Miracle on 4th Ave

(Drumroll please)

On Luke's first birthday, May 21, we went to go see a Homeopath about his eczema & sleep issues. His remedy was as follows:

1. Colic remedy in the morning to aid digestion (sleep & skin related)


2. 2 stomach massages per day to aid digestion


3. No naps longer than 30 minutes (I thought this was crazy!)


4. Calming/Sleep remedy around 5 pm


5. Sleep training: Letting him cry 5 minutes, saying our cue word, "night-night" which he clearly understands (3 cycles of this till 15 min at which we would rub his back and say our cue word again. Repeat over & over till asleep)


6. Nursing once a night

The first two nights the longest session of sleep training lasted 1 - 1/2 hours. I thought it would be way worse! Anyways, previously I would go to Luke anywhere from 5-10x/night. Now, I go to him once in the night & that is only to nurse. If he fusses at night, it is only for a couple of minutes (we leave multiple soothers in his crib) & he resolves it himself! Who is this kid!!!

Like I said, Miracle on 4th Ave. Thank the good Lord! Our lives have changed dramatically for the past 5 nights and we are still in shock...

Unfailing Love

Let your unfailing love surround us, O Lord, for our hope is in you alone.

Surrounded, enveloped, sandwiched.

Overcome.

The very thing I didn’t know I longed for.

As I have had a difficult time with YET MORE sleep training, I have been starting to imagine what this sort of love means in the middle of a frustrating night. I have been finding the beauty of allowing myself to trust & fall into this love substance that surrounds my household as we try to find rest.

Here are a couple more things the Psalms say about His unfailing love:

The earth is FULL of it.
It rest upon us as we hope in Him.
It is priceless.

This is good news friends!

My First Year of Parenting Has Taught Me:

1. The value of tuning into my intuition

2. The value of learning to self-regulate. Baby goes to sleep better when I’m in a state of calm and control.

3. Most parents do not want advice unless they ask. What we most need is a listening ear, empathy, & support for our own choices as a family.

4. Comparing children or parenting styles is often a dead end unless it is done with a learners mind. Each child & family is uber unique & we are invited to honour our differences rather than judging or feeling threatened by them.

5. The importance of asserting my own boundaries. Although this has proved to be challenging, it is of utmost importance for mental, emotional, spiritual, physical & relational health.

6. Most male bathrooms still don’t have change tables! Seriously it is 2010!

7. Breastfeeding in public is STILL seen as offensive to some. CBC radio: A woman was recently feeding her child at the PanAm pool & was asked to stop by one of the workers because it was offensive. Next day, a whole crew of woman went to the pool to breastfeed their babies! Now that’s creative non-violent action!

Body Justice

Last week Amy and I got together to make (ahem): Face Cleanser, toner, moisterizer, hand soap, lip balm, mouthwash, & bum spray (for Dono of course...ok just jokes for Lukey). We ordered a recipe book from Amy's hero http://angrychicken.typepad.com/ and went hard. We have ordered most of our ingredients from http://www.mountainroseherbs.com/ (awesome website!!), Aveda (they have great Essential Oils), Tiber River (Manitoba-made body products), and health food stores.

Pictured above is our homemade handsoap. We did the easy way of melting soap flakes in hot water, adding glycerin and essential oil. I scented mine Rosemary & love it. My favourite thing about it is that it doesn't dry your skin out.

The facial oil and toner are our favourites. The Toner is mainly chamomile tea and an essential oil, we used ylang-ylang, a refreshing scent. I highly recommend it. The facial oil was basically almond oil with your choice of essential oil. If you want to sample any let me know. It's cost effective, products are fairly traded (to my knowledge) & it's an empowering way to be in control of your own body products.

Next up, Amy & I are going to attempt to sow, grow, & harvest our own herbs this summer...wish us luck!