Tag Archives: parenting

Adventure Clubs Unpacked – and WIN!

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If you’re a parent, have a smart phone and haven’t been living under a rock, you would know all about Adventure Clubs. No?

If you don’t have that there app on your phone, it’s time you downloaded it. Adventure Clubs offers exciting planned experiences (outings/adventures) for families with young kids. Fun is had, memories are made – and it’s all planned for you! What Adventure Clubs are trying to do, is facilitate a lifestyle of community and intentional parenting… which I couldn’t agree with more.

It’s easy as pie to get involved. You download the FREE Adventure Clubs app, scroll through all the available adventures in your area, pick the ones you’re keen to join in on and book your place (obviously, get your fellow mama friends in on it because all adventures are more fun with a friend!). You pay for each adventure using your credit card, which is saved on the app for future bookings. It honestly takes a few minutes to book yourself in on any adventure.

So far, we’ve been to watch the ducks parade at Vergenoegd Wine Estate, hopped on the Cape Wheel at the V&A Waterfront after dark (followed by a mug of hot choc), and most recently built a Gingerbread House at Vovo Telo Artisanal Bakery in Steenberg. SUCH FUN! You rock up, meet the adventure leader, get going and ENJOY! Also, they don’t cost the world.

Research shows that the number one indicator of the future happiness of a person is the happiness found in their childhood relationships. Adventure Clubs exists to support the parent-child relationship by building strong families through intentional memory making. And what makes it all the more fun is that adventures are experienced together with other families.

A First: 

Founded by mom-and-dad team, Janelle and Jedd Schroy, Adventure Clubs is a ‘mobile first’ tech company with the only child-focused, group experience based app for both Android and iOS. Parents can turn on their location and browse the various adventures based on a 150km radius of their location to find the adventures that are the best for their family’s interests, schedules and budget. Adventures are offered at all different days and times (and are often repeated), so regardless of each family’s school, work, or extracurricular activities, there are adventures available for everyone.

We had a ton of fun (and mess and some sucking icing straight from the piping bag) on our gingerbread house building adventure. The kids shared a house (lesson 1: in sharing) and tried not eat the sweets before the house was even up (lesson 2: in patience). And then once built, we had to get it home (lesson 3: in growing 4 more arms to ensure our masterpiece did not cave in on drive home). So really, there was parent-kid bonding and so much more. And it DID NOT involve me IN the kitchen (or cleaning up!) WIN!

And now, it’s your turn to WIN!! Adventure Clubs would love to spoil YOU with a free Adventure for you and your kid/dies.

HOW TO ENTER:
* Like the Our Greenish Life page on Facebook
* Comment on the Facebook thread mentioning one of the three outings we’ve already been on with Adventure Clubs.
* Entries close on Wednesday 20th December, 2017 and the winner announced on my Facebook page.

(Adventure to be redeemed by mid Feb 2018)

For ant more info, and to download the app, find Adventure Clubs here: Website, App Store, Google Play, Facebook and Instagram.

Come on! Join in the adventure!!

The Annual Parental Boast

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year – right? The madness of nativity plays and Christmas shopping, decorating, holiday biscuit making, red nose reindeer foot-printing, credit card maxing, food, festivities, and EXTREME BUSY-NESS. You see it everywhere.

Parental boasing hits an all time high this season (well-meaning boasting of course 🙂). The “here’s Johnny’s graduation day in Gr 000”, and “Awwww… Polly is a reindeer hoof in the school play” and “look at how beautiful Sammy’s homemade Christmas toilet paper angel is”, and and aaaaaaaaand. I can understand why these pictures can be a bit irritating for those without a reindeer hoof, toilet roll thingy-magig or Grade 000 graduation certificate. I mean I’m a parent, and I feel bombarded by FB’s plethora of random kid accomplishments.


DIGRESSION WARNING: Let me stop here to say I have numerous friends who are longing for children. LONGING to the point where communities have prayed and pleaded with God, and where I have physically and emotionally ached for them. Friends who have blessed MY family and MY children more so than I have ever properly acknowledged. Many are still walking this journey. This post is NOT for/directed at you. Please forgive our ignorant slapping of pictures onto Facebook which, I can only imagine, may cause a deep sting. May we all open our hearts, minds and homes to those who we know are walking this road… You are loved. May you feel this deeply this Christmas.

Back to the kids and their random kids accomplishments. Oh friends, they’re not. THEY ARE NOT.


You moms and dads out there: you’re Heroes. The relentlessness of parenting and the never-ending need experienced day-on-day… there are not many appropriate words to describe it, other to say that parenting is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done. There are not enough adverbs, both good and bad for how unbelievably intensely, beautifully, damn-bloody difficult it is. From the mental strain of remembering every single tiny little thing (darn you ‘show and tell’, why do you ALWAYS sneak up on me), to the physical exhaustion of a baby on a hip, broken sleep for the rest of our lives, the driving to and fro, sheltering your kids so you can get caught in the rain, the stepping on LEGO, to the emotions around playground talk, to emergency hospital visits, a scary diagnosis, indescribable fears…

Guys, the reality is that kids are insane. “They are tiny little dictators with unpredictable mood swings afraid of the most absurd things and cry for no apparent logical reason whatsoever”. How are you supposed to appropriately deal with that? It is like that ‘putting a jersey onto a octopus’ analogy. A bit like breastfeeding the baby while you’re on the toilet explaining to the sibling why you can’t butter their toast simultaneously. No wonder parenting is a big fat guessing game to which we all question whether we’re doing it right? There is no easy answer, ever, and we’re left wondering if all our impatient screaming has undone all the nail-bitingly difficult intentional “let’s make homemade Christmas paper with these potatoes and paint” moments. And I have a theory.

Those moments; when your kids eyes light up seeing Father Christmas, or when that Donkey (who is a kind, gentle, introverted thinker) actually sings a solo on the stage in front of 100+ people, or that ‘i love you’ they’re able to scribble for the very.first.time – that’s it. That’s the affirmation us parents are CRYING for. For the every-day, never-stopping, never-giving up day-in and day-out thing we do called Parenting. That’s it. That’s the glimpse of beautiful BRIGHT HOPE that we’re doing something, maybe very little, but something… right. They are it. It’s in these kids, and these moments that we see it. There is a tiny voice whispering from that graduation certificate/toilet roll angel/reindeer hoof performance proclaiming “well done mom/dad, you did okay, in fact you’re doing freakin’ awesome”.

Fellow (parenting) Comrades, You are PHENOMENAL. Post those end of year pictures everywhere you possibly can. Bombard us with them. Lock in those seemingly-absurd achievements… those joyful memories.

Celebrate loudly, celebrate richly, celebrate well. Because, man alive. You deserve it. 

 

My 1 year old. I miss you.

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Earlier this week I sat with my 1 year old on my lap, and cuddled koala bear style – something she never, ever does. It was such a (rare and) beautiful moment, I didn’t want to flinch in fear she would decide this was not her preferred resting spot. I looked down at her eyelashes which were stuck together with fresh tears from the minutes before, and gave her a firm squeeze soaking up the moment, breathing it alllll in, and the words ‘I miss you’ whispered from my mouth. I miss you?

She hadn’t cuddled me like that since she was a newborn. She is not the sit-still cuddly type. My mom always used to say how I just ‘sat’ on her lap. No fuss, no rush, no fidgeting. How I wish my daughter would do this. But once on me, she wants to climb off me but then straight back on and roll off the side and squeeze through that and then back on but this way… and by then my wrists are aching… again.

I miss you? What a weird thing to think. I mean she was right there. With me. Tummy to tummy, arms tucked under mine, head nestled under my chin.

A thought hit me. We recently had our floors redone. The guy who helped us was wonderful, but he was rushed. Always. He did a fantastic job and I’d definitely recommend him and his company to anyone in need of new floors – but I always felt like I was interrupting him when I had a question. We couldn’t verbally process the change, bounce ideas, brainstorm thinking (sure, it is just a floor so it’s not like I was dealing with an architect) and while he was happy for us to try samples and take them home and sit with them and offer advice, I always felt like he was in a hurry. It always felt like he had something on… something next. At the end of the day it was business.

And THAT IS ME. I’m busy. I like being productive. The next thing that needs to happen – that’s on my mind. I like feeling like I’ve accomplished something. I’m a 7 on the enneagram which means I’m go-go-go. I want to do-do-do, experience-experience-experience. I want to swell all experiences to their absolute maximum; ice cream on the beach walk, breakfast after a Saturday morning run, a hot coffee en route to work, a sneaky glass of wine with a girlfriend. Optimistic, spontaneous, a joy-scout, ambitious, and certain we can always squeeze in a little more of something.

Am I too busy ensuring my child gets an invite to Uncle Paul’s Christmas Party that I don’t actually enjoy Uncle Paul’s Christmas Party? Am I too busy filling a schedule I have not a hot clue whether we’re off to swimming or tennis (we don’t play tennis, so it could only be swimming but you know what I mean). Does this contribute to my impatience at car seat buckles, my perceived stressed-ness come school time and my frustration at my kids not.being.fast.enough. Am I about to looooooose the plot because Brea is crying, again? The need. I’m always fulfilling a need. It’s transactional. Is it all businessey like my floor friend? I know my answers are not dire. I know my kids get a better version of me that I sometimes give myself credit, but why did I miss her? (On a practical level I’m with her all morning and then every afternoon, I’m still breastfeeding her to sleep and having tea parties and trying to brush her 5.5 teeth and in reality she lives on my hip like velcro. So why miss her?)

This long cuddle was something surreal. This warm little body, clinging to mine. Her arms wrapped around my front. Her little snuffly sounds as she tired to breathe through her snotty nose. No phone, no noise (fortunately I’d just made meringues and the boys were happily preoccupied with those), no rush. NO NEED TO DO OR BE anywhere else. No need to do anything BUT BE THERE. I need more of those moments.

Let the floor guy and my blissful cuddle remind you to stop. And be there.

How to Survive the Morning with 3 kids ON YOUR OWN.

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Most mornings are a nightmare. ‘A MAAAARE’ as my Australasian friends would say. If it’s not hard enough to drag yourself out of bed each and every morning, imagine doing it on your OWN with three smaaaaaall children? No guys really. It’s full-freaking-on.

So a few months back I had this on-going whats-app dialogue with my girlfriends about how UTTERLY IMPOSSIBLE pull-your-hair-out I was finding ‘the mornings’. The hub (bless him) heads to work just after 5am which leaves me with no other option that to drag myself out of bed at the first whimper of any child. (He does return earlier than most and then ‘takes over’ so we can’t resent him too much).

We’ve been through the ringer – moaaaaaaaaaaaning about eveeeeeeeeeerything – from not wanting to put on shoes, to underpants, to rain coats and not wanting to eat breakfast and demanding the breakfast I don’t have in the cupboard. I understand getting out of a warm cuddly bed with your luscious down duvet (lucky kid!) is hard (TRUST ME), but let’s just mentally prepare ourselves to do this for.the.next.18.years.

I hold my breath, I bite my tongue. I scream, I whimper my pleas, I bribe, I convince, I threaten. It’s not great.

I’ve put music on (to lessen the moan), I’ve sent them to school with their pjs UNDER their clothes. I’ve even left them sleeping (so that my dear mother can manage the chaos) and I’ve raced off to work.

Throw in some wet beds, some breastfeeding, some vomiting, some screaming (by all involved – we each have our turn), a toddler whose Lego just.broke, a 5 year old who can’t put on his socks (because they’re about 17 sizes too small), a baby who needs 7 drops of probiotics 30 min before she has food (ha ha ha), and a stubborn 3 year old who boycotted his (now soggy) weetbix for mint vanilla toothpaste as their before-school snack. Shoes and socks, on and off, jackets and beanies, on and off. And then the nappy you never changed, explodes. Poo everywhere.

You name it, I’ve done it. I’m finished.

I hate screamy-mommy, so something needed to give. My options were to a) run away or b) tackle this head on. Obviously a) is not a real option. So somehow, I’ve managed to rise above it all (in glorious fashion) and here’s how I’ve done it:

  1. Get up early. This is the hardest thing you’ll do all morning – but it’ll be worth it. If not for anything other than allowing yourself the time to MAKE THAT COFFEE. Always make more than 1 cup. Have it on the ready. Because 1 is never enough.
  2. Hide your phone. Once you’ve switched your alarm off – hide it. While I’d much rather be chatting to my girlfriends about the upcoming 3rd royal baby, DON’T allow yourself to get distracted. This will be your downfall.
  3. Lunch boxes. No matter how many matchsticks you need to keep your peepers open at night – make those lunch boxes the night before. Kids don’t care about brown oxidized apples.
  4. Dress them at night. When times are tough, I dress my kids in their (play) school clothes the night before. No shame. You gotta do what you gotta do. Hopefully we’ll have this morning thing under control before we hit the school uniform stage. 
  5. Buy them the cereal they want. And I don’t mean cocoa pops/fruit loops. But pick your battles. I can’t handle the constant fight over oats or weetbix – so muesli it is. The cost is worth it. Trust me.
  6. Feed and nappy first. If there is a baby in the household, at first peep, get to them. Breastfeed/bottle feed and then change their nappy. In one swift motion. Don’t hesitate. Then hand them a Hip Organic Rice Cake – that’ll keep them happy and entertained for a good 3 minutes.
  7. Warning, warning, warning. We’re going in 10min, we’re going in 5 min, we’re going in 2 min. Boom. (Parenting 101)
  8. Chorus line: “What day is it today?” “Tuesday!”, “What do we need to remember on Tuesdays?” (Think think think think think: School t-shirt? Dress Up? Fruit for the bowl? Money for something-or-other? Show and Tell? FitKids t-shirt? Extra clothes in school bag? Extra murals? Play date? Grandparents for the afternoon? …( And together we think of the answer.)

And off we go to school. Tra la la. You might have noticed that we do not allow TV or iPad in the mornings. That’s just a no-go. Once we head down that path – we’ll never return.

And most mornings, we’re doing okay. Yes, we forget Show and Tell (often) and yes, there are still glares and talking through gritted teeth and raised voices and the usual parenting coping mechanisms. But we’re getting there… and we’re much, much happier.

Those of you with more than 3 kids – I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA how you do it. No idea. Nada. You’re super human. You must be.

What do you do to make mornings easier? Pray tell?

R3000 Grocery Challenge – (HOW) WE DID IT!

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So last month, we spent under R3000 on groceries – all food. All food. How did we do it?

Let me keep this simple. In essence, you spend on food what you want to spend, or what you allow yourself to spend. It really is that simple. If I had R1000 budget, then it would have been pap, for 30 days, for each meal. Perspective.

I’d love to share my biggest takeaways:

My preface: It is GOOD to love, enjoy, find healthy value in, be filled by, be inspired by, create, and bring community together with FOOD.

So bearing that in mind – here’s how we did it:

1. Quality vs Price. Don’t get me wrong guys – I’m all about quality. Our Good Food Club allows me to get good quality (hormone-free, antibiotic-free, free-range, grass-fed, natural etc.) at a reasonable price – so I’m not sacrificing quality. This is not always possible though. You have to pick your battles. I chose to downgrade on coffee beans (from Organic to Italian Dark Roast and saved R40) and brown bread (from Superior to, well, regular – and saved around R3 a loaf).

2. Don’t buy more than you need: The more you have the more you eat. If you have 2L of milk, you’ll go through it faster than if you had only one. I’m such an automatic ‘stock-upper’ when it comes to basics that we end up consuming (and buying) way more than we need. Do you need 5 cans of tomatoes? Probably not.

3. Shop the sales: Food Lovers on a Wednesday, PnP discounted goods/bulk packs, Woolies sales even. Buy from the factory shops, such as Elgin. You can save tens, if not hundreds of Rands, by keeping your eyes on the numbers.

4. Meal plan: I know, I know, who has time for this? But really! Meal planning not only takes away that frustrating ‘Gah, what are we eating tonight’ thought around 4pm each day, but it removes the spontaneous buying… and it doesn’t need to be complicated or in-depth – just jot down some meal ideas and shuffle it as you go through the week…

5. Convenience shopping: Engen One Stop at 9pm is SO convenient, but will always (okay, 99% of the time) be more expensive. You PAY for convenience, don’t forget that. Ready-made meals are always more expensive, unless it is a $1 mac and cheese box my best friend and I lived on in the states in our early 20’s, which resembled very little of real mac and cheese. I shudder to think what was in there…

6. Buying take away lunches: Hubby and I felt this one, but I’m proud to say we did not buy ANY take away lunches, and the greasy take away joint in our business park makes GOOD ‘slap chips’. It was a rule – NO bought lunches. And when it’s a legit rule – it simply isn’t an option to break it.

7. Eat when you’re hungry – not bored: A good old Michael Pollan Food Rule.

8. Grow ‘extras’ in your garden: coriander, cherry toms, basil, spinach/rocket, spring onion. Those items cost money and OFTEN go off in your fridge. Garden herbs and greens are fresh, organic and ‘free’ in essence.

9. DONT WASTE FOOD: If my kids didn’t finish their school lunches, the lunch boxes were opened and the food was finished before any more was on offer. Darling child, eat your crusts/remaining apple/orange segment you left in there because it still had ‘the pip in’. You’ll honestly save an extra sarmie or piece of fruit you could use in the next days’ lunch box. Also, give your pantry a good clear out – spices, pasta, cans, almost-finished-packets of random stuff – it is all most likely (ermmm…) usable – so get your spring cleaning on and eat what has been neglected for too long (like 2 year old fondant, for example).

10. Simplify: Eat simply and drink simply. Water. Kombucha. Coffee. Easy meals, few ingredients – you can make something taste delish with less than you think. This way of eating is less stressful to prepare and lighter on the wallet. Save your gourmet meals for a special occasion.

11. Cook in bulk, stretch and freeze: I did this with mince and soup. I streeetched the meals (added lentils to mince and doubled the soup) and froze many portions. Not only does it make for quick dinners, but filling lunches at work.

12. Don’t get sucked into consumer culture: This is something a friend noticed she was doing, and honestly, I hadn’t even made the comparison. We walk around with our shiny, smooth (tired) credit cards and nonchalantly swipe swipe swipe. Put R3000 in an envelope labelled GROCERIES and you will avoid the shops like the plague. We are SO accustomed to buying WHAT WE WANT, WHEN WE WANT IT. For eg: we only use a salt grinder at home. But ours finished, so hubby suggested I use the table salt instead (WHAT? NO WAYS). But we did, and we survived.

We are a culture that doesn’t like to sacrifice. We don’t enjoy not having what we want. And we do this with food too.

Does that help? Can you relate? What did you learn? Do you know how much you spend every month?

As far as how this has transpired for us? I’m implementing what we’ve learnt, but I’m also going easy on myself. But no doubt, there will be times coming, when we need to tighten up again (I’m desperate to redo our floors, so R3k might be our ‘new normal’ for a while :)), and I’m happy to do that, aware that for MANY PEOPLE R3k is their average monthly income; they don’t have the luxury of having that much for food alone. That has been eye opening for me.

So give it a go – and let me know how you do. Good luck. xxx

The Newest Essential for your Diaper Bag

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Brace yourselves for a conversation about boobs, breastfeeding and breast milk – that precious, golden liquid. Forewarning: words like nipple, boob, suction and stimulate have been used in this post.

Here’s the irony.

I’m genuinely ANGRY I have only found this product now. After using and understanding Hey Kiwi‘s HaaKaa Silicone Breast Pump, you wonder why this kind of pump has never been thought of before. It is such a simple concept with such an effective outcome.

With babies #1 and #2, my breast milk supply was off.the.charts. I even donated breast milk to the Vancouver Milk Bank because I had such a huge supply. To my surprise, my milk supply was much lower with #3. It should have been more obvious that with the chaos of 3 kids, heading back to work at 4 months and just not stopping in general (in life) that my breast milk supply would be compromised.

So back to the pump – let me explain the concept: It is all about suction. Simply put, you suction the pump to your breast and let the pump do the work for you. It draws your milk out of your breast using suction. That’s it? Yip, really, that’s it.


To stimulate let down – you can ‘pump-the-pump’ by squeezing and releasing the breast pump a few times while on your boob. It’s funny, your boob kinda bounces in and out of the pump. But it works!

Here’s the HOW TO, from Hey Kiwi‘s website:

  1. After you have sterilized your pump, place top of pump over your nipple (make sure your nipple is in the neck of the pump and comfortable).
  2. Apply suction – you may need to adjust a couple of times. Once the pump is secure and comfortable you can squeeze the base of the pump (not interfering with the top/suction) to create some movement.
  3. A warm flannel on top of your breast is also a great tip and gently massage the top of your breast.
  4. Once milk begins to flow simply leave the pump alone to do its thing.
  5. Once the pump becomes full empty into a glass storage bottle and reposition.

From my experience: It took me a few tries to learn to apply the suction properly – but when it is on, it’s very comfortable and does not pinch. I did have to apply some massage (because my boobs were not full)! Had I used this when my milk came in, oh boy. I could have saved Cape Town’s drought with the amount this beautiful thing would have caught. Sigh.)

Once the milk begins to flow – HEY MAN – it’s INCREDIBLE. You can actually see streams of milk coming from your nipple. The plastic milky neck of other pumps I’d used never showed me that. I found it quite mesmerizing.

Here are my MAJOR (and unexpected) PROS:

  • It does not make a noise. So it doesn’t wake a sleeping baby. Hallelujah.
  • It is CORDLESS/does not need batteries. (When we were renovating, there was one spot in the house I could sit – in full view – and pump because I needed to plug it in. This is a game changer). This also makes it fully portable.
  • The base of the 100/150ml Pump creates a suction when you push it on a flat surface. My hard-earned milk is SAFE. If you’ve ever spilled breast milk – you’ll know that urge to break down and sob. Like a baby, without its milk.
  • I cannot personally vouch for this while breastfeeding a 9 month old but, I can confidently say that if one is struggling with engorged boobs, OR needs to express milk while nursing on the one side – this is the PERFECT gizmo to use. It allows you to quickly and easily pump for relief from engorgement, as well as collect milk from the side bubs is not latched on.
  • It’s SUPER easy to clean. Not like all the bits and pieces with ordinary machine pumps. This is a ONE piece item, (two if you have the stopper). Nothing fidgety about it. You can even pop it in the dishwasher.
  • 100% eco-friendly and safe for mom, baby and our environment.
  • It is less than 1/3rd of the price of any electric pump. (R450-R500 for pump and stopper)
  • You can pump hands-free. Once that thing is suctioned properly, sure, you can’t be doing the haka in your bedroom, but you can let it suction without needing to hold it. WHAT?!
  • It is just EASY TO USE. No fuss. Really.

Some of my most favorite people in the world are from New Zealand, so I’m a firm believer that things that come out of NZ are almost guaranteed to be RAD. I’m a total HaaKaa convert. I highly recommend giving this a go.

Want to know more? Contact Hey Kiwi online, Facebook and Instagram. they also sell lots of other super cute goodies on their site here.

xxx

How I’m keeping our grocery budget to R3000 this month. 

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Anyone else feeling slightly nauseous at the prices of groceries recently? I get that I’m now buying for a (solid food eating) family of 5, but it seems like every trip to the shops seems to deplete my bank account more than it should, and it’s significant. And I know others feel the same.

We recently had veeeeery dear friends visiting us from Vancouver. Despite paying for 4 doctors appointments and numerous meds in 6 days the week prior, we decided that we’d enjoy the holiday and have fun and not be scared off by our growing credit card bill. We’d also endured a car break in (in hubby’s car), the need for new brakes on my car, new glasses for our son, and random renovation payments. But whatevs. We were going to have fun. Oh, and FUN we did! I’m sure I’ll blog alllll about it another time. Cape Town is spectacular.

Right, so on Sunday evening through tears we bid our friends farewell. Our time together had deeply satisfied our hearts, our minds, our emotions, certainly our stomachs, and most definitely the ones reaping benefits from the interest we pay on our Discovery Card.

And so, in the spirit of FUN, and not despair (this is important) we decided that we needed to replenish the available funds and be HARDCORE about it. So I set myself the most ridiculous challenge of keeping our food budget this month to R3000. We’re only allowed to spend R3000 on food this month. Can we do it? When I shared my new challenge with my girlfriends, one actually texted back “that’s impossible”. Maybe it is, we’ll soon see.

Before anyone throws any eye-rolling judgemental glances my way – I have a few DISCLAIMERS:

1) This does not include the existing food I have in my house (although I assure you there wasn’t heaps – if I did it would defeat the point).

2) While I will do my best not to deplete EVERYTHING in my pantry before 1 July, I do want to rummage through and use things that have been there a while. Use up before buying new.

3) This is not an exact science or mathematical formulae on how much each meal costs. I have given myself a R3k limit, but obviously, as with most lessons we teach ourselves, it’s more about opening our eyes to how we do things (in auto pilot) and then rethinking them…

4) Since we eat mostly paleo, we will have to be reaaaaally flexible when it comes to what we eat. Some nights very well might be bread and butter (not margarine, NEVER margarine).

5) I know that for some, R3000 for food alone can seem like a LUXURY. Budgets and money are sensitive topics – but most people in my demographic easily spend more than double that on food. Again, it’s bringing into question numerous thoughts and ways of doing things which deserve attention from time to time.


Let’s get into it, in the post to follow. This is not a bait-and-switch, I just know the most people don’t like to read long posts… so keep your eyes peeled for the next installment.

Join me! This will be fun.

With Sincere Gratitude…

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I can’t believe it has been a year since this… together with Pure Beginnings, we launched Debbie’s Pure Beginnings Pregnancy Journey.

And, as we’ve wrapped up this journey, I’ve become so nostalgic looking back over the past year. Pregnancy and parenting is such a mish-mash of excitement, stress, fear, trepidation, anticipation, joy, tears and leaking boobs.

Together with the incredible Team at Pure Beginnings, we created these videos, spoke at national Childbirth Educators Forums, and opened up many, many everyday pregnancy and birth related topics for discussion.

http://https://youtu.be/DMKVPX7t1ec

If you missed any posts – you can find them here:

I love this world; this crazy, frantic, joyful, intense, scary, emotional ride. This busy, tear-filled, beautiful, messy role of Motherhood. And I’ve felt so privileged to walk this road with you all, and the Pure Beginnings Team. What an absolute privilege.

And finally, in wrapping up, I can’t help but give you some inside scoop on who exactly it is, behind the brand. They are a family. But really, they are a real family. A husband and wife team (and some awesome extras), convicted to start Pure Beginnings when their own kids were born. Even with them living in Durbs, I’ve met them on numerous occasions, and been hosted in their home and have been incredibly inspired by their hard working ethic, their gentle and beautiful natures, their humility, care for people and their product and determination to do and be better and provide better alternatives for US.

You want to support that family sending their kids to soccer and/or piano lessons? Those are the people behind Pure Beginnings.

Thank you Kate and Bruce (and Amanda) for allowing me to start this journey with Brea in the best way possible, with a Pure Beginning. xxx

Doing the best, with what you know…

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Have you seen the latest list of Pure Beginnings’ Most Loved Products of 2016?

You can find the list here, and all of these products have been reviewed on the blog (because they are so super awesome), except I missed this one – #5 on the list, the Soothing Baby Lotion – how did it slip me by?

I’ve heard from many moms who have had issues with their kids’ skin and then changed body lotions (to Pure Beginning’s Soothing Baby Lotion) that voia la – problem solved! It is not per chance. Let me show you a bit more…

I’m naturally not the ‘scare you into change’ type, and more the ‘encourage you into change’ type, but this I must say – READ LABELS!

Why so often, does skin relax, or calm after using Pure Beginnings? Well let’s read here what they do NOT use:

  • Any ingredients that are tested on animals. Pure Beginnings is completely animal friendly.
  • Any ingredients red flagged by Ecocert such as:
    • Any petrochemical derived ingredients or mineral oil (propylene glycol/PPG/PEG, petrolatum, mineral oil)
    • Parabens (Methyl, Propyl/Ethyl/Butyl)
    • Sulphated Surfactants (SLS/SLES)
    • DEA (Diethanolamine) / TEA (trethanolamine)
    • Phthalathes (often hidden under “Parfum” or “Fragrance”. Also listed as phthalate, DEP, DBP, DEHP)
    • Aluminium
    • Fluoride
    • Synthetic Colourants & Fragrances
  • They don’t use any chemical disinfectant such as Triclosan.

If your child is having a reaction to something, it is usually something that is disagreeing with his/her skin. Badies.

For you label readers, here are the ingredients in Pure Beginning’s Soothing Baby Lotion with Organic Baobab:

Aqua (Water), Aloe Barbadensis (Aloe Vera) Leaf Extract*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Glycerin, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter*, Glyceryl Stearate, Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Inulin*, Sclerocarya Birrea (Marula) Seed Oil, Adansonia Digitata (Baobab) Fruit Extract*, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Caprylate, Pelargonium Graveolens (Rose Geranium) Oil, Lactic Acid, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Xanthan Gum, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Benzyl Alcohol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Lavandula Angustifolia (Lavender) Oil, Linalool**, Citronellol**, Geraniol**

*ingredients from organic farming, **component of natural essential oils, 99.6% of the total ingredients are from Natural Origin, 96.4% of vegetable ingredients are from Organic Farming, 15% of the total ingredients are from Organic Farming.

If you didn’t make it through that paragraph above, I understand. Just let me tell you that no nasties can get through EcoCert’s super strict standards – so it is a safe and trusted stamp of approval.

Spend time with your baby, connect during paused moments of cuddling and baby massage, but for goodness sake, don’t expose them to allergy/organ toxicity and skin immune issues while doing it.

When I chat to my mom about how she raised my brother and I, it often comes back to ‘doing the best with what you knew at the time’. Baby on their back to sleep, or baby on their front? Breast milk or formula? Solids at 4 months or 6 months? Research changes the way we do things over time – but take what you have and do with it, the best you can.

How I Increased my Milk Supply

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With the boys, I had milk in abundance. ABUNDANCE. So much so that with Ryler, while he was on the 90th percentile in body weight (my little budda boy), I donated 4L’s of breast milk to the Vancouver Milk Bank based at BC Women’s Hospital. I love that place so much I would have given them a kidney if they’d asked me.


So when I took my youngest for her check ups and she was not growing as much as I was used to a baby growing, it caught me off guard. Sure, breastfeeding was going ‘fine’, but this busy mom of three was, well, busy, and it was summer, and it was HOT, and if I thought about it, I wasn’t getting letdown as often as I remember… CUE the intentional breastfeeding.

Can I just say outright, that baby formula is GREAT, and it absolutely has its place. I’m not anti-formula at all, but having had 2 exclusively breastfed babies, I felt strongly that I needed to put time, effort and energy into ensuring I’m giving this the attention it deserves. Fortunately I have a friend who is a Lactation Consultant and Pediatric Dietitian and so I went straight to her and my clinic sister for advice.

This is what I did to increase my milk supply:

I drank Jungle Juice. I had never heard of it before (seems it’s quite popular around these parts though)…

Here’s how you make it:

  • 2 L’s of boiled water
  • 1 L apple juice or rooibos tea
  • 1 sachet Blackcurrent Rehydrate
  • 60 mls Schlehen Berry Elixier
  • 8/10 drops of rescue remedy (if you think it necessary)

Dosage: Day 1: Drink 3L’s of Jungle Juice, thereafter, drink 1 1/2 L’s every 2nd day.

Along with this, maintain hydration. Healthy diet – you know the drill. I also drank Carmien’s Nursing Tea.


Then there is Power Pumping: 

This, my friends, requires a GOOD (ideally electric) breast pump and time. The below image is taking into account you have a double breast pump, which not many of us do, so if you don’t, power pumping would look like this: You would pump 20min on the L, pump 20min on the R, then 10min L, 10min R, 10min L, 10min R. And then you take yourself for an ice cream for all your hard work.


Also, “keep pumping after feeds, even if it seems empty and pointless, it will increase your demand, which will boost supply” – as told to me by Lactation Consultant, Deidre Lindeque.

Medicines:

Please consult your doc/pediatrician/lactation consultant before you go ahead with any medications. I managed to power pump and drink enough jungle juice to increase my supply enough to not need a script of any of the below (I did request one, but never filled it), so I am no expert in this. Please chat to someone medically trained, and who you trust (you’ll need a script for all of the below, so you will have to chat to your doc regardless) :

Some good options are:

  • Domperidone/Motilium.
  • Vomi-guard (a anti nausea drug which has a side effect of increased milk production)

At one point, above what I already needed to pump for my daughters carer to feed her daily (you pumping-working moms – you’re FREAKING AMAZING!), with a looming business trip, when I had to pump and store additional feeds, I asked my paed for a script. For personal reasons, I declined eglynol (which is a very commonly used breastfeeding booster drug) and requested the ones above (Domperidone/Motilium/Vomi-guard). Remember, you have options. Do what works for you!

I also want to encourage you to join Breast Feeding groups such as the Le Leche League in your area for support, encouragement and help. Contact LLL South Africa here.

Final thoughts: Be easy on yourself. This momming thing is HARD. Go with your gut. And please don’t give up too quickly either (unless you’re crying yourself to sleep each night – because then you need to do what you need to do to survive). There have been many times with this 3rd child, where I’ve being humbled by the difference between having a lot of time off with my newborn, and a mere 4 months. I am often whats-apping my working-mom-friends while sitting on a towel on our office bathroom floor, with the ‘zhuuut zhuuut zhuuut’ sound of the pump in the background as we send pics of the amounts of breast milk we’ve successfully retrieved or chat about how ‘pumping is going that day’. It’s no joke.

Friends, I’m with you. Share with us! What have you done that has helped you?