Cesarean Birth Story

It's been almost three weeks since I gave birth to my second baby Atticus Finn. The birth of my second child is a complete 180 compared to the birth of Logan. I'm going to share both experiences for those contemplating a natural drug free birth and for those that are going to have a cesarean/c-section.

Logan

When I was pregnant with my Logan I was wafting between getting an epidural or avoiding one. At the time I met my friend Keri at work and she was also pregnant. She wanted a completely natural zero intervention birth. She recommended that I watch "The Business of Being Born" to gather more information. Tim and I watched it; our opinion of child birth changed. I decided that I wanted to have a natural child birth.

I started reading more books to prepare myself. I read Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth and Birthing from Within. I rewatched "The Business of Being Born" to gear myself for the upcoming birth. I also watched a Baby Story on TLC and was enraged by a lot of what was happening during these births. I didn't want the pitocin, epidural, c-section cycle that most hospitals seemed to recommend.

I switched over to a midwife/obgyn practice so that I could have a midwife and a better chance at a natural birth.

To show how crazy it's been with 2 kids it's been almost 2 more weeks since I wrote the above paragraphs. Between making sure the toddler doesn't do something nuts and having the baby attached to the boob it's been busy. So to continue where I left off...

With Logan's birth, after switching to a midwife group I was determined to have a natural birth. In the book Birthing from Within they recommend holding an ice cube in your hand and try different coping mechanisms. The pain of child birth is nothing like holding an ice cube, but the point of the exercise is to find a coping mechanism to deal with discomfort. You were supposed to hold the ice cube for 30 seconds to 1 minute at a time and find a coping mechanism.

I would hold on to that ice cube for 10 minutes thinking, "I got this".



See the cut on his face?

I was amped that I would be able to handle natural childbirth. Then Logan's due date came around, but no Logan. A week and 6 days later the midwive's told me I had low amniotic fluid and I needed to be induced. That was a downer. I had a feeling I was going to fall into the pit, epi, csection cycle. I later found out that low amniotic fluid is a myth.

On March 8th, straight from my appointment, they told me to check into the hospital immediately. They would use cervadil to soften the cervix. I was given a sleeping pill because the next day would be really hard. Yeah that sleeping pill was useless.

The next day around 5 am I called my doula Jessica Fuss and we started trying to induce labor naturally. I started walking laps around the hospital floor. My midwife on call was willing to let me delay the pitocin for an hour to get natural labor started. It didn't work so we went to the l&d floor. At Women & Infants they have an ABC unit. Which is the alternative birthing unit for people who want a "natural hospital" birth. I had planned to go there, but because I was getting induced I couldn't. They were nice enough to give a huge room with my own shower to mimic the ABC.

I had a fantastic nurse who took my birth plan and wasn't offended. She tried to fulfill my wishes, but things just didn't go my way.

I had to have continuous monitoring because when they first put the monitor on me, Logan's heart rate dipped. The problem with that, was his heart rate could only be read if I was lying flat on my back. That was fine for the first 6cm of dilation however, once I got to 7cm it was hard to just lay on my back and not move. Have you ever tried to labor naturally without moving? Not that easy.

I kept having to get up to pee and they had to keep readjusting the monitor. I threw up a couple of times. I started shaking like I was having seizures. It basically sucked.

So finally after hours of pain and not being able to move I got the epidural at 9cms. I fell asleep for a little bit and stopped progressing. Logan was sunny side up and my cervix was anterior. Then I started feeling enormous pressure and the epidural was useless at that point.

Finally they decided that I should get the csection. I was so upset and defeated at that point. Everything on my birth plan was completely wasted. The only thing I got to do was wear my own nightgown during the surgery. Yippee.

I remember thinking, "This is like a really shitty episode of Grey's Anatomy, I better not fucking die." I was shaking the whole way down to the operating room where they wheeled me in. Tons of people were in the room already, but I requested that only people that needed to be in there were in there. I said no to students. I was already pissed about getting a csection. I didn't feel like having students view my innards.

Tim came in and he was worried that I was having seizures because I was convulsing on the table. The anesthesiologist assured him that that was normal. My arms felt dead and they were strapped down. The lights were super bright and I could only stare at the ceiling. Tim kept trying to talk to me, but I just tuned him out. I think the depression was already setting in. I already felt like a huge failure because I couldn't birth the way that I had imagined.

When they brought Logan over the cloth wall to my face to see him, I really didn't care at that point. I do remember telling Tim to get away from me and to stay with Logan. Every time Tim hovered over me, I told him to go away and focus on Logan.

Finally, they took Logan to the room and I told Tim to go with them. I stayed behind to get my organs put into place and stitched up.

Logan meeting Daddy for the first time

When we were in the recovery room Tim was arguing with the nurse about putting erythromycin in Logan's eyes. Another thing on my birth plan that the new nurse ignored. Then they kept trying to get me to hold Logan. I was nervous because my arms still felt dead and I didn't want to drop him. I also didn't really have any interest in holding him.

It wasn't until we moved up to the recovery floor that I noticed the big cut on Logan's face. Tim was trying to keep it quiet so that I wouldn't be more upset. During the csection his cheek was cut open by the scalpel. Our nurse kept downplaying it, but my midwife finally stepped in and said he needed stitches. The plastic surgeon came in and put stitches in his face. She told us that he was the youngest patient she ever worked on...he was 3 hours old at that time.

Being Stalked by a Famous Person

Sophmore Year

Senior Year

I remember when I was in high school the show Popular was on the air. Classmates would come up to me and say, "Hey there's a girl with almost your name on the show Popular." I would of course ask what her name was and they would say Lily Esposito. My maiden name is Lilia Esposito, not that common of name. I thought it was weird because if my name were Jane Smith it wouldn't be surprising if someone had a similar name to me on a t.v. show. I never watched the show and kind of forgot about it.


"Lily Esposito" from Popular

Fast forward to 10 years later and the show Glee aired. I started watching it and heard that the creator of Glee was Ryan Murphy. My husband found that hysterical because his brother's name is Ryan Murphy. Every time the subject of Glee comes up my husband is always telling people, "My brother is the creator of that show, ha ha ha!" To him the joke never gets old.

Glee

Obviously the show Glee is popular and you start learning more about the creator of Glee. I've seen him interviewed on t.v. and I watch Glee. It wasn't until his kid was born that I realized that somehow Ryan Murphy is stalking me.

I woke up one morning and I read an article that stated that Ryan Murphy's son was born. As I was reading the article I noticed that he had named his son Logan Phineas Miller Murphy! Um, my son's name is Logan Murphy! What the hell Ryan Murphy!!! I mean clearly there are other Logan Murphy's in the world because Murphy is a very common last name. Logan is also becoming a very popular first name.

Ryan Murphy's Logan

My Logan

Now here's the final piece to make me realize that Ryan Murphy is indeed my celebrity stalker. The day that I read the article about Ryan Murphy's son it reminded me about the show Popular. I started wondering who the creator of the show was because I wanted to see if there was a reason for the Lily Esposito name. I was shocked to see that Ryan Murphy was one of the creators of Popular!!! So what's the deal Ryan Murphy why are you obsessed with me??

Obviously, I don't think Ryan Murphy is stalking me, we have never lived in the same states or have ever crossed paths. I just find the parallel names thing a funny coincidence. The Lily Esposito thing is funny because Lily or Lilia Esposito are not common names. I'm just wondering how that name came about in the drawing room. The Logan Murphys thing is not surprising because I think with the popularity of Logan rising there will be more Logan Murphys out there. I do hope that one day I can meet Ryan Murphy and ask him why he's obsessed with me ;)

Co-sleepers, bassinets, and in bed sleepers oh my!

I decided to review products that I used to help our family co-sleep. My first post on this blog clearly shows that I am an advocate for co-sleeping. This post is going to review the products that we used to help us co-sleep efficiently. The first product we decided to use was a stand alone bassinet the Graco Pack n Play. It also converted into a play yard as well.



Logan using the pack n play.

We actually bought a used one from one of my co-workers. I wanted to save money and I wasn't sure how often we would be using it. We placed it into the corner of our bedroom because it was huge and we didn't want it to obstruct our walkways.

It worked fine, but for breast feeding purposes it kept us more awake. Since I had a c-section Tim decided he would be nice and get Logan for me. Tim is a deep sleeper so I would have to wake him up to get Logan. He would get Logan, bring him into the bed, then I would re-wake him to put Logan back in the sleeper. It was hard for me to get in and out of the bed because of the c-section scar healing. It took me a really long time to walk normally without pain. Getting up and out of bed comfortably took a very long time.

If you decide to breast feed, the baby does usually need to be fed every two hours. Formula fed babies sleep a little bit longer...usually. Tim was trying to be a good husband and father by helping me get Logan. I also had post partum depression. One of my symptoms was constant fear that the baby would die in his sleep. I would wake Tim up to go check on Logan because I was afraid to find him dead. That would happen every 20 minutes. So clearly this effected mine and Tim's sleeping pattern. This only lasted two weeks.

When we talked to Logan's pediatrician he recommended putting Logan in our bed. I was too afraid because I know that Tim is heavy sleeper. I had images of him crushing Logan in our sleep. I tried to think of a happy medium. I found the arms reach co-sleeper and I thought this would work!!


Packed up and ready to go

We bought the mini and tried to set it up. Our previous bed was too short to line up with the co-sleeper. We decided to return the arms reach co-sleeper to Babies R Us. While walking around Babies R Us, I happened upon this snuggle nest. I thought that maybe this would work. It had sides around it so I knew that Tim wouldn't crush our baby. It also would block pillows that might suffocate Logan and it wasn't overly priced.
We used this for about 6 months. I liked it because I could take it to different places and it was a nice safe space for Logan to sleep. I was never a fan of placing a baby on a  regular bed with pillows as a buffer.  The snuggle nest eased my fears, when I took him places during his nap time. I knew that Tim couldn't roll over into it because the sides are hard plastic so he would feel it and not roll into it.



Snuggle Nest

The negative aspect of this snuggle nest is the breast feeding part. In order to feed Logan I would have to pick him up and place him next to me. I couldn't just roll over and pop the boob in. Afterwards, I would have to place him back into it when he was done eating. This cut into my sleeping time because I would have to stay awake and alert during the feeding. However, this helped Tim's sleeping time. I never had to wake up him to get Logan or to check on him. I could check on him myself.

Tim was extremely well rested even with a newborn in our room.  I always woke up about 5 minutes before Logan would. This prevented him from waking up crying because I would already have the boob ready for him. This is a normal phenomenon that occurs when you sleep in the same room as your baby since birth. Your internal clock syncs with the baby's internal clock so that you wake up prior to the baby waking up. Tim could sleep a full 8 hours without a crying baby or having to wake up and check on the baby. He had it easy compared to most new parents lol.



The co-sleeper being used already!

Finally when Logan was about 6 months I just let him sleep in the bed. I could roll over, feed him, fall asleep, and wait for the next time. I know all the research and expert opinions about co-sleeping dangers. So I don't care what your criticisms may be. Logan is clearly alive and well, so co-sleeping didn't kill him.
Now the reason I'm using the arms reach mini sleeper for baby number 2 actually has to do with Logan. Sometimes in the middle of the night, Logan will wake up and come into our room. I'm afraid that he'll sleep on top of the baby. He might not see the baby or since he's only two years old he's not going to consciously know that you're not supposed to sleep on the baby.



It doesn't take up too much space

I bought this arms reach co-sleeper used. The previous owner had never used it and she discounted it nicely. It was in great condition when I received it, no stains and very sturdy. I decided to get the mini because I anticipate only using it till the baby is about 6 months. Logan is pretty much sleeping in his room and he'll most likely be in his own bed full time.

The co-sleeper only took 20 minutes to set up and attach to the bed. For some reason, the previous memory I have of the first co-sleeper was that it had a lot of pieces and looked like it would take forever to set up. This time around it was a cinch.

The only negative that I can see is that there is a dip from the height of our mattress to the baby's mattress. This means that I will have to pick up the baby to breast feed then put them back in the sleeper. Which is fine because, I think it will be better for me, rather than having to physically get up and get the baby. This co-sleeper can also be detached from the bed and used as a stand alone or a play yard. I think this co-sleeper provides many advantages for the price.

If you're looking for something cheap I recommend a snuggle nest type of product. The co-sleeper is great because it's pretty much three products in one. I think it can be economical especially if you plan on having more children. If you want to co-sleep and you're afraid of crushing the baby the Snuggle Nest or the Arms Reach are great products. I suggest trying out products, but check the return policies of the store. If you can try it and return it if it doesn't work, then that's fantastic! If you're not a fan of co-sleeping, but want a bassinet in the room the Graco pack n play or Arms Reach would work as well.

Good luck in finding a product that works for your family. You might find that putting a baby in a crib, in the other room works for your family and that's fine too! To each their own and whatever works for your family is what is best for you!


A Modest Proposal

When you're pregnant your emotions are on a crazy tilt-a-whirl. Right now I'm feeling a lot of hatred.

I think they should have a 9 month (free) farm that pregnant women go to. They can bring their other children and have 24 hour daycare. Husbands are only allowed to visit, but can't sleep over. Then you give birth and stay for a year. After that year you return to your normal life.

The pregnant women can make arts and crafts that they sell at Michaels, Home Goods, Hobby Lobby etc. So it's kinds like slave labor, but relaxing. We can do jobs that aren't too stressful emotionally or physically. I was thinking some type of call center job, but too many stupid people call call centers.

Or we could do some kind of instant messaging tech support. We don't have to talk to anyone just type. We could keep those jobs in America and technically it would be cheaper than outsourcing it to India or wherever. The companies don't have to pay a salary just maintain a nice living environment for pregnant women and their other kids.

Plus it would be awesome because women are always getting pregnant so it's not like the workforce would die down. It's also not a concentration camp because you have the choice of going there and leaving anytime you want.

It would keep pregnant women away from general population since it's not like they're wanted there anyway. The benefits for Non-Pregos:
- The random courtesy parking spaces for pregnant people will no longer exist. Even though those rarely exist anyway.
- You won't have to worry about covering for that lazy pregnant person on maternity leave because she ain't going to be there anyway.
-People won't have to deal with hormonal pregnant women anymore. Eww emotions.
-That tired pregnant woman running around with a screaming toddler won't be there to annoy you at Starbucks, the grocery store, the DMV, basically anywhere.
- The divorce rate would most likely go down.
- It will cut down on the chance of seeing gross displays of public breastfeeding.
- Strollers on sidewalks will not be as frequent.

There are so many positive things that pregos and non-pregos would gain from this. I could make this list go on for days. Who wants to help me bring this to the attention of our federal government???

Why Hunger Games is not a ripoff of Battle Royale

Yay, children as killers!

I remember when the Hunger Games movie was coming out people were saying it was a ripoff of Battle Royale. After finally seeing Battle Royale I really don't think it is. The only thing they have in common is children killing children which in this case they're both ripoffs of Lord of the Flies.

Then people were saying how can Suzanne Collins have never heard or seen Battle Royale?? Well Battle Royale came out in 2001 and I only heard about it last year when Hunger Games was coming out. Battle Royale never came to the US, it was banned. Also, how many foreign movies come to our mainstream theaters? You would have to actively look for it. It just came to Netflix this year so you can't use the Netflix excuse. In order to know about this movie, you would have to have a passion for Asian cinema or foreign cinema. I really don't think that the average middle age woman from the US would have the opportunity to see this. It's not as if it aired as movie on Lifetime. It wasn't even on our premium channels like HBO, Cinemax, or Starz.

I've read the Hunger Games and seen the movie. I have only seen the Battle Royale movie. There is a book, but I haven't read it. There are major differences in theme. The first being that the Hunger Games is a book set in the future of a dystopian society. In BR a group of classmates are gassed and taken to a remote island. In HG the games are used a punishment for an uprising that happened 75 years ago. In BR this is a way to control rowdy youth who stopped going to school and are becoming out of control. The games in HG aren't a way to control the youth, but to stop the districts from trying to up rise again. Clearly there are two very different reasons why children are being forced to kill each other in these stories.

Then there is a countdown of each child being killed. This is normal for both authors to come to this concept separately. It's called reality TV. We are always counting down the people being exiled or voted off in these shows. In HG the images appear in the sky at night. In BR dramatic irony is used to convey the number of children left. The children are never aware of who is dead, but the audience is told the numerical order of each child dying.

One huge difference is how each child receives supplies. In BR each child is given a backpack with a weapon ranging for machine guns to the lid of a trashcan. In HG they were given nothing. They had to run to the cornucopia to grab an assembly of supplies and risk getting murdered. Later on they might get a sponsor to send them things. They don't have sponsors in BR.

I think the biggest difference in these two stories is that HG used the games as reality TV fodder where BR didn't. The only person shown watching the action in BR was their former teacher Kitano. In the HG every person in the districts and in the capital is forced to watch the games. The capital citizens treating it more like entertainment than those in the districts.

I liked HG better than BR, but that's because I read the book. Perhaps if I read the BR book my opinion would be different. In terms of the movie I personally didn't care for the HG movie. I've seen better YouTube remakes with beanie babies. The BR movie was a typical Asian slasher fill full of high drama. Tim only watched the first 10 minutes and then he went to bed. He wasn't impressed, but he's not a fan of subtitles. He made me switch it to the dubbed version which I find annoying. I'd rather read the movie than watching peoples mouths not match up with what they're saying.

Anyway, I just wanted to be one of the millions who pointed this out. Next blog will be how Suzanne Collins plagiarized herself! If that's possible.

To Vaccinate or Not Vaccinate...

This is a hot topic among parents today. There is propaganda on both sides and people are really starting to feel the pressure. Driving into Atlanta the other day I passed a billboard about childhood obesity and one for vaccinating children. I need to make sure Logan becomes a vaccinated skinny kid, in order to show the world I'm a good parent.

I never really thought about vaccines growing up because what kid does? You got your shot, cried a little bit, and got over it. Then vaccines started bounding into the spotlight because of the rise of autism in children. It seemed to make sense. Vaccines are becoming more routine and autism is becoming more common. We have a correlation, but do we have a cause and effect?



Apparently, I don't love or protect Logan

In 1998 Andrew Wakefield conducted a study and his findings stated that vaccines may cause autism. After this article, everyone was in an uproar. It was like the scene in Beauty and The Beast where everyone storms the castle to, "Kill the Beast." There was a lot of negativity aimed at vaccinations and people were starting to veer away from them. Then two years later the study was discredited and retracted. The pharmaceutical companies rejoiced and started their pro vaccination crusade.
When you make the choice of not vaccinating or delaying vaccination people look at you as if you said, "I beat my kid with a canoe paddle everyday." It's not that I think that Logan will become autistic once he's vaccinated; I just think we're not fully informed.

Have you ever watched a commercial about a new drug on the market? During the commercial they show happy bouncy people doing fun things; while in the background, in a subdued voice, you hear the horrible side effects. They start off with normal side effects  like dry eyes, itchy nose, and trouble sleeping. Then later, you hear the more disconcerting side effects like anal explosions, suicidal thoughts, and death. Sometimes your ailments sound better than the side effects. Now if there are these side effects with regular drugs. What could be the side effects with vaccines?



Roseola makes for a fun Easter!



I believe the reason drug companies are pushing so hard for vaccinations is for profit. They make a shit load of money on vaccines. This is another article that shows the tremendous profit that vaccines make. This article states that Gardasil is predicted to jump to $3 billion in profits by 2012. I also found another article by Dr. Sears that states that Md's sometimes get financial incentives for the number of patients they vaccinate per quarter. Now if you were a greedy bastard with no moral compass would you care if your product could potentially harm people? Look what the cigarette companies did KNOWINGLY to their consumers. I'm afraid that what happened with the cigarette companies is what the future holds for pharmaceutical companies.



However, I do not believe that all vaccines are terrible. Logan has gotten some on a delayed schedule and will continue to get more as he gets older. There will be some that he will never get unless for some reason he wants to when he gets older. I do think that some vaccines are necessary. I think the Gardasil vaccine is a good idea when your child reaches the age where they become sexual beings. I also think the Hep A & Hep B vaccines are a good idea at the same age as the Gardasil vaccine. Some vaccines do not need to be given right at birth like they currently recommend, but can wait till the child is older.
One thing I should mention that most people probably don't know is this: you generally don't need all the shots you're given during a series vaccination like the Hep B. Usually you're immunized after the first shot, but you could be the 50% that isn't. It's cheaper to just give you the three shots than to test your immunization after each shot. This is not opinion, but 100% fact. Our pediatrican actually did this with Logan. He tested him after every shot to see if he was already fully immunized.



I'm a little biased...



With the type of vaccine schedule that we have done with Logan. He has only been sick twice since the day he was born. He had roseola Easter of 2011 and he had a minor cold this past year. Now I'm not 100% sure if it's because we delayed vaccinations. There are other factors as well. I breastfed him exclusively till 6 months and he weaned himself at 15 months. He has also never been to daycare, but he has played with groups of children. I also know that some of the children were sick because I got sick after seeing them, but he did not. I hate to give the day care example because people say that is the main reason children get sick. Yes one sick child will expose the sickness to a group, but it's not limited to a day care setting.  Another good example is my mom was sick and a week later I got sick. Guess who didn't get sick...Logan!

I remember talking to our former pediatrician in Rhode Island and we discussed Andrew Wakefield. We talked about how his name was tarnished and his medical license was taken away. Our pediatrician also mentioned that in his readings he found that Wakefield might not be as wrong as everyone thought. I have to remind you that our pediatrician is a holistic one because a mainstream pediatrician would probably not agree with me. Now when I was looking up the information about Andrew Wakefield, I found an interesting tidbit. The other doctor in the studies was given his medical license back. If you read the article it's an interview with Andrew Wakefield that is pretty interesting.

When I was face booking, like I do every 20 minutes, I found a great post on my friend Audry's wall. Our other friend from high school Cecily mentioned a book, Saying No to Vaccines: A Resource Guide for All Ages. I have been dying to read it, but it's kinda expensive. I want to read more about Dr. Tenpenny before I buy the book. I did check out Dr. Tenpenny's website and there is a lot of vaccination information listed.



I find that the pro-vaccination information is becoming much like propaganda. There was a Law & Order SVU episode that made me really notice how crazy it was becoming. In season 10 the episode Selfish (nice title right?) starts off much like the Caylee Anthony case with Hilary Duff playing a Casey Anthony like figure. The twist is it wasn't the mother who murdered her child, but a NON VACCINATED child. Tim and I sat there like what the fuck just happened? Did you seriously blame a non vaccinated child and his anti-vaccination mother for murder?

Logan is a filthy heathen unworthy of a hug

My question to people has always been if your child is vaccinated how would my non vaccinated child effect you? Shouldn't the vaccine be 100% effective against the disease? Isn't that why you vaccinated your child? Now the child in this episode wasn't the appropriate age for the MMR vaccine because she was not quite a year old. However, in most cases shouldn't the vaccine work? I thought vaccines were infallible and I was a horrible psycho for not vaccinating. Oh wait, vaccines are actually not infallible that's why you keep having to get boosters and they are never 100% guaranteed to work. This article I found, discusses a study that found that eating microwave popcorn lessens the efficacy of vaccines. First of all, what the hell is in microwave popcorn that this actually happens? Second,  I thought vaccines were indestructible. In order to get a vaccine to work you have to put your child in a plastic bubble in order to avoid other children. They can only drink filtered water and eat unprocessed food (which I have to admit is not the worse thing).

 

The pro-vaccination crusade has really done a number on those who go against them. I am not really into conspiracy theories, although I really did like the movie Conspiracy Theory. I just think it boils down to greed. Drug companies keep getting richer and they don't care who they step on to get even more money. The way they prey on your fear is a sick way of convincing you to vaccinate your child. The billboards, commercials, and articles I see make you feel as if you belong in a psych ward if you choose non vaccination. I'm sure there is anti vaccination propaganda that makes the pro vaccinators feel like crap. I haven't found one, but if you do let me know. One last thing that I found interesting, was the post I read on the Vaccine Times website. It's a pro vaccinator commenting on a post by an anti vaccinator. It's about the 5 worst misconceptions that pro vaccinators have in regards to anti vaccinators.

In previous blogs I've always taken a you do your thing, I do my thing approach to parenting. I feel the same way when it comes to vaccines. You do your thing, I do mine let's not call each other horrible parents.  When my child kills your child just make sure you're the trashy Casey Anthony type. Then I can win the courtroom case against you like in SVU. We spend so much time lecturing and arguing with each other about how our kids should be raised. Meanwhile, who is actually raising our kids?

One question I want to leave you with is this: I believe drug companies are the new tobacco companies. Will it  be another 40 years till we finally figure this out?

There's something to be said about "3rd world" baby care



Avert your eyes from the "gross" photo

I feel that in America as we became a more developed nation we threw away old methods and practices in child care. We labelled them barbaric, uncouth, unseemly, and in doing so we disregarded great methods of childcare. When formula came around breastfeeding became "gross" and we dismissed the benefits to become a more "civilized" culture. I personally don't care how you decide to feed your child, but don't judge my choices. I got a lot of negative comments in my choice to breastfeed and personally I think it's ridiculous. I've heard how aggressive breast feeders are in their quest to make everyone breast feed, but pro-bottlers can be jerks too. I think there are jerks on both sides of the argument, but how about we agree to let everyone make their own choices? I won't comment on your bottle feeding and you don't comment on my breastfeeding.

Here are two articles that explain the benefits from both sides of the spectrum. One is an article from a surgeon general's view point who is very pro-breastfeeding. This article titled I formula fed so what explains the benefits of  a pro-bottle feeding approach. Whatever you chose to do, be comfortable with that choice. Don't try to ridicule someone else because they went down a different path. I do have a bone to pick with religious people that say breastfeeding is unnatural and disgusting. Guess what, YOU just called God unnatural and disgusting you hypocrite. Who made the human body? Who made it so that breasts develop milk for your children? It surely wasn't Satan so stop trying to pretend God had nothing to do with it. It just really irritates me when religious people critique something that God designed and made. If you love God so much stop insulting his work.

So freaking cute!

In less developed parts of the world baby wearing is something that most mothers practice. It's something that has found a resurgence here in America and they are many types of slings to chose from. When Logan was born there were recalls of baby carriers because of infant related deaths. Everyone called me and told me to make sure my sling wasn't one of them. It wasn't, I have this annoying habit of reading and researching before I buy something. 





Baby Bjorn



I really wanted to practice baby wearing because it looked practical and made sense. First I used a Baby Bjorn because I bought one off of a friend. He and his family liked using it. It also wasn't part of the recall. Baby Bjorn's I feel I are the most well-known of the baby carriers. I remember seeing a lot of celebrities being photographed with it and seeing it in movies.You can find it easily in Babies R Us or other stores. It was very easy to use and figure out. You could have the baby forward facing or facing towards you. Logan liked being in it which is obviously one of the more important factors. If your kid doesn't want to be in it then move onto to anther carrier. Tim and I liked using it the only problem was it killed your back. We could only wear it for a short periods of time. Afterwards, we would have to stretch to get our backs to feel slightly normal again.







La di da

Moby Sling in turquoise

I then decided to get a sling because I saw other moms using it and I thought it might be better for our backs. I was scared of trying to get a wrap because it seemed too complex. One of my friends used a Moby Sling. It looked comfortable, but it took her five minutes to wrap the baby in it. She wore it to a fair all day and didn't complain once. Her baby liked it too he didn't cry or try to get out of it. It's hard for me to read instructions. I physically need someone to step by step show me how to do it (in person). I didn't know about the store Bellani in Warwick, RI, where I could have gotten a sling/wrap demonstration. They actually have baby carrier rentals now so if you wanted to try one out before buying it's a great idea. I wish they had it when I was trying to figure out sling options.The only complaint I've heard about Moby wraps is that they stretch out. They are cute and I think if you can figure out how to use it, then it's a good choice.

Tim hotslinging it at the beach

I decided to use a hotsling because it looked easy and the reviews looked promising. It wasn't bad at first and it was easier on our backs.



It was hard for me being a fatty boom batty to use it. I think if I was thinner it would have been easier for me to use. It does come in different sizes depending on your weight, but it was awkward at times.Tim had no problems using it. He liked it better than the Baby Bjorn. It was easy to wash and we took it everywhere. It didn't take up much space in the diaper bag.



Logan loves the sling!

The bigger that Logan got the harder it was to keep him in it. He didn't mind it, but he wasn't too thrilled with it either. If his mother weren't so fat maybe he would have found it easier lol.

I then decided to get the Beco Baby Carrier (Gemini). I saw that you could sling the child in four different positions and I was hooked! I wanted to be able to go for walks with Logan and not severely strain my back.



He loves the Beco Baby Carrier!

When I finally got the carrier I tried it out for a 30 minute walk and I could barely feel it. My back didn't hurt for one second. The longest I've walked with Logan is an hour and a half and my back felt fine. I've gone uphill, downhill, winding roads, and I've never had a problem. I've walked in the blazing Georgia heat and Logan is the only one who has an issue. He's not a fan of being that close to my soaked back lol. He tries to pull himself away, but eventually he just deals with it. Logan falls asleep in this carrier sometimes within a matter of minutes.



Great for running from zombies!



The Beco Baby Gemini Carrier has been the best so far. I would highly recommend this to any family that wants to practice baby wearing. There are some amazing benefits to baby wearing and I feel that it's something that every family should explore and see if it's an option.There are many animals that practice baby wearing, click on the link to see some adorable baby animals pics. Check out this website it gives 10 reasons why baby wearing can be a good thing.

I think advancing as a society can be beneficial. We have found cures for diseases, some diseases aren't quite the death sentence they use to be, the technology we have to day is amazing. However, we must not forget what got us to this place. We can't turn our back on all old traditions because sometimes they are more useful than what we currently have in place.