kim through
   the looking glass

I really just felt like I needed to write something after that doozy of a post Maybe a bulleted list?

• I am experiencing some EXTREME fatigue … me so tired all day long, but especially after 3 pm
• Gwen naps now from 11:30 - 1:30-ish … which is AWESOME, but means I cannot nap
• Enjoyed a lovely two-day holiday with my parents … their place is a veritable amusement park for Gwen! Their 3/4 acre property boasts a pool (which Gwen LOVED), a sandbox (which Gwen LOVED), a dog (you get the picture), and a large expanse of grass for her to explore. We had a blast!
• Got all of our switch covers and plug covers back on the walls to finish off our new paint. Must. Take. Pictures. My house looks fantastic!
• The National Post has added a regular column about how green is good for corporations - yay!
• The Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada has introduced new guidelines surrounding vaginal breech birth - wuhoo!!!
• I’m heading upstairs to get ready for bed, and that makes me feel totally old - it’s only 9:30!

That’s right, people. After telling you all to stop it already and we’re so not ready for that yet and how can you joke about such a thing? … Read the rest of this entry »

Today, Gwen did some funny things. When I went up to get her up from her nap, I found this …

That’s right. A naked Gwen standing in her crib. She apparently had taken her diaper off and thrown it over the side FREEDOM!!!! In one of the pictures I have of her from this time, she is reaching her foot up to climb out of her crib and her foot is nearly resting on the rail. I guess it’s time to lower it all the way to the bottom, huh?

The second thing she did today is this:

Cleared out my tupperware cabinet and climbed inside. She often clears out the tupperware for me (she’s sweet like that!) but she’s never yet climbed inside!

I love my kid!

I just wanted to shout out to my hubby - Happy Father’s Day, Brad!

I never thought I could love you more until I saw you with our daughter in your arms. The way you hum to her, play with her, tickle her, chase her, wave her around like an airplane, read her bedtime stories, and kiss her little head again and again.

Every time I see you with her, I fall a little more in love with you.

Love, Kim

Welcome Carnival of Breastfeeding readers! This month’s carnival is about nursing in public. Please go check out the other posts in the carnival (links at the bottom of this post)!

I was a week and a half postpartum. My mom was staying with my husband and I, keeping me well fed and watered while I adjusted to life with a newborn. I’d had a quick, uneventful homebirth followed by a tumultuous first week including supplementation for “too much” weight loss, two blood clots, and a very fussy baby.

On this particular day, my mom and I had been up quite a bit the previous night and both of us were tired. She offered to treat us to dinner and suggested an upscale joint where we could get delicious gourmet hamburgers. I was in (Guacamole and salsa on a hamburger? Can life get any better?) and we were joined by my husband and dad.

We sat down, ordered our food, and were waiting for our salads when my newborn daughter, sleeping peacefully in the carseat next to me, began to awaken.

And fuss.

And demand to be fed.

I had prepared by wearing a nursing bra and nursing shirt and decided that if I hoped to be comfortable nursing her in public when she was older that I had better start now.

I cradled my daughter next to my breast, jiggling her to keep her calm while I prepared to feed her. I looked up to say something to my husband, felt something funny, and looked back down.

My hungry daughter had latched herself onto my breast through the shirt! The look of confusion on her face was priceless and I burst into laughter.

My family, when they realized what was happening, joined in, and the server arrived with our salads just in time for me to pull my daughter off my shirt, leaving behind a sticky circle of saliva. Shortly afterward, I was nursing my 10-day-old daughter in a booth at a restaurant attempting to eat with one hand.

I never thought I would be so bold.

Check out these other posts on nursing in public! All posts will be up by the end of the day on June 22, so keep checking to make sure you get to read them all!

• (Boobs) Out and Proud - Lucy & Ethel Have a Baby
• Would you, could you nurse in public? - PhD in Parenting
• Talents - I haz it - Dirty Diaper Laundry
• Nursing in a room full of people you know - GrudgeMom
• Aww, is he sleeping? - MomUnplugged
• Chinatown, the Subway, the Vatican, and More - Christina from Massachusetts Friends of Midwives
• June Carnival: Breastfeeding in Public - Mother Mary’s Soapbox
• Nursing in Public as an Immigrant - Tiny Grass
• Breastfeeding in Public - Mommy News & Views
• To Cover or Not To Cover - Angela from Breastfeeding 1-2-3
• Little Old Men … & Nursing in Public - Stork Stories
• Why Worry about Nursing in Public? - Chronicles of a Nursing Mom
• Breastfeeding and the Summertime - Warm Hearts, Happy Family
• Thank You for Nursing in Public - Blacktating
• NIP, no tuck - Musings on Mamahood
• Get Kicked Off a Bus for Nursing in Public? Here’s How to Respond! - The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog
• Products That Can Help You Nurse in Public - Mama Knows Breast
• A Wee NIP in the Park - babyREADY
• Planes, Trains, and Automobiles … We’ve Breastfed in Them All! - Tales of life with a girl on the go
• Breastfeeding Hats? YES! Nursing Covers? Uh … Not So Much. - Never a Dull Moment
• Nursing in Public: What’s a Breastfeeding Mother To Do? - Breastfeeding Mums Blog
• A Fresh Perspective on Nurse-Ins - Breastfeeding Mums Unite
• Easy, discreet way to breastfeed a toddler in public - Hobo Mama
  

She loves them a lot. We read a tonne of books every day. A couple of weeks ago, we found out that she understands a lot more than we give her credit for! Check it out

Gwen and Her Books from Kim Schell on Vimeo.

Today we went for Gwen’s 12 month appointment.

Little MIss sitting on her ‘car’.

Read the rest of this entry »

My Darling Gwendolyn,

I can’t believe it’s been a full year since you were born. After a relatively easy labour, you were born at home, on Mommy and Daddy’s bed, and weighed 5lb 15oz and were 19.5 inches long - a tiny girl!

It is amazing to look back at how much you have changed this first year of life. You have gone from a helpless newborn to a vibrant and energetic little girl who keeps me on my toes all day! Although your naps were short and infrequent as a newborn (and always taken in my arms!), when you were around 8 months old, you began to take two naps a day, sleeping for normally around 1.5 - 2 hours in the morning and another 45 minutes - 1 hour in the afternoon. The past week or so, Daddy and I have realized you don’t need quite that much sleep during the day and we’ve been working on transitioning to one afternoon nap. We spend our days together going for walks, buying groceries, playing at the park with all our friends, attending Baby Time at the Locke Street Library, reading board books, and playing with your toys. More often than not, I’m wearing you in the sling or mei tai, although I do take the stroller when we go to the park to carry all your stuff! While I make dinner, you love to pull all our plastic containers out of the cabinet and bang measuring spoons and cups. You love pulling up on my legs while I’m busy cooking and I often burst into frustrated laughter since I can’t move anywhere with you holding onto me!

You continue to nurse often during the day and we both enjoy these quiet times spent together. One of my favourite times is when you nurse during the late afternoon, as you enjoying staying latched on for quite a while and I can often get a smile and giggle out of you. It’s so nice to be snuggled up to you so often during the day when you don’t want to be held so much at other times. I don’t count how many times you nurse throughout the day, but I would guess that you’re nursing at least 7 or 8 times - including overnight, when you nurse twice or three times. Nighttime sleep is still a luxury for Mommy and Daddy - you wake up quite frequently but we are coping! You start the night off in your crib after a sometimes easy, sometimes difficult bedtime, but come into bed with us in the wee hours. We nurse and snuggle until you wake up for the day, which is anytime between 6:30 and 7:30 right now. Both Daddy and I love waking up to you in the morning - you sit up in bed smiling and chatter away to us for a few moments before crawling around and pulling up on the headboard and siderail. You also enjoy poking us, slapping our tummies, and drooling on us It literally seems like you are never still.

You love the foods you love! Your favourites are cheese, yogurt, avocado, pears, kiwi, and blueberries. You are still eating baby oatmeal, but also enjoy breads, pasta, pitas, and whole wheat crackers. We have as yet been unsuccessful at coaxing you to eat any meat but you have, on occasion, eaten a few veggies. We continue to offer you whatever Mommy and Daddy are eating in the hopes that soon you’ll enjoy a wide variety of foods like we do.

The past few weeks, you’ve been babbling up a storm and, to my utter delight, have realized that “MumMumMum” means Mama! You often crawl toward me saying “MumMumMum” and reach up for me to take you into my arms. It’s very rare that I won’t indulge you! In the past week or so, you’ve been letting go of whatever you’re holding onto and balancing for longer and longer and a few days ago, you even let go and took one step forward! It’s only a matter of time until you’re a walking baby.

My sweet little girl, I love you more than words can express and I can’t imagine my life without you. Although I can count on my fingers the number of times you’ve let Daddy and I sleep for 6 or more hours in a row, I can’t possibly count the number of times I’ve nursed you; the number of beautiful smiles you’ve bestowed on us, the number of snuggles we’ve shared, and the number of times we’ve been in absolute awe of your beauty and the love we feel for you.

I so look forward to the next year with you - I can’t wait to discover more about you!

I love you more than you’ll ever know, my Gwen!

Love,
Mama

I hate not having time to blog. It feels like I get super behind and then I don’t know what to even talk about. Yay for a bulleted list!

• Painting is underway! We found out the night before our painter was to come that half of our trim is lead paint - ARG! So, she had to do two coats of primer - one oil-based and one latex. We’ve also got a massive amount of highly detailed (BEAUTIFUL!) crown molding. Um, she started on Monday and is just this morning starting painting walls. But ya know what? Thyme was the PERFECT colour choice for the living room!
• Gwen stood on her own for 30 sec - 1 minute yesterday afternoon! And, while we were at the park, she took one step. Not long, people, not long at all!
• Um, my child is one tomorrow. ‘Nuff said.
• My child’s birthday party is on Saturday. My house is a veritable disaster. ‘Nuff said.
• While outside today looking at my gardens with my mom, a lady pulled up and asked if our house was for sale. Um, no.