I've always known that I wanted to be a mom and now that I am... I love it! I'm not saying that I don't get frustrated or tired or miss having just myself to think about, but 90% of the time, I'm really enjoying this new role! Of course, it helps to have a fantastic partner to share it with. Chris is always helping, whether I've asked him to do/get something for me or he does it on his own (he's always bringing me water, which is awesome!). I don't know what I would do without him, honestly. And single parents? More power to them! I have so much respect for someone who has the strength to do this on their own.
I went to the New Mama Support Group at the waterbirth center this week (first and third Monday of the month, 12-2pm). I woke up later than I wanted and got there at about 1pm, but I'm glad I went. There was only one other pair there (Heather and her baby, Logan--Heather was in our parenting class, so it was nice to see a familiar face again and to meet her baby!), along with the lactation specialist/midwife, Sonya. I got some good information on breast feeding and pumping and dealing with that when I have to go back to work. She recommended the book I'm already reading (Nursing Mother, Working Mother by Gale Pryor) and a website (kellymom.com). I really like the book because it talks about a parenting style that Chris and I have already adopted and feel naturally comfortable with (things like baby wearing, co-sleeping or a family bed, and obviously, breastfeeding).
We just recently brought the play pen into our bedroom for Ayla to sleep in occasionally. Chris and I both enjoyed sharing the bed with baby the first month, but as she's getting more noisy and active while she sleeps in the mornings, we thought we'd try keeping her in the room, but in her own space. It hasn't really helped the sounds she makes ;) Sometimes I'll take her to bed with me (or bring her back into bed if I have to wake up in the middle of the night to feed her) and let her cuddle/sleep on my chest for a bit before rolling her down in between Chris and myself. We feel that co-sleeping is a safe and natural option for us. Besides, who wouldn't want to wake up to this sweetness? During the day, we let Cupcake sleep where she's comfortable. Sometimes that's in her crib in the second bedroom, or the play pen in our room, or on the couch in her Boppy cushion (or even in her car seat for a bit if we've just gotten home and she's passed out).
Something I thought while I was at the New Mama group this week... I'm glad we ended up getting a stroller, car seat and diaper bag that are gender neutral (ours are brown and green with elephants... see previous posting for a picture) in the event that we have more children (which we're planning on, as long as nature makes it possible). Logan was in his sister's car seat which was pink. Personally, I don't care whether boys wear blue or pink, but in our society, I couldn't help but wonder how many people see this when they're out somewhere and make the assumption that he's a girl. It's kind of funny how people want to genderize babies (and people in general), otherwise they don't know how to interact. I don't think that just because you dress a baby in pink and treat her like a princess that she's going to necessarily turn out to be super feminine. I think people are going to become who they're supposed to become and if boys want to be more "girly" and girls want to be masculine, then who does it hurt? There was recently a news article I read about a family raising their third child ambiguously and not telling people whether it was a boy or a girl. While I think this an interesting way to do it, I can't help but think that it might be slightly harmful to the child (the article said that their other two children, both boys, were allowed to wear what they wanted--they sometimes chose pink and "girl items"--and if a stranger made reference to the child being a girl, the parents didn't correct the person, but rather let the child correct the stranger if they felt like it. The boys are 5 and 2 or 3).
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