Joyous Nursing

Happy World Breastfeeding week! 

August 1-7

Nursing Children

Sometimes when I am nursing baby Alexandra, big sister Emma will find a comfy spot to relax and nurse her dolls. I've never used bottles or pacifiers with either of them, so the concept of nursing a baby to nourish and provide comfort to them is just natural to them. I was surprised and happy to see Emma teach her baby sister how to nurse a doll. It was so cute to watch her position the baby correctly and make sure that they were both comfortable, she reminded me of the lactation consultants I saw working at the hospital teaching new mamas while I was in nursing school. Lactation consultants are wonderful providing teaching and support to breastfeeding mothers. There is no doubt that we need them in society to encourage new mamas to keep on providing the best and most natural nourishment for babies and children. However, it would be wonderful for children to learn and model this natural behavior from an early age by watching their mamas and others mamas nursing their babies. They observe and copy everything we do, I realize this more each day by observing my daughters' behaviors and choices they make. 

I am glad my mom nursed my brother and I and I am sure that this registered in my mind as something that mommies just do. I also spent part of my childhood years in a country that nursing on demand anywhere and with no need of covering up was the norm. With my first born, I made the mistake of thinking that I needed to cover while nursing her. We both felt so uncomfortable doing so that instead I would search for secluded quiet places to nurse her if we were in public. I wish I would have realized then that it was her right to nurse and who cares if someone is looking because it is the most natural thing to do and if it bothers them it is their own psychological and emotional problem and our quality of life should not be affected by their hang-ups.

I nurse Alexandra on demand and I do not cover up because breastfeeding is a normal nourishing act of love. I will look for a secluded quiet spot for her to nurse if she is distracted by others and cannot concentrate or relax fully, not to hide from others. Children grow up so quickly that I wholeheartedly cherish every second that I am able to cuddle, nurse, caress and look into those sweet baby eyes. It is just pure joy and I pray that many more mothers embrace this sublime act of love while teaching future generations that it is the best, normal, natural and most loving act that a mama and baby can experience together. 

Baby's Firsts

This joyous summer month has been full of new experiences for Alexandra. She went to her first lavender festival, first sleepover, first concert, first drum circle, first berry picking, first hiking adventure, first canoe ride, first carousel ride, and first beach trip. 

The scent of the lavender festival was marvelous, it was sunny and hot, Alexandra took some sips from Emma's lavender lemonade as we watched bees zooming around the lavender fields and listened to some great live Appalachian mandolin music. We slept on some crispy fresh comfy sheets on my mom's bed on a little weekend out-of-state getaway. It was the first time we've spent the night away from home since her birth day. When Alexandra turned seven months, we celebrated by going to a Krishna Das concert. I love that man, he brings so much love, light and inspiration to this world.  

Drumming is one of my passions and Alexandra got to experience her first drum circle with over 100 people in attendance. She even had her little hand drums and joyously moved to the beat of the drums, bringing smiles to many. Almost every evening we go out berry picking around our property and Alexandra pretty much demands that we give her some blackberries, she just loves them! She loves being taken into nature, picking berries, hiking and canoeing. Nature makes us peaceful. 

We took a family trip to an amusement park and to the beach. Alexandra was excited to ride the carousel, with the music, colors, lights and kids. At the beach, she was relaxed playing in the sand, enjoying the soft caressing breeze, the sunshine and listening to the ocean waves roll by. 

We are having fun experiencing this amazing world and I am so looking forward to continue through this journey of life together. May we continue to share our sweet love alongside Emma and Juan Carlos. They are the loves of my life. 

Kale Chips

KALE CHIPS are delicious! They are light, crunchy and immediately dissolve in your mouth. My whole family just loves kale chips. They are so good, that when we make them, we have to ration them out to make sure everybody gets some. They are very easy to make, healthy and fun. 

Emma and I team up on making the batches and this is what we do:

Wash a bunch of kale

Tear of pieces of the kale the size of a chip on to a towel to dry, discard the stems

The secret to the perfect kale chip is to make sure that the kale is completely dry for it to be crunchy

Get two baking sheets, oil them with olive oil

Place the kale on to the baking sheets

Drizzle olive oil on top of the kale, sprinkle with salt, garlic and a handful of sesame seeds

Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes

and voila! you've got the yummiest chips ever!

ENJOY and make sure to share :)

Hiking

I will jump at the opportunity to go trekking in nature anytime. Hiking is one of my favorite activities, and I am honored to walk the trails with my sweet family. We all love the peace of the outdoors, the fresh air, the healing green and the mountainous terrain. When I was a child, my mom used to take my brother and I hiking, and the walking and climbing we did together are some of my most cherished childhood memories. I don't know if it was the challenge, the company, the majestic trails, probably the combination of all now that I think of it, that fulfilled me so.

On our recent hiking trip, I was enchanted by Emma's excitement at seeing all the rocks as we were going up the mountain. I knew that it would take a longer than usual because she wanted to jump from one rock to the other and tell me what shape they were. She would say: "Mama, that's a pineapple, mama, that's a castle, mama, that's a pizza, mama, that's a triangle..." and so on she went enjoying all the shapes. I started appreciating the trail more just because she made me be present at what was there at the moment and I forgot about thinking to get to the top as soon as possible. I actually started to see what shapes I could see in the rocks too. The one that looked like a heart to me, looked like a shoe to her, so it was interesting to see how we would interpret them. I really didn't care if the walk would take us forever because we were enjoying the journey, and at the end, that's what it's all about.

Alexandra was quite receptive the whole time and I could feel her taking in all the green around us and she was happy and peaceful. She was awake the whole trail riding on her backpack and right before we reached the peak she fell asleep. When she woke up, I nursed her and she was ecstatic to feel the wind caressing her face at the mountain top. Juan Carlos and I had gone up that trail so many times during the years with our three puppies and various friends and family, that we conversed about all our adventures on that trail and how now we continue on with our beloved daughters. We will continue exploring and finding new trails as we also enjoy the old ones with our treasures and companions in life. We are the inner circle journeying together in the outer circle of life.

Tattoo Artist

Here's a great thing to do with your kids on a rainy evening. Give them a washable non-toxic marker to make tattoos on you or themselves. It is so much fun! Especially to see what they come up with. This was Emma's idea and she really got into it! She described what she was drawing and also came up with some stories along the way! She is my little tattoo artist.

A happy family :)

Our Loving Nest

Cuddling with my parents a long time ago...

There is a loving picture that I reflect upon of my parents cuddling with me in bed as a newborn baby and now Juan Carlos and I now do the same with our beloved daughters. I think about the nest that my parents created for me as a child and the one that my children have now. I look around our home, our nest, and it is quite cozy, safe and beautiful. Every object in our nest has a story that goes along with it. Based on love, hard work, time, creativity, adventure, sacrifice, travel, family, sharing, representing where we have been and where we want to be. Our home is our little sanctuary where we love each other, rest, create, learn, are nourished, cleansed, recharged, and a place where we welcome our family and friends and celebrate the joys of life together.

In my early childhood nest there were two cats that lived in our home, one black and the other one black and white, and my parents say that the cats would take naps beside me on the bed or the sofa during the day. My mom states that since I slept in the bed with her and my dad, the cats would sleep on the crib. My cats rarely take naps beside the girls. However, my daughters get to share the same joy of having wonderful furry sibling companions at home. We have two cats, and by coincidence one is black and the other one is black and white, also two energetic puppy dogs, huge fish and a pink frog. Emma states that the cats and dogs are her older brothers and sisters, which is true because they are all my children too. I teach my girls to love and respect all beings, by talking to them about it and modeling a peaceful compassionate behavior towards our animals and that way there is harmony in the home and in our hearts.

Emma as a baby with one of her brothers

At this moment, I look around our nest, and I absorb as much of the warmth, beauty, love and peace that I am witnessing and experiencing in our space. In the middle of the living room, I placed an array of colorful blankets on the light bamboo floor and made a fortress around it with various pillows from the sofa. It is a nest inside our nest, perfect for Alexandra to happily play and explore on it with a few of her favorite toys. We snuggled in our nest and I nursed her as she slowly fell asleep with our kitty cat roaming and purring around us. He settled right beside her, and now there is a sweet calmness as he watches over her. He loves to hang out with us and he is especially enjoying the perfect warm cozy spot he is nesting in. I glance over at both them as I type this and they have drifted of to sleep. I wonder what they are dreaming. Are they dreaming about each other? do they meet up in their dreams? what makes them happy? I used to be able to place my cat in my front overalls pocket when he was a kitten and he brought much healing and joy to me and he still does except that he is much bigger now.

Reflecting on our loving nest, I realize that it really is not about all the beautiful comfortable things that we have around each other, it is more made out of our love for each other and the experiences that we have together and that will continue on. Our nest could be anywhere, what matters is our love, our shared experiences and being in the present acknowledging each other and how important we are to each other. My heart overflows with love and I surrender to the nostalgic feeling of who we were, are and what we are becoming. The love that my parents gave to me as a child in the nest they created, is still with me as the love I give to my children, and the love will continue on.

Baptism Cakes

This past weekend we celebrated Alexandra's Baptism. Celebrating our love and a new beginning with our beloved family and friends. Emma and I made Alexandra's cake together. She shares my love of baking and decorating and we had a blast making it. It's amazing how time goes by so quickly and just a few years back Emma had the same festivity. It is a blessing to celebrate them, they bring so much love, joy and meaning to our lives. They are my forever treasures and I pray that I may do my best everyday to take care of them, love them and to be present in the moment with them. 

Honeymoon Pad

Alexandra is six months now and to celebrate we decided to go hiking to one of our favorite trails in the mountains. On our way there, Alexandra wanted to nurse right away and we had to make an emergency stop since I was not sitting in the back seat with her and her sister Emma. It was perfect timing because we knew just the place to stop. It was our old home. Seeing the pictures now, I like to call it our honeymoon pad. This is were Juan Carlos and I lived our early years of marriage. There are a few homes around a blissful tranquil lake. Life was simple, no worries, just the two of us, ready for the adventure of our life together. As the years have gone by it seems like our lives have gotten busier, but we are still happy, especially with our two sweethearts. We never planned on going back to that magical place with our daughters. However, Alexandra had it planned otherwise. Emma was so excited when we got out of the car that she wanted to jump right away into the lake. Juan Carlos was a bit hesitant, but I said to him: "just let her have fun! we used to jump in this lake all the time. Remember the time when we took a dip in the cold water with our friend Tara & Chris in the middle of winter? We had so much fun!" He said: "Yeah, they were all into that cold water therapy from their Russian friend Natasha." So he smiled remembering those fun days and let Emma take a dip while she could hardly control her excitement. I nursed Alexandra, took her clothes off since it was rather hot and also let her dip her toes in the water. Happy six months my love!

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