Stumptown Mom

Got milk? Donate today!

Are you a nursing mama with milk to spare? The Mothers Milk Bank of Colorado needs your milk today! Facing freezers emptier than they have been in their 25 year history, the Mothers Milk Bank of Colorado is in desperate need of milk donations. Read the front page story from the Denver Post. Portland area moms can help by donating their precious breastmilk today. You can drop off at one of our three local drop-off sites: Adventist Medical Center, St. Vincent Medical Center and Providence Newberg Medical Center. Contact them to get started. Out of the Portland area? Contact the Mothers Milk Bank of Colorado directly to become a donor. Help fill the freezers in Denver today! Not only do we want to show our Northwest support, but currently, fragile babies in the Northwest are receiving donor milk from Denver. We're working hard to develop a milk bank in Portland. Find out more about the development of the Northwest Mothers Milk Bank and how you can help by volunteering or donating funds.

Also posted on Activistas.

Prepare your family

We've waited to the very end of September to highlight National Preparedness Month, but better late than never, right?!  The same can also be said for getting your emergency plans together.  It's easy to put it off but once you get it done, you can put it out of your mind.  So just do it, already.

A couple years ago we took the plunge and put together emergency kits -- one for the car and one for the house.  And now it's time for some updating as our lives change.  New job locations, new preschools.  Time to revisit. 

Don't be overwhelmed.  One step at a time.  There are lots of great tools available.

• Get a kit together with stuff you'll need in an emergency.  You can even buy pre-made kits!
• Create a Family Emergency Plan.  Or build your plan online.  Get the kids involved with fun activities.
• Create an emergency plan at work.
• Does your child's daycare or preschool have an emergency plan?  Encourage them to develop one!
• Public schools are required to have an emergency response plan.  Ask for a copy!

The Oregon Red Cross has great info and resources on all kinds of disasters.  They also offer great classroom presentations for kids.

We [HEART] Schoolhouse Supplies

Every once in a while here at StumptownMom, we like to highlight local organizations working to make our community a better place for families.  With back-to-school on everyone's mind and the actual start of school creeping up on us (some states have already started!), it's a perfect time to introduce Schoolhouse Supplies.

If you've been stocking up on school supplies lately, you know how expensive it can be.  Imagine being a teacher and spending hundreds of dollars from your own meager pockets to supply your classroom.  Schoolhouse Supplies fills that need by providing 3,000 teachers in the Portland Public Schools with free shopping in their supply store.

School supplies come from corporate donations of surplus and gently-used products as well as from individual supply donors like you.  You too can help Schoolhouse Supplies by donating school supplies!  Stock up on the most needed items like pencils, glue sticks, markers and erasers and drop them in a bin at a participating location or bring them by their free store at Madison High.  Or participate in the KGW Supply Drive to benefit Schoolhouse Supplies now through Labor Day.

They are always looking for volunteers interested in helping at the Free Store, picking up donations or helping with special events.  

Don't take our word for it.  Listen to what a student has to say: "Some of our families can't afford school supplies.  Most people want a good education and you can't get one without a pencil, so thank you for everything."  -Ernest, student

[Thanks to Flickr CC - Robert S. Donovan for the supplies pic]

Make reducing infant mortality part of the debate

Health care reform is taking center stage in the news these days.  Chances are health care is taking a bigger chunk of your paycheck too.  With everyone talking about reform - what will it mean?  What are the misconceptions (and there are plenty out there!)?  What will it mean for me? - let's talk too about reducing infant mortality.

Each year our country spends $26.2 billion on premature babies.  Yikes!  Did you also know that our rates of premature birth have been rising and can lead to long-term issues for those children, their families and even our health care spending?  You can act now to make prematurity a part of the national health care debate!

DONA International, a certifying organization for doulas as well as a number of other interested groups are partnering on reducinginfantmortality.com to push this agenda forward.  

Learn more about the Midwifery Model of Care.  Find out how to take action and contact your legislators.

Watch this great video they produced to highlight the costs associated with prematurity and what we can do to fix the problem:

  

[Thanks to Flickr CC - protorio for the perfect pic]

Help Stumptown Mom help you

Reading Stumptown Mom for the first time?  Or the 20th? We're here as a resource for all of you Stumptown Moms (and Dads) out there -- and we want to be helpful.  

We've been writing for about 6 months now and want to reach more moms and grow.  We need your help to do it.  Now's the time to act:

1. Make a comment letting us know what you like about Stumptown Mom. Or post a comment on any of our past posts - it's getting lonely over here.
2. Suggest topics you'd like to see covered. 
3. Ideas for improvement - we'd love to hear 'em. 
4. Let your friends and neighbors know about Stumptown Mom - send an email, give us some link love or blog about us and we're happy to reciprocate.

Reach us by email at stumptownmom [at] yahoo [dot] com

or just leave a comment here.

Thanks! 

NEVER shake a baby

In addition to marking a number of other (un)important things (National Kite Month and Straw Hat Month, anyone?), April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.  So before these April showers make way for our May flowers, let's highlight one particularly heart-wrenching and completely preventable form of child abuse.

Shaken Baby Syndrome.  It's an often deadly brain trauma condition caused by the violent shaking of a baby or child. But perhaps not everyone takes it seriously as evidenced by this week's flap about Apple's completely distasteful Baby Shaker iPhone app (it's thankfully no longer available).  

It seems simple and maybe even completely intuitive to handle babies with care.  But Shaken Baby Syndrome can happen when parents or caregivers are stressed by an inconsolable baby and are not able to think clearly.  Crying is the #1 trigger for SBS and just saying "don't shake a baby" isn't enough.  

All babies cry, but some babies CRY.  If you have or had a baby that CRIES, you know what we mean.  Fo course you want to try to calm the baby using all of those great techniques like those infamous 5 S's. But research shows that some babies have times when they can't be consoled.  They call it the Period of PURPLE Crying.  All families delivering babies at Legacy hospitals are now going home with a video about PURPLE crying in an effort to prevent SBS.

If you're feeling stressed by a crying child, it's OK to walk away and take a break.  Call a friend to help give you a break.  Take care of yourself and you'll be better able to handle the crying and the stress of a new baby.  Need to talk to someone?  Call the Parents Anonymous Help-Line in Portland at 503-258-4557.

Don't ignore the signs of autism

OK, only a few days ago we talked about a weighty topic (or a weighless one, really) - Radon.  And now we're going to take advantage of Autism Awareness Month and bring up another heavy but important topic.

Autism.  Even the thought of the word can stop a parent in their tracks.  There's lots of information and maybe even misinformation swirling out there about autism.  What is it, and what can you do about it?

According to the Autism Society of Oregon, autism is, "a complex developmental disability that typically appears during the first three years of life."  Early intervention is important!  Read more about the signs of autism and major milestones of child development.  This video provides a nice overview of what to look for:

What should you do?  If you suspect that your child is showing signs of autism or other developmental delays, talk to your health care provider and contact your local Education Service District for free early intervention services and screenings.  In Multnomah County, contact the MESD.  In Washington County, contact the NWESD.  And in Clackamas County, contact the Clackamas ESD.

Family Volunteering -- Let's do it!

It's the end of National Volunteer Week - what better time to remind everyone how important it is to volunteer with your family.  Volunteering has really been in the news this week.  President Obama signed the Kennedy Service Act promising to increase volunteerism and strengthen AmeriCorps (and he picked an Oregonian to lead the government agency in charge!).  

With the economy doing what it's doing there's no better time to help our neighbors.  We've talked before about getting your family involved in volunteering, but let's talk about it again.  Why is it important?  Well, helping other people is important, but studies also show that kids who volunteer are much more likely to volunteer as adults (and more likely to give financially too).  So get your family involved now!

• Hands on Greater Portland has great information and lists of projects you can join with your family.
• As Oregon celebrates our Sesquicentennial (say it five times fast -- it means our 150 year birthday), be part of the fun by participating in a Take Care of Oregon Days project in May.  
• Search the online volunteer database at 1800volunteer.org -- just do the advanced search to find those tagged appropriate for families.

Oregon families need paid leave

If you've had a baby (if you're reading this blog, you probably have) or had a sick family member, you know how stressful it can be to take unpaid time off of work. Or to go back to work too soon.  Most of us try to hobble together some combination of sick days, vacation days and maybe some disability leave too.  But most of a maternity leave or time off to care for a family member is unpaid.  

There's a group of parent activists and a strong coalition of partners working on an important piece of legislation in Oregon right now that will help families take the time they need.  Join Parents for Paid Leave in supporting our right to a self-paid insurance plan.

What can you do to help?

1. Write to your lawmakers.
2. Go to Salem on Wednesday 4/8 at 3pm and tell them in person that this is important.