Mama in the City

Before leaving for work (very early) this morning Benji's mum asked for "lots of cute photos" to show her what happens today when she is away. As requested... Benji's Day, a photo story.

7:30 am; had a shower with dad and then read a few books to the dog.






7:35 am; dog said thanks for the books.




8:25 am; our first trip outside (with the dog) and a trip to the playground. Lots of climbing and sliding (with no help).










9:02 am; heading home again, and while mum doesn't like it, a morning nap had to happen.




To be continued throughout the day...

Shooting off an email or an instant twitter message is easy and efficient when saying thank you but is it the same as sending a paper thank you note? There is definitely a place for email thank you messages, especially if you are a person who would never remember to sit down and write a handwritten note. It is better to press send on your computer than to forget to say thank you at all. However, there is an old fashioned goodness in feeling the weight of a lovely thank you note in your hands.

Ever since my childhood I was taught the importance of thank you notes. Whatever lovely or funny gift we received we were always encouraged to sit down and write out a thank you note. This lesson has always stuck with me and I love picking out thank you notes to send off or finding a great stationary shop with cards and notes galore.

I also have a soft spot for thoughtful thank you notes being sent to me. I have a big thick box that I keep in my bedroom and I stash away thank you notes and cards of cheer inside to keep. I love getting mail and I truly love the sentiment behind someone taking the time to write out a card and pop it into the mail box. Plus I love receiving mail that is not fliers or bills!

Emily Post has a gentle guide to writing thank you notes and discuses the email thank you versus a proper written note. I am continually buying beautiful cards and putting them away to use at a later date. I find this helpful when it comes down to sending off a timely note even when I am knee deep in work.

Even Oprah has a panel of experts give their opinion on the old fashioned thank you note. One expert summed it up nicely in regards to the email thank you, 'it's okay... but why not do something that's great?'.

The online shop Etsy has many beautiful cards like these ones below:

Spring Love Birds


Damask Script Monogram Cards


A lovely personalized swirl pattern folded note.

I'm a perinatal specialty-trained registered nurse and I help first-time mothers learn to breastfeed every day. I had no idea that when it came time for me to breastfeed my own son that learning how to do it would prove to be such a challenge.

Before having my baby, I took courses and attended events all in the name of learning to support women with breastfeeding. I had passion about dispelling myths around breastfeeding and was an active supporter of friends who were nursing. I had no idea that when my own baby was born I would have such a tough time learning to breastfeed. How was it that I taught women how to breastfeed but here I was a bumbling tired woman feeling like I was learning a new language?

I always knew that I wanted to breastfeed and I actually never thought that it would be a challenge once I had my baby. I was shocked back to reality. Breastfeeding was very difficult to start and trying to do it every hour or two gave me a lot of stress in those early weeks. Despite lots of experience and education, I did not know that it was completely normal to feel overwhelmed about breastfeeding... it was normal to feel frustrated when latching seemed impossible.

I did not know that breastfeeding could be so hard. I had watched my girlfriends and my sister nurse their babies and they latched with ease and speed. I had helped many women in the first 48 hours and I thought I had it figured out. So why did it turn out to be such a difficult thing for me to learn?

My actual experience around learning how to breastfeed was full of engorgement and a baby born a little prematurely who didn't really get how to suck for the first while. He was a sleepy, jaundiced baby born to a diabetic mother and he needed frequent glucose checks and blood tests for the jaundice. It was vital to get in calories; soon the consumption of those much-needed calories became the focus and breastfeeding got off track.

When Ben was about 9 days old I ended up emailing a friend from work who was also a lactation consultant. My husband sent her the first SOS and I sent her a follow up message. I needed support and I needed someone with clear rested eyes to give me that support. Learning a brand new skill at the same time you are also completely exhausted from birth is difficult enough and on top of that there is a sweet baby exclusively dependent on you.

Breastfeeding is natural but there is still a learning curve and many different things to learn about breastfeeding. Many first mothers I've met have said that they thought breastfeeding would be easy and that latching would 'just happen'. You just cradle the hungry baby and the baby opens their soft mouth and things would just flow. It was nature!

The thing is, the term nature and the word natural don't necessarily mean the same as easy. Just because something is natural doesn't mean it will go along without hassle. Natural doesn't mean that you won't feel frustrated at times. Breastfeeding can be hard and can be a steep learning curve but it gets easier!

I think of how much effort and attention went into latching on a tiny newborn and then I think of casually nursing my hungry 7-month old in the rose garden at Stanley Park. So, my sweet readers if you are going to be new to breastfeeding surround yourself with support and know that it can get easier!

At 2 AM this morning I graciously greeted in daylight savings and watched the hospital wall clock glide to 3 AM. It was probably the most beautiful part of working the night shift! I slept for most of the day and then lounged around and played with my boy.

So far today I have had two surprises! The first being a very delicious smelling bottle of Philosophy raspberry bubble bath from Sephora picked up by my husband. I have plans to indulge in it tonight and have a bubble bath.


The second surprise being the interesting program I watched World's Oldest Moms on CBC newsnetwork. It documented moms at 67 having babies and a 72 year old women whose biological clock went off a few decades too late. I plan to write more on this documentary later, did you happen to watch it?

Today is a rather wet and rainy Friday morning and on my 'to do' list is, a night shift followed by another night shift. There will be no margaritas this weekend but plenty of work, sleep, coffee and cuddles with my boy. Sorry for the lack of posts this past week! I haven't had much time to myself.

I am not feeling particularly fabulous today but I guess that goes with busy work days and not a lot of downtime. My eyebrows are in need of a visit to the Aveda shop for a wax and my actual 'to do' list really needs some attention. Sometimes I struggle with managing today and living in the moment but also preparing for all of the upcoming tomorrows.

Yesterday I spent the whole day with a really sweet couple in the labor room. We clicked and got a long and after a marathon labor we had a delightful little 8 lb baby girl. Maybe tonight will be more of the same?

Just to add to this very rambling post is old photos of Ben from a few months ago. He figured out how to crawl under our very inappropriate glass coffee tables (with pointed edges) and got a little stuck in the process. Since these pictures were taken he has figured out how to crawl under the tables just fine. So, don't feel too bad about his little upset face in these photos!

I have always been a collector of books and at one point I had a bookcase filled with lovely interesting literature. All were well read, some had ruffled corners from accidentally being dipped into bath water and some had folded downed corners and wrinkled covers. As I collected more and more book I ended up having to get rid of a lot of filler books and only keep the books that were important to me. The thing with apartment living is that these is a lack of space and there is no room for an accumulation of so-so books.

My top books that I read again and again.........

She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb is the first book that got me really interested and I've read it about five times. I love the story line and the characters. I especially loved that such an interesting lead female character could be written so well by a man. I actually didn't totally get that a man had written this beautiful book until I flipped the book over mid read the first time around.



Midwives- A Novel by Chris Bohjalian
A powerful read that captured my interest way before I was a RN and interested in birth and maternity. I found the conflict in this book full of suspense. It had me feeling anxious and worried and reading page after page with intensity.



My third book that I always keep despite frequent book purging is The Birth House by Ami Mckay. Again, I found this book way before I had a real passion for birth and the subject still stuck with me.



Of course I will admit to my love of chic lit and light novels that are full of amusement and escape. Jennifer Weiner's book Good in Bed feels that need right up! A sexy plus size character deals with love and relationships and had me flipping pages late at night.



The last book of choice is Hurry Down Sunshine written by Michael Greenberg. My parents gave me this book for Christmas when Ben was a crying infant. Somehow amidst the chaos I was able to read this and devour each page of this story. It is written by a father who details that story of his teenage daughter who "was struck mad".


Have you read any of my favourites? What do you keep on your book shelf?

This weekend my nearly sweet six year old niece hopped the ferry from Victoria and came to the city for a visit. She loves cupcakes, all things princess and the colour pink. So, it was no surprise that when I went to open up her princess backpack that a sea of pink greeted me. She has mega energy and loves to tell me stories about her life in Victoria. Sometimes she forgets that her mum is my sister and is surprised when I know something about her mum.

We spent most of the sun filled Friday outside at the park and walking the seawall in Yaletown. There may have been a few special treats but that is what a visit to your auntie get you! Right now she is helping Ben brush his teeth and get ready for bed. Oh yeah! Just before I taught her how to write in bubble letters and she was so impressed with my skills.

Today we were up bright and early (actually it was still dark out so it was just early) and we had big plans to go on an outing. I booked the Zip car and we were out the door at the same time that most people were rolling out of their bed and sipping coffee. We took my niece and Ben to Maplewood Farm in North Vancouver. We visited the cows, goats, sheep, bunnies and fed the birds and chickens.









Just as we were leaving the rain started up and we darted off to Rocky Mountain Flat Bread Co., a very family friendly dining place nearby. My niece was delighted with the very large Shirley Temple she got and we enjoyed our pizza.