Pregnancy and Parenting

My pregnancy in itself was a beautiful surprise. I was so happy and eager to spread the news when we found out about our little Harvey. I was taken back at how many negative things were hurled in our direction. So much talk about losing sleep, not showering, forget doing anything you like, giving up on this that and the other. 

And while some of these things have come to be true, the negative connotation they were presented with have not. I've said it a million times before that I don't get sad about not showering, I don't miss sleep because my time is now filled with this beautiful little boy. My son. I wish that when you told people you were pregnant it wasn't responded to with "ohhhhhh boy are you in for it".

So, with all of that in mind I want to let everyone know that my pregnancy and now my parenting has been amazing. I have really and truly loved every minute of it. Every time I get a little frustrated with him staying up late, or just being cranky I think about how lucky I am to have him at all. Please, if you are pregnant or know someone that is shower them with positive thoughts and advice. Let them know that times may get tough but that they pass and that the good is always outweighing the bad.

 

I thought that after he was born all of the negative comments and judgement would stop. This has not been the case. To everyone that can't leave well enough alone I have this to say.

 

You are not the parent to my child. You are unaware of how he functions, or how our parent child relationship works. I feel that each parent is going to parent their child in a different way. If there were a cookie cutter way of going about it well we would all be the same wouldn't we?

I would never put my child's health or safety in jeopardy. I take comfort in having him in the bed with me at night and I am NOT ashamed that I do that. Jason and I feel much better knowing we are right there with him and he doesn't ever have to wake up alone. Jason has to work all day and at night he's got a few waking hours with him and then gets to enjoy snuggling up to his son all night and being there for him in that way.

I'm also not ashamed that Harvey is still breast feeding at his age. He will be able to breastfeed as long as he is wanting for it. He eats solid foods, he plays all day and he nurses occasionally. It is recommended to breastfeed your children until they are two because of all the benefits for their brain and immune system. Unfortunately in our culture it has become so taboo to do so. 

Society can kiss my rear, Harvey's well being is more important then everyone else's opinion. I love him and want the best for him. (This is in no way directed towards those mothers that were unable to breastfeed)

I understand that parents can be uncomfortable with it, and I would never stick my nose up at someone for not doing it. But in my case I am okay with it, and Jason is behind me 100% with all of it. So please don't send your negative thoughts at me for doing what I feel is best for my family. 

Harvey will find his way to his own bed in his own time, and he will wean himself off of the breastmilk when he is ready. Give your children the benefit of the doubt, they will guide you just as you guide them. 

There are so many ways to raise your children, listen to your heart and your child and your family will find it's way into the perfect groove.

Thank you for your ears, or eyes rather.

Courtesy of Kristen Horton

Courtesy of Kristen Horton

Courtesy of Kristen Horton

Courtesy of Kristen Horton

Whoa Folks!

Hey!
Long time no read right? Can I just admit that I've been supremely lazy? Is that okay? I've been battling the fleas that are destroying my home! Four animals in 500 sq ft of space makes for an insane me. I can't stand the scratching, licking and biting! So I've been flea combing, bathing, sprinkling things in corners, flea treating and scrubbing my home in any and all spare time.

Besides my family's nightly cleaning schedule we've started to find some time for ourselves ( Jason and I) to read in the evening after the little one has decided that it is indeed time to rest.

*Mind you- my child used to fall asleep at 8:30 and now had decided that he would LOOOOOVE to stay up until around midnight and then wake up at least every hour to check and make sure I've still not gone anywhere.

My book of choice as of the last few days has been one called "Folks this ain't right". It has me thinking, which I love. This book discusses current day food trends and how unprepared we really are. We praise ourselves for all of our scientific advances when it comes to shelf life but do we really think about what we are putting in our body?

If you're like me, you've been thankful for all those things that didn't rot right away because you were too lazy to cook, or just didn't want to cook so you grabbed that delicious bag of potato chips only to come to the sad conclusion 15 minutes later that you devoured the entire bag.....

I want to be healthy people. I want to have good habits to pass on to my children and to share with my some day husband. A healthy family is a happy family. I want to have good, nutritional food in our home that gives energy not takes it.

The author talks about our lack of pantry these days. I get it- I have next to nothing stored in my house. I thought I did- until Hurricane Sandy came and blew all the power out of our neighbor hood and I couldn't go to the grocery store. Was this some kind of cosmic wake up call? Here I am reading about the dangers of not having your very own grocery store in your basement and BAM no power, no grocery store and I've got one can of tomato sauce I bought back in 2001 that has expired. Imagine my surprise.

We (Jason and I) have been talking a lot lately about finding a place that we can start getting some roots of our very own. And how we would very much like to have enough space to not only have a garden that can feed us year round but to also have some space to store said vegetables.

Our current living space doesn't leave much to the imagination. It's tiny guys. I mean SUPER small. There are no closets to "hide" things in and all of the living space is occupied by the seven living things running around it all day. The basement is a shared space, so no real room to start a stock pile. We planted a garden this summer, a little late and weren't able to really save much of it. AND I don't know how to can anything.

I'm unprepared and I wasn't even aware. Now, I don't want to go crazy and have 18 years worth of stock piled food in place. But it would be nice to just run to the basement and grab a jar of beans instead of getting in the car, driving to Heinen's, fighting the crowds and grumpy people, checking out, using a wasteful bag, coming home, opening said can of green beans, making waste with the can and pouring in lord knows what has kept them good since they were canned in the earlier part of the decade.

SO-  for the sake of this guy  I've got some new priorities.

I want to learn how to can and start doing it. Just because I'm a slacker and didn't plant winter things doesn't mean I can't still frequent the farmer's markets and buy them out!

Let's say my five year plan is to have our own place, have our own plentiful garden and have a mini mart in my basement.

Easy enough, right?

And just for good measure here are some pictures of my little man, my sister and myself!