I guess many of you are asking yourselves why it is important to have a day where women show their tits to strangers in group, well… there are many reasons for it but here are a few:

Here are the laws for breastfeeding by location. There are some places where mothers are still not protected from people trying to make them stop breastfeeding in public and even in places (like Texas) where there are laws that protect us people STILL feel the need to try and get us to either cover ourselves, go into bathroom, or stop all together. It has happened to many of us, me included. It has happened to be at the airport where a very rude waitress asked to go into a bathroom and insisted even after I told her what she was doing was illegal. It happened to be at Discovery Green park (and to other mothers) so much that we were on the news for it. They have since completely been supportive of it and had better training for their staff but it did happen to many of us. The point for making a stink out of breastfeeding in public in cases like the Discovery Green one was not to get someone in trouble. It was not to fire someone. It was solely to get them to respect us and the law. Neither I or the other mom who was on the news with me got any compensation for it and we did not ask for the heads of those who wronged us on a silver platter. We have both been there since, it is actually a favorite place of my family’s to go. I love the park and what it does for the green Houston community.  I was there for World Yoga Day with my family and kids two weeks ago and they always have events that we love to go to.

boobs

Why is our society such that breastfeeding in public is a taboo? Why do we get sneers and comments? This must end and this is the goal of the Breastfeeding Challenge.  Breastfeeding is simply feeding a child,  why don’t bottle feeding mothers get told to cover themselves or go hide in a restroom?

Breastfeeding must be seen as normal again and to get it that way there needs to be exposure to more breastfeeding mothers. We need to get out of hiding from behind out hooter hiders and from outside of the bathrooms that we have been pushed into. We need to be proud of what we are doing and not be afraid of doing what we need to do for our children.

So take them out, twirl them around, be proud! Your boobs are powerful!

Please note that you will need to pay to ship your bottles inbound to SIGG for replacement as this is a voluntary program – not a recall. SIGG is not offering refunds. This exchange offer is available through October 31, 2009.

So um, you still have to pay for shipping to replace their bottles. I do not trust them and cannot say enough words about how dissapointed I am in this company and will be recycling my Siggs. I have never actually purchased one, I got three as gifts and hate how tiny the necks are. We use Kleen Kanteens.

This is not the first time that BPA causes a stir in reusable bottle-land. Do any of you remember the Nalgene incident? They said that BPA was not a problem and that their bottles were fine, yet they no longer sell bottles with BPA in them… funny how that works huh?

Apparently Patagonia has also decided that they are no longer going to do business with Sigg.

What other options do we have to Sigg for reusable non plastic bottles?

Apart from the Kleen Kanteen mentioned above, good old Thermos makes BPA free bottles  There is also the Kid Basic Safe Sporter,  the New Wave,  the Camelback (which has a great bite valve), the ThinkSport, and the Green Feet bottle.

I have used the Thermos Foogo for the kids and really quite love it. I have a couple of friends with the Camelback and ThinkSport and they are really fond of them. I had issues with cleaning the Foogo because of the way that they are built but I think that if you are careful and use a small nipple brush they might be easier to clean.

All in all, we have many different companies to chose from that do not use shady practices to get our businesses. We do not need Sigg and hopefully they will realize that they need us and that if they come clean, are honest, and really respect their consumers they might be able to rebuild their reputation. Until then, I am voting with my pocketbook and have decided that they are not for me.

I do not understand why it is so hard for people to be realistic when it comes to children.  We are all such different human beings, this is why psychologist never truly understand what is going on within our heads. This is why there are many meds that all help deal with the same problem… yet we somehow expect our children to be soothed the same way, at the same age, and at the same time? How is this ok?

There has been some talk that being an attached parent creates children that do not sleep well.  I cry foul here.

I think that the issue is that parents who are attached are more apt to respond to their children’s needs than other parents. This means no CIO and no harsh sleep training… this also might mean less sleep for us for a while if we are “blessed” with a child who believes (like mine) that sleep is for the weak.  This doesnt mean that our kids sleep worse it just means that we do not ignore them for our own needs.

My thought of the day: If you cannot take care of your children because they are too inconvenient maybe rethinking having more should be in order.

My mother chastized a young mother once because she did not tie her child’s hands together when she started getting into everything because apparently tying kid’s hands together is an acceptable way to not have to baby proof.

This is the mentality that is behind this man slapping a little girl in a walmart.  Why is is acceptable for a grown man to not be able to control his actions when he gets angry, but not acceptable for a child to do the same? A child.  Let me repeat this, because it bears repeating.. a two year old toddler. A child who should not be expected to pee in a potty, wipe their own butt, or even sleep through the night… yet somehow we expect them as a society to be quiet and not cry.

While there is a huge outcry against this man for what he did, the ideas and feelings behind his actions are quite apparent on a daily basis.  If you have children I am sure that you know what I am talking about.

Being in a restaurant and having people stare and shake their heads if your child doesnt like standing in line to order, or if you are sitting down having people look at you in disgust because your child doesnt sit still and is asking you when the food is coming.  Why do we expect a child to like standing in line? Why do we expect a child to be able to sit still for an hour while the adults talk and eat?  I confess that I do my best to not put ourselves in a situation where I knew that unrealistic expectations will be placed on our children… but occasionally I have to. Like when we were on a 3 and a half hour flight to Los Angeles with my two kids who were really just wanting to walk around the airplane… but couldnt. I felt the eyes of those around me burning into my skin while I tried to explain my two year old that she could not race with the kid in the seat across from hers.

I am not one of those parents who allows their kid to scream and interrupt people’s dinners. I actually would prefer to remove myself if I know my child is not going to act appropriately because I respect other people’s time and lifestyles.  But I know that a bit of fussing is expected from a child if they are in a situation that they do not want to be in. As adult I can accept this and know that it is necessary, after all we cannot just stop having children all together.

In my eyes children should be seen, heard, and listened to. Children should be respected as being their own little individuals and their needs should be met. They should not be forced to fit into what a flawed society has told us that children are supposed to fit into. They are not supposed to be quiet. Children should ask “Why” and “Where”. That is how they learn, this is how they interact. I refuse to stifle my child because some people think that my child should act as a miniature adult. That is not the way that it works.

I have already seen the conversation on the websites where this article was posted and they disgust me. They talk about how permissive parenting has made it so that people are tired of hearing children. They talk about how kids are just spoiled nowdays. I was hoping that this would serve to point out the unrealistic expectations of society on children, yet it seems to be doing the opposite.

Where has this world come to? It truly seems like we hate our children. This explains why people are so happy to give up on breastfeeding, let infants cry it out, and treat our children like they are social paraiahs.

How did we get this far off track?

*ETA*

This is exactly the kind of comment I am talking about.

While I do not advocate what the man did – I’m glad it has sparked debate. What everyone is forgetting is WHERE WAS THE MOTHER?
He said: “If you don’t shut that baby up, I will shut her up for you.” Mom did nothing! Didn’t report the man, making me think this happens to her all the time and she ignores it. Didn’t remove the kid from a potentially dangerous situation. Didn’t ensure the wacko didn’t get near her kid.
MOMENTS later and ‘A couple aisles over’, he made “good” on his word – getting in four slaps…
Where was MOM? How did he get close enough, how did he have time to slap her 4 times?
When I was a kid going to the store was a privilege, if we misbehaved we left IMMEDIATELY! I know that’s inconvenient for today’s modern parents but it works and it works fast!

This kind of stuff makes me sick. First we blame the mother then we say the kid was obviously not raised properly.

WTF is wrong with people?

I have been reading Babywatching by Desmond Morris recently in my spare time (because I have a lot of that apparently) and have come to understand better why attached parenting just makes sense to me.  Desmond Morris studied zoology and really goes into some evolutionary aspects to parenting and babies. He praises homebirth and how much more peaceful it is, he is against letting a child cry it out. He doesnt use “hippy dippy” reasons that many people dont like to read about, he uses science. His theories have been that we are basically “Naked Apes” and animals who just need to understand our instinct and follow it. Child rearing is very instinctual, or it should be.

One of the reasons why I feel so strongly about parenting is because I see many mothers/fathers who say that they know that something feels wrong/right but they dont follow their instincts because they are told by others (friends, family, books) that what they are doing is wrong. Mothers have been known to cry while they allow their child to learn to “self sooth” at a young age, but why do they do it? They were told that they were supposed to. Why are we so far gone that we no longer follow our own gut feelings about raising our children? Have we lost that gut feeling?

For me parenting is very primal. I must admit that I do run around with my kid attached to me at the breast while in a sling while topless many times at home. I like to go “native”.  Hey, it helps when you have thrush.    I really am liking the way that this book explores children. It lets us know how aware they are, much more aware than we give them credit for… and how we are parents can influence them and help them grow.  I am pleased to find a book that is about Attached Parenting that really has no agenda, he isnt selling slings or co-sleepers… he is just sharing his findings after years of research on animal behaviours.  I dont know if Desmond Morris would have called himself an attached parenting advocate, but he is definately an insintctual parenting advocate.

Now, what does this have to do with sitting in the bathroom while my daughter sings while she poops? I am not sure, but I know that my gut tells me that this is what I should do.  I should sit with my child while she experiences the scary world of potty learning. I should reinforce her beliefs that I will be ther for her in every way.  This is a good thing.  Yes, it is boring sometimes and the songs get endless and repetitive, she she needs me… so I am here.

I just came back from vacation and realized how hard it is to keep a green lifestyle while travelling. They dont make it easy on you, especially if you have kids.

Mike mentioned that he was thankful that I always did what I could to make sure that even while travelling we were healthy and eating well but I honestly did not feel like we did a great job.

We went to a couple of parks and such.  Amusement parks are incredibly wasteful…and some make it almost impossible to stay green.

We went to Schlitterbahn and stayed on the resort at the rapids part.  My reasoning was this. We did not have to drive to the park, the prices at the resort were not that different than a hotel around New Braunfels, we could go back to the hotel to have lunch/dinner/etc. and it would be easier on the kids.

My reasons were all right and we did do all of those things… I have to say that I loved staying there and I loved the park. They encourage people to bring in their own food and drinks, they do not allow styrofoam containers and they really are friendly to packing your own stuff.  It makes it much easier to save money and eat healthier foods. You bring your cooler along and go to town. This part wasnt so bad…

Then we went to Sea World and it all went downhill from there.  Not going into the issues that I have with Sea World (which will be in another post rest assured) they are really awful at helping families eat well while they are there. Their food is outrageously expensive and they do not let you bring in any foods or drinks. For our family with two young children this is incredibly difficult because we have to give them water and food every few minutes, especially in 105+ degree heat in central Texas. We spent a fortune and the food was no better than a McDonalds or Burger King, two places where my children have never eaten and that I hope they dont in a long time…  I have to say that I have no desire to go back to Sea World and that I feel truly guilty for how wasteful we were during this day. They give you everything in paper/carboard. They have nowhere to recycle it, it is all just trashed. While they do have recycling for plastic bottles I saw 3 of those recycling baskets in the whole park (there might be more but not nearly enough) and while I wanted to purchase a reusable sports bottle that they give (a souvenir one with Shamu on it) so that we wouldnt have to purchase and throw away more paper cups with plastic lids, the 4 places where I asked about them were out. I dont understand it. Apart from being the most expensive (by far) day of our trip it was probably the one that we enjoyed the least. We went as part of a family tradition of going and because Mike thought that the kids would enjoy it. They did enjoy parts of it, I wont lie… it wasnt a total bust. The aquarium was really cool for both of them and Kate loved seeing the sharks… but I would have preferred an aquarium, not an amusement park owned by Budweiser. .. I digress. The quality of the food was just abismal. I got 7 strawberries for 5 dollars because I really wanted my children to have fruits/veggies and not just fried chicken strips and french fries while out.

Going back to the rest of the trip. What helped us in trying to both save money and not be wasteful was a) our cooler b) ice and c) local grocery stores and d) our Kleen Kanteens. We loaded those puppies up before we left and they lasted us 3 days so we did not have to get bottled water while we were in our rooms or pay for the overpriced stuff that was being sold in vending machines at the hotels.

We stopped at a Super S Foods is Johnson City and gathered some supplies in the middle of our journey across the Hill Country in central Texas. With those provisions we had fresh fruit, sandwich material, and were able to stop at Pedernales State Park for a picnic and eat at our hotel room. You can never have enough ice. Ever.

What would I have done differently? Had some more shelf stable foods. Made some more snacks like granola bars and cookies. I made muffins and they were great but they did not last very long with a family of 4 in a 7 day road trip.

I will be posting more random ideas that come to me as I get them but I learned a great deal on this trip regarding how to keep your ethical/moral beliefs while enjoying a vacation in a world that does not understand why you dont want to feed your kids doritos and koolad jammers for breakfast/lunch/dinner.

When Calvin was born I did not need more stuff so I havent bought a new babywearing device in ages. This Mother’s day I decided that I needed a really good supportive wrap for my big babies and decided to splurge on a good Didymos waves.

I didnt know if getting a woven wrap in the middle of the texas heat would be a good idea but I went for it. I have worn this wrap every time that I have needed a babywearing device since I got it.  Today is was over 90 degrees and hot as hell.

Here is Calvin hanging out in the new waves while at the park today. I am putting Kate in a swing and he is just chilling.

Here you can see Kate and Aidan walking hand in hand and Calvin’s head peeping out from the top of the waves while I carry two bags.

I am so in love with this wrap. It is cool and supportive. Soft and comfy. I really dont know how I lived so long without it.

To begin with, not all books same the same thing. If you happen to come across the book that says that children should sleep from 6:30 pm on then you might think that your child is abnormal for not wanting to fall asleep at until 9.  If you come across a book that says that they need to sleep 14 hours a day and you child only sleeps 11, you are probably going to cause yourself some grief (and your child too) trying to force longer naps and earlier bedtimes to try and force your child to fit into this little box.

Not all kids are ready to start solids right at 6 months. Not all kids sleep through the night at 6 months. Not all kids walk at a year. Not all kids talk at 10 months… and you know what?

IT. IS. OK.

You know your child and if your child doesnt meet the milestones that “What to expect in the first year” has set for them… dont freak out.  Please dont freak out. If your child is severly delayed then of course seek help and make sure that this is not a sign of something else but please do not try to fit your child into the premade boxes that child developmental psychologists decided was the “norm” after studying a handful of kids.

We are all different, and this includes children. Just follow your child’s cues and try not to place any unnecessary expectations on them and your life will be much easier. Dont expect them to sit still at dinner if they are 2 years old and dont expect potty training if they are 18 months. If they are still wanting a bottle or nursing at a year and a half or two years…. so be it. It is ok.

Just nurture your child and make sure that you allow them to grow at their own pace. Trust me, they will grow. They will talk soon enough and they will potty train soon enough. They will wean soon enough and they wont be 18 years old and sleeping in bed with you. Remember this and you will be fine.

Until they do, we think the safest place for your baby to sleep is in a crib.

This comment is not at all true. Research has shown that cosleeping safely is safe, even safer than a child sleeping alone in a crib as it reduces the risk of SIDS. How many babies have died in cribs alone CR? Yeah, that number is pretty huge… so tell me again how cribs are safer? Come on.. I dare you.

Over the past five years, at least four babies died and there have been many reports of serious injury associated with the use of sling-type carriers.

How many have died in baby buckets? What were the cirmcumstances of these deaths? IF you are going to fear monger at least provide sufficient data that can help a parent make truly informed decisions Historyically babywearins has helped babies and children alike, even saved lives… if your baby is tied to you it wont get eaten by animals, it wont get left behind, and it wont attract predators… so this was a good idea in ancient times. In modern times it helps mothers who are suffering from post partum, it helps babies with colic, and it has been shown to help preemie babies thrive… so where do you get your genuis ideas to skip babywearing?

CR, you should be ashamed of yourself.

I felt that it was necessary to do a small PSA regarding this topic here because if I can avoid ONE mother from doing this I will be happy and be able to die in peace.

If you have the flu, you DO NOT… I repeat.. you DO NOT have to stop breastfeeding. You dont have to pump and dump and you are not putting your child at risk for anything. By the time that you realize that you are ill your child has already been exposed and nursing will only help. Why?

Well breastmilk has awesome properties that help fight off illnesses and your child will get our antibodies through the breatmilk itself, so it is like a vaccine.. except through their little mouths.

Here is a great article regarding illnesses and breastfeeding.

So people that have told me to stock up on formula… a) i wont do it b) stop spreading this misinformation around because I would hate for a mother to stop breastfeeding because of this.