Half-birthday

Six months old! How time flies.

Milk NursingWear - Review and Giveaway!

***This giveaway is closed!***

Winner: Susan E.

Milk Nursingwear is a source for maternity and nursing clothes that I wish I'd found sooner! They have everything from tops, dresses, bras (lots of the big name brands you'll recognize), sleepwear, to accessories like slings, nursing pads, bibs, and so on. And the prices are very reasonable. I was just looking at the Chic Crossover top (nice for fall!) and it's priced at only $12.99! There is a big end of season sale on right now, so definitely a good time to shop!

Style: The one I tried is the Everyday Tie-Front Top. It has an inner pull-aside layer underneath a v-neck that makes it easy and discreet to nurse. The empire waist is flattering and helps hide the leftover bump (let's not talk too much about that. And don't you go looking for it now!). I like the cap sleeves and the colour is lovely - a deep turquoise. The room I was in was very bright so it looks a little washed out in the photo. It is a more rich colour than the photo shows! Excuse my weird expression in the photo! Ha ha! I was in a hurry, making the most of Mia's short naps!

Fit: I opted for a small and it fits exactly like I hoped it would. I wouldn't suggest going up or down a size - the size seems just right!

Durability: I have worn and washed it several times and hung to dry. It does wrinkle when it's hung to dry (and I don't iron) - but the wrinkles soon fall out when you wear it. The picture was taken about 5 minutes after I put it on, so you can still see wrinkles a little. The fabric is a soft, stretchy cotton jersey with 5% spandex - that explains the nice fit and draping. I love how soft the fabric is. I don't notice any pilling at all, either.

Price: Like the other tops at Milk Nursingwear, it is very reasonably priced and on sale now at $25.20 (down from $42).

The only complaint I have is that, despite my efforts to teach her the baby sign for milk, my daughter still lets me know she's hungry by sliding her open mouth across any part of my body that she can reach - including shoulders, any part of my chest, arms, etc. The drool trail she leaves with this behaviour does leave a dark mark on the fabric (that stays dark even when it dries). Of course, it washes out, but if she happens to glom on while we're out, I'm left with a mouthprint on wherever... I have a feeling/hope this is a temporary behaviour!

I really like this top and it's quickly become one of my go-to pieces for comfortable and discreet nursing wear. I would not hesitate to shop at this nursing wear store again.

Milk NursingWear has generously offered one of my readers a $30 gift certificate!

How to enter: This one's a little different from my usual, so pay attention! You can do one or the other of these things to enter. Doing both gets you two entries! Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected.

• Visit Milk NursingWear, find a product you like and would be happy to win, and then tweet about it with a link to the product page

  Example: "Check out this beautiful nursing top: http://www.milknursingwear.com/store/pc/Everyday-tie-front-top-2p2112.htm" - now, obviously, don't just copy and paste this tweet, that doesn't count!

• Like Milk NursingWear on Facebook

That's it! Simple, right?

Of course I would be honoured if you follow my blog, follow me (@emilyisland) on twitter, and/or mention me in your tweet. But these things don't count as entries this time.

Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends August 31st at 11:59 EST. A winner will be drawn within a few days, announced here, in a separate post and emailed! Prize will be shipped by sponsor. Sponsor is not liable for duties or taxes incurred in cross-border shipping (but if you spend less than $60 on your order you should be fine!)

August... BBQ month!

Okay, that's not an official designation, but it is barbeque month for our family. We are so happy to be back in our own home with our yard and of course our barbeque to enjoy!  This last month of summer, we plan to make the most of it.

On the August long weekend, we were in the middle of our big road trip home from our three-month stint in Calgary. One of the first meals we had when we finally arrived was barbequed veggie burgers with sweet Ontario corn and homemade potato salad. It's a classic summer meal, simple and  delicious - and that goes for the Wonder+ SimplyFree buns we had for our burgers as well.

The buns I mentioned before and again here, are now our go-to buns for barbeque. This is the first Canadian National Brand of bakery products that are colour-, preservative-, and chemical- free, yet they taste just like the yummy Wonder buns we are all used to. Plus I have noticed that they don't seem to go stale any faster for not having preservatives. So, why add them in? They also don't contain high-fructose corn syrup (ick, and so bad for your health), and use unbleached wheat flour. Better to get buns that have simple, familiar ingredients and keep the chemicals out of our family's food.

Don't forget there are some good-lookin' recipes over at Canadian Living to help you think up ways to use that barbeque this summer. I think they are nearly all convertible to vegetarian (except maybe the tuna melts) as well. We pick up veggie dogs at the grocery store and veggie burgers at one of the wholesale club stores (because we eat so many!).  There are also better barbeque tips for tweaking your BBQ style.

Here are my two most favourite people relaxing in the hammock after a delish bbq dinner -

Get out there and enjoy these summer days... we are planning to host a few more barbeques while we have the nice weather. We've got to make the most of it!

Disclosure – I am participating in the Wonder+ SimplyFree program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Weston Bakeries.  I received a gift card and free product coupons as a thank you for my participation.  The opinions on this blog are my own.

FYI – I'm happy to try the product for free and receive a gift card for my time in writing about it, but I want you to know - I don't promote products that my family wouldn't use or products that go against my grain. These new products by Wonder, to me, are a step in a very good direction for a big company. This IS the product I look for in the grocery store. 

Giant Baby

I bought Mia a 6 -9 month sleeper today and she is too big for it! I had a 2-3year (!) romper set aside, just for fun I tried it and she is rockin' it like it's 3/4 sleeve, going-to-the-flood style. 

I have a giant baby. Did I mention she's not 6 months until the 12th?!

excuse crappy webcam photo. lost my card reader somewhere...

iQ Eco-Friendly Cleaners - Review and Giveaway!

I'm always on the lookout for a good cleaner - I like trying new ones, and the key for me is that they be eco-friendly. I want non-toxic, natural ingredients, smart reuseable packaging, a reasonable price, and good cleaning results. The new iQ cleaners have it all.

The cleaners (all-purpose, glass, floor and bathroom) are made from natural surfactants (hello, coconut!) and sugar-based acids. They are completely non-toxic, and so I can feel that much more comfortable cleaning around (and cleaning up after) our daughter and our dog.

The iQ line has reuseable spray bottles and REFill (Reduced Environmental Footprint) cartridges of the cleaning solution. This means WAY less plastic waste, less cost (all you need is a REFill cartridge when your cleaner runs out, not a whole new bottle), and less of a carbon footprint as shipping tiny cartridges rather than big bottles means less trucks on the road. You add the water yourself, then the cartridge, screw on the spray nozzle and they mix together to make the cleaners. Here is the 'before' (with water added to the fill lines on the bottles):

and the 'during' (it's a little tricky to see, but check out the cool swirly effect of the cartridges releasing!):

Less shipping and packaging costs also add up to savings that are passed on to consumers. Yay!

Plus... they're fun. Yes, cleaners can be fun! Popping the cartridges in and watching the coloured cleaner diffuse through the water is pretty cool. I'm a sucker for pretty, I admit it! You can take a gander at how they work in this video:



The glass cleaner was put to the test on our console table (a glass-topped dust collector) and our mirrored closets in the foyer (a target for dog nose prints, fingerprints and dust). No streaks!

The bathroom cleaner worked well and I liked the fruity scent.

The all-purpose cleaner took care of the kitchen. This one has my favourite scent - refreshing and light. It cleaned the countertops without leaving residue, and even worked on the stainless steel appliances with no streaks!

Overall - love the products, love the performance, love the way they smell and love that they've got a refreshingly eco-friendly approach to cleaning.

Now for the giveaway! iQ has very generously offered one of my readers the same three products I tried, plus a year's supply of REFill cartridges (ARV $50!).


Also this is my first Rafflecopter giveaway so be patient if there are any bugs! (note - it starts at 12:01am EST August 5th!) Good luck all!

On the road again

We are hitting the road tomorrow for the Big Drive. Those giveaways listed to the left are coming up once we get back to Ontario!

Thoughts on first foods for a vegetarian baby

Not busy lately, just chillin' with this sweetie!The topic I'm reading up on lately is first foods. Mia's tried a few things (just tastes); she turns six months old mid-August.

My plan was to do baby-led weaning, but I think I will do a modified version that does include purees-to-mashes, based on the reading I've been doing. I liked the idea of BLW without purees, but the World Health Organization as well as my provincial and federal governments recommend purees that gradually have more texture.

I also liked the idea of skipping baby cereals altogether - they seem like unnecessarily bland, empty calories - but again am doubting that. The reason I'm having doubts is that we are (lacto-ovo) vegetarian, and her nutrition is really important. I know she will get adequate iron, zinc and B12 once she starts eating what we eat, but until then the cereals are iron-fortified, so we can be sure she's getting enough. Plant-based iron is harder to absorb, so she'd need to eat bigger amounts (than she would of meat products) to get enough, and I don't think her appetite will allow that for the first while.

Any thoughts on first foods? Any vegetarian baby mamas reading who'd care to share stories? Did you supplement with vitamins?

ps while we're on the topic, Glimpse Reviews is hosting a giveaway for a Stokke Tripp Trapp high chair!

Winner - Life Choices prize pack

And we have a winner!
Stay tuned for some fabulous giveaways coming up: a fabulous household cleaning prize pack from iQ, a cloth diaper from Zippy Doo Diapers (she has the cutest prints!), and a gift certificate from Milk Nursingwear. I am looking forward to these reviews, which will start in August, once we're back home in Ontario.

iQ Facebook contest

You may have noticed I have a few giveaways coming up (check the left sidebar for details). One of them is for iQ cleaners - a line of non-toxic cleaners that I am looking forward to trying!

While we wait for that, I wanted to let you know that iQ is having a contest on Facebook. You could win a prize pack and a $100 Walmart gift certificate. All you need to do to enter is like their page and let them know how you re-use!

Go here to enter and good luck!

Also - it's the LAST day to enter the Life Choices giveaway here on my blog!

A Western Weekend

On Friday, my husband texted to ask if I wanted to go to the Calgary Stampede on the weekend. I don't know much about these things, but it's been Stampede all week on the radio, billboards, flags, you name it around Calgary. My impression of the Stampede was that it's an agricultural fair - I thought it would be like the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) or the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair that we have in Toronto. The Stampede is a Calgary must, apparently - and in the spirit of making the most of our time here, we bought tickets.

On Saturday morning I read the headline on CBC about a horse being put down after the chuckwagon races Friday night. Death at the fair? I read on and learned that horses seem to die often during or after chuckwagon races - from heart attacks, broken legs, or exhaustion. After six horses died last year, they made new health and safety regulations for the races, yet one still died on Friday. How sad!

We did go to the Stampede and joined the crowds; the vast majority were decked out in plaid, cowboy hats and boots and what our Albertan friend calls "turkey platters" (those big ol' belt buckles). Apparently, the Stampede is a license to skank as well... Forgive me my geezer's take on this but the young women there really weren't wearing enough! I'm all for flattering clothing and am not averse to mini skirts or tight shirts, but girls - don't dress like it's for sale! But I digress...

We wandered the livestock buildings (one building to admire the animals, the next to encourage us to eat them - sigh), watched some of a very cool and speedy sheep shearing competition, saw lovely heavy horses parade around with chariots, and, yes, attended the chuckwagon races.

I found the races to be a little boring, actually. There are nine heats with four chuckwagons racing each one. There was one that was quite close at the end, and that was exciting just to see which team won, but mainly it was won from the start. Yes, the horses run fast. I guess I'm just not a race aficionado, because it seems really pointless to see which corporate-sponsored team runs the fastest. Who really cares? A stadium full of people and some big business, apparently - just not me. I went up behind the stands and nursed Mia in the middle of the races so I didn't see all of them. Maybe I missed the whole point somehow, but I think not.

Mia and I at the chuckwagon races

After the races was a live show somewhat modeled after Cirque de Soleil shows called Volte, which included a great fireworks display. Mia seemed to like the fireworks, starting a little at the pop!s but open mouthed with wonder at the lights and colours.

I did enjoy the Stampede - the midway was fun to wander (though we didn't play the games or ride the rides - I just love the colour and bustle of it all). It was fun people-watching. I imagine a lot of the cowboy/girl get-ups we saw are brought out once a year just for Stampede! We got some fancy spiral cut chips and I had a yummy fruit shake. My husband enjoyed an applewood smoked beef sandwich. Mia loved the heavy horse show with the live orchestra - she was wide-eyed and bouncing on my husband's knee as we watched. I think the aspects that I liked are the country fair parts, though, not necessarily the parts that make it the Stampede.

The other thing we did this weekend was a 12.3km hike in Kananaskis Country - the Powderface Trail (Prairie Link). It goes up and down and up and down a LOT, so we were sore-legged by the end! Mia rode in the carrier and slept much of the way. We'd just finished two-thirds of the trail when it began to rain and hail (!), and the temperature dropped from a comfy 20 degrees down to 12, so we rushed - as much as we could, tired hikers we - through to the end and were thoroughly drenched and chilled by the time we got to the car. Luckily, Mia's carrier has a good waterproof canopy and while she was a little chilly, she warmed up fast while she nursed.

I love a good hike but definitely could have done without the rain!

So that was our western weekend!

Excerpts from Making Mummy Crazy

If Mia were to write a book, it'd be about something she knows. Something she's put a lot of effort into. Something she's a seasoned professional at. Something like....

Making Mummy Crazy
Tips for Babies

• Insist on nursing or bouncing to sleep. Every time. No exceptions.
• The best time to require Mummy's immediate attention is when she's prepared herself a nice hot cup of tea or coffee. Never, ever let Mummy drink a hot drink.
• In the same vein, you may nap during meal preparation, but always wake for the meal so that Mummy and Daddy don't have to sit alone together and eat.
• Insist on being held while anyone is eating. This is a good way to help Mummy and Daddy develop one-handed eating skills, and also provides the opportunities to get food dropped in your hair and to stick your drooly hands in someone else's meal.
  
• A giant booger is an opportunity not to be missed. Let it dangle, then snort it back in just as the washcloth nears your face. If it should drop below snorting range, be sure to wipe it on your hand, back onto your face, back onto your hand (repeat as desired), and wave that boogery hand around if a washcloth approaches (cry if possible).
  
• Mummy must be coated in fluid at all times. Do not let Mummy dry out. The easiest way is to mouth any random bit of bare skin that you can find (option: clothing works, too), leaving a coat of slimy drool.
• Alternately, spit up. Spit up is best used when you or Mummy have recently changed into clean clothes. Preferably, spit up the mucousy, chunky, stinky reflux kind that results in instant shock and disgust noises and a flurry of activity. Also, be sure to cry when your face/arms/legs/clothing is wiped off, and especially if you are changed into a new outfit.
  
• Last resort: pee. Best when Mummy has just exited the shower and put on clothes. Aim for the waist or higher, that way you will be sure to drench both shirt (and bra, if possible) as well as pants.
• Pull hair. Your own, or Mummy's - either will produce shrieking. Wait until your beautiful 3" long hair has, to Mummy's chagrin, begun to fall out at around 4 1/2 months - then grab fistfuls of it while nursing, falling asleep or just chillin'. The key is to drool on your hands first so that they are sticky. Then you can pull out great gobs of hair, leaving refreshing bald spots and creating a hairy fist that Mummy will attempt hopelessly to clean before you get it to your mouth. Pulling Mummy's hair is also fun. Act like you're going in for a cuddle, then wrap those sticky fingers around Mummy's mane and yank. If you're lucky, she is also losing hair from post-pregnancy. Bonus!
  
• Wait as late as you can before going to bed. My personal record is 2:30 am before I went to sleep.
• Pretend you've gone down for the night, wait until Mummy falls asleep, then commence kicking practice in bed. Legs up, then - wham! - legs down! Repeat until Mummy gives up on waiting it out and comes to pick you up.
• Keep them guessing. Nap for a week with reliable 1-2 hour naps three times a day. Then give up napping entirely and substitute whining.
  
• If you accidentally sleep five hours in a row at night, make up for it by staying up for the day once you wake. Otherwise, aim for two hour stretches at the most.
• Laugh only for Daddy.
• Take interest in solid food only when it's completely inappropriate. Chocolate pudding, ice cream, yogourt, nuts, spicy food, or anything that is a perfect choking hazard.
• If you are meeting someone new for the first time, hold back on the charm. Be as grumpy as possible, spit up on them if you can, look directly into their eyes and burst into tears, that sort of thing. The exception is complete strangers (shop clerks, bank tellers, etc) - for them, mix it up with a big grin, then resume complaints for your parent.
  
• Shrill squeals - the highest pitch you can manage - are perfect for trips in the car, bedtime, and in public places like restaurants and malls.
  
• Outgrow your clothes as fast as you can. This way you will ensure a constantly changing wardrobe of cute outfits. Who wants to wear the same thing more than twice anyway?
• The car seat is your enemy. If you are strapped in, make your unhappiness known by crying or otherwise complaining the entire time. Do your best not to fall asleep in the car.
• Aim to wet or soil your diaper twenty minutes to half an hour after leaving the house, no matter if it was just changed before you left.
  
• Thrill Mummy by performing tricks (saying "ba" or "da", peeing on cue in the potty, rolling over for the first time, etc) and then hold off on repeating the event for at least a couple of weeks. This makes Mummy look like she is bragging that you're doing things you're not (when actually you are perfectly capable of doing them). Also, Daddy will never believe Mummy's stories about your behaviour unless he sees it for himself.
• If the camera comes out, immediately stop doing what you were doing.
  
• Everything belongs in your mouth, unless Mummy or Daddy put it there (vitamin drops, medicine, vaccines, tiny tastes of solid foods); in that case, spit it all out. The ideal way is to dribble it out the side of your mouth onto your shirt.
  
• If Mummy is nearby, you want to nurse. Even if you aren't really hungry, demand that the boob make an appearance. This applies double if it's (a) the middle of the night, (b) in the car, (c) Mummy has just sat down to eat, or (d) you just woke from a 20-minute nap where you were nursed to sleep.
• While nursing, wait until let-down occurs, then pop off the boob for a grin, to see what that noise was, to sit up and look around, or just to dribble that mouthful of milk out onto Mummy's shirt. If you are lucky, Mummy will have a strong let-down reflex and you will get a spray of nice warm milk on your face, that hard-to-clean neck, your shirt and wherever Mummy is sitting to nurse.
• Diaper changes are the best times to practice kicking, rolling, stomping and putting whatever you can reach in your mouth. Also, help by grabbing the diaper or the hands of the parent who is changing you, and hang on tight.

I hope you enjoyed these excerpts from Mia's great literary debut!

We're down with NIP

I've nursed in a lot of different places - at the mall, on airplanes and in airports, at family reunions, restaurants, in the car (stopped of course!), park benches, in crowds, you name it - but this is the prettiest place I've ever nursed:Behind me, a huge waterfall - you don't get a sense of the massive scale in this photo - and that's snow - yep, snow in July! We're up a mountain! And this is the view in front of me:We were at Waterton Lakes National Park for the weekend, hiking up a storm (this particular hike, to Lower Rowe Lake, was 8.2 km up the side of a mountain). Mia was in her new carrier (the Deuter Kid Comfort III) that my husband found secondhand.
She's still a little on the small side for it, but she finds it comfortable enough to sleep in for long hikes and my husband finds it comfortable to carry her in it.

The wildflowers were at their peak, and we saw all kinds of wildlife - antelope, black bears, marmots, bison, mule deer, snowshoe hares, pheasants, red fox, pikas, golden mantled and Colombian ground squirrels, and a stunning mountain bluebird. It was such a fun weekend. The town of Waterton is really nice, with little shops and a pretty waterfront.

Mia had her first pool swim (she did well, but I can't say she loved it). My husband was a lifeguard and swim instructor for years and years, so I trust him completely with water and Mia. I'm not a great swimmer, so I did have some anxiety over it. My hope is for Mia to be a happy, skilled swimmer so that she doesn't end up like me in that respect!

What's the prettiest place you've ever nursed your baby?

Winner - Tropical Traditions Natural Soaps!

Random.org has picked a winner for the trio of natural, organic soaps from Tropical Traditions:
Congratulations to
Thanks to Tropical Traditions for sponsoring the giveaway! Check out their site for lots more natural and organic products, from food to household products and skin care.

If you haven't entered yet, there's a new giveaway up there on the left for some treats from Life Choices, Canadian healthy and easy food (Canada only). And stay tuned for more giveaways to come!

Happy Canada Day!

Happy 144th birthday, Canada! What are your plans to celebrate this long weekend?

We are going to the festivities on Prince's Island here in Calgary, with live music and other entertainment - then later watching some fireworks.

In between - well, what better way to celebrate Canada Day and some nice summer weather than a barbeque? We're all heading home for some yummy cheese (veggie) dogs, corn and salad. We did a trial run earlier this week (never enough nights for barbeque in the summer). Remember the Wonder+ Simply Free buns I told you about before? They are now our go-to buns for veggie burgers and dogs. The classic fresh-baked taste you expect from Wonder, without any additives or weird chemical ingredients. They're delicious!Mmmm.

Maybe you noticed the little sticker on the bag of buns in my picture? You can enter to win a BBQ party worth $5,000 through a unique PIN found on specially marked packages of Wonder+ Simply Free hotdog and hamburger buns! Very cool contest!

They also have added eight more new barbeque recipes to the Canadian Living, Summer Fun Comes Naturally site. I think the Pineapple Meatball Skewers look pretty yummy (with vegetarian meatballs, of course!).

And you can learn a little more about your favourite outdoor appliance at the Canadian Living website, in the Summer Fun Comes Naturally section: “Learn How to Build a Better BBQ”, and “The History of Barbecuing in Canadian Culture”.

I hope you have a fun Canada Day!

Disclosure – I am participating in the WONDER+ Simply Free program by Mom Central Canada on behalf of Weston Bakeries. I received a gift card, BBQ kit and free product coupons as a thank you for my participation. The opinions on this blog are my own.

FYI – I'm happy to try the product for free and receive a gift card for my time in writing about it, but I want you to know - I don't promote products that my family wouldn't use or products that go against my grain. These new products by Wonder, to me, are a step in a very good direction for a big company. This IS the product I look for in the grocery store.

Life Choices - Giveaway!

***This giveaway is closed***
Winner: Anne-Marie!

If you care about where your food comes from and what's in it, and want some quick and easy meal options for your family, check out Life Choices.

A Canadian brand (based in Toronto), Life Choices has a mission to make family-friendly, healthy foods such as Pizzas (family size and mini), Mac & Cheese, Meatballs, Chicken Fingers, Fish Fingers and Pierogies. Being vegetarian, I like that they have vegetarian-friendly (and even vegan or glucose-free) options. I am also impressed by the fact that they care about the environment and use sustainable practices including organic foods and sourcing locally. Life Choices has been "Making the Right Choices Easy" since 2002. I find their products in the natural foods section of my local grocery store.

Print a coupon from their website to get $1 off any Life Choices products, or you can
enter to win a Life Choices prize pack right here!

The giveaway:
A Life Choices insulated lunch tote (kids can draw on it!), 3 boxes of Mac ‘n Cheese, 3 $1-Off Coupons, as well as 1 Free Product Coupon for any of the Life Choices products. ARV $25.

How to enter: Follow @lifechoicesfood on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)* Make sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner!

Extra entries (please leave an extra comment for each. If you already do any of these things, leave the comment - you do get the entry for it!):

• Subscribe via email to the bi-monthly Life Choices eNewsletter, which includes expert nutritional information, fun recipes, and lifestyle tips. (sign up on the bottom of their home page)
  
• Head over to Life Choices and let me know one of their products that you'd like to try, OR one thing that you learned there.
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Tweet about this giveaway for ONE entry, this is not a daily! You can use this if you like:

  Canadians, #Win a healthy, natural food prize pack from @LifeChoicesFood at Emily's Latest http://bit.ly/jbMzXE @emilyisland 7/13
  

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog– 2 entries, leave 2 comments (please leave a link to your blog)
• Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post and to Life Choices – 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please include a link to your post
  

I will be verifying comments so please actually do the things you say you do ☺ If you already do any of these things, it still counts for entries!

Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends July 13th at 11:59 MST. A winner will be drawn within a few days, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!

Prize will be shipped by sponsor.
* the mandatory entry was changed 06/30. Entries previous to this change who completed the original mandatory entry were accepted.

Heavy

It's official: we are renaming our baby Gigantor. At Mia's four-month appointment, she weighed in at a whopping 16 lbs, 14 oz (birth weight was 7 lbs 13.8 oz), and measured 69 cm (27.2") long and 42 cm (16.5") around her head. She's in the 98th percentile for her age and rocking 6 month size clothing (which she will no doubt grow out of soon). Just for the record, neither my husband nor I are big people - we're pretty average.

As for me, of the 60 lbs (!!) I gained while pregnant, I've lost 51. I am dying for the last 9 to go away... but apparently not desperate enough to want to do any actual work to lose it, or give up eating... I miss my relatively flat belly, though. Fitting in to my pre-pregnancy jeans is still just a fantasy. I haven't given up hope, and refuse to buy larger clothing, so I haven't shopped in a year or so and the wardrobe is getting kind of desperate. I've heard the body retains the last few pounds while nursing and it's extra hard to get rid of... I'm using that thought to reassure myself these days!

I've never needed to really think about my weight that much. I've been one of those lucky people who stays around her optimum weight without a whole lot of effort. I started hitting the gym when I was 25 or so and I was always able to maintain a good level of fitness without working too hard at it. But now that I'm in my mid-thirties (ugh! they totally snuck up on me) and I've had the baby, and going to the gym seems to require scheduling around my husband's work, baby care and my low energy from lack of sleep, it's on my mind. I've been twice since Mia was born, which means twice in the last 7 months, as I wasn't going after 6 months pregnant... no wonder.

I know I am doing well, relatively - I try not to compare myself to others, but it's hard. At my mums' group, we're all soft mummies, some softer than others - and I'm on the less fluffy end. But at the cottage last week I was side by side with my sister-in-law, who is amazingly fit, not to mention nearly 10 years younger than I am, and childless - and I felt doughy and out of shape. If that wasn't incentive enough to lose these last pounds, I don't know what would be.

I hate not being able to wear the vast majority of the clothes in my closet, whether it's because they don't fit (shorts and jeans mostly) or because they're not nursing-compatible (tops and dresses). Boo.

Related:
When I was at the mall the other day with Mia, a woman came up to me and asked, "What formula do you have your baby on?"
"Formula?" I asked, bewildered.
"Yes, you know - Similac, Enfalac - which one?"
"OH!" I said, "None, she's breast fed."
"Ohhhhh," the lady said and walked away, looking slightly confused.

Weird, right? My husband thought it might be a generational thing (she was in her 50's/60's).

Best swim diaper?

I need your advice! What's your favourite (cloth) swim diaper? Mia's about 17 lbs (I haven't weighed her recently) and has chubby thighs.

Something available in Canada (online is fine) would be great... I was about to order one from CSN Baby, but the $7 diaper had $19 in shipping (!), $8 in border fees and $5 in taxes, bringing the total to nearly $40. Um, no thanks!!

Edit: I ended up getting a Monkey Doodlez cloth diaper and so far so good. Of course we haven't had what my husband so nicely terms an "aquadump" yet...

We've been busy lately, spending the last weekend in Canmore, with side trips to Banff and Lake Louise. What a lovely time was had by all - except for the bouts of car seat crying by Miss I-Hate-The-Car Mia.

Mia at Lake Louise.
You can't really tell because of the light, but the whole lake
is a brilliant turquoise like at the left there.

We also hit The National horse jumping championship for a spot of hopping horses. I found the Prairie Dogs (dogs running obstacle courses, I know there's a name for that) much more entertaining!

Mia at The National

Mia celebrated her four-month "birthday" by sleeping for FIVE HOURS IN A ROW! Hooray! Then, the next night, she slept for FIVE AND A HALF HOURS IN A ROW! Double Hooray! ...Then, last night, she was up every 2-2.5 hours again. But... I saw the light. And it was so beautiful.

She also has perfected rolling from back to tummy in the last few days. Way to go, Mia!

We are heading back to lush, hot, humid Ontario tomorrow for a bit - to stay at a cottage with family, and for my husband's grandmother's 90th birthday party. We're both looking forward to being at home, in our own house, for a few days and leaving the rental condo in Calgary behind.

Sadly, our neighbours who are looking after our house have reported that all the fish in our aquarium have died. I imagine the house got too hot. Hopefully our gardens are surviving the lack of tending.

I'm not sure if I'll have internet access for the duration of our stay in Ontario (eeek!), but keep on leaving those comments (especially for the giveaway!) and I will get to reading them on my return before the month is out!

Funny vs Not Funny

Dear darling daughter,

You are lovely, clever and charming, but your sense of humour needs some refinement.

Your cute little sounds, that can go on for twenty minutes - aaa-ooooo-booo-guh-aaaa-ayyyyypbbbbb-boo-booo-el-goooo-yuh ayboo-eh-geeeee-buhzeee (I'm transcribing as she talks right now) - those are Funny.

Those superextraloud grunts you come out with while we are half-asleep nursing in bed in the middle of the night, the ones that keep Daddy awake on work nights... Not Funny.

When you bust out your heh-heh-ha! laugh when Daddy goes nom-nom-nom on your neck or belly, that's Funny!

When you settle in for a nap, but it only lasts half an hour, that's Not Funny.

The way you wake up grumpy, but as soon as you see your Mum or Dad you give a giant gummy grin and sometimes a squeal - that's Funny!

When Daddy gives you a shower and Mummy takes you, dripping wet, and cuddles you dry in your hooded towel, and then you spit up all over your just-cleaned self and the towel and Mummy, that is Not Funny.

When you fill your pants five minutes after Mummy puts a fresh diaper on you, that is Not Funny. Stop grinning.

When you grab your toes when Mummy is changing you, that's Funny.

When you poop twelve times in one day, that is seriously Not Funny. Let's never repeat that debacle.

When it's 4am and you are having your diaper changed in the semi-dark by a very sleepy Mummy, and Mummy turns to put your old diaper in the bin, and grabs the last clean cloth diaper to put on you, starts to snap it and discovers that you've peed a puddle on the change mat, which is now soaking your clothing, yourself, the last clean diaper and Mummy as well... that's Not Funny.

When you're nursing at 4:30am and you keep falling asleep, and Mummy thinks she can put you gently down and go back to sleep but you wake with a start and re-latch like you're starving, and repeat every three minutes for twenty minutes, that's Not Funny.

When Mummy finally gets you into the bassinet at 4:50am, it is Not Funny to spend the next hour Riverdancing. Mummy needs a little sleep.

When you're hungry and you try to nurse on Daddy, that's Funny.

When you're hungry and you try to nurse on Mummy, but she's not ready for you, and you're either drooling on the nipple area of her shirt (leaving a big soaking wet spot), missing the mark entirely and slobbering all over her chest, or giving her an honest-to-goodness hickey on her arm that she later must explain to her own Mum (true story), that's Not Funny.

When you make faces and constantly roll to the side every single time Mummy is trying to take a picture of the two of you together, that's actually kind of Funny.
When you grab Mummy's nose and honk it... that's Funny! (even better is getting a picture of the moment!)Love,
Mummy.

Tropical Traditions Natural Soap - Review and Giveaway!

***This giveaway is closed.***
Winner: Diane!

I've had the pleasure of reviewing several products from Tropical Traditions already (some of my favourites: the laundry detergent - great for cloth diapers! -, flaked coconut, and organic honey!). Each time I've been happy with the quality of the products and the lack of chemicals or additives. This company does wonders with natural ingredients.

I had the opportunity to try out some of their organic natural soaps recently. We were sent the unscented, lavender, and tea tree oil varieties. Here they are before use:
The unscented soap has just one ingredient: saponified organic virgin coconut oil. Who knew that coconut oil could be soap?! It is truly scentless and like all coconut oil skin products is wonderfully moisturizing.

The lavender soap smelled lovely and has only the addition of organic essential oil of lavender.

The tea tree soap (the unwrapped one in my photo) again only has added organic essential oils of tea tree and lemon to give it scent. I like the herbal/medicinal scent of tea tree oil (and the antibacterial properties); my husband said it "smelled like car cleaner", so I guess to each their own.

I loved how the bars lathered up well and I really felt after using them that I wasn't left with residue on my skin - just soft skin from the coconut oil, but no oily feeling. I could use these on the sensitive skin on my face without drying out my skin or having a bad reaction. I also like that they are so simple in their ingredients.

My one complaint was that the bars didn't last super long. However, if I had left them to cure, unwrapped in a dry location for a week or longer, I probably could have gotten more use from them. As it was, we busted these open right away and used them up.

The soap bars are now on special so it's a good time to pick some up!

Tropical Traditions has generously offered one of my readers the chance to try the organic natural soaps for free!

The giveaway:
A set of three Tropical Traditions soaps like the ones I tried!

How to enter: Head over to Tropical Traditions and let me know one other thing you'd like to try, OR one thing that you learned there. Make sure I've got a way to contact you if you're the winner!

Extra entries (please leave an extra comment for each. If you already do any of these things, leave the comment - you do get the entry for it!):

• Subscribe via email to the Tropical Traditions newsletter
  
• Follow @troptraditions on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Follow me on Twitter (leave your Twitter name!)
• Tweet about this giveaway for ONE entry, this is not a daily! You can use this if you like:

  #Win organic, all natural soap bars from @TropTraditions at Emily's Latest @emilyisland http://bit.ly/kOi4R2 US/CAN 6/27
  

• Follow my blog (publicly) – 2 entries, leave 2 comments
• Add my blog button to your blog– 2 entries, leave 2 comments (please leave a link to your blog)
• Blog about this giveaway, linking back to this post and to Tropical Traditions – 2 entries, leave 2 comments and please include a link to your post
  

I will be verifying comments so please actually do the things you say you do ☺ If you already do any of these things, it still counts for entries!

Please be sure to include your email address if it’s not public in your blogger profile! Anonymous comments without a way to contact you will be rejected. Canadian or US mailing addresses only, please. Giveaway ends June 27th at 11:59 MST. A winner will be drawn within a few days, announced here, in a separate post and emailed!

Prize will be shipped by sponsor. Note for Canadian entrants: Tropical Traditions is not responsible for customs or duties that Canada may charge if you decide to participate in this Tropical Traditions sponsored blog giveaway. (FYI - it's unlikely to have a charge, being well under the $60 that incurs duty charges. There was no extra charge on my soaps, which came to Canada quickly and packaged well)

Dinosaurs, Hoo doos & the Badlands

(Sounds like a great children's book title!)

This weekend we visited Alberta's Badlands.

Drumheller, Alberta has the world's largest town mascot - a towering dinosaur (that you have to pay to climb up for a view from the dino's mouth. We didn't.). Mia was singularly unafraid, but played the part of mockingly terrified well for a photo! It's way bigger than it looks in this photo at 86 feet tall!

The Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology is one of the world's finest dinosaur museums, with lots of bones! It's amazing to think that T. Rex and Stegosauri roamed around these parts long ago. Definitely worth a visit if you're anywhere nearby.

We hiked the loop by the RTM and it was lovely, with the characteristic "popcorn rock" of bentonite clay and views of the gorgeous badlands, but we were swarmed by the little bloodsuckers. Mia was wrapped up in her carrier and a blanket and hat, so didn't get bitten at all.

The Hoo Doos, however, are probably not as awesome as you might expect. I mean, they sound awesome, right? Like something out of L. Frank Baum's Oz books! I expected the Wheelers to roll out from behind every corner. Alas, there was no Wheeler in sight (or maybe not; as I recall, they weren't very nice). The Hoo Doos are pillars of soft rock, topped by a hard one - creations of erosion. There are only a few at the location and the mosquitos are insane.
They do look cool.

Winner - Playtex infant products

And we have a winner:
Congratulations! Stay tuned for more giveaways & reviews coming soon. I've got some treats for the grown-ups coming up, and am working on some more for the little ones!

Thanks again to Playtex for the opportunity to try out - and give away! - some of their products for infants!

Sleep (what's that, again?)

I'm happy to report that, at nearly 16 weeks old, Mia is down to three night wakings. That's right - no sleeping through the night here. Even when just 5 hours of consecutive sleep is considered STTN, she hasn't broken her longest sleep record of four hours and forty-five minutes. She did that once, and only once - more typical is a three hour period during which I am so amazed and thankful that she is sleeping more than two hours at a stretch!

She wakes to nurse*, and for at least one diaper change** during the night. A typical night is - 9:30 to sleep***, wakes at 12:30 to nurse for 20 minutes, wakes at 3:00 for a wet diaper change and to nurse for 15 minutes, wakes at 5:30 to nurse for half an hour, sleep until 7 or 8am, often with a nurse at 7 before snoozing until 8.

So when the mamas on my birth club board are talking about a "4 month sleep regression" and complaining that their babies, who previously slept 6-10 hours without waking, are now waking up (the horror) three times a night.... sorry, ladies, I have NO SYMPATHY!

*About the nursing: Mia is exclusively breast-fed and will stay that way until she weans. I've got lots of milk, and don't feel that supplementing with formula or adding the empty calories of rice cereal to "fill her up" is the best thing for my baby. She's gaining and growing like a champ on breast milk - we estimated she was around 16.5 lbs, based on our home scale, and 25 1/4" long at 15 weeks - that's up in the 90's percentile I believe for EBF babies. And yes, I can tell the difference between night fussing/sleep noises and hunger.

**About the diaper changes: she will not tolerate a wet diaper. I've tried big inserts, and doubling the inserts in her cloth diapers; hemp, bamboo, and microfibre inserts, even - ick - disposables on our various trips, it doesn't matter. The girl doesn't like to be wet (and who can blame her?).

***About the sleep: There's no way Mia will go to sleep at 7:30pm as so many babies do. She's never been a good sleeper, and now that she's finally taking daytime naps I am simply grateful that she goes to sleep around 9:30. Sometimes it's later. I know that sleep begets sleep. Her daytime naps took ages to happen at all; for the first two months of her life she probably only slept 6-8 of every 24 hours. Even as a fresh newborn.
She sleeps in a bassinet beside our bed, at an incline due to her reflux, in a onesie with a flannel receiving blanket over her legs. She's strapped in (it's a Fisher Price bassinet with a restraint), so can't slide down under the blanket, and the blanket is firmly tucked around and underneath her, so she can't kick it up over her face. She was swaddled for a long time but hated it, and as she is finally growing out of the Moro reflex, we have stopped swaddling her entirely. She doesn't startle awake anymore. Once we are back home in Ontario, we intend to move her into a crib in her own room overnight, but meanwhile we are limited by what we have here at our temporary home in Calgary.

Basically... I'm not looking for advice, I'm happy she's sleeping well for her. Just had to vent a little about the whinging of the other mamas who have no idea how lucky they've been!

More weird things about Calgary

You knew it wasn't over, right? Calgary's different. I'm not saying bad, just different.

• It's dry. I mean really dry. Mia's hair has a wave in Ontario - here it's straight. I'm slathering on the lotion like nobody's business just to keep my skin from cracking. Saline nasal spray is a household necessity. Now, lately there've been rainfall warnings and a week of rain, so it's not been quite as dry, but still. On the plus side, my cloth diapers hung up after washing dry in just a few hours here, compared to a day and a half in Ontario.
  
• It's dirty. Don't take this personally, Calgarians. Not using salt on the roads during winter (it gets too cold for that) leaves little option but sand for winter driving. Only, it seems to be a mix of sand and pea gravel. By spring there is a swath 6 feet wide on both sides of every road of grit and stones. Oh, it will be cleaned up... by July, they say. Meanwhile, every other car has a giant crack across the windshield because of the flying gravel.
• It's windy. Very windy. One time, my husband and I were going for a walk with Mia in the stroller, canopy up to block the wind, when my husband said, "Hey, I don't even have to push!" Sure enough, he let go and Mia was blown across the field we were walking in by the wind at such a rate that I had to really dash to get my hands on the handle of the stroller. Yes, Calgary tried to steal my baby.
  
• It has private parks. Some neighbourhoods have these fenced-in green areas. I mean big ones, with lakes and such. I guess Some People don't want the riff-raff spoiling their scenery?
• It claims to have friendly people. Okay, but where? I have met a number of friendly people here - but they are all from somewhere else! The friendly folks I have met here are from Toronto, Edmonton, England and Ireland. The one native Calgarian I've met (not in a social situation, this was a cab driver) spent some minutes complaining about how unfriendly it is elsewhere... and on my daily walks with Mia, it's me (the Ontario transplant) saying good morning to the people I see on the trails and them reluctantly meeting my gaze and grunting. Am I hanging out in the wrong neighbourhood or something? Maybe all the friendly people are in the north end of C-town. Yeah, I'm calling it C-town.
  
• Milk. Where I come from, milk comes in bags. It's tidy, it's handy, it keeps better, it's the Canadian way. Here in Calgary, milk comes American-style, in an unwieldy 4L plastic jug that is heavy, gets gross crusties around the rim, and you have to return the darn thing to some place called the Bottle Depot to get your deposit back. Ugh! What a stupid system.
• Liquor is available everywhere. I know that's not exclusive to Calgary, but in Ontario if you want to get loaded, you're making a stop at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario stores (LCBO) or at the Beer Store. Those are the only two options (okay, unless you shop at the lame wine kiosks in the grocery store that have very limited selection, or make your own). Here it's wide open. The Real Canadian Superstore has an associated liquor store. The Costco even has one. There are independent liquor stores. There is booze everywhere. I like it.
  

Ah, Calgary. What a freaky city.

One thing that is awesome about Calgary is the proximity to the mountains (Wait - it's great because it's near great things? hmm. Would I be more great if my next door neighbour was great?). This weekend, we're heading to Banff to do some hiking and hoary marmot spotting. I love those hairy little guys. Just look at that cutie over there.

Did you miss my first Weird Things about Calgary post?

Glup bebe bandana Review & Deal Alert!

The fabulous Erica (aka Mama Ash) at Everything Mom and Baby sent me a Glup bébé bandana to review! This is a fairly new product in her store and, I think, a great addition to her lineup of products that aren't widely available in Canada.

The Glup bébé bandana has ties at the sides to make it quite adjustable and a panel at the back to keep the sun off sensitive skin! (My husband calls it a 'nape cape'.) It comes in two sizes. We were sent the six month size, but although Mia is just under four months, I thought it fit very well (and will fit all summer long).

While we were in Ontario last weekend, we got to try it out on one of the few sunny days they've had recently. Here's how it looks from the back:She's pretty wiggly, it's hard to adjust because of that, but you can see the back panel (which got folded over on her) is nice and wide. And from the front:There's my happy girl! Yep, adorable. Mia's rockin' the Romance print, and there are lots of other prints to choose from.

Glup products are made in Quebec. There's also a Glup drool bib available at Everything Mom and Baby - very cute! Mia's drooling up a storm lately so I've got my eye on these.

And right now there is a BIG SALE at Everything Mom and Baby on Glup products! The bandanas are on for $8 (from $15) and the bibs are $6.95 (from $9.95) (prices in Canadian dollars). Check them out here - the sale's on until May 31st!

If I have a complaint about the Glup bébé bandana, it's this: I tossed it in the washer (with my whites, on hot) and dryer, and it came out so wrinkly that I had to iron it before Mia could wear it again. I am not an ironer if I can help it, so I found that to be a pain. Of course, on looking at the Glup site I see that the bandana is meant to be hand-washed or cold washed and air-dried, so it's on me for not following directions. However... who really hand-washes baby clothes? That's just crazy talk. Not that a hat needs frequent washing (or is that just me?), but still. Anyway, no harm done - I just took the couple seconds to iron it and it is back to looking great. It just won't get washed that often at our house is all.

I am a big fan of Everything Mom and Baby's commitment to stocking interesting (and often Canadian) products - like cloth diapers (including Charlie Banana diapers, which I love), laundry and mum and baby products. Erica is really nice as well! I recommend following her blog and liking her Facebook page for the latest news. Here's a tip: the Everything Mom and Baby blog often hosts giveaways!

A big thank you to Erica at Everything Mom and Baby for the opportunity to try out the Glup bandana! We love it. We were sent the product to review and keep, but our opinions are our own!

First airplane ride and a couple of good movies

Mia handled her first airplane rides quite well! Two four-hour flights down, at least two more to go before the summer's out (maybe four), and two giant ones to come in the fall when we travel to Europe.

She managed to wet herself about 10 minutes before takeoff on the way back to Calgary and so cried for the half hour it took for the seatbelt sign to come off. I'm sure the rest of the passengers were rolling their eyes and thinking she would cry the whole way home. Of course not! As soon as her diaper was changed, she was happy again. She slept most of both flights. What a good traveler!

By the end of this year she will have been to 6 countries and logged over 36 hours of flying.

Also, I watched two good movies recently that are worth checking out. Although I watch rather a lot of movies, I don't usually write movie reviews. Mostly I find movies are rehashes of the same old same old, or even close duplicates of each other (case in point: No Strings Attached vs Love, Sex and Other Drugs - if you've seen these you will know what I mean. And if you're going to watch one or the other, LS&OD is much more intelligent).

The first of the two I'm recommending today: Limitless. This didn't get a lot of press (that I saw - granted, I don't get out much and can't remember the last time I saw a movie in the theatre. I usually watch everything online). It had some weird, surreal moments, especially at the beginning, which I really liked. It has action, good-looking people, and a plot that really makes you think, with a couple of twists that keep it interesting. Recommended for a movie night!

The second movie I can recommend is called Me and You and Everyone We Know (from 2005). It's quirky and definitely for grown-ups (it has some very odd, non-graphic sexual discussion). It's about... people, I guess, and connections or relationships. I liked the indy quality (it's no Hollywood blockbuster). Definitely worth a watch if you're in the mood for something interesting and provocative. I saw this one on the plane back home and was surprised that such an interesting, off-the-beaten-track film was offered on Air Canada.

So there you go. A couple of goodies to look out for.

Coming soon: a review of the Glup bébé bandanna from Everything Mom and Baby