Manduca: My experience with baby wearing

V at 8 months walking in the woods at Conroy Pit (Ottawa).
Beautiful place to walk, enough parking and fun entertainment for kids who don't have pets.
Wearing baby is easier on my back because I can see where I am going and he can fall asleep.
It's also easier to carry the extra weight. Warning: Baby wearing can get really warm!!

As promised, here is an update on my baby wearing experience. I bought the Manduca almost 7 months ago, but didn't really use it much because my son hated being carried! I had the intension of using it for a workout class with Fitmom Ottawa, but the timing wasn't right. In the end, it is serving its purpose but for an entirely different reason.

I entered the baby wearing scene thinking that it was just another thing you need on your list when you have a baby. Well, what I learnt is that baby wearing (in Ottawa, anyway) is considered a community (note, not a cult). I joined the "Ottawa Babywearing Group" to help me get advice on wearing my baby properly and teaching V to love it! They have weekly meet ups too which is a nice way to meet moms and babies! What I noticed though is that there seems to be different philosophies on whether you use a stroller or a carrier… don't want to start anything here folks, I USE BOTH!

For the first 3 month post natal, I had extreme pain in my wrists from taking care of V (holding baby, feeding with a bottle and pushing a stroller with your wrists bent). Tendonitis is very painful, especially at night. Your hands get swollen and cramp up. You need to pump your fingers to drain the extra fluid and stop the pain. I wore a brace to help keep my wrists straight. The awkward manouvres you do when holding a baby that can't support itself is more noticeable when you are restraint by a brace! When you have tendonitis, you can't do exercises like push ups, push a heavy stroller with your wrists bent or do any weight lifting.

By 3 months, V could hold himself up pretty solidly and the pain eventually went away. At almost 9 months, V is now the most curious creature on earth and holding him in my arms is now a workout in itself. Being a counter leaver for a 22 lbs baby is not a walk in the park. And guess who's back baby? Mr. Tendonitis!

This is were the carrier comes in! I have been using it more and more to avoid having to carry him in my arms if I am going "sans-poussette" to run a quick errand. Because I changed V's car seat (I'm using a Diono and no longer my Graco bucket seat) I need to take him out of it. I no longer have the option of taking out the car seat and placing it on the frame of my City Select. It's nice for him, because he can look around, or still keep napping if he falls asleep in the seat. I can appreciate that not all babies are like V, so this may not apply to all moms.

Yesterday, I had V in the carrier to run some errands at St-Laurent Mall, I actually forgot that the stroller wasn't in the trunk. It ended up being so quick and easy. He fell asleep, I did what I had to do and we were out of there in no time! The more I use it, the more he and I are loving it. 

My favourite part of wearing V is noticing that I can't help but pet his bum and kiss his face when he is so close to me :)

Have fun baby wearing! Let me know if you have questions or comments. Are you a strollerist? Do you have any babywearing advice?

Weekend trip to Thunder Bay with V. Used my Manduca because we forgot the stroller at the house.
In the end going to all the shops was pretty easy, no bumping and lifting the stroller into the store!
Warning: Baby wearing gets really warm, which is why we are not wearing jackets :)

Bumps on the Road- The Event (part 2)

This is part 2 from my earlier post "Bumps on the Road- A woman's story"

Here is an open letter than I sent to my friends and family to help me fundraise for "Bumps on the Road 9K Walk for Pregnancy". At this point in my life it's very hard for me to separate my personal life with my professional one. The work that I do is so relevant, and some would say that it is that passion that drives me to love my job!

2012 BOTR Walk- Mayor Jim Watson, Me at 24 weeks
and Councillor David Chernushenko (Old Ottawa South)

Dear friends and family, 
As you know every year I organize the CFWH Bumps on the Road 9K Walk, it's an event that is very close to my heart.
Some of you may already know that I had a miscarriage almost 2 years ago. This walk was inspired by that tragic event and was created to support the issues that pregnant women can face.
Last year, it was bitter sweet, as I was pregnant with Victor and going through so much from pelvic pain, to swelling and even pre-eclampsia in the last couple of weeks. 

This year, I will have Victor by my side and will support the walk to help other women who may not have been as lucky as I was during my labour. 

I hope you can all join me on October 20th and walk not only for me, but for your children, your mother and you!
Please visit our website at www.bumpsontheroad.ca to make a donation or sign up for the event!
Don't forget to share this with your friends too and help us achieve our 9K for 9K goal!
Thank you in advance for your support and I hope to see you all there! Chantal 

If you would like to read more about how this event came to be, check out my in depth interview in 2011 with Local Tourist Ottawa here.

 

Bumps on the Road- A woman's story

You don't have to be a woman, have cancer or be pregnant to support women's health 

On the contrary, if you have been blessed with your health you should be the one to support loved ones affected by women's health issues and recognise that your duty is to help raise awareness for all the problems that may be encountered on the journey to womanhood: her bumpy journey.

Why is "Bumps on the Road" such an appropriate title for a woman's story? Well, it seems that women can not get away from them. Big or small, safe or alarming, metaphor or realistic a woman will be faced with many "bumps" from puberty to menopause and everything in between.

The Early Year Bumps- A young woman going through puberty will develop breasts, which later in life may become a threat to her health. As her hormones come flooding in, she may be blessed with a stubborn bumpy friend called acne. She will start thinking about her sexuality and will need to learn about ways to protect herself against any transmittable diseases like bumpy genital warts (HPV) that may lead to cervical cancer.

Planned and Unplanned Bumps- You made it through puberty, you finished school and all the drama it brings. You are set in your career, you are in a blossoming relationship and now you want a family. You may be among the lucky ones who gets pregnant on the first try and delivers a healthy baby without a breeze. You may be the one who struggles with Infertility or faces a devastating miscarriage or dare I say it: a stillbirth. You may have some challenges with your health and need to manage your endometriosis, fibroids, cysts and every other literal bumps that gets in the way.

Now you're pregnant and guess what? A whole new set of complications come rushing in. Don't get me wrong, pregnancy is a wonderful experience, but people surrounding you don't always understand all the issues and fear a woman can face during pregnancy, not to mention during her delivery. Genetic complications, hyperthyroid, hypertension, obesity, gestational diabetes and pre-eclamspia just to name a few.

"Pregnancy isn't fatal, why should I be alarmed?" It shouldn't be, but in most impoverished countries it is. Thankfully, we live in a country where we have access to quality care and have the privilege of surviving something so natural as childbirth. But truth be told, this is a whole other ballgame.

You survived childbirth, and now you have to take care of a new baby. You may struggle with depression, anxiety and may have bonding issues with your baby. You may have difficulty with breastfeeding or have to take care of a colicky baby while being sleep deprived. Not that I am trying to cut this paragraph short, but I am sparing you the details. I could write an entire book about all the life adjustments a new mom has to make while discovering the new person she has become.

The Later Year Bumps-  Not to alarm you, but it seems that as you get older the bumps in your life get bigger and scarier! While I am not in this part of my journey yet, I do know that I will have to face Menopause, and maybe even Osteoporosis. I will have to avoid deadly cancers on my breasts, ovaries and colon. I will have to ensure that I lead a healthy lifestyle and take care of my heart. All of this while I nurture my growing family and people around me. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill.

I am so lucky to be a woman, and even luckier to work for an organization that looks after my health and well being.

Please join me, on October 20th for the 3rd annual Canadian Foundation for Women's Health's "Bumps on the Road- A 9K Walk for Pregnancy" This year we have partnered with Life with a Baby and our local presenting sponsor Heritage Education Funds. Remember, you don't have to be pregnant to support the cause. We encourage men, women and children to participate. Come walk 9 km to honour the women in your life! Who knows, one day it could be you!

Nostalgia setting in

Gawd, I look awful. I wish I had some nice
candid artistic shots done.

I am feeling a bit nostalgic these days watching Little V growing up so quickly. I try to hold him in my arms and force him to fall asleep like he used to when he was a small nugget. Now, he just wants to look around and play... I call him "Bajiggity". And inside I'm like... SLEEP and CUDDLE with me!!!! hahaha

I try to squeeze him in my favourite clothes of his that I don't want to let go, and lately I just can't stop taking pictures of him! As a friend said, "I'm trying to memorize his little face"... I couldn't have said it better myself.

The first three months for me was tough. Breastfeeding was a challenging nightmare, little man used to wake up every 1.5 hours to be fed at night and I was just plain scared and tired all the time. At three months, we developed a routine and now at 7 months, I can finally say that I know who my son is.

It's such a strange adjustment to have a piece of you living in the outside world. I have to say, at first I just wanted to run away and be alone. I did not have post partum depression, but I was struggling with myself. I knew that I loved my son unconditionally, I just wanted to be selfish. I wanted my arms to myself. I didn't want to hold anything, lug anything, push anything, clean anything... I just wanted to be the old me. I think it takes a lot of courage to openly speak your mind, because you feel like you are being judged if you don't "fall in love" with your baby immediately. I also struggled with attachment issues, I felt like I didn't HAVE to be with him 24/7, I was more than happy to leave him with grandma and go run some errands.

Mind you, running errands when you are a new mom consists of slapping lipstick on to go to Walmart and do a quick one stop shop grocery. Thank goodness for their new produce section!
"Diapers, maybe a new t-shirt for me, get milk, check if the formula is on sale... wait I have coupons and flyers for price matching!" This was me for the first few months. What a nerd!

Little V, now at 7 months

You know how in Twilight the werewolves imprint themselves on the vampires... well this sounds dorky, but I think something like that happened to me and V recently. I just can't get enough of his little face. I think now that we have a routine and I am not sleep deprived, I have more time to enjoy him. I think it helps that he laughs with me, he eats my face (and drools all over), gives me squeezes (while pulling my hair) and pets my arm hair (hahaha). I think I needed that reciprocal interaction with him to compensate for the lack of bonding we missed out on since I did not breastfeed.

Just a little heads up that the next few posts will be dedicated to remembering things that I used to do with V, so one day, on the eve of his wedding I can look back and remember my little blue eyed monkey.

Happy 7 month b-day V! Mama love you bunny rabbit xox