage likely has friends who will. Let's educate everyone so that the locker room conversations can be accurate and useful.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Breastfeeding: Tricker than I'd expected
It never occurred to me to wonder about the functional details of breastfeeding until recently. I figured that hormones Did Things to the mother's breasts, infants suck instinctively, and it would work as simply as an adult drinking through a straw. I'd heard about women having trouble with not producing enough milk or with sore nipples. When I thought about it at all, I assumed that nipples became sore because they were chapped and that some type of lotion would help.
My assumptions were wrong.
Yes, infants suck instinctively, but they can latch onto the nipple correctly or incorrectly. An incorrect latch hurts. It can hurt a little bit, or it can cause feet-kicking, face-scrunching pain. Have you ever sprained a joint and had to hop on the other foot or wave the other hand while saying "ow, ow, ow" (or something less polite) in a very loud voice in order to handle the pain? It's like that, eight to ten times a day.
I now understand why some animals abandon their young.
Don't worry and please don't call Child Protective Services. I'm not going to abandon Daughter 0.1. I'm not even going to stop feeding her breast milk. Unlike wild animals, I have good options for dealing with nipple pain. The most convenient one is painkillers. If one feeding goes particularly badly, I can take an ibuprofen or acetaminophen and that keeps the next feeding from hurting as much. We have a breast pump so I can pump milk out of my breasts and feed it to her in bottles. And for help finding a permanent solution, there are lactation consultants. So far I have spoken to two on the phone and had appointments with two others.
The baby prep breastfeeding class and the nurses who helped me with breastfeeding while I was still in the hospital said it was important to get a deep latch, but one of the lactation consultants I spoke to after coming home gave me an exercise that really explained why. Put your finger in your mouth so that your teeth are on the first joint and suck. The part of the tongue under your finger tip is flat and pushing up against your finger. The part of the roof of your mouth above your fingernail is flat and low. Now move your finger so that your teeth are at the second knuckle and suck. The tongue under your fingertip rounds down when you suck, and the roof of your mouth above your fingernail is round and a little higher. So a bad, shallow latch squeezes the nipple between two flat surfaces while a good, deep latch cradles the sensitive tip of the nipple between round, roomier parts of the mouth.
So breastfeeding well seems to requires more than instinct. I'm working with lactation consultants so that Daughter 0.1 and I can improve our technique and get a deep latch every time.
My assumptions were wrong.
Yes, infants suck instinctively, but they can latch onto the nipple correctly or incorrectly. An incorrect latch hurts. It can hurt a little bit, or it can cause feet-kicking, face-scrunching pain. Have you ever sprained a joint and had to hop on the other foot or wave the other hand while saying "ow, ow, ow" (or something less polite) in a very loud voice in order to handle the pain? It's like that, eight to ten times a day.
I now understand why some animals abandon their young.
Don't worry and please don't call Child Protective Services. I'm not going to abandon Daughter 0.1. I'm not even going to stop feeding her breast milk. Unlike wild animals, I have good options for dealing with nipple pain. The most convenient one is painkillers. If one feeding goes particularly badly, I can take an ibuprofen or acetaminophen and that keeps the next feeding from hurting as much. We have a breast pump so I can pump milk out of my breasts and feed it to her in bottles. And for help finding a permanent solution, there are lactation consultants. So far I have spoken to two on the phone and had appointments with two others.
The baby prep breastfeeding class and the nurses who helped me with breastfeeding while I was still in the hospital said it was important to get a deep latch, but one of the lactation consultants I spoke to after coming home gave me an exercise that really explained why. Put your finger in your mouth so that your teeth are on the first joint and suck. The part of the tongue under your finger tip is flat and pushing up against your finger. The part of the roof of your mouth above your fingernail is flat and low. Now move your finger so that your teeth are at the second knuckle and suck. The tongue under your fingertip rounds down when you suck, and the roof of your mouth above your fingernail is round and a little higher. So a bad, shallow latch squeezes the nipple between two flat surfaces while a good, deep latch cradles the sensitive tip of the nipple between round, roomier parts of the mouth.
So breastfeeding well seems to requires more than instinct. I'm working with lactation consultants so that Daughter 0.1 and I can improve our technique and get a deep latch every time.
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