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2006-09-14 -Short Attention Span Theater-

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Posted by Fred 2006-09-14 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11128 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Five more, and they can have their own version of the Jacksons...

Posted by Pappy 2006-09-14 00:10|| 2006-09-14 00:10|| Front Page Top

#2 Another "Great Moment in the History of White Trash"...

Posted by tu3031 2006-09-14 00:20|| 2006-09-14 00:20|| Front Page Top

#3 Her kids were born 30-plus years ago but they just didn't know it until PEARL HARBOR and ALEC BALDWIN came along.

Posted by JosephMendiola 2006-09-14 00:50|| 2006-09-14 00:50|| Front Page Top

#4 Save the pic. In ten years or so they'll pay you big bucks not to show it to their kids.

Posted by PBMcL 2006-09-14 01:12|| 2006-09-14 01:12|| Front Page Top

#5 Fill her with helium and she can perform at football stadiums ...

Posted by Steve White">Steve White 2006-09-14 02:18|| 2006-09-14 02:18|| Front Page Top

#6 Oh My God! The're Breeding!

Her second was born just days before her first's 1st birthday....so she became pregnant less then 3 months after the birth of her first.

At this rate in 10 years they will view this pic as 'damn good'...

Posted by CrazyFool 2006-09-14 12:12|| 2006-09-14 12:12|| Front Page Top

#7 Its actually a wise and healthy thing (for the woman and her children) for a woman to have her children at that age (early 20's). And she got married. This all is what passes for a good example these days.

Would that more intelligent, educated women follow her example. We would all be better off.

Posted by buwaya 2006-09-14 12:31|| 2006-09-14 12:31|| Front Page Top

#8 buwaya's correct. That makes it even more pathetic.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2006-09-14 13:20|| 2006-09-14 13:20|| Front Page Top

#9 In my early twenties I was barely able to take care of myself and Mr. Wife; there is no way I could have done right by offspring. My mother-in-law had two toddlers by her nineteenth birthday, and strongly advised me to wait considerably longer if I wanted to be happily married. At the advanced age of 45, now with two apparently well-adjusted teenagers (who both adore Rantburg and plan to vote Republican as soon as they are able), I quite agree with her. What may be best physically for the mother is only one part of the equation; for that matter, according to the early child development people it's best for each child's development as well as the health of the mother that siblings be born five years apart, but again that is less than ideal for the entire family. It isn't until about age 25 that the human brain achieves adult function, finally figuring out how to circumvent the hormone-soaked impulsiveness that causes so much trouble in adolescent circles. I was at least clever enough then to realize my children deserved better than that.

Posted by trailing wife 2006-09-14 13:49|| 2006-09-14 13:49|| Front Page Top

#10 "At the advanced age of 45"

OMG, TW! I just found out I'm advanced!

Posted by mcsegeek1 2006-09-14 14:09|| 2006-09-14 14:09|| Front Page Top

#11 buwaya, not so fast.

It may be the right thing biologically (even that is questionable). But for most people, emotionally and financially, not at all.

My mother was 37 when I was born, and my dad 48. My brother followed two years later. Unlike the neighborhood kids, our parents never ever said stuff like "thank God summer vacation is almost over!" in front of our faces, no matter how, um, "spirited" we behaved during our time off of school. They had incredible patience with us, took us on trips (they had the time and money to do it by then), and managed to pay for our college educations in full. The younger parents in the neighborhood couldn't offer all of that to their kids, especially the patience part.

Both me and my brother learned from their example and waited until we were well into our thirties before starting our own families. We got a lot of the crazy, self-centered behavior out of our systems and now actually look forward to seeing what kind of bizarre things our offspring are going to pull....you know, things like trying to parachute out of the backyard tree with an umbrella like Wile E. Coyote, catching lizards and losing them in the house, clogging the toilets with heaven-knows-what, that kind of thing.

We think we're prepared for it, anyway....at least now we've got decently paid jobs with health insurance, stable households, and good marriage partners to help us with the job. We didn't have any of that ten years ago.

Posted by Swamp Blondie 2006-09-14 15:05|| http://azjetsetchick.blogspot.com ]">[http://azjetsetchick.blogspot.com ] 2006-09-14 15:05|| Front Page Top

#12 Good points Swamp Blonde. I'm at the Advanced age of 46 and my wife is 36. We have most of the 'ME!' out of our systems and can concentrate on 'them' first. And plus we have the financial security (not to mention the emotional balance .. at least for me :) to give them a good home.

Not that there's anything wrong with having kids in your 20's.

But I can't think its healty for the mother to rapid-fire kids out at this rate - 2 births within a year of each other.

Posted by CrazyFool 2006-09-14 15:19|| 2006-09-14 15:19|| Front Page Top

#13 I think it is right, biologically. Women in their twenties don't have much to worry about with respect to Downs syndrome, Spina Bifida, and, apparently, Autism, which seems to have been traced to older fathers! We vividly remember worrying ourselves sick over a false positive Downs result in the blood test. This is not good.

Maturity seems to be more an issue of acculturation than biology, though of course age calms everyone down. If you want a villain here I would say that it is contemporary culture that is full of negative and selfish messages.

Women, and apparently men also, were meant by nature to have children younger, not older. Income arguments seem a little exaggerated. Poeple can and do have children young, and raise them perfectly well, if not perfectly.

Posted by buwaya 2006-09-14 16:43|| 2006-09-14 16:43|| Front Page Top

#14 If you want a villain here I would say that it is contemporary culture that is full of negative and selfish messages.

How true. My Grandmother had my Mother when she was 15, but back then, marrying very young was not unusual. I think 15 year olds back then were probably more selfless, hard working and mature than most of today's 25 year olds. Here in the instant gratification era, nobody, much less teenagers, wants to have any demands placed on them. One of the things we immediately learned when we had our first child was 'It's no longer about me. It's about the child.' My Grandmother seemed to know this at a very early age. Today? Good luck.

Posted by mcsegeek1 2006-09-14 17:02|| 2006-09-14 17:02|| Front Page Top

#15 There is probably no one on the 'burg who knows this, but I became the proud aunt of a little girl born on 6 September. Her mother is only 19, and the little girl has Downs Syndrome. It was completely unexpected, and not determined at all until she was born and her condition was obvious. She is currently in the hospital for cardiac surgery to repair a commonly seen heart defect in Downs babies. Hopefully she will go home by the end of the month. She has had a rough time of it in her short life so far. Fortunately the doctors at Phoenix Children's Hospital are top notch and doing an excellent job for her. Her future is much brighter than it would have been even five years ago.

I've learned far too much about Downs over the past week, unfortunately. One thing that was surprising is that over 80 percent of Downs babies are now born to women under the age of 35, like my sister in law. Medicine has done such a careful job of screening older women for it that they now account for a smaller share of Downs mothers than ever before. (They used to be a little over 1/3 of the total.) Whether it is because some older women may have decided against having one more kid, or they are aborting the babies, they're not exactly sure. No one is keeping stats on this so its all guesses.

I know what you mean about the blood screening test, though, buwaya. One of the nurses who didn't know how to read the results incorrectly told me that my little boy definitely had Downs. Thank God my doctor called back and told me the real story, but it was still the worst 15 minutes of my life. Unfortunately my brother and sister in law won't get that reprieve.

Everyone thought that if one of us was more likely to have a child with a severe defect it would be me. I've had so many tests that I thought for a moment I was turning into a big ol' pincushion, while my sister in law was assured that because of her age she had nothing to worry about. Unless I happened to get the one amnio in a million that is incorrect, my little boy should be perfectly fine.

Age is becoming less and less of a factor in birth defects, especially since older mommies tend to take better care of themselves than the younger ones. I sometimes participate on an expectant mothers' board, and it's frightening to me the risks that some of the younger (under 25 or so) moms take that I would never ever consider. I'm talking drinking and drugs during pregnancy, living on junk food (missing out on folic acid, a deficiency that contributes to spina bifida and other neural defects) and cigarettes, refusing to give up active sports and risking getting in an accident, you name it. I remember thinking I was damn near bulletproof when I was that age, and I was guilty of some of the same things, but dammit, I wasn't pregnant at the time, either. A lot of them just aren't getting the message that they need to knock that crap off for about nine months, or maybe it's that selfish thing mcsegeek1 mentioned. Who knows?

A younger woman may start out with a biological advantage, but if she acts like a moron at the wrong time in the baby's development, that pretty much wipes it all out. And if what I read on those boards is any indication, there's a significant group who do just that. The defects may be more subtle than Downs or autism, and not noticeable at birth, but learning disabilities and persistent health problems can also be devastating to the child's future. And unfortunately, I think I've been talking to some future mothers of learning disabled kids over the past few months.....

Posted by Swamp Blondie 2006-09-14 18:01|| http://azjetsetchick.blogspot.com ]">[http://azjetsetchick.blogspot.com ] 2006-09-14 18:01|| Front Page Top

#16 Congratulations on your niece SB - and sorry to hear about the Downs. Downs isn't something to joke about. My nephew has downs - he's about 35 now. Lovable guy but I've heard he's been regressing lately - real sad.

FYI - I've heard that if you are trying you should be taking folic acid *now* - its critical in the very early stages of development particulary before the spinal closes - before you may even know... (and no, I am not a Doctor, dont even play one on TV... - this is just hersay)

Posted by CrazyFool 2006-09-14 18:18|| 2006-09-14 18:18|| Front Page Top

#17 Good luck to your niece.

I think it is screening plus selective abortions that have kept the actual rates down among older women, from what I have heard. This in itself is a widespread tragedy.

As for clueless and irresponsible pregnant girls, well, its that culture business.

And so also for clueless fathers to be, like Mr. Federline. A father should be an example, a respectable, responsible grown man, no matter what age he is. That man, in spite of being grown, dresses like a boy, and probably behaves like one.

Posted by buwaya 2006-09-14 18:18|| 2006-09-14 18:18|| Front Page Top

#18 I'm turning 46 in a couple of months and my wife is 34. We have 2 wonderful, healthy daughters (6 & 3) and were thinking about a third. I just couldn't do it. Too old. Not that I'm old now (in my mind at least) but I don't want to be that close to 70 when my youngest is 20. Understanding the teenage years is going to be hard enough. I was also worried about complications since my wife had pre-term labor with both girls. Anyway, I'm torn that I waited, but I had no choice since my wife had to get older, I had to meet her, etc.

Swamp, so sorry about your niece's complications. I hope she becomes a wellspring of love in your family.

Posted by remoteman 2006-09-14 18:21|| 2006-09-14 18:21|| Front Page Top

#19 Re: what is 'natural' in birth patterns,

Note that breastfeeding tends to be a natural form of birth control. In many traditional societies children are breast fed until they are 2 1/2 or 3 precisely to space out children.

The hormonal changes associated with pregnancy and delivery take at least 2 - 3 months to even out. (Hence, postpartum depression, which is directly tied to fluxuating hormonal levels.)

For those reasons, conceiving just 3 months after delivery doesn't sound wise to me. Add in the fact that they conceived the second baby BEFORE their first one became demanding to raise (at 3 months the first baby is not yet mobile, for instance, and sleeps much of the day). Just about the time the first baby will be crawling, learning to walk and needing to move to solid foods, Mom will be in her later months of pregnancy. When the first baby is a toddler, Mom will be consumed with the demands of the second baby who is starting to crawl and sit up. When the first is in the terrible twos (and just needing to learn lots and lots about the world), the second is now walking about. And both will still be in diapers.

Not a recipe for great parenting IMO.

Posted by lotp 2006-09-14 19:25|| 2006-09-14 19:25|| Front Page Top

#20 Not that I give a rat's ass in hell about celebrities and their ~~self-centered insanity~~ quirks, but it's not like she's going to be taking care of the kids anyway, no matter when or how often she has them.

Posted by Barbara Skolaut">Barbara Skolaut 2006-09-14 19:36|| http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/page/15bk1/Home_Page.html]">[http://ariellestjohndesigns.com/page/15bk1/Home_Page.html] 2006-09-14 19:36|| Front Page Top

#21 I (and my ex, obviously) too, got false indications of Downs on my youngest. They recommended we abort. We are Catholics, and decided to do what we had to do - Stephen's 17 now, plays football and basketball, and a handsome healthy boy. Medicine is wonderful, but makes mistakes, and their consequences can be horrendous. My hopes and prayers go out to your niece, SB, she has a tough road ahead, but if she's anything like you, she'll handle it

Posted by Frank G 2006-09-14 21:24|| 2006-09-14 21:24|| Front Page Top

#22 Thanks for all the kind comments about little Alena Joyce, guys. It looks like the third operation she had is the last one she's going to need for about another six months (her heart defect can be fixed, but not without a series of operations that will end when she is about 2). She's already her daddy's little princess, and pretty much has her aunt wrapped around her little finger, too.

If I had any talent whatsoever with HTML, I'd post her picture. She really is a pretty little thing, and we're blessed to have her in the family.

Posted by Swamp Blondie 2006-09-14 21:53|| http://azjetsetchick.blogspot.com ]">[http://azjetsetchick.blogspot.com ] 2006-09-14 21:53|| Front Page Top

#23 sometimes a difficult road gives you a higher purpose, if you choose to take it. Give her my best. I hope she's well-grounded, and religious. Good starting points

Posted by Frank G 2006-09-14 22:18|| 2006-09-14 22:18|| Front Page Top

21:23 Private Joker
23:59 GORT
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22:55 Barbara Skolaut
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22:52 FOTSGreg
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