Sunday, November 28, 2010

I'm a bad mom and just little late to the crunch party

Okay so the bad mom thing.  Tuesday I took Audrey to the doctor.  I had to run to pick her up and then run to doctor's office.  There was no time for lunch.  After a good doctor's visit (I think we have finally found a decent doctor!), I was starving and needed to return to work so I decided to eat on the run.  It is almost impossible to eat on the run and be wheat-free.  I broke down and bought a hamburger.  To be very honest it was so good!  I have missed bread and sandwich items the most.  Audrey did okay that night.  Her eczema did flare up but no screaming!  I got lucky and then I got stupid. 

My mom made homemade flour tortillas on Friday.  It had been like 4 years since I had had my mom's tortillas!  I had to have one.  What could one little tortilla do?  God did I pay for that tortilla.  I let Audrey have a bite, literally one baby bite, of a tortilla and ate the rest.  Audrey was a bit sluggish that day but nothing too extreme but that night.  DH and I put Audrey to bed but as DH rocked her Audrey began to scream.  She was asleep but would suddenly scream.  My poor baby was in pain from the wheat.  I had honestly forgotten just how bad the allergy reaction is.  Once Audrey was finally able to rest, DH had to hold me while I cried.  I am a bad mom.  I know the allergy is there and I know that I have to be wheat-free but I ate it anyways.  She was in pain because of me.  That is the definition of a bad mom.

On another topic, I finally made and am using cloth wipes!  I found a great deal on french terry cloth at Hobby Lobby, 50% off!  So I bought 2 yards and cut my wipes out, so far I have made 26 and still have 8 more to make.  They are 6X9 with the wrong sides sewn together.  They were super easy to make and I found a great site for wipe solutions and mixed up a batch of Lavender 'n' Tea Tree.  For once Audrey isn't running from the changing table.  We are using them to clean her face too.  So far so good!  I'll keep you posted.

Friday, November 12, 2010

The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding

So I just read a book that changed the way I look at breastfeeding.  Once I started it,  it was hard to put it down.  The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League was just such an excellent read and had so much information about being a mom.  Totally didn't expect all the tips on child raising and child birthing.

So I'm not writing to promote the book for anyone.  I'm not being paid for my opinion just sharing, like I always do.  After the read, I really wish I had read the previous edition BEFORE I had Audrey.  So many things I would have known off the bat instead of learning the hard way. 

But the thing that has blown my mind was something that the book said early on.  The book points out that there are NO BENEFITS to breastfeeding!  All the research starts with the breastfed baby at the experiment.  The formula fed baby as the control.  If you reverse that and make the breastfed baby the control, which he/she should be since breastfeeding the natural/normal way to feed a child then instead of benefits to breastfeeding we would be talking about the dangers of formula.  The things that formula fed babies lack rather than the benefits of breastfeeding.  Being that DH is a scientist, you would think I would have looked at the research more careful and found the control and thus the correct conclusion myself but I totally see everything different now.  EVERY DROP COUNTS!  I just don't think I'll every look at baby-feeding research the same way.  Audrey is the normal not the experiment.  She's not big for her age.  She is what a normal fucking baby should be.  Gerber has no clue what a normal baby is.  That Gerber baby  is being denied his right to nature's perfect food. 

This realization also makes me very sad for the babies who have no choice but to have formula.  Baby J comes to mind.  B was so looking forward to breastfeeding Baby J and giving her the best start possible.  Formula has its place.  Not all moms make it thur to hold and raise their babies.  Not all babies are born at 9 months ready to latch.  Some moms are breast cancer survivors and have no way to make milk.  I wish we could make milk bank for babies in need that are affordable.  I hope that more moms that can breastfeed will breastfeed if even for just a few days.  Every drop counts.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Things I never thought I would do but . . .

Audrey has taught me so much that now I just do them.  So here is the list in no particular order:
1.  Talk about poop, alot!
2.  Use cloth diapers
3.  Talk very freely about breastfeeding and encourage other woman to get their boobs out
4.  Look for shirts that allow for easy boob access
5.  Want to delay vax
6.  Bedshare/co-sleep
7.  Have to stop myself from grabbing crying babies so that I can give them boob
8.  Hate disposable diapers
9.  Not own a stroller/wear my baby
10.  Not buy baby food
11.  Describe labor as not that bad
12.  Wash cloth diapers/rinse poop off of a diaper (see what I mean about the poop)
13.  Describe myself as crunchy/granola/counterculture
14. Have a sidecar/know what the hate a sidecar is
15. Still have my placenta in the freezer (actually be thinking about consuming after the next birth!)
16.  Try to EC/know what the hell EC is
17.  Think that travel systems are from the devil
18.  Go wheat-free
19.  Loath a Baby Story for distorting the true about birth/yell at TV OB for causing a C-section
20.  Cry over losing a friend in childbirth/Cry with a friend over the loss of a baby

I've learned a lot over the last nearly 11-month since Audrey's birth.  I can't wait to see what else she has in store for me.  I can't wait to see if God has more babies in store for me.  Mother is quite the adventure and I would hate to think I won't have at least one more to learn from.