Birdie07

I'm not going to make any opinion's on why I don't like or like the show b/c I'm not a mother b/c I didn't carry my babies to term. Nor do I watch children 24/7 anymore. Minus the two years I nannied 24/7. When she cried in the night I got her. When she threw up at 1 am I cleaned her up and slept with her. When she was sick I made her appt and took her. Till she was 2 years old I was with her 24/ 7. But I was just her nanny, not her mother. Even though she called me Ma-Ma. But going on 2 years in May I am still actively TTC. This thread just reinforces my sadness and stress of not yet being a "mother" to the rest of the world. I'll stick to all threads not mother related till I'm preggo. But I want to quote someone on mothering. A friend is leaving a mothering forum b/c she's stopping TTC and she feels out of place. And someone wrote this about mothering yesterday. "I think that a woman can be a mother in many ways other than mothering children that came from her body. She can mother adoptive or foster children. She can mother step-children. She can mother her nieces, nephews, friends' children. She can mother her students, big and small. She can be a mother figure to her animals and pets, livestock, or those animals sharing their space with her. She can be a mother figure to the helpless, the needy, the sick, those unfortunate folks who, young or old, don't have a nurturing voice, hand or touch. She can be a mother to the earth, nurturing plants and watching them grow, planting organic produce or being a steward to the environment. She can be a mother to her sisters, related or not, and help them form a community of love and emotional connection. There are so many more ways, that I haven't mentioned, that a woman can be a mother." And to me through my tears reading that I feel like I've "Mothered" quite a bit. I mother my 3 nieces and 4 nephews. My Casa children who's parents failed them. The 14 children I nannied and the countless others through daycare. To them I was their second Mother. And my old boss who said to me when she held me sobbing at work when I found out that I had a "specific condition" and I might not be able to conceive. "Calia you already are a mother."

Quote: Originally Posted by JessicaLovesBrian Speaking of... I just read this article on them and it made me think of this thread. reality blurred + Jon & Kate Plus 8's Kate: "we're certainly not going to hide our imperfections" Whoa the link to that blog of Jodi's sister. Scary! Reinforces that something is off on Kate.

Love her organizing. But my mom is my hero of 8 kids. One she lost.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jessalyn Ha!! I just found the Kleen Kanteen sippy cups this morning! I use their drinking bottle myself. I'm going to look into the happy hangup...haven't heard of that one...I'm off to google.. ah,,,twins..yes...and we both married a Tony! OMG! I didn't see that. Very very weird! Happy Hangup Homepage Not everyone likes the HH. It's very similar to a sling it you're going to babywear. I love it though.

Quote: Originally Posted by Jessalyn That's an interesting article Calia...I'm concerned about the fire retardents, the other chemicals and the phthalates that come out of these mattresses. I hadn't heard of mattress wraping..I'm going to look into that. these are the mattresses that I'm considering so far....they're just more expensive than a conventional mattress and it's hard to find one without chemical fire retardants, although wool is a natural fire retardent from what I've read. Baby Crib Mattress. Organic Infant Mattress Pads Organic Crib Mattress: Innerspring and Natural Rubber mattresses in stock btw, I'm so plastic phobic that I use a stainless water bottle everyday that I fill with water from my reverse osmosis tap.....yes, some would say I'm a freak! lol You MUST be my twin! Yes wool is fire retardent. I like the wrapping but they wrap in plastic! But its cheaper than a natural mattress. Which is why I probably will use the happy hangup for the first year. And then convert to a crib. I also love stainless steel. I don't use plastic cups either. EW. Kleen Kanteen has stainless steel sippy cups. If you haven't found those yet. I LOVE Them and they just came out with new colors! klean kanteen® 12oz eco-friendly, bpa-free stainless steel sippy cup/bottle

Quote: Originally Posted by Jessalyn Sounds like everyone is doing well! So glad to hear about all the good test results! And, Mo...that's great that you're feeling better. I know this has been a horrible pregnancy for you so far...I hope the last 2/3s are a lot easier for you! Calia ~ I just found the Siliskin bottles last night...they look amazing. I read that the silicon skin can actually come off the bottle and be used with any Evenflo glass bottle (4oz or 8oz respectively). I'm definitely planning to use glass bottles...the idea of plastic even if it is BPA safe, just doesn't sit right with me...call me paranoid, but what if another harmful chemical is found...yes, I know...like I said, I'm paranoid....dh would be rolling his eyes at me right now...lol. also read that glass is the best way to store breast milk, so I'm hoping to pump and store in the evenflo bottles and then switch the siliskin to the bottle that needs it. It was ironic to see your post right after I found those bottles/bottle covers...funny. anyway, I'm barely out of the first trimester and already researching bottles and natural crib mattresses! Thats funny! I did know you can switch it. I think thats great! If you amazon it alot of people buy the siliskin and then another bottle. You'll love them. I am plastic paranoid also. Whenever I watch a child I wince feeding them b/c I'm so scared of the plastic bottle! UGH! About the mattresses. I won't ever put my child on a crib mattress. It must be wrapped or natural. I wasn't going to post this b/c I don't want to freak everyone out and I know someone on here had their child pass from sids and it's a touchy subject. And I don't want to take it lightly. Personally, I don't like chemicals in bottles, diapers, paint etc. So when I get preggo I'm not using a crib I'll use the happy hangup for a while. And when the crib is necessary I WILL wrap the mattress or get a natural mattress. Anyways heres the article. I know not everyone likes cosleeping (me included) only b/c I cannot fall asleep and our bed is too small. But if I could I would. SIDS, Cribs and Cosleeping | Natural Parenting

Quote: Originally Posted by KarmaB Thank you, so much! We are defiantly going with a bottle that is BPA free and the Adiri looks awesome. I'm going to add it to my list. As of now, I'm trying to decide between Born Free and the new Avent BPA free. Breastfeeding is so important to me, if I can I would like to give Hannah 100% breast milk, but I'm sure we will need a bottle for Daddy once in a while. Do you have an recommendations on pumps? I was thinking Medela, but wasnt' 100% sure yet. Well I've never USED a breast pump. But I had bosses that used the Medela and also the Ameda. So it sounds good to me . Just b/c a bottle doesn't have liners doesn't mean you can't put breastmilk in it. Most pumps come with the storage either bags or bottles. Just heat it and pour into the bottle of choice. I promise it's not hard! Just don't heat it in the microwave .

Yikes. I'm sorry. I'd ask my DH but he's sleeping. I just fractured my nose this past week and theres nothing you can do for that either and it HURTS! I thought I remembered taping your toe but I'll ask first. I'm not the Doctor. I would take it easy.

Quote: Originally Posted by KarmaB Lisa- Yep, that most likely is a BH. How are you ladies coming with preparing for baby? I feel like now that I'm headed into the home stretch there is so much left to do and so many choices. I spent 2 hours last night researching bottles, lol! And I plan on breastfeeding! Steve says I'm in major nesting mode. He finished painting her nursery last night and it feels so real now. Now if only I can wait patiently until the middle of September for her furniture. :-( I just wanted to help you on the bottle search. Being in childcare for 12 years I've used every bottle and my favorite is the silikids. It's glass with a silicone sleeve to protect it. You can throw it across the room and it won't break! Plus no chemicals leeching from plastic bottles. Congrats on breastfeeding! But if you want backup or a bottle for pumped milk this is my total recommendation. The silicon makes it easier to grip and it doesn't fade. Though Dr. Brown's also makes glass bottles but I'm not a big fan. Heres the link: silikids: Siliskin 8oz ETA: I thought if you really didn't want a glass bottle I like the Adiri bottles which are also bisphenol-a free and polycarbonate-free. They are easy to use and shaped more like a mothers breast. Adiri - Natural Nurser Ultimate Baby Bottle

Yep, my Dh has one. His friend got one and he thought it was sooooo cool so he went and bought one. He bought the one on display and it was the last one so we got a huge discount. It's the original not the new ones. And hes had it a while.

Yes, you can. We paid about that for our entire wedding at the RIU. We did the free package and used the resort photographer. All in all it was about 5000 dollars. Good luck.

Just wondering how everyone is coming on the book?

Ok I did mine. Took a while. I hope it's not too big.

Quote: Originally Posted by ErinB I'm not saying anything about how other people choose to raise their families. If I had a ton of money, I would adopt or give birth to as many babies as I could. I do have a personal issue with having 6 kids if you are going to hire 4 nannies. I know that every mother and father, especially those who work full-time, need help. I just know that I would like to be a little more hands on. I'm a nanny so I know what you mean. But just b/c you have a nanny does not mean you are not hands on. And she has come out and so have her nanny's that they are very hands on with their children. And they don't have any nanny's stay the night. If one parent is working the other is not. And they take their children with them everywhere. I adore Angelina. Read her book. It's good. Personally I hope to have more than 6 kids and NOT have a nanny. My mom had 7 with no help.

no date yet

No deadline yet. I read it in one day. Road trip. Hahah. I LOOOOVED it!!

Quote: Originally Posted by kacie3344 OK, so I'm not an official memeber of the BC, but I did read this about a month ago and really enjoyed it. A girl at work suggested it, and it totally held my attention. I loved the way the author would flip flop back and forth from circus days, and his retirement home. My grandfather was in a retirement home for a really long time before passing away, so I think I really felt for the older character the most. The whole love/friendship triangle was strange. Marlenas a little hoochie-mama, isn't she? Hahaha. Could have had a more realistic ending, I think. What's the next book? Do yall only read fiction? If not, I have a suggestion. Let me know. The next book is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by lisa see which I LOVED! We read anything. Everyone gives me a suggestion and then someone picks a number and I shuffle the suggestions and pick a new book. If you want to join Pm me and I'll add you to my list and your suggestion.

I think certified and notarized might get confused. I order a CERTIFIED copy from my state of birth to get my passport but I took my original to the bank to get NOTARIZED to send to my resort. It is a little confusing.

Congratulations. I hated how long it took too!

I didn't. Very strange. Is it the original? We took the original birth certificate took it to a bank and had them make a copy and then notarize it. What do they tell you when they tell you they can't do it?

Quote: Originally Posted by Yari Thank you so much for the info and link! You're Welcome...its really not hard to do!

Compost piles are outside in your yard. Ours is under a tree in our backyard. Some people have like bins or rubbermaid thingers (huge ones). We don't. We just have it kinda marked off. Here is a link on how to do it. How To Make Compost | eHow.com Our compost pile, you can't tell its a compost. It just looks like a pile of soil. You usually use like grass clippings and brown leaves or things like that. We throw food in there like banana peels and orange peels and things like that. You can't throw meat in it though.

My DH just turned me on to watch-movies.net.....its people who secretly film a movie in the theatre and put it online. So i decided to test it out and I'm watching Mamma Mia. SO far so good. I mean it's not like theatre quality but its fine for me.

Score Love Language 6 Words of Affirmation 11 Quality Time 0 Receiving of Gifts 4 Acts of Service 9 Physical Touch

I LOVE your hair. You make me want to cut mine. But mine's almost to my waist and I'm a chicken! Btw it's funny your DH caught fish and had dinner. We did too. Click my blog to see our headless dinner fish.