Royal Fail

So the press is going nuts about Prince George.

Aden + Anais Swaddle Blankets are getting selling like hot cakes, since William and Kate swaddled George in the blanket to go home.

 

 

I'm not seeing a whole lot of press on the way George was put into that car seat. I remember bringing my youngest home from the hospital and the nurse saying to me, "You are not going to put that sweater jacket on him are you?" Coats and jackets are not supposed to be used under the strap of a car seat. I thought that was pretty bloody ridiculous. 

 

Here it looks like Prince George isn't even fully strapped into this car seat. Look his little arms are hanging out. The straps should go over his shoulders. He was swaddled before strapping him in. The belt is supposed to go under the blanket. 

 

You can swaddle, but do it after the baby is buckled in. Like so:

Source

I got this information on this website. It talks about how to swaddle a baby, while in the car seat.

 

1. Buckle the baby into the safety seat and make the straps snug. There should be NO blankets or bulky clothing under the straps or on the baby's body.

 

2. Take a blanket and, while keeping the baby's arms down at the sides, tuck the blanket very tightly along the sides of the baby's body and underneath the baby's legs. Of course if it is very hot outside don't do this, since the baby will overheat.

The 2 week old baby in this photo is buckled tightly into her Graco Snugride 35.  You can't see the straps due to the swaddle, but rest assured that she's ready to go for a ride (just as long as the carrier handle is moved to an approved position for use in the car!)

Kate Middleton is in Labor

The media frenzy has begun. Do you care?

I saw bets on Facebook if she's having a boy or a Girl. Then poles as to what they are going to name their child. I was thinking, REALLY?!

The media lost my interest when they covered a segment on Good Morning America about if Kate should breastfeed or not? Really? To me that's a very personal decision. She doesn't need to be judged by what she chooses to feed her baby. Yes I am pro breastfeeding. I'm also accepting woman for their decision on what they choose to do that's right for them. It's not my choice, or the next person's choice as to what Kate chooses for her royal baby.

How do you feel?

Would You Pay For Someone's Dinner if You Spotted Them Breastfeeding?

I would. I just know how much time it takes. I've seen people in public breastfeeding. I wanted to go up to them and say, "Way to go!" but then I feel like they might think I'm being creepy.

So many people that breastfeed in public get the odd stare. Like a person is thinking, Why don't you go get a room to do that? Every mom knows that when a baby is hungry, a baby is hungry.

One woman was breastfeeding in a restaurant and her waitress paid for one of her pizzas. I think that is a great gesture to support a nursing mom!

Beautiful!

A father captures one day, a whole year of his son's life on video.

A Second a Day from Birth. from Sam Christopher Cornwell on Vimeo.

Fathers Stop Coddling Your Kids

I read this article called, Fathers, Stop Coddling Your Kids. In short it's an article about how Fathers should push their kids to not act like babies and to be/do more.

When I first read it I was thinking, Oh no this is another article about tough love. Kids you need to become hard working citizens at the age of 12, ok?

My husband read the article to. He loved it. I gave it another chance.

Experiencing my own life, with my own children, our boys listen a whole lot more when Daddy steps in the room. It's not to say that they don't listen to me. I'm firm, I stand my ground. Without me things wouldn't get put away, baths wouldn't get done, dishes wouldn't get clean, clothes wouldn't get laid out the night before and so on. Daddy has a different role. Most do. Most have a deeper voice, than Mom does. Kids know Daddy means business. I've heard this time and time again from different people, that kids listen to their Dads more.

I didn't understand what I heard from other people in regards to kids listening to Dads more before I had kids. I didn't understand it even when I had a baby and a two year old. As my children aged I now understand it. 

What if the Dad is not in the picture? Then what? I'm not saying that a child will turn into a horrible person if Dad isn't in the picture. It's just that if a Dad is around, active in a child's life, the child will certainly listen to Dad.

Does this mean that Dads shouldn't have fun with their kids, or cuddle with them? Not at all. They just need to expect the most out of a task a child does. That task should be done well!

If that child acts out at Mom or Dad, the opposite parent should back that other parent up.

The child should be corrected when they whine, throw a temper tantrum and misbehave. Some of this type of behavior is a phase, but if it continues to persist be firm. Take the child out of the store if needed. Have a talk with them in the car. Let them cool down before you go back in. If they won't cool down, go home and put them down for a nap.

The article in question is more about discipline being in the home than anything. When a child is sassy as a kid it's sometimes cute, but when they are teenagers it's not cute at all! Kids become teens fast.

How do you discipline your kids?

A Tribe in Africa

One of my son's friends is from Africa. I never understood why his birth date was so obscure. I'd ask him, "When is your birthday?" He couldn't really answer my question.

I read this article and his lack of knowing his birthday is understandable now. That is if things were the same where he was born.

Source

Some tribes in Africa do not celebrate a child's birthday from the day they were born. They don't even celebrate from the time the child was conceived. Instead they celebrate the child's birthday from the time the child was first thought about in the the Mother's mind.

When a woman decides that she will have a child, she goes off and sits under a tree, by herself, and she listens until she can hear the song of the child that wants to come. And after she’s heard the song of this child, she comes back to the man who will be the child’s father, and teaches it to him. And then, when they make love to physically conceive the child, some of that time they sing the song of the child, as a way to invite it.

When the Mother is pregnant, the Mother teaches that child’s song to the women of the village, so that when the child is born, the women around her sing the child’s song to welcome it. And then, as the child grows up, the other villagers are taught the child’s song. If the child gets hurt someone picks it up and sings its song to him or her.

I find this to be interesting!

It can be argued when a child is a life form. I know when I felt kicks, and heard a heart beating inside me that someone special was inside me. I knew with my oldest that I was pregnant before a stick or doctor could tell me so. My whole body just felt different. Every pregnancy is different. With my second child I didn't feel very different at all. We were trying to conceive, I missed a period and took a test. It came up positive. You'd think by my second child my body would be in tuned with what pregnancy feels like. With my second pregnancy I felt when my baby had hiccups, and when he moved way before I could with my first. Again every pregnancy is different.

When did you know you were pregnant? Did you know before a test, after a test, after a doctor told you, or not until the birth of your baby (That happens to.)?