0 Update and ranting

Its been a long time, like 4 months, I guess I've just been busy with family and trying to get the whole Doula thing going as well as Dean is heading back to work soon, a new job and everything which is very exciting! I took my Doula training in May up in Calgary, it was such an amazing experience, I absorbed a lot of information and definitely validated my wants to further my career in birth work. It also made me feel confident in my beliefs of natural birth and parenting and knowing that every woman is capable of having the birth she wants not the birth the hospitals have designed. I really feel that a lot of the young and not so young expecting moms here in Medicine Hat are not educated. Not educated about their options for birth, or parenting and I feel that every woman should have a doula, we are there for support, to offer you alternatives and options and to keep you informed!

Zephran is almost 10 months old now, he is around 25 pounds and is wearing 12-18 month clothes, you'd never know he came out 5 weeks early weighing only 6lbs. He is still pretty much exclusively on breastmilk, we do give him food but he chews and then spits it out, swallowing only once in a blue moon, I don't know if it has to do with his cleft or not but we still give him the option, I am really not to worried. I am still pumping for him and plan to continue to pump at least until after his surgery so my goal right now is 15 months, I still have a little ray of hope that I will be able to teach him to breastfeed after his surgery and if I am successful I plan to breastfeed him until he is 2. Now some people (most that I know IRL) think this is wrong or only for my own selfish benefit, however it is not. The WHO recommends babies be breastfed exclusively(meaning NOTHING else) until 6months of age, then solids may be introduced, they then recommend breastfeeding up until or beyond 2 years of age. A lot of people are not informed on this. Another interesting fact is the WHO's hierarchical chart for feeding babies, surprisingly enough formula is not the second choice, in fact its the last choice. Donor milk is becoming more and more popular as are milk banks and I am so happy this is. Back int he day there were wet nurses and now people think it is absurd, I however would gladly nurse another baby and if my child was able to breastfeed I would let another woman nurse him as well. Boobs are for feeding firstly and for sexual reasons sexually whether you choose to like this fact or not its the truth.

Anyways back to Zephran, he is doing so well, he sits by himself and plays, he has learned to give high 5's and still says MAMA a lot, he still doesn't crawl but more frog crawls? He gets around none the less by rolling and scooting everywhere, he likes to stand when you hold his hand but wont take any steps, he will hold himself up on things but still doesn't try to pull himself up. All in all he is lazy haha, he has no need to do it so he could really care less, he gets to where he needs and wants to go so if it works for him that's all that matters to me. He has started throwing little tantrums when he doesn't get his way, they don't last long because we don't give in haha. He has two bottom teeth and the top two have broke through as well, there are also 2 more on the top that I think will be coming in shortly. He does not handle teething very well even with his amber teething necklace and camillia. He still mostly sleeps through the night though the past few nights he's had a rough time with his teeth so he has gotten up to eat around 12 or 1, I am hoping its not a habit. He is growing up way to fast for me, I miss when he was little and not so mobile yet I am so proud that he is doing so well and learning so many new things.

I have been doing not to bad, definitely getting out of the rut I was in and motivating myself to do things and go to the gym more often as well as just getting out of the house to visit family. I have realized I cannot wait around hoping for things to change themselves but instead I need to BE the change in my own life. If not for me then for my family, but mostly for me too lol. Dean and I are going on a double date tomorrow, I am glad we have a couple to do things with now. We are hitting up the new sushi restaurant in town and then going to the new Harry Potter movie, definitely excited for it. I am also very excited for our trip to Drumheller in August to the museum there as well as to meet one of the Nex mom's I talk to a lot, I am hoping maybe a few others show up too. Those girls have been such a huge support in my life, without them I do not know where I would be.

We got a new vehicle now as well. We traded my saturn for a 4x4 Jimmy, its caused us a few issues already but its bigger and can fit Zephran's new car seat. We got him a Radian XT, seriously best investment ever, he will be able to STAY rear facing until he is 45lbs or outgrows the height which wont probably be until he is 3 or 4 I'd say and then it forward faces until 65lbs so he'll still be in a 5 point harness and then a booster until 80 or 100lbs. Safety is very important to me, car seats save lives. This has been a huge issue for me as well because I see sooooo many kids not in their car seats properly or are turned forward facing before its even legal or in a booster seat when they are not even 40 lbs, its poor parenting, neglect even, your child doesn't know what is safe but you should make it a point that YOU know the law and what is safest for your child. Also know how to use a car seat properly, the chest clip is supposed to line up with the armpits, not the crotch, the straps are supposed to be tight, you are only supposed to be able to fit ONE finger in between the strap and your child, when rear facing the straps are supposed to be at or just below shoulder level, not at their ears, and please DO NOT put your child in a huge bulky snowsuit, it compromises the safety of the seat by compression factor. It really just baffles me at the stupidity of some people. I will never understand how parents cannot give two shits to educate themselves. Enough ranting though. I am going to try and do more updates and such since its good for me and hopefully good for others! Until next time.