3rd Edition

I was struggling to find informative websites that I could follow each week of my pregnancy – cheers to Becka who sent me this link, awesome…. (if you use a particular website, feel free to share it). Weee so LS (little snausage) is currently over 2.5 inches and has hair and nails, can cry already and suck it’s thumb!

For those of you who are yet to introduce solids to your babies, be sure to read the book ‘Baby Led Weaning’ by Gill Rapley. It makes the whole task less daunting – no pureeing! Less cooking mess! Less chance of choking! It really is another world and a more natural approach than spoonfeeding, encouraging autonomy and independence with eating. Elizabeth shared this pdf link on it and Brenda shared this website with cute photos….

Had a few links this week regarding what is in our food and how it can affect childrens behaviour, intolerances and allergies – thanks to Sarah and Carla. Healthy Kidz Online and Hullabaloo where you can by natural food colouring (great for baking with kids!). Radness.

This fun Chinese chart supposedly will predict your child’s gender with the help of knowing your age at conception and the month you conceived…..it didn’t work for SB, but a bunch of you it worked for! Apparently, LS is going to be another boy (which matches all of my random penis dreams, like, penises sticking out of my stomach, like I had with SB!) Was this chart correct for you? And if you are only just pregnant, what does it say you will have?

Adrianne (who is soo soo soooo knowledgeable on breastfeeding, awesome contact) shared this Outcomes of Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding, for those of you who want the evidence to support your decision to breastfeed if your family/friends are all bottle feeders….

Alysha sent through this lovely video montage of a mothers determination to homebirth after THREE c-sections. Awesomeness.

What will you do with your placenta? Initially with SB, I wanted to eat mine, but knew NO ONE who did anything like this in real life, let alone on line. Now I have all of ya’ll who have introduced me to so many options. I’m looking to do ‘placenta encapsulation’ which is where you dry the placenta like beef jerky and pop it into capsules and pop a few a day after birth to help put of the baby blues (the ejection of the placenta means you suddenly lose a bunch of hormones which is what is said to cause the day 3 baby blues for a natural birth, or day 5 for a c-section). I did want to paint with mine again and plant it next to SB’s placenta tree, but I’m leaning towards keeping my energy up for 2 babies. There is the belief (although Becka will disagree!) that it reduces the amount and length of post partum bleeding, which happens usually for around 6 weeks….cheers to Yannon, Fleur and Corrie for the following links on how to encapsulate the placenta yourself……here, and down the bottom of this post - which shows AWESOME birth photos – angles you first time mama’s have probably not ever seen on the tv or youtube, and also inspiring info on homebirth, going diaper free from birth (yes, no diapers ever, it can be done!) and this link…..

Kalynda shared another informative link on delaying the clamping of the umbilical cord….for those of you on facebook….

Lucy shares her awesome homebirth on youtube….and refreshing to see someone other than the cliched ‘hippy’ mother homebirthing too…

For those of you in Brisbane or on the Gold Coast, there is an awesome Birth Options seminar being held on the 19th. Our very own Jessica Offer will be presenting and I’ll be there with bells on, hope to see you there! (Especially since the Birth Centre have dumped me due to lack of staff, so sad)

It’s about time there was a cute double pumping bra cheers Eileen for the recommendation! Also, a link I found for a cool looking one, on my new favourite celebrity baby website….

Did you know that ultrasounds can SMASH kidney stones and pop ovarian cysts? I sure didn’t! Thanks to Mikki and VT for the following (very easy to read) link – I’m relieved to have given my 12 week scan a miss, and at this stage, doubt very much I will be having any at all unless it is medically necessary….

A decision only more seriously confirmed when I saw a baby crying in the womb in response to the soundwaves emitted from the ultrasound thingy….. I recall SB ‘hiding’, having his hands up to his ears a lot, and after being sent away from the ultrasound to do exercise, star jumps, eat, drink, go to the toilet, to encourage his movement so we could see his face, he eventually looked to the screen with a pained expression, as if to say ‘WHAT, ALREADY? LEAVE ME ALONE’. It breaks my heart. (Thank you Laura, I had no idea that a baby can cry in the womb, so it’s crazy to learn tonight that my baby can already cry at only 12 weeks gestation….)

A really interesting blog on some premature twins who are now active children – 3 of you have (or someone close to you) has delivered premmie twins (before 27 weeks) in the last month and all of you are in my thoughts.

Cheers to Zoe for this link, on having a VBAC (vaginal birth after c-section). There are a few of you preparing for this, good on ya mates!

Our very own Gold Coast doula Janice now has her own kickass website – check it out now, funk soul mamas.

I’m sorry, I don’t remember who shared this link (I’m still getting the hang of storing these links and crediting the users who shared them!) but what an awesome beanie to shut people up about breastfeeding in public. I think I needs to gets me one!

Oh and if you skipped over the previous paragraph about eating the placenta, be sure to check out this awesome birth story which also features info on going diaper free from birth…I’m going to try EC from birth with this bub, what have I got to lose?

The awesome Zoie shared this link for those of you with toddlers at home, I can’t wait to have time to have a decent look at this website later on after I turn 40 and finish writing this freakin epic blog entry…. No Time for Flashcards.

Zoie also shared this link on convincing dads to support birthing at home if this is what the mother wants to do.

Tricia shared this awesome link for another kickass doco about formula feeding – called Formula Fed America. CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THIS. Will have to check out distribution in Australia…

A wonderful new initiative in Victoria to encourage homebirths – for freeeee check it out, wooh!

Ahhh Beck, thank you for this link but it made me feel SICK. Want to really detach from your baby? Get this contraption…

Dudes, I needz to goes to bedz. If you aren’t already a fan on ‘The Smallest Carbon Footprint’ or ‘Peaceful Parenting’ on FB, get to it! They each have a bunch of links I would love to share with you (and will next time) but I simply cannot be assed after this entry….may as well stay up at watch Germany play Australia in the world cup!

Peace out,
SM.