Sacfrices

Posted in Life, Motherhood, Work by

Parenthood is about sacrifices. You sacrifice your time, your job, your life to raise a child. You set aside your own needs, like sleep and meals, to keep your child happy.

One topic that comes up once you have a child no matter what is work – When you’ll go back and if you’ll go back. Being a stay at home mom (SAHM) is something a lot of women decide to do after having children, but many decide to go back to work as well. I don’t know if I’d call it a hot topic, but a lot of women I personally know have opted for the former.

For me, going back to work is what I want to do. It may make me sound like a horrible mom, but I actually miss work; I wouldn’t give Isla up for the world and I definitely DO NOT regret having her, but I honestly miss being at the office. I miss interacting with people, watching news happen, being part of a team; not that I’m not a part of a team at home – Kyle and I make an awesome team, but you get what I mean. Luckily, I’ve managed to find childcare (already!) for Isla when it’s time for me to go back to work. And it may sound selfish, but I’m already looking forward to getting back to work, not to escape Isla, but because I love my job. By no means am I saying that I don’t want to raise my kids. I believe that you can raise your kids and have a job at the same time, it just takes some fine-tuning in life.

I’ll clarify that having Isla was not a mistake – I wanted children and knew that I’d have to make some sacrifices in order to have them. I knew that if I wasn’t able to find affordable childcare when my maternity leave was over I’d most likely have to put my career on hold because let’s face it – childcare is expensive and going back to a part-time job where more than an entire paycheque would go towards care seems ridiculous financially. Putting my career on hold would mean that I stay at home and care for my kids until they were going to school and it would be possible for me to go back to work. It would be a tough decision, but a necessary one.

So for now, it’s back to work for me when the time comes. I won’t be skipping with joy into the office, but I don’t think I’ll be sobbing in the car because I’ve left my baby with someone else. I just hope I’ll be able to happily balance work and being a mom.

If you chose to go back to work or chose to be a SAHM – What made you decide?
If you don’t have kids yet – What do you *think* you’ll do, since what we think and what we end up doing sometimes differs?

Listy … Monday?

Posted in Listy Friday, Monday Musings by

– Halloween was last week and it went fairly well! I was worried about having to nurse Isla in the middle of doorbell ringing, but her schedule for the day worked out so she ate just before it all started. Whew! We got 99 trick or treaters at the door and we probably would have had more but I had to turn the lights out around 8:15 since Isla needed her “bedtime snack.”

– I dressed her up as a little pumpkin. I wanted to get her a cute costume, but opted for a cozy onesie instead. Next year we’ll do something more special, since I’ll probably take her trick or treating.

– We’re finally going to have our family photos done this Friday. We were supposed to have them done a couple weeks ago, but got rained out. So far the forecast for Friday is looking okay, so fingers crossed!

– Kyle put our Christmas lights up on Friday! This is the first time we’ve put any up, so I’m pretty excited to start turning them on come December. Last year it was already too snowy to put them up and we never bothered with the townhouse, so yay Christmas lights! I’ll start turning them on December 1, the same day I plan to decorate the house for Christmas :)

– Can someone please explain to me what BB cream is? Apparently it’s the “greatest thing” but I have no idea …

– I went to a craft fair yesterday. Apparently I’m an 80-year-old woman.

– Last week I helped my Grandpa buy himself a new laptop. I’m glad I went with him, because the sales guy was trying to sell him a ridiculously overkilled unit for a couple hundred outside of his price range. Douche! We got him a mid-range PC that will work just fine. I’m quite pleased with myself for telling the sales guy to get bent.

– I re-potted my ficus plant on Friday and Kyle’s certain that it’s going to die as a result, mostly because I suck at keeping plants alive. But this little fella is a trooper! He’s survived four moves, so I think he’ll be just fine :)

– Kyle and I went out for dinner – with Isla – for the first time since she was born. Isla did pretty good! She got a little fussy because she was tired, but she eventually fell asleep. It felt awesome to go out and eat dinner at a restaurant.

That’s it – Happy Monday!

B.I.B.

Posted in Isla, Life, Mom Talk by

Time Magazine, May 2012

This magazine cover sparked a lot of controversy over breastfeeding and where mom’s should “draw the line” when it comes to nursing your child … 

They (medical professionals, health organizations, people in general) say that “breast is best” (B.I.B.) when it comes to feeding your baby. As soon as possible, after your baby is born you’re encouraged to breastfeed your baby. Lactation consultants are brought in to make sure your baby is “latching on” correctly and getting the nutrients it needs.

It’s recommended that you breastfeed for a minimum of six months. After that, I’m guessing you can do what you want – Transition to formula, switch to milk, whatever.

I’ve noticed recently that there has been some discussion on how long you should breastfeed your child for. I’m no nutritionist, so I have no idea how long is “long enough,” but I wonder if there’s a certain age where you should draw the line. I’ve heard of 3-year-olds still being breastfed, which I find a little strange, but if that’s what the mother wants to do, then that’s fine.

Breastfeeding Isla until she’s old enough to tell me she’s hungry (and not just in the “crying because she’s hungry” way) isn’t something that I plan to do. To be honest, I don’t know when I’m going to ween her off of the boob, but I don’t think I’ll keep doing it once she’s a year old. At her doctor appointment the other day, the doctor asked if I was still nursing her and if I had given her any solid food yet. I told him I was and that I hadn’t given her any solids yet. (I’m afraid of the diapers, to be completely honest, and how it will affect her tummy.) Because she’s gaining weight wonderfully, he told me to just keep giving her breast milk, so I will. I digress …

Quite a few mom’s I know have breastfed for a year or longer. Like I said, I don’t know if I want to do it for more than a year. Yes, I’m aware of all the “goodness” that’s in breast milk, but I was only breastfed for about 3 months and I turned out just fine, as do babies who are given formula from Day 1. I personally don’t think I’m going to depriving my daughter of anything if I choose to ween her after a year. I’m sure other mom’s will be all judgey if I stop breastfeeding earlier than a year, but I never claimed to be some kind of Super Mom with magical powers to breast feed forever. I’d like to get a little bit of my freedom back and not have to rely on my boobs to feed Isla every 3-4 hours. Yeah, I could pump, but I do enjoy the bonding time we have while I’m nursing her. Plus – pumps are CRAZY expensive and I’m not willing to dish out the dough just yet.

I miss eating spicy food and strawberries. I miss having the occasional boozy drink and not having to worry about whether or not the alcohol has passed through my system before nursing Isla. But – I won’t stop nursing her just because I want a spicy burrito or Caesar at the pub. I know that “breast is best” and that Isla needs the goodness from breast milk, but I know I can’t – and won’t – breast feed her forever.

I apologize for the disorganization of this post, but it’s something that’s it’s been on my mind and I just needed to do a “brain dump.”

What are your thoughts on “prolonged” breast feeding? How long do you think is “long enough?”