Mothers' Day

Well yesterday was my first Mothers’ Day as a mum, and it was absolutely wonderful. My four month old son somehow managed to make me a card and a gift (a collage of photos of my race car with my 10 second timing ticket which I LOVE!!) ably assisted by his father who added his own sentiments. In all honesty, I struggled to hold back the tears, but then that’s nothing new for me, I cry at anything with even the merest “wafer thin” veneer of emotion these days. I blame hormones.

We didn’t really do much to celebrate the day either, not in the conventional sense of Doing Something. What we passed our time doing was giving Alfie his first try at a sippy cup, and discovering how many different noises a baby belly can make when attacked by raspberrying lips.

I hope I can get the video of Alfie with the sippy cup on here soon (technical challenges notwithstanding) because the entire experience had me in hysterics. It provided conclusive evidence of just how impatient that little boy can be. We’re talking full on hissy fit here, so hissy in fact that he tried to bite through the mouthpiece in frustration when he couldn’t get his milk to come out.

I’m seriously starting to wonder whether I should try and get Jo Frost’s number on speed dial now, while I still have a sense of humour about the whole thing.

Anyway, the point of this post, I just wanted to give a big old cyber hug to mums everywhere. For those struggling with the loss of a child, or a mum, who are wishing there were a mum, or struggling with being a mum, and for those just plum enjoying being a mum, here’s to us.

Stand and Deliver's Writing competition

If anyone is feeling especially creative at the moment, please have a look at Rixa's Writing Competition on her blog.




Topic: Becoming a Parent, Becoming Transformed
Genre: Your choice (first-person narrative, short story, informational article, etc.)
Length: 500-1,000 words
Deadline: entries must be received by March 31, 2010
Submission instructions: Send your essay and contact information to stand.deliver@gmail.com. One entry per person, please.
Entry must be your own original, unpublished material.
Prizes:
~ $50 gift certificate to Second Womb Slings
~ handmade hat (up to $40 value) from Paper Raisins
~ handknit wool soaker (up to $35 value) from Monkey Muffin Creations
~ $25 worth of handmade play food from Hooked in Harmony
Writing contest details: Please reflect on one specific aspect of becoming a parent that has transformed you in some way. It could be about anything from struggling with infertility to giving birth to raising an exceptionally spirited child. The winning entries will be published at Stand and Deliver.

To encourage you to participate in the writing contest, I am offering two giveaways!

Giveaway #1:
Baby Martex Blossoms Diaper Stacker ($29.99 value)
This cotton diaper stacker is part of the Baby Martex Blossoms collection. It can hold up to 30 diapers and is machine washable. How to enter: Spread word about the Writing Contest on your blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, etc. The more places you post, the more chances you have to win! Please post the Writing Contest instructions (included above), a link to this post, and the Writing Contest logo if possible (html code available on the sidebar). Include a separate comment for each entry, please. Deadline: March 24, 2010

Giveaway #2:
Handmade leather bag ($90 value)
Carry your things in style with this handmade genuine leather bag. It is a glossy mahogany brown with decorative topstitching. How to enter: submit a Writing Contest entry to stand.deliver@gmail.com. The winner will be chosen at random on April 1, 2010 (no joke!).

Reclaiming Birth Rally

Sunday lunchtime, Keith, Alfie and I travelled to London to gather in the shadow of the Imperial War Museum. It was a glorious sunny day, cold, and crisp and fittingly, full of promise that new shoots would soon be breaking the ground.

Our purpose was simple, to join in with the Reclaiming Birth Rally - organised by NCT, ARM, IMUK, AIMS and Albany Mums - walking to Whitehall and making as much noise as possible in support of better choice for every birthing mother. The walk had been sparked by the closure of the Albany Midwives, a group of midwives who contract to work for the NHS on a caseload basis. They work mostly on an estate with many socio-economic challenges, and they achieve excellent outcomes. They visit women at home in labour, and only ask women to decide on their place of birth while in labour. Their homebirth rate is over 50%.

From the moment we arrived at the meeting point there was a wonderful atmosphere. Children running everywhere with balloons and whistles and homemade banners. There was colour and noise and, most importantly, smiles: This was a celebration of everything that is good in midwifery.

Everywhere we looked there were children in pushchairs with flags saying “caught by The Albany” and “when I grow up I want to be an Albany Dad”. There were t-shirts and balloons proclaiming “100% Albany” and I’m not too proud to tell you that it brought a lump to my throat. Seeing that many people whose lives had been touched by this small group of women, and who felt so supportive of them as to bring their families out to march in support of them was very moving, and in stark contrast to the majority of maternity experiences in this country where the person at the business end of your birth remains a nameless, and often faceless person.

Soon after arriving we were marshalled into the road behind an open top bus decked out with NCT balloons and as many banners as our hands could hold. I was quite glad that my sister had joined us for the day because it meant we could each hold a banner and still have enough hands free to push Alfie Speaking of my son, can I just say what a miracle of stubbornness he is, managing as he did to sleep the entire march despite being surrounded by a couple playing an accordion and violin, and several dozen whistle blowing children!! The march set off slowly and more importantly, loudly, and we followed that bus, and the samba band, attracting no end of spectators who smiled and waved as we went past.

It felt good to be part of such a noble tradition as protesting. As Parliament came into sight and we skirted the corner of the square containing so many other protest banners we raised our voices just that little bit higher. The bus soon parked up outside the Department of Health and we heard from the great and the good of the organisations represented.

There was a sense of sadness, that some 28 years after the first rallies, we were still fighting for the same changes to maternity services, but more than that, there was a real sense of hope, of determination, that this would be the last. That people like us could make a difference by making improvements to maternity services high on the agenda of the upcoming election. After all, in the great scheme of things, what is more important than the everyday miracle of birth?


If you want to get involved in the Reclaiming Birth campaign, go to www.nct.org.uk/active

Little Green Alfie

We got a letter from a lovely lady at the council the other day, asking how we were getting on with washable nappies and asking if we would help spread the word. Of course we said we would because frankly, of all the things we have so far done to help Alfie live the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" tag line, that is by far and away the best.

I love the fact that our bin isn't constantly filled with poo scented plastic. I love the fact that Alfie has a big squishy towelling bum, and I especially love the fact that we don't have to spend a flipping fortune on nappies every time we go shopping.

I'll mention one more of Alfie's contributions here, mainly because I think it's something more people might go for if given the idea.

The bottle companies have realised that they are onto a good thing in these modern days of "never mind about not breast feeding, our bottles are a close second" and have come up with a range of teats that mean you have to buy a new one pretty much every time your little person has a growth spurt.

Oh and also, you can't use them for more than 6 months, so there's no keeping them for future children just in case you thought you were making a wise investment in the future.

So what to do? These teats are perfectly useable, just not for humans, so ... how about sending them to your nearest animal rescue for their orphaned animals? Alfie has just donated all his old teats and newborn bottles to a local centre who often have orphaned lambs to feed.

Not sure why but that makes me go all warm and fuzzy inside.

In other news, we have just bought what can best be described not as a high chair, but a throne on stilts. It cost more second hand than I was planning to pay new, but it has topped every single user survey I have seen and totally supports what we want to do with Baby Led Weaning.

It kills me that we have to wait a few months before we can give Alfie anything but milk, so we have decided to spend the intervening time getting him used to being at the table at mealtimes.

The idea being that by the time he starts stealing things from our plates, he'll be totally at home with the idea that table = food and we won't have that to contend with as well as the new and exciting sport of pin the lunch on the wall.

Ooh and also, he has moved to step 2 of mini sous chef.

No longer does he lounge in his pram while I demonstrate to him like some bad Nigella takeoff, ooooh no.

We have progressed to sitting on the kitchen counter and holding things for daddy. Or possible wearing them. Whatever works.

Little Things

I got back from my run at lunch to find this update from the homestead ...

"today is the best day ever ... since Xmas in Gib anyway!
we went into the kitchen to sort out lunch. Put on the radio to listen to some music.
Sun was shining - you know that Paloma Faith song that's out at the moment? we were dancing around, he was singing and shouting, it was awesome. In fact, i nearly cried! I cannot wait till summer! We have to take him to a festival for a day so we can dance around with him, he will love it!
However, he hasn't been changed since he woke up this morning so i think id better do that now lol"

Isn't that just what life is all about? Man am I jealous that I wasn't there to share it with them!!