Yeah. I nursed my own child for a bit over a year, and there were many things about it that I loved, but if I had to do it over again, I'd start supplementing earlier (I started around 4 mos). In hindsight I realise that the fact that I was *so* tired by nursing and staying up that I was considering throwing him out…

I think the latest metastudy showed that if you control for other things, like parental wealth, education, etc., the difference is really tiny. There are so many factors involved. My husband was never breastfed and he is as healthy as an ox and just got his PhD from Columbia. I think he did okay.

I feel for you. Mean nurses in those early days can really throw you off. I mostly had fantastic ones, but the main nurse in charge of my care said nasty things about my son and treated me badly for not being on top of the paperwork. I wasn't on top of the paperwork because I'd had four days of labour, mostly with no…

My experience of being pregnant in the US (my pregnancy began in Germany, so I could compare) was that I was treated as a complete and utter child, unable to think for myself or make any decisions. Less so by my doctor, moreso by her nurse. (Though in labour, that changed — the nurses were more on my side.)

Seeing that photograph earlier today made me want to eat a ton for lunch. I am not kidding, and I don't quite understand why, but I think it's something similar to what you were saying. I would really rather be somewhat fat than have saggy skin. And the burger was delicious.

It might not be the norm, but it's not unheard of. I know of multiple cases where a university held the position for a semester or a year while the candidate completed their sweet postdoc. If they truly want the person they consider to be the best candidate, they will do it.

My school does.

Funny, my liberal arts college offers a semester of paid mat leave and every TT gets a pre-tenure sabbatical — that can be spread out over a year, to boot. At some places, it's not considered outrageous.

Exactly, exactly. I get annoyed at how misread this is, including by people who claim to have served on search committees. For all we know, the university also misread it.

Right, but she asked for a limit on three *new* preps. By the second year, you can be doing six unique preps, but you're not doing six *new* ones. That's a huge difference in workload.

This is my thought too. She's not asking to teach less, she's just asking to have repetition built into her schedule. With three new preps in the first year and three new preps in the second, by the second she's already in a position to teach six wholly different courses. It is not ridiculous at all.

Word. And why have a Vitamin D pill and a garlic pill and fish oil, when you could just cook some fish with garlic and eat it?

Wow, sounds like a real piece of work.

This is a terrible story, but it needs to be heard. I hope your sister can heal.

No, you can. You can actually win respect by acting like you deserve it.

I cannot agree more! I had a traumatic labour & delivery too, and the feeling I was going to die has stayed with me. It's made me *very* reluctant to have another, even though it would be by a planned caesarean, because I don't want to go through that, or the ensuing depression and guilt about being depressed, ever…

You are describing me and my postpartum depression right there.

I hear you. Oh I hear you. I was always super-duper pro choice (I was born in a country where abortion was illegal, saw some of the results). But having a baby — along with the four-day labour, the unwanted c-section, the traumatizing time in the hospital, and the postpartum depression — all for a very wanted baby —…

Given your interest in adult TV shows about real things real adults do in real life, I'm sure you'd be the first in line for a show that predominantly featured people cleaning house, falling asleep in front of the TV, doing taxes, and commuting. Right?

I am as pro-choice as it gets (I come from a country where it was illegal, with disastrous consequences), and I'm also not a big fan of abortion. Not for other people, for myself. I've seen what it does to some women emotionally, and I know it would be rough on me. Abortion rights are what will get me to go and…