11,328 hits, 100 posts, 52 pictures, and 2 happy birthdays

I was planning on doing something special to celebrate the 10,000th hit on my blog. Funny thing is we already reached that # during my little hiatus last month. When I just checked a few minutes ago, the tally was 11,328. I have a huge smile on my face. Thank you everyone for your support and following hilaryinalderwood. This is great motivation to get back into blogging on a more regular basis. Looks like I'll have to start thinking of a cool giveaway for hit #15,000.

Keeping with the celebratory theme, this is officially my 100th post on the blog. Here's a list of some top posts of all time (which are also some of my favorites) in case you haven't read them yet:

• Madelyn's Nursery - 216 pageviews (as of 5/15/2011)
• Being grounded sucks - 140 pageviews
• Baby Food Starters: 6-9 Months - 139 pageviews
• Go Ahead Mama, Change Your Mind - 98 pageviews
• The heartbreak of a Mini-Nursing Strike - 96 pageviews
• Breastfeeding...Challenges & Payoffs - 85 pageviews

Another HUGE thing I'm celebrating today is completing this. OMG, what a task. Once she turned 21 weeks and figured out what the paper was all about...it was challenging to say the least. But also super fun and what a payout. The only thing I have left to do is spend a few 100 hours in photoshop creating my final poster. 52 weeks is a perfect 4 x 13 = LOVE IT!

Last but not least, we are celebrating 2 birthdays this week! As most of you know, Madelyn turned 1 on Thurs, May 12th (See fb pics here). On Friday, May 13th, Madelyn received the best birthday present of all from her Auntie Dawn and Uncle Omer - a little girl cousin, Esme! Our whole family is excited for these two girls to celebrate their birthdays together.

I was so proud of myself that I got the 3D ducky cake to work on my 2nd try. A warning for all other over zealous moms out there - don't waste your good flour on 3D cakes. The over baking required to hold the shape makes the cake super dry and no one eats it. I recommend cupcakes on the side...and maybe some fun sugar cookies as well :)

Go Ahead Mama, Change Your Mind

Today is Madelyn's 365th day of being her own person. I can't believe that a whole year has gone by since she was in my belly. This time last year, I was frantically finishing painting her nursery mural knowing my C was booked for the next afternoon. I remember my belly feeling super tight and even the smallest kick or nudge to my ribs felt like being hit with a bowling ball. Maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. I also remember all of the excitement I felt for getting to meet my little angel (boy or girl was yet tbd), I wondered who baby would look like, would baby have hair, would baby be a good baby? I remember being so happy to be on the 2nd day of my Mat leave. I had the first year all plotted out in my head. Being the Type A person that I am, I planned that:  baby would sleep in the bassinet right away (no co-sleeping), then move to the crib at 2 months; there would strictly be no bottles used until over 2 months old; I would have a 100% organic diet while I nursed; baby would eat 100% organic food and absolutely no gluten/dairy in first year; and baby would never eat french fries. 

Well, it turns out that once little baby Madelyn (girl, looked like dad for first 6 months then started to look like me, still doesn't have hair, and is a text book angel baby except for when teething) entered the world a lot of the ideas I had in my head became fluid as the year went on. I quickly learned it's okay for a mom to change her mind.

As parents, our first mindset change was with regards to co-sleeping. Madelyn slept with me for the first month of her life while poor daddy was exiled to the spare room (he was actually okay with that since it meant uninterrupted sleep).  I will forever hold those memories close to my heart. There is nothing like the joy of holding a sleeping newborn in your arms. Watching their eyelids flutter and having a little pool of drool build up on your chest. And the smell of a sleeping newborn, complete heaven.

I've also learned that it's okay for Dad to change his mind as well. At the beginning, dad was pretty comfortable with the idea of me breastfeeding our baby until a year old, but wasn't really into the idea of me nursing a toddler. Recently we had a talk and both agreed that for our family, and our baby, the right thing to do is to continue breastfeeding into her second year of life. At the present time we have no intention to wean and we're both feeling great about that decision.

Probably the biggest game changer has been my decision to go back to work. Yes, that's right, as of May 16th, 'ftm' hilaryinalderwood, will be changed to 'swm' hilary in alderwood (i.e. 'superhero working mom'). For some of my readers this may come as a big surprise, others probably saw the writing on the wall. I have always loved my career work as a Market Research Consultant. As the year went on I found I started to miss the different stimulation that comes from working in a fast-paced, number-crunching business job. If you asked me 364 days ago if I would ever go back to work, I would have said very firmly, "no". But the first half of my mat leave was completely different than the second half, and I've learned that it's okay to change my mind. It's okay to nurture myself while also caring for my family and my baby. We can all be happy in this new arrangement, where we all get to focus a little bit on ourselves.

So how are we going to make it work? Insert super nanny! She is everything we could have ever asked for as our new addition to our family. Nanny A started 2 weeks before my return for a gradual transition. Maddy and Mason have both taken so well to her, like she's been a part of our family for much longer. Although we are early into this new phase of our lives I can tell it's all going to work out just fine. And that's a really good feeling.

I will end this post with a sneak peak picture from Maddy's 1st birthday party last Saturday. While she was literally a total party pooper (eye teeth coming in, sick, cranky, clingy, poopy, the works), we did get one picture of the two of us sans tears.

I love you little baby Madelyn and I can't wait to celebrate your real first birthday tomorrow!

Love, Gratitude & Understanding

What do these 3 words have in common? My new pair of jeans!

If you've been following my blog you know I've been waiting to get back into my old jeans. Well, a dozen yoga classes, lots of walking, and 10 months later I have reached my goal fitting into 2 old pairs. There may be a little muffin top happening but I can still zip them up, so, Horray me! But, the bad news is these 2 pairs aren't my faves. Those are still hanging in the closet.

When I was pregnant my doula told me that a woman's hips can move 2 inches or more during pregnancy and sometimes they don't move back. I believe it. My entire body feels different than before. Different in a good way. I bet it has something to do with the breastfeeding hormones (they seem to impact everything) because I have a new Gratitude for my body that I never had before:  it was the vessel my little baby took to enter our world. I'm also going easier on myself and Understanding that it's okay not to have the same body as before. I have Madelyn now, I didn't have her before. And all this has helped me Love my body more than ever.

What better way to celebrate all of these emotions than with a new pair of investment denim? I have been anxiously waiting for the dojo to hit Aritzia this spring. Then when we were strolling through the mall this week there they were. I tried them on and instantly felt like a MILK (G rated version of you know...K is for kiss :) ). I can't believe it took this long for the trouser flare to reappear..totally takes me back to fall '00. Here they are, my new faves:



If you also like this look, which is a short girls bff, check out these contenders:


       

Time change...

...is kicking my butt.
For some reason Maddy thinks the time change went forward at night and backward in the morning. She is waking up at 5:30am (old time 4:30) but not going to bed until 7:30pm (8:30 old time). How did this happen...? We were in such a good 12 hour routine for soooo long...

Is there such thing as a 10 month growth spurt?

Kids Videos

Little M will be 10 months tomorrow. I can't believe it! Each day is a new adventure with a crawling, reaching, screaming munchkin. Did I mention screaming? Yes, it is her new fave thing to do. Screaming anywhere, anytime, all the time. She loves the sound of her own voice. I want to support this new phase but I'm starting to lose my mind. I think it's time to introduce 30 min educational video time each day. So far Maddy really likes Sesame Street you tube clips. (Correction, apparently she doesn't like Cookie Monster).



 Do you have any fun video reco's for us?

New Stroller

Well, I have made my decision. I'm joining the other moms in Alderwood and getting an Uppababy Vista. Little M and I are leaving to pick it up in 10 minutes...yay! We decided to go with the Jake (black) model. I think we'll look pretty cool walking the neighbourhood with Hunter in his Carlin (green) and baby G in her Denny (red).

We found a sale at The Baby's Room and for the month of March they are $100 off. Kinda sucks that in February they were $200 off, but at least I'm getting some what of a sale. Lesson learned: it's worth hunting for stroller sales!

My Quinny+Bassinet combo is still avail if anyone is interested. I'll sell to a blog follower for $375 (retail value $780). I have 2 potential kijiji buyers so act fast!

Sleeping in weird ways & Breastfeeding Survey

Since Madelyn has started crawling I have been trying to tackle something from my baby proofing list each day. Last week I tried to remove the crib bumper pad since it's an obvious safety hazard. Upon doing so baby M refused to go down for a nap. She got every limb stuck through the slats and was waaaay to intrigued at seeing everything in her room from her bed. It just wasn't working. Back in when the bumper pads, and a big TO DO note went to daddy to lower the crib so she can't climb out. 

There was a lot of crying today when I put her down for her 9am morning nap. All of a sudden the crying stopped so I took a peak on the video monitor to see what was going on up there. This is what I saw:  

It's a bit hard to tell by the fuzzy blackberry video screen shot, but little M is sleeping sitting up, crouched over her favorite hand knit blanket from Great Auntie Greta. She stayed like this for 70 minutes!

---

In other news, I am volunteering some time to help my favorite lactation consultant, Jean, out with a breastfeeding survey. Jean will be presenting a talk at an international conference for lactation consultants in San Diego in July. The title of this presentation is "Breastfeeding and Sex (but not at the same time)!". Her goal in researching this topic is to open dialogue concerning issues related to sexual health for breastfeeding women and their partners. The hormones produced during lactation are the same ones present during sexual intercourse and responses of desire. Very often, feelings of conflict and discomfort during the breastfeeding experience can impact a woman’s sexual activity. The goal is to raise awareness that THIS IS NORMAL. It is a situation not often discussed but one that many couples can relate to.

If you are a breastfeeding mother (or have breastfed in the past 2 years) I am hoping you can help us out with this survey. It should take about 20 minutes. All answers will be viewed collectively with other survey responses and will be anonymous. Click here to access the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2011_breastfeeding_survey

Thank you for your help!

Finger foods, Crawling, Stroller Hunting and Washing Dishes

Where have I been? Well, let's see...

First of all, we've had a bit of a food strike this week. Madelyn has discovered how fun it is to feed herself. We started with Lila's mom's suggestion of Organic Brown Rice puffs. 4 things to say about them:

• they're great for helping to develop your baby's pincer grasp
• they're healthy/gluten free
• they end up everywhere in your house
• dogs (even Retreivers) won't eat them (darn!)

Now that we've left most purees behind (fruit is still a hit), I am preparing fresh food daily. Meals now consist of mini cubes of steamed veggies and fruit like apples. Only 1/4 ends up in her mouth and the rest plastered to her highchair, clothes, my floor, my clothes, mason's hair...everywhere. We are still pretty much sticking to our 9-12 months food guide, but we've added some other things for flavor (mango, onion, garlic and ginger). Occassionally she will still eat her oatmeal with halved blueberries in the morning, those are good days.

Another thing eating up my time this week is spontaneous baby proofing. I was procrastinating things from my baby proofing list  until little M decided to start crawling forward! Now everything up to 3 feet has to be fully baby proof. Thank you husband for installing all of the baby gates before this happened. If you are interested...

I have also spent way too much time this week scanning websites for deals on a new stroller. I have been using a Quinny Buzz 3 since Madelyn was born. It was great for when she was in her infant car seat, since it would easily snap onto the wheels. But, now that little M is a bit bigger I need something a little sturdier, with a larger basket and that can handle more weight. I am in love with my friend Mel's Uppababy Vista and am thinking of getting the Lindsey model. Any thoughts?

If anyone wants my Quinny+Bassinet I'll sell to a blog follower for $375 (retail value $780).

Lastly, our dishwasher broke 3 weeks ago and the warranty part still isn't available. Sigh. I really wish there was a dish washing fairy...

More on Teething...

Why do I have messy unwashed hair for the 3rd day in a row? Why am I still in PJ's at noon? Why do I have bags under my eyes from getting up at 5am? Easy answer: Madelyn is sprouting her 2nd tooth! This time it's on the top and way more painful (measured by fussiness) than the bottom tooth.

We tried a new product last night: Orajel. It seems to be working okay, def better than Camillia (sorry naturalpaths). My backup is Baby Tempra/Tylenol but I'd prefer to reserve that for the worst of hours.

Yesterday, I called Telehealth Ontario to make sure Madelyn wasn't actually sick with something else since she had a low-grade fever and runny nose. In case any of you moms out there are also fretting about this stuff, here is a list daddy found of common Teething Symptoms. Click here for the full article.

• Irritability
• Drooling
• Coughing
• Chin rash
• Biting & gnawing
• Cheek rubbing and ear pulling (watch out: could also be a sign of an ear infection)
• Diarrhea
• Low-grade fever
• Not sleeping well
• Cold like symptoms (runny nose, etc.)

A Week of...

Things started off great last week. Monkey and I were happy as usual in our new matching winter hats.

But then one day monkey started getting a sad look on her face.

 And everything was going into her mouth.

Then the crying started. Monkey was even crying in her exersaucer! Now, what baby does that?

I tried Camillia, and baby Tylenol, and nothing was working...

So, I decided to give myself a break and took Monkey to the daycare at my gym.

 But, half way through my workout...

Next, I had a dentist appointment. I couldn't skip it, it had been too long since my last cleaning.







Ya, that went really well....Not even a MumMum would soothe her soul.

The hygienist noted my clenched jaw. Well, duh, who wouldn't clench their jaw with all that crying?

So I went for lunch and a beer to take the edge off. My edge off, Monkey was still screaming.

Sorry everyone else having lunch at the pub.

But, then all of a sudden there was a really weird couple of days of quiet play. Not happy play, just quiet, calm play.

No more tears but no big smiles.




 

And then, poof, out of nowhere came a shiny, pearly, new, little, cute baby tooth!

Congratulations my little Monkey! Another milestone crossed off your list!

First time Tobogganing

Is she warm enough? Is she covered? Is snow going to get in her face? Is she going to hit her head on anything? Is she going to fall out of the back pack carrier? Are her feet going to get squished?

...Once I got over all of those fears, our first time taking Madelyn tobogganing was really, really, really fun!

Yes, that's #96 crossed off my mega list :)

The PERFECT Gift for a New Mom

Product: mabel's labels
Price Range: $10-$30
Rating: Awesome (dishwasher & microwave safe!)

Gift ideas include classic sticky labels, clothing labels, teeny bag tags, household labels....and....MAMA CARDS!!! Yes, that's a business card for FTM's! I am so ordering some for myself.

Thank you Aunt Paula for introducting me to this awesome Canadian company. I LOVE my classic sticky labels!

Baby Food Starters: 6-9 Months

First, I need to caveat this post:  I am not a baby expert, please listen to the advice provided by your Pediatrician, GP or Lactation Nurse. I am only writing from my experiences with Madelyn, hoping to provide insight to other new moms.

Now, we can get down to business :)

It's been almost a month since we started solids and so far it's been SO much fun. I am very blessed with a baby who loves to eat, making the whole process enjoyable. We decided to wait until after Madelyn was 6 months as I wanted to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months. One sign we also looked out for (under the advice of our Lactation Consultant) was Madelyn's heightened interest in the foods we were eating. On our trip to Cuba she was reaching for our food and was totally into drinking water from her sippy cup. We knew she was ready.

I compiled our 6-9 months food starters list by consulting our GP, Naturalpath doctor, Lactation Consultant,  Lila's mom and other moms I know. They all had different opinions (of course) and different good reasons for their items. I highly recommend doing your own research to see what is best for your baby. Every baby has different needs.

Baby Food Starters: 6-9 Months

* Listed in our trial order

• Squash
• Steamed Prunes (helps get things moving)
• Avocado
• Sweet Potato / Yams
• Banana
• Broccoli
• Peaches
• My Organic Baby Brown Rice Cereal (fortified with iron)
• Pear
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Pureed Dark Chicken Meat
• Apple
• Cherries
• Blackberries

Some notes:

• The Red Items are part of the Dirty Dozen. It's better if these foods are Organic.
• The Blue Items are some of the least contaminated foods. These do not need to be Organic.
• The order of food was based on what we had available in our kitchen, however, we purposefully started with veggies before fruits so our baby didn't develop a preference for sweeter tasting food.
• Wait 2-3 days between food introductions to look for allergic reactions, rashes, or changes in mood.
• All foods with the exception of bananas, peaches and avocado were steamed.
• All foods with the exception of bananas and avocado were pureed in a food processor before serving.
• Brown Rice cereal was recommended for it's Iron content. We mix it straight with warmed peaches or pears (rather than water) to boost it's flavor. (Try it on it's own, it tastes like glue - nasty).
• If you are debating between Brown Rice or White Rice cereal, read this article first.
• Pumped breast milk can be added to any food to make it taste super yummy for baby.
• It's a great time saver to make a big batch of one food and freeze it in ice cube trays (1 tbsp serving to start, 1/3 cup as baby progresses) and keep them in a zip lock bag in your freezer for daily serving.
• We serve 3 flavors per meal and often mix the foods together to create new flavors.
• We offer water in a sippy cup as a compliment to the meal.
• Baby Wise II says, "Begin as you mean to go". We say a prayer before our meal and keep baby's hands to her side while we eat. It's a cleaner way to do it and takes less time to clean up after! Honestly, by the second day she knew to keep her hands by her side - babies are amazing!

I'm looking forward to comments about your own food successes!

Late for Christmas?

Wait...isn't it November 24th? Aren't we exactly 1 month away from Christmas Eve? And we haven't even had US Thanksgiving yet? ...Then how the heck am I late for Christmas?

1. Went to the mall Tuesday to inquire about photos with Santa. Too Late. Had to sign up by first week in October. Crazy!

2. Went to Pottery Barn to ask about getting stockings engraved. Too Late. Needed to get them in 4 weeks ago. WEIRD? I went first week of October and it was too early, now they're telling me I'm too late. UGH!

3. Went to HomeSense to buy Stocking holders and was told they're all sold out, I should have come at the beginning of the season. Wait? Didn't the Canadian season just start after Halloween was over? Insanity.

At least I'm hoping I'm not too late to send my wish list to Santa. Hopefully he'll have time to read my blog during his Thanksgiving holidays. (I think he's on a US schedule?)

Christmas Wish List by hbjorn featuring ugg shoes

UGG Australia 'Scuffette' Slipper, $70
Cuisinart Grind Central Coffee Grinder | Williams-Sonoma, $30
yoga equipment, yoga blocks, yoga accessories, water bottles |..., $15
Aerolatte Handheld Milk Frother | Williams-Sonoma, $20
puffer stevie baby bag at kate spade, $197
Le Creuset Teakettle | Williams-Sonoma, $70
Monogrammable Glass Globe Ornament | Pottery Barn, $5
The Book Of Negroes: Amazon.ca: Lawrence Hill: Books, $16
"Spiro" Lambswool Sweater | Aritzia
Classic Flannel | Aritzia

Cuba Family Vacay 2010

It feels like a dream, but we were in Cuba a week ago, and it was WONDERFUL! We took Madelyn on a family trip for her 6 month birthday and our 2nd Wedding Anniversary. It was our first week long trip away from home with baby so I wanted to make sure we had everything we could potentially need. Three suitcases and too many carry on's later... here's a brief summary of my experience packing.

Would take again: 

- Stroller seat & wheels:  this was ESSENTIAL. Madelyn took 2 day time naps in her stroller every day, and slept in it covered up while we dined each evening. We were even able to sneak into the "Romantico" adults only restaurant since she was so well hidden in it :)
- Infant seat:  it was nice to have this by the pool and on the beach so Maddy didn't spend all of her time in her stroller.

- Toys:  we took 5 of her favorite toys, all of which could be 'toy strapped' to the stroller so we didn't lose them. At 6 months, she's really into toys.
- 3 baby bathing suits:  Madelyn likes to switch up her outfits and I couldn't tell her to put any back when we were packing.
- Organic Infant sun block:  We took Badgers SPF 30 and applied 20 min before the sun, under her various sun hats and clothing. Better safe than sorry.
- Our own crib sheets:  You just can't trust sheet washing at a 4 1/2 star Cuban resort. Again, better safe (and familiar) than sorry.

- Mini containers of my own laundry detergent, dish washing detergent and baby soap. I didn't use them all, but it seemed like it would be hard to find this stuff at our remote resort on Cayo Santa Maria.
- Boppy breastfeeding pillow:  We used this on the plane and it was great to help Madelyn sleep on the way there and sit up in our extra 3rd seat on the way home.
- Probiotics

Overkill:
- Infant Car seat:  this was just annoying to carry around with us. Plus there really wasn't room to use it on the tour bus that took us from the airport to the hotel.
- Fully stocked first aid kit with everything you could ever need for a year in captivity
- 10 changes of clothes for Madelyn
- Breastfeeding cover:  too hot for plane and no one cares in Cuba
- Bjorn: used 1x
- Sling: used 0x
- 70 Diapers: used 1/2
- 120 wipes: used 1/2
- Breast feeding Pump and bottles
- Sippy Cup
- Bug tent for baby to sleep in
- Snorkeling kit: what were we thinking?

Milk is my Frienemy & Loving Affordable Denim

Oh Milk...how I love thee on my cereal, in my coffee, in a big glass next to spaghetti dinner...and then you stab me in the back.

I took a break from cows milk while I was sick last week. My kind neighbour gave me a carton of Almond milk to use as a substitute, since my Naturalpath told me to refrain from too much Soy while I'm BF. The Almond milk was a bit heavier than my usual 1%, but boy was it tasty. While on this little break I was way less bloated, Maddy had less gas, and my sinus cold cleared up faster than usual.  Then I had a carton of chocolate milk at IKEA yesterday and bam - back to feeling bloated.

Hmm...maybe I need to take a longer break.

While today I'm still in my bathrobe at 11:45am, here's what I'll be wearing on a day when I don't drink milk. Yes - I also picked up these jeans at GAP on the weekend and I am LOVING AFFORDABLE DENIM. There was a 40% off sale so they were <$50 - that's like the tax on a new pair of Citizens. And believe it or not, they are giving me the same high as a new pair of Citizens. It's like 2001 all over again - GAP is back!

Getting Skintimate with Psoriasis

When I was recruited last week to participate in a webinar, "Get Skintimate with Psoriasis", I thought it was a bit of a strange request. But, at the same time I felt pretty cool since I was recruited as a Blogger. Someone thinks my blog is a means of social buzz...yay!!

Anyway, it turned out to be a really interesting webinar. I learned that Psoriasis is NOT contagious, that it's very common (1 million Canadians have it), and that it has strong emotional and social implications for those who have it. I want to state again that it's NOT CONTAGIOUS. This seems to be the biggest social myth. It's a skin disease, it's not something you catch from shaking someones hand or sitting next to them.

livingwellwithpsoriasis.com

I also learned about this really cool website that you can use to find a dermatologist near you: livingwellwithpsoriasis.com. Coincidentally, last week I had my own visit to a Derm. I sooo wish I knew about this website before waiting 4 months to see a Dr. who looked like Mr. Burns who told me, "Just remember, stay pale & stay safe".  I ran home and doused myself in fake tan cream. It's not that I don't agree with keeping out of the sun (I wear 30+ SPF religiously all year round), I just don't want to look that pale...Anyway, had I known about this website 4 months ago I would have found my own Derm rather than waiting forever through my GP to get my apt. with Casper.

Fall 2010, 4 months

Okay, back to the webinar... It really got me thinking about what kind of mom I want to be and what values I want to teach my little one. In the webinar, this guy who has Psoriasis described going to the gym and being looked at funny because of his skin condition, then being asked by the manager to wear a sweater because he was bothering other gym members. That is so sad. When Madelyn grows up, I really want to teach her to be compassionate, patient and understanding. To be the type of gym manager that would tell all of those other members to sc#*w themselves and let the guy work out in his T-Shirt without a mention. I know it won't always be easy, but I really do want to focus on those values. Every person is important. Every person has meaning to our world. Every person is special.

I guess this is just another amazing part of being a mom - it really makes me want to be a better person.

MIA...and sick :(

This week, inspired by many of the blogs I have been following, I started 224 projects around the house. The biggest includes over 100 apples and 100 pears. Madelyn and I drove all the way to a farm in Grimsby Ontario to indulge in some chemical pesticide free produce to make batches on top of batches of homemade baby food. That led to my hunt for the most efficient apple peeler/slicer/corer = old fashioned machine+electric Drill :). This caused a lot of mouth watering and drooling so we made our way to a Carters Oshkosh where they have the best drool bibs ever. Spotted: Michaels Craft Store. Added homemade fall wreath to the list, as well as new head flower bows for little M. All this on top of 4 playmate/visits and 2 rainy dog walks. End result: stuck in bed on this beautiful fall day and my house is a Mess!

herbalist mommy friends - what can i take for a stuffed nose no fever that's safe while bf? I just want to get back to my purée!!

Breastfeeding...Challenges & Payoffs



VERONICA HENRI, TorontoSun.com, Oct. 5/10 pg. 3

I have faced many challenges with breastfeeding my baby but no matter what happens the payoffs always beat out the challenges.

Yesterday, we took part in the 6th annual Breastfeeding Challenge, at Rosedale Heights School of the Arts in Toronto. My friend Mel & I, with our babes Hunter & Madelyn, walked the Catwalk featuring styles from Evymama boutique in Bloor West Village. Following the fashion show, we joined hundreds of other moms in an International feed at 11am. Our loving hubbies were there to cheer us on. The whole event was pretty cool.

In talking to other moms at the event, it made me feel good to know a lot of the challenges I've faced are normal. At the beginning we also had some latch issues and had to really work at finding the best position (cross-cradle hold). From weeks 5 to 20 (last week) I have had numerous blocked ducts. That's when a bit of hard milk gets clogged and a whole bunch of new milk starts gathering up behind it. It's VERY painful. At one point, the blocks led to Mastitis (like a horrible flu), at another point Candidas (nipple infection). And, in the last two weeks I started having a supply problem, which was like getting kicked when you're already down. Luckily I have an incredible support team that's helped me through it all.

So this morning when my Aunt told me our picture was in the Toronto Sun (above, printed on pg. 3) it put a huge smile across my face. Not that there haven't been better payoffs along the way - because nothing beats the smile that lights up on Madelyn's face when she's had a full feeding! It was just a nice treat to think maybe my breastfeeding will inspire another mom to do it for her baby.

Maddy and I weren't the only ones to make the news. Mark, Mel & Derek were also featured in an online gallery photo. The above photo was taken during the 11am group feed.

Mel & I should have also been in the catwalk picture, right, but we were sadly edited out of the shot :(

In closing, I just want to say thanks to everyone who has helped me so far with bf: Mark, my moms & grandma, Jean, all of my mommy friends, and girlfriends without babies who are great listeners. It is the best gift I could be giving my daughter and it's so great to have your encouragement. THANK YOU.