On Breastfeeding

Yep, I'm going there.
And no, I am not going to post any pictures. I know I know, what's a blog post without pics? Well, I guess I'll give you one, but not of breastfeeding...

Princess's blessing day pictures, December 2009

I have a lot of people in my life that are very opinionated about breastfeeding. I also have others who are very UNopinionated about it. I get to see both sides of the spectrum on this issue, which for me, has been a real eye-opener.
There are many, oh so many, women out there that feel that breastfeeding is the only way to feed your baby. That if you don't breastfeed, you're dooming your child to a life of low immunity, high obesity chances, and abandonment issues. Okay, I know this is the very extreme viewpoint, but I digress. It is a very real ideal, believe me.
I have always been a big supporter of breastfeeding. I have also had MAJOR issues with breastfeeding both my children. If you don't already know, nursing is hard. Really hard. For some women it does come very naturally and easily, but I am not one of those women. I wanted so badly to be able to nurse my babies! I remember with Studley trying to nurse him almost constantly, but knowing he was not getting enough to eat. Watching him fuss and cry and try so hard to get something to eat was so heart-wrenching. It was so hard for me to have to admit defeat.
With both my children, I was only able to breastfeed until they were about four months old. And every time I went to feed them from a bottle instead of nurse them I felt judged. I felt like all the other moms that saw my child eating from a bottle were looking down on me for the horrible decision I made to feed my child that horrible f-word... formula. I hated that feeling!  I just wanted to shout, "I tried! I tried with everything I had to nurse my baby!"
I guess all I want to put out there is that its okay. If you can and want to nurse your baby until they're four, its okay. If you don't ever want anything attached to your chest, its okay. If you want to try it out to see if it works for you, its okay. If it doesn't end up working out for you, its okay. YOU are the mama, YOU are one with the miracle body that created your beautiful child. YOU are capable of making the best decisions for your baby, and YOU know your own abilities.
Whew! That feels good. :)

What about you? How do you feel about breastfeeding?

Bird Feeder Tutorial

We are having unusually warm weather over here in the western half of the states. It has been great for my kiddos to enjoy crunching the fall leaves without freezing off their toes at the same time!
We did this craft with Princess' Joy School group and it was a hit. All the kids loved getting their hands messy with the glue goop. Now every morning, Princess wants to check out the window to see if any birds have eaten any of the seeds off her bird feeder.
And its really quite simple....
Step 1: Make the glue goop...

 This is a mixture of one part vegetable shortening and one part oatmeal. We have a little boy with a peanut allergy in our play group, so we couldn't do the traditional peanut butter on our bird feeders. Come to find out, this mixture is even easier to use, and just as loved by the birds! I mixed our goop with a large popsicle stick; also used to schmear it on our pine cones.









I found the perfect pine cones in the yard of a house down the street from us. I went over there, knocked on their door, asked for their pine cones, and the homeowner was elated to get rid of some pine cones! So that part was easy. :)
I ended up baking our pine cones at 200° for about half hour... this was because when I was tying the first string around the first pine cone, a spider crawled out! I freaked out and decided I needed to 'kill' our pine cones. All for a better cause, right?
Step 2: After you've cooked your pine cones, tie a string or piece of yard around the top of your pine cone. I used left over yarn from making my AWESOME Rapunzel wig for my daughter. (had to boast, sorry)
Step 3: Schmear that goop on your pine cone, then roll in bird seed.
Step 4: Hang on a tree branch and wait to hear the chirp of starving little birds!

On a more serious note- Although we are having great weather over here in the west, there have been many families affected by Hurricane Sandy. Our hearts and prayers go out to them!