Baby Sling News

Cheeky Baby Clearance!

Apr 26 2012 | 0 comments

 

If you know me, you know I love a good deal!  So I've opened up a clearance section :)  Plus, I'm looking for a good excuse to get out and shop for some new fabulous prints!  So if you've been on the fence for you want the last of a few of our best sellers then pop over.  Just a note that some of the fabrics in there are From our Fair Trade Fabric line.  The Batiks are straight from Ghana, West Africa through a friend who spent some time doing missions work in a village there.  You can check out her Big Village Store for her other cool items.  

I've also recently added 2 new fabrics: Printed Flowers and Fresh Mama.  Printed Flowers caught my eye, I just loved the colours and the texture of the fabric.  I picked it up on a rainy grey blah day so I think my heart just wanted to see colour!  I'm a really big fan of the Fresh Mama print, I think it's perfect for a baby boy or girl, and finding 'non-flowery' fabrics isn't easy to do!  

So... I'm back in the game and hope to get some fun blog posts out very, very soon!  Life with 4 children is fuller than I expected but complete.  And wonderful.

Angie

Little Boy Blue(s)

Feb 08 2012 | 0 comments

 

It’s one minute to 8:00pm, the house is clean, 3 of my dear children are tucked in their beds and sleeping soundly, I can hear my husband’s new album playing from his studio in the basement - he’s working on the final mix-down - the dishwasher is making a bubbly hum in the kitchen where I am sitting cross-legged at the table with my little 13 day old man, Emmett, who is sleeping peacefully in his little cocoon nestled in my lap.  I am content.

With everything in the world to be grateful for, a life that is full of the most wonderful friends and family, a husband who is incredible, four perfectly beautiful children, a home, food on the table and careers that we love I should be beaming with sunshine all the time right?  

Yesterday, as I sat on the couch and looked up at my husband with tears streaming down my face I mentioned (while laughing at myself for crying) that I this has to be the worst ‘baby blues’ I’ve had.  I don’t remember crying this much after my other children were born.  He assured me that yes, in fact, it was this bad before.  All three times before.  He then reminded me what I was like after we had Natalia, our first.  I had forgotten about the night he came to visit me in the hospital at 3:00am after finishing up a gig.  Natalia was 3 days old (C-section, so I was in the hospital for recovery for 4 nights) and he walked into the room and found me with Natalia wrapped up close to my heart, sobbing uncontrollably.  He had his music partner with him, who had enough sense to give us time alone - thank you Rob.  Denis, who is admittedly NOT a cryer but in fact a very rational and non-emotional person was at a complete loss.  What could he possibly do to help/fix this sobbing, snotty nosed wife who is currently rocking his firstborn child and looking slightly insane at the moment with the way the moonlight is reflecting off her unkempt hair in this stark hospital room.

Fast-forward 3 more children... he still doesn’t know what to do.  We were in a conversation about a scheduling error we had made when I burst into tears this past Monday evening.  I couldn’t even fathom having to re-work my schedule and cancel a social get together we had planned.  The simple task of planning out my days with the kids and work and social life was so utterly overwhelming for me.  Denis got slightly frustrated with my tears as he explained to me “you can’t do it all, you need to take a break.”  It was then I began to laugh at myself - I asked him to please ignore all the emotion coming out of me and just deal with the facts.  Because regardless of the conversation we were having at the moment I am pretty sure I would be crying.  The next day I woke up with a mission, I planned to get the kids school done by 10am go to London to meet up with a friend and her 4 kids at the library, pick up Ethan’s BF for a small birthday celebration at the bowling alley, have dinner and make ice cream sundaes.  Are you sure you want to do all that? Deni asked me.  My reply?  If I don’t get out and do something you will likely find me rocking in a corner somewhere in a puddle of tears.  Thankfully I heeded his advice and cancelled our plans to go out in the evening and when my day was complete - yes, I successfully completed my mission - I crashed.  And guess what? I was too tired to cry!

I wonder how many women out there think they are going absolutely crazy shortly after birth.  I was fortunate enough that when I had that moment with Natalia in the hospital the nurse, who was completely lovely, asked, ‘is it the third night?.’  She assured me it was perfectly normal and even expected for me to be overwrought with unexplained emotion.  Well, that made me feel somewhat better.  New Moms need to know and have assurance that they are not alone on this crazy emotional roller-coaster.  The one thing that allows me to laugh at myself through my tears is knowing and understanding that the hormones and emotions of a pregnant and postpartum woman are a mystery that will go unsolved for all the ages to come.

I'll share a few pics that make me smile - not cry - of our fun at the bowling alley ;)



11 days down, a lifetime to go.

Feb 06 2012 | 0 comments

Well, life has finally settled back into a "routine" if you can call it that!  Little Emmett is doing quite fantastically as are the kids.  I'll admit to being a little tired and having my fair share of complete break-down in tears hormonal moments.  Thankfully those moments have been surrounded by laughter, joy and serene moments snuggling with Emmett and my 3 big kids.  My husband has been amazing, as usual, his only downfall? he has pointed out to me on several occasions that his 'baby' a.k.a the puppy is now letting him sleep through the night!  Thanks for mentioning it.  

These past 11 days feel like a lifetime.  We've welcomed Emmett into the world, spent time with family, spent time alone with the baby while my family took the big kids for a few days and spoiled them. I had a 3-day road trip without Deni to pick up my kids and introduce Emmett to my siblings and nieces and nephews, and we've had a weekend at home as a family.  Whew!  How does all that happen in less than 2 weeks?  

It's been a ride for sure, and I love knowing that it's just the beginning.  That this little man who spends his days sleeping & nursing will quickly grow and start hitting all those wonderful milestones - sitting, crawling, walking, talking, talking back... A lifetime of memories and moments lie ahead and I want to cherish each little detail so as not to miss a thing.  K, I'm getting gushy!  Here's some photos of what we've been up to Emmett's first week and a half - enjoy :)

And you better believe I've been using my slings!

The journey began with my gorgeous Mother's arrival.  She was great company, comfort and help the week leading up to Emmett's birth while staying with us.  Saturday afternoon she bravely strapped my 3 gremlins in her car and headed home with them to Bowmanville to give Deni and I a chance to settle in and enjoy some quiet time with the baby.  Thank You Mommy!


Natalia, Ethan and Adalaine greet Emmett with love and laughter in the hospital early Friday Morning.


My AMAZING Midwives at Talbot Creek Midwives, in St Thomas.  I couldn't have asked for better love and care!


My sister Julie, is notorious for unwrapping every newborn she sees so she can examine their feet.  Do they have wide feet or narrow feet?  Is the second toe taller than the big toe?  I think she approved these little feet.


My big brother, Jay.  He spoiled Natalia and Ethan just the way every Uncle should :)  I think having a new little man in the family is a good thing - he's got great role models.

OK... I KNOW!  She's way too old for a soother, and trust me, I've bee trying to get rid of the darn thing.  But I have to admit, she was so thrilled when she got to snuggle up to Emmett and HE took a "Beaka" just like her!  She's one proud big sister!


Natalia made Emmett a sweet Valentine Balloon, which, like all balloons, broke shortly thereafter.  

We are needless to say, quite in love with the little man.

The Dragon-Birth

Jan 28 2012 | 0 comments

 

Last weekend my good friend Becky sent me the following: “If baby can wait till after midnight Sunday, he will be a DRAGON, which is much more fierce than a bunny :)”  As we anticipated his arrival we joked back and forth with our friend Julianna (Red Rubber Studio) about my pending “Dragon Birth.”  

All women love to share a good birth story, and I being a too much information kind of friend, would LOVE more than anything to share the past week with you!  Monday morning I was anxious to get in to the midwives office to see my good friend Jill and ask her to do a stretch and sweep for me to try to get things going a bit.  You see, although I was more than 1 week away from my due date, the baby was super low and I was beginning to feel less and less like myself and more like a grouchy, over-tired crab with a bowling ball between my legs!  Jill and her student Heather (who has an incredible background as an OB nurse) smiled and said they were more than happy to oblige!  YES!  I was a 2cm and it seemed as though things could get started any day... this is where my boy’s personality began to show...  Each night I wake up with contractions - or rather contraptions as Deni has lovingly re-named them - and wonder, is this it?  by the time the morning came everything would stop completely and I would make it through my day with much frustration at my turtle-dragon - is there such a thing?  I think this might be the year of the Turtle-Dragon.

Finally, and I mean FINALLY by Thursday morning I was woken up (5am) with stronger contractions that felt like they MUST be the real deal.  I got up and baked a batch of the most delicious brownies in the universe and facebooked my midwife Jill to see if she accepted bribes - a batch of fresh brownies in exchange for another stretch and sweep :)  who asks for that?  and seriously, who can resist brownies?!  So... my wonderful midwife Jill and her fabulous student Heather popped into our home at about 9am, things looked much more promising between 3-4.  Well, I sent them on their way with the promised hot brownies and got my things together.  I spent the day puttering around the house, running errands in London with Deni, making arrangements for the kids, dancing with my girls and my Mom enthusiastically to ABBA in the living room, hiking in the woods with the family and the puppy and finally and again, I mean FINALLY by dinner I was having regular contractions for a solid hour - time to call JILL!

Jill and Heather showed up around 7 and I was between 4-5 and ready to go!  Uncle David & Aunt Falia (of cheekybabyslings) came over to give our 3 kids candy and tuck them into bed for the night.  I called Julianna, who would be photographing the birth, and my Mom, Deni and I headed over to the hospital.  When we arrived we all got settled into the birthing room and Deni’s notorious tweeting, texting and facebooking began!  Julianna arrived shortly after and I was so thankful for her arrival, the room was complete with the perfect mix of friends and family to welcome the baby.  

Well, labour as usual... you’ll see that the photos on Red Rubber Studio’s Blog tell the story perfectly.  Deni kept us all laughing the whole time, I think there may have been some snorting and possible a bit of pant peeing.  I could hear the Honey Badger YouTube video playing in the background while I breathed my way through a ‘contraption’ and the sweet sound of uninhibited laughter in the room.  And then the FB comment: Ange is like the honey badger.

By about 10:45 we all thought the baby was ready to arrive, so I turned onto my back ready to push and... NOTHING!  TURTLE-DRAGON!  this guy is a serious trickster!  thinks he’s pretty funny to make me think he’s coming and then settle back in!  I spent several contractions on my back enjoying the brief rest from hard contraptions and then got back up to my knees leaning on the back of the upright bed.  Apparently that’s the way he wanted it because things picked up almost immediately and he made his grand entrance less than 15 minutes later.  And what an entrance it was!  Full Head of black hair, ten tiny fingers and toes, each little precious part perfectly formed.  

And then it was like the world stopped for just a moment as he was passed into my arms and I embraced my little turtle-dragon for the very first time.  Laughter, sobbing, a wash of emotion and love that goes beyond the depth of understanding.  A moment that will be tucked away and treasured in my heart my whole life.  A moment a Mother can NEVER forget.  

The rest is history, despite everyone’s exclaimation at how big he looked, and after 2 tries at the weigh scale it turned out he was actually 6lbs 15.6oz and his shortness - 19” explained his very chubby cheeks.  Emmett Reid Gauthier has been welcomed into the world and I have been enjoying him and taking it all in.  My other 3 kids are loving him beyond measure - this little Dragon will lack nothing in life - it is full of the most incredible friends and family a person could ask to be blessed with.  

Enjoy browsing through our Dragon-Birth adventure!  Thank You Julianna for sharing such a wonderful evening with us!

A little note on Red Rubber Studio:

*Red Rubber Studio excels in LifeStyle Photography - Family, Weddings, all occasions you can imagine.  Matt has done all Deni Gauthier’s professional photos and videos and Julianna has captured my pregnancy, birth and soon newborn photos in a way that far exceeded my expectations.  Julianna, who is also a Registered Nurse and works in Transplant in London, ON was the perfect choice for photographing the birth of our little Emmett.  Her medical background, laid back attitude and knack for finding the perfect angle make her an exceptional choice for any one looking for a birth photo session.

Check out the Link to the photos at: Red Rubber Studio!


Ok, I'm ready!

Jan 23 2012 | 0 comments

Well, I am now 38 1/2 weeks pregnant and I'm feeling ready to meet this boy of mine!  I went in to see my midwives this morning and had them do a little check to see if these annoying Braxton Hicks contractions have been doing anything at all.  Looks as though things are beginning to shape up.. although with babies you never can tell, he may arrive today, tomorrow or in 2 weeks... if I could only tell!

I took the liberty of spending the day on my feet, walking the dog, shopping with my mom, and finally to end the day, jumping on the trampoline!  I have much to do to prepare the house for his arrival - like finish packing my hospital bag - but I'll leave you with this fun photo! (and in case you're wondering, depends definitely would have been a wise decision!)  TMI?

 

Magic in the Woods.

Jan 19 2012 | 1 comments

I could hardly wait to get out of bed this morning!  Late last night Deni woke me up to give me sneak peek at Red Rubber Studio's latest blog post - me and my glowing 38 week pregnant belly!

Please allow me to set the stage for you.  Monday evening Julianna and I left our husbands with all 7 children while we took a 2 hour escapade (filled with laughter, of course) to shop for wardrobe items.  Julianna had this vision of a winter maternity photo shoot in the woods with fur and layers and depth and everything artistically wonderful.  It then began to rain, thoughts of a white forest floor vanished, but we were still hopeful, we had a plan.  As long as I stayed pregnant her husband Matt was bravely willing to watch all 7 children himself yesterday while we again took to the road.  

And so, I got up early Wednesday morning filled with excitement!  Other than my wedding day, I've never had multiple photos taken of myself my a real photographer... what a treat I was in for!  I dropped off the kids, Julianna settled her 8 week old little man to sleep and we filled the back seat of her car with boots and outfits galore - one item being the scarf I had stolen from my babysitter, who may have thought me quite strange for asking such a request when she showed up at my house earlier in the week!  We drove out to our 'location' and must have looked quite a site at the side of the road as I changed clothing and boots and Julianna primped my unruly hair - I seriously thought the curls would settle a bit more before we started - but they actually turned out well.

Now, I have to tell you, I am a closet fan of America's next top model and I couldn't help but feel a little like a model on a luxurious - and chilly - set with a famous photographer.  I sucked it up when I felt my bum cheeks were getting frostbite from the ground - keep it professional Ang, you can do it, be yourself, get comfortable...  which is actually a difficult thing to do in front of a camera lens!  I, like most other women I am sure, have those things about my face that I consider to be less than perfect... but on the way back home as we chatted I was joking about my discomfort with some of my features and suddenly realized I am 32 years old, they haven't changed yet and they never will.  In fact I'll likely find more "imperfections" as I continue to age, maybe it's about time I embrace them!  

Anyway, it was an incredibly fun afternoon and I am completely and utterly blown away by the end result... in fact I'm not even sure that's me ;)  

Julianna, you have given me such an incredible gift and I am grateful beyond words.

You can look through our Magic in the Woods on Matt & Julianna's incredible blog here: Red Rubber Studio  Don't forget to browse around, it's like candy for the eyes on their site.


Happy New Year!

Jan 05 2012 | 0 comments

 

Happy New Year!! (yes, I know a little late!)  We’ve just finished up with our holiday company... although the new baby company is just around the corner, so I am sure we won’t have much time of “back to normal.”  We had a wonderful Christmas and New Years and I have to say that this holiday season was some of the best family time I’ve had in a long time.

So, 2012!  What on earth?  I feel O.L.D.  I’m not usually a big ‘resolution’ kind of gal, but this year my Husband and I have made a couple of commitments that we hope to stick to for the year.  The first is to continue on our journey of minimizing as much stuff and stress in our lives as possible.  Re-organzing, Purging, Symplifying, and focusing our energy on our loved ones and keeping those ‘draining people’ at bay.  We are learning to live with less and appreciate more - it’s such a freeing thing to do!  

Our second commitment has been to have more focused family time.  One of the things we’re going to attempt is to do a weekly hike with our kids and dog.  The ultimate goal?  to get back to nature and expose our kids to the outdoors more.  When we first met we were both heavily into outdoor sports and activities and spent the first 4 years of marriage teaching outdoor pursuits at a College.  We have a basement full of some pretty fantastic outdoor gear that has been left sad a neglected for far too long.  So, we’ve told the kids that if they can get really good at hiking (aka go for walks without complaining!) that this summer we’ll take them backpacking and camp overnight in the woods - the prospect of such an adventure brought MUCH excitement to their little faces!

Anyway, just a quick blog today, but I wanted to share a few photos of our first hike of the year!  With 4 kids, a 10 week old puppy AND a 9 month pregnant woman, we were a fabulous sight to see!  It was wonderful to be out in the fresh air and I was grateful to share the experience with the kids!

Happy New Year to you and yours!  Share your resolutions for the year in the comments below!


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Recent Blog Posts

  • Cheeky Baby Clearance!   If you know me, you know I love a good deal!  So I've opened up a clearance section ...
  • Little Boy Blue(s)   It’s one minute to 8:00pm, the house is clean, 3 of my dear children are tucked in their ...
  • 11 days down, a lifetime to go. Well, life has finally settled back into a "routine" if you can call it that!  Little Emmett...