Inspired by SouleMama.
Friday, April 29, 2011
{this moment} Bottle
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
Inspired by SouleMama.
Inspired by SouleMama.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
What's In Your Diaper Bag?
I decided to go through our diaper bag today to check out what's in it, what should stay in there, and what can be purged.
Outside circle from left to right
- my iPod nano case and iPod
- nursing canopy
- reusable bag - plastic bags in Toronto cost 5-cents a piece
- disposable diaper sacks
- an extra outfit for Ollie (you never know when having the extra plastic bag will come in handy too)
- extra bibs - he's a spit-up and drool champion
- wet-bag for dirty cloth diapers
- burp cloths
- change mat with two disposable diapers and wipes inside
- two extra cloth diapers (these ones are from our diaper service)
Inside Circle from left to right
- band aid and bacitraycin
- handkerchief - it's allergy season!
- extra nursing pads
- hand sanitizer
- extra nuk which is hard to see against the carpet
- two download of the week cards I got for Allison at Starbucks and forgot about
- diaper rash balm
- hand lotion
- tide to go pen + an extra hand wipe
- gum
- wallet
- business card holder
- burt's bees hand salve container - empty of hand salve but contains an extra subway token just in case
In the Middle
- skip hop diaper bag that was a gift from Allison's sister
- baby - and a cute one at that! (baby is not usually IN the diaper bag)
I didn't even realize the disposable diaper bags were in there, so those have been nixed. I cut down to two extra bibs, took out the extra nursing pads because I'm not so leaky any more, and gave the download cards to Allison (they're still good for a couple of months).
I have a feeling that more things will get cut over the summer when I'm out on foot more than I am now. Really, the only must-haves are my wallet and the extra diapers + wet-bag if we're in cloth.
What do you keep in your diaper bag? What would you make sure stayed if you downsized?
Outside circle from left to right
- my iPod nano case and iPod
- nursing canopy
- reusable bag - plastic bags in Toronto cost 5-cents a piece
- disposable diaper sacks
- an extra outfit for Ollie (you never know when having the extra plastic bag will come in handy too)
- extra bibs - he's a spit-up and drool champion
- wet-bag for dirty cloth diapers
- burp cloths
- change mat with two disposable diapers and wipes inside
- two extra cloth diapers (these ones are from our diaper service)
Inside Circle from left to right
- band aid and bacitraycin
- handkerchief - it's allergy season!
- extra nursing pads
- hand sanitizer
- extra nuk which is hard to see against the carpet
- two download of the week cards I got for Allison at Starbucks and forgot about
- diaper rash balm
- hand lotion
- tide to go pen + an extra hand wipe
- gum
- wallet
- business card holder
- burt's bees hand salve container - empty of hand salve but contains an extra subway token just in case
In the Middle
- skip hop diaper bag that was a gift from Allison's sister
- baby - and a cute one at that! (baby is not usually IN the diaper bag)
I didn't even realize the disposable diaper bags were in there, so those have been nixed. I cut down to two extra bibs, took out the extra nursing pads because I'm not so leaky any more, and gave the download cards to Allison (they're still good for a couple of months).
I have a feeling that more things will get cut over the summer when I'm out on foot more than I am now. Really, the only must-haves are my wallet and the extra diapers + wet-bag if we're in cloth.
What do you keep in your diaper bag? What would you make sure stayed if you downsized?
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
One Year Ago
It was one year ago that Jen was inseminated resulting in her pregnancy with The Bean! What a year it has been!!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Truth About Breastfeeding
Before you’re pregnant mothers tell you all about the joys of pregnancy and motherhood. Things like how wonderful they felt about the new life growing inside them, the miracle of that little body emerging from within them, and the instinctive way they care for them afterwards.
But, here’s the thing, when you’re pregnant you also have morning sickness, heartburn, an inability to sleep through the night, the inability to control when you pee (if only an eentsy bit), and hemorrhoids.
Labour. Well, labour hurts. Like a bitch on speed. And often women come out of it swollen and puffy, with stitches and incisions, with parts of their body stretched much more than it seems those parts should stretch, and well, even bigger hemorrhoids.
Somehow, mothers “forget” to mention these things to non-mothers still in their child bearing years. This is what I like to call The Deception. Before going through the experience myself, I was sure they held your baby hostage until you signed a binding legal document swearing that you’d never tell a young woman about the painful and embarrassing (like not being able to control when you pass gas) parts of pregnancy, labour, and motherhood.
Part of The Deception lies in the joys and wonders of breast feeding. Now, don’t get me wrong here, I’m a believer that breast feeding can be the right choice for a parent and their baby. I know all of the advantages yadda yadda yadda... and this isn’t an anti-breastfeeding post. I just don’t believe it’s the bestest most wonderfulest way to spend time with your new guy or gal. Because when you start out, boy is it a pain in the tit. Or, both.
You get home from the hospital tired, sore, sleep deprived and this little life that you’ve managed to keep safe and growing inside of you for the last nine or ten months again turns to you as his or her sole source of life-sustaining nutrition.
But, you know, no pressure or anything.
And if you’re like us, you have to set your alarm for every 2 to 3 hours to wake up and offer your baby the all-you-can eat buffet known as mom’s boobs. Now, this doesn’t apply to all babies, but if yours is small like our guy was (5 lbs, 10 oz) then you have to do this cheerful exercise or your little one might just keep sleeping and sleeping more and more and not want to wake up to eat at all.
So there you are, sleep deprived and holding a brand-new tired baby who’s head is equally bobbing and flopping. His head is bouncing around trying to find your nipple. Your nipple is so sore that if your spouse makes direct eye contact with it you will threaten them with grievous bodily harm. Your boob is now larger than your new kid’s entire head and you need to fit said giant boob into their teeny-tiny mouth. Your nipples are chapped if not bleeding. Your hormones are sending you on more ups and downs than a sugared up kindergarten class on a school yard-sized trampoline. At this point your baby is probably latching and falling off. Or not latching properly. Or getting those uncontrollable tiny hands aligned directly on your nipple and grasping it as if her very existence depends on her ability to grab that sucker and squeeze it as hard as those newborn reflexes will allow. At this point, the baby is hungry, famished even, to the point where that little head starts flailing and your cute new tot starts to make the smacking and snorting noises that prior to this very event you thought only pigs in heat could make.
And then, somehow the universe aligns, the mouth opens, the boob goes in, the baby gets several really good sucks...and then falls asleep.
But, somehow, you make it through the feeding.
It has taken an hour, but you’ve done it.
And you get to start all over again in one more hour.
Allison says it wasn't that bad.
I say it was close.
But, here’s the thing, when you’re pregnant you also have morning sickness, heartburn, an inability to sleep through the night, the inability to control when you pee (if only an eentsy bit), and hemorrhoids.
Labour. Well, labour hurts. Like a bitch on speed. And often women come out of it swollen and puffy, with stitches and incisions, with parts of their body stretched much more than it seems those parts should stretch, and well, even bigger hemorrhoids.
Somehow, mothers “forget” to mention these things to non-mothers still in their child bearing years. This is what I like to call The Deception. Before going through the experience myself, I was sure they held your baby hostage until you signed a binding legal document swearing that you’d never tell a young woman about the painful and embarrassing (like not being able to control when you pass gas) parts of pregnancy, labour, and motherhood.
Part of The Deception lies in the joys and wonders of breast feeding. Now, don’t get me wrong here, I’m a believer that breast feeding can be the right choice for a parent and their baby. I know all of the advantages yadda yadda yadda... and this isn’t an anti-breastfeeding post. I just don’t believe it’s the bestest most wonderfulest way to spend time with your new guy or gal. Because when you start out, boy is it a pain in the tit. Or, both.You get home from the hospital tired, sore, sleep deprived and this little life that you’ve managed to keep safe and growing inside of you for the last nine or ten months again turns to you as his or her sole source of life-sustaining nutrition.
But, you know, no pressure or anything.
And if you’re like us, you have to set your alarm for every 2 to 3 hours to wake up and offer your baby the all-you-can eat buffet known as mom’s boobs. Now, this doesn’t apply to all babies, but if yours is small like our guy was (5 lbs, 10 oz) then you have to do this cheerful exercise or your little one might just keep sleeping and sleeping more and more and not want to wake up to eat at all.
So there you are, sleep deprived and holding a brand-new tired baby who’s head is equally bobbing and flopping. His head is bouncing around trying to find your nipple. Your nipple is so sore that if your spouse makes direct eye contact with it you will threaten them with grievous bodily harm. Your boob is now larger than your new kid’s entire head and you need to fit said giant boob into their teeny-tiny mouth. Your nipples are chapped if not bleeding. Your hormones are sending you on more ups and downs than a sugared up kindergarten class on a school yard-sized trampoline. At this point your baby is probably latching and falling off. Or not latching properly. Or getting those uncontrollable tiny hands aligned directly on your nipple and grasping it as if her very existence depends on her ability to grab that sucker and squeeze it as hard as those newborn reflexes will allow. At this point, the baby is hungry, famished even, to the point where that little head starts flailing and your cute new tot starts to make the smacking and snorting noises that prior to this very event you thought only pigs in heat could make.
And then, somehow the universe aligns, the mouth opens, the boob goes in, the baby gets several really good sucks...and then falls asleep.
But, somehow, you make it through the feeding.
It has taken an hour, but you’ve done it.
And you get to start all over again in one more hour.
Allison says it wasn't that bad.
I say it was close.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Rainy Days and Mondays
It's lovely to have the day off work, but it's kind of a gray day and I'm tired from our overnight at my mom's and think I might be feeling a *something* coming on (hopefully just allergies).
I decided it'd be good to get out for a little bit, plus we needed milk, so I put The Bean in the stroller and walked through the neighbourhood to the corner store. I decided to take the camera along. Maybe not the best idea to take photos in the rain, but there were some pretty things blooming...
The Bean's fussing, so I better go see if there's anything I can do to help.
I decided it'd be good to get out for a little bit, plus we needed milk, so I put The Bean in the stroller and walked through the neighbourhood to the corner store. I decided to take the camera along. Maybe not the best idea to take photos in the rain, but there were some pretty things blooming...
The Bean's fussing, so I better go see if there's anything I can do to help.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter
Happy Easter to those who celebrate.
We're not religious, but we do celebrate a secular Christmas and Easter. We were undecided whether we'd put together an Easter basket for The Bean, but his Grandma convinced us we should. We had a couple of books I had ordered for him from Scholastic and then we did a quick run out to pick up a few more things we thought he'd enjoy (pacifiers and a gripping toy). No chocolate until next year. :)
I love this photo of Jen and The Bean. My mom's wall makes a great backdrop!
We spent the night at my mom's/ The Bean's Oma's. She's not far, but we don't get out to visit her often. Aunt Jen and Uncle Dave came for dinner on Sunday, along with my mom's new boyfriend and another friend of hers who stopped by for dessert.
It was a nice visit. Hopefully we'll make it out to see her more often over the summer. There's a little beach right by her house which I think The Bean will LOVE once it's a little warmer and he's a little older.
We're not religious, but we do celebrate a secular Christmas and Easter. We were undecided whether we'd put together an Easter basket for The Bean, but his Grandma convinced us we should. We had a couple of books I had ordered for him from Scholastic and then we did a quick run out to pick up a few more things we thought he'd enjoy (pacifiers and a gripping toy). No chocolate until next year. :)
I love this photo of Jen and The Bean. My mom's wall makes a great backdrop!
We spent the night at my mom's/ The Bean's Oma's. She's not far, but we don't get out to visit her often. Aunt Jen and Uncle Dave came for dinner on Sunday, along with my mom's new boyfriend and another friend of hers who stopped by for dessert.
It was a nice visit. Hopefully we'll make it out to see her more often over the summer. There's a little beach right by her house which I think The Bean will LOVE once it's a little warmer and he's a little older.
Friday, April 22, 2011
{this moment} Easter
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
Inspired by SouleMama.
Inspired by SouleMama.
Friday, April 15, 2011
{this moment} Birdie
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
Inspired by SouleMama.
Inspired by SouleMama.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Three Months Old!
Today The Bean is three months old!
It's hard to believe that our little baby is already three months old. In other people's eyes he may still a newborn, but to me he seems so grown up already. There have been so many changes since we brought him home. It feels like he's especially changed a lot this past month.
-He still loves to be held, but is often content when in one of his chairs or on his play mat.
-He now smiles and "talks". He also pouts. It is pathetic.
-He is still not very fussy. He really only fusses when he's hungry or wants his soother, when he's pooing or passing gas, and when he's tired. He cries are getting louder though.
-He has figured out he has hands and, boy, are they awesome! He seems to particularly enjoy the flavour of the right one.
-He is starting to interact more with his toys. He can grasp a few of his toys and likes to hold them and try to put them in his mouth. He also likes batting at things. His favourite "activity" seems to be looking at himself in the mirror. He'll smile and babble away at that adorable little baby he sees.
-He is getting stronger, and will lie on his tummy for much longer periods of time looking back and forth, and sometimes just flopping his head down when get gets too tired... or SOMETIMES rolling over. It's quite the trick.
-Another very recently new trick is that when lying down he will tilt his head back and arch his back, and use his legs to launch himself backwards. I do not like this trick. It especially freaks me out when he is on the change table. Or when he launches himself towards hard objects, like our ottoman. He gets mad when I put pillows around his head.
-The pacifier is still a hit, but he will purposely spit it out now when he wants to eat his hand and sometimes also when he is on the verge of falling asleep.
-He has developed a more set schedule. Most nights he will go down between 6 and 8pm, and sleep through until 3 or 4am. He starts to fuss, so I get up and change him while Jen gets settled in to nurse. I go back to bed, she stays up and nurses him, then brings him back to bed when they're done. He'll usually sleep until about 7am after that and, if Jen is lucky, go back down for a little morning nap if she nurses him then.
-He is starting to wear most of his 0-3 month clothing now and we have had to put away all of the preemie and newborn stuff. I get a little bit sad every time I put one of his outfits into storage. He's not such a little baby anymore.
-I *think* he is about 10lbs now. We measured this the highly scientific way of me standing on the bathroom scale, noting my weight, then Jen handing me the baby and subtracting to find the difference.
So many changes in such a short period of time. I can't really imagine what things will be like in another three months, but I look forward to experiencing it!
It's hard to believe that our little baby is already three months old. In other people's eyes he may still a newborn, but to me he seems so grown up already. There have been so many changes since we brought him home. It feels like he's especially changed a lot this past month.
-He still loves to be held, but is often content when in one of his chairs or on his play mat.
-He now smiles and "talks". He also pouts. It is pathetic.
-He is still not very fussy. He really only fusses when he's hungry or wants his soother, when he's pooing or passing gas, and when he's tired. He cries are getting louder though.
-He has figured out he has hands and, boy, are they awesome! He seems to particularly enjoy the flavour of the right one.
-He is starting to interact more with his toys. He can grasp a few of his toys and likes to hold them and try to put them in his mouth. He also likes batting at things. His favourite "activity" seems to be looking at himself in the mirror. He'll smile and babble away at that adorable little baby he sees.
-He is getting stronger, and will lie on his tummy for much longer periods of time looking back and forth, and sometimes just flopping his head down when get gets too tired... or SOMETIMES rolling over. It's quite the trick.
-Another very recently new trick is that when lying down he will tilt his head back and arch his back, and use his legs to launch himself backwards. I do not like this trick. It especially freaks me out when he is on the change table. Or when he launches himself towards hard objects, like our ottoman. He gets mad when I put pillows around his head.
-The pacifier is still a hit, but he will purposely spit it out now when he wants to eat his hand and sometimes also when he is on the verge of falling asleep.
-He has developed a more set schedule. Most nights he will go down between 6 and 8pm, and sleep through until 3 or 4am. He starts to fuss, so I get up and change him while Jen gets settled in to nurse. I go back to bed, she stays up and nurses him, then brings him back to bed when they're done. He'll usually sleep until about 7am after that and, if Jen is lucky, go back down for a little morning nap if she nurses him then.
-He is starting to wear most of his 0-3 month clothing now and we have had to put away all of the preemie and newborn stuff. I get a little bit sad every time I put one of his outfits into storage. He's not such a little baby anymore.
-I *think* he is about 10lbs now. We measured this the highly scientific way of me standing on the bathroom scale, noting my weight, then Jen handing me the baby and subtracting to find the difference.
So many changes in such a short period of time. I can't really imagine what things will be like in another three months, but I look forward to experiencing it!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
The Down Side
So, as I imagine is quite apparent to anyone reading this blog, I am absolutely smitten with our baby and love being a mom. There is a down side though: I feel like he is growing up so quickly and I wish I were able to spend more time with him. It was fantastic having the first two weeks after his birth off. I am also very glad that I had March Break to spend another two weeks with him and Jen. My next big break is over the summer, which feels a million years away. (This term is very busy, with SO much to do before the year is over.) I know we are fortunate to live in a country where Jen can take a full year maternity leave and that I have a career that provides so many breaks throughout the year. Still, I wish it were more.
I've really been noticing how responsive The Bean is to Jen these days. He responds to me too, but not in the same way. I have to admit, I'm a little jealous. This certainly isn't the only reason that I wish I could spend more time with him, but it contributes to the feeling that I'm not around as much as I would like to be.
Summer can't come soon enough.
Today we had rainstorms through the morning, so we spent some time lounging around the apartment. It was nice.
I've really been noticing how responsive The Bean is to Jen these days. He responds to me too, but not in the same way. I have to admit, I'm a little jealous. This certainly isn't the only reason that I wish I could spend more time with him, but it contributes to the feeling that I'm not around as much as I would like to be.
Summer can't come soon enough.
Today we had rainstorms through the morning, so we spent some time lounging around the apartment. It was nice.
Friday, April 8, 2011
{this moment} Silly Boy
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
Inspired by SouleMama.
Inspired by SouleMama.
Friday, April 1, 2011
{this moment} Mirror
A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.
Inspired by SouleMama.
Inspired by SouleMama.
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