I need to start writing these down somewhere... She's too much!
Today she found the plastic strap from a box and decided it was a stethoscope.
K: Hi! I Dr. Kaija! I listen to your beats.
M: Oh great!
K: Ribbit ribbit! Ribbit ribbit! You have frogs!!
M: Oh no!! Am I going to die?
K: Yep. You die in water...
Somewhere that moved from cute to a little freaky... but mostly cute! Her main favorite right now is "I love you SO MUCH!" ♥♥♥ I think I prefer that one.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
I Wear Babies
I do! And I like it! I like it A LOT!
When I was pregnant with Kaija I was doing some research and was a member of a parenting community on-line and kept coming across moms who used slings or other carriers to "wear" their babies. This was totally foreign to me but made so much sense! You mean I can have 2 free hands to do things AND carry my baby? Sign me up! So I set out to find a sling to carry Kaija in. Then I discovered that they are expensive. Crazy expensive for the amount of fabric you get in some cases. I just couldn't justify it. One day we were in TJ Maxx for reasons I don't remember, but I came across the Parents of Invention Ultimate Baby Wrap for $20. I figured that was a price I could handle and it looked interesting. I'd heard a little about wraps, they seemed pretty complicated, but I decided to go for it. I watched the DVD that came with it and looked up more videos on Youtube. And as tricky as it was I practiced putting it on while pregnant. I had it down! I was so excited for Kaija to be born so I could cuddle her in it! Then she was born and HATED it... So I packed it away for about a month. When she was a bit bigger I got it back out and lo and behold she LOVED IT! She sacked right out and slept for hours snuggled into my chest. I typed an email with 2 hands. I loaded the dishwasher. I even made dinner (Note: this isn't really recommended!)! Yee haw!! I could tuck her into my coat and go for long walks. It suddenly became the best $20 I ever spent. The main downfall I found to it is how looooong it is and it is a bit complicated to put on. I've got it mastered now, but for me it's not really something I can easily put on in a parking lot while shopping. And she pretty much topped out of being carried in it comfortably at around 7 months.
Fast forward to being pregnant again. I got my wrap out and washed it and got it all ready to use for Kolbie. This time I was not disappointed at all the first few weeks! See, Kolbie is a snuggle baby. She WANTS to be held. She WANTS to cuddle with you. I've called her my baby Spider Monkey more than once! When she was 2 weeks old I strapped her on, threw a jacket on, and walked across the street to sit around a bonfire for 4 hours. She slept the entire time. ENTIRE TIME. Someone who arrived after it got dark didn't even realize I had a tiny baby in my coat until she squeaked to tell me she was hungry and wanted to be in bed. I think I wore her for a part of everyday for weeks on end.
A few weeks ago Dean asked how much longer I thought Kolbie would be in the wrap. He thought she was looking a bit big for it and I didn't disagree. How I managed to carry Kaija in it as long as I did I'm not sure. So we started talking about maybe finding something else. I started looking at making my own Mei Tei. I started researching other carriers so I could gently approach him with how much they are. Three days later had Ergo Baby Carriers available for too good a price to pass up. I ran up the stairs to check on the budget with Dean and found out that it was something I could get. I ran back down the stairs, wallet in hand, only to find that Google check-out was down at that moment! No!! Fortunately it was back up only minutes later and I made, hands down, the best $70 purchase EV.ER. I expected it to take 2 weeks to arrive. I ordered it Wednesday and had it the following Monday. I've used it every day since. We can grocery shop with one cart now. It's so easy! I'm so in love with it.
With both carriers I've gotten lots of compliments and strange looks, but mostly encouragement. One day while wearing Kaija in the wrap a man yelled from the other side of the street and asked if I had cotton candy in my coat! Nope, just a baby wearing a bright pink hat! Wearing Kolbie in the wrap led to an awesome discussion on baby wearing at the Farmer's Market over Memorial Day weekend. I passed on info to make your own and websites to go to to learn how to put it on. At first I thought that woman and her mom thought I was weird! Nope, they wanted to be like me! And that was 20 minutes after my mom questioned if it was all worth it to put it on. Yup! You bet it is! Now with the Ergo I've had a number of positive interactions. A few women at church have told me that they have them as well. A nice woman at the grocery store seemed pretty excited at the idea of getting one for her daughter and her first grandbaby. Mysteriously, the odd looks I've gotten from people have been from other mom's wearing their babies in Bjorns or other style carriers... weird. We're all in this together! :)
Mostly, I am proud to spread the message of baby wearing. It's healthy for your baby AND you. Um, hello squats with a 15 lb. weight strapped to your chest?! My abs hurt this weekend and I couldn't figure out why, until I took Kolbie off of me and relaxed a bit. You can not slouch while baby wearing! I wore Kolbie while handing out lunch at church last weekend and the older man that was cooking the hot dogs made a great observation. He said, "You know, those are so great! I mean Native Americans wore their babies on their backs! Now your baby just curls right up and falls asleep listening to your heartbeat." How can that be wrong?
When I was pregnant with Kaija I was doing some research and was a member of a parenting community on-line and kept coming across moms who used slings or other carriers to "wear" their babies. This was totally foreign to me but made so much sense! You mean I can have 2 free hands to do things AND carry my baby? Sign me up! So I set out to find a sling to carry Kaija in. Then I discovered that they are expensive. Crazy expensive for the amount of fabric you get in some cases. I just couldn't justify it. One day we were in TJ Maxx for reasons I don't remember, but I came across the Parents of Invention Ultimate Baby Wrap for $20. I figured that was a price I could handle and it looked interesting. I'd heard a little about wraps, they seemed pretty complicated, but I decided to go for it. I watched the DVD that came with it and looked up more videos on Youtube. And as tricky as it was I practiced putting it on while pregnant. I had it down! I was so excited for Kaija to be born so I could cuddle her in it! Then she was born and HATED it... So I packed it away for about a month. When she was a bit bigger I got it back out and lo and behold she LOVED IT! She sacked right out and slept for hours snuggled into my chest. I typed an email with 2 hands. I loaded the dishwasher. I even made dinner (Note: this isn't really recommended!)! Yee haw!! I could tuck her into my coat and go for long walks. It suddenly became the best $20 I ever spent. The main downfall I found to it is how looooong it is and it is a bit complicated to put on. I've got it mastered now, but for me it's not really something I can easily put on in a parking lot while shopping. And she pretty much topped out of being carried in it comfortably at around 7 months.
Fast forward to being pregnant again. I got my wrap out and washed it and got it all ready to use for Kolbie. This time I was not disappointed at all the first few weeks! See, Kolbie is a snuggle baby. She WANTS to be held. She WANTS to cuddle with you. I've called her my baby Spider Monkey more than once! When she was 2 weeks old I strapped her on, threw a jacket on, and walked across the street to sit around a bonfire for 4 hours. She slept the entire time. ENTIRE TIME. Someone who arrived after it got dark didn't even realize I had a tiny baby in my coat until she squeaked to tell me she was hungry and wanted to be in bed. I think I wore her for a part of everyday for weeks on end.
A few weeks ago Dean asked how much longer I thought Kolbie would be in the wrap. He thought she was looking a bit big for it and I didn't disagree. How I managed to carry Kaija in it as long as I did I'm not sure. So we started talking about maybe finding something else. I started looking at making my own Mei Tei. I started researching other carriers so I could gently approach him with how much they are. Three days later had Ergo Baby Carriers available for too good a price to pass up. I ran up the stairs to check on the budget with Dean and found out that it was something I could get. I ran back down the stairs, wallet in hand, only to find that Google check-out was down at that moment! No!! Fortunately it was back up only minutes later and I made, hands down, the best $70 purchase EV.ER. I expected it to take 2 weeks to arrive. I ordered it Wednesday and had it the following Monday. I've used it every day since. We can grocery shop with one cart now. It's so easy! I'm so in love with it.
With both carriers I've gotten lots of compliments and strange looks, but mostly encouragement. One day while wearing Kaija in the wrap a man yelled from the other side of the street and asked if I had cotton candy in my coat! Nope, just a baby wearing a bright pink hat! Wearing Kolbie in the wrap led to an awesome discussion on baby wearing at the Farmer's Market over Memorial Day weekend. I passed on info to make your own and websites to go to to learn how to put it on. At first I thought that woman and her mom thought I was weird! Nope, they wanted to be like me! And that was 20 minutes after my mom questioned if it was all worth it to put it on. Yup! You bet it is! Now with the Ergo I've had a number of positive interactions. A few women at church have told me that they have them as well. A nice woman at the grocery store seemed pretty excited at the idea of getting one for her daughter and her first grandbaby. Mysteriously, the odd looks I've gotten from people have been from other mom's wearing their babies in Bjorns or other style carriers... weird. We're all in this together! :)
Mostly, I am proud to spread the message of baby wearing. It's healthy for your baby AND you. Um, hello squats with a 15 lb. weight strapped to your chest?! My abs hurt this weekend and I couldn't figure out why, until I took Kolbie off of me and relaxed a bit. You can not slouch while baby wearing! I wore Kolbie while handing out lunch at church last weekend and the older man that was cooking the hot dogs made a great observation. He said, "You know, those are so great! I mean Native Americans wore their babies on their backs! Now your baby just curls right up and falls asleep listening to your heartbeat." How can that be wrong?
Friday, July 9, 2010
Nursing In Public
Breastfeeding is something I feel strongly about. Probably more strongly than most people who know me realize. In fact I think I'm surprising myself with how strongly I feel about it.
I knew when Kaija was born that I was going to nurse her. It wasn't a question. When I went back to work we had to give some formula though. Pumping and I do not get along, no matter the circumstances. That was fine. In fact at about 8.5 months she had to go to formula full-time. I was proud of myself! But the one thing I never did with Kaija was nurse in public. I never really needed to. Besides, she got formula part time anyway, so we could just take some with us if we were going to be out during a time when she would want to eat.
Since I had such great success with Kaija, there was absolutely no question I was going to nurse Kolbie as well. This time, I set a firm goal of 1 year, but promised myself not to be disappointed if our nursing relationship doesn't last that long. So far it has been wonderful! Having an all natural labor and delivery followed by over an hour of skin-on-skin contact and nursing before anyone even took her from me definitely fostered that. She's had a few - 3 or 4 - bottles of formula because again, I can not pump. I've had to be away for doctor appointments for Kaija, or job interviews. And soon I'll be heading back to school so inevitably she'll get some then. But as long as I can maintain 1 or 2 nursing sessions a day until she's 1 I will feel successful.
Now here's where NIP comes into play. Having a toddler that can't stay cooped up in the house all the time and a family that likes to be out and about, it has to be done. Especially since I'd like to avoid formula. Clearly I have no problem with formula, but my supply is perfect. Meaning I have exactly what she needs all the time, no more, no less. By replacing 1 session with a bottle that messes with the fine tuned machine we've got working here. Apparently, my wonderful husband is embarrassed by the fact that on occasion I will need to *gasp* nurse Kolbie someplace other than in the rocking chair in her room. He even sighs when I nurse her in our bed... it makes me crazy. Now, I'm someone who likes to pick and choose her battles. And this is one I've been trying to avoid. Until today. Today we were out to eat and Kolbie needed to eat. I had 2 options (in his eyes) - the bathroom or hike it back to the truck. To keep some semblance of peace I chose the bathroom. Now, I don't know about you, but I've never eaten next to someone using the bathroom. But if the occasion would arise, I'm sure I'd be pretty grossed out. True, an infant likely has no idea what's going on in the next stall, but I do. Gross. Unsanitary. I was pissed off that that's what I had to do to make *him* comfortable. I decided then and there that the next time it comes up, he's going to deal with it. I know my legal rights. I'm not someone who will raise a stink, but I'm also not going to let my daughters think that it's okay to feed their babies in the bathroom either. So, sorry honey. You lose this one.
The best intentions...
So I planned to write at least once a week, if not once a day. Yup, not so much, huh!?
To say things have been hectic would be a complete lie. Frankly I'm just lazy. I think of things to write and then don't or forget what I was going to write about.
Perhaps this can be my re-start of my re-start? Ha! We'll see... we will see...
To say things have been hectic would be a complete lie. Frankly I'm just lazy. I think of things to write and then don't or forget what I was going to write about.
Perhaps this can be my re-start of my re-start? Ha! We'll see... we will see...
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