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| Traveling Beyond My Bedtime, Target $15 |
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| I am a Dreamer, Target $15 |
Anyways, here are my favorites. Enjoy.
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| Target, $12 |
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| "Over the moon for Mommy" "Off to Grandmas"Cute Astronaut puppy onesies, Target, $9 |
Pajamas
Anyways, here are my favorites. Enjoy.
Saturday, April 19, 2014
Anyways, here are my favorites. Enjoy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Newborn Photography
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| simplyrosie.ca |
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| Victoria Ford |
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| Katie Evans |
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| jamadophotography.com |
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| Amy Boring |
And THAT is what I have to say about THAT. Enjoy some of my favorite baby pics that I've found!
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!
Thanks for turning in again, Dear Readers.
Stay gold!
Sunday, November 10, 2013
The Stockpile
Purple hat: From Savers! $3. Around 6-12 months
Owl hat: From Gymboree. $10. 6-12 months
Hug Bandit thermal onsie set with pants: From Carter's. $5. 6 months
Camera onsie: From Target. $3. 9 months
Dog/polka dot onsies: From Wal-Mart. $10. 0-3 months
As you can see. I have a collection. I have a variety of sizes and some things for boys and girls (or both!)
So. That's my little secret stash!
Plus Sized Mama
Every time I think "Okay, I could have a baby now. Things are perfect but we could make this work", I remember my weight. While on my honeymoon I saw a TV program about pregnant fat women and all the problems they have to overcome. So I got it into my head that there is NO WAY I should have a baby at my weight. I was sure that I needed to lose at least 100lbs before I even started to try and losing that amount of weight could take me years and years and years. Very discouraging.
I recently ran across a blog called Plus Size Birth. It deals with all the issues that plus size moms have to deal with, including stigma from doctors and plus size maternity clothes. It also discusses how 'babywearing' items, such as the one shown, often don't fit plus sized people. So they give links to ones that do!
I still would like to change my diet so I'm healthier, but I'm less afraid that my weight is a Go to Jail card when it comes to pregnancy.
I still would like to change my diet so I'm healthier, but I'm less afraid that my weight is a Go to Jail card when it comes to pregnancy.