What it's like...

It’s been a while since I last posted as I have been much to busy enjoying my beautiful little boy but here we are now...
For those of you who have yet to be blessed with children or for those who are just curious...

It's like that feeling you get when you’re looking forward to something. You know when you are bored at work but you get through the day knowing you have that night out with friends in only a couple days. Or when you are leaving on a trip and you have butterflies days before you leave. Being a mother is exhilarating. Exciting. Exhausting. But most of all fabulous! Phineas Antony Antonopoulos is the love of my life! He is extraordinary and our adventures every day have been the best days of my life! I will cherish these days forever, for a lifetime. For those of you who haven’t been up to date on my facebook page here are a couple photos.
Phin is currently having a little snooze and to be perfectly honest he looks like a little cherub as he sleeps; its bliss. So I will leave this post by saying yet again...It's like the best day ever, best job ever, it's wonderful!

The Non-Organic Organic

I like to look at the argument of organic and non-organic a lot like politics and the spectrum of left wing and right wing beliefs. Anytime I consider an organic lifestyle I fall somewhere in the middle and I cant seem to swing on to one side or the other. For instance in my babies nursery I have several receiving blankets and garments which are organic cotton and I have to admit they feel like heaven to touch but I also have several other 100% cotton garments, blankets and other items which are equally cozy. Will my baby know the difference between these items…I will have to keep you posted once he arrives. Another organic argument is disposable diapers or cloth? I know it creates an excessive amount of waste and I wish I was more dedicated but we have decided to go with disposable diapering. I have heard from parents who went the cloth route that it was awesome if you had a service such as the "Happy Nappy" or some other local service which takes care of the dreaded washing and redistribution of diapers on a weekly basis. I guess what made me feel sort of repulsed by this was either the washing of the soiled diapers myself or having some service pick them up wash them with a variety of other soiled diapers from children I don’t know and then redistribute them all over the city. I know that they would be taking every precaution to clean the diapers in specific washers and dryers that are capable of cleaning the diapers more than adequately but I just can’t get my head around it- pampers bring it on! So what about formula, bottles, bath products, strollers, play mats, clothing, bedding, furniture…the list goes on. I sort of feel like if your going to raise your baby in an organic home you can't be a person like me who falls in the middle of the spectrum you need to be dedicated, committed and overall on the right wing to maintain consistency and be successful. Let’s face it, it doesn’t hurt to have organic items amongst your non-organic items but to truly call yourself an “organic parent” requires you to embrace it as a lifestyle from diet to every day essentials in your home.

For those of you interested in organic baby items I have compiled a list below. These websites are really awesome and some are even local like "Organic Kidz" the Calgary based Organic Bottling Company which was founded by a local mother of two. The bottles are super cute and perfect for the organic household!

www.organickidz.ca

www.luvabunbaby.com/

www.happynappy.ca/

www.growinguporganic.ca

www.edamamekids.ca/

www.cheekymonkey.ca

Organic Kidz Bottles

Onesie- Cheeky Monkey

Baby Leggings-Cheeky Monkey

To Bank Or Not To Bank?

With our little one due in less than a month’s time the crunch is on to make a decision regarding cord blood banking. There is a ton of research or as my legal trained husband would call “due diligence” which needs to be done to make an informed decision. To me banking a specimen of blood immediately after your baby is born seems a no brainer if it could mean one day curing your child of a variety of serious diseases. I have spent a lot of time discussing cord blood banking with friends and family and to be honest there is no consensus and a pile of controversy. I want to share with you some of the discussions which have evolved over the past few weeks surrounding this topic.

Naturally one would think the best person to ask is your doctor…right? So I did just that and was shocked at how diplomatic and unbiased my doctor was about the topic. I learnt that Doctors sadly cannot give their personal opinion on this topic in Alberta/Canada as we have public health care and this falls under the private sector as there is a fee involved. So, after asking my questions I was given some things to think about defending each side of the argument…Here are the pros and cons that I was faced with.

-If you don’t bank privately there will still be options available if your child falls ill, such as donor banks

-Also, with the way technology is evolving we are finding cures every day for illnesses and diseases which we thought we would never be able to cure, so if your child does fall ill there will be more and more options for treatment over the years

-Both you and your husband are healthy adults and therefore the chances of your child falling ill is slim

Ok the Pros

-You likely have insurance for your house right? and therefore you can look at banking cord blood as an expensive insurance premium for your child and your family

-In the event of your child falling ill there are several diseases which cord blood can and will treat with a high rate of success

-If you are in a position where you require stem sells or cord blood to cure or treat your child, your specimen will be a 100% match and therefore the most effective form of treatment

-your baby’s cord blood could one day save your life as well or other children you may have

I was really happy my doctor took the time to point out my options and offer her professional opinion however it would have been so much easier for her to just say either Do it or Don’t bother…but I understood that she couldn’t and respected her opinions.

So the discussion continued

Many of my friends said if they were currently expecting they would definitely pursue cord blood but some said that they didn’t think it was necessary and just another scheme to make more money off innocent new parents. Some even made reference that in a way it was like playing “God” as if you might be interfering with a bigger plan that shouldn’t be in your control.

After several discussions on the way to sports events, movies and dinners with my husband we decided that for us we were going to take the plunge and bank our baby's cord blood. I suspect this came from the fact that my husband is incredibly risk adverse and I am bordering on being a hypochondriac. It also didn’t help that the same scenario kept playing over and over in my head, one that I couldn’t seem to get rid of- it went a little like this…

You give birth to what you think is a beautiful, healthy child but one day he falls sick and there you are in a Doctors office with your husband and your baby and they drop the bomb, telling you your child has…....the good news is says the Doctor we have found that this illness responds with high success to cord blood or stem cell treatment. Did you by chance bank your babies cord blood?

It was this scenario that I pondered with for several days and the one which finally led us to our decision. Before I continue any further I need to make it clear that I hold no judgement to parents who choose not to bank cord blood in fact in a way I admire their ability to not obsess over things like this. At the end of the day you hope that you and the people around you will never be in a situation like I described above. Anyway the decision was made and the next step was which provider…yes, who knew there were so many cord blood banks in our country and why couldn’t there be just one?

The three major cord blood providers that we researched were life bank which is based in Toronto, Cells for life which has a Calgary office (idyllic) and Canadian Cord Blood Registry which is based in Edmonton. Each organization essentially does the same thing; banks cord blood. Each costs about the same amount approximately $1000.00 plus the cost of an annual storage fee of about $100-$140. After perusing their websites and speaking to representatives I picked up the phone to talk to parents who also decided to bank cord blood to get their opinions on why they chose the company they did. Turns out we know people who have used each service and all have positive things to say about their experience. Again the decision was up to us so we went with our gut and chose cells for life for no other reason than it felt right when I spoke to a representative over the phone plus we attended an excellent information session that talks new parents through the entire process which was perfect! There you have it our process/dilemma of debating To Bank or Not to Bank…Now, we just pray and cross our fingers that this insurance policy never has to be put to use.

A little prince is on the way...

With about 6 weeks or so to go before baby comes I decided to plan a last minute shower with the help of a couple friends! Even though it’s been a fast planning process it’s been a total blast. Baby stuff in general is so much fun to shop around for and on the weekend I had a great time with my sister discussing little games and activities for the shower. I like the idea of a prince theme and of course because we know were having a boy blue has become my new favourite color. Here are some photos which inspired my planning as well as a few photos of baby clothes that I came across during my search. I absolutely adore these preppy little outfits…thoughts?

And the sweetest baby clothes!!

Hand of Hope: Inspirations for a random Wednesday

It is proof like this that there is so much more going on in the world beyond everyday life! This is truly one of the most remarkable moments ever caught on film! I copied this photo and description from a friends facebook page. Absolutely amazing!!!!

This picture began circulating in November. It should be "The Picture of the Year," or perhaps, "Picture of the Decade." It won't be. In fact, unless you obtained a copy of the U.S. paper which published it, you probably would never have seen it.

The picture is that of a 21-week-old unborn baby named Samuel Alexander Armas, who is being operated on by surgeon named Joseph Bruner. The baby was diagnosed with spina bifida and would not survive if removed from his mother's womb. Little Samuel's mother, Julie Armas, is an obstetrics nurse in Atlanta. She knew of Dr. Bruner's remarkable surgical procedure. Practicing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, he performs these special operations while the baby is still in the womb.

During the procedure, the doctor removes the uterus via C-section and makes a small incision to operate on the baby. As Dr. Bruner completed the surgery on Samuel, the little guy reached his tiny, but fully developed hand through the incision and firmly grasped the surgeon's finger. Dr. Bruner was reported as saying that when his finger was grasped, it was the most emotional moment of his life, and that for an instant during the procedure he was just frozen, totally immobile.

The photograph captures this amazing event with perfect clarity. The editors titled the picture, "Hand of Hope." The text explaining the picture begins, "The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus Samuel Alexander Armas emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of Dr. Joseph Bruner as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life."

Little Samuel's mother said they "wept for days" when they saw the picture. She said, "The photo reminds us pregnancy isn't about disability or an illness, it's about a little person" Samuel was born in perfect health, the operation 100 percent successful. Now see the actual picture, and it is awesome...incredible..

Safari Portraits!

Many of you are aware that we are creating a safari theme in our little guys nursery. I wanted to make something for him during my last couple months off so naturally I turned to canvas and paint and put my BFA to good use. I had a lot of fun creating these little portraits for his room and thought I would share them with you!

Here are they are:

I love Birdy and Bug!!!

With baby stuff on my mind 24/7 its no wonder that I have fallen made in love with Birdy and Bug. Birdy and Bug is an organic Canadian business,  run by two extraordinary sisters; Kirsten and Rebekka.  Kirsten, is based in Calgary with three children and Rebekka lives in Ottawa with 1 toddler and rumoured to have another on the way. Their families are totally precious just like their collection of wares. They have been sewing and knitting most of their lives and to me they truly epitomize the wonderful qualities we all admire in a family run business. They create beautiful handmade bags, mats, mobiles and more. All of their designs are highly practical, unique and made from 100% cotton; they are out of this world! Their attention to detail in using large wooden buttons and squiggly stitching is what really sets their creations apart from others. They have taken the ordinary diaper bag and made it trendy, chic and easy to wear! The best part is each Birdy and Bug creation is durable, affordable and easy to wash. Did I mention the mats conveniently fold up to hold your wipes, diapers and fit perfectly in to the messenger style diaper bags AND you can choose your style of fabric! For a soon to be mom I can tell you that after perusing the many shelves of bags and mats it was an easy choice to select designs by Birdy and Bug. Below are the items which I have from the Birdy and Bug line please check out their website and see the many creations these two beauties have made.

http://www.birdyandbug.com/birdyandbug/Welcome.html