Parenting extemporanea

I need a brain-dump device to record the posts I write in my head while I'm up with the twins at night. I'm so eloquent in my head, and I come up with lots of great topic ideas, but the sleep deprivation prevents my memory from retaining critical information like where I put the other baby down, much less blog post ideas.

The one idea I do remember from 3am has to do, naturally, with breastfeeding (apologies to my poor father-in-law, if he hasn't already given up reading this blog due to excessive bodily function revelation). It does seem that once you have babies, everything that passes for thought revolves around what goes into the babies and what comes out. No wonder one's social life generally suffers a post-partum decline.

Right, the post. I belong to a local online mother's group, and lately there has been a lot of discussion about the furor caused by the breast on the cover of the latest Babytalk magazine. A lot of statistics are being bandied about regarding how many Americans feel "uncomfortable" with nursing in public (always abbreviated as NIP in the discussion forum, much to my adolescent amusement). My thoughts at 3am were that I don't much care if it makes people uncomfortable. I feel fortunate to live in a time and place where I don't have to choose between nursing and leaving the house. I do wonder if those people offended by public nursing realize how frequently babies (especially newborns) eat, and how limiting it would be for mothers not to be able to go out until their babies are on a predictable, avoidable feeding schedule. If my own experience is anything to go by (and it may not be, but it's what I've got), my mental health post-partum is already a bit shaky, and leaving the house is one of the thin threads holding me together. So, easily offended Puritanical public, avert your prudish eyes, but my babies and I are leaving the damn house. As usual, I mentally follow my pronouncement with an oh-so-sophisticated foot stamp and a "so there." So there.

In other news, my transmogrification from pissy, uptight, Type A working girl to competent, giving, living-my-ideals stay at home mom continues apace. My lovely friend Cole introduced me to the wonders of Whole Foods and Trader Joes yesterday, and I have been snacking on much more healthy fare ever since (minus one small incident with Moose Tracks ice cream, but I was really just emptying the last bit from the container, so it was like cleaning more than eating). AND...drumroll please...we have switched the twins to cloth diapers, now that they have actual bottoms around which to wrap the diapers - we tried cloth when they first came home but their bitty bodies were not sufficient to keep the diapers on.

Nursing twins in public, eating healthier food, and cloth diapers - I've come a long way, baby.