Breast vs. Bottle debate

Wow can this topic can be a heated one! After reading a funny blog on this debate, I thought I would share my side on it.

I decided, before my first was born, that I would bottle feed my babies. I have absolutely nothing against breast-feeding mothers, but this was a personal choice. While being bottle fed, my children were still getting breast milk which I was expressing.

You are always told breast is best, and I wanted my children to have the benefits of breast milk. But I wanted to keep an eye on my supply. Apparently it took medical professionals a few months to realise that I wasnt getting enough out of my mother’s milk. I remember being told this when I was younger, so I always had this worry that I too would be like this. A part of me is glad that I did this, because I had an incredibly low supply (which got slightly better with each child, but was still always poor). My eldest son was never able to have a full feed of breast milk. Within a couple of weeks, I caved and turned to formula. It hit me hard. I was devastated. I felt like I couldn’t provide for my son. I now realise that breast-feeding nazis ,*ahem*, protagonists, put such a social stigma on new mothers, that I felt like a failure for being physically unable to produce milk. I tried everything under the sun to help boost supply, to no avail.

But once we turned to formula, my were children settled for longer, grew normally and didn’t suffer any ill health. The one time that each of my boys were hospitalised with bronchiolitus…guess what! They were still drinking breast milk!

Now, I hate this crap “benefits” excuse that breast-feeding helps you bond with your child. Sure it does, but it didn’t stop me from bonding with my children. It also didn’t stop them bonding with their father! I wasnt obligated to get up in the middle of the night for every feed. I could nudge my partner in the direction of the bedroom door when I was too exhausted to move. It also helped with the bonding with grandparents, who were great babysitters when I had to work (oh yes…Im one of those terrible working mothers too!)

Sure, breast-feeding means there are less dishes…but what is an extra couple of minutes at the sink? I sure as hell didn’t spend hours there! But what about those breast-feeding mums who have to express to relieve themselves? Do they have less dishes? Not really.

I have to say, I also enjoyed being able to have the occasional glass of wine, or not having to worry about what any medications may pass through the milk to my child, or being able to eat what I enjoyed without having to worry about upset tummies.

While in town, I didn’t have to stop what I was doing to sit somewhere to attach to my child, or worry about embarrassing other shoppers by possible boob exposure. I could pop a bottle in and continue to push around the trolley or pram. Day time hours can be precious to get things done!

Also, breast-feeding can hurt! Yes…I at least tried it. I was one of the lucky ones, it came easily and I felt no pain (unlike other mums) but mastitis, cracked nipples, thrush…eek!

Breast feeding saves money. Yeah, probably. But I constantly felt starving while expressing my breast milk. Any money saved on formula probably went towards the food I ate! I have to admit, that was one thing I missed when my cystic fibrosis son ended up on a special prescribed formula for his weight…it was only costing us $5.30 a month. So when he no longer needed to be on this formula, I was disappointed when it became $15 a week.

It may seem that I am attacking breast-feeding mothers, but please don’t take it this way! It is the female body’s natural function. Like I mentioned before, it was a personal choice for me. Most bottle feeding mothers having nothing against breast-feeding mothers. It’s just a pity that so many breast-feeding mothers can’t be as accepting. It really angers me to see people jump up and down about bottle feeding parents. Why put them down? The babies certainly aren’t suffering! I hate hearing about how formula should be prescribed. Why take the choice away from parents?

Promoting breastfeeding as being best is fine, but having a go at mothers who bottle feed is not.

 

Bella 🙂

 

 

15 movies to make you cry

My husband is away for the next four weeks, so I am busy stockpiling our movie supply to keep me occupied, mostly at night when kids have gone to bed.

I was in the mood for drama today, and watched Life as a House (starring Hayden Christensen and Kevin Kline) and of course, by the end, the eyes were glistening with tears. It had me thinking what other movies had me shedding tears. So here is my list….feel free to add your own.

**Warning, if you havent seen all of these movies, there are some spoilers written**

The Notebook– This movie had me weeping like a baby! I don’t think I have ever cried so much over a movie. It has an absolutely touching ending. I don’t know of anyone who wasnt moved by it!

I gave this movie to my mum for Christmas a few years back. A couple of weeks later, I get a phone call from her, sobbing her eyes out. Once she could talk, I had to laugh when she said “Thank you for the DVD!! It was a beautiful movie!”

Braveheart- Anyone you knows me, knows that I am obsessed with Scotland (though, I’m not really sure why) so it comes as no surprise that this is one of my favourite movies.

No matter how many times I see it, I choke up when Murron is killed and I cry when William is executed.

 

Neverending Story- When Altreyu is begging for his horse to move….my god!! Bawl factor!!

Then you are just about fist-pumping along with Sebastian by the end!

 

 

The Green Mile- I couldn’t believe that this was a Stephen King story. I now have the books and love them. It has a great storyline and the end chokes me up every time! I watched this movie with my grandparents, and I could see my Nanna getting a little emotional too.

Tom Hanks is one of my favourite actors!

 

Armageddon- When she is saying goodbye to her father, or rather, when he was saying goodbye to all of them…..*sob*

 

 

 

The Color Purple- My sister-in-law recommended this movie to me when we were talking about emotional movies years ago. I was heavily pregnant at the time and already having mood swings. The story takes you on a rollercoaster of emotion. Great movie!

 

 

Walk to Remember- the wedding scene…don’t know of many people who have watched this movie who havent been affected.

 

 

 

Pearl Harbour- I saw this at the cinemas with my History class in highschool fo ran assignment (even though the teacher didn’t do his research on the movie before organising the excursion and admitted that it really didn’t have much to do with what we were studying…its was more of a love story) But all you could hear was stifled sobs at the end.

 

Looking for Alibrandi- Again, I saw this at the cinemas and we were studying the book in English class, but you could feel the tension and sadness in the cinema with John Barton’s death/funeral (except for the bit when there is a bird’s-eye view of the coffin and a confused voice pipes up from the dark “What’s that?” causing everyone to giggle!)

 

Forrest Gump- Oh my! There are too many scenes in there that made me bawl to mention them all. It’s one of my husband’s favourite movies.

Again…Tom Hanks!!

 

 

I am Sam- Dakota Fanning is an amazing actress. Who could believe that much talent laid in a seven-year old? Absolutely beautiful storyline!

 

 

My Girl- Childhood death is always an emotional subject. All the actors in this movie did a brilliant job of bringing everyone to tears!

 

 

 

Patch Adams– You don’t see Robin Williams cry very often, but I was sobbing along with him over the death of Carin.

None of these are in particular order, though The Notebook was definitely the strongest emotional state I have ever been in! But I love each and every one of these movies. There are probably many more I can add to the list, but these are the ones that most stick in my mind.

What other movies can you add?

Bella 🙂

Furless Makeup Brushes & Accessories reveiw

A while ago, when I first started bogging my product reviews, I mentioned that I was going to test Furless supplies.

I was excited about doing this one. What girl doesn’t like testing makeup?? I have always wanted to try mineral makeup too.

 When the products came, I opened the package to find a brush kit, a sharpener, two eyeshadow and a blush.

I love makeup. I really don’t get to wear it very often anymore. Before kids, I used to wear it every day. I didn’t exactly plaster it on, but the bare minimum was eyeshadow, lipstick and eyeliner. There were days when I felt more elaborate and went for concealer and foundation. But again, I didn’t plaster it. I hate that look!

Now, concealer is one of my best friends! The biggest enemy is the dark circles under the eyes. The brush kit has helped me perfect the smokey eyes look. I think it also helps to hide the bags a bit more!

As I opened up the brush kit. I stood and looked at the various size and shaped brushes, and thought “What on earth have I gotten myself in for?? Have I really lost the touch of using makeup to even know what half of these are for?” But that was my whole idea pitch to the business. How would the average, busy,  Australian mum use the products? What are the costs? How long does it last?

So I sucked it up, opened the packaging, and started the application process.

I was very pleasantly surprised when I felt the brush heads. They were so soft!! All I wanted to was brush it up and down my face all day. I think they are even softer than my own hair! I have tried brushes in the past, only to be discarded after a short period. I love the fact that the brushes don’t use as much product as the applicator that come with eyeshadow. They have sponges on the ends, and what does a sponge do best? They soak things up! So not only are the brushes gentle on the skin, it is saving you money on your products!

Now, the two sample eye shadows. One was blue, one was yellow. Definitely not my colours! I usually wear neutral colours like browns, beige, maybe a slight shade of pink. Those colours really compliment my skin colouring and hair colour. But I guess I can wear them if the West Coast Eagles get in to the AFL Grand Final this year (although, in this household, we are Hawthorn Hawks supporters!) But of course, I gave them a go. In all honesty, I don’t find them any different to other eye shadows. It’s probably easier to apply as it is in loose form instead of compacted. I hate it when eyeshadow is compacted so much that you basically have to scratch it out to get any powder (but I guess that is a sign of an inferior product!) You just give the container a little shake so a bit of powder comes up into the platform, which is a great idea…this way you aren’t using too much powder by dunking the whole brush head into the mix.

The blush is very much the same as the eyeshadow. Give the container a little shake, grab your brush and apply. The colour I was given (pictured) isn’t too bad, and I can use it a lot more regularly!

So overall, I am very happy with my experience with Furless Brushes and Accessories. I think they are reasonably priced, and great quality products. You can order from their website (now open to the U.S and Canada) or have  look at their Facebook page, which hold regular competitions and updates their product photos constantly, so don’t forget to “like” them before you head away!

Your money will be well spent here!

Now….I just need to claim the eyeliner pencil sharpener back from my kids craft supplies!

Bella 🙂

**AFTER THOUGHT** I forgot to mention that the brushes are animal cruelty- free, and the mineral makeup is vegan. It’s great knowing that there are cosmetic companies out there that take animal cruelty very seriously. I even have a bit of pride in myself knowing that I am using cruelty-free products!

rant about children’s shows

Let me start off by saying that there is nothing wrong with the children’s shows of today, but why must people jump up on their soap boxes and make everything politically correct, even entertainment for young kids??

Im pretty sure I turned out ok. Most of the people I grew up with have turned out ok (with few exceptions) so why did they have to change shows because of trivial reasons that go unnoticed by kids?

Did you know that Sesame Street had to make changes in their storylines because the relationship between Big Bird and Snuffy suggested that sexually abused couldnt talk to adults about their abuse?

I have absolutely no memory of the fact that adults never met Snuffy! Apparently whenever Big Bird would go off to grab an adult to meet him, Snuffy would suddenly remember he had to be somewhere, and would be gone by the time the humans rocked up. This caused all humans on Sesame Street to think that the giant, hairy elephant was a figment of Big Bird’s imagination. The show’s writers had to create an episode where Snuffy was revealed and all human’s apologised to Big Bird for not believing him, after an uproar was sounded by the general public saying that sexually abused kids couldnt not speak out as adults wont believe them.

Valid point…but a point probably missed by human’s under the age of 10!

Noddy got taken off air because Noddy would sleep in the same bed as Big Ears. Now, from what I remember of the show, Big Ears would recommend Noddy to stay the night because he would be too tired to drive home. Now,  wouldn’t that promote responsible friendships? But no, because they fell asleep on the couch together, it promotes homosexuality. I dont think tv shows can change your sexual preference. Im still straight, and I doubt any homosexual person on the planet will blame Noddy though.

Golliwogs were removed from the show. Now, I have been told that golliwogs are racist to African Americans. Im not really sure why, but Im sure Google can answer that question for me later.

Fat Cat and Humphry B. bear, two popular Australian tv characters, have been deemed controversial, the first doesnt wear a shirt, while the latter was taken off air because he doesnt wear pants.

Yogi Bear promotes stealing (hmm…but he seems to be coming a comeback with a movie, so he cant be too bad)

Scooby Doo promotes drug abuse (ok…looking back i could probably agree with that, Shaggy and Scooby’s insatiable appetite anyone??) and along with Roger Ramjet, who used to take a white pill to give him strength.

You get my point.

But given todays climate situation, why arent shows like Captain Planet and Widget the World Watcher coming back on air?

Instead we get early intervention shows to teach alphabet and counting. Dont get me wrong, Im in no way saying that is a bad thing!! Dont jump up and down just yet!

But what happened to just pure entertainment for kids rather than constantly bombarding with learning?

TV didnt teach me to count, or read (Ok, maybe a little assistance from Sesame Street!) and I think I turned out ok with all the shows I watch while growing up.

Im sure there are many more controversial shows out there, feel free to point them out. Always makes for interesting conversation!