Still here, but not

I'm still here. I'm still taking clients but I'm not blogging. I have found that things start to pile up in my life and I have to have a clear slate.

To be honest, I'm working on me this year! I need to heal up my arm before I can do anything and I need to focus on me getting healthy and being able to care for myself and eventually, you as a client.

This doesn't mean I won't take on clients but I'm not actively searching currently. If you are in need of a doula PLEASE let me know. I'll be glad to interview for you or pass you on to someone who can help you out.

Best of luck, love and happiness! I hope to be back soon.

Miranda

Hearts to Hands Doula Services

More Sunscreen Help

Sunscreen Do's and Don'ts

Check it out!

Sun/Skin Care

You may not think about it but sun care is REALLY important! I'm such a fanatic about it. In fact, my kids are starting to get the hang of it now. We now have a process at our house. The kids get ready for school 5 minutes earlier. We get our teeth brushed, wash faces and hands, go potty (not in that order) and then the kids stand on the blocks. I put sun screen on their arms and the kids are big enough to rub it in themselves. And while they do that I handle the back of the neck, ears, face and anything else. We also make sure everyone has hats on (we even have spares in the house for guests). It's so important to us.

And it should be to you.

For children of different ages require different skin care. Generally here's how it works:

Newborn to 6 months - No sunscreen should be used. Make sure your babies are in protective clothing (ie long sleeve shirts if possible, pants, ect). Long clothing if possible. Also hats! Anything that has a bit of a brim is good to use. Consider keeping baby in the car seat and cover with a blanket if possible.

6 months and up - Now kids are able to use sunscreen safely. Slather that stuff on! If you think it's hard to figure out where it has been put on then use the kinds that "change colour". It goes on blue and changes to nothing once it has a few minutes to get on! Spray on sunscreen is nice. It's fast for those kids who are super quick. It helps alot. But I personally feel that buying sunscreen that is spray on is hit or miss. Sometimes its great, and sometimes it doesn't work. If you get it get the costly stuff. Also don't forget HATS!

If you are able to check out sunscreen try different kinds if needed. I had to get 3 different kinds to find ones that wouldn't make my oldest son's skin react. And it's not cheap either, which sucks. Remember to check the expiration date. Yes there is some on sunscreen (and bug spray, ect). Make sure you are using "current" sunscreen.

For my family we use the name brand from Shoppers Drug Mart and Coppertone for Kids.


Again.. hats, hats and more hats! I LOVE hats. The kids are always wearing them. We have ones with straps, ones without straps and I'm working on getting me a baseball cap! We love these hats:

Tilley Hats

We each have our own. I have a hemp hat; my husband has a Cotton hat; Kyler has a super old one (used to belong to a friend of the family, then my brother, and now Kyler); and Quinton has the kids version of the hats.

Dress Carefully! You and your kids.

Best of luck this summer and Enjoy!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today I want to say a special "Happy Mother's Day" to those of you who are moms right now. It's such a thankless job sometimes. I'm so grateful that you wonderful, incredible, and caring moms are out there raising your babies.

Happy Mother's Day to those of you who are "Mom's-to-be". Your job is so hard right now. As I once heard on an episode of Bones "You are creating new life, right now! I'm eating a muffin and you are creating a pancreas". I am in awe of what God can do inside the human body, and even more so of what Mothers-to-be can handle. Keep up the fabulous work!

For those of you "Moms" out there. You know who you are. Those who aren't pregnant. Those of you who have been trying longer than you ever thought it would take. Those of you who just want to give up sometimes. Seeing all those pregnant woman around you and just longing to do *anything* to be in their shoes. To those of you I wish the biggest "Happy Mother's Day" to you. You are the ones who are the most incredible "Aunties" out there. The most supportive friends and the ones who have it the hardest. As someone who has been there, and, even though I have babies now, are in that situation again, remember what an incredible heart you have. A heart that loves others, rejoices in their joys and is sadden with their hard times. Your heart is treasured the most among women. To those of you in this situation, Happy Mother's Day.

What does a "Mom" do?

I posted this on my personal blog today, and I wanted to share:

Today I had a client visit. I love client visits. The have to be one of my favourite things in the world. Seeing new parents so excited to meet their little ones and to be so happy that the time is coming closer and closer. It truly is a wonderful event for them in their lives.

Today I was telling my clients that they should call or text with any questions they have. The mom asked me if I did anything else that she might be bothering me from if she called or text-ed. My response - Nope! I'm just a mom!

Just a mom... wow... I got thinking, what is just a "mom" what does a mom do?

Well for me it includes anything from:

alarm clock
giving kisses
morning hugs
snuggles
breakfast maker (not normally in our house but sometimes!)
school prepper
homework helper
nose blower
toothbrush singer (seriously, I sing the ABC's every morning so they brush their teeth)
face checker
escort to school
encourager as he goes to school "have a great day hun, today will be better than yesterday"
planner
snack maker
wiping tears
giving hugs and snuggles and more kisses (BTW mom kisses don't wipe off... EVER!)
laundry
dishes
making the beds
cleaning the bathroom
walking to and from school to bring kids home
making lunch
driver to activities
briber (Q if you put your head under the water, you can have a treat!)
nap time enforcer
dinner maker
bath time prep-er
reader of bed time stories
more kisses, more hugs and more snuggles.

Those are my favourite moments.

Sometimes, as of late, a job as a "mom" includes more than this. Lately it has been more of a :
nurse,
cleaner,
temp checker,
timer for food (every hour you can have more to eat)
"sick pop" pour-er
snuggler
nose kisses to not get anyone sick
hand washer
vomit cleaner

As much as these jobs suck. There is no other job in the world I would want.

To summarize, just a "mom" is more than people think. It's a full time, underpaid job. BUT the rewards are over the moon. On my Facebook page I have this in my "about you" section:

I'm a Wife and Mother. These include such things as: sculpting and shaping the generation to come; primarily responsible for daily operations, including accounts payable, inventory, receiving, and personnel management. Activities include but are not limited to nurturing, lactating, cleaning, diaper changing, potty training, schedule coordinating, cooking and laundering. Other duties include general maintenance, procurement, waste management, resource allocation, food preparation & nutrition evaluation, and health & wellness screening. Continuing education required, vacations optional and unlikely. Skills gained in multi-tasking, working one handed, foreseeing meltdowns. Exceptional work in the areas of creating, birthing, and feeding a human. Future plans include teaching, guiding, loving. Rewards are phenomenal.

Reflections of Motherhood

I am sure many of us have wished we could go back and do something over, tell a 'younger' version of us something important or just give ourselves a bit more support. This video is great

Reflections of Motherhood - These moms were asked, if they could go back to right before they had their first child, what would they tell themselves?

Check it out:




What would you tell yourself? Or what advice would you pass on?

Service Canada

Here is a GREAT link to check out.

Service Canada ~ Life Events ~ Baby

It has great information on places to check out, things you need to consider, and best of all, all in one place, information for getting some extra money from the government when the baby comes.

Hope it helps you wonderful readers out!

Keeping Healthy!

It's that time of year again. My family has been knocked down by some serious flu-like germs. It's horrible!

So to help you out a bit I wanted to refer you to a post I made a while ago about being Healthy.

Check it out: "Keeping Healthy"

I hope you all enjoy the random snow today!

Is that... Fall?

Can you believe it's almost fall? I'm surprised! I'm excited to begin my fall decoration and to enjoy every moment!

We have a lot of changes coming up in our family and we are excited for them. Hopefully everything goes smoothly! Kyler has been in school for almost 2 full weeks now and seems to enjoy every moment and this week we begin our piano lessons for the boys.

On top of all this I'm beginning to get into my training for next year Triathlon! Fingers Crossed it goes well!

My husband's family is coming to visit on Friday so I'll be gone a bit but I'll be back with some new articles soon!

Happy September

Some of us mothers are gearing up for school! Can you believe your 'baby' is in school? My sister and I were talking about it this weekend while they were visiting. We kept talking about our "babies going to be in SK this year" and my mom looked at us and then at our baby brother and said "Well my baby is going to be graduating University this year"! Wow... talk about the changing of seasons and times!

Are you getting ready for school? Or are you babies still to little? What is your favourite part of September?


BTW I'm still looking for a birth before the end of October. Please let me know if you can help me out!!

~~Miranda

I'm here I'm here!

I promise!

Things are crazy! And now school is being added into the mix. It's keeping me busy for sure.

Do you have kids in school? What's your favourite part of them going back to school? Your least favourite part?

Personally I love it when K goes to school. It's only my first year to have him 'returning' to school but it's such a buzz of excitement around our house. We are withing sights distance of the school so we watch all the changes happening. For example this week the lawns got mowed with the big tractor mowers, garbage picked up, sidewalks swept and a bit of the garden care was done. It's so exciting to see these changes happening and to watch how people react around here.

The kids in our neighbourhood slowly begin to spend less and less time there and the parents are encouraging the younger ones to try out the playgrounds and hopefully get to know some of their school mates.

We went back-to-school shopping with Nana a few weekends ago and got Kyler set for school. I don't think he needs anything else until Winter, and even then maybe some socks but not too much else.

My least favourite part has to be the changes in our lifestyle. We have been lazy, had a 'basic' day to day plan, the ability to run out and do anything. Now we are back on a schedual. Not that I don't like schedules but it's always one of those things that shows us the changes in the seasons. It also doesn't help that our neighbours are teachers so once they start leaving daily to go to school that means our summer is coming to a close.

We still have to find out when Kyler goes to school but we know it's mornings and are pretty sure it's Mr. Brown again. We will find out next week when the plan is for him to go to school.



I wanted to apologize for not being up-to-date like I have been before. Like I said things have been crazy but I'm back. I'll be on the ball I promise!!

For starters I have photos from the Tri! They are on my 'other' blog

here and please feel free to check them out. I'm not stellar looking but then again who is after doing a triathlon!

Plus Size Preggos!

Are you a PSP? I'm sure there are a few out there (heck I was for both! I still am plus size). A friend of mine is preggo and she found this site and loves it. I thought I would pass along their blog for anyone who is interested!


Well Rounded Mama

Enjoy!

I'm Sick ~ Hints for a Healthy Pregnancy

I hate these feelings! I always hate being sick. I can attest that it is super hard to be a mom and sick. Not only is your body telling you something is wrong and it needs time to recover but you have to take care of your family, big or small.

I don't know why I never take my own advice but I'm working on it. I'm finally 'sleeping when the kids sleep' even though my kids are older. I've been trying to get over 10 hours of sleep a night and that seems to be helping my cold a bit.

For those of you who are pregnant right now I have some "Hints for a Healthy Pregnancy" This handout was something I found from a great Doula Tracy Hartley.

Hopefully something on here will help you during your pregnancy woes:


Morning Sickness (A favourable sign that the pregnancy will continue successfully)
 Drink plenty of fluids – preferably water or juice
 Eat small, frequent, non-greasy meals with little odor
 examples are – crackers – preferably whole grain for nutritional value
 fresh fruits, unsugared
 cold chicken
 a piece of (whole grain) toast before getting out of bed
 papaya enzyme tablets
 peppermint oil or peppermint tea
 chamomile tea
 liquid chlorophyll
 raw almonds
 parsley (tea or in salads)
 extra vitamin E
 extra rest
 reduce stress
 cut back on vigorous exercise
 Vitamin B6 (strengthens the immune system, aids nerve impulse transmission, assists with energy metabolism, and synthesizes red blood cells. A large banana provides almost an entire milligram of this B vitamin. Brown rice, lean meats, poultry, fish, avocados, liver, whole grains, corn, and nuts are also high in vitamin B6. So, provided you can tolerate them, you may want to add some of these foods to your diet along with the vitamins.)

Heartburn
 Redhots or fireballs (sounds crazy, but it works!)
 Eat slowly
 Eat several small meals
 Tums/Roliads

Constipation
 drink plenty of fluids – preferably water or juice
 use a footstool while sitting on the toilet
 eat fresh fruit and roughage
 moderate exercise – walking

Backaches
 rest
 massage
 hot or cold packs
 exercises to strengthen the abdominal muscles and to decrease the curve in the lower back



Headache
 warm, relaxing bath
 massage
 tension reducing exercises (such as should circling)
 relaxation routines
 hot packs or cold packs on the back of the neck or shoulders
 cold packs on the forehead

Cold, Hay Fever, Runny Nose, and Cough
 cool-mist vaporizer
 saline nose drops
 rest
 liquids
 honey and lemon

Sleeplessness (common in late pregnancy)
 take a brisk walk each day
 warm bath
 warm milk
 massage
 soothing music
 a dull book (if you find yourself awake in the middle of the night)

Things to Avoid During Pregnancy
 tetracycline (a commonly prescribed antibiotic, may retard bone growth and affect tooth development)
 Over-the-counter medications including:
 decongestants
 cough medicines
 sleep medications
 headache remedies
 aspirin
 paint fumes
 rug shampoos
 lawn chemicals
 cleaning solvents
 pesticides
 x-rays
 caffeine
 cat litter
 cigarette smoke (including second hand)


Hopefully I feel better by following some of these tips!

First Aid/Medical kits

Today I was going to post something profound... haha... but then my day got a bit turned around. While on our way to drop my oldest son off at school my husband came by us. He had just left as we did but he bikes so is alot faster than the little feet I keep pace with. When he came by us he showed off his new road rash. The poor guy fell. I raced to school almost pulling along my youngest and managed to get us to school after someone else. For those who don't know my kids this is a rare thing as normally Kyler is pulling me out the door to go to school. I had his friends father watch Kyler until the teacher came and raced home with my younger one.

We got home and I started to work on my husband. It's not that he had that much damage but it's more so that there was alot to clean up. After getting Quinton off playing with some toys I broke out the first aid/medication box. And here's where my thoughts led me too.

The importance of a first aid box. It doesn't have to be the kind the EMT's bring around but something that has a little of everything. For my family it might be different than yours. We have things for little kids (as in 2 and up) and adults.

Our first aid includes:

After Bite - kids and adults
Polysporin - kids and adults
Tylenol - kids (liquid) and adults (pills)
Advil - kids (liquid)
A bandage bag - kids (WTP or Character ones) and adults
Gravel - kids (liquid) and adults (pills)
Zinc lozenges - adults
Rubber gloves - Adult sizes - large and x large
"non stick" bandages and tape - large and medium
alcohol swabs - individually packaged
Tweezers
Straight needle
Tensor bandage - large one
Safety pins


I'm not saying this is a perfect First Aid box at all but it handles most of our problems at home. As you well know anything 'major' needs to be attended to by a health care professional.

Hopefully this will become something you keep in your household. Make sure it caters to what family members you have and their ages and medical needs. As always, I pray you don't have to use it too often. But for the times you do it's wonderful to have around.

I should also say I recommend that you take a first aid class. It is a great thing to have. You may want to check where you work, some work places will cover the cost for you to go.