Wordless Wednesday: storytime in the big boy bed

Wordless Wednesday: Cheeeeese!

Momma’s Soapbox

*WARNING! STRONGLY WORDED PERSONAL OPINIONS TO FOLLOW!*

I refuse to devote an entire post to the superiority of breastfeeding over formula feeding. It’s been proven time after time by the scientific community. Every time you turn around some new study is published expounding on its benefits ranging from increased  heightened IQ, to the reduction of childhood disease. These things are not opinions of mine, they are verified scientific fact. If somehow you’ve been living under a rock and have missed all that, then feel free to google it, that’s not what this rant is about. This is about how we, as a country, continue to  over  sexualize the human body. Even some so-called supporters consider nursing something that should only be done behind closed doors. Recently a male friend compared my breastfeeding photo (from an earlier post) to the “lewd” pictures sent out by a certain congressman of his “package”. The next time I have some random jerk say that if I am allowed to nurse in public he should be allowed to whip out his junk I may explode. If you lack the mental and emotional maturity to differentiate between nourishing a child and the sexually  explicit, or worse yet between nursing and the elimination of waste then chances are you should keep your uneducated opinions unvoiced. You will only make an ass of yourself.

*rant over*

I am thankful that these people are few and far between because sadly, not all new moms have the self confidence to stand up to that kind of harassment. For these women the chiding they may receive (friendly or otherwise) may be enough to discourage them. To them I say, you are beautiful! What you are doing is beautiful! It is NOT lewd, unsanitary, or inappropriate. Those terms are more aptly applied to persons who would try to make you feel uncomfortable. It is your legal right and more than that it is filling the needs of your child at the most basic level in the most loving way possible!

Now that I have all that off my chest let just say the positive feedback I have received while nursing in public FAR outweighs any negative.  There have been times when it has flustered someone and they didn’t seem to know how to act, but a smile is generally all that is needed to set them at ease. Remember, for the most part people will follow your lead, if you act as though it’s the most normal thing in the world they will follow suit. Also, every time you nurse at the mall, in the Dr.’s office, at a park, you are making it easier for the next mother to do the same thing.

Stay beautiful ladies:)

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Wordless Wednesday: They’re so cute when they’re sleeping

Wordless Wednesday

Mommy’s lil’ gardener

the 5-year-old me knew best

I was a breastfed baby, as such I thought that was how babies were fed. As a child I remember “nursing” my dolls. In my little brain it seemed obvious, babies drank their momma’s milk. When Momma kitty had a litter of kittens they drank kitty milk.  Now I’m pretty sure we are considerably more advanced than momma K. I mean we have opposable thumbs, and therefore can operate the can opener (Momma K, not so much ). Not to mention century’s of human knowledge to draw on (again Momma K only had a couple of years of chasing mice and occasionally the dogs under her belt). So while we were a lot smarter than Momma K we always knew when it came to her kittens SHE was the expert.  We would never have DREAMED of trying to replace her milk with something artificial. Why  spend time and $$$ making a product that would in the end still be inferior to what she was already supplying free of charge?

Naturally I always assumed I would breastfeed my children, it wasn’t until late in my pregnancy that I realized that it wasn’t the “normal” thing to do. It never occurred to me that there would be classes and support groups and whole sites dedicated to helping moms who are breastfeeding, let alone that I would need any of those things. But there I was with my baby in hand and I learned really quick to use whatever resources were available. I read and read and read. I absorbed any information I could get about all the amazing things my body does for my child when he nurses. And I met (most virtually) some pretty amazing people. Eventually I was able to come full circle, my 5-year-old self had it right all along, babies drink their momma’s milk. I don’t need someone with more “advanced” training trying to replace my milk with some product of their own, or telling me that I won’t be able to do what I was built to do!

My hope is that one of these days we will have the same respect for ourselves as human mothers that we naturally give to other species. The same faith in our own bodies and their ability to provide for our babies.

I recognize that breastfeeding is a personal choice, and not one that all mothers make. I also know that formula has a very important roll in the health of babies who’s mothers are unable to breastfeed for whatever reason. Only you know what is right for you and your family and I am in no way criticizing the choices of other mothers. After all we all want the same thing, for our babies to be smart, happy, healthy, and for us to not lose our minds on the way:)

Never use a serrated knife to cut paper towels: a how-to & how-not-to on baby wipes

“We’re out of baby wipes.” says my darling husband. I take a deep breath, I had just come in from a long day at work and had absolutely no intention of leaving the house again that night. Well, I’ll just make my own. How hard can it be?

Now, I had reason to be optimistic, I had been making my own wipe solution for sometime. The thing is, hubby and I see things differently when it comes to reusable diaper supplies. I believe in them, he doesn’t. He, being the primary care giver, generally gets the last say. On this though we compromise, and by that I mean he buys disposable wipes that he uses and I use cloth wipes in a homemade solution. I had thrown around the idea about making my own disposable wipes for quite a while but I could never find the time or motivation. The thing is, that same morning after I stumbled out of bed to change snuggle bugs diaper I happened to be out of cloth wipes (laundry not being one of my strong points). What I didn’t realize was overnight a blister on my thumb had burst. I reached for the generic store bought wipes, bleary eyed and half comatose, Holy searing pain Batman!!! I threw it down.  What the heck is in these things, hot acid?!? No wonder the kid didn’t like having his diaper changed.  So later when I got home and learned we were out of the skin eating, scream inducing baby wipes, my decision was made.

Ok, here is the recipe for my solution, I have tried a couple different ratios and this is the one that I like the best:

2cups boiling water
2tbsp extra virgin coconut oil (or olive oil)
1tbsp Castile soap (I like the tea tree or rose scented)

Easy enough, easy to double if making a larger batch, AND will NOT sting even if used on an open sore. On top of that both coconut oil and tea tree are naturally anti-fungal and super good for baby’s skin.

Now, what to use for the actual wipes. As I  previously stated I have used cotton wash cloths soaked them in the mixture and stored them in a wipes warmer. Works like a charm. But what about those who want disposable wipes? I had read somewhere that you can use paper towels. To do so you need:

1 roll heavy-duty paper towels
Some sort of sharp object
Empty round wipes container (the center pull out kind)

Let’s see, first things first.  Cut the roll of paper towels in half with afore-mentioned sharp object. Well of course i started with the obvious choice, heavy duty scissors…… Not so heavy duty after all, barely left a mark. Hmmmmm it’s just paper, maybe I could slice through it with my razor sharp chefs knife!…………. Well that got through all of about four layers. *scratches head* Paper is made out of wood and you use a saw to cut wood, (can you see where this is going?) let’s see…… A saw has teeth, this serrated knife has teeth…….. it will be perfect! (insert goofy grin here) ………. Well, it cut, or rather shredded it’s way through the roll. Half way through you would have thought I had taken up shearing sheep in my kitchen. By the time I finished I stood knee deep in a winter wonderland of fluffy  paper towel snow. But at least I had the roll in 2 halves. Victory is mine!

The next two steps are to soak one of the paper towel roll halves by setting it upright in a bowl with wipe solution. Then set it aside and let cool. Once cool the cardboard center should slide out. Gently squeeze excess solution out and place in round container. You should be able to grab the end of the roll from the center (where the cardboard used to be). TaDa you have homemade chlorine and alcohol free wipes for your little persons bum.

On a side note I have so far been unable to find the round wipes containers and so have been forced to unroll the entire roll of towels and refold to fit in a standard rectangle wipes container. It works but is a bit more time consuming.

Thanks for reading:)