Or so they say. I'm not sure I agree cos a holiday would be awesome but never mind! So inspired by Deb and cos I just wanted something more interesting, we now have a new name and a new look.
Why The Accidental Hippy you say? Well I am not a big fan of hippys, never really wanted to be one! But now that I'm a mum, and I look at my parenting style I realise that I am one! Accidentally! Ok I eat meat and I shave my arm pits and legs and I refuse to use cloth nappies so I'm not entirely hippy but I lean towards attachment parenting and I have my own vege garden and I do cross stitch and crochet and other crafty things. Accidentally I've become a wee bit hippy.
So this look isn't perfect, as comes with using someone else's work so I shall keep working on it and fixing things but I like the overall look.
Now..to write more posts!
Friday, February 22, 2013
Monday, February 18, 2013
Getting ink'd
Yes I got another tattoo. These things are addictive ok? I found this one and loved it. I had no reason for it, I just thought it was beautiful and that maybe that was enough reason to get it! But as I thought about it more I realised there were plenty of reasons for getting this! It was originally 4 birds but I just got 3.
Reason Two: When Tahu and I first got together he lived in Ausy. One week I was having a particularly hard time and I woke up one morning to an email that had a song attached. He'd recorded himself playing and singing this song just for me. It was Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. The main part goes "Don't worry about a thing, cos every little thing, is gonna be alright". Was so perfect for how I felt. And in the week we had Knox, when we also lost Meredith and Judah as well as entering the ocean that is Parenthood, this song played endlessly in my head. Don't worry about a thing, cos everything is going to be ok. And so these 3 little birds remind me of that song and those moments.
Reason Three: Chrissy, my darling niece, came with me and got it too. And Shaz is getting birds next time she's over and if I have my way Deb will get some too.
Reason Four: The birds are swallows. These birds were often the first to land on a ship that had been out to sea for long periods of time. The swallow is also the harbinger of the spring season. So, to me, the bird symbolises being close to, or finding your way, home and also the coming out of the cold into spring/summer (which is my favourite season).
And also cos I just think it's beautiful!
Reason One: Last year was big. Loads happened. Three things stand out to me and so each bird represents one of those: Tahu and I got married, we had Knox and I lost Meredith.
Reason Two: When Tahu and I first got together he lived in Ausy. One week I was having a particularly hard time and I woke up one morning to an email that had a song attached. He'd recorded himself playing and singing this song just for me. It was Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. The main part goes "Don't worry about a thing, cos every little thing, is gonna be alright". Was so perfect for how I felt. And in the week we had Knox, when we also lost Meredith and Judah as well as entering the ocean that is Parenthood, this song played endlessly in my head. Don't worry about a thing, cos everything is going to be ok. And so these 3 little birds remind me of that song and those moments.
Reason Three: Chrissy, my darling niece, came with me and got it too. And Shaz is getting birds next time she's over and if I have my way Deb will get some too.
Reason Four: The birds are swallows. These birds were often the first to land on a ship that had been out to sea for long periods of time. The swallow is also the harbinger of the spring season. So, to me, the bird symbolises being close to, or finding your way, home and also the coming out of the cold into spring/summer (which is my favourite season).
And also cos I just think it's beautiful!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
He's growing too fast!
The other day I commented to mum about how fast Knox is growing and she said that I should just feed him once a day. Good thinking I felt! So at work someone commented on how fast he was growing and I go "yeah mum says I should just feed him once a day cos that'll slow him down" and they go "is she serious?"
Yes you idiot…my mum actually thinks I should feed him just once a day.
Honestly people!…here's your sign! (Click on the link, it's a great joke!)
Saturday, February 02, 2013
One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well - Virginia Woolf
There are many areas of parenting that cause controversy and when to feed a baby is one of them. There's two schools of though: either to feed on demand or feed on schedule (usually 3 or 4 hourly). When Tahu and I became parents we made a series of decisions from our gut instincts. We went with what felt right to us and a big one was when to feed Knox. We chose to demand feed. Now I've just finished a (terrible) book called Secrets of the Baby Whisperer by Tracey Hogg. In this book she talks about how if you demand feed your baby, by 3 months old your household will be chaos. You will have no time for yourself or time with your husband/partner, your house will be a mess, you'll probably not be able to find time for a shower, the baby will rule, you'll never get to go out, you'll constantly be feeding the baby. Basically demand feeding is the worst decision you can make. I am pleased to say that at 3 months (and actually at all months), this was not the case for us! By demand feeding Knox he is happy, not hungry! We always have dinner together, we have time to ourselves, we go out when and where we want. Knox is a huge part of our lives but he does not "rule" our lives. I am not constantly feeding him! I can also confirm I do find time for showers!! I was shocked to read such strong things against demand feeding from someone who clearly had never tried it!
Now we chose demand feeding by our instinct, it felt right to feed him when he was hungry and to learn his schedule and what suited him from him, not from a book. And I'm so glad we did. But there is also strong scientific research to back up what we have said! In another book I read called Baby on Board by Dr Howard Chilton, he discusses how a breast takes 30 minutes to fill and a baby's stomach takes 35 minutes to empty (using ultrasound to determine this). Now why would I feed my baby every 3 or 4 hours if I know his stomach has probably emptied at 35 minutes?
He also talks about the make up of breast milk from humans and other animals comparing then how often the babies are fed. For example, a rabbit has a very high protein content in the breast milk and feeds their babies once a day. Then going through other animal and how often they feed and when you come to humans they have the least amount of protein and this indicates that human babies should be fed very often, probably half hourly! As the baby grows and is able to drink ("eat") more then the times between feeds increases. Babies shouldn't have to wait 4 hourly for a feed!
Of course parenting is a very individual thing and everyone has to make their own choices and so there's plenty of people who will totally disagree with this post but that's ok. I just wanted to be an example of how demand feeding and/or going with your gut instincts is awesome and can totally work well.
And that's the end of another installment of Why I Do What I Do.
Now we chose demand feeding by our instinct, it felt right to feed him when he was hungry and to learn his schedule and what suited him from him, not from a book. And I'm so glad we did. But there is also strong scientific research to back up what we have said! In another book I read called Baby on Board by Dr Howard Chilton, he discusses how a breast takes 30 minutes to fill and a baby's stomach takes 35 minutes to empty (using ultrasound to determine this). Now why would I feed my baby every 3 or 4 hours if I know his stomach has probably emptied at 35 minutes?
He also talks about the make up of breast milk from humans and other animals comparing then how often the babies are fed. For example, a rabbit has a very high protein content in the breast milk and feeds their babies once a day. Then going through other animal and how often they feed and when you come to humans they have the least amount of protein and this indicates that human babies should be fed very often, probably half hourly! As the baby grows and is able to drink ("eat") more then the times between feeds increases. Babies shouldn't have to wait 4 hourly for a feed!
Of course parenting is a very individual thing and everyone has to make their own choices and so there's plenty of people who will totally disagree with this post but that's ok. I just wanted to be an example of how demand feeding and/or going with your gut instincts is awesome and can totally work well.
And that's the end of another installment of Why I Do What I Do.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)