Author Archives: Jeni

About Jeni

Creator of Little Sproutings, Written by Jeni Taylor, MPH MSN RN. I'm a nurse, public health advocate, and new mom living in Los Angeles, CA. I created Little Sproutings to share my experiences as a mom and discuss relevant baby-health topics through well-researched posts to help parents (new, experienced, and expecting) learn the why and how.

What’s She Doing Wednesday: Knocked Over

Sheesh. I’m pooped. After moderating the comments from my last post and my Facebook Page, I think I’m taking a break on intense controversial topics! I had no idea that the topic of circumcision was going to ignite such a fierce and aggressive crowd, I went into it thinking I was writing a lighthearted informative post. The positive is that it resulted in higher traffic to the blog, but geez, I’m mentally worn out. Next topic will be my look into VBAC’s (Vaginal Birth After Cesarean).

I was considering writing about Placentophagy (the practice of eating the placenta after delivery, for the claims of aiding in postpartum healing, mood, and energy levels), but realizing that that too, is a controversial topic for me to deal with right now, I will save that for another (much later) time.

So right now we are less than 2 weeks away from the big move. I’m stressed. Like really stressed. There’s no way around it. Jeff thinks I shouldn’t be stressed but I think he’s not being realistic. He got mad at me earlier in this process saying that we shouldn’t be moving if I’m going to be stressed out about it. HA! I mean, what move ISN’T stressful? Our in-town move last year, 20 miles from our condo with a 5 month old was stressful! How would a 3000+ mile move cross country manage to be not stressful? Men. They always find a way to be so casual about things. Grrrrr, hate that! haha…

Continue reading “What’s She Doing Wednesday: Knocked Over” »

The Circumcision Decision

Disclaimer: in light of the unexpected and intense public response, I want to clarify that I am not an expert on the subject of circumcision, and this post is not intended to cover every aspect (FGM, sexual functions of the foreskin, psychological impacts on circumcised vs intact males, etc) of such a complex issue. This post is focused strictly on the medical perspective. I’m happy to be learning a great deal about the social, political, cultural and ethical aspects, from anyone and everyone who can share their thoughts respectfully. I do, however, intend to maintain this site as a safe place for my readers. If you’d like to post graphic photos or use disrespectful language, feel free to create your own site. Anyone violating this community standard will be deleted and permanently blocked.

Continue reading “The Circumcision Decision” »

What’s She Doing Wednesday: Some Big News & A Swift Recap

Yeah I know, I skipped a WSDW post and that usually doesn’t happen, because it doesn’t take much energy to write them. But, let me tell you – if you knew what kind of craziness we have been dealing with other the past 4 weeks, you would totally understand. So I’ll tell you –

WE ARE MOVING (BACK) TO LOS ANGELES!

By “(back)” I really mean “I” am moving back, because I’m the only one out of this nuclear family who’s actually lived in CA, and I did for four years. After college, I went to UCLA for my MPH and then went to get my Master’s in Nursing at the University of San Diego, so I lived down there for two years. Never had I ever planned on leaving CA until I met Jeff. I actually daydreamed of moving back to the DC area, because I had been away from it for so long. But, after relocating back to DC, I wanted to be back. Continue reading “What’s She Doing Wednesday: Some Big News & A Swift Recap” »

What’s She Doing Wednesday: It IS Wednesday, Right?

OK so the title doesn’t even have anything to really do with Jia, but it has to everything to do with what we’re going through at the moment. We have some huge huge news but it’s coming Friday at earliest an next Tuesday at latest.

Anyway what Jia’s been up to: Continue reading “What’s She Doing Wednesday: It IS Wednesday, Right?” »

What’s She Doing Wednesday: Father’s Day Art and More!

Thanks for bearing with me while the blog was down last week. It was up and running yesterday so I’m catching up a little bit. Lots has been going on the past week. But, certain “other” details will follow in another post, for particular reasons…

Anyway so this week has been pretty fun with Jia. Things we’ve noticed: Continue reading “What’s She Doing Wednesday: Father’s Day Art and More!” »

Technical Difficulties on the Blog this Week…

Gah! So sorry, but we are experiencing some technical difficulties with our dashboard this week! I’m going out of town tomorrow (6/25) for one of my close friend’s weddings, so I’ll take care of this when I return and will immediately post WSDW 6/24 and #SummerofDad when the issue is resolved.

Thanks for understanding!

What’s She Doing Wednesday: “Bye Daddy”

So this picture has nothing to do with the title of this blog post, but Kyle (#SummerofDad) and his family met up with us in Baltimore for a little short visit to the Baltimore National Aquarium and I just love this picture! We are near the jellyfish sculptures where the Dolphin Experience is housed and the lighting was perfect… and I had to get a photo with these two little babies together, meeting for the first time! Aren’t they cute?

So I am posting a little late – time has really gotten away from me these last two days. I could’ve started writing a few days ago, which would’ve been in the best interest of time considering at any given day I may not get the chance to write up a post. But I didn’t.

Very exciting/busy/stressful/confusing/overwhelming things happening over here! I had an interview yesterday with Chamberlain College of Nursing, for a position as a Visiting Professor. I met with the Dean of Faculty and the President of the nursing school. Both were so nice and welcoming, and I wowed them enough that today I got a call from the recruiter and found out I got the job! So that starts the second week of July. The first couple months they just need someone to fill in with their nursing simulation lab working on health assessments for the nursing students and then after Labor Day, I’ll lead my own group of nursing students throughout an 8-week course on inpatient units taking care of patients. Yay, teaching baby nurses! Continue reading “What’s She Doing Wednesday: “Bye Daddy”” »