Love List

What I am thankful for this week:

I am so thankful for the fenced in back yard my husband built for us, for our dog mostly, when we first bought this house three years ago. I was thankful then, to be sure, when housetraining our young boxer in the middle of the night. But now I am so thankful. Josephine can sing and play happily behind me while I sit, read or just enjoy the sunshine without fear that she is running into the road. Yes, she's still little so I keep a nearly constant eye on her and am always aware- but I don't need to hover over her, ever ready to usher her away from looming cars.

She's developing into a brave, courious little person. Free to move out of my eyeline, safe to experiance uncertainty a bit on her own without being completely alone.

She's creative, too. Bringing two sticks or pens together and making up her own little song. She sings, "Happy, Appy, happy..."

Then she reaches out a little hand for my help to climb around and through the bumpier, wilder parts of the yard.

This Moment

Inspired by SouleMama. A (semi) weekly ritual. A single photo- no words- capturing a moment from the week. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

This Moment

Inspired by SouleMama's weekly ritual. A single photo with no words to pause, savor and remember.

Josephine's Birthday Gift

This is the doll that I made for Jo's birthday. I really loved making her. Her neck is too loose and I want to make another one right away to try to attach the head a different way. Making the hair way my favorite part. I couldn't find an online tutorial that I loved so I sortof made it up. I made a 'cap' for her like you would crochet a hat. The sewed that to her head and wove individual strands of wool yarn into it. It took forever and I am so proud. I think that handmade things are meant to be imperfect and the most important bit is that Jo loves her little doll and she's already brought us so much joy.

Road Trip

I want to share this wonderful picture I took on the three hour drive up to Acadia National Park. My husband, daughter, and boxer, Tesla, and I went up for 3 days for our wedding anniversary. As usual, we had some of our best times on the drive. How my idea of a 'road trip' has changed from when I was younger.

Advetures in Babyproofing

See those shoes, dvds and books back there? Oh, yeah, they're not safe.

The fact that I haven't been spending much time online the last two weeks can be explained partially by the unseasonably warm Maine weather but, more importantly, by Josephine's new found crawly ability! She had been moving herself around quite well for a while but just hadn't been able to move arm and leg together in a forward motion. Well, those days are over. Not only can she now crawl, (and fast!), she can also pull herself up on furniture, people or walls and walk around as long as she is holding on to something. The speed with which she learns and changes has always amazed me. But this has changed my life.

Nothing is safe anymore. If it is within her reach- she will pull on it, put it in her mouth or try to climb up it. We have gated off everything that we can, but in the end the easiest, safest, sanest thing to do is just get rid of stuff. So I have been packing up things we don't use, giving away things we don't need and generally continuing our 'downsizing' journey. And then sometimes, it's just better to get out of the house and play outside!

Leave Josephine's binky alone.

Here on Papa Bear's shoulders.

Don't mess with my daughter's pacifier. Please, I know that her 'plug' obscures her smile. Yes, I know that she'll probably still be sucking it when she's 4 years old, walking and talking with it sticking out of her mouth. Thanks, but I'm not worried about her overbite. No, I don't think that she needs to learn to comfort herself without assistance. And no, it doesn't interfere with our nursing relationship. (We didn't give her one until she was 4 weeks.)

Is it bad for her to be comforted? Is it wrong that she sleeps longer? That I am not the only one who can get her to sleep? Mothering isn't about making it as hard as possible for mothers. You can't tell how well you are doing, as a mother, by how much you are 'sacrificing'. I think it's ok to use things that make my life easier. Particularly when those things also make my daughter cry less in her carseat.

Here she is again, in a wrap, with her binky.

Don't Distract Them!

I took Josephine to the doctor by myself this week and, like the slacker-mom that I am, forgot to bring any toys or distractions. So we had to sit in the waiting room with nothing to do. Instead of being bored or fussy though, Josephine started climbing on me and examining the chair I was sitting on and the window behind me. She didn't need to be 'distracted' or entertained. She was entertained enough by her own simple curiosity. I realized that she would have been missing out if I had remembered some toys for her. And I would have missed out on something too.

I am trying to remember now that children learn more, enjoy more and explore more when we don't force stimulation on them so much. Even AP parents who don't use tv or battery-powered toys are still too often quick to shake noisemakers in their face or try to settle them with rhymes or stories. I will try to relax more and let Josephine entertain me.


Here she is with one of her favorite "toys": my phone.

What great things have you learned from your children once you gave them a chance to teach you?

I Nurse In Public

Papa Bear, baby bear and I went to visit his parents in Florida last week. This is what I wrote while traveling.

The TSA website has special instructions for 'pumping and nursing while traveling.' I understand that trying to pump while flying could be difficult but I just don't see the need for additional instruction for nursing. Part of the joy of nursing is that it doesn't require any extra planning. I don't have to pack anything, sanitize anything or worry about forgetting. It's not that I am immodest. Ok, maybe I am immodest. It doesn't bother me if you see a part of my breast. It doesn't bother me that it might make you uncomfortable. It really doesn't bother me if you can tell that I am nursing. In fact, I hope you can tell. I hope that your children can tell and they ask you to explain to them what my baby is doing. I hope to help normalize breastfeeding for women and girls who want to nurse their babies in the future. Maybe seeing me unashamed, casually nursing in the airport while still going about my life uninterrupted, will encourage them to do the same.

I was gazing down at my nursling in JFK last weekend and it occurred to me that Josephine doesn't know that breastfeeding is controversial. She doesn't feel scandalous or outrageous. She was just absentmindedly stroking my hair, playing with my necklace while doing the most natural thing she can do. She gets hungry, she nurses. She feels tired or uncomfortable, she nurses. To her the idea that breastfeeding in public could be wrong might seem as odd as judging someone for snuggling or rocking.

No pictures from this weekend, but here we are at the Commonground Fair last summer nursing in a wrap;

Start

Here is my sweet girl. The inspiration for all my crafting, cooking, writing and whole-living. And now she is awake again so I have to go tend to her.