I admit it:

I mixed brownies left over from E's birthday in my oatmeal three days this week.
My house is not nearly as clean as I want it to be (and has not been in months).
Both E and I stayed in our pajamas ALL day today.

EC Correction

I should make a comment about my previous post. I am serious about starting EC because it is about communicating and knowing your baby. He communicates that he has to go to the bathroom and I respond just like I would if he were hungry, tired or scared. Whether he is out of diapers sooner doesn't really matter to me nor is it a goal. The goal is to communicate with E, and continue to build trust.

Elimination Communication

I had an aha! moment last week regarding E's waking. He hates being wet. I thought his cloth night time diaper being the kind that wicks wetness away from his body would cause him to not feel wet. I feel a little silly. He is a person and what person wants to lie in their own pee all night? Duh, mama!

So, we've been putting him on his Baby Bjorn potty right before bed and letting him pee in there instead of his diaper. He's been waking less!! But, now he likes to pee on the floor instead of in the potty, so we need to work on that. On Saturday, we were at an expo at the fairgrounds and he stayed dry almost all day. I took him to the bathroom, took off his diaper and stood him by the toilet while I peed every time I had to go. He would start peeing at the same time! I could not get him to pee in the toilet though. Yes, I cleaned the pee off the floor. Yesterday he took off his diaper right after peeing. And then later he peed on the floor, came and got us to point out his pee to us. We were so proud!

I'm excited to pick up a copy of The Diaper Free Baby from the library tomorrow for some helpful tips. We had planned on practicing EC from the beginning, but I guess I don't know what happened. I had been putting him on the potty since he was a few months old for some diaper free time and he would go in there once in awhile, but I wasn't too serious about it. Now I am.

E found the tp!



Leaving the scene of the crime!




Gotta love a babywearing daddy!

If someone is passionate about something...

...why could that cause someone else to feel guilty? I don't understand this. I saw this happening on a blog I was reading this morning, and I know that it happens often. If I like soccer and you like football, would my passion for soccer make you feel guilty for liking football? No, that's absurd. We may not agree, but you wouldn't feel guilty.

So why does the guilt thing happen with parenting style. I am passionate about natural birth, natural duration nursing, co-sleeping, being educated about vaccinations, healthy/natural eating, etc. I am confident in those choices because I pray about them, I follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and I trust my instincts. I don't feel guilty when someone parents differently than me.

When you are making parenting choices, you should be educated and know why you choose what you do. Don't just do what everyone else does just because that's what everyone else does. Be confident in your decisions and no one can make you feel guilty. I think the feeling guilty part comes when you lack confidence, and you doubt your choices. Just a guess...

I heart nursing (aka breastfeeding)!

Here's why:

~Breastmilk is God's perfect food for babies.
~It provides antibodies/immunities to naturally protect baby.
~Helps mama lose preggo weight easily, healthily and effortlessly (I'm below my pre-preggo weight!).
~E now plays peek-a-boo while nursing, soooo fun!
~No waste (no bottles, formula containers, bottle inserts, etc to throw away).
~Breastfed babies smell good naturally.
~No making/warming up bottles in the middle of the night.
~It calms and comforts baby.
~It relaxes mama. The hormones released literally help the body relax and cause you to want to "mother"...so cool!
~Bonding time with baby is amazing.
~My focus is on relationship building and mothering my baby not ounces or the clock.
~I have more reasons, but it's time to get to bed to snuggle with my two fav guys!

Woman Uncensored

I read this on Woman Uncensored's blog:

Some people would label me as an "Attachment Parent", and I'm great with that, but I tend to think that following one's parental instincts is what is truly normal, and everyone else is a "detachment parent".

Yes, exactly!! It is about following our instincts and not suppressing them because some "expert" says differently. I love how those dark voices that go against my instinct are getting quieter and quieter the more I encounter amazing women who parent by following their instincts. We are parenting a human being, not a robot or an inconvenience. I am gaining more and more confidence in our parenting choices.