MAY 2007 It is October already - Page 9

[darsmama]

Hey Mama's, I am glad to see most everyone is doing well.

Darci is fat and still happy. Except for when she's teething and frustrated because she can't crawl like she wants. She will be crawling before the end of the month I bet. It makes me really sad, honestly.

She is the best baby ever, and I am just very bonded with her. She is already wearing 12 month clothing : Big girl.

My mom went into KFC and there was this little 18 yr old gal who was preg. I guess she is a recovering meth addict (good for her!) and she was 5 months pregnant. So I gave her my bassinette and finally this last week went through all of the baby clothing I have been given and Darci has outgrown.
I suprised myself by starting to bawl because I wouldn't have a single newborn thing in this house when I was done. Pretty emotional for me to be boxing up the baby stuff.

I'd like 4 or 5, but finances just aren't going to make it happen. The economy hasn't ever picked back up and DH and I aren't getting any younger.

I plan on getting my bach and starting school here in a couple months, I'm half way there. Also I have my knitting/crocheting/scrapbooking/bellydancing/weaving to look forward too. Clothing without spit up...Maybe I can even take sewing classes someday. : Positive things about not having a bitty baby.

Someone hit the fast forward button and I just want things to pause for a little bit.

The thought of never pulling a baby out of the water makes me sad, but I suspect I will deal with it.

Take care,
Katie

[laneysprout]

Fleas!!!

Yuck! We boarded our two dogs last week while we were in Seattle. Now, they are both infested with fleas! I discovered this when I picked a flea off of DD this morning during naked time :.

I got something called Capstone from the vet, which is a pill they ingest that is supposed to kill all the adult fleas. But what about the eggs when they hatch??? Anyone know of any non-toxic flea control remedies? Sorry, a little off topic.

In keeping with the spirit of our little group and the "questions to ponder" theme that some of you have initiated, I have a few questions for y'all:

What aspects of AP/NFL do find easiest to adopt, or work well for your family?

What aspects of AP/NFL do you find more challening, or don't work well for your family?

[kdtmom2be]

Originally Posted by darsmama

The thought of never pulling a baby out of the water makes me sad, but I suspect I will deal with it.

I just have to say that I had to read that twice, then read your signature and then read it again.... thought you were talking about drowning! oh dear. : water birth!!!!!!!!

and MSAX, you crack me up. fabulously round. heehee.

What aspects of AP/NFL do find easiest to adopt, or work well for your family?

What aspects of AP/NFL do you find more challenging, or don't work well for your family?

Hmmm. We cloth diaper and co-sleep part time. The cloth diapering is the easiest.... I have a problem with the ingredients in disposables, a moral problem, not an environmental one. We still use them for night time though, but that's because that's what works for us...

We also tend toward gentle discipline, but I find that some parents who are "into" GD simply guilt or bribe thier kids and we don't do that. We're not really tv watchers, we like creative play, reading and outdoor adventures far more, but we let the kids veg out once in a while.

We buy organic vegetables, but only because that is what is sold at our local farm market and they are still cheap, and we don't use pesticides on our own garden either.

And breast feeding, but I don't class that as AP/NFL, I think it's just plain common sense.

What doesn't work.... well, homeschooling, but only because it isn't an option. If we had full custody of my step-kids we would probably consider homeschooling them. We are thinking about it for Kayleigh, but I like to work, so being a SAHM and homeschooling isn't really an option, unless I can schedule it all JUST right.

I dunno, what else is considered AP/NFL?

[Krystal323]

nak

EW, not fleas!! fleas are one of my pet peeves (no pun intended, hehe)--that capstone stuff works great for all the adult living fleas that are ON the animal for about 30 min after taking the pill. but flea eggs live in the carpet of the house, NOt the animal--and so do fleas--they live in the house, and only jump onto the animal to feed, then get back off and hang in the carpet i get aggro about fleas lol i'd bomb the house and/or buy some diatomaceous earth/pyrethrum powder for the carpet and your pet...plue get a 3m supply of advantage from the vet.

yah Claire has been sitting up for a week or two now--she's not quite 4.5m yet--! She scoots and rolls and wiggles a good deal, but not across rooms yet she's gnawed on broccoli stem, sucked on my fingers after i ate some prunes, etc. she's interested in what we're eating all the time but she still mostly wants to suck rather than chew/bite...so i'm not
actually feeding her yet, just indulging her curiosity when it's convienient

so get this. for the last two days we were psyched, cause dh was getting a new job--better hours, nearly triple the pay, omg we were so excited for him! he was hired, did all the paperwork, they told him that they needed him asap. so he couldn't offer 2 week notice to his current job, and he was upset about that, but three times the pay, hey ya can't pass up something like that right? so he told his job he quit yesterday. and then today, after they get all his paperwork in and say ok you start monday, they say "oh wait, you're not 21? well sorry, but we don't hire under-21s" it's lucky dh is such a desirable employee, or he would be sooo unemployed right now as it is, this might actually turn around and get him a promotion, as incentive to keep him w/his old company! but omg we are still reeling from the shock and the letdown. how could they not have asked how old he was before telling him he was *hired* and to *quit his job w/no notice*?!? well, anyway....just wanted to get that off my chest. :

weighed Claire yesterday--14lbs 4oz, 27" long

anyone else's LO *not* interested in nursing out of the house?? Claire can be so tired, so hungry, but if we're out anyplace, she is mezmerized by the people, the lights, the *stuff* everywhere I have to make a real effort to get her to NIP--she's not a lactivist after all!

.....i'm sure there's plenty of stuff i'm forgetting to comment on, but i'm tired and can't think straight n'nite all

[Krystal323]

yeah alright...Claire fell asleep finally, andstrangely, that makes me a bit less tired

What aspects of AP/NFL do find easiest to adopt, or work well for your family?
well breastfeeding is so easy for me this time around, and babywearing--those are my lazy, no-brainer things so I'm glad they're good for baby too!
cloth diapers are just FUN :
homeschooling, yeah that's easy too. i like feeling like my kids are learning about life from life, rather than from a classroom
vaccinations/natural health--esp. given my middle dd's vax reaction, and my decent amount of herbal knowledge, I am 100% confident and secure with natural health care

What aspects of AP/NFL do you find more challening, or don't work well for your family?
well, co-sleeping with a family of 5 just doesn't cut it for us I like to sleep next to the kids when they're tiny, but eventually i get kicked inthe head one too many times and..yeah. the older two have their own beds and I feel no guilt there

EC is cool in theory, but i like cute cloth dipes : and it's mentally exhausting to me. as much as i admire those who can/will do EC, it is just too much for me, on top of two older ones that need schoolin'

diet. there i admit it. my diet is crappy. i am a vegetarian, but i have too many soft spots for things like soda, energy drinks, cheese, candy, chips, chocolate, refined carbs, and just plain good cooking : Esp. when I'm nursing, I am constantly hungry, and even if I try to keep to a healthy diet, my older two clamor for mac and cheese and other such nutritional evils, and I'm sunk I hate the traditional foods/vegetarian/vegan threads here, they make me feel like *such* a food-loser

/confessions

[Ianthe]

No crawling here!!! (Thank G-d!) He is barely sitting up for a few seconds. We work on it a little every day.

What aspects of AP/NFL do find easiest to adopt, or work well for your family? I am not sure if these all count:

• Breastfeeding- (Finally over my plugged ducts all the time!)
• Co-Sleeping
• Wholefoods/vegan/organic
• No vaxes so far- that may change but so far I am happy that we have not vaxed him.
• Babywearing in the Ergo
• Limited TV watching (I love movies, but we hardly ever watch TV shows)

What aspects of AP/NFL do you find more challening, or don't work well for your family?

• cloth diapers (I am open, I just don't think I have the time, energy, will power for it)
• Homeschooling. I will choose a good charter school for DS but I do look forward to being able to finish my degree once he goes to school.
• Unschooling 24/7- I think it's a great concept, but I would rather he had some more discipline (gently of course!)

That's all I can think of...

[SamGroom]

Flea's...I hate to say it but just bomb. I hate the idea of the nasty stuff in them but we have tried many things with no success. Well we thought we had gotten rid of them only to find out we hadn't. But the bomb worked, w/flea bath and the capstan or what ever it is.

LOVE:
newbaby co sleeping...we kick them out when they start kicking us.

CD-although very new to it.

Homebirth/waterbirth...thinking about having to have a baby not at home now makes me sad. I am homebirth spoiled.

Nursing and nursing until they self wean, or until they are to big to sit in my lap.

Baby and often toddler wearing.

NOT FOR US:
Homeschooling...though I would in a second if the schools were bad.

Gentle Disipline...we do our version though I am not pefect in this department. I can get fustrated, though I guess everyone does. And we do not bribe, well not counting the dogs.

EC

cooking...that is, amazing home made healthy food. We ate frozen pizza tonight.

[koru]

Originally Posted by Krystal323

weighed Claire yesterday--14lbs 4oz, 27" long

that is one long & lean babe!

ezra is 27" and weighs at least 20#....and he's definitely not chunky, in my eyes. (my girls were tubalubs!)

fleas! grrr. our cats brought fleas into the house last year & i'm proud to say i eliminated them single handedly with the vacuum & lots of laundry. i was determined not to bomb the house! basically, i vacuumed every inch of carpet in the house & washed all the linens in hot water 3-4 times in a week or so. i also didn't have the cats "dipped" or whatever they do. i just doused them with "natural defense" every time i got my hands on them. good luck with that!

[kdtmom2be]

Oh yeah, and babywearing!! Though my little tubster is getting SO heavy... or maybe that's just cuz my back is sore from that dumb b---- that ran into us last week.

[sarabrynn82]

Hmmmm... the easiest stuff-

-breastfeeding (the most relaxing part of our day... usually!)
-co sleeping (can't wait to get our king size bed!)
-cloth diapers

What doesn't work -

-babywearing (not that I *never* wear them, but with two, it's just not practical to wear them as often as I'd like)
-whole foods/organic/good diet (it's still a challenge for me to even find the time to get enough calories each day, so if I can eat it with one hand and it takes no prep time - I'll eat it! I'm hoping when the girls start solids, I'll take advantage of all the produce I keep around for them)

And yesterday, Glory rolled from tummy to back for the first time!

[meesa143]

I've been lurking the past few days but haven't been able to post. I've been stuffing envelopes for extra cash and selling some baby stuff through craigslist...so between that and my normal 18 hour work week I have NO time. I'm actually pumping and nursing right now before I go to work(I've gotten good at multi-tasking). The reason I'm doing all this is that we're trying to get Kade's NICU bill paid before the holidays come and we're almost there. After tomorrow it will get better.

On to questions...

Easy for me:

BF-It's so much easier than FF, even though I pump
Babywearing
Cloth Diapering-I thought I'd never say that
Cooking
Limited TV- I think I watched too much on bedrest, I can't stand it anymore

Hard for me:

Diet-sometimes
Cosleeping-my kids sleep in a pack n play next to me when they're little
EC
Homeschooling-My kids will go to a charter

OMG! I just noticed I got 5 1/2 ounces out of the one side I was pumping

[gardenmommy]

AP stuff we do:

BFing, although as a PP said, that just seems like common sense, not nec. an AP thing.
Co-sleeping (hurray for a king-size bed!)
Babywearing (on the search now for a good back carrier)
Traditional foods (we eat probaby 70% local/organic, because it's way cheaper for us!)
Homeschooling (schools aren't great here, and I really enjoy being with my DC - most of the time!)
Cloth Diapering
Homebirth (3 out of 4 DC were born at home)
Non-vaxxing
Library/books/non-TV stuff

Stuff that doesn't work for us:

EC (I'd like for it to work, but seems like way too much work)
GD (we do some, but we aren't of the TCS or unconditional parenting variety)
Having no TV (the kids often watch a movie while I'm making supper so they don't kill each other. Or if I need a nap. Or if we're having a terrible day. I'd rather they watch Ms. Frizzle or Wishbone or Dora speaking kindly to each other than to me yelling at them.)

[Synchro246]

Originally Posted by laneysprout

But what about the eggs when they hatch??? Anyone know of any non-toxic flea control remedies? Sorry, a little off topic.

I'm not exactly sure how non-toxic it is, though I read the MSDS sheets on it and I was comfortable with the level-- If you have carpet:
Sprinkle boric acid (borax will do) on your carpet, sweep it in and leave it as long as possible. Then vacuume. It kills the eggs.

Originally Posted by laneysprout

What aspects of AP/NFL do find easiest to adopt, or work well for your family?

What aspects of AP/NFL do you find more challening, or don't work well for your family?

Easiest:
Breastfeeding
Co-sleeping for sure!
Reducing & reusing
General attentiveness to my family
Cloth diapering

More challenging, but still for us:
extended nursing-- when the kid gets older I can start to get annoyed with nursing/suckling, though I keep going anyway.
playful parenting--totally for it, but playing takes work & effort. It's hard to get in the mood for play sometimes.
EC, to a minor extent
Gentle dicipline--I'm a huge believer in gentle conditioning, quality modeling, and keeping my temper--however, it's the MOST challenging thing for me on a day to day basis
Eating well is challenging and usually I do poorly by most of our standards, though I think a lot of average Americans probably would think of me as a health nut
Natural/OOH childbirth--I put this here because for me it's a no-brainer that that's how I should plan my births, but since I transferred the first time I know that it's not always "easy"

Not for me:
Child led weaning
consentual living/non-coersive parenting

Unsure/split decision:
Homeschooling
non-vaxing--I'm 100% selective and delayed here. I don't think I could just not vax

[Krystal323]

http://channel95q.com/Baby-Idol/935276

vote for Claire!!

[Ianthe]

Originally Posted by Krystal323

http://channel95q.com/Baby-Idol/935276

vote for Claire!!

I voted!

[VOBetz]

Originally Posted by laneysprout

What aspects of AP/NFL do find easiest to adopt, or work well for your family?

What aspects of AP/NFL do you find more challening, or don't work well for your family?

Good question. Sometimes I think to myself, I'm not much of an AP'er in that sense - but then in the mainstream sense I am... so here goes.

Easiest:
Breastfeeding (after the initial hard part)
Extended breastfeeding
co-sleeping, but we do use a bedside sleeper
cloth diapering
loving attachment in general
healthy eating (not to MDC standards, but my own)
nighttime parenting
babywearing

Hardest:
TV Free (we are not)
Homeschooling or unschooling
Child led weaning
EC
Gentle discipine --- we use timeouts with my 2 year old


I'm sure there is more but that's what I can think of.

Originally Posted by Krystal323

anyone else's LO *not* interested in nursing out of the house?? Claire can be so tired, so hungry, but if we're out anyplace, she is mezmerized by the people, the lights, the *stuff* everywhere I have to make a real effort to get her to NIP--she's not a lactivist after all!

Yes! Yes! And More yes!

[BrooklynDoula]

I voted!

[Ianthe]

This is totally OT, but I just wanted to say....








This is my 1000th Post!!! Whoooo hooooo!!!

[BrooklynDoula]

Yeah LizztQ arty

the questions:

I find it easy to
breastfeed (until 3, then child lead weaning goes out the window)
cloth diaper and part time EC
co-sleep part time and side car for baby
babywear all day
have simple, wooden or wool toys for baby
reuse, recycle, make my own, minimally consume
use public transportation
buy organic food, eat all organic
use our own cleaners, natural
no-poo
homeschool
no circ
selective and delayed vax
playful parenting, GD to the best of my abilities
homebirth


I don't:
no vax (I believe in vaccines and give them to my children slowly)
TCS or always get GD perfectly
rock at EC, but I do okay
believe in waldorf schooling
chew through my baby's umbilical cord or eat placenta
my big kid is obsessed with these plastic animals
no tv (a movie almost everday keeps mommy sane)
co-sleep with big kids
CLW if it does not happen by three - I want my breast back, thank you
and many more I am sure

[dancebaraka]

I voted! Claire looks so precious in that photo

AP that works for us:
-freebirth
-DIY health care
-non vaxing
-co sleeping
-breastfeeding
-baby wearing (as much as she'll let me )
-minimal tv plastics junk food baby contraptions etc....
-what I'm calling slack-ass ECing
-cloth diapering

AP that doesn't work for us:
-homeschooling (dd will attend an M school when she turns 3, but I would consider homeschooling if this wasn't an option... I'll def homeschool when she's a teenager if she wants and shows ability to independently research etc)
-Really anything done fanatically (including everything from the first list)... I am just not into a polarized position on anything. Flexibility is key. I feel like Akasha has come to this world to help and I don't ever want to shelter her from this world... does that make sense? I don't want her growing up thinking she is better than other people because she __________. For example, we CSA and buy local and organic, but at the same time, I think a big ole cookie offered with love from the old lady behind the bakery case at the store is healing food too, kwim?
-CLW... I agree w/ MSAX if you're still nursing by 3 it's time to move it along child.... I love that other Mamas do CLW but I don't think it would work well for me. This is probably the case for co sleeping too, but I haven't reach that particular bend in the road yet.

Great questions!