Please...

Attention drivers in Summit county:

Please accelerate to at least the speed limit BEFORE attempting to merge onto the highway. Especially if I'm behind you and about to run out of on-ramp.

Thank you.

City Life

Things I dislike about city life:

No matter what the season, someone is using some noisy equipment to deal with mother nature... Spring and summer bring out the lawnmowers, fall adds leaf blowers to the mix; then, when you think it's going to be quiet the neighbor drags out the snow blower in the winter! Let me have some peace, please!

Dogs. I don't know why I dislike the sound of a barking dog so much. Really only when I'm trying to sleep. I blame my mother. She would prefer to live in a sound proof chamber 10 miles from the nearest human habitation is seems.

Anyhow... city life is not all that bad, but I do need to get away from it every once in a while. Get back to more simple things, more open spaces. Probably why I like hiking so much. Parks are like an oasis of nature in the desert of concrete I live in.

My Surreal Life

Sometimes I look back on the events of my life and feel disconnected from them. I know that I got married, I can remember the wedding, but it feels distant. Almost like it could have happened to someone else.

This feeling has been bothering me lately. I feel like I don't know how I got here. The past is fuzzy. I remember being pregnant, but was that really me? Did it really happen? I try to just shrug it off, but the memories just get fuzzier and fuzzier. It's not that I'm forgetting the events of my life, I just feel more distance from them, like they're not even my memories anymore...

Rave: Diaperswappers.com

I am so addicted to this site, it's not funny. Seriously I'm on it hours each day.

I get to do so much, I talk with other new moms, can read anything and everything on parenting, thrifty and green living, and just about anything else. There are always many mamas willing to chime in and offer advice and even just hugs if you need them.

Then, there's the FSOT (For Sale or Trade). I can browse diapers for hours drooling over the cutest prints. Best part is, I don't have to pay retail for them! And, I can always sell again what I don't like.

I have learned so much from this site. About breastfeeding, baby wearing, co-sleeping, extended rear-facing, baby-led weaning, cloth diapers, mama cloth, etc. etc.. Most mamas are so helpful and friendly, I feel comfortable asking just about anything that's on my mind.

Check it out! http://www.diaperswappers.com/

-Melilo (EBF, Co-Sleeping, CDing mama)

I Can't Stand Formula Companies

So, after receiving my third piece of mail from Enfamil this week, I decided I had to call and have myself removed from their mailing list. I bet Babies 'R Us sold them my name and address. Could have been someone else, but I bet it was them.

I get really sick of all the advertising they are allowed to do, and all of the free samples they are allowed to give away. I'm sure if these large corporations didn't have lobbyists in congress, this would be outlawed. In my opinion, no mother should be encouraged to CHOOSE to give her baby formula if she is perfectly capable of producing breastmilk. I know that millions of babies do thrive on it, and it is necesary for some situations. I just don't see how someone could choose convienience over the health (and IQ) of their child.

Crunchiness is Next to Godliness

<-- Diapers on the clothesline

My friends and family may think I'm a little nuts, but I like to do things differently. I've always walked to the beat of a different drum, and if that drum beats a little crunchily, all the better.

I'm not mega-crunchy, but I like to think that little changes can make a difference. I suppose my inspiration to "save the world" comes from my mother, a die-hard recycler. I am also inspired by a quote from the Great Law of the Iroquois: "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations." What we do to this earth does matter, if we want our descendants to live as well as we do now.

Recently, I feel like I'm trending more and more towards wanting to be more crunchy. Having recently had my first child, I want to make sure that I create as small of an impact on the environment that I can. I use cloth diapers. I think this is the biggest thing that you can do as a mother to help the planet. Not only am I not adding to our already bulging landfills, but I'm not covering my child's bum with petrochemicals, paper, and plastic. This also has the added bonus of being healthier for him. When in the hospital, he wore disposable diapers, and these were giving him a rash. When I got him home and put him in cloth, the rash was gone within a day. That's proof enough for me! I also try not to use any disposable products like bottle liners and disposable nursing pads. It may not be much in the long run, but I know I feel good about my choices.

I want to educate (and persuade!) my friends and family about my choices, but really, they don't listen. One friend said I was "brave" to use cloth diapers! Don't know what she was getting at there... Other than that, no one really wants to talk about it. That makes me sad, I feel like I have so much enthusiasm and can't share it with anyone.

Yes, I'm From Ohio...

Yes, I dangle my participles.

I also say "pop", not "soda."

Thank you.

Mothering

Being a mom hasn't changed me as much as I thought it might. I'm still the same person, I just hang out a lot with this really tiny person.

I've always been stubborn, almost to a fault. When I'm right, I'm right, and if you disagree, I will do everything in my power to convince you.

This may or may not be a good quality for a parent. I tend to judge other's parenting (who doesn't, be honest) even though I know I shouldn't. I tend to think other people have pediatritians that are morons. I think a lot of doctors are morons.

Mostly, I think it comes down to a dislike of the sheeplike nature of so many people. I mean, it is sad you can't just blindly follow a doctor and have the best care. Really sad. I spend my hours online researching anything and everything I can about babies. I want the best for my son, and I want to KNOW that his doctor and I are making the best decisions for him. I have the facts to back up my opinions. I question just about everything. In the end, I only have myself to blame, but at least I am taking responsibility in to my own hands.

/End Rant

Wow, I do tend to ramble on from one topic to another. No offense to the medical community, I know that there are varying optinions on many topics, and I respect different views. I just want to know all options, all sides, and make my own decision. I know I don't have a medical license, but I just want to be able to have a two-sided conversation with a doctor. I want to be educated.

Mello Melly Arrived

After many failed attempts at keeping a blog. Here's another!

There's no theme, no gimck here, just random thoughts from my head. Yes, I know everyone and their dog has a blog these days. I don't care. I don't care if you read this. I don't care if I actually write this.

Just thought you'd like to know.