Toy Spotting

I am not big on giving our little guy plastic toys but once he gets older and he no longer puts everything in his mouth some plastic will be OK. So why not give him toys made from recycled plastic from Green Toys.

Toy Spotting

I stumbled across this while I was looking for a wood activity bar for our little one. I have definitely marked this one as a possible purchase for when he is a toddler. It's by Hape toys and the cost is aprox. $100. Ages 2 and up.

A few new toys...

Today I went out to purchase a few items for baby and stopped in our favorite toy shop, Treasure Island Toys on the Danforth here in Toronto. As always I left with a few toys...

Pontino by Selecta Spielzeug


Orange Push Fox by ImagiPlay


Spring a ling by Educo

The search for safer toys

Many of you know that we have made the decision to remove almost all plastics from our sons life. This includes toys. I have spent many hours on the internet researching wood toys and below is a list of the manufacturers I have found so far.

Melissa & Doug
Plan Toys
Haba
North Star Toys
Selecta Spieizeug
Grimm's
Heros
Jalu Wood Creations
Ringley
Holztiger

If anyone out there knows of others manufacturers please share.

Great coupon site

I am always trying to find ways to save money and still buy organic natural products. Today I found this great web site with coupons you can print to save on all sorts of organic grocery.

Check it out: The Healthy Shopper

Modern Growth Chart

I have been looking for a modern wood growth chart for a bit now. I found this beautiful one available at Planet Kid in Toronto. Now I just have to decide if it is worth $95.00 they are asking for it?

Plastic shower curtain smell may be toxic: study

Can your shower curtain kill you? According to a recent article on cbc.ca perhaps.

"Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) shower curtains may release into the air 108 toxic chemicals, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), phthalates and organotins, accounting for a smell that can cause adverse health problems affecting the lungs, central nervous system, liver and kidneys, suggests the study by the U.S.-based Centre for Health, Environment and Justice."

To read the full article click here.

ADHD drug linked to suicide attempts: Health Canada

CBC.ca recently reported that ADHD drugs have been linked to Suicide attempts in children as young as 6 years old.

"Among the 55 suicide attempts reported in connection with the drug, 43 were among children between the ages of 6 and 17. Twelve were among adults ranging in age from 18 to 45."

To read the full article click here.

Zeroing in on brain chemical's link to SIDS: scientists

Acording to an article recently published on cbc.ca:

"An imbalance in a brain chemical linked to depression may also have something to do with sudden infant death syndrome, say Italian scientists who have uncovered new evidence that may pinpoint how it happens."

"The findings in the mouse study show that deficits in serotonin signalling in the brainstem can cause sudden death and strongly support the idea that a serotonin birth defect could play a critical role in SIDS.

The work also suggests it might one day be possible to test newborns for their risk of SIDS."

Click here to read the rest of the article.

On the Second Day ...

The first day, to be honest, is all a blur. Onset of labour, pre-labour, and labour take all your energy and attention, and then people are stuffing things in your hands and reminding you of things while you're bringing your baby home for the first time, and then you sit back and get some rest and try and start establishing your first crack at a routine with your newborn.



The second day is when you start noticing the details, the things you weren't expecting, or even the things you were expecting. Like the fact that your baby's still a little furry from the laguno in the womb:

Or the fact that he's got little milia instead of pores on his nose:

His fingers are wrinkly:

His ears are squashed and he's still got a little blood in his hair from the trauma of birth:

But, then, it's been about a day, and he's got all the benefit he's going to get from the vernix, so it's time for his first bath to get him all cleaned up:

 

And, then, back into the routine.



Thanks to maman for the Canon EF 60mm f/2.8 Macro that made it possible to record all these details.

Spoiled Rotten - Book review

I guess you can't spoil a child with too many books. It's hard to find French books in Toronto that will not cost you your first born child. There is basicly one store where you can buy french books in the city and they grosly over charge for them.

So memere and pepere made sure his library was well stocked by adding 11 French books.

As much as I like all the books we selected; if I had to pick 3 for my favorite ones they would be:

Il était une fois un arbre, by Mary Newell DePalma. This story is about a beautiful tree that ages and passes away leaving his children behind to continue his legacy. It's a beautiful story to introduce a sad subject to a child.

Caprice a la campagne, by Melvin Gallant. This was one of my favorite books growing up. The auter is a friend of the family; the story is about his cat.

Je t'en prie ne tourmente pas Tootsie, by Margaret Chamberlain. This one has these great eye catching illustration and is about what you "should" and "should not" do to your pets.

Thank you memere and pepere for all the great books.

La Leche Legue - Moncton

As many of you know, I attend the La Leche Legue Meetings in Toronto; we try to go twice a month. It's a spot were I can connect with other moms with similar values as us. I noticed that while I was going to be in Moncton there meeting was going to be held; so we decided to join them.

The topic of discussion was breastfeeding challenges; before the meeting the leaders asked us individually if we were currently facing challenges or had challenges that we beat in the past. Anyone who has been reading our blog from the start knows that I was having major challenges with the amount of milk I was producing.

I ended up sharing my story and one of the moms came up and thanked me because she was happy to see that someone with the same challenge that she was not able to overcome in her previous pregnancy was overcome by someone else. This gave her more hope and determination for her current pregnancy and breastfeeding.

I also bumped in one of sister's friends at the meeting - one more person our little guy met.

I really enjoyed the meeting maybe even more then the ones I go to in Toronto. This may have been because, unlike us in Toronto, mothers in Moncton who want to breastfeed pretty much only have each other. Hospitals still give formula and pacifiers routinly; there are no publicly funded lactation consultants and midwives are not paid for by the goverment. To me, the air in this meeting must have been very similar to the meetings held 40 - 50 years ago when women had almost no outside help with breastfeeding.

We will definitely be back to join them next we are in Moncton.

If you are in the Moncton Area and what to learn about breastfeeding or need help all women with children are welcome to La Leche Legue meetings. The Moncton meetings are held on the last Monday of the month at the Moncton Hospital.

Lots of new people

All my family is crazy proud of my little guy and love to show him off.

On Friday we went to the Sobey's on Main Street so my sister could show him off to her coworkers. We also bumped in my aunt and uncle Loretta and Emile there.

On Saturday we went Champlain Place and Sobey's once again, so my dad could show him off to his old coworkers. We also borrowed the break room so we could nurse in a quiet area.

On Monday we went to Sobey's on Mountain Road so my dad could show him off to his old coworkers again.

Do you see a pattern forming?

Today Norma and Kristal came over to visit. I used to babysit Kristal and her sister when they were little.


And my aunts Monique's family came by to say hello and supper for supper. My little cousin (not so little anymore - she is a teenager) seemed to enjoy holding him. Also Christophe seemed to be taken by Daniel, the youngest of the family (I think he is 10 now). It was cute to watch him stare and smile at him.

grand-memere

As many of you know we are in Moncton now.

On Friday afternoon we went for a walk up the street from my parents house to meet Christophe's great-grandmother. We have visited with her every day since then, it's just a short 10 min walk. I want to make sure he gets to see her as much as possible.

Growing up, my memere (grandmother in french) was like another mom to me; she would look after me when my parents were at work and sometimes I even just wanted to go visit for the fun of it. I was lucky to be surrounded by so much love when I was at her house and I want my son to have an opportunity to see that as well.

When I was little I used to say "Maison memere; maison heureuse" (grandma's house happy house).

Before heading out to see memere we call first to ask my uncle guy to stop smoking. My uncle is an amazing artist but also a chain smoker. He is great and goes to smoke outside while we are there; he is also the reason why we only do short visits each day. As much as he smokes outside while we are there and otherwise only in the basement, there is still a bit smoke left in the house.

The first thing memere said when she saw him was let me sit in the rocking chair so I can rock him. I don't know why but seeing them together made my heart just melt. She rocked him and we talked about stories of her motherhood and children when they were little. I saw a side of my grandma that I had never seen.

I think being far away from my grandma is the hardest part about living in Toronto.

My heart sunk

On Monday I was at the grocery store with my mom, dad and Christophe and we passed by this little baby girl that was lying down in the front half of the shopping cart. You know, the part of the cart that you can sit toddlers in. Her father stopped me to ask me how old my son was; I am sure I must of given him a look of disproval. I wanted to tell him he was nuts and an unfit parent but I did not. I ask how old his daughter was he said 3 mos. The worst was that her little head was resting on the metal bars of the basket, at lease she had a blanket under her and she was smilling.