“Borrow Baby Couture”

Borrow Baby Couture | Rent Baby, Toddler, Kids, and Children Clothing..

 

Did you ever wish for a special dress for a special little one in your life….but you just did not want to make an extravagant purchase that might only be worn once or twice?

Well, now there is Borrow Baby Couture, where you can choose exactly what you want for that occasion where a beautiful dress is just the thing.

There are many designers from which to choose and Borrow Baby Couture has just added more to their inventory.

With the holiday season coming up, this could be just what you might consider rather than purchasing a dress that gets worn only once.

You can shop at home, and your dress will be delivered in a beautiful box like the one pictured below. You can even choose from new or slightly worn to save some money. Either way, I think you will be very happy when your couture dress arrives…ready to wear.

Borrow Baby Couture

 

Fendi Little Girl Couture

Here is the turquoise Fendi dress that I picked out for an occasion with our little one. She felt special and I was kvelling.

Fendi Turquoise Blue Dress

It was perfect in size and color. For a warm summer day, I could not have asked for a finer lightweight cotton…it actually reminded me of imported fabrics that I used to buy many years ago in New York when I enjoyed sewing.

It looked simple and elegant for a day in the city.

I would encourage moms to check out Borrow Baby Couture for that occasion that you need a beautiful dress to make your little girl feel special.

Grandparents do something different … gift this to your grandchild … it is unique…

Borrow Baby Couture.

I was not compensated for this review. All opinions are my own. I freely experienced the Borrow Baby Couture service for my review.

Tips for an Easier Labor…seriously.

Preparing for childbirth doesn’t just mean hiring a doula and packing your hospital bag; it also means getting ready for what might be the most challenging physical task you’ve ever faced. Improve your odds of having an easier, shorter labor by incorporating these healthy habits during your third trimester:

via 3 Surprising Tips For An Easier Labor – Fit Pregnancy.

  • Eat dates
  • Sleep more
  • Strengthen your legs
Doesn’t this sound easy …it is! Check out Fit Pregnancy’s article for some simple things you can do to make your labor easier. 
Who would not want an “Easier Labor”.
Have any of you ever used any of these tips?
What was you labor like….easier….what you expected or difficult?

How much control do you want during childbirth?

After recently reading a post about “who makes the decisions when you are in labor” my own labor and deliveries came to mind. Alongside were the memories of the numerous labor and deliveries that I attended as a nurse.

When I began my career, my first position was as an L & D nurse at a university teaching hospital in the Bronx. Starting out was frightening and never having had a child I had absolutely no experience of my own.

It was the early 70s and at this particular hospital, many of the patients did not want to be awake for the delivery of their baby.

Today, it is difficult to imagine such a time when moms did not want to control everything  about pregnancy and delivery even before they actually conceive.

The young mom of the 70’s would actually ask to be ” knocked out ” for her labor and delivery. Usually she would add “just like my mother was when she had me”. 

So back in the day, moms, who so wished, were given “twilight sleep” which was a mixture of several medications, one of which caused amnesia. So although a laboring woman could follow commands, move and talk, she had no recollection of what she was saying or doing or what was happening to her while in labor.

Husbands, significant others and family members were not allowed to be with a laboring woman who was medicated with this “cocktail”.

It was a privacy issue….since mom was unable to filter what she was saying. The medication was a type of truth serum of sorts. Sometimes during the stress of labor, a mom would call for someone other than her significant other which could indeed be problematic.

When it came time for delivery…mom would be taken to the delivery room. More often than not, general anesthesia was administered and a forcep delivery was done. Once the anesthesia was given the baby had to be delivered promptly which necessitated the use of forceps.

Natural childbirth, lamaze, and epidurals were the exception rather than the rule at this labor and delivery unit and in many units around the country. This was a standard of practice of the time.

After about a year at this particular hospital in the Bronx, I decided to move on to another university hospital in Manhattan.

It was a not only a change of hospital but I found myself in an entirely different world when it came to the practice of obstetrics.

Most women wanted to be awake for the birth of their baby, many had taken childbirth classes and epidurals were used frequently. There ware still forcep deliveries but there was no general anesthesia used for vaginal deliveries unless there was a complication.

In the 70s, doctors made most of the decisions and were not questioned too much, save for the few women who attended childbirth class with Elizabeth Bing, the founder of Lamaze here in the States.

Elizabeth Bing was adamant about teaching her mothers, who was the “boss” in labor and delivery.  She encouraged moms to advocate for the type of delivery that they wanted, she gave them the tools to help question their doctors regarding any decisions that were being made during labor. It was really the “birth plan” in its infancy. Elizabeth Bing was a physical therapist not a nurse and she was opinionated with very strong beliefs in “natural childbirth”. I had much respect for her and took her LaMaze teacher certificate course so I could understand and support my patients in their effort to have less intervention during their labor and delivery.

The role of the obstetrician is, in my opinion, a very important one especially if intervention is needed. I know the statistics in the United States are not overwhelmingly better than other countries but I also know what I have personally experienced in my own deliveries and while taking care of other laboring moms. These experiences definitely skew my view in this area.

My one child had only an initial Apgar of 1 for a faint heartbeat at birth due to complications of a C-section for a transverse lie (sideways position of the fetus). Upon my arrival in L & D, I was already 8 centimeters dilated, which meant, get the baby delivered before the water broke and the cord prolapsed causing severe lack of oxygen to the baby. It was a scary moment for me and my husband…both of us medical professionals. My doctor moved swiftly while I cried not wanting a C-section but knowing that I needed one. I felt confident in their haste and let them do their work…I was not awake…although every attempt was made to allow me to remain so. The discomfort was just too much…so asleep I went. I did not see my little girl for over 24 hours due to her own medical needs.

As for who should make the calls during childbirth…that is a very complex question with many variables. As best as I can figure, it takes a “Village” to raise a child but it also takes a “Village” sometimes to deliver a healthy baby to a healthy mom. I wish that all deliveries and pregnancies went smoothly and that all doctors could be “kind” at all times with great bedside manners. Unfortunately, we are all human and at a time of “flight or fight” you want someone who is able to “fight” for you and your baby based on good sound medical decisions which sometimes have to be made quickly without much hand holding.

Believe me when I say no one wants a less than perfect child and no one wants to lose a mother or a newborn.

So when you write your birth plan do it with your doctor or your midwife and be comfortable with them making some important decisions when and if it is necessary to do so.

Who Makes the Calls in Childbirth? You or the Doctor? | Being Pregnant.

“Toast Tuesday”

 

Parenting

 

I’m not expecting people to never be offended by anything I say. But I am asking people to respect my right to have an opinion on a topic and not equate it to judging people who have different opinions on that topic. I may think they made bad choices, I may think they could have done things differently, I may think I made a better choice. But it doesn’t mean I think they are bad parents or bad human beings.

via “Don’t Judge Me” | PhD in Parenting.

 

PhD in Parenting is by far my favorite blog for so many different reasons and it is not because I agree with everything that Annie posts.

Annie has integrity and intelligence. She writes about many issues some controversial and some not so much. Annie is a journalist who inspires me.

After reading her articles, I always have something to think about as a parent, grandparent and as a fellow human being in this complex universe.

Above is one of my favorite posts from PhD in Parenting. I hope you enjoy it.

 

I am glad you did not run…

 

My husband and I found out that our daughter Penny had Down syndrome two hours after she was born, and we shared the same instinct. We wanted to run away.

via Amy Julia Becker: We Didn’t Run Away.

 

Today, my memory was jogged back many years as I read this piece about a mom’s reaction to learning her daughter had Down’s Syndrome,

As a young little girl in the 50’s, I was a “fan” of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. They had a television show which aired every Sunday night…it was about life on their California ranch as a cowboy and cowgirl. Back in those days….life was seemingly simple and television westerns were our version of “reality” shows.

As a Hollywood star, Dale Evans had her own heartbreak. Courageously, she wrote a book, “Angel Unaware”*. It was the story of her little girl Robin, who was born with Downs Syndrome.

As I recall, my mother thought I was too young to read “Angel Unaware”. I longed to learn about Robin the beautiful baby on the front cover.  I waited awhile, until I could get my own copy of this sad but heartwarming story.

*The first book written by Dale Evans Rogers
in 1953 tells the story of
the only child conceived
between Roy & Dale,
Robin Elizabeth Rogers,
born with Downs Syndrome.

 

Only one month after Robin passed away her parents, Rogers and Evans, were scheduled to play at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It had been scheduled a year earlier.

 

On opening night at this famous arena, Rogers sang the religious “Peace in the Valley.” When the Garden management frowned on this open display of religion, Rogers insisted, “Either I sing what I want, or Dale and I will go back home.” Management backed down and a hush fell on the huge New York crowd as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans sang this beautiful hymn. via Happy Trails Highway

 

(My dad took me to all Roy and Dale’s Rodeos in Madison Square Garden)

 

I remember as a young child being curious about children, who were “different”. One boy in particular interested me… he lived in our apartment building,

Leonard should have been walking and talking but he was not. Instead he was always in his stroller with his mom pushing him…he wore diapers, he was always smiling but never said anything that any of us kids could understand.

My mom told me that Leonard was “retarded“…

She told me, he was born that way and probably would never be like other kids and would always need to be taken care of by his mother.

I accepted my mother’s explanation and looked forward to greeting Leonard and his mother whenever they were out for a walk. In my own mind, I wondered why Leonard was the way he was, not able to walk or talk.

Why did God make him this way?

At night in my bed before falling asleep, I would think about him and then say a prayer for him.

This is my first memory of someone with a disability and he was a child not too much younger than myself.

Then out of the blue, one day…the sad news came…Leonard’s dad had killed himself…I heard my family talking about how awful it was.

Soon after Leonard’s dad died…I did not see Leonard with his mom anymore  Again, I heard talk between my aunt and my mother. Leonard was put in a home for “retarded” children…and the worse thing was…people were saying that Leonard’s father could not stand having Leonard living at home, which is why he committed suicide.

Soon, I began seeing Leonard’s mother around the apartment building, she looked different. She was wearing prettier clothes and had make-up on, like she was going to work. She looked happy in her own way. I wondered why she gave Leonard away and why his dad died…he was the second dad in our building who had killed himself. Why do people do that? So sad…so awful!

I never talked to my mother about Leonard again and truthfully have not thought about him in many, many years.

Today, as I read Amy’s story about her daughter with Down’s Syndrome…this flood of memories came rushing into my mind. In the 50’s there was no such thing as kids with disabilities going to school with “normal” kids. They were in schools of their own…here in Illinois those with severe disabilities are still in special schools because of their complex medical needs during the school day.

Children with less severe disabilities go to classes with their peers, who are not disabled…just as Amy’s daughter does.

In my years as a pediatric nurse, I learned that physical disabilities in children may make them “different” in many ways…they may need special assistance, medications, adaptive equipment but they are still kids trying to learn and grow along with their peers…sometimes not an easy task but from which many children do not flinch.

Since the 50’s there have been many medical and social breakthroughs.

It makes me wonder…

what life would have been like for Robin and Leonard had they been born in the 21st century.

 



Locker Room Etiquette…

This post is from the archives… What do you think?

 

Noteworthy Wednesday!

via: Flickr: Heather Poole

I went swimming at the Y.M.C.A. Later, in the men’s locker room, a father walked in with his daughter. Occasionally, this happens with babies or toddlers, but the girl was 7 or 8. He put her in a shower stall while he showered, and left her there while he shaved and flossed. Then he brought her to the lockers, where they changed. I was appalled. What do you make of this?

via Too Old for the Men’s Locker Room – Social Q’s – NYTimes.com.

This question appeared in the Sunday NYTimes and it truly raised questions for me.

I have often thought about this dilemma especially when I see kids out for the day with their dads.

Interestingly, I don’t always think about this when I see kids with their moms!

But  back to dad and the “Y” locker room. This scene raises concerns for me…granted, I have not visited a men’s locker room but the women’s locker room is certainly an experience. Some women walk around naked, others cover-up as best they can…they usually do not spend any unnecessary time in the locker room…shower, change, pack up and leave. When young children are with their moms, from my observations, they get changed and leave in fairly short order most of the time.

For me, it seems this dad took entirely too much time while his daughter was hanging out in the men’s locker room.

My own “yuk” feeling is coming to the surface here. Exposing children to other naked adults, personally, makes me uncomfortable. I would have to think of another way of doing my toilette if I were in a similar situation.

  • What do you do when your opposite-sex child has to use a public restroom?
  • At what age should children be allowed to use the public restroom by themselves?
  • What public restrooms would make you think twice about letting your child use it without accompaniment?
  • More importantly…what do you teach them ahead of time to “protect” them.?
  • Do you teach your boys the same as you teach your girls?
  • Is this more of a “Dad Dilemma” than a “Mom Moment”?

Like I said, I used the “YUK” feeling factor to help me in these situations.

My feeling is by 7 or 8 years of age many kids have been in some type of locker room situation at school but “Y” locker rooms of the opposite sex seem to be an altogether different story.

It would be interesting to hear other responses to this issue and how parents deal with this common life situation.

Remembering…9/11

Graham Hagget was just 10 weeks old when his grandmother, Sandra Lee Wright, was killed in the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. But he knows a lot about her, mainly from the stories his mother, Shelli Wright, has told him.

via Boy Grows Close To Grandmother, Through Memories :

NPR.

 

I will always remember where I was on the morning of 9/11…the memory is forever etched in my mind as I am sure it is in yours.

It is the most horrific event of my time…

It seemed that everyone knew someone, who knew someone that perished in the events of 9/11…in the WTC….in the Pentagon … in a field in Pennsylvania.

Personally, I had the honor of meeting one of the NYFD’s first responders, a few months after 9/11.

He was working on the “recovery” at Ground Zero. He was from Queens  and he recently had recovered the remains of his own nephew, another fireman, who perished in the WTC. That late January afternoon, Bobby was with another of his nephews, also a fireman as they drank at Moran’s …a bar near Ground Zero. He was from a family of firefighters…a family of New Yorkers. Bobby had also been a first responder to the plane crash in Queens that occurred that same Fall of 2011.

He told me how as he and his “brothers” rode to the site of the WTC, they knew that some of them would not come back so they wrote their social security numbers on their limbs for identification…many were identified by their boots or coats ,which were labeled with their numbers and names.

As he told his story, I sat glued to my chair listening to every word, realizing that he was traumatized and was not the same person that left his home on the morning of 9/11.

I will never forget the events of that day…nor will I ever forget meeting Bobby, from the NYFD in Queens. I do know that his son is now a member of the NYFD and carries on a family tradition, a very proud one…of that I am sure.

Today, I remember all those who lost loved ones that day…

Here’s to the NYFD and the NYPD…today and everyday!

 

 

What are you doing for Grandparents Day!

Happy Grandparents Day!

I came across this blog post about grandparent bonding and it reminded me that today is Grandparents Day!

Fortunately for us, everyday is grandparents day in our house!

I really believe that it is the responsibility of the grandparents to remain as close as they can with their grandchildren.

By that, I mean staying in touch, making phone calls and planning visits.

I have witnessed families where grandparents feel they should be “kowtowed” to, in my opinion this does nothing to encourage a loving, supportive relationship between grandparent and grandchild.

So if you are a grandparent ….today is a day to celebrate.

Do this anyway you wish but include your grandchildren in your own special way!

Win a Back to School Gift from Hallmark!

There is nothing like little surprises and my grandchild loves them as much as I do.

Hallmark Cards has just the cutest items to surprise your child during lunchtime.

Many years ago, when my own girls were young, I was working and left home before my girls got up for school. I tried very hard to somehow connect with them prior to their leaving   for school or while they were in school.

I always left them breakfast and for lunch I would use a cookie cutter to shape their sandwiches into “heart” shapes. Every now and then I would leave a handwritten note.

Then, when they both went to “sleep away” camp I had to depend on “snail” mail to deliver, cards, letters and packages. It was fun choosing from companies that specialized in camp baskets designed for kids away from home, who were not allowed to have candy and food items in their cabin….not easy!

As school reopens….I find myself along with my daughter trying to make lunch not only healthy, but interesting and fun. It is an opportunity to share a moment during the day to say something special to a sweet little girl starting out in the world.

Here are some of the fun “Back to School” Hallmark items that I found to help make my grandchild’s lunch a memorable moment of her day at school.

Enter the contest below if you would like to win these items in a Back-to-School Gift Pack from Hallmark!

 

Win It!

I get to give one Back-to-School Gift Pack to one of you! To enter, tweet the following and leave me a comment letting me know you did:

Tweet “@LoretteLavine I want to win the @Hallmark Back to School Gift pack.

Extra Entries:

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Leave one comment per task letting me know you did, or already do.

Sweepstakes run from today, September 7 until  Saturday Night September 9th

I was not compensated for this post. I was given product for review and giveaway. All opinions are my own.

There is no winner for this gift pack from Hallmark as there were no comments or tweets related to this post.