Archive for the ‘baby’ Category

Congratulations to the Newmarket La Leche League for completing a lovely calendar.

Their mission is to help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support,

encouragement, information, and education, and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother.

This calendar will help new moms in our area with the support.  To purchase for only $15 please email Denise.

HUGE CHILDREN’S CLOTHING, TOY AND EQUIPMENT SALE
Saturday  September 26th, 2009
11:00 A.M. - 3:00 P.M.
The Aurora Child Care Centre
185 Industrial Parkway North, Aurora

Looking for clothing, toys or equipment for your children? Bring a friend and look over our selection of gently used articles at exceptional prices.
*CASH ONLY*

Our friends at the La Leche League let us know that they have produced a calendar that will be avaiable soon. They are $15 and avaiable in October. A nice way to support the local La Leche League group who offers advice & support for breastfeeding mothers and families. To order email Denise or check out their Facebook page.

Its early one crisp spring morning, they are proudly riding their tricycles around the court, their cheeks rosy from the chill in the air. The sunlight dances across the roof tops and a large robin proudly sings as she roost on the peak of a nearby home. Seeing this, I smile to myself as I remember not feeling the simple joy found in early spring and as those seasons passed into years my moments of joy seeming to be less and less frequent. You may ask why, and I will simply reply, the stork missed my house. My name is Christine Stewart and this is my story.

We were married early summer 2000 and one year later decided that it was time to expand our family to include a child with ten tiny toes, instead of the one we already had with four paws.  We planned on two children, three years apart, at the time this seemed like a logical plan. Looking back I wonder if this was simply my naivety or ignorance. Taking for granted my fertility, was never something I gave not one thought towards.  Issues with my monthly cycle were something I soon found medication for; I really thought it was normal.

After six months we started to worry, but were told that we were not considered to have fertility issues until we have been trying to conceive for over one year. We knew that as we crept towards our second wedding anniversary that our quest to have a family may be a far greater challenge than we ever thought.  We were finally referred to a nearby fertility doctor who asked questions my husband quite proudly answered while I was obviously mortified. This questioning became routine as we went for the first round of countless tests, fertility monitoring and basal body temperature monitoring.  Weekly doctor appointments and higher doses of drugs each month became a part of our regular routine.

The side effects of the medication put me in a menopausal state, weight gain, hot flashes, panic attacks, sudden thirst, teenager style acne break outs and the mood swings. These not so little mood swing were a part of my life I choose to completely deny. I am still denying the fact that I often threw shoes at my husband, locked him out of the house in a snowstorm and him refused to accompany him to pre arranged engagements on a regular basis. I didn’t want to see pregnant women; pretend I was happy for them when in fact I would choke back the tears as I congratulated the beaming couple, wishing it was us.  I didn’t want to cringe when the conversation moved to who was expecting and when would we finally decide to have a family.

As the years passed, hope clearly diminishing the strain on our marriage and my body started to become evident. I had exploratory surgery, for the purposes of diagnosis. IV in my hand and wearing a less than flattering gown my husband kissed me wished me luck and whispered “keep your eye on the prize”, a phrase we often used to get us though some of our more challenging days. I had four different procedures during that one surgery; I was terrified as up to this point I had never been in a hospital for more than stitches.

Waking up, still not making much sense to anyone but myself , asking anyone if they knew  when was I going to be a Mom. I never got the answer I wanted, just more drugs that I knew I was not able to handle, by this time my size eight body had ballooned to a size twelve and I was tired and no longer able to focus on the “prize”. As part of my job I was now running workshops at a local agency for pregnant teens and teen Mother’s. I was starting to think that this life was a little unfair and a whole lot cruel.

We contacted another clinic and after waiting for eighteen months we took our very large file to our first meeting with Dr “V”. His office was unbelievably intimidating, a massive gleaming dark wood desk and pictures of golf legends hung on every available inch of the walls and I did neglect to mention the fact that he was more than a little bit handsome, and he had to examine me. Normally this would have freaked me out beyond belief, but at this point so many people had seen my girlie parts that I had to be careful not to undress in the dentist office! Dr V ran only a few more tests, a DNA fragmentation on my husband and a follicle count and a hysterosalpingogram (HSG ); a procedure where dye goes through the ovaries into the uterus to determine blockages, it was painful but we had our eyes planted firmly on the prize.

A week later back in Dr V’s office, he informed us that he would skip IUI (intra uterine insemination) and go directly to IVF ( invetro fertilization ). He closed our file told us “fasten your seatbelt guys, I’m in the driver’s seat now”, we had one week to make our decision and begin treatment. Stunned, we made it to the parking lot before I burst into tears. This was the last option and for us, the only option, not to mention a very costly one. We decided to think about it, by the time I had my seatbelt on and the car barely started I knew that all roads lead us to this very day.

We met with our nurse, learned how to give me the daily luperon and puregon injections. We picked up the needles, viles, progesterone, the sharps disposal container and the schedule for daily blood tests and ultrasounds.  The next month was a complete blur, scheduling life around medication times and my complete fear of giving myself needles. I had 13 healthy eggs retrieved, six were IVF ( single egg placed in a petri dish with several “washed” sperm ) and seven were ICSI ( needle goes into the egg and one sperm is injected directly into the egg ). We were sent home with more injectables and  progesterone and received updates from our nurse on the progress of our out of body conception. All of our ICSI failed to make it to blastocyst stage, but three of our IVF made it and I was inseminated with two embryos on Labour Day 2004. Labour day, it must have been a good omen. Ten full days of hell we waited for the results of one blood test, years of tears and heartache depending on one phone call.

We are back in the house, they are covered with blankets snuggled up on the couch munching on a mid morning snack, blissfully unaware of the miracle they both are.  I am too aware of the piles of laundry that await me but decide it can wait, the stork may have lost his way but ever since we found him lots of things wait because my life is so lovingly consumed by the prize.

Christine Stewart is the owner and facilitator of Sprouts www.sproutsforkids.com, a company which offers mobile play programs and classes such as baby sign language.  She is a also a support group counsellor for the Infertility Association Of Canada, and a proud Mom to Meghan and Lucas.

So let’s say you live somewhere that claims to have four seasons but actually only has 2 – Winter & Construction… and  let’s say you have family that actually lives somewhere that lots of people travel to for fun in the sun… any guesses as to who does the most traveling?  Exactly!  And such were our plans to take off somewhere in the summer and visit the fam down South once the weather turns bad.  But guess what?  They actually want to come North – and visit us!  So it looks like we’ll be doing the hosting for a change and it’s time to try this staycation thing that everyone keeps talking about.

I’m determined to NOT spend the entire week thinking about chores and odds and sods that need doing around the house, so we’ve set aside day #1 to get our usual roster of stuff done.  And as anal as it sounds, we’ve pretty much plotted out our whole week’s activities and meals (weather permitting for the activities) so we don’t have a chance to laze about a bit too much in the mornings and end up not doing much all day.

The nice thing about hosting family from out of town, is that they’ll be seeing things with new eyes.  Even though the agenda is our usual haunts, we know that satisfaction is guaranteed and few surprises mean we can enjoy our outing AND our time with family.  We would have loved to book a cottage for a few nights to give them a taste of our beautiful cottage country, but that will have to be another summer.

So where will we be “going” on our staycation?  Certainly The Toronto Zoo.  We can’t wait to check out the new Tundra exhibit – and we’ve missed the polar bears!  Next stop – Centre Island.  The city’s been on strike for the past 6 weeks, and a highlight from last summer has had to be put off until now since the ferries weren’t running.  I LOVED Centre Island as a kid (something about that ferry ride makes you feel like you’re really going places) and I’m so glad my daughter loves it too.  I think it’s just charming enough for kids from the land of the Amusement Park to enjoy as well.

Last thing on the agenda is a farm.  We haven’t decided which one just yet, but there are a couple near to the city that we can explore.  It’s cute how this was on their wish list of places to visit when they come, a real-life farm is hard to come by when you live where most people go on holiday.

Am I a bit disappointed that we’re not going away? A little – but I haven’t got the baby’s passport yet so we couldn’t go far anyway.  What I’m most looking forward to is spending time with my family, and my extended family.

Corinne McDermott is the founder of Have Baby Will Travel, your online guide for travel with babies and toddlers.  For more information please visit www.havebabywilltravel.com or send a message to info@havebabywilltravel.com

Photography by SSV offers cutting edge imagery that we guarantee will set your photos apart from everyone else’s and last the test of time. We are a boutique photography studio offering 1 on 1 service to meet all of your needs. (Specializing in Maternity, Newborns, Children and Family, we also accept 12 commissions a year for Wedding Photography). Join us today for your unique experience!

Editors Note: Sarah has created amazing portraits of our family.  For the past 3 years we have trusted her from my maternity pictures, to pictures of our newborn and now yearly family pictures. You will love the results of your photo session with Sarah!

One of our favourite images created by Photography by SSV

By Nicole Meltzer, RMT, CHt

Besides questions concerning childbirth, the next most frequent question I am asked by first-time expectant moms is “how do families afford the cut in income while on maternity (or paternity) leave?” From my own experience as a self-employed mom of two boys and from the ideas I received from mypostpartum moms over the years, I have compiled what I consider to be the top 5 ways to save money in the first year of your child’s life.

1. Breastfeed – Besides the well-documented health benefits for both mom and baby, you can’t find a better way to save money. The truth is formula is expensive and breastfeeding is free! Breastfeeding doesn’t come naturally for some women, so if you experience difficulties, seek out some of the fantastic support available from lactation consultants, postpartum doulas and La Leche League. Although there are some women who are unable to breastfeed due to medical reasons, most women, with the right support, are successful with perseverance.
2. Cloth Diapers – Disposable diapers are not only costly for your pocketbook but also for the environment. Cloth diapers are much more economical and are easy to use. If you can’t stomach the idea of washing them, there are cloth diaper cleaning services. However, if you really want to save money, wash them yourself. Once you’ve done it a few times you become desensitized! Anyway, once your baby is past the 3 week mark chances are you’ve already been peed on, pooped on and/or vomited on! My husband and I did a rough calculation on the money we’ve saved by using cloth diapers and it’s over $1000. The best part about using cloth diapers with your first child is, with subsequent babies, you don’t have to repurchase diapers!
3. Make your own Baby Food –The best way to ensure you know what your child is ingesting is to make the food yourself. It’s very simple and is quick if you have the right tools. Take a class to learn how – the investment of time and money will pay off!
4. Join local mom/dad’s groups – There are many groups who meet regularly at each other’s homes. If your days are filled with play dates at parks and others’ homes, you are less likely to feel the need to fill them with costly programs! The benefit too, is the potential for long-lasting friendships – for parents and children.
5. Learn to budget – Budget doesn’t have to be a bad word! Set up a simple spreadsheet with a column for inflow of money and a column for outflow of money. Each time you receive a bill or bank statement, enter it into the spreadsheet. You’ll quickly see where you’re money is going and where you can cut some corners. And as a bonus, you are setting a good example for your children on how to manage money!

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Nicole Meltzer, RMT, CHt is co-founder of Balanced Body Mind Spirit. Through her specialization in fertility issues & prenatal care she helps parents conceive and achieve balance while on their journey into parenthood. Nicole offers pre/postnatal & pediatric Massage Therapy; Hypnotherapy for children, fertility and childbirth; Reflexology; & Reiki. She teaches a variety of classes including, Hypnosis for Childbirth, Tools for the Birthing Partner, Focused on Fertility, and Infant Massage. To learn more, visit www.balancedbodymindspirit.com