Top 10 Babies

Some cool Singing Babies images:

by Peter Parker-www.otakubrasil.com.br


Image by Peter Parker -Site otakubrasil

By Peter Parker www.otakubrasil.com.br


Image by Peter Parker -Site otakubrasil

By Peter Parker www.otakubrasil.com.br


Image by Peter Parker -Site otakubrasil

Some cool Fighting Babies images:

Deadly Kraken Attack, part 3


Image by mrjorgen
Finally, after what had seemed like hours and hours of struggle, I befriended the monstrous Kraken, which turned out to be a huggable, friendly and even quite nice-tasting fellow from Sri Lanka. (This is the end of a 3-picture story. It starts here.)

(Deadly kraken bought from Barefoot Berlin at their stand in Hackescher Markt.)

Check out these Angry Babies images:

MOMENTS TO REMEMBER — Tina Louise … 5 ways to bring friendship back into marriage (January 30, 2012 / 6 Shevat 5772) …..item 2.. A practical plan to forge a new beginning — “Is now a good time?” (February 10, 2012 / 17 Shevat 5772) …


Image by marsmet544
1. Accept Your Soul mate…We destroy our relationship when we keep on imagining how much better things would be ‘if only.’ ‘If only I would’ve married my college sweetheart’, ‘If only I would’ve ended up with someone more attractive’, ‘If only I would’ve said yes to that successful doctor’. This type of thinking does not allow us to see our spouse as our best friend. Instead we keep envisioning how life would be better with someone else. How can we possibly feel fulfilled if we think we’ve made the biggest mistake of our lives?

Let’s stop thinking that we’d be happier spending our lives with another person and start concentrating on how we could make our days complete with our soul mate.

……..***** All images are copyrighted by their respective authors ……..
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…..item 1)…. aish.com … Happy Together … 5 ways to bring friendship back into marriage.

January 30, 2012 / 6 Shevat 5772
by Slovie Jungreis-Wolff

www.aish.com/f/m/Happy_Together.html

Ashton Kutscher tweeted: “Marriage is one of the most difficult things in the world and unfortunately sometimes they fail. Love and light, AK “.

Ouch. Is a failed marriage that simple?

I recently read an article on Yahoo: ‘5 Ways to Know Your Relationship Is Over’. It spoke about couples who enjoy socializing with others instead of each other, spouses who seem disinterested in each other’s lives, and husbands and wives who have stopped communicating.

Why wait for our relationship to nosedive? Who wants to wake up one day and realize that their marriage is in trouble? Too often we live in dull, lackluster marriages and just try to make the best of it. It’s like living with a chronic condition that wears you down with nagging aches and pains.

It is crucial for each person to have a partner in life with whom we can grow. One who can share hopes and fears. A companion who will encourage us, strengthen us and enable us to get through life’s darkest moments. Isn’t this the definition of a true friend?

Who should this person be if not your spouse? Let us try to bring friendship back into our marriages and move away from having a working relationship where we just speak about problems, bills, and what to do with the kids.

—–1. Accept Your Soul mate

We destroy our relationship when we keep on imagining how much better things would be ‘if only.’ ‘If only I would’ve married my college sweetheart’, ‘If only I would’ve ended up with someone more attractive’, ‘If only I would’ve said yes to that successful doctor’. This type of thinking does not allow us to see our spouse as our best friend. Instead we keep envisioning how life would be better with someone else. How can we possibly feel fulfilled if we think we’ve made the biggest mistake of our lives?

Let’s stop thinking that we’d be happier spending our lives with another person and start concentrating on how we could make our days complete with our soul mate.

—–2. Keep the Spark Alive

A common Jewish blessing for a newly married couple is that they ‘build a true home within our people’. A home must be built to endure. Good marriages don’t just happen. It takes sweat, pain and perseverance. Relationships require hard work and effort. Friendship in marriage means that we are loyal to each other. We don’t knock dreams or fears. We believe in one another.

It becomes easy to lose the spark with the daily pressures of life. We stop trying. We forget to make an effort and slowly let ourselves go. We don’t go out often. We walk around our home in torn sweats and dirty t-shirts. We don’t have dinner together. We begin taking each other for granted.

We would not treat a special friend this way, so why would we care less for our spouse?

Related Article: 5 Ways to Keep Your Love Alive

—–3. A Kindness a Day

What was the last nice thing you did for your partner? We are there for our kids, running around trying to find the latest and most popular gadget that they want. If one of our children requests a special snack or meal, we make it happen. What about doing something special for our spouse? A day should not pass without giving from our hearts to let our spouse know that we care.

This includes little favors or even a compliment and encouraging word. And it does not require money. A husband I know recently gave his wife a birthday present she will forever remember. He took all three children for the entire day, (baby and diapers included), and told his wife to take the day off.

A hot cappuccino, a sweet text that says ‘I love you’ are just two little examples that fill a person with a sense of being cared for and cherished. I can still recall my father preparing the morning paper for my mother each day. If there was anything that he knew my mother would find interesting or important, he would underline it in black magic marker. Next to the paper would be a cut up grapefruit set on a dish.

These little acts of kindness fill a home with love.

—–4. Be a Peacemaker

True friends never hold onto anger. When we latch onto hurts and conflicts from yesterday we are unable to live peacefully today. We must learn to let go. When there are little arguments and bickering almost every day, our relationship curdles like spoiled milk. That which we once found nourishing and delicious now turns our stomachs.

Of course it is not easy to be a peacemaker. How can we work on being a less argumentative partner?

Act. Don’t react.

Never speak in anger.

Stop talking. Stop defending yourself. Start listening and digest your partner’s words.

Seek out compromise instead of confrontation.

Try not to get into silly arguments

Remember, there are no winners when there is fighting in a home.

—–5. Protect Your Privacy

We have become used to spilling our lives out for all to see on Facebook. Never expose your private life or the intimacy of your relationship for others to digest and dissect. Your marriage is considered holy. Your relationship is to be guarded like a precious diamond. Taking your marriage public degrades the sanctity and commitment that bonds husband and wife.

Think about the feelings of a newly married wife whose husband wrote on his Facebook page:

“First fight. Marriage is not what I expected
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…..item 2)… aish.com …. 5 Steps to Save Your Marriage … A practical plan to forge a new beginning.

February 10, 2012 / 17 Shevat 5772
by Rabbi Shlomo Slatkin

www.aish.com/f/m/5_Steps_to_Save_Your_Marriage.html

If your marriage is in crisis, the task of salvaging the relationship may appear daunting. In my experience of working with countless couples on the verge of relationship disaster, I have identified five proven steps to turn things around:

……1) Commit.

While it may appear obvious, the couples that do not make it are usually those not committed to making their marriage work. When you make the decision to commit, you have decided to put in the hard work that is needed to save your marriage. When you waver and think about what it would be like if you married someone else or how you wish your life would be different, you are usually not able to generate enough momentum to push forward and repair the relationship.

When deciding whether or not to commit, be aware of the consequences divorce can have on your children and your finances.

Also, realize that it takes two to tango and that finding someone better is not necessarily a cure-all, as we will likely have issues in future relationships.

Finally, recognize how the particular challenges of your marriage are growth opportunities for you and your spouse, and that there are ways for you to transform this conflict into connection. (Of course, this does not apply to abusive relationships.)

……2) Seal your exits.

Couples in crisis are often focused everywhere but their marriage. It’s so painful, who can blame them?

Even if we are physically married, many of us have "checked out."

An essential step to bringing the energy back into the relationship is to seal your exits. This means thinking about the various activities where we focus our inner resources and whether they have become substitutes for the look of excitement and fulfillment in marriage. Besides the obvious (often-fatal) exits of infidelity and substance abuse, here are a few common exits that we may find ourselves doing:

Work
Exercise
Overeating
Facebook
Taking care of the kids

While many of these activities may be harmless, if one of the reasons you are doing them is to avoid spending time with your spouse, it may just be an exit. Become aware of how you may be exiting the relationship, and begin to close those exits by putting more energy where it needs to be.

……3) Detox your marriage.

Eliminate all name-calling, finger-pointing, blaming, and shaming. A toxic relationship cannot thrive. Angry outbursts chip away at the love and trust that a couple has for each other. Instead, take ownership for your feelings and frustration by focusing on why your spouse’s actions disturb you. Replace the "you" of "you always do this" with "I” – "how I felt when…"

Finally, learn to ask for what you want. It’s so easy to complain that we often forget what it is we are missing. Rather than focusing on how your spouse ignores you, share how badly you crave his love and attention.

Not only does detoxing your marriage help remove the poison from your relationship, it will make your spouse much more amenable to meeting your needs.

Related Article: Putting Marriage First

……4) Enter the world of the other.

One of the painful realizations that married people discover is that “my spouse is not me.” In order to make room for the other, it is critical to learn how to acknowledge that your spouse may see the world very differently than you.

Get into the habit of asking, "Is now a good time?"

We do that by learning how to communicate more safely. When we talk, we want to connect and make sure our spouse hears us. Get into the habit of asking, "Is now a good time?" instead of dumping a verbal assault. If the goal is to connect, make sure your spouse is mentally and emotionally available to connect.

The second step occurs when we listen. Try to enter the other’s world by listening and understanding without responding or interjecting. Although in your world, things may look entirely different, be curious and interested in what your partner is saying. You may be surprised what you discover.

Couples are so often caught up in their own world that is hard to make sense of the other’s experience. In successful relationships, both partners are allowed to express their own feelings safely and can work together to bridge the gap between their worlds.

……5) Love infusions.

Working on any relationship is challenging, especially so when you are trying to rescue one in crisis.

That’s why it is crucial to infuse your relationship with loving behaviors that promote positive energy.

These love infusions help lighten things and add fun:

a. Appreciations – The best way to decrease resentment and reinforce positive behavior is by expressing appreciations. When we share what we like about our spouse, we begin to focus on what is right in the relationship, and our partner feels that his efforts are valued. More than a simple thank you, sit down with your spouse, look into her eyes, tell her what you appreciate about her, and why it means so much to you.

By spending a few minutes a day on this exercise, you can break through a lot of negativity.

b. Date night – Even if you’ve been married for 40 years, you still need to date your spouse. Make a set time once a week where you go out together and enjoy each other’s company. Whether it means going for dinner or a walk in the park, take this time to enjoy face-to-face connection. By making a fixed appointment, you will show each other that the marriage is a priority.

c. Caring behaviors – Love is a verb. We demonstrate care for a spouse when we perform loving behaviors. Every individual is different, so it is important to find out from your spouse what types of behaviors make him/her feel cared for. Ask him/her to write a list of behaviors that s/he particularly appreciates, and try to do one caring behavior each day.

When we act lovingly we not only stimulate our own love for our spouse; we awaken their love for us as well. And with these concrete behavioral changes occurring, we show that the relationship can indeed be different.

If your marriage is falling apart, these five steps provide you with a clear path out of the darkness and a new beginning for your relationship journey. With these five steps, couples have been able to reawaken love and enjoy each other again. Even if your situation seems hopeless, don’t give up. A better future is closer than you think.

Excerpted from Rabbi Slatkin’s new book, Is My Marriage Over: The Five Step Action Plan to Saving Your Marriage (available for download at www.theRelationshipRabbi.com/is-my-marriage-over)
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365.019


Image by twintermute
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243429293

I hope the world goes into chaos. I want more terrorist bombings, more wars, basically anything that has to do with death, destruction or suffering. I act like I am against the war in iraq and how immoral war is. I speak of peace and respect to all of humanity. But, when I wake up in the morning and read the paper, I am secretly wishing I find a news story of U.S soldiers being killed up or innocent children having their legs blown off.

I know its weird, I used to deny these feelings I had. But now I accept them. Sex and violence is the only thing that gives me pleasure. I say embrace the chaos everyone, its so appeasing.

431297202

After 9/11, I was completely duped by the Bush administration’s lies. I said some very bad things about Iraq, and I honestly expected that we’d capture Saddam then clear out. I knew Bush was an idiot, but I thought for once he was putting America’s interests ahead of his oil connections. I feel like such a fool.

198499133

I live in a small town in Kansas. I’ve always been the artsy type..painting, photography…while most other guys around here were more jocky. Tons of guys joined the millitary after high school and now almost all of them are in Iraq. They send letters home saying how proud they are of their wives and how it must be hard for them to deal with their husbands being away.

Well do you know how they deal with it?

They fuck me.

Thats right. While you are away getting your ass hot off I’m shooting myself off in your wifes ass. Thank God for George Bush. I have about 4 wives I’m currently fucking because of his great leadership. I voted republican this year and then promptly went to a shipped off wives’s home and came in her mouth.

663192506

I selfishly avoided going to see my grandfather when he was in the hospital, until the day he died, and he was already in a coma. I think i mostly did this because i hate having to fake affection for family members. I have absolutely no feelings, for anyone but myself, and am completely unable to empathise with others. On a regular basis i imagine what it would be like if my whole family died. I always imagine tragic things happening like that because i imagine that it will somehow shock me out of my apathy and maybe i’ll actually feel something for at least a little while. I was secretly very excited about 9/11, not because i hate America, on the contrary i’m a bit of a flagwaving asshole, and sometimes I find myself hating liberal celebrities and protesters to unreasonable degrees. I was just happy that something was finally happening to shake things up a bit, even if it meant that thousands were going to die. Same thing with Iraq. Im just selfish. I think all the time about the end of the world coming, and the sooner the better.

441956508

First off my wife is in Iraq and in the time that she’s been gone I’ve done nothing but go on 3 or 4 day benders of methamphetamines or any drugs that I could get my hands on at the time, I spend all of our money and I have a stripper wanting to fuck me, I havnt given in yet but I likely will any day now.

706542473

I just finished a year of active duty in Baghdad and after returning home all I feel is hatred for the US Media and the Democrats. The media makes it sound like we are hated in Iraq and things are terrible. The vast majority people over there loved us and are thankful we removed Hussein…it is just a few radicals ruining it. I was proud to do my service and I look forward to returning to Iraq in 4 months. The Democrats say I am being sent to die by a weak President…what? I am going with pride to serve my country, defend my people, and help great people rebuild their great nation. The media and Democrats know the truth and feed lies to the American public about the war in Iraq – that is what makes it so terrible. I hate them. I feel like the people of Iraq are more my friends than the US Media and these Democrats like Kerry and Dean. I am proud of what I am doing, I know it is a good and just war, and I am thankful to have a leader like Geroge W. Bush as my Commander in Chief. If people put Kerry in office…they reap the danger they sow.

808238721

I secretly feel a smug satisfaction hearing that things are going badly in Iraq, because I was against the war from the beginning, and I want the Bush administration to be humiliated.

295200060

Im a staff sergeant (E6) in the United States Army, stationed in Iraq. On one of our patrols 10 miles south of baghdad, the humvee in front of ours was hit with a rocket-propelled grenade. The corporal next to me stop the humvee and got out to return fire on the Iraqi insurgents. I quickly got out, loaded a clip into my M-16 and started firing on the shadowy figures. The explosion had kicked up alot of sand and it was very hard to see, but they were shooting at us. I had to of the enemies in my site and I nearly hesitated to fire, but I persevered and emptied my clip into them. About 5 minutes later the shooting stopped, and our medic quickly ran to the wreckage of the first humvee. The corporal and I investigated the insurgents who were shooting at us. I have been in fire fights before, but nothing could have prepared me for this. The person I had killed, was a mere child. How could I ever tell my girlfriend or family such a thing? I had nearly burst into tears when I told the chaplain but I still have not found a way to get over this. Would God forgive me?

735184890

I am from India, and poeople are constantly thinking I am a terrorist from Iraq or Afghanistan. It makes me so angry becuase i am from INDIA, and i am just as scared of terrorists as the next person. I wish people would just give me a chance before they shun me frmo their lives, I only want to be their friend.

585865571

I want him to just bend me over and fuck me already. My boyfriend would never know because he is overseas in Iraq. I stayed out with the guy all night and I woke up late………I didn’t even have time to shower this morning. I feel so dirty and just wish he would bend me over already or, at least, try to stick his dick in my mouth, so that things can get ackward and I can dump him soon, before Steve gets back.

613682318

I’m going into the military.
I can’t wait to go to Iraq and kill lots of people.
I don’t hate these people because of there religion or ethnicity. I hate them because I can kill some of them legally.
That is all.
There is no other motive behind my anger.

604777911

I just learned about Peak Oil. I just learned that my intent of living the American dream is futile. I just leared that the man I hated, the president of the US, may actually be a hero for getting us Afghanistan and Iraq before anyone else and buying us some time. I just learned that my idyllic America existence is going to be a thing of the past in a few years. I just learned that war is going to be a constant in every one of our lives from now on.

To all those on here that hate everyone and wish everyone would die, congrats. You’re gonna get your wish.

You’re probably going to die too.

The only way to avert all of this is for all of us to work hard and work together. Unfortunately most of us are too wrapped up in getting high, paid and laid.

Enjoy this paradise while you can.

375011786

It would take all of 2 months for America to wipe out the middle east and take their oil. Imagine how cheap gas would be. I could get that Tahoe I want and not have to worry about gas prices costing to much. I say go for it George…why stop with Iraq. Also we wouldnt have to look at filthy sand muslims anymore.

974421934

I’ve been in the US army for close to seven years, and have become very adept at using a rifle, so much so that i could hit a moving target at 200 yards without the aid of a scope. Anyways, i volunteered to go on a tour of Iraq, not to help my country but to see what it feels like to kill a man.

I don’t particularly want anyone to die, but i want to experience this feeling..I kinda regret it now, but the way I reason this is that I’m going to be killing people who make life a living hell for other people.

I’m not sure if i’m lying to myself at this point, I just hope i won’t have to do anything i’m going to regret.

974413466

my stepdad is a military man. he got activated. hes leaving for iraq on april 15th. he wont be back until november 2005. my halfbrother is 8 months old, he wont see his daddy again until hes two and a half. sometimes i wish he would just die in iraq because the insurance policy is 0,000. we need that money to buy this house in north carolina. we need that money more than i need him. i dont need the damn baby either.

810055731

I am a Muslim. I practice Islam. I converted to Islam 10 years ago. My secret is that I hate people who think Muslims are the cause of the worlds’ problems. I hate people who give me a dirty look when they see my full beard. I hate people who post and say disparaging highly generalized comments. If they only knew the beauty and simplicity of Islam they too would convert. My only purpose in life is to try and live life according to rules established by God, not another man or my own faulty reasoning ability. By the way, Arabs make up a small percentage of the worlds’ Muslims.

398950095

I hate Democrats. We have civilians in Iraq getting their heads chopped off by terrorists and you flaming hippies are worried about the ozone layer. I want to spray aerosol hairspray in all of your faces. Fuck you.

610888980

I came home from Iraq a few months ago. My buddies and I got in some bad firefights but we all came out okay. War was really fun, even the killing.

873688599

My wife is in the reserves, and left to go to Iraq for a year. I guess I’m somewhat insecure, because I’m afraid she’ll meet another army guy over there, and decides she likes "army life" more than civilian life with me.

680258834

I’m a MP for the United States Army and when I do search and seizures in Iraq I shoot unarmed people and tell my command that they were armed. I want to kill all of them. I hate muslims. I wish I could make them all eat pork.

473335717

i root against our troops in iraq.

192002518

I think about one of the guys I killed in Iraq. I’m an LT in the infantry. We needed to take down an radar station before the invasion. I snuck up and broke his neck. I’ve killed before, but never so close up and personal. And the thing is, when I saw his face- he was a kid. I know that by killing him I saved a lot of Americans by doing this. But everytime when I replay the image in my mind, it’s my little brother’s face (I am a father firgue to him).
And I don’t feel at all bad about the many other people I killed. Including the time when I slit somebody’s throat and was covered in blood for the rest of the mission.
And I feel bad about not caring.

849174094

Everyone has an opinion on that footage of those Iraqi prisoners of war getting sexually abused by US troops earlier this year. Some people are outraged by what happened while others don’t think it’s anywhere near as big of a deal as Arabs beheading Americans. I don’t know about you, but there’s just something so erotic about seeing these men in such poses, however degrading it must’ve been for them. I am constantly searching the net for new pictures of Iraqi soldiers being sexually abused so I can jack off to them. Problem is, though, that the old pictures are now starting to lose their effect; I’m starting to think that I may need to find even more brutal pictures to get off on soon.

275467124

I hate god damn liberals. I seriously want to punch them all in the face and ask why they would rather kill an unborn baby than in insurgent in Iraq.

608094312

Americans disgust me. I really wish they’d get a clue as to why the rest of the world hates them. I hope some piss-poor third world country like Iraq or Turkey scoops up some of those Weapons of Mass Destruction the States claim they already have… then use them to blow the shit out of the ignorant, arrogant, useless, concieted, warmongering Americans. This continent would be so much better without them. Plus, then I wouldn’t be paying out the ass for gas at the pump anymore. Fuckin’ Americans, die please.

273766094

It pisses me off when non-Americans talk shit about the citizens and the soldiers (including my brother) in Iraq. What the fuck?! If they think that American’s like what our dumbass president is doing then they’re so fucking wrong. Americans don’t even like this country since Bush came into office. Seriously don’t hate the player hate the game. You have no idea what the hell it feels like to just watch the world hate you and knowing that you can do nothing about it. So lay the fuck off you pricks.

168316643

im a gay soldier in iraq, nobody knows, im so alone.

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A few nice Fighting Babies images I found:

birth story


Image by ethan.john
The birth story, Ethan’s perspective

(I have no idea how this story got so long, but I’m keeping it all in case certain family members get value from it. It was, even for the non-laboring partner, a pretty incredible experience. Skip to the end for a TL;DR version. Cori will probably be writing her own eventually.)

The Beginning, and the Trip to the Hospital

We had read for months about labor and birth and Cori had always wanted to give an unmedicated birth the old college try. Our overall goal was to provide the best experience to mother and baby, which probably also meant avoiding a C section if possible. We weren’t adamant about it, but we felt like we understood the potential consequences of the various medications available and weren’t crazy about them.

Time for an overshare: On Wednesday the 13th, we had sex, hoping that labor might get a jump start. Starting about 30 minutes after that, Cori started to have contractions that involved back pain about once every 4-6 minutes. These never progressed and stopped around 2am. The next day, we did it again with the same results. The experience of strong contractions for hours that never progressed wasn’t great, so that was enough of that for Cori.

She had no more contractions until Saturday the 18th, where she had very mild BH-style ones throughout the day. She took a nap around 4pm and was awakened at 5pm with contractions similar to the post-sex ones: Strong enough to wake her from a nap and pain involving the back.

We timed them for an hour: 4 minutes apart almost on the button, one minute long each, and getting stronger. This certainly wasn’t the long, drawn-out labor we anticipated, and while on the phone with the midwives, Cori’s water broke (more with a trickle than a gush). I was in the process of getting the hospital bag ready and preparing some food when it happened. We were both ready to be at home for another few hours at least, but that apparently wasn’t the plan!

The drive to the hospital was only 20 or so minutes for me, but it was pretty agonizing for Cori, whose contractions were progressing fairly rapidly. It was made doubly annoying because the passenger seat could not recline due to the presence of the car seat behind it. I decided on the way to the hospital that we would need to buy a larger car!

Early Labor at the Hospital

We checked in and met the midwife Jessica. This was already a surprise because we had never met Jessica before: It turns out she had been on maternity leave for some time and had only recently returned to work. The next surprise for us was what seemed like rapid-fire medical stuff for about half an hour. There were forms to sign, questions to answer, and tests to be performed. I’m sure it was only 10 minutes worth of work but when the primary patient is spending half her time in labor contractions, things can take a long time.

Every woman’s response to labor is different. From the beginning, Cori had not wanted to be touched during contractions. This was a surprise to me: We had planned and practiced coping methods that involved embracing, firm stroking, massage, and the like. So for a while, I was at a loss about how to help her. I spent this first time trying to answer as many of the medical questions as possible and trying to remind her to breathe and relax. She hardly seemed to need my help, which was at once disappointing and encouraging. She seemed to be coping like a champ to my eyes: She was relaxing as much as possible, she seemed alert and happy between contractions, and she was on her feet and rocking.

In any case, one of the tests that needs to be performed is they need to monitor the baby’s heart rate through the contractions. This requires that the monitor be placed on Cori’s skin, which she was not exactly a fan of. Over the course of the night, Kale (the nurse responsible for the monitoring) became Public Enemy Number 1. (Totally joking of course: Kale was spectacular.)

Jessica deftly checked Cori’s progress fairly soon after we had arrived: 3cm and 90% effaced, which was amazingly quick for only having had contractions for a couple hours at that point. She was having some trouble concentrating amidst all the medicine that was going on, so I managed to make myself useful by suggesting laboring positions. She settled on trying the shower.

She stood in the shower with water running down her back for something like 90 minutes, maybe as long as a couple hours. She rocked and moaned her way through every contraction, leaving me little to do except watch in awe at her ability to deal with the pain. As the night dragged on, it became increasingly hard for her to find the right shower configuration to suit her needs, and eventually she looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said, "I need an epidural."

I didn’t know what to say, to be honest. In hindsight, the books say to write these reasons out and memorize them because you will forget in the heat of the moment, which is exactly what happened to me. I had been watching her in pain for a long time and could not for the life of me come up with any reasons why she might have wanted to avoid an epidural. I stared blankly at her for a minute, talked her through her next contraction, and then said, "Let’s go talk to Jessica about that."

Jessica handled this situation like an absolute champ. I am not sure how long you have to be a midwife in order to have a litany of ways to sidestep requests that are in contrast with a patient’s birth plan, but she has clearly put in the time. She said, "Let’s check your progress and then talk about that." Seven centimeters later, Cori was crying with happiness, and we were both amazed with how quickly things were progressing and had forgotten all about the epidural.

Later Labor

She said very early on that she would be wanting the jacuzzi tub for later labor. They told us there weren’t really any other laboring women, so the tub would most likely be available. Kale prepared it for us and Cori welcomed it with laughter. The water was fairly hot: It was probably the hottest bath Cori had entered since becoming pregnant, and she loved it. It slowed down labor briefly as well: She got a good 5 minute break upon immersing herself in the water, which gave her a much needed rest.

This is the stage at which women often develop spontaneous rituals. That is, they repeatedly do things that aren’t in the books in order to cope with the increasingly frequent contractions. Cori was perhaps a bit dehydrated, and the combination of that plus the hot water inspired her to ask for a cold wash cloth. I dipped a cloth in the glass of ice water that we had and placed it on her forehead. Her relief was visible. I asked for more ice water and wash clothes, and the fantastic Kale retrieved them. Cori continued to ask for new wash clothes after every contraction, and Jessica and I worked to provide them as cold and as quickly as possible. Having a solid job was a great comfort to me.

She labored in the tub for nearly two hours before she again started to become distressed by the pain and started to have a strong urge to push. Jessica said we should check progress again. When we got back to the room, we were greeted with 9 centimeters and fully effaced.

With only a handful of contractions to go, Cori toughed it out, moving around the room to cope with each one, amazingly keeping her rhythm intact and relaxing — even laughing and making conversation — for the brief pauses between them. At this point, Nora was positioned on Cori’s left side. She took Jessica’s advice and tried to labor as much as possible leaning over a birthing (exercise) ball in order to encourage Nora to return to a center position.

Pushing

When she got to 10cm, I think both Cori and I were surprised to find that she was very scared to push. Despite having a strong physical urge, she was frightened of bearing down. Part of this was modesty (she had been afraid of pooping all over the midwives since very early in pregnancy), and part of it was a fear that such aggressive action would harm Nora.

Again, Jessica, who had hardly left our side for the entire duration of labor, stepped in. She encouraged Cori to try to push on the toilet, and then over the ball, and her ongoing encouragement and these positions allowed Cori to truly start bearing down at around midnight.

I felt as though this had all progressed exceptionally quickly, but in hindsight a 6 hour active labor is fairly average (Total labor time of 24 hours is typical, with the latter 1/4 to 1/3 being active labor). The only difference in our experience was the almost total lack of early labor!

I honestly cannot tell you the medical details of pushing. Jessica offered ongoing encouragement and suggestions about positions, but I was so involved in trying to help Cori cope with the extreme effort involved in pushing (particularly after labor) that I wasn’t really paying attention until the end.

I remember Cori becoming concerned around the 90 minute mark and asking various questions of Jessica. Among the answers was the information that 2 hours is kind of the high-water mark for pushing. Cori’s contractions were fairly irregular during pushing: Some were 60 seconds apart and some were 360. There was intermittent talk of pitocin to help with this but it seemed as though every time it was mentioned, her contractions sped up. In any case, at the 90 minute mark, everyone started watching the clock.

At this point, Jessica also became a bit more aggressive with helping things move along and monitoring progress. She was able to monitor Nora’s descent through contractions easily now, but it was clear that she was making little progress: Every push was two steps forward and two steps back.

This was made a bit harder because they had to monitor Nora’s health more frequently, which meant Kale was touching Cori with the monitor more often — something she was less than thrilled with.

At the 1:45 mark or so, Jessica called it, so to speak. She reminded us of the 2 hour mark and said it’s probably time to talk to the OB (Dr. Pollock). The OB, who spoke quickly, quietly, and with a moderate speech impediment, was terribly hard to understand. But he said that in general, if you push more than 2 hours, odds are you aren’t doing anything: You could push another 20 and the baby wouldn’t be born. He said there are a couple escalation options: The vacuum, and C section. Cori, exhausted and worried about Nora, said that she just wanted to make sure the baby was OK and agreed to the vacuum.

I’ll leave it as an exercise to the reader to look up how the vacuum works, but it’s pretty benign except for the insertion portion, which Cori still says was the most painful part of labor. I’m not sure which portions were a lack of finesse by the OB and which were just the nature of the instrument. In any case, it was for naught. Dr. Pollock said that it would be clear very quickly if it was going to work, and indeed he shook his head "No" after just the second push.

It was now almost 2:00 in the morning. Mom was exhausted from pushing and the odds of a vaginal birth were pretty low. When asked what she wanted to do, she repeated that she just wanted to make sure Nora was OK, and then the proceedings for a C section were underway.

Section

Let’s be honest, this wasn’t the hard-fought victory that we both wanted. Both Cori and I had hoped to avoid the trauma of major surgery by accepting the pain of labor. But we were both amazed at how efficiently the C section went. Our nurses and midwife were present through the ordeal, and the only intensely difficult part was leaving Cori alone while they prepped her. She said she had a contraction while they were putting in the spinal, which sounds to me like a certain kind of torture, but after it was in, she was doing wonderfully.

They let me into the operating room after about 15 minutes of nail-biting wherein I managed to snag an apple, and Nora was born just minutes after I arrived. Given that the normal preparation for surgery is 12 hours of nothing-by-mouth, 2 hours of waiting around, an hour of hearing about a billion details from the surgeon and the other staff, plus the surgery itself, this incredibly fast timeline seemed amazing to me.

Hearing Nora cry from behind the blue surgical drapes wasn’t exactly idyllic, but we were both on cloud 9 anyway. Kale and Kristen, our nurses, cleaned her and brought her over almost immediately. Skin-to-skin was impossible, but Cori was in tears as they closed the surgical wound.

Our lovely Nora was doing incredibly well. The OB wanted to give her a perfect Apgar, but the "stingy nurses" (his joking words) gave her a 9. She was 7 lbs 9 oz and 19" long. We also got to find out why the vaginal birth had been mostly impossible: She was trying to come through at a pretty severe angle, making the effective circumference of her head extremely large.

We were sent back up stairs soon after the incision was closed, and Nora latched and fed almost immediately for more than 100 minutes.

TL;DR (too long; didn’t read)

While Cori skipped pre-labor and early labor almost entirely, active labor was a more typical (though still quick!) 6 hours, ending around midnight. I was amazed to watch Cori cope like a champ, keeping the three R’s the whole time and remaining in good spirits between contractions. She got some much-needed rest from the jacuzzi (exactly as anticipated) during transition. Despite some initial fear of pushing, she kept at hard pushes in a variety of positions until after 2am, when they called in Dr. Pollock, the OB, and proceeded with some escalations: First the vacuum, then onto a section.

It’s hard to go through the painful part only to end up at the same place you would have been with a scheduled section, but we like to think that mother and baby both benefited from the process of labor. Indeed, Mom says she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Our care at Ballard was incredible. Despite not having met Jessica before things began, she quickly became an old friend, deftly deflecting Cori’s requests for an epidural even when I could not. Her experience and guiding hand helped us all out, and even at the end when Cori answered "Suffering" to our question, "Are you suffering, or are you just in pain?", she helped us down the path we had wanted from the start. Our nurses were experts and their advocacy was clear. I cannot imagine having a better experience.

We have lingering thoughts about what this means for Next Time, but that’s a problem for Future Cori and Future Ethan.

Helen Carter


Image by angus mcdiarmid
The New Castle police department’s catalogue of arrests for the last weekend in July, 1934 — the weekend, incidentally, of John Dillinger’s death in Chicago — ran as follows: fighting 1; drunkenness 4; violating parking law 3; interfering with officer 1; and drunkenness, disorderly conduct, and resisting officer 2.

Helen Carter was among the arrestees — she was the one charged with interfering with an officer. We don’t know why she did it, but it probably had something to do with a man. Helen’s troubles usually did.

Helen came up north from Texas, stopping first in Ohio, where she married Jodie Carter in 1927, at the age of 15. They eventually set up home in New Castle, in an old shack on Bridge street that Jodie set on fire one winter while trying to defrost a pipe. (It burned down for good that spring, after sparks from a neighbour’s stove settled on the roof.)

In January, 1930, when she was just 17, Helen was arrested for firing a pistol at a man called William Thompson, who had “made some proposals to her which she did not like.” Helen’s sister, Gertrude Jones, was working as a prostitute around that time (“Officer Emery … saw Gertrude Jones, negress, call a white man into the Jordan home, where she was at the time. The officer managed to get into the house and found Miss Jones and the white man in a bedroom.”), so Thompson might have thought that Helen would also be open to proposals in that line. If so, it seems he was mistaken. Helen was fined for shooting at him; Thompson was fined for giving her cause to.

In the summer of that year, Helen and William Thompson were arrested again, this time for brawling in South Jefferson street. Helen and a friend, Beatrice Jackson, were beating Thompson when the police arrived and arrested them all. This time, Helen couldn’t afford the fine, and spent 15 days in the county jail.

That sentence might have saved her life. A few days after she was sent away, Officer McMullen — the same policeman who had arrested Helen the previous week — arrested a “New Castle negro character” called James Ossinger for carrying a four-inch blade with intent to harm. Ossinger confessed that he had been looking for Helen, because she’d called him names and he was “prepared to murder”. To prove he meant what he said, he’d bragged to Helen’s friends that he’d cut up a woman in Cleveland for the same offence. Nevertheless, he was fined only and set free.

More man trouble came along in 1934, when Helen’s husband saw her talking to Otis Watt on Moravia street, which resulted in “a scrap in which a penknife, bricks, revolver and fists were displayed.” Both men were fined .

In 1942, after 15 years of matrimony, Helen divorced Jodie, on grounds of desertion, cruel and barbarous treatment and indignities to person. But she wasn’t the type to learn a lesson. A year later, she married Esco Owens, who had already been arrested for burglary (in 1925), using insulting language to white women and beating up a police officer (in 1931) and public drunkenness and fighting with the police (in 1938), and would go on to be imprisoned in 1952 for a shooting spree on State street in which he fired a rifle into two family homes, narrowly missing a baby and two young children, and nearly blew a police officer’s head off. He seems to have died in jail some time in the 1950s.

Helen died on February 1, 1961, at the age of 48, after an extended illness.

———————————————————————————————————————————–
Go to Small Town Noir for more mug shots and tales of small time true crime from New Castle, PA.

February 18, 2006


Image by Kym Rohman
"but baby it’s cold outside…"

And by the looks of it, everyone in the neighborhood is HOME. Smart. Needless to say I didn’t make it to the pillow fight.

Flute and dolphins Animation: Tristan Michell Music: Chris Michell ALBUM: Dolphin Love SONG: Dolphin Love GENRE: New Age, Relaxation, Chill, Ambient, Healing RELEASE: 1990 Other tracks/songs: Whale Song, Sea of Love, Tranquillity, Air, Ave Maria, Sea and Dolphins ” Let us give love, light and protection to all our dolphin friends on planet Earth… As they give to us.” For more info about Chris Michell / DOWNLOADS www.thedolphinway.com www.oreade.com
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Meeno Babies Stroller Liner In Silver

Meeno Babies Stroller Liner In Silver
List Price:
Price: 34.99

dumb babies doing crazy things.
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Check out these Fighting Babies images:

Alvin is silly


Image by animaltourism.com

wrestlemania


Image by animaltourism.com

A few nice Angry Babies images I found:

Big Mountain


Image by Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer
The State Theatre in the heart of Sydney presented Ali Campbell’s UB40 Tour with special guests Billy Ocean and Big Mountain.

If you enjoy the sounds of reggae and Caribbean music then you would have loved this.

The voice that was behind the hits "Red Red Wine" and "Can’t Help Falling In Love" is now on stage singing to a different tune, nonetheless one that will still resonate strongly with audiences.

McManus Entertainment promotional pitch…

McManus Entertainment is delighted to announce Ali Campbell’s UB40 Australian Tour featuring special guests Billy Ocean, plus Big Mountain featuring Junior Marvin. With shows in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, this is a show not to be missed for lovers of Reggae and Caribbean music.

With one of the world’s most distinctive and recognisable voices, Ali Campbell, the ex-UB40 …frontman and original vocalist of massive worldwide hits "Red Red Wine", "Kingston Town" and "Can’t Help Falling In Love", returns to Australia with his new band. As lead singer with the world-renowned group UB40, Campbell has sold over 70 million records worldwide, toured across the globe, notched up four number No. 1 worldwide singles, over 40 Top 40 UK singles, released 24 studio albums and received an Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement.

Having sold over 30 million records worldwide Grammy-winning Billy Ocean has created a distinct and unique sound with hits like “Love Really Hurts Without You”, “Caribbean Queen”, “When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going” and one of the biggest hits of the 80’s, “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car”.

Big Mountain helped catapult Jamaican music to the mainstream with their cover of Peter Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your Way”. The group sold over a million copies of their album Unity featuring the smash hits “Sweet Sensual Love” and “Baby, I Love Your Way”. Joining Big Mountain on stage is Junior Marvin. Hailing from Bob Marley and The Wailers he first appeared on Marley’s legendary album Exodus and all Bob Marley and The Wailers albums since then.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see some of reggae’s best and well-loved artists in an intimate setting on one special night!

Background on Ali Campbell and UB40…

Ali Campbell, his brother and some mates began UB40 in the late 1970′s in a basement in Birmingham. He started the band to promote his love of reggae.

With the strong political sentiment in their music, UB40 reflected angrily on Margaret Thatcher’s Britain. He tells the press "We were quite angry, we felt like we’d been thrown away". Their message was obviously heard, as their phones were tapped by MI5. UB40 would go on to sell more than 70 million records around the world and produce 40 top ten hits in Britain.

In January 2008 he had an acrimonious split with the band. He was replaced by brother Duncan, but the pair have apparently not spoken since.

Ali Campbell is in Australia with his new band, still performing hits like Red Red Wine and Kingston Town.

Websites

State Theatre
www.statetheatre.com.au

UB 40
www.ub40.co.uk

Ali Campbell
www.alicampbell.net

Billy Ocean
www.billyocean.co.uk

McManus Entertainment
www.mcmanusentertainment.com

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr
www.flickr.com/evarinaldiphotography

Eva Rinaldi Photography
www.evarinaldi.com

Music News Australia
www.musicnewsaustralia.com

Billy Ocean


Image by Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer
The State Theatre in the heart of Sydney presented Ali Campbell’s UB40 Tour with special guests Billy Ocean and Big Mountain.

If you enjoy the sounds of reggae and Caribbean music then you would have loved this.

The voice that was behind the hits "Red Red Wine" and "Can’t Help Falling In Love" is now on stage singing to a different tune, nonetheless one that will still resonate strongly with audiences.

McManus Entertainment promotional pitch…

McManus Entertainment is delighted to announce Ali Campbell’s UB40 Australian Tour featuring special guests Billy Ocean, plus Big Mountain featuring Junior Marvin. With shows in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, this is a show not to be missed for lovers of Reggae and Caribbean music.

With one of the world’s most distinctive and recognisable voices, Ali Campbell, the ex-UB40 …frontman and original vocalist of massive worldwide hits "Red Red Wine", "Kingston Town" and "Can’t Help Falling In Love", returns to Australia with his new band. As lead singer with the world-renowned group UB40, Campbell has sold over 70 million records worldwide, toured across the globe, notched up four number No. 1 worldwide singles, over 40 Top 40 UK singles, released 24 studio albums and received an Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement.

Having sold over 30 million records worldwide Grammy-winning Billy Ocean has created a distinct and unique sound with hits like “Love Really Hurts Without You”, “Caribbean Queen”, “When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going” and one of the biggest hits of the 80’s, “Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car”.

Big Mountain helped catapult Jamaican music to the mainstream with their cover of Peter Frampton’s “Baby I Love Your Way”. The group sold over a million copies of their album Unity featuring the smash hits “Sweet Sensual Love” and “Baby, I Love Your Way”. Joining Big Mountain on stage is Junior Marvin. Hailing from Bob Marley and The Wailers he first appeared on Marley’s legendary album Exodus and all Bob Marley and The Wailers albums since then.

Don’t miss the opportunity to see some of reggae’s best and well-loved artists in an intimate setting on one special night!

Background on Ali Campbell and UB40…

Ali Campbell, his brother and some mates began UB40 in the late 1970′s in a basement in Birmingham. He started the band to promote his love of reggae.

With the strong political sentiment in their music, UB40 reflected angrily on Margaret Thatcher’s Britain. He tells the press "We were quite angry, we felt like we’d been thrown away". Their message was obviously heard, as their phones were tapped by MI5. UB40 would go on to sell more than 70 million records around the world and produce 40 top ten hits in Britain.

In January 2008 he had an acrimonious split with the band. He was replaced by brother Duncan, but the pair have apparently not spoken since.

Ali Campbell is in Australia with his new band, still performing hits like Red Red Wine and Kingston Town.

Websites

State Theatre
www.statetheatre.com.au

UB 40
www.ub40.co.uk

Ali Campbell
www.alicampbell.net

Billy Ocean
www.billyocean.co.uk

McManus Entertainment
www.mcmanusentertainment.com

Eva Rinaldi Photography Flickr
www.flickr.com/evarinaldiphotography

Eva Rinaldi Photography
www.evarinaldi.com

Music News Australia
www.musicnewsaustralia.com

A few nice Laughing Babies images I found:

Juliana – Cough-Laugh


Image by kevsunblush
Juliana – one week before her half-birthday

Laughing in hospital crib


Image by mali mish