As you may, or may not know, I’ve been helping a friend with our local CHOICES group. (Check out the website to see what it’s all about!) Since I’ve been involved, it’s been my desire to help this group grow. Every month the number of people attending the meetings varies, which makes sense because some topics aren’t for everyone. You might be all about breastfeeding, but have no desire to come hear about why a woman would ever choose to have a natural childbirth. I love what we do, and I really want to do more. It’s our goal to have any sort of resource a person could need or want for pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. So, with this goal in mind and a random discovery of Bloomington Area Birth Services, plans are changing for CHOICES. What we want to do is open a center very similar to BABS. What they are offering to Bloomington is phenomenal. Take a look through their website, it is wonderful! They offer a variety of childbirth education classes, they have Doula training, prenatal yoga, breastfeeding support groups, playgroups, the list goes on. I am in love with what they are doing–so in love, that I want to replicate this for Lafayette. The resources we have for women are all spread out and sometimes seemingly hidden. If you get pregnant in our area, you are either in the loop for childbirth options, or you are so far removed that you don’t even know those options exist. With Jackson, I had no clue. And many people around here really have no idea. This has got to change. Women need to know what their options are. They need to know about the many avenues of support that are out there. And wouldn’t it be nice if all of this was in one place?! So, that’s the idea.

Initially, we will start out small, with only a few services. Nothing is set in stone, but I would guess that what we will have at the beginning would be Childbirth Education classes, Breastfeeding Support Groups, maybe some sort of Co-op Mom’s Drop off, a little shop with natural and/or handmade items for Moms and Babies, and Teen Pregnancy Outreach. The Teen Pregnancy part is going to be a big focus for us. We want to offer something that gives young moms what they need to be a good mother. They need education on the pregnancy and birth process, resources to help them maintain a healthy family, and mentors to encourage them and show them that they are capable women and mothers. And, really that’s what everyone needs: a supportive and uplifting community.

So, this is all slowly going to come together for us. There’s a lot of work to do, but I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do than advocate for happy and healthy families.

John and I were discussing this after I’d seen so many pictures posted on facebook from new parents with the new baby and no parent to be found. I think that people are under the assumption that these contraptions (swings, chairs, etc.) are what the baby wants. Really, all they want is their parents. And REALLY, (after my experience with a breastfeeding baby) all they want is their mothers. It’s so disappointing to hear from new parents about the first few days after the baby arrives. “Daddy is napping with baby, while I’m cooking dinner.” Or, “Daddy and I went our for lunch without baby”, when it hasn’t even been a week since he’s been home. Those precious days after your baby arrives are so fleeting and should be savored to the last drop. Bonding is established in those first few weeks, but I’m not sure some new parents are aware of just how precious and important this bond is. I do know about needing a minute to yourself, and also, a minute with your partner. But, the trend I’m seeing is, the focus becomes far from the parent and baby relationship once they arrive.

I’ve done it both ways, the detachment parenting, and attachment parenting way, and attachment parenting wins. Your arms always beat the chair. Breastfeeding always beats the bottle. I wish that this was common knowledge. I wish that new parents knew (I wish I knew), that breastfeeding is seriously THE BEST. You can get any baby to sleep with breastfeeding. You can calm any baby down with breastfeeding. You can give immediate comfort to any baby with breastfeeding. You can try the swing, try the chair, try the pacifier, but Mama or Daddy will always win.

And maybe I’m an attachment parenting snob … or something. After parenting two little ones, I’ve figured out what supports a close bond with your baby and in result makes the whole family happy and stress free. (Well, maybe there is some stress. Let’s be real, here.)

Anyway, this is my first effort to get the info out about the baby fair. It will be awesome! If you don’t believe me, check out the events and vendors in the day’s agenda.

If you are a parent, you should go!

Breastfeeding was an issue to begin with, of course. I told myself not to get frustrated if there happens to be a difficulty with breastfeeding before Archer arrived. Inevitably, we did have a tiny issue, and I got a bit frustrated. But, now we have both learned how to “master” this nursing thing, and I couldn’t be happier that it’s becoming so easy. And, like all the breastfeeding advocates say, it really is rewarding and brings a special bond to you and your baby.

Jackson has had a hard time as well. He’s not getting the attention he deserves, so we have decided that we will make it our mission to be more conscious of the attention we give him. Negative attention is one thing he’s been getting a lot of–we need to change that. Otherwise, Jackson is being a wonderful son and big brother. He loves his little brother, and he is the best helper his mama could ask for.

John, of course, has had no trouble at all adjusting. He’s been there to encourage me when I’m feeling down. He’s was there for me when I called him to come home on his first week back to work. He’s there for Jackson when I’ve got Archer to feed. He is wonderful.

My new family is wonderful!