She made my day!

So after my last post, I was walking throught the mall with my best friend feeding Smiley. A lady who was working in a jewelry store stopped me and told me I was wonderful. :) She told me stories about nursing her two children and told me to keep doing what I'm doing and not be ashamed. She repeated to me over and over again, "You're wonderful. You're wonderful."

Thank you random jewelry store lady. You made my day. As a matter of fact, you made my week!

The Quiet Roar of the Breastfeeding Mamas

A couple of weeks ago I was sitting in a dentist office waiting room with my mom and two kids. Smiley was hungry, so I fed him. I did not have one inch of skin showing, but a woman sitting next to us asked me if I had a blanket or anything to cover up with because her son (who was sitting next to her watching TV) was a teenager. Now believe me, I had a list of wonderfully snarky comments to say to her:

"Well I guess by now he should know what they're for."
"Sure. Here's the blanket. You can cover his head up with it if you like"

And so on. But I didn't say any of them. I simply said, "No."

I think that "No" is one of the most powerful words there is, and it is enough. There is no reason for me to make a snarky comment, no need to explain myself, and ABSOLUTELY no need for me to cover up. "No" is full of grace, but got my point across powerfully.

Am I sometimes uncomfortable nursing in public? Yes. But for every time I do it, I pray that another young mother sees me and gets the courage to do so as well. Or a not-yet-mama sees breastfeeding as beautiful. Or a child sees that it is normal. I hope that someone is encouraged by me.

It makes me sad that people think a nursing baby should be covered up. If I had been feeding him a bottle no one would be offended. But I refuse to give up what is best for my baby because of someone else's discomfort.

I will continue to nurse in public uncovered, and if you are a breastfeeding mama reading this I want to encourage you to do so as well. You make a difference toward making people more comfortable with nursing, toward normalizing it. If you personally do not nurse, make it easy on other mamas. Smile at them. Talk to them about their babies if they seem open to it. Just please do not ask them to cover up. Every step we take toward normalizing nursing encourages it in mamas who have not yet decided to nurse.

Things About Smiley

I know, I know... most people don't wait six weeks plus to announce the birth of their child, but I've been busy, so:

HE'S HERE!!!

I thought I'd just share a little list of things about Smiley:

1. He was born after only four hours of labor. I was only at the hospital for one hour before he was born. The doctor didn't make it in time for the delivery. A resident caught him.

2. He is the happiest baby there ever was. He has smiled since the day he was born, thus the name. And he saves his cries for when he really needs them. :)

3. He has black hair and blue eyes (really blue. I don't think they'll change colors).

4. Big sister loves him very very much.

5. And so do we. ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

Smokers Pollute Everyone's Air

Image: andyket
Because it's my blog and I can rant if I want to.

Smoking annoys the tar out of me. We don't frequent businesses that allow smoking. We will not eat in a restauraunt with a smoking section, even if it is enclosed. I can still smell it. I really hope that Texas becomes smoke-free soon. I love going to towns where there are smoking bans, because I can eat in whatever restaurant I want! Our current town has a grand total of two non-smoking restaurants. Poo.

But what really annoys me are the obnoxious people who do things like smoke on playgrounds. Or in laundry rooms. Seriously?! What is the point of washing your clothes if you are going to stink them up with smoke before they even get done? And stinking up my clothes, too, is just wrong.

And playgrounds? Go away people! My child does not need to smell your stink. I don't care if you move downwind. That's fine with me. But get your butt off the playground!

I don't even like walking through parking lots and having to walk by cars where people are sitting inside smoking. I can still smell it! Even with the windows up! Even people smoking in their own yards bothers me if it's near me. We used to have to go inside because our neighbors smoked in their backyard and it blew on us.

I suppose that people have a right to kill themselves and smoke if they want to, but ya know what? I have a right... my CHILD has a right to clean air! If you are going to kill yourself, do it in your own dang house where I don't have to breathe it.

Thank you.

Preparing for the new baby

Image: handmaidenbymaria

We are well on our way to preparing for the new baby. I realized suddenly that we have just over a month left to get ready... and we were not even started yet! It's harder to get ready for your second child, because you are so busy taking care of the first one! I haven't really had a lot of time to celebrate the fact that we are going to have a new little one, what with hubby's new job, a big move, and a sweet little girl to take care of.

So yesterday I cleared out some room in Doodlebug's cabinet and washed and folded all the tiny little baby clothes we've been given or had saved. I got them all sorted by size and the very tiniest are ready and waiting in the cabinet for our baby boy to come home. It was so strange to think that Doodlebug used to be that size! We will need to do some remodeling in the RV so we can fit a chest of drawers before winter (winter clothes take up more space), but for now there is room.

There is so much left to do, and I seem to be in a fit of nesting. It has been very hot here, so I'm trying to get things done during the heat of the day when we have to be inside under the A/C anyway. I still need to preregister for the hospital and pack a bag for myself, as well as a bag of special toys for Doodlebug (she will be in the delivery room with us most of the time). If anyone has any recommendations for an AWESOME toy for a two year old that's pretty quiet I would appreciate them.

I've been trying to keep up with my blog and pre-write some posts, but obviously I'll be pretty silent for most of the month of May. I still have April, though!

A farm girl, an RV, and a dream

I just had to share these adorable pictures of my baby! You know Sunbonnet Sue? Well this is Raincoat Doodlebug! These are from the last time we went to visit my parents' farm.

Doodlebug loves to water the garden, collect eggs from the chickens, feed the goats and the dog. She likes to do anything to "help" her Grammy and Gramps with farm chores. She even has her own cute little set of real garden tools from Lehmans so she can help. She is learning to not be afraid of the geese (and so am I!). It is so cute how she tells them, "No! No!" She calls chickens "ooh-oohs" (as in cock-a-doodle-doo) and ducks "meep meeps" (which really is more accurate than quack, I think).

Seeing how she loves doing the farm chores makes me long all the more for our someday homestead. One of the best things about having the RV is that someday we can buy land and we won't have to worry about the house. We can either build ourselves or spend as much time as we need fixing something up while we live in the RV.

Still dreaming...