Letters to the Editor
surprised
Published Letters: 146 Editor's Choice: 20
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Trying to be constructive
[Read the article: "This Bad Mom Trusts the Bottle"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Arrrgh! These mean-spirited, overly politicized posts are making me depressed. Sometimes I think this forum would be much more constructive, helpful and nice if the only people participating were those with some real knowledge of the subject -- mothers, doctors, nurses, scientists, lactation experts.
In the spirit of being constructive and helpful, I want to address a question raised earlier about bottled breastmilk. If you check with your pediatrician or OB-GYN, you'll learn that pumped breastmilk need not be stored in sterilized containers. Clean, yes; sterilized, not necessary because of natural antibodies.
That said, you're right that pumping ain't no picnic. It can be time-consuming and awkward; sometimes hand-expressing is simpler. Breastmilk has a limited shelf life, so date all containers in the fridge and freezer. And shake before serving -- breastmilk is not homonogized.
Also, many breastfed babies absolutely refuse to take bottles, even with mommy's milk inside. I guess they consider bottles to be yucky compared to warm, soft boobies. Many of those babies will drink from sippy cups or syringes or droppers, though. Once babies are about six months old, they can take solids. At that point, mixing breastmilk with cereal is an option.
Best of luck!
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you're right about shaking
[Read the article: "This Bad Mom Trusts the Bottle"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Sorry about that. I didn't mean shake vigorously. I meant, make sure to mix it up. Poor choice of words.
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Bad advice, Cary
[Read the article: My wife-to-be attacks me with her fists]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Let me join in the chorus -- usually Cary's advice is good, or at least thought-provoking. This time, I'm sorry, he bombed.
This letter is very disturbing. Among the disturbing elements is the batterer's explanation for her behavior: "You made me hit you."
The LW thinks she can't do him any real physical damage, but that could change if she got hold of a weapon. With her inability to control her rage, not only he but others in her vicinity are in danger -- maybe children, maybe elderly people, maybe co-workers, maybe some person she doesn't even know who somehow, accidentally, pisses her off, maybe even some bystander who gets in the crossfire. I sure wouldn't want her in my neighborhood.
Analyzing the whys and wherefores of this relationship is much less important than protecting the LW and, really, the entire public. He should get out now -- none of this, no matter what anyone suggests, is his fault -- and she should get psychiatric treatment immediately.
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"The Way We Never Were"
[Read the article: My lunch with an antifeminist pundit]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Thanks for the info on Stephanie Cootz. I'd like to see Salon interview her, perhaps as a counterpoint to Kate O'Beirne's looniness.
It's long irritated me to see the concept of mom-working-outside-the-home portrayed as some modern phenomenon. It's partly personal: both my grandmothers, as well as my great-grandmothers and great-aunts, worked outside the home, mostly in family owned mom-and-pop shops (they're not called "mom-and-pop" for nothing) and on family farms (talk about some serious work!!!)
Women, including mothers, have been working outside the home since before the invention of money. Just look at our indigenous cultures' food-gathering traditions, many of which live on.
It's a bit of a diversion, but I feel I must point out that families (which come in a multitude of configurations) are lots of things, including individual economic units; all adults and often the children are full participants in income-generating activities, no matter whose name is on any particular paycheck. Even those who work exclusively at home (say, a stay-home parent, older sibling or live-in grandma doing child care) are doing vital jobs that makes it possible for other family members to bring in the dollars.
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re: working moms
[Read the article: My lunch with an antifeminist pundit]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I appreciate the thoughtful comments about the changing nature of work for mothers.
I, too, used to run around without much supervision when I was a child. I'm grateful for the freedom to do that, but I realize that it would just not be acceptable today. In fact, I would not be want my own kids to run around like I did, meaning I spend lots of money for child care. I can't decide whether the world is more dangerous than it used to be or if we simply know more today about the dangers that have always existed.
As for recognizing that women have always worked, you and I do, and well-informed people do, but I am always astonished when some people (a small minority, let's hope) dismiss "women's work" and mothers in general as layabouts.
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Francine
[Read the article: "Invisible in Hollywood: Jewish women"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]One onscreen character who is Jewish is Francine Frensky in the Arthur TV show and book series. OK, she's not a woman. She's not even a girl. She's an aardvark, or some such animal. But she IS Jewish and she is a very strong and richly textured character, even if she's not entirely human.
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It gave me a headache
[Read the article: Will you miss "The West Wing"?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I have dear, dear friends who love the show and never miss an episode. But I tried to watch and wound up with a headache. It wasn't so much the plot lines, or the gap between reality and fiction or anything substantive like that. For me, the format was simply visually painful. The snappy dialogue was just too snappy, and people were always speaking while moving around, and there was such a whirl of activity that I couldn't focus my tired old eyes. Of course, it wasn't nearly as bad a situation as NYPD Blue, which had that seasickness-inducing shaky-camera thing going. (And note to the producers of Boston Legal, a show I love: Quit with the camera zooming-in, zooming-out effects, already! What are you trying to do, increase sales of barf bags?)