When I Say "Feed Your Baby," Do You See a Bottle?

This post is part of the Breastfeeding Blog Hop hosted by Life with Levi, and co-hosted by The Slacker Mom, and Diary of a Devil Dog Wife. Visit the links below and link up your own story or leave a comment!

This week’s theme is unkind words or hurtful comments about breastfeeding. In Marah’s post at Diary of a Devil Dog Wife, she asks why can’t breastfeeding just be normal? That’s my gripe with the whole feeding-your-baby thing too. I’ve never really had any hurtful comments, but when I say “feed your baby,” do you picture bottles or do you picture a woman nursing? Honestly, even for me it’s 50/50. I would love to say that as a self-proclaimed lactivist who has breastfed two children, I don’t picture a bottle when someone mentions feeding a baby. But that’s not always the case. Bottles have become a symbol that represents everything baby. How many logos, signs, and ads have you seen for baby products or services that use a bottle?

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Felt board Friday

A few weeks ago, four of my friends and I got together to make felt boards for our kids. After realizing that we were not organized enough to actually let our kids help out, we decided to let the kids play while the mommies made the felt boards for them. (I know, but it's not a perfect world).

We met at my house on Friday morning, made some breakfast, let the kids run wild, and made some felt boards. I had cut the felt into long rectangles beforehand, and the first thing we did was fold them and sew yarn to close up the two long edges. One of the short edges was left open so we could slip in pieces of cut plexiglas to make the boards rigid. Then, we went to town cutting felt shapes for our kids.

This is what a felt board Friday looks like. Is it strange that there are only 2 pictures of us working on the felt boards themselves?

100 Things to be Thankful For

Amanda from Let's Take the Metro writes a weekly gratitude post, and this Thanksgiving, she has challenged us to write 100 things we are thankful for. I wrote 50 on the Green Baby Diaper Service blog (along with Liz), but I wanted to do something different here. (I was also supposed to post this last Thursday, but I've been overwhelmed with life lately).

I often find myself complaining a lot. How often do you say, "That's my biggest pet peeve" and then you realize you have about 100 pet peeves?

I also often think when I'm in the middle of a particularly difficult situation, "Why is my life so hard?" And then I kind of punch myself for feeling that way because certainly my life is pretty great. But I do often try to consider how my life could be easier, and I've thought about making a list, just so I can help myself streamline and simplify.

This gratitude post is a version of that list. But I'm taking everything I complain about and finding the gratitude in it.

Turn Anything into an Activity

Since my Sunday Surf post about online toddler games, Baby T has really mastered using the mouse. I had a comment that Starfall.com was a good resource for online toddler games, and it's amazing how perfect it is. It's engaging and just challenging enough to keep Baby T's attention and make him feel like he can do it by himself without getting frustrated.

Nursing the Holidays

When I had Baby T, I was still working full time, and I looked forward to the holidays: They were a time when I could just be with my baby, nurse him whenever I wanted, and stop pumping. Even with all the traveling and hustle and bustle, managing the holidays with a breastfeeding baby was easier than working full time with a breastfeeding baby.

Plane Travel with a Nursing Baby

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY: Family pics

This week has been a big one for milestones: Little M is exploding with the things he does. He plays peek-a-boo with me by holding my hands and putting them over my eyes, then peeling them off and peeking in at me. He says "throw!" and throws his toys. (Ok, he actually says something that sounds more like "oh!"--but still. Pretty cute.) His favorite activity lately is putting toys into containers. And he understands what I tell him. If I tell him to do something, he usually does it. The kid is practically walking, and it's not right--newborns aren't supposed to walk!

Make Your Own Montessori Sandpaper Letters

Okay--they are made of felt, not sandpaper. And to give your child a really well-rounded experience when learning letters, they should be lower case and upper case. But this is a start.