Another BabyCarrier Contest!

I would love to win any, altho' I've got a good stash of carriers, lol!
Win a Free Organic Embroidered Ergo Baby Carrier Hands Free System from Along for the Ride

I Love Babywearing too!

So much, that yesterday I felt like I sounded like an ad when a lady at a garage sale commented on my pouch. She explained she had a bad back, but liked the idea. It was neat because I bent over to pick up Elisabeth, didn't squat and hurt my back last weekend. Thanks to Nathaniel working on it several times, I'm not hurting constantly but uncomfortable yet at times. Now having a 14 mo baby and a back that hurts is difficult. Fortunately, when it hurt the worst, my wonderful MIL helped take care of Elisabeth a lot, but now that we're home I'm doing all the holding and picking up. And yesterday I went yardsaling with a friend. Now if you know Elisabeth, you know how much she likes to be walking around getting into stuff, not the best thing at yardsales! Ha! So I wore my pouch and carried her a good deal of the time, and thanks to my pouch, it didn't hurt my back.

I generally like using a pouch, or my Mei Tai or occasionally the Baby Trekker(that one's more Nathaniel's) instead of trying to hold her in my arms. That gets tiring very quickly. Why not just use a stroller? A stroller is handy sometimes, but in crowded places, not so much. It also takes time to set up, altho' if you have stuff, it's easier sometimes to use the stroller to haul your diaper bag, water bottle, purse, etc. But you sure can't nurse a baby in a stroller. Lol! If I don't take a carrier out the door, invariably, I wish I had. My pouch makes it easier just going to the car because I can carry Elisabeth in the pouch and the diaper bag, and whatever else I need in my hands, which are completely free.

I might add there is one caveat to babywearing, and that would be you always want to try another carrier. But there are times you want different ones. When we went to a carshow, I used a two-shoulder carrier because I knew it would be a long time I'd be wearing Elisabeth. So I found this contest where you could Win the Essential Babywearing Stash from Along for the Ride (one Beco Butterfly, one Hotsling baby pouch, one BabyHawk Mei Tai, one Zolowear Ring Sling, and one Gypsy Mama Wrap and just had to enter. It's for a complete stash of carriers. *drool*

Ta-da!

Okay, I am finally posting after how many months? Don't worry I know. And I have intended to for ages, okay, four months. But have you done much typing one-handed? Or while nakking a squirmy baby? Slightly difficult, esp. when I want to write more than "I had a baby."

So I did finally have my lovely little girl, Elisabeth Loree. Elisabeth is a name my man and I agreed on *shew*, and Loree is for my wonderful MIL.

She was 6 lbs. and 7 0z. and had a shockful of hair. She smiled from the very beginning, although to herself until about 3 weeks, then she smiled at us. *sigh* So wonderful. (Lapsing into dreamy reflection)

She laughed at, oh, I don't know, 2 months, has been laughing and 'talking' (gurgling, aaaahhhhing, etc.) for awhile. She rolled over two weeks ago, but still had her arm stuck under her. But last weekend she rolled off the couch in her uncle's camper. He saw her and hollered so thankfully I managed to break her fall so she was just startled. Yay for uncles! Her other uncle (no kids, just observant eyes) saved her toesies when I was heading out the door without any socks, and it ended up being rather cool, and I was soooo glad she had sockies on! So yay for uncles!

I love, love, love being a mama. I joke that I am a hippie mom. I breastfeed and plan to for a while (more than just a year, which is the minimum recommended by WHO(World Health Organization). We practice EC(Elimination Communication) which, yes, is a little more work but fun! I use cloth diapers and co-sleep. I babywear (wear my sweet baby in my sling or my gorgeous Pink Rose Mei Tai). We would not circumcise if we had a little boy. And I think vaccinations may prevent some illnesses and cause worse problems later on. I have learned more about so many things in the last few months, it's a little mind-boggling.

My mom always said college would be fun because I would be studying things I wanted to, well, sorta. I didn't love my ELED classes although the psych and counseling classes were fun and I loved all the ones with Dr. Larson. Yeah, even Multiculural Ed. She was hard, but each class was worth it. Hmm, I miss those classes the most. I was thinking about college, since it just started. Don't miss the homework, but the mental stimulation was good. But to my original topic, I have been enjoying researching and learning about each of the things I've mentioned.

One book that really influenced my thinking was The Ministry of Parenting Your Baby by Dr. William Sears. I want to read The Mommy Brain: How Motherhood Makes us Smarter by Katherine Ellison.

I think that sums up the last few months. I'll probably post on all of the above-mentioned topics, but I love comments and questions.