My Current Reading List

Recently, I have gone a little crazy with the reading. I must admit that I sometimes get a little obsessed with a particular subject area and right now, it's babies. Anyway, I thought I'd share my current reading list with you and hopefully at some point review what I have read!



So far, I'm kinda in love with the Sear's family. Dr. and Mrs. Sears are promoters of attachment parenting, co-sleeping, and babywearing. In this book, they just kind of break down the ins and outs of raising babies.


I'm actually almost through this book and it is wonderful. It is a great book to read when you start breastfeeding and things are getting frustrating because it explain every single great thing that breastfeeding does for your baby.


I just started this one and it is very easy to read and is only about 200 pages.


And last but not least, this one is just for me...and my husband because he just started reading it to teach one of his classes so now we can discuss it together!

PAXbaby.com's 13 Days of Peace and Love

2009 was a year of change for me! In January, my husband and I found out that we would be bringing a child into this world which did amazing things for us…after my husband adjusted to my ridiculous hormones and I came to terms with the fact that I was being invaded by an alien and nothing would ever feel (or fit) the same.

In May of that year, I graduated college and my husband and I planned to move back to Oklahoma where both of our families lived. It seemed to be an impossible journey with our financial situation at the time; but when push came to shove, both our families and our friends gave us the help and financial support necessary to make our way home.

Then, a very long and arduous summer began. We moved in with my in-laws so that we could start saving money for our nest, which was both a blessing and an ordeal. My husband spent most of the summer working as much as he could and I pulled in some temp work. And in the end, we were in our house awaiting our wonderful bundle of joy.

After our daughter came into the world, things were amazing. We had found a way for me to stay at home with her and my life could not have been more satisfying; but, too soon after her arrival, my cousin, who had been struggling with a rare lung disease, passed away. It was a heart breaking moment in my life but my daughter had given me strength beyond any I had ever known. It was also an event that brought my extended family together.

 

Through sickness, divorce, and misfortune, it seemed that my once very close extended family had endured some damage that I was unsure would heal. With the sickness and then death of my cousin, everyone came together. We were reminded of why our family is so lucky and so rare. In a time when technology seems to be pulling others apart, we found ourselves pulling together and even using the technology to do so.

So, as I think about love in 2009, I think of all the times that I was proud of my family and the love that I continue to share with my friends. I think of our precious little girl who has brought more love to my already overflowing heart. I think of our rambunctious dog that has been tolerant as we have taken him across the country and forced him to share his territory. I think of my aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who are a great blessing to me. And most of all, I think of my husband who is the center of it all, my other half, and the person most responsible for all the love in my life.

Breastfeeding Exhibitionism

When I began breastfeeding, I felt self conscious about people seeing my boobs and so I either avoided going out at all, or struggled with covering up all the time. In fact, it was such an ordeal that there were times when I would just force my daughter to wait to eat until we got to the car or even to the house.

After I started to get the hang of things, I started to feel less modest about the whole thing but still felt worried about being judged for revealing too much of myself in public. However, unlike me, my daughter, Aubrey, who is never one to be overshadowed, decided she would no longer take her meals under a blanket.

This became very apparent one evening when we were out at a restaurant and Aubrey started to throw a tantrum after having a blanket put over her head. I had to excuse myself from the table and calm her down in the bathroom, which consisted of breastfeeding her… unhidden. Well, I couldn’t bear spending her entire meal in the bathroom so I sucked it up and went out!

And guess what, I didn’t melt! So, I decided then and there that I was going to start taking baby steps toward becoming a breastfeeding exhibitionist. My daughter didn’t deserve to eat all of her meals hiding in bathrooms or dressing rooms and I certainly couldn’t keep starving her every time we left the house.

A few days later, I was checking out posts on one of my mom websites and saw a mother asking whether or not to breastfeed in public. I clicked on the post to voice my opinion and after doing so, I scrolled through some of the other responses and noticed a very disturbing pattern. It seemed that all moms were for breastfeeding in public but most of them felt that it should only be done very discretely.

I became very disheartened that mothers were so adamant about covering up in public. These posts seemed to single-handedly shatter my confidence once again. All this time I had believed that breastfeeding mothers were a team that was constantly battling the non-breastfeeding community and the only way we were going to win was to stick together; now, I was battling against other mothers too.

Instead of cowering, I decided to take a stand in hopes of helping others in my situation gain confidence. Thus, the next time my daughter began to cry in the store because it was time to eat, I gave her my breast! And yes, I heard people whispering about my exhibitionist behavior and part of me wanted to hide myself or cover up; but, judgment be damned! No bottle fed baby would have to endure such ridicule and I wasn’t about to be ashamed anymore!

Lavender

My husband and I awoke last Saturday morning only to discover that both of us had to leave in less than 20 minutes which is quite a battle with a 3 month old. However, my husband insisted that it could be done and we both began to struggle with the task.

After quickly getting dressed, I began to gather things to get our daughter ready for our breastfeeding support group. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that she had had another teething fever through the night and her hair had developed a very pungent smell.

I really didn’t want to bring her to a group full of other mothers smelling “tangy”, so I searched for something to cover up the smell. I decided that perfume or antiperspirant would be a little inappropriate for a baby so I settled on baby lotion with lavender scent. I was saved; the smell was completely hidden…

Sadly I had forgotten that the lotion leaves a greasy texture on her hair until after I made it to the meeting. Guess I better figure out something better for next time!

But, Why?

After becoming pregnant, I did what most expectant mothers do and I nested; and as I began to nest, I began to research the ins-and-outs of raising children, that is, what they need, how much they cost, etc.; and it seemed that the further I investigated, the more I discovered that there were many myths about child rearing. So as I started to determine what I needed to buy for our child, I continued to ask why I needed to buy it and by doing so I became a pro at the art of "myth busting". Now, I am proud to say that I have made it my duty to investigate and thus, “myth bust” each and every aspect of my child’s life until people start to answer with the notorious, “Because I said so!”

The Basics of Cloth Diapering

So, I am sure that I will blog about cloth diapering tons in the future but I thought it would be a good idea to educate those of you who may be wondering where to start or what options are available. First, let me just say that cloth diapering isn't what our mothers remember it to be. In today's world, there are many different varieties of cloth diapers and covers to choose from depending on the amount of money you would like to spend, the amount of laundry you would like to do, the amount of leaks you are willing to deal with, and just how pretty you think your child's diaper should be. Therefore, I will break down the many different ways to cloth diaper your child as well as giving you the basics on laundry.

1.Flats and Prefolds. These are the cheapest way to go. Flats are rectangular pieces of cloth that need to be folded into layers before putting them on your child; whereas, prefolds have already been sewn into layers. Both flats and prefolds need to be safety pinned onto your child but this can be done with Snappi Cloth Diaper Fasteners which grip each side of the diaper like an ace bandage clip. Then you put a diaper cover over the flat or prefold to keep moisture on the inside.

• Pros: Cheapest cloth diapering system available. Fast drying time.
  
• Cons: Folding can be complicated especially on moving children. Leaks are common. It is more time consuming than other methods.
  

2.Fitteds. These are diapers that are made to fit a child similar to a disposable. Each diaper is made of absorbent materials and includes a snap-in liner for added protection. They are usually sized as XS,S,M,L, and XL based on a child's weight and are also worn with a diaper cover.

• Pros: Leaks are less likely. Much slimmer than other types of cloth diapers. Fast dry time. Very user friendly product.
  
• Cons: Can be quite expensive due to sizing up and covers.

3. Pockets. These fitted diapers include a pocket that is stuffed with an absorbent liner. Pockets do not need covers because they contain a built in waterproof outer layer.

• Pros: No cover necessary. Faster dry time due to the removable liner. Leaks are less likely. Very user friendly product.
  
• Cons: Can be costly due to sizing up. Must remove dirty liners before washing.

4. All-in-ones. This type of diaper has it all, a built in cover and a built in absorbent liner.

• Pros: No liners to insert and no covers to purchase.
  
• Cons: Extremely long dry time. Can still be costly due to sizing.
  

5. One Size. Diapers with adjustable velcro and/or snaps to make the diaper grow with your baby.

• Pros: Very cost efficient. Very absorbent.
  
• Cons: Quite bulky on smaller babies. Generally do not fit newborns. Can be leaky on smaller children.
  

Once you've decided which diapers are right for you, it's time to figure out laundry. Laundry frequency should be figured out based on the fact that newborns tend to use 8-12 diapers a day and older babies use 6-8 so if you are trying to be frugal, get 14 of the first size and try it out (You may soon realize that doing a load of diapers every day isn't for you). As far as the actual washing goes, it isn't as gross or difficult as you might think, especially if you breastfeed! While breastfeeding, you don't need to wash anything out; just put the diapers in the washer with detergent and wash with one cold/cold cycle and one hot/cold cycle. Once your child begins to make more solid bowel movements, you dump it in the toilette before washing. That is pretty much it!

Finding a Place to Settle Down

So my husband and I are constantly exploring the idea of setting down roots somewhere but neither of us are sure where that might be or how to figure out which place is best in terms of climate, job market, entertainment, etc. Thus, I have spent lots of time looking for websites that might help us in making a choice. Most recently, I have been attempting to find a place where I might have several options in graduate school programs, my husband would have the best chance at finding a job, and it would be a nice place to raise children. In my searches, I have found several sites that are very useful in this task and I hope they will be helpful for others as well!

First, FindYourSpot.com has a quiz that allowed me to pick the qualities that I wanted in a town/city and analyzed them to provide me with top picks. Next, I used the Bureau of Labor Statistics website (http://www.bls.gov/data/) to determine the job market for certain fields in the different suggested locations. I then searched U.S. News & World Report's website to determine graduate school rankings (grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools) and compared the schools listed to the locations suggested through FindYourSpot.com. Finally, I narrowed down locations based on bestplaces.net/city which compares different cities rankings in things such as population density, cost of living, public transportation, etc. For my husband and I, it looks like Boston is a great place to live but who knows what your results may be! Good luck!

My first Time in the World of Blogging

For a long time now, I have devoted more than a healthy amount of time doing research on everything in my life that I don't feel that I know enough about or anything that I needed that seemed to be outside of my means. I felt very proud discovering the cheapest websites for every single item in my wedding/reception and very thankful when I found ways to compare cities when my husband and I were considering moving. However, I hadn't figured out a way to share the information that I gathered outside of the occasional friend or family member who was in a similar situation until now. So, if you're looking to figure stuff out in your life or you want help delving into the overwhelming world of babies, staying at home, co-sleeping, or anything else that may come up in a liberal housewife's everyday chaos, this is the place for you!