| Happy New Year: Tips, seminars for family caregivers
-Set aside personal blocks of time to consult the world of books and online and local resources. Examples of books: "The Complete Elder Care Planner: Where To Start, Which Questions To Ask, and How To Find Help, Second Edition" by Joy Loverde (Three Rivers Press, $19.95), "Counting on Kindness: The Dilemmas of Dependency" by Wendy Lustbader (Free Press, $18.50). -Conduct an Internet search for general information and tips about resources and caregiving. Visit such sites as http://www.healthinaging.org/public_ education and http://www.caregiving.org. -Jot down your questions about resources and call the free information and referral line in your county (800) 510-2020. Call the Family Caregiver Alliance at (800) 445-8106 or visit them at http://www.caregiver.org. -We are offering free "Elder Care Decisions and Resources" seminars to readers who are family caregivers.
Oregon moms feel the push for natural birth
People in the Northwest pride themselves on braving the elements, from mountain climbing to whitewater rafting. But in homes, birthing centers and hospital maternity wards, a more private challenge has emerged among Oregon women, who brave the pain of natural childbirth at a rate double the national average. Many pregnant women and new mothers say they feel implicit and explicit pressure to join the trend. Those who opt for painkillers or undergo a Caesarean section say they get sympathetic looks and encouragement to "try harder next time." For some, this intimate event has developed a competitive edge. "Whether it is who can be the best vegetarian, who uses the best natural baby products or has the best natural birth, there is a kind of crazy competitiveness," says Jennifer Geisen, 32, a doula, or labor attendant, from Redmond.
24-hour potty people
Technically speaking, they weren't quite bellied up to the bar. At an average of about 2 feet tall, the miniature club kids perched on snakeskin barstools at the Revolution Rock Bar could barely reach their juice boxes. The Revolution Rock, typically frequented by an after-work crowd of full-grown singles, was transformed for a few daytime hours on Sunday into a romper room for cooped-up parents and their crazy-legged toddlers. With bubble machines, hula hoops, and classic soul and disco tracks pumping over the sound system at 110 beats a minute, it was a Studio 54 for kids still learning to count to five. The event was the Boston kickoff of Baby Loves Disco , a fast-growing national network of monthly outings that sanitize the nightclub setting for the day-care crowd.
Father faces drug charges after baby dies of morphine overdose
COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. A man who was cleared of murder charges in the morphine overdose death of his baby now faces federal drug charges. An Otsego County jury acquitted 21-year-old Corbin Douglas Senior of murder 13 months ago in the death of his 14-month-old son. Prosecutors maintained Douglas killed his son by putting morphine in his bottle to make him sleep. A pathologist testified there was a fatal level of morphine in the baby's blood. But jurors said they couldn't be sure Douglas was the one who gave the drug to the baby. Now, a federal prosecutor will have the opportunity to try Douglas on a 10-count indictment alleging he distributed morphine, heroin, cocaine, and other drugs. The federal indictment was unsealed Tuesday. Douglas, currently in jail on an unrelated drunk driving charge, pleaded innocent to the federal drug charges.
Tanner Williams Part 2
On Monday, Jennifer Williams looked into the future and saw a life of promise for her 1-year-old son, Tanner. On Thursday, she was faced with the reality that she might have to say goodbye to her firstborn child.Tanner, who was born two months early, has had three open-heart surgeries to repair holes caused by Atrioventricular Canal Defect. In November, surgeons at the Children's Hospital of Boston placed a patch over a hole in Tanner's left ventricle. That patch has come loose and lodged in the interior of wall of the heart and fluid is collecting on Tanner's stomach. “We're," said Jennifer, “running out of options."Jennifer and her husband, Thomas, were expecting a nine-month wait for their first child. Through four ultra-sounds, the doctors saw nothing to indicate Tanner would be anything but a healthy baby boy.
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