My First Mother's Day

I just wanted to share my first Mother's Day with everyone. I used to say that a woman becomes a mother when she first finds out she is pregnant, and while in many ways that is true, I felt so very special this year, beyond anything I felt last year (although last year was also a nice day, too!) Saturday I spent way too much time in the sun, so I did have a sunburn. Richard made reservations for brunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Blue Moon Fish Company. The brunch was a-mazing! Grouper, mahi-mahi, crab cakes, rice/beans, plantains, salads, raw oysters/clams, and lots more. We also got a dessert sampler plate brought to our table with creme brulee, cheesecake, chocolate cake, and a vanilla cupcake. Oh, and choice of mimosa, champagne, or bloody mary (I chose a mimosa). That night, we had a potluck at our house with my parents, Jamie, and Mike. That was fun, too! Overall, a great weekend!

What a great Mother's Day gift!!

About My Choices

When I was in labor, all of a sudden, all of my dreams of this 'perfect' birth were taken from me (as they are many women). I am not angry/upset/bitter. Lydia came out healthy, and I healed quickly... but I went back and researched what it was that was that went wrong. And you know what went wrong? Doctors want time to sleep and more money in their bank accounts. Formula companies, pediatricians, drug companies, baby food companies, etc. don't care about your baby - they care about dollars!!

Having a child is amazing but SO SCARY!! In the hospital, the doctors told me I HAD TO supplement with formula to remove the jaundice or Lydia can suffer horrible long-term repercussions. I cried and cried because that was not my plan for her once she was born. Then a lactation consultant came to my room, said her babies had jaundice, and there is no research to support that babies with jaundice need formula. Why were the doctors telling me this? Why did they say something that could have potentially ruined my nursing experience? When Lydia was four months, the doctors told me that I HAD TO start feeding her baby food. I didn't feel fully ready. Did I really have to? I did my research, and learned that breastmilk is a 'perfect food.' Babies can easily live off that alone for the first year. Why was I told that I had to feed my baby solid foods? The doctor's recommendation also went against recommendations made by the American Pediatric Academy, which states - breastmilk/formula exclusively for the first 6 months. Why were the doctors who I paid out-of-pocket for telling me things that just weren't true?? They also said my baby's first food had to be rice cereal. Yeah, not true. From the research I did, we trashed the rice cereal and really began solid foods at 6 months - with real foods (fruits, veggies, etc.) 

This was so frustrating for me because with all my childcare experiences, I never had to make the ultimate decision...but I had this little life in my hands, and I had to make all of these decisions that could affect her for the rest of her life. And right around that point, the 4-month mark, I said fuck the dr's advice, fuck what other people tell me to do with her...I need to parent with my heart. I need to be responsive to her needs in the best way I could. And all of a sudden, Richard and I felt confident about the choices we made as both informed consumers and parents. Again, it's not judgment. I just wish that all parents believed they are able to make informed decisions. 

So what's my point with all this? I am not judging individuals for the choices they make. I'm only suggesting people question things. Don't just pull the Pampers off the shelf because that's what you're supposed to do. Do those things because you've thought them through and realized that that is what's best for your family. Don't have your child sleep on his/her back because that's what you're supposed to do. We all slept on our bellies and we are happy and healthy (Lydia began sleeping on her side at an early age). Don't just feed jarred food or Similac or use a pacifier because that's what you're supposed to give your child. Do that because you think it's best...  And when you actively make decisions for your family, you can say - this is what is REALLY best for my family. 

Cast your vote!

Please vote for Lydia in the YoBaby Organic Cutie contest! Here's the link: Vote for Lydia

Django Mango Organic Rattle Review & Giveaway! Ends 5/23

This giveaway is for something really cool! I contacted the Django Mango etsy shop owner, and asked to do a review/giveaway of one of their products. I was redirected to the Django Mango website, and I was sent two super-cute 100% organic octopus rattles - one for Lydia and one for one of my readers. Lydia loves her octopus rattle! She likes to grab the arms and shake it a whole bunch. Because the eyes are made of felt, it's safe for babies/children of all ages.

Here's an overview of the Django Mango products:

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  There are 23 different rattle designs in a variety of colors
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  They are made with either 100% organic cotton or 100% fair trade organic cotton
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  They are filled with stuffing made from plastic bottles
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  They are packaged in a reusable fabric bag
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  The creator, Amanda Sharpe, makes all of her original designs by hand in her smoke-free, pet-free home in Ontario (and she's a redhead like me!)

In addition to rattles, Django Mango also carries handmade origami mobiles and reusable baby washcloths.

BUY IT! Visit Django Mango to purchase one of many beautiful handmade products.

WIN IT! Would you like to win a 100% organic octopus rattle for a special little one in your life? For the Mandatory Entry, visit Django Mango and tell me something else you would love to have.

For additional entries (leave one comment per entry):

1. 'Like' Django Mango on Facebook.

2. 'Like' Huppie Mama on Facebook.

3. Follow Huppie Mama on Twitter.
4. Become a public follower of Huppie Mama.
5. 'Like' Abi's Place (the non-profit where I work) on Facebook.
6. Give us an idea for another rattle that Django Mango could create - perhaps a favorite animal? Favorite food? Be creative!
 

Be sure to include your email address with each entry so that I know how to find you. This giveaway ends on 5/23 at 11:59 pm. If you are the winner, you will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Good luck! 

**Congratulations to Jessica! Thank you to all who participated. 

Health & Opportunity

As parents, I believe we owe two things to our children: health and opportunity. Our baby's health begins the moment we ovulate/conceive. You want to eat healthy, take vitamins, limit heavy-lifting, remain active (without pushing yourself), avoid alcohol/tobacco, etc. We strive to treat our bodies better than we ever have before to protect what is inside. I have given Lydia three amazing 'gifts' so far that should hopefully help her to be strong and healthy: breastmilk, health insurance, and cord blood banking.

Two of my friends had babies over the last 10 days or so. Knowing how supportive I have become of breastfeeding, they both shared their first experiences with me in some way. One mommy gave birth to her baby about 2 months early. She is in the NICU, but she has been pumping and giving her only breastmilk. Over the weekend, her baby latched on for the first time to do some non-nutritive sucking. So amazing!  What's even more amazing, is how excited and proud she was to share this with me. I feel quite honored.

The other friend had her baby boy yesterday. I went to the hospital to see her after work, and she looked amazing. Her little guy was so cute! While I was there, the nurse showed her how to feed him, and she fed him his first whole 'meal' with me there. Such a cool thing to experience with her! She's been watching me feed Lydia for months now, so I was super-excited to see how she would do with her little one. He did so great - latched right on like a pro. I hope both of my new mommy friends enjoy this experience as much as I do :-)

I was trying to explain to my sister recently what breastfeeding is like (she has two stepdaughters, but no children of her own yet). I told her that being pregnant and having a baby allowed my body to do its job. It feels like this awesome machine that works so mysteriously and skillfully. I also told her that when people choose to formula feed, it seems like giving away free diamonds to pay for cubic zirconia.

On to the two other health issues... we pay out of pocket for Lydia's health insurance. It's expensive, and it sucks that we have to pay it ourselves, but that's life, and I could not imagine allowing her to go without it. However, I will say that I am not impressed with the doctor who I initially chose, so I am looking into a more holistic doctor. Lydia is due for her 9-month check-up soon, so I would like to switch by then. I think I found someone...just need to make some phone calls and keep my fingers crossed!

Cord blood banking... this is something we considered for a while, but ultimately decided it would be best for our family. I found a less expensive place, and I think of it as another form of health insurance. The one thing the (idiot) doctor who delivered Lydia said was: you don't ever want to sit in a doctor's office, find out something is wrong, and wish you had banked. I have known several families whose children's lives were improved because of cord blood. I had to give that extra bit of potential security to my little one.

Okay, so the second thing you owe your child is opportunity. To fulfill this, I began a college fund for Lydia. We pay about $100 a month for her to go to a 4-year state university in Florida. If she ever wants to go somewhere else, we can just withdraw the money. It's pretty much like having a savings account, only it grows exponentially over 18 years. I am truly proud to give this opportunity to my daughter.

I also hope to offer her the opportunity to meet new people, try new things, and just experience life. That's what it's all about!

It's BLOGMANIA!! Enter 100+ Giveaways, starting with MINE :-)

WELCOME To BLOGMANIA !

My Blog is 79 of 123

You’ve arrived at exactly the right time to explore lots of new blogs, all of which ARE GIVING AWAY A VERY SPECIAL BLOGMANIA GIVEAWAY  (For One Day Only – April 30^th) .

We’ve done all the work for you. No hunting or surfing. Each blog will have a number and each new blog link will have a number. These numbers will allow you to keep track of which blogs you’ve visited and how many are left to visit. Why not take a moment to make a list of blog numbers  1-123 and check off the blogs as you go.

I know you’ll want to visit as many blogs today as you can. So, if you see something that interests you on any of our participating blogs, why not bookmark that site. Later, when you have more time, you can discover all its fabulous treasures.  

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! Here's my giveaway:

This giveaway includes a delicious snack sampler pack from Sahale Snacks, an oilcloth lunch bag from RickRack Queen's Etsy Shop, and a reusable snack bag from It's a Ten's Etsy Shop. 

Here's some information about each one:

The Sahale Snacks mission is based on three basic principles - snack better, work better, live better. The company was founded on a simple idea: Take all-natural ingredients, add a dash of culinary magic, and produce great-tasting snacks.Their all-natural snacks combine delicious nuts, healthy dried fruits, and gourmet seasonings to create delicious snacks! As a pescetarian, I rely on nuts for a great deal of my protein intake. These nuts were both sweet and savory, satisfying my salty and sweet-tooth cravings. I was sent several different flavors to try, and all of them were scrumptious. 

RickRack Queen's Etsy Shop features oilcloth lunch bags with vintage-style prints. These lunch bags can fit so many food items - see photos above. Clean up is easy with a little soap and water. You will win any basic lunch bag of your choice!

It's a Ten's Etsy Shop features reusable Sak Saver Baggies. These water-resistant nylon snack bags can replace all of those over-priced, wasteful zipper bags. Sak Saver Baggies are perfect for all kinds of snacks, like sandwiches, crackers, and nuts. They are machine washable, air dry. 

Entering to win my giveaway is very simple!

Follow me through Google Friend Connect AND visit any one of the following sites and tell me what you would love to have.

Sahale Snacks

RickRack Queen's Etsy Shop

It's A Ten's Etsy Shop

BLOGMANIA ends at midnight tonight! Check out all of my other giveaways also ending tonight.

Click on the following links to enter more giveaways!

Between The Pages

The Black Sheep Dances

Books, Books Everywhere

Truth Be Told

Publishing Without a Parachute 

Travel the Ages 

Luxury Reading

Simply Stacie

A Mom After God’s Own Heart

Jennifer Laurens 

Just Another New Blog

 

**The winner of this giveaway is Janet. Thank you to all who participated!**

Maternity Consignment Boutique $25 GC Giveaway - Ends 5/9

Here's what you can give the expectant mommy or new mommy for Mother's Day!

Jodi at Expecting You Consignment would like to offer one of my readers a $25 gift certificate to her maternity consignment boutique, located in sunny South Florida. She carries a broad range of new and gently used items for you and your little one, including:

• Maternity clothing by well-known designers/stores
• Baby/child clothing from well-known designers/stores
• Baby furniture
• Slings/baby carriers
• Breast pumps
• and so much more!

Consignment stores are a great way to pick up some of those higher-end items that you may not be able to afford otherwise. It's also very 'green' because it allows multiple families to get use out of the same item, instead of just tossing it out after a few uses.

Would you like to win a $25 gift certificate to Expecting You Consignment? If you live in the South Florida area, you can just redeem in the store. If you live outside the area, you would contact Jodi and let her know what you're interested in purchasing.


WIN IT! Mandatory Entry: Visit Expecting You Consignment, click on 'Join Our Family,' and let me know what gently used item you'd love to purchase with your $25 gift certificate.

Here are a few other ways to win (one entry per method):
1. 'Like' Expecting You Consignment on Facebook.
2. 'Like' Huppie Mama on Facebook.
3. Follow Huppie Mama on Twitter.
4. Become a public follower of Huppie Mama.
5. 'Like' Abi's Place (the non-profit where I work) on Facebook.

Be sure to include your email address with each entry so that I know how to find you. This giveaway ends on Mother's Day (5/9) at 11:59 pm. If you are the winner, you will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Good luck!

**Congratulations to Meghan! Thank you to all who participated. 

Natural Teething Necklace for Mom & Baby - ends 5/7

This giveaway is for a Creation Addiction stone teething necklace. They say a picture says a thousand words, so what does this one say?? It says that Lydia instantly LOVED her stone teething necklace (and that mommy needs to take more time to style her hair). 

This is a great teething necklace! It's fashionable, so it's great for mommies, and it's a natural way for your child to teethe. Lydia tries to chew on my other necklaces, so I am always afraid she'll break off a bead or charm. You don't have to worry about the BPAs in plastic or your child chewing something that can break, splinter, etc. with this teething necklace!

Creation Addiction carries a variety of teething necklaces, made of all different stones, shapes, and colors. You can win a turquoise teething necklace for you and your little one to enjoy!

Creation Addiction is offering the following promotional discounts to all of my readers if you would like to purchase something from her Etsy shop:

• 5% for following you
• 5% for following creationaddict on twitter
• 5% for hearting my shop
• 5% for becoming a fan of the Creation Addiction Facebook Fan Page
• 5% bonus for doing all four

That's a 25% discount!

Would you like to win a teething necklace?

There's only one way to enter this giveaway:

Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect AND visit the Creation Addiction Etsy Shop and tell me what other designs you like!

Be sure to include your email address with each entry so that I know how to find you. This giveaway ends on 5/7 at 11:59 pm EST. If you are the winner, you will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Good luck!

**Congratulations to Jennifer! Thank you to all who participated.  

Eco-litism?

I was engaged in two different discussions yesterday that have led me to write this post. This is in not intended to offend anyone or cause any conflict, but I'm somewhat eager to get some feedback from others, so please read and comment!

Conversation one: I engaged in an online discussion with someone who was questioning different aspects of parenting/child development. These exchanges led to me saying: the only thing a baby really needs is love, 2 arms, 2 boobs, and some cloth diapers. And in actuality, when you narrow it down to needs, you basically need to be sheltered, fed, and clothed. This led to all kinds of other stupidity (why I continued to engage in it, I don't know. Ignorance just gets under my skin and my fiery Scorpio personality comes out) and she was like..."They still make cloth diapers? No thanks, I will stick with my Huggies." So I said "I'm not wealthy, so I'd rather breastfeed, cloth diaper, and put the money in a college fund for my daughter instead of a landfill." At that point, she told me I need to save money for my child's therapy since I'll drive her nuts. We were done at that point!

Conversation two: My best friend growing up lives in NYC. We got into a conversation yesterday about how people in NY take the whole eco-friendly/green-living thing too far. She said there was an unpasteurized milk movement a few years ago that seemed to be dangerous. I have heard from other people that they like to give their children unpasteurized milk. Her point was that it almost becomes a "who can do the most outrageous eco-friendly thing?" contest.

Is there an eco-litism? I have to say, it feels good to share my eco-choices with others. Why? Not to be an elitist, but because I am proud of the decisions I have made for my family and my planet.

• Shopping for fresh vegetables, going to farmer's markets, etc. is so healthy for my family, supports the local growers trying to produce great food, and eliminates all of the unnecessary waste (e.g. gas to transport food from other places, extra packaging, etc.) 
• Wearing cloth diapers (something I only began recently) has already saved us money and protected my baby's skin. 
• Composting reduces the amount of waste we create and helps produce really great soil for my garden. 
• Using fewer plastic bags helps the earth...and honestly, who wants plastic bags lying around the house with an infant learning to crawl? That's just dangerous! Additionally, a lot of places give a discount now for bringing your own bags.
• Best of all is the decision to breastfeed. The benefits are endless: building my daughter's immunity, helping her to relax/soothe/go to sleep, saving us tons of money, reducing waste from packaging, gas, etc., and if you want to get technical, saving us money on feminine products as I have not started to menstruate yet.  Besides, it just feels good to know that I provided her with all the nutrients she needed to survive the first 6 months of life, and I continue to provide her with so many nutrients now at 8 months.

Is it pride? Is it elitism? I think I'm just happy with the research I have done and the knowledge I have gained in such a short period of time and the decisions I have made based on weighing the pros/cons... and I just want to share that information with everyone else! Nothing wrong with that, right??

Here's some additional information regarding Raw Milk.

I love raw milk cheese - my favorite being Organic Valley Raw Sharp Cheddar Cheese. I also just tried some raw milk goat cheese from a farm I visited in Central Florida. I know my doctor told me not to eat unpasteurized cheeses during pregnancy, and I listened. In fact, as a first time mom, I avoided a lot of foods while I was pregnant for fear that they would be harmful. But the more I think about it, isn't our breast milk just unpasteurized milk created by a mammal? Isn't that the same as raw cow's milk? And isn't breast milk the best thing for our babies? I decided to do some quick research regarding unpasteurized milk. I came across this raw milk website. Here are some facts I learned about raw milk:

• Raw milk is cow's milk taken straight from animals fed only fresh, organic, green grass, rapidly cooled to somewhere around 36-38 degrees F., and bottled.
• Do not drink raw milk that is going to be pasteurized. It is generally mass-produced, and cleanliness standards are not nearly as high as they are for milk that is meant to be raw milk. In addition, milk is often produced by 'supercows' who are given additional hormones to produce more milk. This leads to a condition that many breastfeeding women can relate to: mastitis (I have been fortunate to not experience it, but I have heard it's awful).  Mastitis produces increased white blood cells - which leads to pus in the milk. Great to know, huh??
• Raw milk has amazing medicinal properties and was used to treat illness for hundreds of years (until midway through the 20th century). Clean raw milk from pastured cows is a complete and properly balanced food. You could live on it exclusively if you had to - kinda like human breast milk for babies!!

I'd like to end this with a quote I've seen on a few websites recently:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Meade

Organic Cotton Cloth Wipes (set of 5) - Ends 5/7

This giveaway is for a set of 5 organic cotton reusable baby wipes from bee sew sew's Etsy shop. Here's some information about these wipes:

• They are made of 100% printed cotton flannel and 100% organic cotton sherpa
• They are machine washable, tumble dry
• They come in really cute prints, from traditional baby animals to rockin' skull/crossbones
• They are extremely soft - perfect for little babies' bottoms, faces, or anything else that needs to get wiped
• They measure about 6" x 6" 
• Imagine the money you could save using cloth wipes (which can be washed and used so many times over) instead of disposable wipes.

Here's one of the wipes I received. I hope you can tell how soft it is from this picture!

Bee sew sew also has some other great items, like cloth diaper inserts and handmade quilts.

Here's a great offer! If you are interested in purchasing any items from bee sew sew, enter "huppiemama" in the comments section during checkout to receive 10% off your entire purchase (good until May 26th, 2010).

There's only one way to enter this giveaway:

Follow my blog through Google Friend Connect AND visit the  bee sew sew Etsy Shop and tell me what wipe design you like the most!

Be sure to include your email address with each entry so that I know how to find you. This giveaway ends on May 7th, 2010 at 11:59 pm EST. If you are the winner, you will have 48 hours to respond before I choose another winner. Good luck!

**Congratulations to Tabathia! Thank you to all who participated.