How to play in puddles.

A ten step process as demonstrated by Asher Orion Pace, 16 months old.

1.  Run ferociously for the puddle

2.  Eye it carefully, Look at Mama

3. Take a gentle step in

4.  Look at mama for approval again

5. Touch it with your hands, splash a little

6.  Sit very cautiously

7.  Run up to mama in excitement

8.  Go back and sit in puddle. Smile! 

9. Show off how muddy and wet you are

10. Shoes and pants off to dry

Lincoln is 4!!!

Just Born!

Rockstar One Year Old

Cars Two Year Old!

Superhero Three Year Old!

Costume Party Four Year Old!

This boy can eat some cake! :)

E-book Giveaway Winners

and the two winners are:
     Heather Perkins and
  Carrie Eastlack

congrats, I think you both will very much enjoy it! Ill email you will the details!

E-Book Review and Giveaway! How To Love Your Labour, by Tracey Rose

   I had the opportunity to read and review this wonderful e-book by Tracey Rose, and now I get to share a free copy with 2 lucky readers!

So let's get down to my thoughts on it! (I am very excited to do my first book review, actually, its about time, I am a hardcore reader! I will be doing more of these in the future for sure!)

The positives: 
  It is always good to start with the positives, right!? ;)

1. Love the way it was written. Clear, concise information is presented along with her own personal journey. It is very inspiring. 
2. Quick, light and fun read!
3. Entertaining from start to finish. Never bored me. 
4. I loved the ending, felt empowered and wanted to experience it for myself again. 
5. Great quotes found throughout the e-book.

The negatives:

1. I am the kind of person who loves to hold a physical book in my hands! I wish I had a hard copy of this book. 
2. The writer is Australian, which is awesome, but the language is a tad bit different then US English and sometimes you can tell that in the writing. Its nothing too bad, and easily understandable. 
3. Wish it was longer! (It is actually a positive and negative, I love to read and would enjoy to read more, but also for some this shorter book would be really nice and lite and informative!) 

Reading "How To LOVE Your Labour" by Tracey Rose.

My Review

I went through this e-book with a notepad and took notes on each chapter, or just jot down something I loved in particular or that stood out to me. 

First let me say, the way this was written is fantastic. She interjects wonderful quotes that I loved, and also has some great lists right when you need it. She presents some information to back up her opinions and does so in a really nice format that is clear,concise and in your face!

From the very beginning the writer, Tracey Rose, grabbed my attention. Her background was very interesting and I was thoroughly enjoying reading about her journey. I was almost in tears reading her amazing birth stories and ached for all women to experience such powerful births!

She is down to earth and goes into such personal and touching details it pulls you into her story and drives you to read more.  After getting over the different US/AU grammar thing very quickly in the beginning, I dove head first into the rest.

Let me also say, most importantly, that as a doula I think this is a great read for mothers planning a natural childbirth. In fact, this would be a wonderful place to start, it can lead you towards thinking more about what you want your birth to be like. Especially for those doing hypnobabies or hypnobirthing. She talks a lot about her experience doing those childbirth classes and it sounds so wonderful and powerful. This is a powerful testimony to the fact that hypnosis and relaxation during labor really do work! 

The ending was also very inspiring. I felt like it was such a great call out to every mother who needs to get herself informed about birth! We can change the world with the way we birth. This book really does its job in helping to facilitate a change in the way we prepare for natural childbirth. 

 

Here is what Tracey Rose's website NaturalChildbirthworld.com has to say:

Here’s what you can expect to read and learn from my book …

This is what you will get:

• A real life birth story that tells it how it is with all the emotions, facts and gory details! … you will soon learn I am no hippy chick!
• I will share with you my fears, my hopes, my mistakes, my victories, my darkest hour and my moments of bliss … you will laugh, cry and come out inspired … guaranteed.
• The shocking facts about medical intervention … this should be public knowledge!
• The REAL PAIN behind pain relief … you need it … like a brick in the head.
• What I learnt week by week in my childbirth classes … I went to gain knowledge and gained a whole new perspective on life.
• A birth story where everything goes perfect … dreams do come true
• A birth story during my darkest hour … there is hope no matter where you are at
• How your childbirth can change your life … do it for you!
• How your childbirth can set your kids up for life … do it for them!
• An emotional journey that will scare you, prepare you and leave you with practical steps to move forward … do it now!

The ebook includes links to the following 4 resources:

Resource #1: The latest referenced research on the effects of a Cesarean Section

This resource is a must read for anybody that is considering a cesarean section or needs it for medical reasons. There are times when cesareans are absolutely necessary! But you need to know the facts so that you can make an informed decision. I keep this page up to date with the latest research I can find and I also include my source references so that you can expand your research if you want to.

Resource #2: The latest referenced research on labour inducing drugs

Did you know the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends no more than 10% of births be induced artificially? However, that number is currently more than 32% in the US and about 25-30% in Australia. That means you have a 1 out of 3 chance of being induced! In this resource I also cover research on drugs like “Cytotec” and “Demerol / Pethidine”. It is your life and your baby so know the facts so you can make it your decision!

Resource #3: The latest referenced research on Epidurals

Did you know that almost 1 out of 4 women who have an epidural experiences complications? I can live with 1 in a 1,000 kind of odds, but with 1 out of 4, I wanted to know the facts. This resource goes into the latest research and is referenced if you wanted to verify or expand your research.

Resource #4: Your Next Steps

As you will see in my book, I got lucky and stumbled across the information and experiences I needed. I don’t even want to think about where I would be now without that information and experiences. Especially with my second birth! I am just so grateful that life played out as it did and feel very privileged that I can now share specific steps with you so you don’t have to leave it all to chance. In this resource I share with you practical steps that you can start with today to prepare for your childbirth experience. As you will see in my book, it takes time to prepare for your birthing experience so no matter where you are currently at … START TODAY FOR YOU AND YOUR KID’S SAKE!

Click here to check it out for yourself!  http://naturalchildbirthworld.com/birth-story/

Want to win a copy for yourself or someone you know? Here is your chance! Just enter in the rafflecopter below! (it may take a min to load) 

reviews/giveaways to come!

woohoo I am really excited to be doing some product reviews and a few giveaways here and there. Still gonna stay true to my roots but thought these would be fun to do every once and a while. Stay tuned!

How I came to Attachment Parenting

 This post is part of the Attachment Parenting is for Everyone blog carnival, hosted by Attachment Parenting International. Learn more by visiting API Speaks, the blog of Attachment Parenting International.  

I thought this was such a great topic and have been wanting to address it further for a while now!

I would love to start with how I came to love and adopt Attachment Parenting as our way of life in the Pace family.

But I guess the easiest way to explain this is to first tell you, in short, the main principles of what AP (attachment  parenting) include. http://www.attachmentparenting.org/principles/principles.php 

• Prepare for pregnancy, birth, and parenting
• Feed with love and respect
• Respond with sensitivity
• Use nurturing touch
• Ensure safe sleep, physically and emotionally
• Provide consistent and loving care
• Practice positive discipline
• Strive for balance in personal and family life

If you know much about me, you can probably guess where I started out on my AP journey. It all kind of snow balled and mixed together after that. 

After the birth of my first son, which was almost 4 years ago, I really dug my heels into everything birth I could find. In searching for natural childbirth and finding the best way for me to bring my next one into the world, I learned about AP and fell in love with every aspect of it. I found that some of the principles my husband and I were practicing already just naturally from what felt right to us. We had been responding to his cues and co-sleeping, we also did a lot of nurturing touch and loving care. After reading more and finding lots of AP mama friends we worked on incorporating it into all our parenting. With my second child born we started AP from the beginning and have loved it. 

I find that AP is the easiest, natural and most caring way to parent my children. I believe it makes them better human beings, more loving, present and overall positive impactful people on the society around them. Of course there are always kinks. We are learning every day what works best for us, and how to stay positive and consistent when children have other plans. But we do the best we can, just like every parent should do. We know though that Attachment Parenting is a sound choice for our family, and I will cherish this journey of our lives together, knowing that my children were fully loved and knew it. 

My new kicks

Yay, i jumped on the Toms bandwagon, and am loving them!