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at the drive in

We're back from holidays but before I share about our fun two weeks away I'm going to share about something close to my heart.

Harry Potter.

When we first found out we were pregnant the only forseeable problem was how we were going to watch the final Harry Potter movie. We figured we would have a three month old. A bit too young for a babysitter and not old enough to join us for the potentially violent magical fun.

We had a few plans in place. We could have someone look after Lucy out side of the theatre, we could go to the "mums and bubs session", we could (heaven forbid) wait till it comes out on video.

But then one of our lovely friends gave us the idea on Sunday of going to the drive in.
It was the perfect idea. Baby in the back. Us in our little "soundproof" box.
Not to mention it's the DRIVE IN. How cool.

So that night we went. It was so ridiculously awesome.

Oh and most importantly Lucy slept the WHOLE way through. She fell asleep on the drive over and woke up when I was walking into our house when we got home. She really loves her parents.

I'm so sad now that it's all over. No more new HP. The end of a very long and lovely era. Thankyou JK Rowling.

Fresh Milk

 Warning- this post may contain too much information. It is about breasts so if this topic makes you squeamish I suggest you look to another post.

For everything you wanted or perhaps didn't want to know about breastfeeding and breasts in general, look no further than Fresh Milk: The Secret Life of Breasts by Fiona Giles.

Like most of the books I have read this pregnancy, I was given this one by my mum. I think in actual fact I may have bought it for her for a birthday one year. I can vaguely recall going to our family favourite bookstall and asking for the book my mum had ordered so I could buy it for her. I remember being a little startled (though not surprised) to see two large breasts on the front cover. Such is the life of a daughter of a midwife.

It was this same image that made reading this book on the train a little difficult however this is one of the themes the book discusses. Is or should popping your boobs out in public be a questionable offence? Especially when said boobs are used to feed a small child?

Fresh Milk is a series of short anecdotes that tell of womens struggle with breastfeeding, joy in discovering the usefulness of their bodies and their new identities as mothers. Breastfeeding is not all glowing faces and beautiful times. Some of the women seemed to go through terrible pain and anxiety in their quest to feed their little ones. Cold cabbage leaves, cracked nipples, milk that wont come. But through all this many of the women persisted and all in all said they wouldn't have given it up for the joy that they experienced through feeding their child.

This book leaps head first into the more socially awkward avenues of breastfeeding. Children breastfeeding at older ages, (one boy still going at eleven) the sexuality of lactation, adoptive mothers and their ability to breastfeed and even has a few recipes for breast milk in the back. It does so unashamedly and though I giggled like a schoolgirl or was shocked into silence by some of the stories I found it a really interesting read. It opened my mind to a whole side of breasts I had never thought about before and while I don't think I'll be trying the breast milk pumpkin pie anytime soon it gave me a greater appreciation of my body that has been created to sustain my little baby's life for at least the first six months of her life.

material girl

 

This little one is not even out of the womb yet and already she has so much stuff.

There is a fantastic article here about the five "essential" baby items that are not so essential. It's a fantastic read and has really made me think about what the little one needs vs what I see in the shop and swoon over. I don't think there is anything particularly wrong with having things for your baby but on a tight(ish) budget it's good to look at what is actually necessary.

So far I have gotten a bit of baby stuff. I have a fantastic list given to me by a friend of all the good to have baby things, their average cost and good brands/features to look out for.

Here is what I do have.

- Cot. It's wooden and was given to us.
- Blankets. A few different ones. Cotton, wool.
- Wraps. aden + anias, muslin, cotton.
- Burpy towells x5. Ikea 99c.
- On loan one Mei Tai and one fabric wrap.
- Baby bath. From ikea.
- Change table and mat. Using a desk with a mat on top.  
- Baby bag. Made by my mum.
- Car restraint. 


Here's what I don't have

- Cot mattress. I threw out the one that came with the cot as it was a bit stained and I was told it's best not to use a second hand one. Need to measure cot and buy.
- Sheets, mattress protector etc.
- Pram. Going with the Maclaren Vogue. Just have to buy it.
- Nappies. Disposable for the newborn stage then cloth.
- Nappy bucket. With lid.
- Breast pads. yes.
- Bath products. Natural and chemical free. Both for at home and for nappy bag.
- Rocker. I loved mine as a baby. Keeps baby occupied while I am in the shower etc.
- Porta cot. We do go away quite a lot.

Here's what I have but no doubt need more of.
- Baby clothes. Size 000 for newborn and 00 for a bit older.
- Books. All the classics.
- Toys. I'm gathering a pile of handmade softies.

All I really need at the moment is the cot finished and the car seat installed. If the little one comes early we just need to be able to take her home and give her somewhere to sleep. Seven weeks to go. I can do it.

sustainababy

I like the earth.
I like that it is green and blue.

It seems like people mess up this green and blue balance a bit. We over use, under recycle and waste like there is no tomorrow. I am not innocent of any of these things.
I'm going to have a baby soon. Babies use up a lot of stuff.
Here are some ways I am going to try and reduce my little ones teeny tiny carbon footprint.

1. Cloth Nappies.

What a fantastic invention is the modern cloth nappy. Gone are the days of terry towell and safety pins, hello velcro/snap fastners and groovy prints and colours.
Sure they do need to be washed which uses water but when you think about the water that goes into making and disposing of the other kind of nappy it works out much better in the end.

They also end up being much cheaper in the long run not to mention absolutely adorable. You can also go cloth on things like baby wipes, breast pads and the like.

I could even go totally green and practice Elimination Communication or start my potty training really early.



2. Go Handmade

I'm a bit of a crafter. Have made a few things for the little one already. Here, here and here. I'm going to be making a whole lot more. You can make things for your baby out of old adult clothes by recycling the fabric. T-shirts into onesies or trackpants. Not only is this cheap and good for the environment but it is also ethical as many cheaper clothing brands are only cheap because they don't pay their workers well.

If you can't manage to sew then go second hand. Most babies don't wear clothes long enough to wear them out. You can also go second hand on cots (as long as they still fit safety regulation) and other baby furniture.

3. Make use of the Library.

Books are great and wonderful and I love them so much. But they are made out of trees and those trees come from somewhere.

While I intend to have a good collection of literature for the babe there is no reason why some or most of those books can't come from the library. We are lucky enough to have a library five minutes walk from our door which is stacked with great children's books, games and toys.

Myl and I already loan books and dvd's from there for us. I'll definately be paying them many a visit.

4. Chemical free baby products.

It is a little scary to realise just how many chemicals are in the products we use every day. Soap, shampoo, moisturiser and cleaning products are full of weird ingredients. Just what is cocamidipropyl?

It's amazing how much cleaning you can do with vinegar or bi-carb soda and where there isn't a cleaner/product that you can find in your pantry there are many organic, chemical free baby soaps out there on the market. Much better for the environment and baby's sweet skin.

5. Organic baby food.

I am so looking forward to starting the little one on solids.

Yes I know this is at least 9 months away but I think it will be so exciting to create beautiful meals then puree them for her tasting pleasure. I've always been a bit confused by the multitude of pre tinned baby food. I'm sure there is some reason for it but how easy can a bit of pumpkin mash in a sealable container be? Make 10, freeze them and use as needed??

And how could I forget the best organic food of all? Breastmilk. Save money on all that formula and bottles and give little one all the nutrients she needs.


6. Less toys, better toys.
There are so many horrible plastic toys out there nowerdays. How many toys can a kid play with. I guess the answer is about a billion but how many do they need? I really love making my own softies and will be making some for the little one.
Wooden toys are also better for the environment than their plastic counterparts. They last longer and give children better imaginations. I can remember playing for hours in the plastics cupboard or with a drumkit made out of pots and pans.

7. Sling it.

There are loads of busses in my area. There are loads of places I can walk to. I drive the car far too much because it is so much easier. It's better for the planet (and my behind) if I get out and walk. I can pop the little on in a sling or pram and off we go.

Here is a really fantastic blog dedicated to keeping your baby home as good for the environment as it can be.

What I'm Reading

Labour of Love is a book about midwives and tells their stories of birth. It tells about many different places of birth in Australia whether they be busy understaffed rural hospitals, birth centres or hospitals full of nosy medical practitioners.

It gives an interesting perspective into childbirth from the people who see it day in day out. A behind the scenes look into the amazing world of birth.

I have really enjoyed reading the stories. It is nice reading the stories of the women going through labour knowing just as the midwives do that they are going to get through it and more times than not have a baby at the end.

Many of the stories tell of the medical model of childbirth with epidurals, inductions and  Syntocinon for the third stage. These stories have made me feel good about my decision to go natural if I can. I'm sure the book is a little biased but the natural birth loving midwives seem a lot nicer than the pushy stirrup loving obstetricians.

There is a section on birth in remote areas which, on the other side of the coin makes me feel so blessed to have those obstetricians around just in case. I know that my baby will have the best chance of surviving. So many babies and mamas around the world and even around this country are not as lucky.

I've had many a laugh and shed many a tear reading this book and it has opened my mind to the many many different ways that women give birth.

The other book I have been reading is New Active Birth by Janet Balaskas.

It is all about natural active birth which means birth in which the mother is the most active person. She controls the way she stands and labours depending on what her body is telling her it needs to do.

It had an interesting section on the history of birth. For most of history women birthed sitting in birthing stools, standing or squatting. It is only since the medicalisation of birth that women have done the deed on their backs.

It showed that your back is probably not the greatest place to give birth as it actually makes the birth canal smaller and does not make use of gravity.

The book has some great pictures that I loved scaring showing Myl and some helpful prenatal exercises to do to help for labour.

It goes through the stages of labour and talks about the things that can go right and wrong in a helpful way. It talks about pain relief methods other than epidural which I found really useful.

Two great books. I've got a whole pile more. My mum gave me about three on breastfeeding alone.

Come thou long expected Jesus

Image Credit- Amazon.com

Christmas is on Saturday. Only 5 sleeps till we celebrate the birth of our Lord.

A fantastic book to read to prepare your heart and mind for Christmas is "Come thou long-expected Jesus." It's a series of sermons preached about Christmas over time. There are some old ones like one from Martin Luther and newer ones such as John Piper and Joni Eareckson-Tada.


It's really great to focus your mind on God in a time that goes a bit present crazy. There are some really great insights on the different parts of the Christmas story. There is a reading for just about the 24 days of advent. I wish I were disciplined to read one a day but alas I am not. I really enjoy sitting down and reading one with Myles every now and then though.



On some other Christmassy notes.

Here is my tree for the year. I like to go for the non-traditional tree.

Kinda looks a bit like a scary spider. Oh well.

Here are the Christmas cards I made this year... well I'm still making them. And then I'll send them. They should arrive before Christmas.

PS. I made a facebook group to see who is reading my blog. Go ahead and like it. :)

Books for the Bobbin - The very hungry caterpillar.

One of the best books ever.

I'm just going to let it speak for itself.

Books for the Bobbin - The Chronicles of Narnia.

Image Credit - Fantastic Fiction

I grew up reading these books, watching the BBC adaptations and playing Narnia in my backyard.

The family favourite is 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe" the story of four siblings sent to the country in World War Two. The youngest, Lucy finds a magical land in the back of a wardrobe in the country house they are living in and at first her siblings don't believe her but later are forced into hiding in the wardrobe and entering Narnia.

In Narnia there is a witch who calls herself queen who has made it always winter but never christmas. Legend has it that she will be defeated by four humans who will become kings and queens and replace her. They will be put in power by Aslan the king.

The four children are reluctant heroes but find that they must enter Narnia and help it to be rid of the White Witch.

When we used to play Narnia my brother was High King Peter, My sister was Susan, I was Lucy and our Dad was Mr Tumnus the friend of Lucy. Our dog was Aslan. Mum did not often play but we would sometimes give her the role of the witch. I'm sure she loved that. Nobody wanted to be Edmund so his role was sometimes taken by friends who came to play.

It is a happy story about children who are able to make a difference in a magical land and become kings and queens. There are beautiful creatures and scary villains. The white witch certainly is formidable but I think it is necessary for children to see such characters. Our world is not full of good things and misunderstood things. There are some things that are dangerous and some things worth being scared of. I can remember being terrified of the Witch.

But in the end good triumphs over evil.

As a child I was totally unaware of C.S Lewis using the story as a parallel to the story of Christ. I have read that he did not intend the story to teach children about God but merely to see what it would be like if Jesus came in a land inhabited by talking beasts.

I remember watching the Disney/Walden Media film of Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and was all at once struck with the beautiful image of Aslan being killed on the stone table just as Jesus died on the cross. It struck me that Aslan was not caught, he was not a fool. He went willingly and suffered pain and died knowing he would be alright and he would be victorious.

I don't really think it matters if you can't make a connection between Christ and Aslan. I think the stories standalone as wonderful works of fiction. They encourage children to believe and use their imagination. To trust in good and turn from the bad. They have memorable characters and are written in a way as to encourage children to read more and more.

These books will no doubt be read to the little one over and over again.

Fathers Day - Part II

Well it struck me the other day that Myl is a father. Even though our baby is 2 inches long with a one inch long head he is still a dada and I'm still a mama.

So I decided to get him a fathers day present.

Have I mentioned before that I'm not really all that into surprises?

One fathers day we had got dad a shovel. It was the biggest secret and mum said we were not to tell dad what his present was.

I agreed. But when later talking to dad about his present I said,

"I'm not going to tell you what it is but you can dig holes with it."

Some things are just too exciting to keep a secret. no?

Myles first ever fathers day present is one of these surprises. Its the book Man with a Pram by Stephen Mitchell and John Ferry.

The blurb says;

"The concept for Man With A Pram was born (excuse the pun) from the authors' observations that most men were not interested in the current pregnancy literature on the market. Added to this was the observation that many a pregnant partner seemed to be frustrated by this perceived lack of interest in pregnancy literature."

 I must confess that the second part is just a little true for me.
While Myles is extremely interested and excited he has not been scouring books and the internet like a maniac for information about babies. He has not lived his entire life for this moment. He does not have a baby-lovin midwife mother.
Yes it is a percieved lack of interest.

Nevertheless. He loves the book. He read a couple of chapters last night after I gave it to him and had a good giggle. It seems to be a pretty easy to read book and it was so nice to have him tell me facts about our little one.

Fathers day Numero Uno WIN!

Books for the Bobbin #4

The Boy with Square Eyes by Juliet Snape is the reason I no longer watch tv... partly.

It is the story of a little boy who watches so much television that his eyes become square and so does the world around him. To him this is such a terrible outcome that he cries square tears and begs his mother to teach him how he can make his eyes round again.

Many a threat of square eyes could be heard in my home growing up.

Mum frequently used the well-known section of the book that when you are bored you could

Read a book,
do a puzzle,
draw a picture,
look at the goldfish,
look at the sky and wonder why.

I even found myself saying this to my nanny boys the other day when all they wanted to do was watch tv after school. Its slightly scary watching children watch tv at times. I'm sure I was the same. They get this glazed expression on their face and very little outside noise gets through to them. All that can be seen is the eerie ever changing glow of the screen on their face, shining in their eyes.

I guess it's not all bad. I remember spending some time watching tv. We didn't really watch it all that much but it was interesting and entertaining and gave us something to discuss with friends at school.

Yet even though I'm pretty sure televisitis is not a real condition i still get a little worried about the shape of my eyes after watching the box for a bit. This book has served as a very good cautionary tale. I think its main message is that there is so much more to life than tv. To spend your life watching it means that you miss out on so much else even if it is just to look at the sky and wonder why.

In the end, the mum unplugs the tv. Not such a huge thing. Not such a scary thing at all.


Transcript and slide show of the book here.

Image Credit Amazon.com

Books for the Bobbin #3

"La la la la li" comes the call and Ping and his family have to come running and board the boat with the wise eyes on the yellow waters of the Yangtze river.

I remember being read this book so many times.

The last duck to board the boat at the end of the day gets a spank on his tail. One day Ping is the last duck but in stead of going on the boat he hides and has a few adventures before deciding that home is the best place for him.

Its a good book to introduce different cultures as well. I learnt about the Yangtze river and children that live on houseboats. And people who eat ducks!

In one part, Ping puts his beak under his wing to go to sleep. This became a way I would sit on my mums lap. With my "beak" under her "wing." I felt very safe there.

What is really nice about this book is that Ping knows that he has a home and that it is a safe place. The world is a scary place for a little duck and although there is the threat of discipline at home he will not get eaten there. Its the same for children and I guess adults too. While the wide world is a nice place to explore for a while it is always nice to have somewhere to come home to and see the people you love no matter how boring it may be.

Image Credit: Amazon.com

Books for the Bobbin #2

This is a book that Myles suggested but one that we both enjoyed as children. It tells the story of three children Joe, Bessie and Fanny ( I think they have now changed Fanny's name as it was rude or somthing???)

They have adventures in the faraway tree which is a very tall tree populated by numerous eccentric folk. Some of these folk include Dame Washalot who is always putting the laundry on, Moonface who's face looks... like a moon and Mr Whatzisname.

Its a magical land where everyone has their own quirks and Joe Bessie and Fanny get to meet all the strange people and have adventures with them.

When I was little we had a tall pine tree in our backyard that we named the faraway tree. It was pretty tall. At least as tall as we could climb. We would pretend to visit all the characters in the story and then we would slide down the long branches to the bottom.

Myles likes that he grew up on seven acres, four of which are bushland. He was able to go into the bush for adventures like Joe Bessie and Fanny and use his imagination.

Imagination is a precious thing and this book has it in bucketloads.

Image Credit: enidblytonsociety.co.uk

Excuse me Mr Librarian

Today I went to the library in search of some books about (you guessed it) babies.
What i found was mildly disappointing.

There on dewy decimal section 618 was a mere half shelf full of books. I think I was expecting a few more. I scoured the shelf for titles such as "Ina May's guide to childbirth" and Kaz Cookes "Up the Duff", books I had heard of, but none were there. There was not even a copy of the dreaded "What to expect when you're expecting."

So I settled on two titles.

"Gentle birth, gentle Mothering" by Sarah Buckley
It has a foreword by Ina May Gaskin

and

"Pregnancy; Questions and Answers."

So far the Q&A book has been really interesting. I was reading it with Myles and he had a few eye-pop-at-the-diagram moments.

I'll have to read the other one and see how it goes.
Meanwhile I will be looking for more titles. In a world of so many pregnancy books how can I choose a good one?

Aaaand.. after telling me that I had lots of overdue fines the Mr Library man glanced down at my books then up at me and I saw a little smirky smile on his face.

:)


Image Credit: New York Public Library

Books for the Bobbin #1

I have always loved reading and read a lot when I was little.
I think its pretty important to teach your kids to love books.

This little segment is to show books from my childhood or books I see in the shop that I would like to read to my little one.

The first is "Quick as a Cricket" by Audrey Wood. My Mum and Dad used to read me this book all the time when I was little. I really liked it. Dad made up a song to go along with the words.

I'm as quick as a cricket
I'm as slow as a snail
I'm as small as an ant
I'm as big as a whale.


I loved this book.

Mum gave it away to our cousins when I was a bit older and it wasn't until years later when I realised how much I loved it that we sneaked it back.

It had beautiful pictures of the little boy in the story playing with all the different animals in the story and at the end it says.

"Put them all together and you've got me!"


Classic.


This is one I will be reading to my little one.