Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Yay Obama!

As an undergraduate, I studied family life education, apart of which is marriage education. I worked as a research assistant on the National Healthy Marriage Resource Center where I summarized research studies on marriage as the optimal arrangement for children, men and women (see recent post: http://descentintomotherhood.blogspot.com/2008/11/why-is-govt-promoting-marriage.html).

In 2006, George W. Bush sponsored legislation that would promote and encourage marriage as that optimal arrangement. The Healthy Marriage Initiative was authorized under Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF/welfare funds).

Although the social science research is very clear (I recommend reading The Case for Marriage, 2001), I was worried that in a time of economic downturn and administration change that the funding to provide marriage education services would not be continued.

Today I learned that Barack Obama has been a firm supporter of marriage education efforts and plans to continue supporting the funding of such programs. On the Healthy Marriage Initiative homepage, there is a quote from his book The Audacity of Hope, 2006:

"...Finally, preliminary research shows that marriage educaton workshops can make a reall difference in helping married couples stay together and in encouraging unmarried couples who are living together form a more lasting bond. Expanding access to such services to low income couples, perhaps in concert with job training and placement, medical coverage, and other services already available should be something everybody can agree on..."


By placing that quote on the webpage, I am heartened that the research will continue to speak for itself and that programs and efforts to stablize American families will continue.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Week 22 Update

Today, we saw our little GIRL by ultrasound. I felt before I was pregnant that my next baby would be a little girl and since becoming pregnant, I've felt very strongly that same way. And my belief was confirmed today.

She looks totally healthy, placenta is in a good position. She looks kind of squished in there right now so I'm thinking I'll have a spurt in uterine growth soon.

Still feeling great, with lots of energy and a more active mind than usual, and my mind is usually pretty active.

Willem is affected by the pregnancy; either because I'm producing less breastmilk or he no longer likes the taste of it. I can tell he's beginning to wean himself because he's asking for cow milk more frequently than mama milk. I'm hoping that after the baby is born, he will go back to nursing more frequently.

Grandma, aunts and neighbors are very excited for a little girl in our family, and so am I. Maybe sometime I'll write an exposition on my thoughts of having a little girl. And if my scanner can start working, I'll get pictures posted.