Swagbucks

What is Swagbucks?

Swagbucks is a search engine that rewards you for searching.  It does this by randomly awarding points, or "Swagbucks" for searches.  Once you have enough Swagbucks, you can redeem them for prizes.  I've redeemed all of mine as gift cards, but you could also get a Paypal gift card and spend it like cash anywhere online.  I installed the Swagbucks toolbar, and I can search easily and quickly from there.

Why should I sign up using your referral link instead typing Swagbucks into my address bar?
Because if you go using my referral link (every Swagbucks link in this post, or the banner below) then I get points. :)  And if you use Swagbucks after signing up with my link, I get more points.  Which means more Amazon gift cards for me, which means more books, music, and general fun splurgy goodness.  :)  Plus of course you're earning points just for searching the web like you already do!

So what are you waiting for?
Go sign up!  Start earning while you search the web! :)

Favorite Birth Books

• The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, by Henci Goer

I love how Henci Goer looks at specific interventions, specific research, specific risks... and gives you information to help you decide whether you're willing to consent to having your water broken during labor, for example.  During my pregnancy with Nathan, I read most of the book, but I read and reread the section on breech birth... the risks, the pros and cons of a vaginal delivery vs. a c-section, and the importance of an experienced care provider.  It really helped as we pondered our options.  I knew that I didn't want a c-section, and her helpful comparison of the risks showed that with an experienced care provider scheduling a c-section wasn't mandatory at all.  Thankfully he did turn before birth so we did not end up having to change our birth plans (our wonderful midwife wasn't comfortable doing a planned breech homebirth, although she encouraged a vaginal breech delivery if that was what we wanted), and he was born, head down, at home.

• Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

The person who loaned me this book (I have my own copy now, since I liked it) felt the need to give the same caveat I'm about to give- some of these birth stories are a tad odd.  You may not (I certainly didn't!) plan to give birth in a camper trailer with your children, spouse, and multiple midwives present.  You may not look at birth as an opportunity to bond with a bunch of other women over the shared experience of childbirth.  However.  I found it very encouraging and helpful to read the many different birth stories in this book, which all affirm that women are meant to do this.  Our bodies were in fact designed to give birth, and when allowed to do that in their own timing they usually do a very good job.  I also found it helpful to read them because it reinforces that labor is not the same for every woman.  It was especially helpful to me as I prepared for my first labor to read a variety of birth stories and know that there were lots of different labor patterns that were all within the range of a normal, healthy labor.

• Emergency Childbirth 

Written for police officers, firefighters, and others who might be called on to assist a woman giving birth, this book has very clear, simple directions on what to do and what not to do to assist the birth process.  I liked having this book around especially before our first, in case for some reason the midwife wasn't able to make it in time.

• and not a birth book but on birth and I watched it recently...  I enjoyed it and found it very interesting, but I wouldn't recommend it to everyone.  Much of it isn't really very husband friendly, in my opinion, due to some of the footage of women laboring and birthing, however.
  
• The Business of Being Born
  
• and not a birth book, but I love it and it is on a related topic...  
• The Nursing Mother's Companion (Kathleen Huggins, R.N.)

  
FYI: I'm an Amazon affiliate now, so all these links are affiliate links.  I had been meaning to work on updating the book list on my sidebar and adding links to it anyway and decided to go through it and categorize them and post them in separate posts that I can link to from the sidebar.

What are your favorite birth books? :)

Edited to add... I ran across this today and thought I'd add this in here since it is about labor:

"Since the evidence shows no benefits or harms, there is no
justification for the restriction of fluids and food in labour for
women at low risk of complications. No studies looked specifically at
women at increased risk of complications, hence there is no evidence to
support restrictions in this group of women."

Nice!  With a 25 hour labor with Nathan, I can't imagine having to push at the end without having eaten in 25 hours.  I'm so glad I was encouraged to eat as I wanted, and stay hydrated.

Rosetta Stone Giveaway!

Now is the perfect time to give your child the gift of possibilities for the holidays with Rosetta Stone Homeschool — and you can WIN a Level 1 Homeschool program, language of your choice (valued at $249)!

Right now Rosetta Stone is having a special Holiday promotion on our Homeschool Edition program and we’d like you to help spread the word! Everyone can save up to $150 on Rosetta Stone Homeschool by visiting our website at http://www.RosettaStone.com/hsw1110.

By helping us spread the word you can win a Rosetta Stone Homeschool Edition Level 1 program, language of your choice, valued at $249.

This is a computer based curriculum and Rosetta Stone will also include a headset with microphone, and a supplementary “Audio Companion” CD so you can practice lessons in the car, on the go, or where-ever!

Students participate in life-like conversations and actually produce language to advance through the program. Rosetta Stone incorporates listening, reading, grammar, vocabulary and writing along with speaking and pronunciation lessons. For parents, the new Parent Administrative Tools are integrated into the program to allow parents to easily enroll up to ten students in any of 12 predetermined lesson plans, monitor student progress, grade completed work (the program grades the work automatically as the students progress), and you can view and print reports for transcripts. Homeschooling a lot of kids at your house? This program is designed to enroll and track up to ten students (five users on two computers) and will work for nearly all ages — from beginning readers up to college students.

To win this program, copy these paragraphs and post them in (or as) your next blog post, and/OR post about this contest on your facebook page. Then go to the original page at http://www.othersuchhappenings.com/2010/12/rosetta-stone-giveaway-yay.html and leave a comment saying that you’ve posted about, or have linked to, the contest. Please make sure the link works to get back to the original contest page when you post, and good luck!

Favorite Things

I love homebirth, midwives, breastfeeding, demand feeding, tandem nursing, co-sleeping, babywearing, cloth diapers, sustainable agriculture, natural cleaning products, and healthy and tasty foods. 

Come over and visit my main blog!

To be pleased with one's limits is a wretched state.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

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Yummmmmm........

You Are a Frappacino

At your best, you are: fun loving, sweet, and modern At your worst, you are: childish and over indulgent You drink coffee when: you're craving something sweet Your caffeine addiction level: low

What Kind of Coffee Are You?