MommyCon San Francisco!!

My Love, Bunny and I were so excited to attend the MommyCon in San Francisco! MommyCon is a convention dedicated to bringing mothers to be and modern parents together, along with brands and ideas that focus on the shared ideals. The focus is on natural parenting methods and timeless tidbits as we journey through parenthood together. 

MommyCon had many vendors and booths, they were very informative and helpful. There were car seat specialists, slings, wraps and soft structured carriers, all there to answer questions and help you find the best product to fit your needs. It was wonderful to see so many babywearing moms! Everywhere I looked there was a happy baby attached to a person! Moms and Dads alike! There were nursing moms everywhere, not using covers and NOBODY cared! There was a nursing room for those who wanted to use it. There were seminars about amber teething necklaces, breastfeeding support, baby wearing, cloth diapering, car seat safety and more! The environment was very warm and friendly. I wish I could attend a MommyCon every weekend! I was happy to see some brands I already knew about, and thrilled to see some new brands and products I had never seen or heard before! I am so excited to try some of the new products! Alanis Morissette spoke at MommyCon but I sadly wasn’t able to hear her. Bunny was tired, too tired to stay.

 Did you attend MommyCon? Did you hear Alanis Morissette speak? Leave a comment about your experience! 

Want to learn more about MommyCon- click here.

Adventure Walks with a Toddler

Bunny LOVES to be outside. LOVES it! She would spend all day outside if I let her. Unfortunately she has VERY fair skin and can’t spend all day outside! Every day we go for a walk, what I like to call an adventure walk.
Our adventure walk has no time line and no route. I let Bunny lead the way. We often backtrack a million times. Bunny really enjoys waving at the cars on the street. If she hasn’t seen a car for a while, she will backtrack to the last spot she saw a car.

The texture and size of the tree were captivating.

I don’t tell Bunny where to go or what to do on our adventure walks. I make sure she doesn’t go into the street or get into anything dangerous or unsafe. Other than that, I let her dictate the walk. I make sure I have at least 30 mins to spend with her on a walk. I try to really see and experience what she is seeing and experiencing. I may see these surroundings multiple times a day, but to Bunny, everything is new. The other day, Bunny spent five or so minutes chasing a leaf that was blowing in the wind. To me, that is a simple experience, but to Bunny it is new and exciting and something to learn about and from.

I love watching her explore the world. I can almost see her brain working, trying to figure out the new things she is experiencing.

I love her little shadow!

Dirt!

Even grass is something to be explored!

Adventure walks end when Bunny get fussy, hungry, or needs a diaper change. I try not to push my timeline or directions on her. This time is special for her, it is all about her and what she would like to do. I follow Bunny and make sure she is safe and allow her to explore. I find great joy in the little things she shows me. I learn how to be happy and see the world anew when I go on adventure walks with Bunny. If you have a little one, I challenge you to go on an adventure walk! Leave a comment to let me know how it goes! You might be surprised what your little one teaches you!

Toddler Tumbles are sometimes a blessing in disguise!

When Bunny was born she had a hard time nursing. When she was 3 days old she was diagnosed with a tongue tie. She still had trouble nursing even after it was clipped. When Bunny was 10 months old she was FINALLY diagnosed with an upper lip tie. I was very frustrated when we found this out, the ENT and Lactation Consultant should have check for a lip tie. Most of the time when there is a tongue tie there is also a lip tie. We were told it would be best to wait to correct the upper lip tie until her adult teeth were coming in, around age 6. The procedure would involve numbing her mouth, cutting the upper lip tie out, stitches in her lip, and multiple doctors visits. Doesn’t sound like fun. I so wish she was diagnosed with this when she was 3 days old, it could have been taken care of so easily then with little pain and little to no recovery time!

A few days ago Bunny fell, like a toddler is prone to do. She bumped her mouth and was bleeding. Her lip was fat, we assumed that was where the blood was coming from. She did not cry too much, and was happy with an ice cube. We didn’t think anything of it. Today, Bunny fell AGAIN! I guess I should get used to her falling, she is trying to go faster than her little legs allow! She seemed fine after she fell, no tears or anything. A few minutes later we were eating a bagel and I saw blood on her bagel. UH OH! I opened her mouth to see what was going on and much to my surprise I saw HER LIP TIE WAS NOT CONNECTED ANYMORE! She must’ve detached it when she fell!!!

The extra bit of skin on her lip used to be attached to her gum, in between her two front teeth.

This is GREAT! It means no correction is needed when she is older! No pain for her, no tears from me, no huge doctors bill. No trauma!!! I did NOT want my 6 year old to have to go through that. This also means Bunny’s adult teeth won’t have a gap between them! (Her gap is adorable right now.) Bunny’s lip tie was so bad she wouldn’t let me lift her upper lip to look at it, she would always fight me. I could never take a photo of it because she would thrash around whenever I tried to look at it for more than a second. The following photo is similar to what Bunny’s lip tie looked like before she fell.

I am so thankful a tiny toddler fall corrected her lip tie. I was hoping something would happen all on its own so my sweet little girl wouldn’t have to endure any pain later in life. Another bonus- Bunny was able to nurse WITHOUT the nipple shield, latching and unlatching all by herself for the FIRST TIME since we started using the nipple shield! 13 months old, maybe we can start weaning from the shield!!!