Hey, my baby's still in that bathwater!

I know that there are far too many c-sections nowadays.  I know that there are moms who schedule a whole package and the tummy tuck is done before the c-section is closed up.  But that doesn't mean that c-sections are never required.  Without one, without the heart monitor that showed he needed one, there would be no Biscuit.  So, as I commented on the post over at Mom's Rising, take a second to mention that you don't think ALL c-sections are unnecessary and that for some mamas and babies they are lifesaving.  Because when I read posts like this what I hear is "Sorry, but c-sections are just money makers for the doctors. Your baby should have died."  I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt and admitting that she probably didn't mean that, but the proof is in her future posts. Will those of us who have our children thanks to c-sections get a little nod, a little credit for doing the right thing, instead of just being looked at as poor dupes of the system?

Stupid mommy wars.

I'm quoting my comment here, but it probably makes more sense to go read the post it's a response to over there.

Because I had a fine pregnancy and didn't want invasive prenatal testing, we had no idea that our son had a major heart defect and Down syndrome -- but he did. Our first inkling that something was wrong was what his heart monitor showed when I had a contraction. It is a fact that without that monitor and the c-section it showed he needed (not me, him) he would have been stillborn because his defective heart could not have handled labor and delivery.

Please remember that when you rail against the medical establishment sticking their noses into a natural process like birth you are telling moms like me that our kids should have died. I'm not saying that you think that; I'm saying that when you are silent about the lives saved you are in effect saying that. Please take a moment and a line or two in your future posts to acknowledge that some of us have our precious children *thanks* to baby monitors, c-sections, and very caring doctors.

Believe me when I say that for the most part I agree with what you have written. By making monitoring a standard policy unnecessary c-sections will happen because some doctors are more worried about malpractice than actually doing the best thing for the patient(s) in front of them, as backward as that sounds. All I'm asking is that you not throw the baby out with the bathwater because that's *my* baby and I love him.

Tomato Soup

I made this soup last night and polished off the rest of it today.  I would have taken photos, but it broke a little and while tasting fantastic it looked a little funny.  Weird, but so what, it tasted great!

I found this recipe at Winker thanks to a Google search.  Here's what she did:

Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
half a cup of cream or milk
1 cup chicken broth
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 can diced tomatoes (14 oz)
salt, pepper, and sugar to taste

Melt butter in a saucepan. Cook the onions in the butter gently until they are softened and translucent (maybe 15 minutes). Stir in the flour until it's completely combined with the butter. Gradually stir in the cream or milk and the broth. Mix in the baking soda and heat through. Add the tomatoes with their juice and puree with a stick blender. Heat through and add salt, sugar, and pepper to taste.

I didn't have a can of diced tomatoes, I had a can of organic tomato sauce.  And I didn't feel like getting out my immersion blender when I was using sauce anyway... besides I like onions.  So I minced the onion as finely as possible and just skipped that whole blending thing.  When adding the seasonings at the end I skipped the salt since the sauce I used has salt in it. It was good.  Even my non-tomato soup eating husband thought it was good - for tomato soup.  I think that was saying a lot.  I thought it was so nummy I needed to post about it.

Now if I could just get either kid to eat soup.  Hints welcome!