A few more books!

I picked up a few more books today from the library:
A Mother's Adoption Journey by Darlene Ryan
So You're going to be a Dad by Peter Downey (this one's for Grant!)
Your Newborn: Head to Toe by Cara Familian Natterson

People at work have been discussing the books they like to read, especially with the recent release of the new Harry Potter, and people are lending books back and forth - I am a bit reluctant to announce around the lunch table that my reading material of choice these days are books on adoption and infant/newborn health! Although a few of my co-workers know Grant & I are desperately trying to adopt, my manager still doesn't know - I'm waiting until we finally have the "approved" stamp following the completion of our home study.

Today I met with my ND to discuss inducing lactation...yes, you read correctly, Grant & I are hoping that I will be able to breastfeed our child!!! There is a protocol out there supported by Dr. Jack Newman, the breastfeeding guru. My ND suggested I contact him to see if there have been any recent changes to the protocol - Dr. Newman responded to my email immediately and provided me with the information I needed. He also encouraged me to make an appointment to meet with him in person...if I can swing it with my work schedule I'd love to see him. Another topic I discussed with my ND is the use of cloth diapers and I have my eye on a diaper service in town Bear Bottoms - Did you know that it takes over 300 pounds of wood to produce disposable diapers for one baby per year and each diaper takes between 250-500 years to decompose?? I also plan to incorporate the use of re-usable cotton wipes when we are at home and chlorine free wipes when we are out and about (e.g. Seventh Generation). Grant & I (strongly influenced by me!) have so many ideas on how we are going to have the "greenest" baby around...Not only are we going to use cloth diapers and wipes, our baby will also use organic and natural baby skin care products (like his/her mom & dad do), eat organically as much as possible (just like mom & dad again) and we are going to try our best to make our own baby food (not too big of an ambition I hope). We would also like to buy organic bedding, toys and clothing (Joe just released a very affordable line of organic baby clothes) when financially feasible - someone needs to support a more sustainable earth! In addition to our "green baby" ideas, Grant & I are looking to use a convertible car seat and not fall into the infant car seat/carrier trap of leaving baby in the car seat too long and lugging that around because it's more convenient than carrying or transferring baby into a more suitable traveling system for long periods of time (e.g. sling or stroller) - as my OT instincts tell me and the public health nurse taught us in our PRIDE training...babies are meant to be held and not left in the infant car seat, unless they are riding in a car :)

Take care everyone....thanks so much for your prayers and kind words of encouragement. Grant & I wouldn't be as sane as we are through this process (although that's questionable!) if it wasn't for your support!!

"I read somewhere that the adoption process is like being on a roller coaster - all ups and downs. But I think i's like being on a bus at night. I'm thinking about one of those long-distance buses that stop and every tiny town between two big cities. That's what this whole process is like for me - a lot of stops and starts with long stretches of time when I can't tell if I'm getting anywhere." Darlene Ryan, A Mother's Adoption Journey, p. 52