Tag: Babies
Top 10 Things To Expect For Baby’s First Photo Shoot
Editor’s Note: Is there anything more precious than those first professional photos taken of your gorgeous newborn babe? It’s an exciting time, but also one that can leave mom and dad a bit on edge as to how to prepare. Vancouver photographer Rhonda Dent is here today to give us a quick run-down on how [...]
On Motherhood – An Ode to Weaning
It’s 3:30 a.m. and while the rest of the house is warm and quiet, we linger in a state of night-time half sleep. For just about the last year and a half, those nearly-dawn wakings meant I pulled our sweet baby in close and she nursed her way back to dreamland with me contently dozing [...]
Dear Beautiful Baby, Please Stop Biting Me
Ouch! There’s nothing like a razor-like chomp to change the mood from calm and soothing to at least mildly hostile in the middle of an afternoon nurse. Most people look at those little chicklettes in the wee one’s mouth and think they are full of incredible sweetness. I look at them and see weapons of [...]
At 4 a.m., Peaceful Parenting Goes Out The Window
I have daydreams of sleep. Seriously, I’ll be driving in the truck along the dyke road looking out at the Canadian Geese flying over the Courtenay Estuary or stopped at a light and fantasizing about what it would be like to have eight complete hours of uninterrupted rest. I thought, maybe, as the wee one [...]
Books That Your Toddler Can't Destroy
The wee one at our house is emerging into this incredible, feisty and amazing kid and every time I turn to look at her these days – she has a book in her mouth. Actually, she has just about anything she can find in her mouth. It’s crazy and, in my perpetually panicked mom state, [...]
Baby & Kids Clothing Product Review – Sewfunky Bonnets
There aren’t a lot of things that I instantly fall in love with when it comes to kids gear. I like to pick things up and give them some time to grow on me. But, I’ve had a moment. Actually, I had the moment a while ago. But, with schedules and the craziness of daily [...]
Time to Double Check the Car Seats
Yesterday, the kids and I were out running errands and, as we stopped for a coffee and a snack, we wondered why the Courtenay Fire Department had a truck at the gas station nearby, lights flashing. We talked a bit about hoping everyone was OK. The firefighters seemed to be digging around in the backseat [...]
Top Things Your Kids Do To Wake Everyone Up
Silence is golden, and virtually impossible, in our house these days. I would give my entire kingdom to have the sweet 6-month-old on a regular nap schedule. But, well, the decibel level in the 5-year-old universe precludes any attempt at sleep in the baby universe and it is starting to wear pretty thin. The tiny [...]
Dads and Their Long Lost Spot In Bed
It’s a moment that will live in infamy forever. Christmas 2004. Me, three months pregnant. Loving husband gifting me with full body pillow better known as the Snoogle. Me loving said pillow like I have never loved an inanimate object before (oh the comfort). Loving husband realizing quickly that he had been booted out of [...]
Nutritious Solutions for Young Kids
Well, we’re not quite to the solid food stage with our newest little one. But, in getting ready for it I’ve been doing a fair bit of reading and in the process found myself reminded of all of things that I should (and more than I like to admit don’t) be doing to make sure [...]
And Then There Were Two
People keep asking me “How does it feel to be the mother of two girls?” My answer after four weeks is still “I’m a mom of two girls?” The whole thing remains a bit too surreal to be reality. I had never thought of myself as the parent of an only child. But, after 5+ [...]
Ask A Midwife – Caffeine, Heartburn, Fish Oil and Flu Shots
Editor’s Note: Good Morning. It’s time for our Ask A Midwife column from Plum Midwifery. We had four interesting and provocative questions posed to this team of midwives from women throughout the OBE community and are excited to share their insightful response. The Plum Midwifery crew includes Joanne Daviau, Amy Kelly, Emma Gledhill and Jessie [...]
Sweet Reads for New Siblings
When it comes to helping kids through the process of figuring out what life will be like once a baby shows up around your house, there really is no magic formula. There could be months of “Oh I can’t wait” and a year of “What a nightmare” after a new baby is born. Or, a [...]
The Ultimate Guide to Tracking Your Pregnancy
It seems like the longest 40 weeks of your life – that time from the moment you conceive until the day your beautiful baby is born. But, keeping track of all of the special, personal moments, logging all of the physical and emotional changes that go on and even finding those important bits of advice [...]
Breastfeeding May Be Best. But, Let's Not Judge
Editor’s Note: Good morning. Comox Valley mom Andrea Postal touched base with me recently to talk about an issue that we all face as mothers – whether or not breastfeeding our babies is the route we choose to go. This topic has become one of heated debate that can end in accusations, strong judgments and [...]
Birth Stories – Magic Comes in Threes
Editor’s Note: Happy Friday! Deepa is on site with another fabulous birth story from her experience as a midwife. Enjoy. “Does anyone here want to take on triplets?” said the red-headed Sister Midwife of National Maternity Hospital’s Labor Ward in Dublin, Ireland. It was a place where 30 births could happen daily in one of [...]
Aromatherapy Makes Motherhood Sweeter
Editor’s Note: Good morning. The lovely Rhonda Parker is here with the scoop on aromatherapy and what it can do for you. Enjoy. As moms, we are constantly reading labels and trying to find healthy choices for our families. When kids are sick or unhappy, finding healthy and natural ways to help them feel better [...]
Birth Stories – Hope In the Presence of Love
Editor’s Note: Happy Friday! Deepa Upadhyaya is back with another birth story. Here she is: “Taniqua*, yo hoochi fat.” You could feel her embarrassment, although her teenage face was too black to show blush. I am sure the touch of her cheeks could have started a fire. The crowd of Taniqua’s so-called friends and family [...]
Bumps – Finding Love In Rural Afghanistan
Editor’s Note: Happy Friday! Deepa is here today with another wonderful birth story from far off Afghanistan, as well as a love story that gave her a sense of home, wherever she may be. Here she is: I was all geared up to write the story of the triplets I helped to deliver vaginally in Ireland, [...]
When Birth Becomes An Inspired Resistance Movement
Editor’s Note: Happy Friday! This morning we have Deepa talking about the incredibly powerful and moving birth story that inspired her to become a midwife. Here she is: They say that a mark of happiness is whether you get any pleasure out of the question, “what do you do?” I often get asked why I became [...]
Ask A Midwife – Top 5 Questions From Pregnant Women
Editor’s Note: Good Morning! It is with the greatest of pleasure that we launch the new Ask A Midwife column here on OBE with the midwives of Plum Midwifery joining us monthly to answer your questions about pregnancy and childbirth. I’m honored to introduce you to Joanne Daviau, Amy Kelly, Emma Gledhill and Jessie Shannon, [...]
Birth Stories – Conscientious Observation of Labor
Editor’s Note: Good Morning. Ah, life, how it evolves. Deepa’s column is evolving too. Today, we start the first of many amazing birth stories told through the experiences of Deepa. I’m looking forward to this change of pace, as we are set to launch a whole bunch of goodness around pregnancy and childbirth in early [...]
How and When to Introduce Babes to Solid Food
Editor’s Note: Happy Friday the 13th! This morning we have Dr. Amy Wells on the subject of solid food introduction – a big step in the life of our tiny people. Here she is: As my newest little man is watching my every mouthful of food, I’m wondering how he’s going to hold out for solids for [...]
BUMPS – The Mystery of Being Born In The Caul
Editor’s Note: Happy Friday! This morning we have Deepa Upadhyaya bewitching us with tales of being born in the caul. Here she is: Halloween month is upon us and within me several emotions are brewing. This witch’s cauldron has a heavy ladle for all the chunky matter that comes along with Winter’s upcoming arrival. To me [...]
All Maternity Leave Is Not Created Equal
Sometimes I think people who stay in one place for long periods of time are the smartest people I know. There is wisdom to just being happy where you are. I have been bouncing around the world over the past decade and although we are broke and exhausted, there were some advantages. You gain some [...]
Friendship is Key to Managing Stress in Pregnancy
Editor’s Note: I have the most wonderful friends. Seriously, I couldn’t ask for better. They have enormous hearts and are entirely some of the most generous women I have ever known. But, when I need them the most (ah, it’s the Cancer crab in me…or some serious issues, I’m sticking with astrology) in times of [...]
Which Cloth Diaper to Choose?
Editor’s Note: Comox Valley Mom Kathy Roberts is a cloth diaper convert. In her quest to make life easy and non-disposable, she took it upon herself to test drive just about every type of cloth diaper out there, even making a few of her own. Thankfully, I’m annoyingly persistent and she is incredibly generous, now [...]
Vintage and Books Go Hand in Hand for Me
My mother made me wear a babushka. (Not unlike the vintage dress in the photo here that I would prefer the tiny person wore every day:)) She thought it looked so crazy cute on a preschooler that I ended up with a whole wardrobe of ethnic head scarfs. My grandmother loved it so much I [...]
Mozart to Soothe the Savage Baby
There once was a rather charming, easy-going tiny person running around our house. While other people coped with whining, meltdowns and fear-striking behaviour, our daughter was going along doing her thing wondering why some of the other kiddos were so upset. In the last two weeks, something has snapped and the terrible twos have kicked [...]
