First I would just like to comment on this picture. I wrote the blog entry below and knowing how difficult it is to read the first few lines I thought I'd add another pic. I went onto flicker creative commons and looked up baby bottle (can't remember the exact words but something like that) and this came up near the top. It made me quite emotional.
Anyway, must go as Matthew has just slid off the icy road and our car is now in a ditch... more on that next time, here's the blog entry!....
So I have just finished my preparations for my yoga and health weekend which starts tomorrow morning. I am really looking forward to a whole weekend of yoga, breathing exercises, relaxation, posture focus, discussion and good company. Although I am teaching it feels like time out for me in a way, considering most of my time is spent looking after two very young children!
I have taken the decision recently to partially wean Miller to make it easier for me to get out and do a few more things now. I have researched the issue and know most would recommend as a vegan wanting to raise vegan children that I should continue nursing for at least a full year but it is difficult. I teach in the evenings and Matthew was struggling to give Miller a bottle so I opted to express and combine bottle and nursing. However, that's not as easy as it sounds and my supply has dimished somewhat. So we are on a mixture of nursing and formula (I cannot get dairy free formula so I think Miller will have to have this until he is at least one.) I have to have a weekend away from home soon too so at least I feel comfortable knowing Miller is happy with a bottle and with Daddy putting him to bed sometimes (they get some special feeding time together too which is a plus).
Matthew is helping me cook a vegan lunch for the weekend tomorrow. He is making paella and he's pretty good at playing chef so I'm glad to have him onboard! I have made a carrot cake, some chocolate flapjacks and some of the mushroom and almond pate which I made for the first time just a few weeks ago and now love more than anything. I have bought a selection of breads and fruits too. I think..or at least I hope the group will be in for a pleasant surprise.
And so to bed to get some rest!
Friday, 23 November 2007
Weekend & weaning
Saturday, 29 September 2007
10 Things I didn't know before turning vegan!
Hello and thanks for the great response I am getting for the blog. It's really encouraging!
Miller now has his first tooth and is using it well! I'd been feeding him almost pureed food but have recently introduced rice cakes (supervised) and he just loves them. He was chomping on big pieces with no problem (please don't try this until your baby is ready!). So I thought maybe he'd like some more solid types of food so yesterday he had small chunks of banana and a mixture of carrot and broccoli cut into manageable chunks.
He is so different from my first born who would only eat pureed fruit until she was around 9 months. The mess however that Miller makes when eating is unrivaled. I have a child gate between my kitchen and hallway as our 2 Labradors just eat anything and lick the kids at every opportunity no matter where they've been or what they've been doing (dog owners will understand that I think!). So they are sectioned off at times and the dogs just lie looking through the bars like deprived prisoners, watching Miller throwing his food all over the place!
Anyway, back to the point, I thought it would be a good idea to post some solid facts on the blog and to make it interesting to those already vegan who know this stuff I've made them reasons why I made the change, the things that moved me into action. And to those who are still eating animals, maybe they will help you understand what is going on out there.
10 Things I didn't know before turning vegan...
1.Because of improper stunning, many pigs drown or are scalded to death when they are put, still alive, into the scalding-hot water tanks that are intended to soften their skins and remove their hair.
2. Like other animals fish feel pain and experience fear.
3. Eating meat causes global warming. Animal methane is 20 times more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
4. Veal calves are confined to crates so small they can't even turn around and killed when they are just weeks old.
5. Female calves not raised as dairy cows are slaughtered for the enzyme rennet in their stomachs, used to make cheese.
6. Most chickens suffer from chronic respiratory diseases, weakened immune systems and bronchitis and more than 99 percent of chickens carcasses are contaminated with E.coli bacteria by the time they reach market.(According to a report from the USDA).
7. Research has proved that chickens are smarter than dogs, cats and some primates and pigs are smart too and are often intellectually compared to 3 year old children.
8. No species naturally drinks milk past weaning. A cow's calves are traumatically taken from her after birth so humans can drink the milk designed for them.
9. When taken from ocean depths, fish undergo excruciating decompression which often ruptures their swimbladder, pops out their eyes and pushes their stomachs through their mouths.
10.Animals rely on humans to make a change in their habits to stop their suffering. They cannot tell us to stop but all we need do is look at them to see what we are doing. Meat eating, drinking and eating animal secretions and treating animals as slaves to our desires, whether it be testing on them for cosmetics, wearing them for fashion or sitting on their skins is wrong. No question. It is wrong. And you know it.
It's worth a visit to the Peta site and they will send you a vegetarian starter kit if you want a kick start (full of info and great recipe ideas).
On another note, if you are a new mother, I have just released a tv program on blip.tv called 'Yoga Baby' - just the first episode there now with the second being uploaded later today - it's intended for new mums to practice yoga with their baby to get the relaxation they need whilst strengthening the body and the bond between mother and child.
Have a great weekend, why not see if you can make it better for the animals too.
