This gift guide is not just for the holiday season. I shop from some of these places all year round and enjoy their products immensely. They range from the WAHM to full-fledged stores with online retail outlets. Of course, I've made every effort to ensure that all my gifts, and the items in this guide, are environmentally friendly or healthful in some way. Enjoy!
Posted at 01:42 AM | Permalink
it's a very dreary afternoon. Corbin is napping, his diapers are in the wash, and it's the perfect time to update this poor, neglected blog of mine.
i've been a busy bee lately. Besides keeping up with Corbin, which is a fun challenge in and of itself, I've finally decided to act on my desire to be a work-at-home mom. Since Corbin can't get into a licensed day care facility until he is 18 months, I have seven more months to stay at home with him, and I could use the extra income, not to mention a new semi-lucrative hobby.
I will start off by making samples and handing them out to friends and family over Christmas so i can have feedback for the new year. I plan to start out making body butter, lip balm, and perfume. I'd like to extend my line of products to bath and shower gel, liquid hand soap, and natural deoderant, as well as a line of baby products. All ingredients will be completely natural--no synthetic fragrances, preservatives or dyes, though i do realize that obviously some chemicals will have to go into the making of soaps and body wash. This means the shelf life of my products may not be as long as something you'd buy at Shoppers or Wal-Mart, but I will use natural preservatives to extend shelf life, as well as selling my butters and such in smaller quantities (e.g., 4 oz jars as opposed to 8 oz or larger). My goal is to create a line of totally natural products free of harmful chemicals. I want my customers to be able to enjoy the many health benefits of essential oils and butters that aren't diluted or overshadowed by synthetic chemicals.
Initially, I plan to sell through etsy.com, and would like to eventually move on to craft fares.
So stay tuned for more news in the new year!
Posted at 05:16 PM | Permalink
Corbin has been able to pull himself up on furniture for about a month now. He seems to get stronger and surer of himself every day. He used to hold on tightly, now he holds on with one hand. And, of course, there were the handful of days at the beginning where he endured many a fall and a resulting bump on the head because he couldn't figure out how to get down, or he would just let go and topple over. But that didn't last long, and now he uses the walls, my pant legs, and anything else he can to stand up. He's even started furniture cruising, although that usually consists of walking from one end of the couch to the other, and he only does it if I am there.
When he first started crawling, Corbin would pull himself along with his arms. I didn't think he'd ever use his knees, though he would get on his knees and rock back and forth which can be a sign that a baby who is not crawling will be soon. Now he can move around the house at rocket speeds. His favourite things to do are look out the window at the passing traffic (the sills in my living room and so low he can use them to stand up), make a tremendous racket playing with Deedee's stainless steel dog bowls, pulling the plug covers off (yes, he can do that already!), and of course playing with his own toys. He has lost interest in Deedee's kongs, though they still provide some amusement. He's rather play with a toy that makes noise, or makes noise himself.
I continued to offer him food almost every day, and up until a few weeks ago he had little interest. He's still gaining weight, although not as fast as he was when he was first born, so I wasn't too worried, even though people would often express surprise that Corbin was still exclusively breastfed.
Then, one magical morning a short while ago, when the sun and the moon were in perfect alignment, and the universe decided to take pity on my poor confused self, Corbin surprised me by gobbling up half a jar of fruit for breakfast. He seemed eager to eat--he would direct the spoon into his mouth and gurgle happily. He's done this on rare occasions, so I didn't get my hopes up, and when I tried to feed him later that day, he was not interested. But he did eat the rest of the fruit the next day. So I fed him one meal a day which eventually consisted of about four ounces of food. Yesterday, I fed him two meals, and Corbin let me know he was hungry at supper time.
I feel silly for anxiously wondering when he would eat, and the one thing I would do differently is not stipulate that he was to eat "just a little bit" if he didn't want to. I probably wouldn't have offered him food every day; indeed, it was when I stopped being persistent and didn't insist that he eat that he decided he would.
Luckily, he doesn't seem to have any major likes or dislikes yet. He's slightly more inclined to eat fruit, but he won't turn up his nose at chicken or vegetables, either. I'm still feeding him purees for the time being. He has six teeth, and he has eaten finger foods before, so I’m sure he could eat the chunkier purees, but for a few weeks, I'll stick with the liquid ones until he gets used to eating.
I’m finally starting to believe people when they say he will grow out of certain habits. I've not tried to make him sleep on his own for months, though I will put him in his crib after he falls asleep in the evening. Unfortunately, most times he wakes up before I go to bed, and he is very distraught at being alone. That's usually my cue to go to bed, as it makes little sense to put him back to sleep and then put him back in his crib. I can usually expect him to sleep for two hours on his own, occasionally 2.5 or even 3. But I know as he gets older, he'll eventually be ready to sleep on his own. And I really don't like sleeping alone either, and he's less of a bed hog than Deedee, so the arrangement works perfect for both of us.
I’ve stopped telling my family everything, and have become vaguer about the sleeping arrangements and eating situation. Corbin will grow at his own pace, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. For a while, I thought it was my fault--maybe I was doing something wrong, or not doing something I should have been--and then I realized I just need to go with the flow, take advice as I need it, and discard the rest. Each baby is an individual, and my practices and lifestyle aren't orthodox if you compare me to some "average" mainstream Jane Doe, so who says my son has to do everything the same way other babies do.
I have found a day care close to my home, although they will not take him until he is 18 months. I’m secretly relieved because I am not ready to leave him and go back to work. I think one of the many problems facing kids today stems from them being separated from their mothers at such young ages. Canada is generous with its maternity leave benefits, but other countries only allow six weeks or less. I don't think that feminists who strove for equality in the workplace between women and men realized how emotionally difficult it would be for the baby or its mother to be separated at a time when her care and guidance is cruicial. I know that, when the time comes, it'll probably be harder for me than it will for Corbin to put him in someone else's care for 30 or 40 hours a week.
I made the decision early on in my pregnancy to have Corbin circumcised. Oh, I read literature that said I’d be a bad parent if I chose to mutilate my son, that such a procedure would cause him endless torment and have a permanent impact on his psyche. I know that nothing has to be done to take care of an in tact penis, because like the vagina, it is a self-cleaning organ. You just wipe the penis itself and around it when changing a baby, but there's no need to retract the foreskin to clean underneath it while changing or bathing an infant.
I knew all these things, but I had also talked to enough adult men who had to have their foreskin removed due to infections or other complications, and they remembered the pain all too acutely. Despite claims that babies do remember the pain of such operations, I've asked male friends of mine who were circumcised as infants and they do not remember it. Neither are they emotionally disturbed or sexually inhibited.
It's studies like this one that may scare new mothers into keeping their boys in tact, and I don't think that is the answer, either. It is true that a lot of doctors do not recommend it, and perhaps one day it will no longer be practiced, but I believe that parents should make decisions based on information and gut instinct, not fear or guilt. The study that was conducted showed that an infant who was circumcised permanently suffered damage to the area of the brain that controls emotions and reasoning due to the traumatic level of pain he endured. Well, could that be because no anesthetic was used? I could certainly see how he could suffer if he was not given anything to act as a buffer against, or totally block the pain. Corbin was given a local anesthetic, and I certainly would not have consented to the operation if it was to be done with no anesthetic.
I was not allowed to stay in the office during the procedure which took less than ten minutes. I sat in the waiting room, but I could still hear his cries. He let out three howls and then fell silent, and when they brought him out to me, he did not appear to be in any discomfort. The doctor told me he might be fussy for the rest of the day, but he was fine.
If I have any more boys, I don't know if I will get them circumcised. I hope that the father will be involved so that we can both come to the decision. I certainly think there are pros and cons to the procedure, and I frown upon anyone who insinuates, or says right out, that I am a bad mother or that my son will be irreparably damaged because of it. Sometimes, activists for any cause believe so strongly in something, they will go to great lengths to spread their message, and guilt and fear have always been great motivators.
Posted at 12:49 PM | Permalink
i don't know if i can quite identify with the label of hippie, although i'm all about the peace and the love, and certainly in my younger days I enjoyed lots of sex, drugs and rock and roll. i shave my legs and shower on the regular, and though i'm trying to go as natural as I can, i don't make my own clothes or accessories ... yet.
But I have started making some things to replace store bought goods. For instance, the chemicals in most deoderants these days have been linked to breast cancer, i decided to make my own. It works fairly wekk, though I'm not naturally an overly sweaty person, and i have yet to test it out while running on a treadmill. Nevertheless, here is my recipe:
Another thing I have recently started making is baby wipe solution. At night, i use paper towel so that i don't have to go out to the kitchen to warm up a wipe, but i use cloth wipes in the day soaked in warm water and then spritzed with a bit of baby wipe solution. Here is that recipe:
Something else i enjoy making, and using, is bath oils. i use a few drops of essential oil to every teaspoon of carrier oil (e.g., sweet almond, jojoba, etc). If you make a large volume of bath oils, store them in a cool, dark place in an opaque jar, but since I have everything on hand, I usually just whip up a small amount to put in my bath water. It is best to put the oils in the bath while the water is still runing, and to swish the water around so they are not concentrated in one area.
I have not started making lotions or soaps yet because i do not have the necessary ingredients. I doubt I'd make soap from scratch. i'd probably cheat and use a melt and pour base. Much safer and simpler. As for the lotions, I have everything i need except a stick blender and some coco butter. Coco butter is my favourite because of its texture and moisturizing qualities. i'm convinced that my religious application of coco butter to my pregnant tummy saved me from oodles of stratch marks.
Posted at 08:19 PM | Permalink
my boy is growing in leaps and bounds. Every time he achieves a new milestone, I am proud yet sad at the same time. I can't wait for him to say "Mama", yet I wish he was 6 pounds again, swaddled up snug and safe.
It seems the novelty of crawling has worn off. Now Corbin wants to walk. He's started pulling himself up on furniture, and he especially enjoys pulling himself up on my living room window sill and gazing out the window. Of course, he is none too steady on his feet, and sometimes he lets go or simply cannot hold himself up and ends up tumbling to the floor. These are the first of many bumps and bruises he will have to endure over the years, and he's actually a pretty good sport about it, he just has to learn that he can't use unstable things like doors or my pant legs to hold himself up.
Corbin now has two new teeth on the bottom. The top ones haven't come in yet, but they are so close. he is really having a tough time with them, and as much as I don't like to medicate, Motrin has become my best friend. Corbin never had an incident of diaper rash until he was eight months old. Now I can't get rid of it, and it seems that every time he either cuts a new or the top ones push their way out, he breaks out in a rash. I've been using calendula cream faithfully. It seems to work well, but as soon as the rash heals, he breaks out again. I'm pretty sure it's just from teething, although when he cut his first teeth at five months the only rash he got was on his face, but I may take him to the doctor to be on the safe side. It doesn't seem to bother him mostly, but when he has diarrhea which is again caused by teething, it burns him no matter how fast I am at changing and cleaning him, and he gets very uncomfortable.
I bought a bunch of Christmas presents for Corbin a few days ago. I've decided that I am going to get all my shopping done early this year, and i'm not going to go near a mall. So I went on Etsy and bought Corbin a bunch of handmade wooden toys including a train set, some trucks, an elephant on wheels, and a pull-along grasshopper. I also bought him six pairs of leg warmers, as he'll need them during the bone-chilling winters we have here in Nova Scotia. I'm not going to make a big deal out of Christmas this year because he does not understand it at all, not to mention his birthday is less than a month later.
Hopefully, mom and Dad will be in the new house by December. I went and saw the house for the first time since the fire last weekend. It was exciting and sad at the same time. Some changes have been made to the layout and style, and though they are for the better, I hope I never forget the house as it was when I was growing up and when my grandmother lived in it. It was the one thing I had that reminded me of her since I can't look at pictures and I can barely remember her voice.
Well I must go and catch up on emails, tweets, and other peoples' blogs while Corbin is napping. Today is Sunday, and other than making apot of chili which is now simmering in the slow cooker, I don't plan on doing anything very productive.
Since Corbin started crawling, I've been worried about him falling off the edge of the bed. It's happened twice, and scared both of us half to death. his head is pretty hard now, but my bed is also quite high. So, I decided since there is not enough room for my mattress to go on the floor, that he would sleep in his crib until I went to bed. Somehow, that idea transformed into he must learn to sleep on his own because I can't be a human pacifier. (Corbin will take a rubber pacifier but as he's gotten older, he seems to like it less and less.)
So, I did everything I could think of--we already have a bedtime routine, but I made sure it was enforced, i bought a mobile, i played soothing music, i even tried aromatherapy. I read books, I sang songs and hummed lullabies. I stood for what felt like hours over his crib rubbing his body and trying to sooth him to sleep. nothing worked, so, as a last resort, i let him cry it out.
I read about the method--I wasn't going to leave him all alone in a dark room to scream himself to sleep, after all.
I expected the first night to be hard and it was. i even expected the second night o be tough, but it was worse. The third night was no better. So i stopped and tried again in a few weeks with the same results.
I feel like i am at my wits end--I can't listent o him cry for hours on end, especially when I know that all he wants is to cuddle up next to me. I feel guilty for even trying the CIO method, especially when i go in to check on him and find his stuffed lamb, which he normally never plays with, soaked with tears. He is his happy self and i'm sure he won't be scarred emotionally for life. I am the only one of my family or friends who has practiced attachment parenting (e.g., babywearing, bedsharing, breastfeeding, etc). So, naturally, all of my friends are convinced Corbin will end up having behaviour problems because we sleep together. no one would believe that he hated his crib from the time he was born, but he did, and still does.
i'm determined to do what I think is right, so every night I put him to sleep and then transfer him to his crib. If he wakes up, I go in and put him back to sleep again. He will usually wake up by the time I go to bed, and so he usually ends up in bed with me for the rest of the night. Luckily, i don't have a husband or boyfriend to complain the he has to sleep elsewhere because the baby is with me, or that the bed is too crowded. i know on nights when I would put him to sleep and then keep transfering him to his crib all night long--and since he's teething he is restless and wakes up a lot--i felt lonely and was anxiously anticipating the next time he would cry. Thus, i got very little sleep, and so i believe that cosleeping benefits me as much as it does my son.
i am so sleep deprived. i feel like i did when Corbin was first born. The transition from bed to crib is not going well. I don't know if it is because he is not ready or if i am expecting too much.
He will nap in his crib, so I know he is comfortable enough to sleep in it. But usually the nights are very frustrating.
I must admit, I don't have much of a routine since the fire three months ago. i think that is my biggest problem, as Corbin does very well when kept to a rigid routine. I wonder if getting up earlier would help, or eliminating the evening nap, but I don't want to make him over tired.
i've come to the conclusion that I cannot let him cry it out. He gets far too worked up and then only falls asleep when he is thoroughly exhausted. That can't be healthy for him, and it is also very stressful for me.
When I go to bed, I anticipate that he will wake up and so i lay awake for hours jumping every time he stirs. Of course, just when I'm about to fall asleep from pure exhaustion, he wakes up. He does not like the soother; sometimes it works--on very rare occasions--but he'd much rather the breast, and I don't have the patience or the heart to say no at 3am when I'm swaying from exhaustion and my eyelids feel like they've turned to lead. And a sleep-deprived mommy is a grumpy mommyin the morning. It's a good thing one of us is cheerful.
So I've accepted that Corbin probably won't be spending the entire night in his crib any time soon. He'll nap in it, and he'll sleep in it for a few hours during the late evening before i go to bed. I'll even leave him in there until he wakes up, but I won't force him to stay there. i really hope i'm not being too soft, but I don't think it's fair to expect drastic changes in his sleeping habits after only a few nights, especially when he is teething. I think what I've accomplished so far is positive, although i do wish it were easier to get him to sleep at night.
I wonder if he doesn't have some kind of sleep disorder. He kicks his legs and flings his head back and forth like he is rooting for the nipple but faster, and he's recently starting rubbing his head. It seems like he is anxious ro uncomfortable, and nursing does not do much good. Once he gets to sleep, he's fine for about 2 to 3 hours and then he wakes up. He usually wakes up again about an hour or 2 after that, but after that will sleep until morning. I can't remember if he does those things during the middle of the night, but I don't think so.
He recently had an outbreak of exema on his face, and i'm wondering if it's itchy even though it is almost gone. I don't know...I guess I'll just have to keep on eye on things. I really hope he does not have some form of baby anxiety because i endured high levels of stress throughout my whole pregnancy.
Posted at 11:51 PM | Permalink
Since Corbin has started crawling, I've decided it's in his best interests to transition him into sleeping in a crib. i never had any intention of bedsharing--I bought a crib and a bedding set but Corbin was never a good sleeper from day 1, and the only way to keep my sanity in tact was to let him sleep with me. I don't regret it, though i do wish I could have prolonged it. however, since I discovered him at the edge of the bed just centimetres away from taking a tumble onto the hard tile floor, I decided safety comes first.
His crib is in my room, and last night, the first night, was totally stressful. But, after a few hours of crying and soothing, he finally fell asleep. He awoke a few hours later to feed and then went back in the crib, but ended up in the bed with me when we were both awakened at 2:30 a.m by one of my friends who had the bright idea to phone me at that hour.
Corbin got his eight month immunizations today, and either they made him tired, or by a stroke of good fortune, he fell asleep relatively fast. This time, I relented and took him in bed and nursed him to sleep. I've never believed in the cry-it-out method, andthink doing that last night bothered me more than him.
I am going to get a mobile that plays music and moves. i want to make his crib a positive and fun place to be. He'll also start napping in there since he is really getting too big for his swing. He still loves to be in it and will nap in there for hours, but he does not look at all comfortable to me.
I'm sad that exclusive bedsharing has come to an end. I won't keep him out of my bed all the time. If I fall asleep during a night time feeding, or take him in with me in the mornings or for a nap, it will benefit both of us. But I do hope that the kitchen will be closed, so to speak, and that he will gradually nurse less during the night than he has been. Since he has always been a restless sleeper, and especially now that his top front teeth are coming through, I can't count the number of times he would nurse during the night.
The transition to solid foods is still as much of a challenge than ever. Corbin will eat the groosest smelling and tasting purees (chicken and vegetable, but he hates fruit), and he also enjoys feeding himself baby cookies. So I'm going to look up good ideas for finger foods and let him feed himself. Neither of us enjoy it when I try to feed him, because I almost feel as though i am forcefeeding him. i guess that's just his independent streak showing itself.
Corbin is getting better and better at crawling every day. He has discovered that there are more rooms in the apartment than just the living room, and he can motor along quite well when he wants to. he is in love with Deedee's toys, and Doodle herself. She has been very patient with him when he pulls on her tail and fur.
I have plug covers installed but have not yet locked the cupboards. I keep all the bedroom and bathroom doors shut so that Corbin does not get into any mischief, and so I can keep track of him easier. i was going to put bells on him, but i haven't yet figured out how I would do that--I am not very adept at sewing, and they have to be big enough that he won't choke on them should he get them in his mouth. For now, i'll rely on my hearing, and most likely wherever Deedee is Corbin isn't too far away.
Deedee turns three today. She shows no signs of calming down, though. I don't mind her being so hyper, though i do wish she wouldn't jump all over anyone who comes to the door. I guess some habits will never die, though as she ages she should calm down. In my experience, labs start to calm down by the time they are four. Her virtues far outweigh her vices, though. She is the only dog I've had who has impeccable house manners.
She will not eat food that isn't meant for her unless it is on her level. She does not get into the garbage, or chew any of my possessions, and she can be left alone without being tied down or restricted to a crate. Deedee is the first guide dog that i have considered keeping because she does have such good house manners. But I won't have to make that decision for a long time to come.
Posted at 11:29 PM in Corbin, Guide Dog Training | Permalink
Corbin has started crawling!
It started Thursday night and happened pretty much as I thought it would. That is, he just started moving. For the past two months, he's been spending most of the play time he has on the floor and bed on his stomach, and he's been able to hold himself up for a while, but he couldn't quite figure out what to do with his arms. He would kick his feet, too, but he wouldn't go anywhere. Well, the light bulb has come on and now the real fun begins!
So far, I've been lucky that he's content to stay in the living room or kitchen, wherever I happen to be, and he doesn't try to follow me...yet. He's just spent the last few days getting a grip on crawling--I really should call is crolling as it is a combination of crawling and rolling.
I went out and bought plug covers and cupboard locker-uppers, as I know it'll only be a matter of time until he's getting into things.
I'm hoping that all that moving will make him hungrier and he'll finally start taking to eating solids. I can get him to eat a bit of apple sauce, but a bit is really all he will eat. Many times, he'll turn right around and grab my top, or grab the spoon out of my hand and smear the food on it all over the place. But he will do things in his own time I am sure. Since he is still developing normally, i'm still not particularly worried, though meal times tend to be a bit frustrating. I do not have the advantage of being able to see when his mouth is open and sneak the spoon in. Nevertheless, persistance has to count for something.
