Long time no update - but it's pretty much life as usual around here so there just wasn't much to say. I am very much enjoying having my Mom here(and I'm not just saying that because she keeps the bathroom and kitchen clean and does other cleaning). My other reason is some of the good conversations we have.
This is where my post title comes in. Mom and I were talking about how before 8 months ago she never knew about raw feeding(for those of you who don't know it's feeding your dog raw meat, raw bone and raw organ meats as their diet). She also never knew about wraps to carry your baby in until I tied one on her when M was 9 months old and let her carry M in it. She said she wishes she had known about these things years ago and couldn't figure out why she hadn't. So we talked about that and I think I have it figured out!
It's television's fault!
Most of the time people get their information from TV - they see something on TV and then they find out more about it. How often do you see things about breastfeeding, cloth diapering, baby wearing or raw feeding on TV? You Don't! When TV talks about children it shows us children in need, kids that need extra help in school and jokes about all the stuff that babies need. I think we all forget that TV isn't some wonderful free entertainment - it's a business. We pay for our TV access and the TV channels sell commercial time to companies so they can make money and the companies only advertise so
they can make money. I would say in most cases TV is one big giant commercial(yes even the shows - they are selling the actors and writers and often also have product placement).
So we aren't told about breastfeeding except offhandedly "When you can't breastfeed feed your baby this." The companies will admit breastfeeding is best but then promote the hell out of the formula they are feeding. Once your children are bigger they then play on your insecurity and will tell you to give your kids meal replacement stuff - so the formula sell never really stops. Don't even get me started by how babies are portrayed in popular TV shows! They don't want you to think too much about breastfeeding because
no one makes any money off the woman who breast feeds. Unless you count the nursing bras and breast pads but no one is advertising those are they?
We aren't told about cloth diapering either and if you talk to most women they have the idea there are no more cloth diapers out there - I certainly thought cloth diapers were a thing of the past with my first child. There are lots of places to get cloth diapers still - you can even get cloth diaper service in most cities! However, if you want them you have to search a bit to find them - I have never seen cloth diapers on TV as anything other than a passing joke. How sad. So we now have a whole new generation of girls that if they think of cloth at all for their future babies they think it's gross and a lot more work, which is not true. Again the profit margin just isn't there for the big companies that play ball on our TVs so no one is advertising cloth diapers.
When is comes to babies all we seem to hear about is all the stuff we need for them - I've found after raising three babies myself that all you really need is a wrap, a good all terrain stroller for longer walks, a crib, and a bouncy chair. Even the stroller is really not needed if you wear your baby until it can walk well and keep the wrap with you to carry the toddler once s/he gets tired. I liked having a stroller for longer walks though(over 3km) or walks where I was taking the older kids somewhere and we had stuff with us - but even then a wagon makes more sense as it has more uses. We never hear about baby wearing on TV though because the people and companies that make baby carriers(and I'm talking wraps, ring slings, pouches, and many more not snugglis or backpacks) are not million dollar corporations - they are often stay at home/work at home Moms that don't have much of a profit margin and certainly don't have a huge advertising budget.
I have never once seen a reference to raw feeding dogs and cats on TV. All sorts of dog food and cat food commercials from companies foisting off their 'balanced' dry and wet foods as healthy and wonderful for our pets. I can tell you now they aren't - today's commercial dog foods that we see advertised on TV are about as wonderful for our dogs as McDonald's/Wendy's/Burger King/Diary Queen are for us. The slightly better dog foods that are grain free(at least with no corn of wheat in them) can be found at better pet food/supply stores but in my eyes are only a few steps up the ladder. So more like Swiss Chalet or another higher end restaurant that normally serves salads and veggies with their meals instead of just fries and pop. Even still if you think about it you wouldn't want to eat all take out or dine in meals every single day for the rest of your life, so why are we feeding our pets this way?
I know all the things I do are not things you see on TV - at least not anymore. I walk my kids to school, I walk my dog(and pick up after her if she poos!), I cook my children lunch almost every day, I breastfed(all of my children and extend breastfed my last), I cloth diapered(2 of my 3 children), I wore my last two babies and would have worn my first had I had access to more information, and now I raw feed my dog. I talk to anyone who will listen to me about these things and try to educate and inform and sometimes I am actually heard but not nearly often enough and it makes me sad.
Don't just take my word for it though, here's some links - educate yourselves!!
Breastfeeding links(or
Google 'breastfeeding' yourself):
http://www.breastfeeding.com/http://www.lllc.ca/http://www.toronto.ca/health/breastfeeding/index.htmCloth diapering links:
http://www.weecarediapercompany.com/http://www.clothdiapermarket.com/
http://www.weeones.biz/joomla/Baby wearing links(these two are the ones I used):
http://www.mamatoto.org/http://www.thebabywearer.com/Raw feeding link:
www.rawfed.comIf you have to feed dry commercial pet food at least try to understand what you are feeding:
http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/End rant,
Cass :)
She loved her cake and got lots of Bratz stuff for her birthday to go with it.
This is Mia.
Those shots are of Mia and S playing together. I love how S adjusts her play to how much the other dog will handle. It's nice to know I've done a good job and also that I've got a good tempered dog.I also want to share with you the funniest shot I have gotten of S to date:
I thought it was too funny :)
This is Bo her new dog, a 2 year old CollieXSheppard mix.You can see the Shep clearly in both Bo and S in the following two shots:
Pretty aren't they? :)
Finally this is what happens when you're in the kitchen offering treats(in this case raw hamburger for our rawfed dogs).
I felt very paid attention to!
K in all her 13 year old glory.
M is a very goofy 5, but cute :)
I will take a final shot once the pile of presents dwarfs the tree.