Attachment Parenting ruined my career

And I couldn't be happier! Title is a little misleading I know. You were expecting me to tell you all about how I hate my life now and it's all because of the horrible oppressing expectations of APing. See here is the thing, I feel that APing actually set me straight. Hear me out.

So I kinda felling into APing. Ravebaby was about a year old before I even knew my style of parenting was AP. I had hear so many negative things about AP that since I was so happy I could not possibly be an AP parent.

How did this journey into AP parenting begin? Well I got pregnant and decided to breastfeed. It all starts there. I gave birth to Ravebaby at exactly 38 weeks after having my water broken for about 72 hrs. I had her at home so our first nap was with her on my chest in my bed. That is how I got hooked on co-sleeping. She was so small and every time I would put her in her bed she would cry. It broke my heart so I just kept her next to me. I found it made my life easier too once I returned to work since Ravebaby reversed her nursing pattern. With her in the bed I could nurse her all night and still get some sleep.

The baby wearing came from not wanting to lug a stroller and wanting Ravebaby close. It was just so much easier to put that baby in a Moby wrap and go. She was about 8 weeks old and I've been collecting babywearing gear ever since.

Being a delayed vaxer came from research, a gut feeling, and Ravebaby's reaction to her first round of vaccines. How can I force my baby to take shot after shot and suffer for the next few days at such a young age? We are not totally anti-vax. Just delayed and spaced out.

So on to how it ruined my career. I listen to Ravebaby. I take the time to bond with her. I was a full-time working mom since she was 6 weeks old. I felt like I gave everything I had at work and would be just a shell for Ravebaby. I was in a job I hated working for someone that didn't seem to really want me there so I made the decision to be a mom first instead of a librarian. It was not an easy transition for me. It's been very difficult financially but I wouldn't have it any other way. I am watching Ravebaby grow and learn. I have a part-time job that helps with the bills and keeps me from going nuts from a lack of adult conversation. But when I get home after 5 hours, I have energy for my child. We sing silly songs. We paint. We nurse. We play in the iPad. I get to raise my child.

I do miss library work. When I get ready to go back at some point in the future I'll have a huge gap in my resume. I am cool with that because I also hope to have a daughter that is happy, healthy, and productive. APing has ruined my career and I thank God for it.

Just a picture of Ravebaby washing dishes. Yes it's messing and gets nothing clean but it's fun and she's learning. I really love my life.

GF Expo - Outrageous Baking

So the first people I want to tell you about are Outrageous Baking out of Boulder CO.  They were at the very back of the expo and they were mobbed.  To be honest I had never heard of them before seeing them at the expo so see this is why I think that expo is well worth it.

So who is Outrageous? They are a dedicated wheat/gluten/soy/dairy free bakery.  I was very surprised by how good the samples tasted.  I has skipped them at first but DH insisted that I had to try them and that we were buying something.  Thank you DH for dragging me back there. 

I tried their Chocolate Zucchini bread and I have to admit I was not loving it.  It seems a little fudge-y to me.  I don't like fudge.  I wasn't sold and was ready to move on and then DH shoved Lemon Poppy Seed in my mouth and I suddenly forgot I was eating gluten-free.  If you are gluten-free then you know that is no small feat.  We bought one loaf and got handed a slice of pumpkin bread for later too. 

I was so excited.  I had to slap my own hand from opening up the fresh Lemon Poppy Seed and eating it right then and there.  We did manage to save it for the next day but it didn't last past Sunday.  The poor delicious little loaf was devoured.  How could we resist?  The pumpkin bread was very good too.  Ravebaby stole my half but of what I got I will say it tasted like fall in the Piedmont.  It was really good.

Follow them on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OutrageousBakingCompany (I've heard they'll be posting coupon codes!)
Follow them on twitter: https://twitter.com/OBGFBaking

Tell them that I sent you but they have no clue who I am so it really doesn't matter.  Seriously, they are worth the price.  Why couldn't they be based in Lufkin?  Oh well such is life of a small town Wheatless Mama.

Disclaimer:  I was given a free slice of Pumpkin Bread but I paid for the Lemon Poppy Seed bread loaf.  I was not given anything money or more free bread for this review.  Outrageous Baking is great!  I'm waiting for the next payday to order more.  Shipping is a killer but for them I'll willing.

Gluten and allergen free Expo - Dallas: Review - how I felt

How much would you pay to feel normal? How much would you pay to relax when you didn't realize just how tense you were? How much would you pay to finally see that you are really not alone? My cost: $40 for tickets and $130 in gas.

When DH and I first started talking about going to Dallas on Sept 8, it was just to see Social Bliss play a show. Then about 3 weeks ago I realized that the Gluten & Allergen Expo would be in town, I just had to make it happen. Dallas is a 3.5 hr drive so it could be a day trip. Kill two birds with one stone; expo for a couple of hours and then Social Bliss. Sounds like a great day to me!

Wednesday my allergies began to kick my ass. By Friday I looked like hell and DH was wondering if we should be going anywhere. By bedtime my voice was walking out the door. Saturday morning, my voice was gone and thoughts of staying crept in. 9am I woke DH up and started getting dressed to go. He still had doubts. Ravebaby woke up and didn't want to go anywhere. About an hour away DH got car sick. We were really wondering if we had made the right decision.

We found the conference center and as we walked up the energy changed. We started to relax. Once we got to the Udi's table and Ravebaby focused on pizza and brownies, I relaxed. It occurred to me that I didn't need to freak out about what DD was grabbing to eat. She could eat everything! There in that place we were normal. There in that place we were just like everyone else. Every single person in that expo was dealing with living without.

After having two incidents in the last two weeks of telling Ravebaby no, it was liberating to say yes to everything. It was a bit overwhelming to realize that I didn't have to ask if it had wheat. No wheat allowed. No need to ask. There was pizza, sandwich bread, pita bread, cake, pie, chips, crackers and the list goes on. There in that place for the first time in almost three years, I could relax.

Wa the trip worth it? It feels like a MasterCard commercial:
Gasoline for the trip: $130
Entrance fee: $40
Finally feeling normal: priceless

To be continued: up next - products