Baby Clothes Addiction? Is that a thing?

Space onesies from Targret, $6 on clearance

Yeah, I think it is a thing. Here's my most recent addition. Since I'm obsessed with space themed things for babies, I wanted these instantly! Luckily I waited for a long time and got them on clearance! Woo!

Speaking of space themed things, I finished my space baby quilt! It was super fun!

I haven't been writing much, which I apologize for! But we're moving soon and I'm doing a lot of budgeting (no more baby clothes for a long time! Boo!!) and have been busy! I'll write a longer post when I'm not quite so busy!

xoxox

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Nursery Theme

My nursery is PLANNED. I mean it is freaking PLANNED. TO THE LETTER. Obviously not all plans go according to plan but planning the nursery has kept me sane while waiting for the biopsy and all that mess. So I planned the crap out of a nursery. I want a gender neutral theme since I don't want to know the bebe's sex. And I love science! So a galaxy/space/ planets/alien theme is the best ever. Mah bebe's gonna be so edumacated. (sorry if the pictures are all messed up)

Some of these things aren't even available anymore/are unrealistic to get but they're just ideas for inspiration! That cradle is over $1000 for example... but actually looks kinda like you could make it? The curtains and quilt also aren't available any more but both are things I could make. I loveloveloveeee the female scientists posters. 

I think before I said I wanted a monster theme, which is still totally awesomeeee. But I decided on the space theme because I think it inspires not only imagination, but interest in science! Sososo important.

So what other themes do you guys like? Woodland animals? Zoo animals? Explorers? Under the sea? Circus tent? Super gendered princess/sport theme? (Not that I'm judging)

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Fear and Retail Therapy

Hey friends,
So as very few of you know, I've been having some health issues. I've only told a few people because I've been pretty scared. My doctor found a lump on my thyroid a few weeks ago. First I had to do an ultrasound (yeah, not how I imagined my first ultrasound) and then I had to wait two weeks (waiting is the best. NOT.) and today I just got a biopsy of the lump. Which was super scary and painful and I cried a lot. Anyways, it got me thinking a lot about pregnancy, because the thyroid is so important in pregnancy! It's a huge factor in fetal brain development and hypothyroidism (what I'm pretty sure is the issue I have) can lead to retardation in babies. So yeah. Your thyroid is super important. People with thyroid problems can also have problems getting pregnant in the first place. I always just assumed that getting pregnant was going to be pretty easy for me, and it still might be! But the idea that something could be wrong was so jarring and shocking! Of course I won't know final results till next week and there are thyroid replacement drugs that can make everything fine. I just had that "oh" feeling. Like, this is what it feels like for your body to not be the way you thought it was. Everything will probably be fine, but it's scary not to be able to say with certainty, everything WILL be fine.

Carter's Bicycle dress, $8, size 3 months

After the biopsy I went to Babies R Us with my mom, which was pretty fun! As much fun as it was going with The Ginger, he didn't really know what things were or could have critical conversations about them and if they'd be good for babies. So it was really fun to go with my mom who could coo over things with me. There were also lots of clothes sales! And you know I can't resist baby clothes. And of course GIRL baby clothes. I'm jinxing myself, I know. I have no baby girl names and all I can buy are girl clothes. I'll either have a nameless girl, or have a boy with a closet full of girl clothes.

Time for some Grey's Anatomy curled up on the couch massaging my neck now. Next time I'll write on weird baby names and nursery themes (which I'm totally obsessed with).

Till next time, loves!

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Our Trip to Babies R Us

A Pak-N-Play, forgot to get the price! Nice colors

On Friday The Ginger and I went to Babies R Us to have a look around and man, that place is NUTS. First of all, it's MASSIVE. It just has WAYY too much stuff. Like a million different outlet covers and nipple creams and 15 different models of every piece of furniture. So here are some pictures of ridiculous things we saw, things we liked, and what we bought!

First thing we looked at (after being seriously overwhelmed by the amount of bottles/breast pumps/pacifiers/random shit) was Pak-N-Plays, or whatever the non-brand name of them is called. Since we don't think we'll be having a crib, a Pak-N-Play is going to be our go-to for those first few weeks when we need baby in the bedroom with us for midnight feedings. It's also going to be handy since we'll be needing it for Baby when we travel to visit family (which we'll be doing often). The first one we looked at is a nice blue and white one with a bassinet and changing table insert. They can be taken out and it can be used as a regular full crib. The second one we saw is the pink and brown one, which you can unzip part of and use the removable shelves!! Almost as good as pockets!

Chandelier swing eww

Another Pak N Play!

Then we looked at those motorized rocking swings, which I'm not generally a fan of but whateves. They had some nice one. But his one was so completely RIDICULOUS that I had to snap a picture. Yes, that is a little pink CHANDELIER over that swing. ads,fhd;lshkklj Like what the actual fuck are you joking. I didn't even take a picture of the super gross Disney princess canopy crib with chandelier. Yuck yuck yuck.

Monsters Inc. Theme

I'd sleep in this

On the flip side of the gross themed stuff was the adorable themed things! Like all the cute Monsters Inc. things. I think a Monsters Inc. theme would be adorable. Because monsters are not only a fun gender neutral theme, but they're just adorable and awesome. Doesn't have to be Monsters Inc., just monsters in general. The whole crib set can be seen here. There's a pretty cute quilt, though I'd like to make my own baby quilt (and actually am and will post about it later!).
Okay, so here's what we added to our stockpike.

Okay so the "Daddy's Little Girl" is a little silly but whatever. The other one The Ginger picked out and is pretty cool because it has a dog on it and on the little shorts it comes with! We almost got the skull sweater the the right but decided to wait until Baby is older and we know more about when they'll be what age when. So we're not buying sweaters that would fit them when they're 6 months and they turn out to be 6 months old in the summer or something.

Overall, I think I'll probably look for a different store for all my baby needs, mainly because of how HUGE it was. And also that the people working there wouldn't leave me alone. I really really don't like talking to anyone at stores. So when employees come up to me and ask me how I'm doing, I say fine the first time, but if the SAME staff person comes BACK to me and asks me AGAIN, it freaks me out! And I get upset! I don't like it! And that happened a few times. Which made me kinda anxious. Anyways! That's all I got for now.

Remember friends, comments are awesome and appreciated, and you can subscribe via email to the right! Love you guys!

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How My Mental Illness is Helping My Husband Be a Better (Eventual) Father

       I know, for those suffering from mental illnesses, we can sometimes feel like "WHAT good can ever come from my mental issues?" It can be hard to think of any benefit of mental illness. It can feel like it swallows you whole and consumes everything you love, shitting it back out like a dark King Midas that turns everything it touches into a twisted mess. My mental illnesses have ruled the better part of my life and it's a constant struggle to find a silver lining. But this is a little bit about how I think I found mine.

      I've struggled with depression/anxiety/borderline personality disorder for most of my life, though thankfully things are much better now than they used to be. I've not self-harmed in over 6 years and I've been without medication for about 3 years. For the most part, I'm doing really well. But everyone has times when they struggle and the last year has been a serious strain on my anxieties. Panic attacks started coming back, accompanied of course by depression, constant worrying, and phobias. I try hard to take care of myself and look up ways to help me de-stress, but it's not the kind of stress you get after a long day. Anxieties start to control your life. Someone asks if you want to go get lunch. Have to get dressed, what if I wear something stupid what if they don't like what I'm wearing, then I have to drive there what if I get in an accident and no one knows who to call and I'm all alone and dying and my husband can't find me, then I'll have to get there to eat and there will be people all around me and what if a man grabs me or I get cornered somewhere that I can't get away, what will I eat, can I afford to be going out, what are we going to talk about? No sorry, I'm busy I can't go out. Can't sleep at night thinking of all the things that could happen to you or your loved ones. Checking to see if your partner is still breathing.

     I've made myself a little tool-kit to take places with me to try and lower my anxiety and it does sometimes help. But what helps me get through Every. Single. Episode. Is my husband.
     I know, I know, the feminist in me is screaming that I don't need a husband to take care of me, and that's true. But everyone does need a support system. And I'm lucky enough to live with my best friend who knows how to help me. I'm sure when I had my first panic attack in front of him my husband was like whattttttttttt the hell is going on I'm gonna run now. But I remember very clearly hiding in my closet crying and rocking back and forth and him sitting on the floor right outside the closet and telling me to listen to the rain. Previous to that of course was the "What is going on you need to calm down" that everyone often says when seeing someone else have a panic attack, but he seemed to learn pretty quickly that rationalization at that moment was not working and he needed to try something else.

   If I were totally neuro-typical, I'm sure The Ginger would still be a great father! He's selfless and kind and loving. He'd learn everything else as he went. When I first met him he, like so many others our age including myself, had little to no experience caring for anyone but himself. And certainly no experience caring and loving someone who is struggling with an illness. He has had to coax me out of some pretty tough situations. And can he do it every time? No. Sometimes I just can't be calmed down, or he doesn't say "The Right Thing" and I get even more upset. I can go from just easily irritated, to periods of complete shut down and going non-verbal. Sometimes he gets irritated back or he doesn't understand why I'm not talking. But every time gets easier than the last. It's a learning process, and it's one that he's excelling at. Last time I stopped talking he started telling me a funny story about our dog. He makes me laugh, he breaks up the worry loop in my brain. He knows my triggers, he understood that I had to stop watching Game of Thrones because I couldn't handle the constant sexual assault scenes. He helps me clean the kitchen when a friend with allergies is coming over because he knows I have a huge allergy phobia. He comes home after working all day and sees me curled up on the couch crying about how stressful it is that our apartment is messy and how I can't get off the couch and couldn't all day, and he starts cleaning up.

      I think that learning my needs, as someone who needs possibly a little extra attention than a neuro-typical person might, has helped The Ginger learn to listen really deeply to another person and care for them and think of them when making decisions. He's not gonna suggest waking downtown at night as a date-night. He might choose a movie cuddled on the cough or bowling if it was a good day because he understands my needs and has incorporated them into his own. All of these characteristics are, what I believe, going to make him not just a great father, but a fantastic father. 

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Diaper Bag to Haul the Poop Around

Yeah, you work that $20 diaper bag from Wal-Mart

POOP BAGSSSSSSS! "Ew why call them that" you say? Well because dear readers, while people do not often put poopy diapers back INTO diaper bags, I'm totally going to have to. I plan on cloth diapering, which means I need a little bag inside the diaper bag to put used diapers. I'm going to need a smell-proof bag. Pretty sure they sell them at Stoners R Us and www.legalizeweed.com [note: not an actual website]

The Ginger, handsomely modeling

So, let's talk about these bags. I always kinda thought they were silly? Like I have tons of bags, I don't need a special one, I'll just throw some diapers in a bag and I'm off. HO boy. Yeah, glad I realized my mistake before I actually tried to take a baby out with just some diapers thrown in a bag. First of all, diaper bags have SO MANY POCKETS! As a person who doesn't buy a dress or skirt if it doesn't have pockets and had a total meltdown when I realized I ordered some pants with fake pockets AND almost bought a wedding dress based solely

Hands in pockets of a wedding dress I almost bought

on the fact that it had pockets, pockets are a BIG. FREAKING. DEAL. The first diaper bag I have to show you is this $20 bag from Wal-Mart. It's super cute, with letters all over it, but not overly cutesy with pastel animals and crap. The colors are versatile, in case someone in the relationship is uncomfortable carrying a 'gendered' bag (The Ginger liked the purple one, while I hated it and wanted something neutral). The price is obviously very nice and low-cost. I don't remember if it comes with a changing mat or not but SO MANY POCKETS! It also has about a million matching things, such as a carseat, high chair, and rocking baby-chair. If you're into that. Barf.

I also really like this messenger-style diaper bag from Babies R Us. It's twice as much as the Wal-Mart diaper bag though at $45. I like how you wouldn't really know it's a diaper bag and the accessible wipes pocket is cool too. Except for when your hands are all poopy and you're frantically grasping for a wipe in a public restroom... Hope the fabric is easily wiped down... I'm also, again, a fan of the neutral color. But... $45? That's pretty steep. It's also not Wal-Mart though, which is another plus.

Fisher Price Messenger Diaper Bag, $45

Here's another one from Babies R Us that I like. I'm pretty sure it'd be a shit diaper bag, BUT LOOK AT THE SPOTS! I just love spotsssssss! It's also $45 and the strap looks pretty crap but I do love that design!

Thanks for reading and don't forget to pop a comment at the bottom if you're enjoying what your reading or have something to add/comment/whatever!

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Finally Attacking Attachment Parenting

HEY READERS! Thanks for joining me again to talk about all things BABY. If there's something you'd like me talk talk about or think I should talk about please feel free to leave a comment! I love to hear from you guys.

So today I'm starting out with a quick little attachment parenting rant, as promised. I'd like to say right off the bat that I do differentiate between baby-wearing and attachment parenting. Baby-wearing (wearing a baby in a sling or something close to the body) is used in attachment parenting but not everyone who baby-wears is an attachment theory loon. I am also by no means an attachment parenting expert. If it's something you're interested in, please do your own research. I could stomach looking up only so much! This article was very interesting to me and basically summed up how I feel about attachment theory. Attachment theory says to be "sensitive" to your baby's needs. What they really mean is to cater to every need and cry, regardless of how minor. And to even try and prevent crying by providing for the child before they need something. It promotes co-sleeping and advocates for babies to constantly be held. All the time. Not a second alone. Here's an awesome quote from the article

"...attachment parenting hinges on the presumption that if, through perpetual satisfaction of their every desire, we prevent our babies from crying -- and indeed, perpetual satisfaction of their every desire is the only way to prevent a baby from crying -- they will grow to become well-adjusted" 

But how can they adjust when EVERYTHING is constantly provided? Does the real world work like this? Maybe for the rich, but certainly not for the rest of us. It is vital that babies start to learn to be patient and self-soothe. These characteristics will help them to grow into confident children who are not constantly turning to a parent to provide for them. Obviously to a lesser extent some of their ideas make sense. If you know your baby will be hungry in 20min because they always are at that time then of course you can go start making some food/getting ready to feed/whatever. But the idea is that a child should never want for anything, which I think is an incredibly privileged, white, rich, naive way of raising a child. We all need independence and it's stunting to a child's development to not be given a chance to foster that independence. Life is full of disappointments and small disappointments, such as being set down so Mommy can poop in peace, is one I am happy to let my child realize early in the game.

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FETA CHEESEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

IT IS THE BEST DAY IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!! FOR TODAY I FOUND OUT THAT YOU CAN IN FACT EAT FETA CHEESE WHILE PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For those of you who have talked with me at any length about pregnancy, you have probably heard me complain about how I ADORE feta and don't know how on earth to go without it for 9 months. NOW I WON'T HAVE TO!!! I learned today that, while some cheeses are to avoid (sorry bleu cheese), feta is A-OKAY and that it's a total myth that you can't eat feta!!! Who started this malicious rumor? Was it feta-hoarders around the world? Greedy partners who wanted to watch their pregnant significant others weep as they consumed all the feta in a tri-state area? I DEMAND TO KNOW WHO STARTED IT. So that I may hate them forever and scowl at them if I ever run across them and write things like "you monster" and "I know what you did" on their Facebook wall. Feta feta feta feta feta feta feta feta feta feta feta feta feta feta feta feta feta. I can't believe I actually typed out all of those 'feta's. THAT'S how dedicated I am to feta. And I'm a pretty slow typer too so it took a long time.

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NOT HELPING

It's official that this blog is NOT helping to curb baby-fever. If anything, it's helping me get TOO organized!! I compare the birth centers at my area's hospitals, I know the ins and outs of Baby's first hours, I know all the medications/shots/exams given to babies delivered at hospitals, I've watching so many birthing videos (seriously watch this, it's the CUTEST water birth video ever) that a stretched vag/poophole don't even phase me OR The Ginger anymore, and, as you can see from this picture, I fucking stay up late playing with dolls, PRACTICING BREASTFEEDING. I NEED AN INTERVENTION. I look up breastfeeding techniques, how to be thrifty with a baby, I have a pinterest board dedicated to "Future Kid", and LITERALLY CANNOT SLEEP because of racing thoughts/questions/fantasies about Baby. Not even fun or interesting fantasies, gross ones like changing diapers, leaking milk everywhere, chapped nipples. all the gross stuff! I feel SO prepared that all other factors (don't have a job, about to start an intense weight loss program, moving back in with my parents, massive piles of debt, mental illness, want to go back to school) seem manageable and like not real issues. Not really sure what I can do to STOP feeling this way???? Any tips, dear readers???? HALPPPPPPP

I know I said I'd write about Attachment Parenting, and I'll try next time. It's so terrible I need to rant about it but am just not up to it tonight!

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Parent Fear Mongering and Natural Things

ATTENTION: YOU ARE KILLING YOUR BABY YOU ARE A TERRIBLE PARENT AND SO IRRESPONSIBLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't tell you how many things I've seen that say basically this exact thing when it comes to parenting. People are NUTS about their kids. And it's something that's fairly accepted in US culture. Take the example to the left. "HIDDEN DANGERS". It then goes on to detail every single terrible thing you're exposing your child to. It then goes on to tell you what you SHOULD be using. Like paint made from milk (???????????????????) and other shit no one can afford. Did you know that bananas are radioactive? SO DON'T FEED THEM TO BABIES. Except people, and generally babies, love bananas (but not me, I'm totally allergic to them). And guess what? They're really NOT going to hurt you. Trace amounts of toxic things can be found in almost everything we use these days and it's not gonna kill your baby. I walk a fine line between thinking all this is over-sensitive hippie crap, and wanting to go back to basics and provide a natural space for Baby. I think all the shit to the left is ridiculous. Should you air out a nursery after you paint? Yeah duh. Be mindful of recalls if you can, but a lot of people get hand-me-downs or second hand things and honestly can't worry about this shit. Of all the terrible things you could be exposing your kids to, I'm not gonna sweat over getting organic paint and mattresses. I'm not cooking meth in my house for fuck's sake.
There are some things that I'm pretty passionate about doing naturally. Possibly naively, but natural childbirthing is really something I want to do. Med-free and preferably in water! Pain sucks really bad and I'm worried that when my vag and butthole are being ripped open I'll realize what a stupid idea drug-free was. But I guess I'll cross the pain bridge when I get there. Childbirth is really insane and to think that people with vaginas have been doing this for thousands and thousands of years!! I think being drug free would be like a connection with all those people and really fantastic. Oh man could that sound ANY more hippy-ish????? Sorry guys. Next time I'll talk about the horrifying-ness that is Attachment Parenting and THEN I won't sounds like a hippie butthead.

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Pajamas

Traveling Beyond My Bedtime, Target $15

I am a Dreamer, Target $15

If I could stock up on one thing that I love for kids more than ANYTHING, it's PAJAMAS!!!!!! I FREAKING LOVE PAJAMASSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! They're so cute and wonderful and I love them so much. All of the linked PJs are from Target because I always browse their baby stuff whenever I go there. I also threw in my favorite onesies that I want to get next time I have some spare monies (aka never). I really love the recent trend in science/space/alien themed clothes because not only are they fairly gender neutral but they also inspire imagination and hopefully a lifelong interest in science! And don't even get me started on Christmas PJs when they come around. THE cutest things.
Anyways, here are my favorites. Enjoy.

Target, $12

"Over the moon for Mommy" "Off to Grandmas"Cute Astronaut puppy onesies, Target, $9

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Resources, Queer Awareness, and Rock Lullabies

Hello again Gentle Readers!

I recently came across a fantastic website for non-traditional families that I think is a great resource. The link is in my list of links to the left and also here. The site is called Off-Beat Families and, while it's no longer posting, it has amazing posts about everything you could possibly think of when thinking of non-traditional families. From personal stories of trans*men breastfeeding, to making art with your baby's placenta, to processing miscarriage/adoption/abortion, it answers or at least discusses a lot of really interesting questions.

One of the articles that really interested me was Queer Parenting for Heteros. It discusses what parents (queer or not) can do to actively cultivate gender-queerness in their children.

 "Allowing children to form their own relationship with gender means not imposing gender on them, and this is very hard to do in a gender binary world where there is no gender-free place that we can find and inhabit. So, one way to deal with this is to actually cultivate children's genderqueerness, which means to make sure that children have as many gendered options available to them as you can possibly provide, with an emphasis on cross-gender possibilities."

I feel like this is soooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOoo important and people so often overlook it when raising children. Our society is completely heteronormative, leaving no room for children to explore their own gender and identity. Even as a preschool teacher I heard myself say things like "This class has too many BOYS in it! They're so rowdy!" Assessing gender to a specific stage in development when really, three year olds are just generally rowdy and the girls in the class were acting the same as the boys. Dictating what toys your child can play with based on if they're blue or pink is so incredibly limiting! If our children were encouraged and introduced to a wide variety of toys and activities, regardless of what society has deemed 'gender appropriate', our children and we as a whole would be so much happier and better off. I hope as a parent it's something I focus on and emphasize to my children.

I recently discovered Rockabye Baby! which are lullaby versions of rock albums. My favorite is The Cure but they have The Beatles, Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. Really great way to introduce your babe to music that you love but is maybe a bit too loud for bed-time. I also just upgraded my Pandora to be ad-free and listen to the Relaxation station every night to get myself to sleep so I'm sure it'd be great for a bebe too. Those ads were the actual worst. I'd be almost to sleep and the ADS WOULD ALL OF A SUDDEN START BLARING AND WAKE ME UP REALLY ABRUPTLY. There's also a sleep timer with Pandora now so it's not playing all night. Currently, the Disney station plays constantly at our house. At the preschool I often had Kids Bop on, although sometimes it started playing Eminem???? I kid you not.

Anyways, hope you guys like the new layout and check out the new links to the left, including my pinterest with tons of baby crafts and crap.

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Housewife Life

I recently came across some articles about dealing with Baby-Fever that made me go "Hey I do that too!". It helped to not feel quite so crazy. So in case any of my readers are dealing with the same issues, here are the links!

http://offbeatfamilies.com/2011/01/babycrack
http://offbeatfamilies.com/2013/08/waiting-to-have-baby

Nothing is really helping me TOO much. I guess looking at my bank account is kind of an eye-opener but that makes me feel more guilty than anything. "Oh, I should be saving for Baby and look I have $150 in the bank I can't even feed myself". I'm currently unemployed (did I mention I quit my job? I think I did) and I think my Baby-Fever might be a big reason I'm having trouble motivating myself to really look for work. Simply put, I don't want to work. And I know that's probably the case with many people but when I think about my life's ambitions, it really is to be a "homemaker". I want to stay at home with my kids and teach them and play and learn from them every day. I'm going to apply for library school this fall as being a children's librarian is the only other thing I can consider besides that and would be something I would love to continue to do after my children are passed a certain age. I used to desperately want to be a social worker or therapist, which is why I got my bachelor's in psychology, but it's more and more obvious to me that what I really want is to devote my energy and focus to my children. I could see myself in a part-time librarian job as that's something I'm also passionate about and don't want to totally lose a sense of my self when having children but until I can go back to school, I'm totally uninspired job-wise. ((I am incredibly privileged that The Ginger has a job that is getting us by and that my parents are letting us move in with them so we can save money. Just wanted to state that I realize how incredibly lucky I am not to just have to take any job or stay at a soul-sucking job because I need to.))

I wanted to go a little into the feminist implications/debate of my wanted to stay at home with the kids but I'm super tired. And basically, I do what I want, yo. Smash the patriarchy, etc. These are the essential things I need to stay home and teach my kids.

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Newborn Photography

simplyrosie.ca

Victoria Ford

Katie Evans

I have to say, I spend a ton of time looking at newborn photography. As a photographer, with a photographer father, obviously the pictures of my baby have to be AMAZING. People have really great ideas online. If you see the kind of photography I/my dad do, newborn stuff is NOT it. It's so soft and beautiful and sweet. HOW could I trust the pictures of my baby to someone outside my family?! But also, it's not our specialty and so how COULD I trust it to us when it's not what we do?

jamadophotography.com

Amy Boring

Anyways, look at all these amazing pictures. They're SO FREAKING CUTE. There are a lot of really cliche, gimicky pictures of babies that I realllllyy hate. Babies are almost always cute, don't get me wrong. But c'mon, this isn't Anne Geddes. Your baby doesn't need cowboy boots on. That just looks silly. Simple backdrops and props always look the best. A plain heart garland wrapped around the hospital cart is so much more beautiful than a crazy outfit or a football. In my opinion.Your baby can't fish, or play football, or do ballet. Your baby is gorgeous in some natural light with none of those silly extras.
And THAT is what I have to say about THAT. Enjoy some of my favorite baby pics that I've found!

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Montessori and C-Sections

Hello Friends. Its been awhile! I've quit my job so no longer have constant interactions with children, leaving me feeling pretty bummed. I've been pretty obsessively looking up everything baby. I generally try and avoid parenting 'styles' as they seem super yuppy-ish generally. But I've gotten very interested in the Montessori

way of raising children. I came across this picture (left) from How We Montessori and it really intrigued me. Why is that baby on a bed??? Why is there no crib?! The Montessori way of thought is don't do for the child what the child can learn to do for herself. The idea of not having a crib is to foster independence and self confidence. The child doesn't see their surroundings through the bars of a crib, they are present in their environment and as they grow to be more mobile, they are able to explore their environments without the need of the parent to be the one to dictate when and where the child can explore their surroundings. Montessori also has several really interesting different mobiles to aid in development. The Little Red Farm has a great list of all the mobiles and the purpose of them all, as does How We Montessori which is where the below image is from.

I think these are some pretty cool aspects of the Montessori school of thought. Do I plan on following it to the letter? Probably not. Limiting yourself to only following a certain way is just not for me. But I'm really liking the lack of a crib.

Onto the second part of my blog. C-Sections. I watched this trailer after reading a lot about natural childbirth. Nearly one half of plus size women get c-sections. HALF! These statistics have dramatically increased in recent years, not due to more plus size women but due to the doctors wanting a faster, more efficient birthing center. (Source) Did I just source this like a freaking research paper? Sigh. I guess this is my life. Anyways. Natural birth options are not even given to women or doctors try discourage it as much as possible. I'm currently trying to lose a lot of weight, in part to get more ready for having my own baby. I really want it to be natural and if possible, a water birth. I think they seem such a beautiful experience, one that I'd love to share with The Ginger. Also, I'll admit, not quite so up close and personal with my butthole. As in, no one can stare at it because it's under water! And the birthing experience can be much more guided by the mother, something that is deeply important to me. I can have a lot of anxieties. Most people who know me know this. Obsessing about not being able to have a natural birth and not being able to breastfeed and both things I often panic about. They may seem kinda silly things to be worried about. At least you get a baby, right? Well generalized anxiety rarely makes sense. I've got a ways off until they're really things I have to worry about and yet they're still constantly on my mind! I'm not sure if research is making me more informed or making me more panicky? Ah well.

Thanks for turning in again, Dear Readers.
Stay gold!

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