Breastfeeding is a learned behavior.

           Oh goodness gracious! Breastfeeding drama, again. My awesome friend Lauren, has gotten a "slap on the wrist" by facebook. I am very pro breastfeeding, as most of you know. I am really upset for lauren and her family and the judgment being passed around. I am reading so many negative comments on news sites and all over facebook. Sophie was playing with cherise. She was "Feeding her baby". The only difference between play breast feeding or bottle feeding in children is the perverted mind of an adult. Like lauren say's in her interview "they should pay attention to the actual pornography on their site" and I think the same for the police, there are children that really are being exploited, and these two little girls are not them. Nowhere close to it. Make sure to click on the link below{ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/27/lauren-ferrari-banned-facebook-breastfeeding_n_1709928.html }
           
             Should we all stop posting pictures of our kids because sick men or women can crop off your childs head and photoshop it onto a porno pic or look at them in a sexual way? Sexual offenders hang out everywhere, even places they should not be, even in parks that your little girl could be wearing a dress or bathing suit. For example, my son stripping naked at the water park. Im sure many will disagree with me, but that leads me to another topic: Breastfeeding being a learned behavior.
         
            How many mothers give up on breastfeeding because it was too hard, time consuming, painful, yucky, major medical battles, etc? TOO many. It saddens me at how many parents give up before they even think about breastfeeding. Their mother didnt breastfeed them, their friend didnt breastfeed, their grandma, sisters-husbands-grandmas-neighbors-sister, didnt breastfeed. See, it IS really a learned behavior, and I am not trying to say that people are bad for not chosing to Breasfeed or for giving up or weaning early. I've come to be a strong supporter of "What works for your family, works for your family" and if chosing not to breastfeed is the best choice for you, then BRAVO, being happy is what matters the most.
           
             Hopefully the above helped a little to understand that seeing a mother breastfeeding in public IS healthy. Its encouraging for other parents, and yes, I say PARENTS because it really makes the breastfeeding experience so much easier in the first few months, with a LOT of support. I have honestly looked at other breastfeeding pictures to see the hold, the postition, and whatnot to help myself when I was a newb at nursing. We were both newbies, it was a rough first few months. I was so thankful for public pictures people post, I would look at them for encouragement through the cluster feedings, the thrush, just everything. I guess I am more of a visual learner.
         
              I think its very important that we as parents try to raise our children in a gentle world. People always say that you cant protect your child from everything, but if you try, and you are gentle, you will teach them to be gentle and kind and loving to people and the world. Kind of like making a world change. Children growing up seeing their siblings be breasfed, will associate the breast as food, not sexual. So that is always an encouraging thing. Maybe the more that people publicly breastfed, and advocated breastfeeding, could really make it less of a 'heinous' thing to do outside of the privacy of your home. It could be more accepted.   At least laurens daughters understand that breasts are for babies and for breastfeeding : )

      Another thing on my mind.....The picture removed that lauren posted was nothing in my eyes. Why is it okay to have beauty pagents where its okay for a 3 year old to wear more makeup than a hooker, or a bikini that gives them fake cleavage and resembles something a pornstar would wear, and its not okay for a 3 year old to play house and breastfeed a baby? What is more sexual? I know I am taking a jab at pagent families, and thats not really what I am trying to do. Its just that a child all dolled up can very much attract sexual preditors and the parents are often pushing these little girls to hold still for more blush, or more fake tan, and then throwing them out in the media for everyone to see. That seems to be legal...*sigh* 

DIY Baby leggings

I adore baby leggings of all sorts. Not just for the cuteness they melt me with, but for how easy it makes potty training, diaper changes, and elimination communication. These name brand leg warmers can sell for $10-14 online and in children's boutique clothing stores.

When the babylegs website had a HUGE sale we got lucky and scored $200 worth of organic cotton leggings for about $27 bucks!! We had some BL brand socks added to our order too. How can you not want to buy something like that when you are getting a discount that good?

Well, now the sale is long gone, so I decided to find a cheaper way. I was walking through target and came across some woman's knee high socks in various cute prints. They were on sale for only $2.99. I grabbed a few.

•Wash and dry the socks before doing anything with them. The fabric will shrink and you don't want your baby legging to shrink if you make that first.





•Now, take the socks and lay them flat, find the very end spot against the heel that meets the back of the sock that goes up the calf, and cut off the foot how it is shown in the picture below. Make a very even cut. -you just cut the main portion of your leg warmer!!




































•taking the foot section lay it flat. You want to measure 3 inches along the top and bottom and cut the toe an the heel off of that 3 inches you have marked - just like in the picture below. This will make the nice finished tight edge on your legging just how the top is.



• now, go ahead and open that up and fold it in half so it's longer and skinnier.Stitch the side closed, making it a circle.

•place the circular ban that you have just made over that cut edge on the bottom of your long sock tube- just like in the picture below. I didn't need to pin mine, it was a very snug fit over the machine.

•stretch this over the bottom of your sewing machine, and sew all the way around using 1/4 inch seam allowance or smaller if you would like. When you are finished sewing it, flip the cuff down and you can see the new leg warmer you have made. They will be all stretched out from fitting on to your machine, just wash them and dry them. They will return to their shape.

Meet my Sweet Johnny Dax : )

How to make your own cloth diaper soaker

I made these soakers with Katrina's quick sew soaker pattern. I "up-cycled" pajamas, blankets, and used store bought fleece. I am happy with the results. It is super easy.   Just click on "new soaker pattern" and print that puppy out. Dont forget the "Extra layer for the wetzone" print out too. Cut to the size you need, it always helps to measure your child to find the best fit.  Thanks Katrina for sharing your free, printable, soaker pattern.

http://katrinassqs.blogspot.com/2007/10/free-soaker-pattern.html
*Print out the soaker pattern and cut out the size you need. Trace it out on your fabric, making sure to flip the pattern over, so you get a full sized pattern, or cut it on a fold.

*Sew together the crotch portion from the front and back of the pattern, I use the zigzag stitch along the edge. And sew in the extra wet zone soaker to the crotch area. (Micture missing, I will take a pic and add it when I make my next soaker, so sorry)

Next, sew together the hip sides.

Take the waist band and fold it in half, so it's long and skinny. Sew it shut, then sew the edges closed to make a circle. I still use the zigzag. Repeat this step with both leg bands.

 You can zigzag the edges if you would like, you do not have to. You can leave all your seams as they are above.

  (^^ I can hear my High school sewing teacher in my head "Remember to cut your strings, Ladies". cut those off, it makes for a less tacky diaper, or anything that you venture out to make)





































Place waistband and leg bands into the holes, making sure its right sides together. Pin each band in the center and both sides. Then zigzag stitch around them all. Make sure to stretch the bands, they are smaller than the actual diaper part. Dont stretch the actual fabric of the diaper. You want to avoid any puckering (puckering is where you have too much fabric and it bunches up at the very end) so stretch the band well, so it can evenly meet up when you come to each pin.

Turn inside out and put over a fitted diaper, flats, prefolds or old tshirts that have been recycled into a form of diaper.

REMEMBER: This is just a diaper. It does not have to be perfect. Don't feel down if your first few diapers are not 'perfect'. Practice makes perfect, or thats how the saying goes. Just use the ones you arent so confident about at home. You can double up on the extra soaker in the crotch part, you can also make this out of wool.

thank you for checking this out : )