Milkie Monday - WIC class

Nursing Jonathan for the first time, hours after he was born <3

So today I had a WIC class to go to. Anybody that knows me, knows how disappointed I was with my last class. It was me and a teen mom to be with her boyfriend, and it was a breastfeeding class. The peer counselor was great, it was the teen mom's view on nursing that saddened me. Besides giggling at the mere mention of the word breast, she wanted nothing to do with breastfeeding her future child. Now, let me state this... she has every right to that decision, but please, for heaven-sake, make it an informed decision. What perplexed me was her reasoning for it. She said she didn't want to because she thought it was gonna hurt and that it's weird to think of her breasts for feeding purposes. WHAT?! These puppies weren't put on our bodies for entertainment (though it can be a bonus lol), they were made to provide nourishment to our children. I just couldn't understand that, she did no research to educate herself on the biggest thing she'll ever accomplish, raising a human being. Unfortunately, I came to realize throughout my pregnancy, this was the general consensus throughout society today.

Anyways, today was different. I made my way to the WIC office today for my class. It was a nutrition class and they always start out by asking how we feed our child. It was quite obvious how I feed mine, since I was in the middle of nursing. I was very happy to hear though the praise coming from not only the worker, but from the moms as well. They were all either exclusive nursers, or moms that bottle fed breast milk and nursed. We discussed how our babies nurse differently, ways to help with gassiness, and how rewarding it is to know we're feeding our children the very best. I could've cried. We had one come in late, it was a SAHD stay at home dad. Now his daughter was formula fed, but what surprised me was how he talked about doing skin to skin with his daughter everyday! Holy cow! Where have these parents been? I left that building feeling refreshed and  excited. I even assisted a mom with babywearing. What an awesome day!!!

SV Baby Things Wetbag Review

I ordered a large and a wipes wetbag from my friend Alli with SV Baby Things. She just started out and I was super excited to get my goodies. I ordered the large in a brown "zebra-esque" print to match his room and the wipes case in bright yellow.

Here it is hanging perfectly on the nursery door.

I've got 9 AIO's and a pocket in here with plenty of room to spare.

 Just had to do a closeup of  the handle, love the animal print :)

Here's the wipes case, holding about 12 cloth wipes and a small bottle of solution. I could've probably stuck a few more wipes but not many more without removing the bottle.

All in all, great products. Great quality, the large wetbag contained everything, (and there were two explosive poop diapers in there), and it washed beautifully. I'm so happy with it and will probably order another large and even a medium later on too. She's planning on expanding her products too, check her out on Facebook <-- Click here. Make sure to tell her I sent you :)

Wordless Wednesday - Apple Festival

For my first Wordless Wednesday, I thought I'd post a couple pictures from monkey's first Apple Festival. This one was actually the 50th annual festival held here in Westminster, SC.

 Here we are right before the parade started. Had to get the firetruck pics :)

I was trying to get my friend's baby in the shot too but his stroller wasn't cooperating. These little guys are 12 days apart. His mom and I were due the same day.

 Beginning of the parade.

Daddy driving the big red truck :D

We walked to the festival

Hanging out with daddy at the Fire Safety House

Walked around the festival in the sling and he's out.

Mmmm! Fresh Apples from Hollifield's Orchard

I'm not sure how to make a linky so others can post their WW posts. Any bloggers out there wanna help me out? You can leave a link in comments today :)

Hosting My First Playdate

Though I was being dubbed medically insane, I decided to host my first massive playdate. I have made some great friends from babywearing and La Leche League groups and invited them over for a fun filled afternoon. I was a little worried when it came to entertaining the toddlers. Its not like I have an endless supply of flashy toys to keep them occupied. Thankfully, my friends realized this fact as well and came prepared. Between jumping on bed, hula hoop train, homemade playdough (recipe coming soon), dominos, and "Woody" and "Buzz" riding "Bullseye" into the sunset, it was in my opinion a huge success.

All the children left with their body parts intact, mommies brought over yummy veggies and hummus, amongst other snacks, and my homemade granola bars were a hit (much to Charlie's disappointment when he came home to no granola bars). I loved it and can't wait to play hostess again.

For those interested in the granola bar recipe, check out this blog : http://bunsinmyoven.com/2010/04/13/granola-bars/

Lastly, I think my little monkey had a good time too, what do you think?

That right there is a happy, worn out baby :)

Hello and Happy Hump Day!

Happy hump day! Well, I finally decided to start a blog. I figured it could be on all my adventures in trying to save the world, lol. I gave birth via c-section to my beautiful son on July 21st. I'm leaning towards the natural (crunchy, granola, whatever) way of living and raising my son. I actually went through 33 hours of labor with almost 5 hours of pushing, and no drugs to bat. Little monkey got stuck behind my pelvic bone and wasn't coming out. That's when I ok'ed a section. It was really hard but it was what was best.

Here's me and the little man shortly after he was born <3.

After that, I knew more than ever I was gonna take a more natural approach to raising my little guy. We cloth diaper (when we can), babywear, co-sleep, and try to be crunchy whenever feasible. It's a process, especially being with a fiance who's not used to this hippie-esque path I'm wanting to go. 

So what do I write about?

I guess I can start with some of the hippie stuff I came up with today. I made my own cloth wipe solution and by gosh, does it smell goood. I didn't measure anything so excuse the crudity of my recipe lol. This is great to use with that baby wash and oil you got at the shower but really don't want to spread those chemicals all over his body. 

Fill spray bottle (or whatever you plan on using to dispense) 3/4 with water. 

Pour in some baby oil (maybe one or two finger widths, depending on size).

Squirt in some baby wash and add some tea tree oil and lavender oil. I didn't have lavender oil but subbed it with buds instead. 

Shake it up and spray on LO's bottom or on the wipe and wipe that poop off :)

I'm still super new at this blogging stuff. Expect posts on natural birthing, attachment parenting (or my attempt at APing), recipes (both food and non food like above), crafty projects, and I guess whatever else comes up in my crazy, scatter brain I have. Not to mention of course, millions of pictures of my handsome little guy. Like the one below, courtesy of Emphasis Photography out of Alpharetta, GA.

Any experienced bloggers out there with some words of wisdom for me on how to make the most of my blogging adventures?