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Happy Mother’s Day!!!!

9 May

A huge Mamatropolis hug to all you Moms out there.  It is my first Mother’s Day as a Mom and it has been pretty amazing to celebrate it on this side of the fence.  I also would like to add that I now have an even deeper respect and admiration for my Mom.

Recently my son has hit a growth spurt, which means he has been feeding almost every 2 hours during the night.  So for the past week or so I have got maybe 4 hours of intermittent sleep each night (oh and did I mention I have mastitis on top of it all?).    I was telling my Mom about all this when she shared a story about when my brother and I were little.  She had been up all night with us, because as one would fall asleep the other would wake.  On and on throughout the night this happened.  Finally she managed to get to sleep, only to have her alarm go off 30 minutes later.  She (somehow) managed to get up, get dressed, and go off to work for 8 hours.  My brother and I were pretty little when that happened, and it is only now that I have a child of my own, that she has told me.  That story, (and the fact that I’m finding this out so many years later) reminds me of how many silent sacrifices she made for us without us ever knowing.  Not once did I hear her complain of fatigue or that she didn’t have time for us, and looking at how busy life is now (with only one child) I’m completely blown away at how amazing she is.

So for all you Moms out there, a big salute, gold star, high-five, pat on the back, giant hug and a huge thank you for all the work that you do.  I toast to all of you!

10 things to bring with you to the hospital

5 May
Breastfeeding offers benefits for both mother ...

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I have to admit, I’m a bit of a planner.  I wasn’t always that way, but life has taught me time and time again that things tend to run a bit more smoothly when I have some sort of plan in place.

When I got pregnant I read everything I could think of to make sure I had what I needed when our son arrived.  When the time came, I had way too much of some things and not enough of others.  We arrived at the hospital with a whole suitcase (that I had packed in accordance to the baby checklist I was given), and I ended up using maybe 3 or 4 items out of it.  So instead of packing a huge bag like I did, here is a quick list of things that you will actually need:

1.Tolietries: My hospital room did not come with any shampoo or even soap for the shower and so I was very thankful that I had a brought a small case of travel size toiletries.

2.Comfy clothes: Both your pyjamas and the clothes you plan to return home in should be as comfortable and loose as possible.  I was given a hospital gown for my stay and large, stretchy underwear to accommodate a frozen sanitary pad and a regular sanitary pad underneath for the swelling (if you have a natural birth).  Going home after my 3 day stay, I was still sore and tired and was thankful to put on a pair of baggy sweatpants instead of trying to squeeze into jeans.  I didn’t have a nursing bra with me at the time but I wish I had one, as well as nipple pads and a lot of Medela Tender Care Lanolin nipple cream (who knew that breast feeding would hurt so much at the start?).

3.Camera with extra batteries, or a fully-charged battery: Chances are you are going to want to take a lot of pictures of your brand new family member.  I turned into a parent paparazzi when my little guy came.

4.Clothes for baby: Here is where I REALLY overpacked.  The list that I got said that I would need 3 undershirts, 3 sleepers, 3 onesies, socks, a hat…the list went on and on.  Well, I was in the hospital for 3 days, and for those 3 days my son hung out in a toque and a diaper because he was almost constantly swaddled in two blankets while we were there.  It wasn’t until we took him home that we finally dressed him in actual baby clothes.  When we did put clothes on him (since it was January), we put him in a sleeper and a toque.  The toque was hugely important (as we were told by the nurse) because babies apparently lose 60% of their body heat through their heads.  We also had a JJ Cole Bundleme in the car seat so we didn’t have to use blankets.  That was it!  I had brought all those outfits and we used one for the hour it took us to be discharged and drive home.  Once we got home we stripped him back down to his diaper and swaddled him again.

5.Car seat: You have to have an appropriate car seat that is current.  I had no idea that car seats expire, but they do.  Most infant seats are only good for 6 years; after that, it is time to recycle them.  Make sure when you are purchasing a car seat that you check both the bottom of the seat and its base to see what the manufacture date is.  Most hospitals will not let you take the baby home unless you have a valid car seat.

6.Cell phone (and your charger) or change for the pay phones: I have to admit I was so thankful that I brought my iPhone, especially because I was in the hospital for 3 days.  I definitely wasn’t chatting away 24/7 (in fact, I think I only made 3 calls the whole time I was there), but I did send a few e-mails out to all my friends and family who were waiting to hear the news about the baby.  I was remember sending a few text messages each morning to my husband to let him know if I needed anything or not as he wasn’t allowed to stay overnight with me.

7.Your ID and health care card: You will need your health care card in order to be admitted into the hospital, and you will also need your driver’s licence for filling out paperwork and for proving your identity when it is time to take your little one home.

8.Cash for the cafeteria or vending machines: In the maternity wing of the hospital they had sandwiches, yoghurt, juice and water for all the moms.  However, it was nice to have the option of eating something else if I opened my standard-issue hospital lunch tray and found something disgusting under it.  For the most part I was too exhausted to care, but I do remember the times when my husband brought me a hot meal or a snack, thinking it was the best thing I had ever eaten.

9.Your own pillow: I find there is nothing more comfortable than my own bed and my own pillow, and since I couldn’t bring both I opted for the more travel friendly item.  The hospital was able to supply me with several pillows, but when it came time to sleep I just couldn’t get comfy on any of them.  When I did finally drift off I would wake up to a sore neck.  It isn’t the end of the world if you don’t bring a pillow from home, but it was sure nice to have.

10.Slippers:  If you do find yourself up and about (if you didn’t have a C-Section), then you will want something easy to slip on and off your feet.  Chances are you are only going to be in there for a night or two but it is a lot nicer to trudge around in slippers than trying to put on your shoes every time you leave your bed.

One last thing, not to pack, but to do before you get to the hospital:  check its rules on visitors.  I was surprised to find out that my husband counted as a visitor but my own parents (or even my husband’s parents) didn’t.  Since I was only allowed 2 visitors (my husband being one of them), when my brother and sister-in-law came to see me, I was only allowed to let one of them into my wing of the hospital.  It was one of those things that I wish I had known beforehand so that it would have saved me the awkwardness of choosing.

Shelley Neller and The Guidance

24 Apr

Nestled on the most Easterly point of mainland Australia is Byron Bay, a surfer town and an energetic healer mecca.  When we stopped in on our honeymoon back in 2008, we were surprised to find that Byron Bay’s Spiritual Directory was almost as thick as the Town Directory!  It was flipping through the Spiritual Directory where we found a biography for Shelley Neller, a journalist and a clairaudient (i.e. a person who has the psychic ability to hear sounds or voices beyond the normal range of hearing).  We had decided to see if we could book a reading with her and although it was last minute (we had just gotten into town that day and were leaving the next), she kindly changed around her schedule to make room for us.

The next day we made our way to Shelley’s place.  The plan was that I would go first, we would go for lunch, and then my husband would go second.  We were on a bit of a tight schedule as we had to be back on the road shortly afterward in order to make it to our next destination before nightfall.  I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I had never met someone who was a clairaudient and I wasn’t sure what to think.  Upon meeting her my worries vanished as she greeted us as if we were old friends.  I made my way to her sitting room and sat down across from her as I watched her clear her own energy to make room for “The Guidance”.  Instantly I felt another presence in the room.  The hair on the back of my neck was sticking up and it felt like someone had cranked the heat; my entire face was flushed.  My heart had started racing and at that point I was a little bit concerned as to what I had gotten myself into.  At the start of the reading I had been a bit skeptical, and The Guidance noted my hesitation and offered me details of my relationship with my husband as a way to convince me.  There I was, halfway across the ocean, hearing about things that only my hubby and I would know from someone I had just met.  To say I was a bit taken back would be a understatement.  During the next hour and a half I feverishly wrote down what Shelley channeled, and now in hindsight I can safely say that the reading ended up being pretty much spot on.  I say “pretty much” because some of what was discussed had a 4 to 5 year time horizon and thus hasn’t happened yet.  Still, I often think back to what The Guidance said and find myself happily surprised at how things have unfurled.

Even though Shelley and The Guidance are in Australia, she can still be reached through e-mail or phone.  She has just started a website where she offers her services, and every month 2 lucky winners will receive free counsel.  If you have questions for Shelley and The Guidance, her webpage can be reached by clicking here.  She also posts various answers on her site (with permission of course) as a means to give direction to her readers.  Alternatively, if you find yourself in Byron Bay, definitely give her a shout:  you will be quite happy that you did.

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