birthing experience

Tonight, at 7 pm in Tilley Hall on the UNB campus, Birth Matters is showing the movie "The Business of Being Born" followed by a panel discussion with a local obstetrician, midwife, nurse and mother. It is a powerful movie and I watched it many times before giving birth to Charlotte. I convinced Tim to watch it as well, and after seeing it, he finally understood why natural birth was so important to me. He was willing to get a doula (a person who provides labour support), which made ALL the difference in the delivery of Charlotte. I posted my version of Charlotte's birth story on the fredkid website... click here to read it. And add your own to the forum. I think it is really important to share your story after you give birth, it helps you process the life-changing experience that has just happened to you.

I am going to share an excerpt from a letter that our doula, Emilie, wrote to Charlotte. She explained her birth story in a beautiful way. It is tucked in Charlotte's baby book, for her to read and discover someday. I couldn't thank Emilie enough for what she provided for our family. She was a calm, steady comfort throughout the whole experience. She knew how my contractions progressed and how to encourage me through each one. She allowed Tim to get a coffee and some food after 24 hours of labour. If you are thinking about getting a doula, GET ONE!



"At the DECH, your mom's first nurse was Barb. She took the time to explain to your mom and dad what they could expect from the hospital. She explained the different pain meds available, and how they would keep an eye on you to make sure you were happy and healthy on your way out. At this point, your mom was about 2 cms dilated, but she was effaced quite a bit. That was a good start. Pamela tried the ball for a while, and walked around the labour and delivery unit. After a couple hours, though, she hadn't dilated any further. So, she and your dad decided that it would be best to labour in the comfort of home.

At home, your mom was doing well. She was cheerful and excited. We all went for a walk, Ava included, on the walking trail nearby. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, people were out walking and playing baseball. The only thing unusual about that day was that every so often, a very pregnant woman would stop and lean into her husband's arms and slow dance her pain away! I watched your mom and dad go into their own little world during every contraction, and I must admit that it was the most beautiful thing I had seen in a long time! Back at the house, we passed the time. By now, the contractions were stronger and after a quick visit with some friends who dropped by with good wishes, your mom decided to try the bath. This helped things along, and the contractions started coming faster and harder. It helped a lot to have a cold cloth on her forehead, and to have water poured on her belly during contractions. When your mom started having trouble focusing, and I noticed her getting shaky and losing her good humour, I suggested that we head to the DECH again. This was starting to look like very active labour! However, things were not quite as they seemed…"

It was hard, my love, but amazing the moment you arrived. I love remembering the day you came into the world to be with us, bringing joy to our family.

playing games

Last night, Charlotte was resisting going to sleep for the night. We were hanging out on the sofa, and she was standing up, facing me on my lap. I said "up, up, up" to her... then she decided to flop down, letting her legs go. I said "down" with a big smile. I stood her up again ("up, up, up") and she had this mischievous look in her eyes. She flopped down and did it again and again and again... knowing that I was waiting for her in anticipation for her to flop down. We were both laughing at the top of our lungs!! I couldn't believe that she knew how to initiate playing a game with me and was deciding on the element of surprise. We play peek-a-boo all the time, but that is always initiated by me. Charlotte's personality is growing and unfolding, it is amazing to watch and observe. I think she is going to be a pretty fun little girl!

did you know that.....

"Even when using disposable diapers, the contents should be emptied into the toilet so that the waste can be properly treated."
http://www.ec.gc.ca/envirozine/english/issues/45/any_questions_e.cfm

This quote is taken from the Environment Canada website. Click here for the article. Before looking into cloth diapers, I had no idea this was the case. It is dangerous to dispose of feces in our landfills.

day of no naps

Yesterday was one of those days.

-sliced my finger with a knife while cutting a bagel for breakfast
- tried to put Charlotte down for a nap in the morning so I could do a workout and shower
- she woke up 5 minutes later
- tried to keep her from crashing on her head as she is climbing over/crawling though everything she comes across
- tried to put her down at lunch time, woke up less than 5 minutes later
- tried to have a shower with her in her exersaucer (she has grown out of her bouncy seat as she pulls the toy bar off and then tries to escape even though she is belted in. result = unhappy girl that is leaned way over, and way too close to hitting her head on the toilet in our tiny bathroom)
- heard a huge crash and my heart stopped, I pulled back the shower curtain and jumped out to find this......




Sooooooooo thankful the plant did not fall on her... or she did not fall out of the exersaucer somehow. Maybe I am bad mommy for placing her seat too close to the plant that was sitting on the runner. But I guess exhaustion from chasing a baby who is into EVERYTHING has gotten to me. We tape down the cords and she pulls the tape off to get to them. She loves Ava's dish and I have to put it up every day. She opens the door with the DVDS and CDs inside and pulls them all out to chew on them. Who knew the transition from still baby to moving one was so difficult?

- then I tried to put her down in the afternoon..... and she woke up 5 minutes later.

- all three of us were waiting at the door when Tim arrived home from work. He took Charlotte and I tackled the mountain of dishes and laundry that had been waiting for me all day. Then Charlotte went down for a 1/2 hour nap!

P.S. We got that plant for a housewarming present (thanks Shanie!) and it was saved... now it is sitting in a cereal bowl, waiting for another pot to live in!

I am getting used to a world with a curious, active girl! And I thank God for her every day.

cloth diapers part 1

So far, I am really enjoying cloth diapers. I use them while we are home, during the day. Once I become more comfortable, I would like to use them when we are out during the day. I worry about getting a really messy one while we are out, and trying to find a place to clean it. Night time is another tricky one because Charlotte still eats during the night and has a VERY full diaper when she wakes up in the morning.

I have only had one messy diaper (the others were when we were out), and I didn't know quite what to do with it! I rushed it to the bathroom, and it was liquid, so I wiped off what I could with toilet paper and took all the diapers to the washing machine immediately. That is not what you are supposed to do! But I kind of panicked in the moment! To me, dirty diapers are the difficult thing about cloth diapers. But I think once I get into a system, it will be fine. The liquid will just wash off in the machine and solids can be dumped in the toilet. Some swish the diaper in the toilet water which is tricky for me, we have a duel flush (that only uses 3 L and 6 L) and the water only covers the very bottom of the toilet. There are fancy diaper sprayers which would be perfect for me, but are pretty expensive. I share this not to gross you out, but to be honest about the hard part of cloth diapers... at least in my opinion!

I thought that I would like prefold diapers. Prefolds are one of the simpliest (and cheapest) way to diaper your baby. They look like this:

You can fold them different ways to suit your baby. Click here for some different ways to fold prefolds. You need a cover for these, my favorite so far are the Thirsties covers (www.littletreehugger.ca). Charlotte is in a small size (they run a little big) and it has a trim fit, which I really like. Some people just tuck the prefold into the diaper, but I think that would cause leaks for Charlotte. She still mainly drinks breastmilk and pees quite a bit! So I need something to hold the prefold together, around her body, and THEN put the cover on. The snappi is WONDERFUL for this. I must say, I still have yet to get used to wrapping the prefold and using the snappi. I think once you had a system that worked for you, it would be fine. My favorite diaper so far is the pocket diaper which I will write another post on!!



Charlotte with her Thirsties cover

bowl sipping

Tim is much better at feeding Charlotte cereal and veggies than I am. She seems to take a spoon from him... and she refuses if it is from me. Maybe it is just coincidence or maybe she is hungry when he feeds her. Or maybe he is more patient with it! But I have given in and allowed Charlotte to sip out of the bowl. She LOVES this and gulps down her cereal. Some gets on her chin and bib of course, but I gladly fill up the bowl again and add enough milk to make it runny and she gladly grabs hold of the bowl again. She's exploring food and eating utensils..... that's what I'll say for now!

(this is an older picture, now she is very good at holding the bowl herself!)

sick baby...

Charlotte is sick... it was probably the reason for such a restless night on Tuesday. It's so sad to see her in such a state. She was alright in the morning (we managed to get out to Mom's group), but by supper she was pretty stuffy. Tim got out the camera out and Charlotte immediately smiled:


She is still pretty pleasant and loves to play when she is sick. She has trouble nursing and staying asleep for a nap! By the end of supper she looked like this:



The runny eyes make me wonder about allergies. We haven't introduced any new foods lately, but I wonder if I should look into allergy tests. After a warm bath she felt much better and had a good sleep last night! Her eyes are much better today, she is mainly stuffed up. We hope she gets better soon!

Happy (belated) St. Patrick's Day!

co-sleeping

a controversial topic...

but I don't know what I would have done last night if I were against co-sleeping. Or if Tim didn't sleep through pretty much anything. Charlotte cried and cried last night. I tried putting her in her crib, rubbing her back probably 10-15 times. I tried feeding her, and walking her, and singing to her. None of the usual worked. I'm not sure if her teeth are bothering her, or what. But it was crazy. She was up a lot and cried loudly every time she woke up. So into bed she went, snuggled beside me, and at least I got a few hours of sleep.....

mesh feeder

Charlotte loves her mesh feeder! Thanks Shanie! She has tried apples, cantaloupe and bananas. I just realized that I hadn't given her bananas, probably because I don't eat them and she hadn't had a taste. But she loved them! She definitely loves fruit, but she also really loves peas, the veggie she has been eating for the past few days. Now all I have to figure out is how to clean the banana from the bag.... it seems to be smushed in there for good!

baby sign language

On Saturday I hosted a baby sign language workshop. I have worked with students who sign and know a bit myself. I took a beginner sign course and also learned a lot working with hard of hearing and deaf students. I love signing, but unfortunately, don't use it much and therefore forget a lot of it. I am thrilled to be able to teach Charlotte sign language to aid in our communication for the first few years of life. I think it will decrease frustration for both of us, and greatly increase her vocabulary!

We had a wonderful teacher for the class, she is a teacher with APSEA (Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority) and uses sign with her daughter! The program that she works with is called Hands up Learning. Please e-mail me (lovebinamom@gmail.com) if you want more info and want to host a class, I can pass it along! I learned that one of the most important indicators of a child's academic success is her vocabulary. You need to TALK to you kids... all the time, about everything. (And listen too, of course.) Also, it is best to start with 3 signs and use those all the time (she suggested the sign for eat, more and milk). I have been doing too many and need to cut back! We have been doing the sign for finished/all done which I think I will continue. It takes time for your child to start signing back, so have patience with it. I cannot wait to see Charlotte's first sign!

the world of cloth!

I must admit, the world of cloth diapering can be a little intimidating. With all the different kinds of diapers, specific laundering instructions and even the extra laundry, it took me a while to open the grocery bag of diapers a friend lent me. I had thought about cloth in the past, however I was skeptical that I could do it.

On Monday night, I went to a cloth diapering session. It was wonderful to meet new moms (and a grandmother to be!) and really see how other people do it. The host made everyone feel welcome and most of all, made cloth diapering seem ACCESSIBLE. You don't have to be rich to make the investment! Most of her diapers were from yard sales and some were pretty worn! I think cloth diapering has become such a fad in some ways and the initial investment seems scary. (Although much cheaper than disposables in the long run.) For me, with hubby in school right now and me on maternity leave, it seemed practically impossible to make the investment. But seeing this mom explain her experience and her joy at contributing to a healthier environment, and her passion about using cloth was amazing. It was not about cute diapers with patterns and little fashion statements crawling around! It was about making a difference in a big way. And simplifying that by not needing all the extra gear. Thanks so much, because you know who you are!

So feeling empowered to try this for myself, I broke open the grocery bag and outfitted Charlotte yesterday. And it was...... EASY! She didn't leak, and although I didn't have to clean a messy one, it was not hard to do cloth. (I will keep you updated on this!) So onto kijiji and the fredkid classifieds I went, to find some used diapers! I am excited, I know that it will be worth it cost-wise and to know that I am making a difference in the landfills by choosing cloth. Now, I know it's not for everyone, and I will keep you updated on my experiences!

I am looking forward to providing a healthier option for Charlotte. There are many chemicals in disposables and we have dealt with rash and dry skin, perhaps because of this. Let me know about your experiences and worries about cloth. I don't know many moms who do cloth, but I think it is a good and valuable option and important to have support and encouragement!

growing girl

Today was the 6 month appointment (although she is 6 months and 18 days) , and it seems that as she grows, the needles are getting easier. She cries, but is easily soothed. She is tall... 69 cm (27.2 inches) and 17.2 lbs. She is in the 95th percentile for height and right in the middle for weight. Oh, and she peed on me as soon as her diaper came off......

It's amazing to watch her personality and likes and dislikes develop. When is comes to food, so far she LOVES: rice, oats and barley cereal mixed with breast milk, pears and sweet potatoes (newest addition to her diet... see the picture below!). She dislikes carrots. (We are going to try again next week!)

She LOVES: being on the floor and moving. She is already getting up on her hands and knees. She knows how to move her knees, but she just falls forward because she hasn't figured out the hand motions for crawling yet. It won't be long....

She LOVES: bathtime. Hearing the water in the tub run will put her in such an excited state that she will be kicking and squealing and waving her arms. It is so fun!

She dislikes: getting out of the bath. Also, waiting for me to have a 6 minute shower in her bouncy chair is not pleasant.

She LOVES: anyone who talks and smiles to her. She is social and we talk to strangers all the time. Also, listening to music and dancing. And playing peek-a-boo.

There are so many things... she amazes me every day.

ribbons

a tip for today:

I use a wooden dowel with ribbons attached to distract Charlotte while being changed. It works really well... for now! She loves to ROLL and move all the time... thank goodness for colour and texture and love of tasting anything!

Canada Reads

If you love Canadian Literature and debates.... don't miss Canada Reads this week on CBC Radio One. You can listen or even view the debates online. Enjoy!

doggy mommy

Being a doggy mommy means that my time cannot be ENTIRELY Charlotte's... although most of the time it is! Ava needs love and cuddles and most of all.... EXERCISE. With the snowy/icy sidewalks, sometimes that is left for DH... and they head to the dog park. What would we do without it? What did we do when we didn't go? She is social now, loves to play with other dogs and isn't scared of them. She has her city tags now (a mere $10) which is a small price to pay f0r the service that the city provides! Plus if she ever got lost, animal control would be able to track her. Sometimes I get frustrated with the pooch, but most of all, I love her companionship and her silly *dogness*.