" Rule Of Health For Married Ladies " 1863, Or, Happily Ever After, The Documentary

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
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Currier and Ives produced a plethora of prints like this one from LoC. " The Young Mother ", it was one of countless gooey takes on a woman's life. ' Young Love ", " Married Life, The Day After The Wedding ", " A Year Of Marriage ", featuring blissful domestic life in romanticized settings. The company didn't produce images before and after, baby spit up, a screaming tantrum, some sweaty work over a stove and shoving toys under the sofa because you're too tired to bend over one, more time.

Dedicated to that thread of commonality shared by any of us from Day One without nannies, cooks and someone to fold the laundry.

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I'm having a different reaction to Women's History Month than is usually the case. Yes, goodness, there's a plethora of women whose contributions and blazed trails make me glad to know them. There's also a collective history we share. Through time, our stories tend to be awfully similar, struggles, daily achievements, concerns and perspectives make those who were here closer to those of us here now. Left to ourselves we'd discover the whole ' We're all in this together ' perspective to be pervasive through time and leaks into 2019. What would be terrific would be seeing our commonalities, enjoying them and knocking off picking each other to smithereens.

I mean really. Reading this in an 1863 newspaper gave me a desire to meet this woman and say something sisterly. Like ' Heard 'ja '. Without the part where her husband takes a hit, it's an awfully familiar story.

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Nursing the baby ( for any men getting this far ) was providing bottle-less nutrition. I've heard some of us claim it enjoyable but those women generally lie about other things too. Like what a joy stretch marks can be.

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I'm sorry but was laughing so hard by the end I couldn't see. My husband- for the record the kindest man on planet Earth- asked what was so funny. I'd earlier vaulted down attic steps, another staircase and traversed 3 rooms to answer a ringing phone. Which was by his elbow. So I said maybe he wouldn't get it.
 
Love it @JPK Huson 1863 as an insight into a woman's life and what she does when she 'isn't working'. She bloody well is working most of the time, especially if she has children. Only these days she has to do all the running around associated with extra-curricular activities as well :eek: So we might have modern conveniences to help with some things, but we also have modern pressures to counteract that.

Also let's give it up for the women who do all this and often try to work as well where there is no husband in sight ... either because he had no choice in the matter (he's dead) or because he chose freedom over responsibility (he's gone).

So I said maybe he wouldn't get it.
:laugh: Indeed.
 
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Currier and Ives produced a plethora of prints like this one from LoC. " The Young Mother ", it was one of countless gooey takes on a woman's life. ' Young Love ", " Married Life, The Day After The Wedding ", " A Year Of Marriage ", featuring blissful domestic life in romanticized settings. The company didn't produce images before and after, baby spit up, a screaming tantrum, some sweaty work over a stove and shoving toys under the sofa because you're too tired to bend over one, more time.

Dedicated to that thread of commonality shared by any of us from Day One without nannies, cooks and someone to fold the laundry.

View attachment 295473

I'm having a different reaction to Women's History Month than is usually the case. Yes, goodness, there's a plethora of women whose contributions and blazed trails make me glad to know them. There's also a collective history we share. Through time, our stories tend to be awfully similar, struggles, daily achievements, concerns and perspectives make those who were here closer to those of us here now. Left to ourselves we'd discover the whole ' We're all in this together ' perspective to be pervasive through time and leaks into 2019. What would be terrific would be seeing our commonalities, enjoying them and knocking off picking each other to smithereens.

I mean really. Reading this in an 1863 newspaper gave me a desire to meet this woman and say something sisterly. Like ' Heard 'ja '. Without the part where her husband takes a hit, it's an awfully familiar story.

View attachment 295474
Nursing the baby ( for any men getting this far ) was providing bottle-less nutrition. I've heard some of us claim it enjoyable but those women generally lie about other things too. Like what a joy stretch marks can be.

View attachment 295475
I'm sorry but was laughing so hard by the end I couldn't see. My husband- for the record the kindest man on planet Earth- asked what was so funny. I'd earlier vaulted down attic steps, another staircase and traversed 3 rooms to answer a ringing phone. Which was by his elbow. So I said maybe he wouldn't get it.
Well I remember those days, JPK. And then hubby comes home, eats, and has some meeting that he HAS to attend. Those were not my "Glory Days", but rather my "I Will Survive" days.
 
Aww I miss the early days and having a nursing baby though, plus I nursed because I also didn’t want to share feeding.. I was greedy in the sense I loved being able to stop and feed whenever bubba wanted it! I nursed whilst being pregnant with the next one also.. I didn’t care where we were or what we were doing I was always happy to just sit and nurse bubba! Plus us women are amazing multitaskers and nurse a baby whilst eating or clearling up etc imagine the guy doing it!
 
Aww I miss the early days and having a nursing baby though, plus I nursed because I also didn’t want to share feeding.. I was greedy in the sense I loved being able to stop and feed whenever bubba wanted it! I nursed whilst being pregnant with the next one also.. I didn’t care where we were or what we were doing I was always happy to just sit and nurse bubba! Plus us women are amazing multitaskers and nurse a baby whilst eating or clearling up etc imagine the guy doing it!
Yeah, " Oh honey, I have to nurse the baby, so I'm going to sit and watch the game for an hour."
Seriously though, I always took the time just to sit quietly with my babbies whilst the nursed. Just being in the moment with them, no distractions. Bonding. Precious moments.
 
Great reading some of these! IMO, it seems better now but there was a time we tended to turn on each other even more. Being equal turned into this bizarre thing where we had to do it all- work full time, manage the house, raise kids and sleep every other day. Stay at home mothers got it in the neck, you know? Like they were some kind of slackers.... . Geesh. I'm seeing kids making the choice when they can, of going back to Mom at home on purpose. My son and DIL do it- she stays home when there's a wee one. It's wonderful they can make that choice, a lot cannot.

@Steph-GB , had 2 babies while in the UK and can NOT figure out what all the fuss is on your NHS. It was terrific- here, they boot new moms out after ONE night- it was two weeks there while someone taught you about it and made sure the mother recovered. THEN the nurse came to your house, checking in and a doc if needed! Gee whiz. What a baby friendly place- and no one has an aneurysm over nursing in public.
 
Haha yes we still have the home visits after a baby and a health visitor that follows you until baby is 5! Now though they do kick you out same day if smooth birth .. 2-3 days if had a c section! They certainly do make a massive fuss!!

I had my first in a birthing Center and not the hospital though.. nice water birth and planned 4 hour stay after having him, but because it was night time they got me to stay the night (which is a good job as I went into heart failure middle of the night!!)

But they do tend to kick you out quicker now and you can refuse to have the health visitors input as well! As long as you go to your midwife check on day 3 for baby’s heel prick test and then Drs at 6 weeks for check up. Can all be very over whelming having so many professionals trying to teach you how to do it etc and all give different advice!
 
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