Granola Momma Ramblings....

While in Seattle I spent some time with my cousin's wife Jennifer and my other cousin's friend Mary, both with new babies.  They both have other children, but are exclusively breast feeding their little ones and therefore brought them to most of the weekend's festivities.  In watching and talking with them and going through my own experiences, it became clear just how inconvenient breast feeding can be.  I don't mean inconvenient in a bad way, more like in a way that forces you to be unselfish in not only your every day activities but special events as well.  For example, Jennifer and Mary were both in the wedding party and were going to a salon to get their hair done.  Mary had to bring her baby along, even though her husband was home with their other child.  Jennifer left her baby at home with her husband, but he had to bring the baby to the salon when the baby was ready to nurse.  I had to time my own trip to the salon around Jack's feeding schedule as well.  Easy?  No.  But as mothers that chose to exclusively breast feed our children, we automatically chose to be unselfish - and sometimes that's hard to deal with.  Am I doing what I think is the absolute best thing for my child?  Of course! 

After the wedding ceremony, it was about time for Jack to nurse again so I went to find a quiet space.  There happened to be some couches where the bridal party had their stuff, so I sat down and nursed Jack.  Side note:  my dress for the wedding was chosen specifically with ease of nursing in mind!  My number one dress choice?  Nope.  Sigh.  After several minutes, I was joined by Jennifer and Mary and there we sat, nursing our babies.  And it was then that I realized that even though I sometimes have a difficult time being unselfish, I don't have to be lonely.  And that, my friends, felt good! 

Okay, enough about boobs.  When you think you're headed down the "granola" route of parenting, you hear lots of talk about immunizations.  HOT TOPIC ALERT!  Don't do any, wait til he's older, they cause autism, etc etc etc.  While I was pregnant and after Jack's birth we read several books on immunizations, and a favorite became The Vaccine Book by Dr. Sears.  After reading this, it didn't feel right to us to begin vaccinating until 6 months of age.  Since Jack is now 3 months, we've been looking for a pediatrician that will do his well child visits and be open to an alternative vaccination schedule.  I can tell you that 5 phone calls later to 5 different pediatrician offices warranted 5 big fat "We can't take you as a patient if you won't follow the required vaccination schedule".  Seriously?  Aren't we living in the good ol US of A, the land of opportunity, free from discrimination?  I was spoken to as if I was the most negligent, irresponsible parent (and I'm sure at least one person reading this thinks that we are....).  How frustrating.  I'm not going to argue the validity of our point, but encourage you to do your own research.  Now I'm going to make some calls to a Family Physician and see if we have any luck there. 

On a more positive granola note, getting new cloth diapers in the mail makes me happy! 

Oh!  And in terms of co-sleeping Jack has moved out of our bed (did I tell you that already?) several weeks ago and sleeps in a Pack n Play next to our bed.  The arrangement is working perfectly and I love being able to meet his needs without having to wait to hear him cry from another bedroom. 

That's all!  :)

Seattle, a wedding, and 3 months old!

Jack took his first flight last Wednesday to Seattle to see my cousin Debbie get married!  I was a little nervous, but he did great (would you expect anything less from our little guy?!).  I had no qualms about nursing him on the airplane, which helped him drift off to sleep on the 2 flights there and 2 flights back.  Once in Seattle he did a pretty good job adjusting to the time change and our busy schedule.  Through late nights at the Rehearsal Dinner, Wedding and cook out at the Klarich's he was a champ....not getting to bed most nights until midnight!  No worries, he slept in the wrap quite a bit (even allowing me to get on the dance floor at the wedding!).  Matt made it to the wedding reception late Friday night after flying in after a long day at work, which made me a happy momma!  Saturday we headed downtown to Pike Place Market and the Space Needle.  I must say, Seattle in the summer is a good time! 

 Sleepy time at the wedding!

 Yea!  Dadda made it for a family picture!

Jack - 3 months with Bruno - 5 months

Top of the Space Needle

Oh yes, and Jack is now 3 months old!  He has definitely found his fingers and uses them to help him get to sleep.  Speaking of sleep, he now gets anywhere between 7-9 hours in a row (YIPPPEEEEEEEE!) at night before nursing and then sleeping another couple hours and takes 2-3 naps a day.  He likes being on his tummy, lifts his head up high, and is just beginning to realize that his arms can help hold him up.  His daily "conversations" with Matt crack me up - they coo back and forth and Jack's expressions during this are so serious.  We love our happy little boy!  :)

Summertime!

We finally had a warm and sunny day to take Jack to the beach on Sunday over the 4th of July weekend!  We tried on Saturday, but it was too windy for our little tent so we had to cut the day short.  Our good friends had given us some swim trunks and a long sleeved swim shirt, so we were all set!  Jack loves bath time and it was no surprised when he liked Lake Michigan as well.  We held him as he put his toes in the sand and his legs in the water - no crying necessary!  Jack napped in the tent and we were even able to take the jet skiis out!  A perfect day.  

The fireworks were on Sunday, so we wrapped Jack up and went down to the beach to check them out.  When Jack is in the wrap I can pull one side over the ear that's not against my body so he's cozy and secure - he slept through the whole show! 

I was so happy for a nice, sunny weekend and to top it off Matt had Monday and Tuesday off (yea, Gentex!).  He's such a good dad and I know he loves when he can spend extra time with Jack (and me of course!).  Happy Independence Day!  :)

Marathon Training has begun!

I'm happy to report that Matt and I have begun training for the Chicago Marathon, which is on October 9th.  I'm so looking forward to the training and the race!  The race falls on Jack's 6 month birthday and it's pretty impressive to run a marathon 6 months post pregnancy (if I do say so myself...!!).  My sister Carrie will be racing with us, as will my cousin Debbie and her soon to be husband Brian from Seattle.  It will be Matt and Brian's first marathon - woo hoo!   

It's been an adjustment fitting in a run together with Jack, but we're determined to make it work.  Luckily, living with my parents and having my sister Amanda next door makes it a lot easier.  Right now Jack is on a pretty consistent schedule with a 7:30pm bedtime, so Matt and I are able to head out the door by 8pm.  We'll see how that schedule goes as Jack grows and starts teething, but in the meantime, it works!

Magic!

As you know by now, I'm a big fan of using cloth diapers.  Seriously, I can't imagine why everyone doesn't use them in one form or another!  Our favorites are still Grovia All-In-One's and then Fuzzibunz at night time.  We're doing some traveling this summer, and Grovia makes these great disposable liners (that look just like big maxi pads!) that you can attach to any waterproof diaper cover and presto!  You have a great travel option that is better on the environment, your wallet, and your baby.

One thing I learned along the way is that even though breast milk poop doesn't stink, it sure does stain!  I read that if you put your stained diapers out in the sun for a couple hours the stain disappears, but I had to see it to believe it.  Now....here's proof! 

BEFORE

AFTER 

 Amazing, isn't it?!?!  Whenever we get a sunny day here in Michigan I look through my diaper stash and get as many stained diapers out to the sun as possible.  After a couple hours, they're as good as new!  :)