December 6th, 2011
•
Comments:
0
• by Wendy
• Humour
• Just for Fun
Not to come across as ungrateful, but have you ever opened a gift from someone and wondered WTHeck? Yup, me too. Was it a re-gift? Were they drunk when they bought it? Did they mix up the tags? I hope you enjoy a few laughs as the Snugabell Team recounts their BEST and WORST Christmas gifts of all time...
BEST: my Barbie Motor Home c. 1978 HELLO!?!
WORST: a cheap vacuum, iron and ironing board from my boyfriend (at the time). Yup, dumped him!
BEST: My parents are always so generous, it is difficult to pick out one gift. But every year, my dad goes clothes shopping for me. He goes into Ann Taylor, tells the sales girl my size, and has her pick out something really nice that I would normally find too expensive to buy for myself. I always enjoy that gift because he chooses it himself without my mom's help.
WORST: When I lived in Florida I was invited to ornament exchange parties. No matter what, for years, I always ended up with the ugliest, cheapest ornament that nobody wanted to steal away and I always felt bad for being disappointed by it! I dreaded those parties. :)
BEST: Definitely our family trip to Cancun in 2001.
WORST: I'm too young (and single) to have received a 'worst' present yet. Something to look forward to perhaps?
BEST: I don’t have a personal best present, trunk organizer aside (keep reading). All my presents have been wonderful and I could never choose one over another.
WORST: The gift and the circumstances involved make this story - Cleaning house one day I found, under my bed (on his side), a trunk organizer. I thought it was strange, maybe hubby was gifting it to himself? Didn’t say anything about it and then Christmas morning much to my dismay I found out the lovely organizer was my ‘special’ present. To say I was disappointed and a little peeved is putting it mildly. I went on about it all day until my Mom told me stop. "You sound like a fish wife!" she said. Shish, it’s all about the differences between the sexes – hubby would have loved it as a gift. ☺
BEST: Finding out I was pregnant with my daughter Ava.
WORST: I'd feel like an ingrate if I answered that... ;-) Honestly, nothing comes to mind. (So you're taking the Fifth on that one Amy? Uh huh...)
Wendy - Founding Diva
BEST: Last year Mike and the girls surprised me with a ring. It had a purple center stone (one of my favourite colours) with four "diamonds" around it in a pretty setting. It wasn't worth much - just faux stones and sterling silver, but I LOVED it because the girls picked it out for me AND Mike didn't spoil the surprise (he can't keep a secret if his life depended on it!).
WORST: Before I met my husband, I dated a man that bought me a clutch kit for my car. Yes, he was in the doghouse for that little lapse in judgement.
I was just informed by Robyn that I don't have a "Meet the Snugabell Team" post and should do one. What do you think? Hmm...
Regardless, we would *love* to hear all about your BEST and WORST Christmas gifts in the comments below. Share the love (and the misery)!
January 17th, 2011
•
Comments: 0
• by Rebekah
• General
• Humour
• Inside Snugabell
• Just for Fun
• Pumping
For those of you who don’t know me, I work with Wendy as her assistant/shipper/miscellaneous extraordinaire. We are coming up on our one year anniversary and when Wendy asked me to blog about my year learning about breastfeeding, breast pumps and the like I jumped at the opportunity.
My husband and I were recently married last year and have decided not to have kids yet. So when I started working with Wendy I came in as green as the spring grass. Sure, I have breasts but I’ve never used them. I knew that mothers could breastfeed but I didn’t know some mothers had a harder time doing that than others. I figured breastfeeding was as natural to a woman as ask-telling her husband to please, please, please for the last time would you put the toilet seat down and save me from a midnight dunk in the bowl?
So I’ve decided to write about the things I have learned in the last year and share some of my most epiphany-rific moments with you. Here goes:
1) Babies are alert when they are born and shimmy themselves up to the nipple and feed.
Wendy showed me a video of this happening. It was like seeing for the first time the pictures of the hippo and tortoise that are friends: I had some vague idea that in a perfect world it was possible for completely unrelated species to be kin but that it’s actually happening??? Mind = blown.
2) When a woman breastfeeds/pumps, the other boob thinks it needs to express too!
Talk about a dilemma unless you have more than one mouth to feed (and I’m not talking about the dog). And then Wendy showed me the Milk-Saver by Milkies. All I can say is that this is one less thing to worry about when I start having babies. Thank goodness for inventive moms because if I was the first woman to breastfeed I would be up a milky creek without a paddle (or a Milk-Saver), y’all.
3) Women can pump milk.
How did I not know this? Okay, I live a bit of a sheltered life when it comes to babies but this is kind of obvious; also that women who aren’t with child can pump milk. And give milk to other babies! Who need milk! Viva les women! Now, when breasts start producing burgers I will jump on that meal train.
4) Nestle makes chocolate bars AND baby formula.
I know the whole Baby Formula vs Breastfeeding thing is a bit of a big deal. I think when I have babies I will form a solid opinion (through actions) about how I feel on this topic. Until then, how I feel about Nestle making baby formula and chocolate bars is equal to how I feel about Dove and Axe Body Spray being own by the same company. In a word: suspect.
5) PumpEase is probably one of the greatest inventions I can think of when it comes to boobs and babies.
When my mom got her eyes fixed (lasered) she couldn’t watch TV, read a book, go on the internet, be where light was nor any ordinary daily thing for DAYS. This is the closest thing I can relate to being stuck holding the breast pump on your breasts while waiting… and waiting… and then more waiting. If the pumping bra had not been invented I would not doubt that future-child-bearing-me would probably be duct taping those suckers right onto my chest.
Thank you all for journeying with me through the last year. It has been a smorgasbord of enlightenment. I am so grateful that I’ve gotten to know Wendy and her fabulous PumpEase because it will help me when I decide to start having babies and it will hopefully keep me out of trouble (and duct tape).
Rebekah Joy Plett
June 7th, 2008
•
Comments: 0
• by Wendy
• Humour
Why is it that we, as humans, are the ONLY mammals that feel the need (or pressure from society) to cover-up while feeding our young?
Last night I exhibited at the DSA (Doulas Services Association) Product Information Night/AGM. I met many fantastic women and made some great contacts. There were three of us talking about breastfeeding in public including the Mom (sorry Mom, I don’t remember your name) of Jen Casey - the owner of Dimpleskins Naturals - fantastic product line by the way! Jen’s Mom proceeded to tell us a story of an incident that she recently witnessed while shopping at Sears. A mother sat down on a couch in the furniture department to feed her very hungry baby. A female employee told her that she couldn’t do “that” here and would have to leave. The mother countered, stating that her baby was hungry and that she had to feed him/her. The Sears employee told her she would have to go to the bathroom. Jen’s Mom, overhearing the conversation, piped-up and said to the Sears employee, “Would you like to eat your dinner in the bathroom?” Brilliant, just brilliant!
Federally, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms affords publicly breastfeeding mothers “some” protection. Provincially, only British Columbia and Ontario’s Human Rights Codes specifically detail the rights of breastfeeding mothers. Believe it or not, in the USA, there are only 39 states that have laws with language specifically allowing women to breastfeed in any public location! I “thought” it was 2008….apparently I thought wrong?
The other woman that we were chatting with, a doula, added her two cents as well: “When I happen to drive by a field of cows and some are nursing their calves, I warn everyone in the car - Don’t look! You might get offended if you see an udder!”
If there is one thing that “gets my goat”, it is hypocrisy! I will never forget the cow analogy and will share it with everyone I meet that appears to be “misinformed” in this regard. :-)
And I’ll be sending this cartoon to the doula…
