One thing I am no stranger to is unwanted advice on parenting. But when a nurse from the public health system tries to tell me I am doing everything wrong when I am only following God and my baby's cues, well that just turns my key! Martin and I follow the attachment parenting style, which is not using clocks and calendars to decide when to feed our baby or the "new fad of the day". Our latest dilemma is what to do if he seems like he wants to eat at five or five and a half months and our pediatrician agrees... What do you do? Should we go with the doc's advice and baby's cues and start solids before six months, or do we listen to the "fad WHO advice" and wait until six months. But if we do choose to wait then we need to see our sweet boy be hungry and cranky. I guess we will just have to wait and see how he is doing food wise in the next month or so.
Today's battle with the bottle was an awful experience. Because I am due back at school this May we tried to get him used to take the bottle. Well, that won't be happening... He practically screams when he sees the thing! Finally, after not eating almost all day I nursed him. I felt so much better after listening to my instincts and not using the advice to get him on the bottle that has been forced at us for the past few months by everyone including our doctor. And while nursing, Zacharie himself settled more than he had all day. Afterwards, he was able to take his first sips out of a cup! Now, Martin is devoting himself to looking for Zee's cues and learning what to watch for. After he has learnt what to look for, he is going to work with him to drink momma milk from a cup once a day and slowly work up to a bit more. And I promise my baby that I will not take away his night and evening nursings, to let him enjoy a long nurse session in the morning before I leave, and to devote every moment I have with him to be the most wonderful moments. If I have to be away from him, I am going to make every moment I have with him the best. Snuggles, stories, naps together, walks, singing, playing, talking... These are the moments I will cherish. These things and more are things that I have been called to do by God. Martin and I have prayed for months, even during pregnancy, for guidance in parenting our children that way He (God) wants. Today, I realized that we have been raising him right the whole time. Godlike parenting is attachment parenting, or at least a small portion of it. He does not want us to ignore our babies cries, or to not hold them... He wants us to love unconditionally and wholly. Who cares if our baby gets up to nurse several times at night... If he wants to snuggle and nurse, I say let him! If he needs that, I will gladly indulge him. Today, I have realized that I am a great momma. And I couldn't be happier!

So our baby is sick again, poor thing. At least this time it isn't as bad as the bronchitis he had last time. We have had three nights of throwing up and a great deal of crying from a soar throat. Thankfully since the last time he was sick we have picked up a few tricks for aiding him to get better. Like raising his mattress to help him breathe easier, and getting the snot sucker to work properly (haha!). On another note, we had an awesome time walking the trails with our momma group this Friday. Honestly it just feels so good to get out of the house and get those limbs moving. And today it is double digit warm! Winter is almost over, which is saddening but exciting at the same time. I am hoping to get out for a walk with the dog after Zee wakes up from his nap.
On the nap note, things seem to be going well with scheduling. He has a somewhat solid nap and bedtime schedule now, which at times can be annoying. I am hoping that he will be able to stretch his bedtime to after seven by May so I can have some time with him after I get home from school. Ahh school, the upcoming date on my agenda that will force me to leave him all day five days a week. I spent all night last night in an anxious wakeful state thinking of what my break schedule will be like at school. I know that I am going to be pumping at school on my lunch break for sure, but I am just praying for a fifteen minute break after lunch and before home time so that I can keep up a good supply of milk for Zacharie. And next month (April) we have to start working to get Zacharie onto a bottle during the day or a sippy cup, and nursing at night and on weekends. As it stands right now, he hates the bottle. But it could just be that Martin isn't able to read the signs for hunger quite yet. There is plenty we have to start working on, but let's just wait until Easter is over before getting going.
Ahhh Easter, our first road trip as a family. I have no idea how this is going to work out. Hopefully the little one does all right in the car for the trip, and transitions well into the new place we will be staying. Of course, I will be wearing his playpen sheet under my shirt for a few days to help make his temporary crib smell like momma & home. Here's hoping that it helps him be able to sleep away from home! Traveling with a baby for the first time is a new experience in itself, going from one bag for the two of us to having to pack a bag for ourselves, a bag for baby, playpen, sling, and everything else you need for everyday care for your infant. It will be a car full to say the least. But I am excited and looking forward to seeing my family! Except for my mom's parents, no one has met Zacharie yet. There will be plenty of comments and cuddles for him I am sure.

Martin the Super Dad

I am pretty lucky to have such a supportive husband and best friend in Martin. Not only does he look kindly on me with my sometimes unbending belief of nursing our baby, but he also takes his own lead in our battle to reduce our environmental footprint. Today he decided that he is going to hand make our cloth diaper inserts, not only to avoid commercialism but to reduce waste! On top of this, he is currently making a pizza... Mmm! I love you Smartie <3

It's a Tough Trail to Hike

Note: Must find an activity that is momma friendly for weekends while in school. Why is it that all of the exercise programs, or anything that promotes "baby bonding"has to be on a weekday? Just today I was looking into Salsa Babies (which seems to be the hype at my mom network) only to find that like everything else it is on weekdays only. I am fortunate to have found one activity to do, though, so things are not at a total standstill yet. Zacharie and I will be doing swim lessons come spring, and I am looking forward to it very much. Every time we have tubby time I tell him about the pool that he will soon be going to, how we are going to swim like dolphins and practice our splashing :) But even with the excitement that these chats brings, I still can't help but wonder when my emails will be looked upon and weekend series will start popping up in the momma community. Likewise, if anyone knows of anything that does have weekend slots please let me know! Much appreciated!

My, How He Grows!

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Getting Out There

Today was a bit different for Zacharie and I. We went over to the Starbucks to meet up with some of the momma's in our new mom network for a brisk walk around the newly developing areas. The weather was nice enough with a beautiful blue sky and a bright shining sun, overcoming the more than slight chill in the air. And even though I ended up carrying him for about half of the almost two hour walk, it was a nice reprieve from our usual boring routine of playing on the floor. Not just with the new mom's network are the two of us branching out, but also by attending a strollerobics class at the YMCA. I had forgotten how great it felt to get out there and get moving! Two weeks ago at the start of our first exercise class I was a sad sight to see, straggling behind all the other super fit moms who probably worked out while baby naps. Now though, I feel better than ever! It is amazing how little I have to switch with my current routines to make them a little more fit friendly. Now when rocking him to sleep, I can do lunges, lifts, squats... When playing I can use Zee as a weight lifting exercise and do crunches... Even something as simple as turning off the television has made our connection a whole lot deeper! And I can see that all of these things benefit him too. He gets a great role model for physical activity, and gets different perspectives of the rooms and world by me lifting and spinning or moving around with him in tow during motions of activity. And already I can see that if the radio or television is on while it is time to nurse, he has a very hard time staying latched. Oh how I love these bittersweet moments of closeness. It will be so hard to leave him behind in May when I board the bus to school. But with getting in shape now comes many rewards for when that time does come. When we have full weekends together we can do swim lessons, hikes in the trails, romps in the garden, meet up with our momma friends... And still, even though the list of bonding experiences for then are limitless, it doesn't make the thought of leaving him behind any easier to swallow. So for now we can just soak in these moments of getting out and getting in shape. Besides... Our house gets to be boring after a few months of just sitting on the living room floor. I think I have named everything in our house to him on more than one occasion. Might as well point out things in nature, feel wind, see sky and birds... Might as well start living well and enjoying every moment to the fullest.

Something Witty, something cute... Something like an introduction?

Hello :) So my name is Chantelle Marie aka Chani, and I have finally had the thought to chronicle my life as a new momma and wife in a quick and painless manner. Besides, everyone these days uses only facebook... What about people who don't use facebook, twitter, myspace and all the other networking sites? What if (in some crazy world) you wanted to just be able to email an article to a friend of a friend, or a family member to show everyone what is currently going on in your life? Since most of my family lives in Saskatoon (Saskatchewan), I am doing just that. Don't get me wrong, I am still a dedicated facebooker... But for those who don't network, this is one way to follow a little piece of our family life.

So I came from Saskatoon and lived here in Edmonton off an on for a while, and then eventually met my husband, Martin. Palindat, obviously. We went together for a while and then took the wedding off the back burner, taking our vows on August 29th, 2009 in a backyard wedding under the summer sun. Soon after, we were overjoyed with the arrival of our first baby. On December 5th, 2009 I gave birth to Zacharie after a long and very difficult labour. The days leading to and until just after his birth were snowy and cold. A snow storm, in fact! After our car got stuck down the road from our house I was taken back to the hospital by ambulance. And several other big moments later, Martin and I were welcoming a healthy baby boy into the world.
Since then, there have been many challenges and changes. But everything turns for the best in the end... Even when we have to just look at it in a different light. Challenges like when Zacharie and Martin fell down the stairs (both are okay thank goodness), Zacharie getting a serious bronchial infection, or Martin and I having serious discussions that meant changed habits.

Currently we are working on sleeping and napping with Zee (the little guy), attempting to train our two new kittens, getting myself ready for school in May, getting Martin ready to take care of Zacharie by himself while I am in school and continuing to adjust to new parenthood. So feel free to read on as I post every now and then. For now, I have to get everything in order for the next day. As it stands, tomorrow is my first night out with the girls in quite some time. Also Zee and I have a walk group to meet up with in the afternoon, naps to accomplish, meals to fix, and a hectic weekend as well! Pfew, tired thinking about it already!