Homestart Conference!

I recently was honored to be a presenter and vendor at Maine's Annual Homestart Conference. While I was there, I reconnected with some old friends and colleagues from Head Start, taught a 2 hour session on Yoga with children, had a great lunch, and sold lots of Melissa and Doug toys.

I also was blessed to hear our Attorney General- Steven Rowe- speak on the importance of investing early in child care and education. Not early like kindergarten early. He believes in the incredible importance of investing in PRENATAL early, quality care for infants and toddlers, and keeping our children safe in these most tender times in their lives. He also believes it's important to support parents in these times to give them the support and skills needed to be happy and effective parents. It's so nice to hear that someone in our government gets it. He knows that investing early will save so much money down the line because well-cared for and well-adjusted children make for happier teens and adults in society. He knows that mothers without support are more prone to depression and therefore less able to meet all their children's needs. And sadly, his term is ending soon. I hope he was able to get his message across to someone who can continue his mission. I would love to see more put into our child care system to pay those providers who are helping raise our children what they are worth. They are doing some of the most important work in society. And I would love to see more available for parents in those critical early years. Stay tuned for more updates on Western Maine Mothers' Center coming!

And for the rest of the conference- what fun I had! We did 2 hours of yoga- first for the providers to stretch and relax and find some new muscles they didn't know they had! Then, on to yoga for infants- how to relieve gas and tummy troubles, how to soothe a really fussy baby, and how to stretch and have fun with baby. Then- toddlers! Imitating animals and moving our bodies. And up from there to preschool and school aged. The big focus was integrating it into our routines in child care so it becomes predictable for children. Then, they can use what they learn about their breath, their bodies, and their emotions to help self-regulate, which is what we want for all of our children. To be able to recognize what's going on inside their bodies- both physically and emotionally- and to have effective strategies to deal with them in a healthy way. And to be moving their bodies and being physically fit as well!

I'm so excited about it- I've been teaching yoga for many years, and just now it's at a level that I wanted it to be! I'm teaching another class for infant/toddler teachers for KVCAP in April, and I'll be doing another one this summer for another program. Woohoo! I wanted to start another class for children this year, but time has been a little (OK a LOT) tight. Too much to do so far, so we'll see about it during the upcoming year. After the move, I'll have a bigger back room, so maybe...we'll have to see what God has in store for us!

Product Review: Organic Caboose

I've recently tried out some of the Organic Caboose products, and I'm in love! I've been using the Top N Bottom shampoo and body wash and Silk N Such lotion on Maia and myself for about 2 weeks.

Top N Bottom: On Maia, this gentle and all natural cleaner leaves her little hair and body smelling sweet like lavender and clean as a whistle! She also, having a tendency for excema, has not had any problems with it drying out her skin. On me- after a brief time of detox (when your hair begins to get rid of the waxy build-up from other shampoos and conditioners it gets a little coarse for a bit), my hair is now healthier and more manageable than it's been in a long time! Because it no longer has that heavy conditioner, it has a lighter feel to it, and more body and fullness as well (which is great, since it's thinner with all this breastfeeding!). My skin is happier, too! Makes a great body wash for mom, baby, and the whole family.

Silk N Such: This is a thick, rich moisturizer with no scent to overwhelm the senses. It goes on creamy and absorbs quickly, without a greasy feel. No alcohol to dry your skin out again, and all natural and organic ingredients make it safe for you and baby!

Buns n Stuff: Now this is a great diaper cream and sking ointment! Its extremely short list of ingredients is its biggest asset (no pun intended...teehee). Shea nut oil, jojoba seed oil, beeswax, shea butter. Nothing harsh, nothing scented or perfumed, nothing to worry about. I have had a really hard time finding something simple enough to put on Maia's most tender skin without an allergic reaction. Buns N Stuff IS IT! I love that I can put it on her as often as I want, and I don't worry about buildup on my cloth diapers (I use a flushable liner), and I can use it on any skin that's dry and cracked. My waitress hands sometimes need an extra boost of love and care, and I just slather some of this on for the night and wake up soft and refreshed. I also put it on Maia's Maine-winter distressed cheeks, and my son's teenage-distressed skin. It's our miracle cream.

BFF's (Breast Friends Forever)

Maia and I are still nursing, and there are no signs that she's ready to stop any time soon. I get some comments at the restaurant about it when it's brought up- "You've got to get that child off the tit!" I just smile and walk away. Wean her? Weaning is for quitters! And anyway, my little firecracker would never allow it! While some days she's happy for just a couple sessions, and to nurse to sleep at night and then again early in the morning, there are some days when I have to simply shut her off. These past few days have been such a time. She's so incredibly "nurse-y" lately because she's getting her I-teeth. All four of them, all at once. Last night, she again illustrated how important nursing still is to her. We had been nursing for over an hour at about 2am, when she wanted to switch again ("I sitch. I sitch.") and I cut her off..."Maia, mama needs to sleep! Milks are sleeping, and you should, too." And from the dark comes her desperate plea..."Peas! Peas!" and even more sad "I yuv it! I yuv iiiiit!" She's in love with my breasts, and will tell you that they are hers. Any kind of stress, and her hand is down my shirt to hold one. At night, she takes them out herself and is nursing while I still lay sleeping.

It's funny that I feel like I live in two worlds- during the day, at the shop, extended nursing is something I advocate for, and we nurse while we work, and nobody thinks twice. At night at the restaurant, I'm the weird one. They love me there, but they still think I'm a little weird for the way I parent (I'll post more later about their opinions on co-sleeping!). I'm always trying to convert them to "my side", but it's slow going. ;-) A professor of mine, and shop advocate- Juliana Acheson- said I'm working against a hegemony when it comes to breastfeeding. It's so true.
For a great article on extended breastfeeding and its benefits to your child, check out Mothering Magazine.

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Welcome To Maine

Here are few pictures of spring in Maine, and the sunset in my own back yard.

Green Shopping

Reusable Bags for Green Shopping.

A small, easy, yet huge impact step to living greener is to switch to reusable shopping bags. Did you know that anywhere from 500 billion to one trillion plastic shopping bags are consumed each year? These bags end up in the landfills, along the highways, and in the oceans, contaminating our world. Environmental clean-up crews site plastic bags as one of the 12 most common items polluting our earth, and are responsible for the deaths of thousands of marine animals annually as they eat them thinking they are food.

Plastic bags are made using one of our currently most expensive, non-renewable, incredibly polluting resources- petroleum. They are seldom recycled, so although they are cheap for the stores to use, the environmental cost is incredible. So let's join the "BYOB" campaign- Bring Your Own Bag! It's simple- bring your own bags when you go shopping to tote back your goods.

Some good choices:
*Book Bags
*Large Purses
*Canvas Totes
*BackPacks
*Diaper Bags

You may already have a good starter stash at home, and can find many cheap options at thrift stores and online! Now our local Hannaford and WalMart are offering fairly cheap options as well, and Hannaford offers you a small discount for each fabric bag you bring to the checkout and use. Something else to consider as you build up your stash- the small plastic grocery bags don't hold much, so you will need far fewer fabric bags to hold the same amount of food and goods. Bonus if you want to save trips from the car to the house when you get home!

Another way to go green is to choose a fabric gift bag instead of paper. A fabric gift bag can be given, used over and over by the recipient, and re-gifted. Blessed Baby has many options in-store for green shopping- come and see!

Snow and Sun Bread

Seriously, I've had it with snow. We have had 140+ inches of snow this winter already, and it's snowing again. It's bad for business, and it's just not any fun after a while.
For a while, it snowed almost every Monday or Friday. Now it's every Wednesday, and it's been every Wed for a few weeks. It's pretty weird.

But yesterday, I friend of mine loaned me a book that she absolutely loves, and it's the perfect day for it. The book is called Sun Bread, by Elisa Kleven. It's got a lilting rhyme and beautiful illustrations, and it speaks about a dreary day full of snow and grumbles. The baker bakes a sun bread, "and filled them up from toe to head, With puffy, hot, delicious bread. Bread so brilliant, bright and sunny, Summer seemed to fill their tummies." So today, we will make sun bread, and pray for summer to come quickly!

Product Review: Babies Beyond Borders

Today I received shipment of 2 products from Babies Beyond Borders:
Bambino Soft Infant Shoes
Mei Favorite Mei Tais

What fun I've had!
The soft shoes, which are made of 100% fair trade leather, and made by fair-wage paid seamstresses and designed by a WAHM, are beautiful. The quality of the stitching is great, and the Double Suede Padded Soles make them hartier in the sole than the IsaBooties. They also come in sizes up to 7-8 years old, which makes them a great investment for older kids, too. In my shipment, there is one pair of 7-8 yrs old, and I have very small feet. So guess what? They fit me and I wore them for a few minutes. The fit was nice- nothing binding or tight (and I have wide feet!) Also, the DSPS made for a soft walk around the shop! LOL The styling is lovely as well- some really great designs! Great colors, and a huge variety for both boys and girls. If I hadn't just bought Maia some new IsaBooties, I'd buy her a pair of these. Maybe I will, just for the sake of having a child-tested review...we'll see:)

As for the mei tais, I instantly saw a difference between my current mei tai (a Kozy, which I still love love love) and this new one. The waist is a well-padded and clipped strap (much like the Ergo), which makes for quicker and simple putting on. And it's incredibly ergonomic that way. As for the straps, they are less padded than my Kozy, but wider and longer. This provides for a Tibetan tie if you'd like, and more flexibility for a larger person.
Maia was happy in it in the back carry for a while, then wanted to nurse ("I need milk!") so we switched her the front. I had a little bit of a hard time fixing the belt on the front, but sometimes you need some practice I guess. And, she was fidgeting and trying to get to her milk, so she made it tough. But, she nursed and fell asleep...and voila. I love it.