*May 2011 Mamas - November Chat*

[Zookeeper]

Originally Posted by justineybean Neat! I have never seen this show because we don't have cable but it sounds interesting. I didn't realize you had a homebirth.

Both of my boys were born at home with the same midwife <3 we absolutely love her, she is part of our family now. Both of my births have been amazing, I was truly blessed

I'm going to do a build a bear for Toby, buy that's pretty much it Quinn is getting a train table, he is going to LOVE it!

~Rachel

[justineybean]

Originally Posted by Zookeeper Both of my boys were born at home with the same midwife <3 we absolutely love her, she is part of our family now. Both of my births have been amazing, I was truly blessed I'm going to do a build a bear for Toby, buy that's pretty much it Quinn is getting a train table, he is going to LOVE it! ~Rachel

That's so wonderful about your births. I think it's so nice to have a continued close relationship with someone who was there when your children were born. Although the CNMs that were there when my kids were born are very sweet and friendly when I see them, we don't keep in touch outside of our healthcare relationship. I wish it was different.

Build a bear is so sweet! I made one before for my cousin and put lots of extra hearts in it. I think it's neat that you get to put something inside. Ohhh, I can talk to you about trains! My DS is a fanatic! He loves anything that has to do with trains. We got him a table for Christmas when he was 18 months or so and 2 years later, he still plays with it everyday.

[justineybean]

Originally Posted by juliabell Well, I HAD to get this for DS when I saw it in the catalog. So cute. http://www.hannaandersson.com/style....simg=38350_56E So he'll wear that for Santa pics and on xmas day. I don't know if we'll get anything for DS. I made a wishlist at novanatural.com for family. We try to limit junk. I have a walker wagon thing on his wishlist that's pricier so if no one gets him that then we will. DS is currently really into his Haba wooden rattles and teethers as well as Sophie. He has a natural rubber paci that he uses as a teether too. He also likes his spoons and the tv remote, lol. Pretty much everything at this point is NEW and SHINY to him. So we rotate about 7-10 clutching type toys as well as fabric cloths and the like. He's very mobile so he'll roll across a room to get what he wants. I feel like I'm online a whole lot more now with managing DS's naps. I'm guessing that once we get more of a rhythm I'll be able to do stuff while he naps but for now I feel like I have to be ready at the slightest peep to help him go back to sleep. Or else it turns into a big ordeal. Oh well, laundry can wait!

Oh dear, that romper is so cute!! Squeeee! I was supposed to have DD's pictures taken by a friend today but it's rainy so we decided to reschedule. I'm kind of relieved. I would love to have something special for her to wear.

I would love to minimize the junk in our house but my DH is pretty resistant. He obviously doesn't think it's junk. Do you have a good Waldorf book that you could recommend?

I was thinking of getting DD some wooden rattles and Sophie for Christmas. So it's good to know they are well thought of by other babies the same age. She mostly plays with measuring spoons, little cars that were DS's, and some lovies. She has a really boring plain ol' wooden teething ring but she seems bored with it. Lol. Thanks for the ideas!

[Tippytoe]

Originally Posted by justineybean All parental decisions are very personal but that one especially is no one's business. I agree, no matter how many children you have/plan to have, it is hard to say good-bye (or even think about it) to any part of these days. I hope you didn't think I was saying it is harder when you aren't planning to have more babies because I don't think that's true at all. There will never be another moment like this with my DS or DD and that can be difficult to face, even with all of there is to look forward to in days ahead.

Yeah that! This is definitely my last, and every bone in my body yearns for more babies. Just one more... But I will take this little surprise blessing and cherish every moment.

[justineybean]

Originally Posted by Tippytoe Yeah that! This is definitely my last, and every bone in my body yearns for more babies. Just one more... But I will take this little surprise blessing and cherish every moment.

[Tippytoe]

My baby LOVES the girl whoozit toy. My friend gave us that and Sophie, and oh my, she loves them! I also had a taggie blanket made for her and she is digging that, too. I should have kept that for Christmas, but I couldn't resist. Lol.

So for Christmas she'll probably get some cloth books, hoping to find some shoes that I like, and maybe a push toy. I have lots of toys leftover from my other two, so toys will be bare minimum. Plus, I'm sure other family members will get her toys. Although I really wish they'd just donate to her college fund!

[juliabell]

Originally Posted by justineybean I would love to minimize the junk in our house but my DH is pretty resistant. He obviously doesn't think it's junk. Do you have a good Waldorf book that you could recommend? I was thinking of getting DD some wooden rattles and Sophie for Christmas. So it's good to know they are well thought of by other babies the same age. She mostly plays with measuring spoons, little cars that were DS's, and some lovies. She has a really boring plain ol' wooden teething ring but she seems bored with it. Lol. Thanks for the ideas!

Oh I love bagging things up to get rid of them. I donate so much stuff. I'm now working on the first part of that equation - not getting so much stuff in the first place! I think the best trick I have for getting rid of stuff is to determine if it's used. Hang up every item of clothing in your closet with the hanger backwards. After it's worn and washed, hang it back up with the hanger the correct way. A couple of months later, get rid of the stuff with the hanger still backwards. Other ways to do it is to just put stuff in a box, then as it's used put it in it's correct place. Same thing - a couple of months later get rid of the stuff in the box.

It's not necessarily "Waldorf" but Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne is great. A good Waldorf book for rhythms and basic information is "You Are Your Child's First Teacher" by Rahima Baldwin Dancy. I also hear good stuff about Seven Times The Sun but my library doesn't have it. I read Beyond the Rainbow Bridge and thought it was OK - not going to buy it for our library though.

All of DS's wooden Haba toys he loves. We're crazy people and don't do plastic toys or toys made in China. I'm trying to go plastic-free in our house but it's hard!