Breastfeeding Fodder

I got this off Hawthor's site.

Now, this isnt an argument for or against nursing, as I have been on both sides.
I just wanted you all to check out the reasons why Fisher-Price thinks that you should *choose* bottlefeeding over breastfeeding....

(snip)
While breast milk is the ideal nutrition for babies – not to mention the least expensive option —formula is a good second choice. And, just as there are advantages to breastfeeding, bottlefeeding has its pluses, too. For example:

* Dad and other caregivers can feed baby

* Mom doesn’t need a breast pump, nursing bras or other special clothing.

* It's easy to bottlefeed baby just about anywhere.

* Moms who bottlefeed can diet, take medication and drink or eat as they choose without worrying about effects on baby.

* With a bottle, it's easy to tell exactly how much baby is taking in.

* Bottlefeeding mothers bond just as closely with their babies as nursing mothers.
(end)

Ummmmm....Dad and other caregivers can feed baby if you nurse as well.
I dont wear any special clothing do I? Well sometimes I forgo the bra, but that is just as much for my husband as my child...;P
I think I can actually breastfeed in more places than I could when bottlefeeding....but I could be wrong.
Woohoo, if I choose formula Fisher -Price has just said I can drink, smoke and do drugs all at the same time and it wont hurt my baby. lol
Well, it is true that you can tell how much they are taking in, and yes they can bond as closely as a mom does who doesnt nurse...unless of course they use that monkey contraption...hmmm I wonder if Fisher-Price sells one of those........

I should be sleeping not riling myself up with how stupid Fisher-Price is. (do I have to boycott another company today?!)

(I also posted this on my board, so many will see it more than once!) ;)

Mothers....

This is kinda a reply to Kirsty's Post.
I came to the conclusion a long time ago that mothers are just women.
I had put moms on this pedestal, because they sacrifice for their little ones, and work all day everyday without pay to keep the house moving.
But, really, get them all in a room (or virtual room) with out kids and they all revert back.
The cool kids, the geeks, Leadership, drama, etc etc etc. It's like highschool really.
And yes, the judgement. (which is worse online). So when it comes to moderating that stuff, it just makes you tired, and even more judgy because you wonder why oh why cant they all just be secure in themselves? The answer...because we are women. :(
I am not saying that I am totally untouchable, because I have stirred some major $hat in my day, let me tell you, dear reader...I actually have a friend that I really got along with, and then I put my foot in my mouth and out my ass, and our relationship is still weird. (for me anyway...I dont know for her. And no, I am not sure if we have ever said sorry for the horrid things that went back and forth, and yes I was pregnant at the time....)
The point is that everyone says things they regret, and everyone judges, and why cant we just say sorry and move on?
Why must we hold on and beat a dead horse? (also, in a small AP community....you will see these same people forever!) ;)

It's not actually dirty per say....

K looks at me and says....
K : Why isnt my hair back to normal?
M: What do you mean?
K: I want Blonde...not dirty blonde.....
M:sometimes hair changes colour.
K: I dont want it to go different, I dont want my hair to die.

Burst out crying.....

Shhhesh! lol

The Light Turns On

I belong to a pretty progressive parenting board and have been a member for over 4 years. There is lots of discussions on a variety of topics. Recently we had a discussion about homeschooling, outlining many of the questions that I have put up on this blog. Today one of the very wise mama's posted, "Not homeschooling kindergarten because you're not sure about homeschooling Chemistry 30 is sorta like not breastfeeding a newborn because you don't want to breastfeed a toddler or preschooler, no?", in regards to my concerns about Homeschooling teens.

Can I just say, Wow.

Really. This one post has put all of my questions, all of my concerns all of my thoughts at rest. (It might help that she is a professional writer....) It is just so clear. One day at a time.

That is all we really can do as parents. We only know what we did at the time, and we always do the best that we can. So why worry about 18 years down the road?

Meet your child where they are and support them and the rest will follow.

Thank you M.

Growing Up So Fast

R is growing up so fast. Before bed, K and R had a bath together and were slurping water and spitting it out at one another, and laughing the whole time. I keep forgetting just how old little R is. I keep thinking that he is 6 months younger when in actuality he is much older. The only difference is that he is not a talker.
They then proceeded to wrestle eachother and I kept thinking that he was going to fall off the bed, and I kept telling K to stop but R didnt want to. He wanted right in there, to be just like his big brother....now if I could just let go, that little bit more.

Don't Be Mad Mommy,

Most of the time I am a pretty easy-going mom. Some, like my husband, would say that I am a little *too* easy-going. This is not the case. I see myself as moderate. I have my good days and I most definitely have my bad. Today was one of those days.
I was doing okay, until I learned that the place I go for Gymnastics with the boys cut down their drop in by an hour but doubled the price! Outrageous.
Of Course the whole day was shot after that.
Then there was the super pee on the floor that I had to call C to get him to talk me down. We are talking a whole 4 cups on the floor in front of the toilet. IN FRONT!!!
And then there is bedtime.
I got so mad that I yelled, and stomped and had to leave the room. And felt like an ass afterward.
Sometimes I just want some time to myself, just me. All by my lonesome.
Did I mention that my grandma is back in the hospital.....correlation anyone?

Schooling - An Update

I was all set to stand in line at 4pm for the 7pm registration for preschool for K. Even though it was a blustery -30 below I was ready. I got all the forms filled out and signed, immunization waiver printed out, called my mom to babysit...and then. A small feeling in my gut made me re-think what I was doing and I got cold feet and completely bailed.
I am sure that if this particular preschool had more than just 2 spots available for the 4 year olds I may have considered it more, but that was strike one. I just couldnt justify standing in line for 4 hours *in case* K got a spot.
Number two. I am pretty sure I am going to end up homeschooling for the elementary years. I have felt this way, off and on. But, really, I feel like the way the school system is set up right now is not really the way that I want my kids to learn about the world. We can do a whole host of other options in order to learn the curriculum, without having to sit in a desk for 8 hrs a day, and get 1 hr of homework a night for a 6 year old.
Just seems too much for me.
I really like the look of the blended program. If that is the direction I am going towards for elementary, then why oh why would I stand in line for a program that is 3 days a week?
Not to mention, because of my profession I have so many resources for teaching K. I mean if I feel he is lacking we will just go to school; for FREE. ;)
Now I think I will just "homeschool" him through the summer, and see if he likes it...if he doesn't it's not like I just can put him in a class that has "ongoing registration".

Schooling

Here I go again.
It's after midnight on Sunday and here I am sitting Blogging because I can't sleep and I don't really want to study motivation in Psych. (how is that for a laugh).
Anyway, I have always thought that my older son is a "gifted" child. He could talk before he was a year old, had a massive vocab by the age of two, and can recognize all the letters in the alphabet, and numbers to 10 by three. I am not saying that he is some genius or something, but I have just noticed that he has a love of learning and that it is quite visible.
Now. I have also thought that because of his caring, sensitive soul that I have talked about before, that perhaps he would do best in a different kind of learning environment. Not saying homeschooling entirely, but at least having an advocate there for him to see and learn from. I have also thought that he would need something more than I received.
When he was one, I thought, yes I will homeschool.
Then I met my business partner who happens to be a teacher, she told me that I alone couldnt possibly meet all the needs that he would require and that it was good for him to learn from other people in a enriching environment. So I thought, hmmmmm........
We opened a preschool together and I placed him in Parented Preschool. He thrived. He learned more from my business partner then I had ever thought to have taught him. I just thought that some concepts were above him and never gave him the opportunity to learn. I was sold. Preschool was the best!
Then we had a new teacher, and she didnt treat him the same because I was the boss. (or I perceived it that way.) And so after the R was born I pulled him.
I put him in regular preschool for year 3. Mostly because my business partner had told me all the benefits and I thought, why not? something for just him 2 days a week might be nice.
It has not been as great as I would have hoped. I feel like he is lost in the crowd. That he is not even close to his potential.
So now to the thoughts for next year.
After I saw Alfie Kohn speak I was re energized for School Reform and thought that Keenan will go to public school and I will fight, as I do for parents and birth.....and then I saw that people like John Holt had been fighting for school reform since the 1960's and that made me feel a bit disheartened again.
I seem to go to one side and then the other every year. And as Kindergarden approaches I get more and more and more freaked out. I mean seriously, I was IN education. I SAW who the next generation of teacher are. I saw them at the bar, in the dorms etc. I was friends with a LOT of them....and that is why I left that major.
I know that there are good teachers out there. I have family that have worked with the system all the way up to management. But I dont really want to start a losing battle, this is my kids future we are talking here. His whole life.
I am terrified that he will be destroyed by the public system, but I am also scared that I wont be able to facilitate his learning to the level that it needs to be.