I Choose Happiness :)

I choose to be happy.

When I was hospitalized for high blood pressure when I was 24 weeks pregnant, I choose to look to the positives and to choose to be happy.

When I was then diagnosed with gestational diabetes and put on a strict diet with 4 shots of insulin per day that made my injection sites break out in large bumpy rashes... I choose to look to the brighter side of the situation. I stuck to the diabetes plan, and from 26 weeks - 37 weeks only gained 5 lbs.

When a doctor told me that TheLittleBear had clubbed feet on the morning I was to take a four hour exam, followed by another four hour exam the next night. I let myself have two hours to wallow in self pity, then I pulled myself together and received the highest mark on one of the toughest exams of my life.

No life is perfect.
I believe that it's the imperfections that make us enjoy the beautiful times.
Like meeting the child you've been waiting years to meet.
Watching a mircle grow and develop right before your eyes.
The soft cuddles right before you put them to bed.

No matter what life throws at me, I choose to be happy.
I choose to look at the positives.

Doctors... Doctors... Doctors...

This is a crazy thing I'm going to tell you...

Doctors are not always right.

When I was pregnant with TheLittleBear. I had an ultrasound at 34 weeks that made it look like TheLittleBear had clubbed feet. The doctors made me stay and speak to a geneticists who made me and TheDapperGentleman detail our family history.

Even though there was no history of clubbed feet. The doctors were convinced that TheLittleBear had this issue. I asked if there was a possibility that my womb didn't have a lot of room for her to stretch and that's why it made it appear in the ultrasound that her feet were in odd positions. They assured me that there was no possibility that she didn't have this diagnosis.

Because of this diagnosis, when I gave birth we had two different pediatricians look at her feet.

And...

The final diagnosis was that she didn't have clubbed feet because clubbed feet are stuck in the odd position. TheLittleBear's feet were flexible. Therefore when she started to grow and put weight on them, they would naturally straighten out. The pediatricians also said that there isn't a lot of room in the womb so sometimes their feet bend in odd angles...

Up until this point in my pregnancy, everything that had gone wrong was because of my body.

To hear that your perfect baby now had an imperfection that would need to be corrected with needles or a cast... This was hard to hear.

TheDapperGentleman and I kept this news to ourselves. In my gut I knew that I would love her no matter what, and this didn't change anything for me.

This will come as news to some of our friends and family because in the end we decided not to share this new development. We had a lot of support from our friends and family, and I didn't feel like I needed any support for this. I loved TheLittleBear no matter what, and I didn't want anyone to feel bad for us, because to me, there was nothing bad. This was our baby, and these were her feet.

The moral of the story is, doctors aren't always right. Until there are concrete fact, don't give up hope.

Spreading the Word: Diaper Need

I was reading this article recently about Diaper Need. I've never even heard about it until this article popped up on my radar as I was scanning for something to occupy my time.

Diaper need is when a family doesn't have the funds to provide enough diapers for their baby/child. Huggies has reported that 1 in 5 families in Canada have experienced this.

Here are the two articles I've read: One and Two.

Thinking about little babies and children being kept in dirty diapers because diapers are expensive is so troubling for me.

Before I had TheLittleBear I would be sad and compelled by things like these. But now, it's so personal. It's painful to think about TLB not having everything she needs.

In Vancouver, Canada the resources for families with Diaper Need are your local food bank and BabyGoAround.

Lone Wolf'ing It

TheDapperGentleman is in London for a couple of days.

Things that I'm currently thinking about are:

1. Is that noise a mouse...

2. Is that noise a mouse...

3. How about that noise...

As you can tell, I'm paranoid about mice. 

Oddly, this mice paranoia has seriously increased starting the minute TDG left 

for his flight.

I'm so lonely that I'm rethinking if sleep training TheLittleBear was such a good idea.

When she goes to bed, I finish up the chores, but then I'm left with so much alone time.

This alone time is definitely something I crave when it's scarce, but now that I have an 

abundance, I'm so lonely. 

Wish me luck in surviving the next couple of days in my solitude ;)

Organized Obsessed

As you may have already known...

I'm organized obsessed!

My obsession has now taken over TheLittleBear's snacks.

I line them up in rows...

And I even reorganize the snacks as they get disorderly as she eats them :)

Walking With A Future Gardener

TheLittleBear has been very keen on touching plants during our walks lately.

She points to a plant she wants to touch and I bring her over for her to inspect.

It's truly the cutest thing!

Now that she's walking, she's exploring the plants even more.

Today on our walk, everyone commented on her plant touching ways.

Here are some plants she was keen on:

Weeds, but oh so pretty. 

More weeds...

but they are the perfect height for short bears.

(photo credit)

TheLittleBear spent a good ten minutes feeling and shaking this mini tree.

The Daughter of Woman ;)

(photo credit)

TheLittleBear's attempt at imitating this painting...

To make food  more interesting I experiment with giving her food in different shapes.

Sometimes I'll cut them up, other times I'll keep them whole.

Beware of this method of feeding kids...

If you give them food whole, they then know what it looks like in it's normal non cut up state.

So when you go grocery shopping, you'll have to fight them to not eat all the veggies as 

you put them in the cart ;)

On multiple occasions I've had to stop TLB from taking bites out of everything in the shopping cart.

An Afternoon at Maplewood Farms

We went to Maplewood Farms a couple of weekends ago.

Here are some pictures of our adventure :)

The horses were very alert. 

They knew when people were looking at them and they came right over to "Nay" 

at us. 

Baby goats, baby goats, baby goats!

The.Cutest.Thing.Ever.

My New Job as a Book Surgeon

Dr. B.i.t.G and Surgical Nurse TheLittleBear performed Book Surgery today.

I'm happy to report that all patients will make a smooth recovery. 

As you can see from the pictures, I don't think my career 

should lead into plastic surgery... ;)

If you're interested, 

tools used were:

Packaging Tape

Scotch Tape

and Scissors 

A Celebration!

A couple of months ago we celebrated a special event!

Here are some pictures :)

The above is the hair clip that TheLittleBear wore.

It's a shiny crown that clips in your hair.

We made a watermelon cake.

The first layer was peaches...

Then strawberries...

Ta Da! Watermelon cake. 

It was sooooo delicious. 

We set up this cute general store.

Do you need some fruit from 

Mr. Owl and Son's Family Grocer?

p.s. I painted the Rory picture ;)

Avoiding a Diaper Rash

TheLittleBear had a diaper rash I couldn't get rid of when she was a newborn.

The only thing that worked was washing her bum in the sink with soap
every time she pooped and then applying breast milk to her bum.

I would have a small container for bum breast milk in the fridge and use that 

throughout the day. Breast milk is seriously magic! 

Did you know there is a difference between refined and unrefined coconut oils?

I didn't know this until I happened upon this info while watching a cooking video.

Refined coconut oil doesn't have a smell or taste, but unrefined does.

I started off buying the Spectrum Refined coconut oil. But because it was 

pricier, the next time around I bought the cheep stuff (unrefined).

Boy oh boy was the a mistake. It smelled like coconuts, but not in a good way :)

This stuff is amazing for moisturizing babies and preventing diaper rash. 

It also doesn't have a taste when you use it to cook so it's great to use 

when cooking food for your little ones!

How I Made A Pouch For My Tula For Under $10

I discovered something about myself since having TheLittleBear.

I love love love to baby wear. I love baby carriers because they keep your baby close

but help you to be hands free.

In the beginning I had the Beco Gemini Baby Carrier. I loved that I didn't have to have 

a baby insert. As TLB grew I knew I wanted something with more support for her legs.

I research and researched and loved the Tula. 

However, no baby carrier is perfect.

I loved the Tula, but I longed for a pouch like the Ergo.

I loved the idea that you could throw a couple of things in the pouch and 

not have to carrier a purse. 

The Tula does has a pocket at the waistband, 

but it's small and only holds my wallet...

So I made my own pouch for the Tula Carrier.

I was at Old Navy and saw the perfect bag. It was only $5, so the price was right 

for my experiment.

You will need:

1. A Clutch that folds over. Mine had a magnetic part that kept it folded. 

The magnetic part is super helpful to keep the carrier attached to the Tula in the middle.

2. A hammer, snaps that match the Tula snaps, a zipper, needle and thread, 

and a snap tool. I got my snaps from here. 

3. A stitch remover and pen.

4. And finally pins. 

 

The first step is you want to attach you Tula snaps to the clutch. 

Measure out the distance of the snaps on your Tula, and mark it on the clutch with your pen.

Then follow the directions from your snap provider and attach the snaps.

The next step is to remove some of the stitching on the side of your clutch. 

Most clutches have zippers on the top, but because it folds down you won't be able to

reach it when you have it on your carrier. 

And it wouldn't be ideal to remove the new pouch every time you needed something.

Once one of the side stitches have been removed pin and sew in your new zipper. 

Then you are going to want to either remove or sew together the zipper at the top.

I did this because I didn't want TLB to have her back against a rough zipper. 

If your clutch doesn't have this problem then you can skip it :)

And...

Ta Daaaa!

Finished :)

It looks exactly the same so if you want to use it as a regular clutch you can.

Here's how it looks on the Tula.

I didn't think of this at the time, but the top fabric 

provides a nice soft place for TLB's neck.

I hope this helps you in your baby wearing adventures :)

Organizing My Diaper Drawer

I'm always fascinated with how people organize their house. 

I love to organize and see everything in it's neat little place.

So, I thought I'd share how my diaper drawer is organized. 

In the upper row I have 3 rows of diapers, a tupperware of doggie poop bags, and wipes.

We use Huggies because they are the most affordable brand that 

did cause TheLittleBear to break out in a rash.

We EC (elimination communication) with TLB, so I didn't need to invest in a diaper pail.

Most of the time TLB uses her potty to do her business, but on the off chance that I didn't 

pay enough attention and she went in her diaper, I have doggie bags that I never use for Rory

to put her stinky diaper in. 

I also use Huggies wipes because that's just what we've always used. 

They were on sale once at Costco and I never changed what we started with. 

Sales... They get you every time ;)

In the next row I have all my baby liquids.

Baby Aveeno, Hand Sanitizer, Coconut Oil for bottoms, D-Drops, 

Bio Gaia (now it comes in non refrigeration required),

Penatin, Coconut Oil for non bottom areas, and Vaseline. 

We use Baby Aveeno Eczema Care because TLB his prone to Eczema on her face.

It works wonders!

I also have hand sanitizer that I use to spray on things that get peed on... 

I separate my Coconut Oil into small containers for bottoms and

large container for non bottom areas. 

Just so there is no contamination.

D-Drops because the midwives harped on and on about it.

Bio Gaia because it helps build gut bacteria to fight gas.

It comes in no refrigeration required now, yay!

Having a baby open their mouth and stay still long enough to 

drop 5 drops in their mouth is tough. So we put it on a little spoon

and TLB loves it! She gets to play with the spoon after which is like a double treat 

for us because it keeps her occupied while we apply her oils :)

I keep the non bottom Coconut Oil and Penatin in these mason jars.

They fit perfectly in the drawer.

Also, the original Penatin container that it comes it would get cream everywhere.

This keeps it contained better.

The desk is from ikea.

It's the MICKE desk.

Living in a small space and keep to a budget I repurposed this desk.

We had a piece of bed topper foam we didn't need anymore so I cut it to size and viola. 

Change table:)

The fabric patter is from Birch Fabrics.

Fabricana has a huge selection of wonderful fabrics.

If you measure what you need and get only the perfect amount of fabric,

there is minimal cutting and sewing to make a cover for the foam. 

I also put a garbage bag over the foam and under the cover to make it water proof :)