10 Little Things That Made My Heart Sang This Week

Because it is important to keep track.

1. The big smile on my daughter’s face when she wakes up in the morning.  But that is not it, she also does a little Elvis-like dance that is absolutely adorable. It is everyday of the week, every week but you can’t beat that.
2. Becoming a Permanent Resident Of Canada. Duh !
3. Laughing as there was no tomorrow with my husband on Skype.
4. Winning the book “French Kids Eat Everything” by Karen Le Billon on Sweet Potatoe Chronicle (blog giveaway).
5. Sending two packages (US and Singapore / Worldwide Cultural Exchange) to children I don’t know and think that it will make them happy.
6. Getting an almost unexpected little present in the mail for Sixtine.
7. Finding out that formula is 50% cheaper in France than in Canada.
8. Sixtine’s first tooth. Yes, my tiny little baby has a tooth.
9. Learning that my best friend’s first date went great.
10. Being a week away from my girlie shopping-clubbing weekend in London.
11. (I know I said ten but oh well…) I am making new friends.

Did your heart sing this week? 

Breaking news: one of my “followers” had a baby this week ! Congratulations Sabina ! Hope you and the baby are well.

It Takes A Whole Village To Raise A Child (Does It?)

This Igbo and Yoruba (Nigeria) proverb exists in different forms in many African languages. The basic meaning is that child upbringing is a communal effort. The responsibility for raising a child is shared with the larger family (sometimes called the extended family). Everyone in the family participates especially the older children, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and even cousins. It is not unusual for African children to stay for long periods with their grandparents or aunts or uncles. Even the wider community gets involved such as neighbors and friends. Children are considered a blessing from God for the whole community. This communal responsibility in raising children is also seen in the Sukuma (Tanzania) proverb “One knee does not bring up a child” and in the Swahili (East and Central Africa) proverb “One hand does not nurse a child.” Read more here

I have been wanting to write about this for a while now. More than wanting to share my own perspective, I am rather looking to hearing from you parents. It takes a whole village to raise a child. Does that mean that raising a child is difficult and you need all the help you can? Or does that mean that your child will benefit from being raised by many people? And what if they don’t see eye to eye with you? What if they don’t share your parenting convictions? Will it affect your child? Or will your child benefit from different “parenting styles”?

I always try to do what I think is right for my child. It may not be the best in the eyes of others, but it is what is best in my heart. I find it very draining to have to justify my choices. Whether it is family or friends and don’t know better, or just people in general, I still don’t understand why some people seem to think that they have better parenting skills than you do, and that they should share their opinions with you. Just like people who always ask if I am cold when I am wearing a skirt. If I was cold, I would probably not wear one.  And even if  I was, it is my body, my choice. Would you let me borrow your jeans? Probably not. So just keep it to yourself. Thank you. (Sorry for the lousy comparison.)

On the other hand, I have found sharing parenting rewards and challenges with some parents very resourceful. Being a first-time mum away from home, I felt pretty clueless sometimes (look at me using the past tense…Sixtine is only 6 months and I think I know it all already…haha. No. I actually need some help in the feeding solid department. Struggling with what I read, what I know, what I was told, and what I am told…). Feeling connected to other mums in real life, but also virtually has been a life saver. So in that perspective, I totally get the “it takes a village” part.

Now tell me. How do you deal with all that? How does this proverb apply to you? How do you just tell someone that they don’t know what they are saying and to just leave you alone? How did you grow your confidence in the mum/dad department? How do you do it? Please help a first time mum in need who’s refraining herself from telling some people to politely take a hike? I am all ears.

Feel So Close

I Am Officially A Permanent Resident Of Canada

At last…I thought I would never see this day coming but last night, my husband surprised me with a much-awaited letter announcing I had become a permanent resident of Canada. It felt like forever, and it was a very straining process but it was all worth it in the end. I have now the same right as a Canadian citizen except I am not allowed to vote, I have to stay out of trouble, and make sure to live in Canada 2 years out of 5, every 5 years. I will receive my PR card as soon as I land in Canada !

We are so happy; it is just going to be so much easier now… I am so throwing a party when I get home on the 1st of July ! Canada day will have a special meaning for us this time around

*huge grin on my face*

Read more about my experience here.

Milestones: 6 month-old

Time flies when you are having fun…I cannot believe that my baby girl is 6 months old.

So what is new about baby Sissi?

• She weighs 6.8 kilos and she is 69 cm tall (14lbs96, 27.2inches)
• She rolls over from back to front (and front to back less often)
• She loves to bounce up and down when standing up
• She smiles and laughs a lot
• She loves to sing with Mama
• She mouthes everything
• She expresses her discontent by spitting up saliva and making bubbles
• She loves, loves, loves books. She likes to eat them just as much as she loves the pictures and storytime telling with mummy
• She enjoys wooden toys and balls
• She is showing signs of becoming a geek (cables, camera, laptop, Blackberry,…she loves anything black and practical)
• She sleeps from about 8.30/9pm to 7ish
• She is starting baby-led weaning and still drinking a lot of milk. Favorite fruit: pear. Favorite vegetable: carrot
• She has not teeth but she drools a LOT
• She knows her name
• She sometimes tries to steal Mama’s food or drink
• She is scared of women of  a certain age, with white hair and glasses (traumatized by her 4-month vaccines)
• She loves to see her daddy on Skype and greets him with beautiful smiles
• She gets frustrated when she can’t reach a toy or something that she wants
• She can hold a sitting up position for a few seconds
• She tries to communicate with sounds and noises

Happy half-year birthday my little one. 

Green Parenting l 10 “Biotiful” Ways Of Raising Your Baby

I was naturally inclined to use mostly eco-friendly, natural, and chemical-free products for baby long before she was born. Here is a list of ten things you could do to bio-tify your baby.

• Diapers. They produce so much waste that they had to be on the top of the list. Cloth diapering would be the greener option but for those of you who can’t or don’t want to cloth diaper, eco-friendly diapers are  better than big brand names. They are free of many of chemicals and work just as well as their counterparts. We do both and it works wonders for us. Sixtine has never had a rash since she was born and we don’t use any ointment.
• Wipes. Even the milder wipes are very irritating for the skin of your baby. You could make your own baby lotion and use cloth wipes, or if you are like my husband and like things to be practical, get scent-free, chlorine-free, alcohol-free, paraben-free wipes. I have used several brands (Naty, Seventh Generation,…) but my favorites are the NatraCare which are just the best. “They are free from detergents such as sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) or any of its close relatives, parabens, SHG and other types of formaldehyde releasing preservatives.” They are very efficient, smell naturally delicious and leave Sixtine’s bum moisturized and softened.
• Baby products. Wash. Shampoo. Balm. I know times are hard but don’t let yourself bribed by big brand name companies and check the labels of your baby’s products. You will be surprised to see how many toxic chemicals are in them. I use products such as Lüsa organics, Dimpleskins and I am always on the look for new natural products.

• Food. Many store-bought meals (ie.jars) contain lots of preservatives, thickening, salt, and sugar that your children don’t need. They also don’t taste as good as a real homemade meal so why take the chance? If you don’t have time to cook, then look for organic products are they are a much healthier and tastier option for your baby.
• Clothing. Organic cotton, pure cotton and bamboo are the best for your babies’ skin. I like my daughter to look nice and unfortunately, organic clothing is expensive and not always very fashionable which is why I only buy them in onesies. They are the closest to her skin; she looks nice on the oustide and (I like to think) feels wonderful inside.
• Detergent. Babies are messy, the real kind ! They go through a lot of clothes and if you are cloth diapering, you can double or triple the number of laundry a week.  A great brand we use is Rockin Green Laundry Detergent, you can also use other eco-friendly detergent that will respect baby’s sensitive skin and Mother Nature. Another great option would be soap nuts  which are suitable for the most sensitive skin and are organic and vegan.

• Check your labels always and refer to EWG, Environment Working Group, (“works to protect kids from toxic chemicals in our food, water, air and the products we use every day.”) to find out if your products are safe and compare them.
• Natural play. Outdoors, wooden toys, homemade playdough, flower and leaves picking…, they are a lot of natural ways of playing that are non-toxic and will bring a lot more to your children than some over-stimulating toys. Be crafty and creative !
• Bring Earth awareness to your home. If Mummy and Daddy are respectful to the Earth, baby will as well.
• Now tell us. How Biotiful is your baby? Please share your tips on to raise an eco-friendly baby !

Finally, I know that it is not always possible to get the greener option (financial, location, or even lack of knowledge on the subject) and I am still learning everyday. I think the more important is to try and get informed. I am lucky to have a few green-oriented friends who have been very helpful in the process and I will be happy to answer questions to the best of my abilities or direct you to someone who would know.

Writing My First Guest Post

I was very flattered when Ana over BlueBirdKisses asked me whether I would be interested into guest posting on her blog and immediately said yes. Then I start thinking: What do I write about? Is she going to like my post? How about her readers?

I decided to write a short fashion-related post to start with – I didn’t want to let her down and thought it would be safer to start my first guest post with little content. I definitely got writer’s block and was very nervous sending it when I was done. I even told her it was ok if she didn’t want to publish it anymore…talk about lack of confidence !

Anyways, she did publish it and said she liked it so here is the finish product:

Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to write on your blog Ana ! It was a great experience !

How Did They Find Me ?

I started Sixtine And The Little Things at the beginning of February, on a sunday afternoon, with a strong urge to express myself. I have loved blogging since day one and it has been a great way for me to share my feelings about parenting, expat life and being a new mother.

It has also been a place to “meet” and interact with people I would have never met otherwise. It has been really exciting and fulfilling. Somedays posts come naturally and some others, I will post a picture because that is all I feel like doing. Some comments make me laugh, some others make me feel very emotional, and some others comfort me. I also love reading other blogs about parenting, the experienced mums and the less experienced ones, the dads, but also the expatriates, the language lovers, travelers and photograph enthusiasts.

I remember being all excited getting my first few comments and followers. I got emails from my friends saying how much they enjoyed reading my blog and it warmed my heart. I never thought what I had to say would be interesting to anyone.

And then one time I wondered: “How Did They Find me?” And this is how:

• Misspelt title: “Sixtine and her little things”, “Sixtine and the little”, “Sistine and the little things”
• Bilingualism: “what are the advantages and disadvantages of raising a child in Italy” (Italy, really?), “pros and cons of raising bilingual children”, bilinguals, disadvantages”, “the benefits of bilingualism in children”.
• French parenting was a hit: “How to raise children like the French”, “The French way of raising children”,”French approach to raising children”, “French parenting and teething”
• Vagina toning: “reeducating my vagina”, “French perineum exercises”,”perineal re education”, “The French government wants to tone my vagina”, “French government vagina”
• Sponsoring for permanent residence in Canada: “Is it easy to sponsor a spouse in Canada”, “is money needed for sponsorship in Canada 2012″
• Canada: “things to thank Canada for”, “Labour and delivery prince edward island”, “do foreigners like Canadian accent”, “clichés of Canadians”…
• Pregnancy and motherhood: “is it normal to puke more than 7 times a day when pregnant”, “my French wife is pregnant”,”absent-minded while pregnant”, “perfect mums”…
• Random: “creepy stuff heard on baby monitors”, “messy diaper”, “sam roberts baby” (in another life maybe lol), “Eiffel tower and baguette”, “why are you interested in Montessori education”
• Red Bull addiction: (it felt good seeing I wasn’t the only one with Red Bull drinking problems), “how to stop drinking Red Bull”, “extreme tiredness when not drinking Red Bull, “can you get addicted to red Bull”,…
• Fashion: “Sixtine look” (wow !), “Baby with style” (thank you!), “Okaidi”, “Joe Fresh”, “Tartine et chocolat”
• Body parts: “Baby big eyes”, “les doigts de pieds recroquevillé adulte” (ewww),”vagina”…
• Little Red Farm Cultural Exchange, Cloth diaper and Spa Baby Tub appeared quite a bit as well.
• And some people I wish I could trace back: “homesick in London”, “bad mood new mum”…

I love looking at this world map and see where people are connecting from. I was surprised to see that French people read me a lot more than Canadians although I write in English. They probably are just friends and family !

 

A big thank you to all of you readers for making my blogging journey an amazing one ! If you haven’t done so already, know that you can also join me on Facebook !

A Belated Baby Shower

Baby showers aren’t a common trend in France. They probably exist but I have never been to one. I didn’t really have a ” proper” baby shower in Canada (I was probably not much fun company when I was pregnant and since it is not something that we usually do in my home country I didn’t mind too much.) but I still got a mini-one which happened when the baby was a couple months old, a friend of mine invited a couple girls I know and made sweet cupcakes and brought some cheeses and crackers. They brought presents and some things for my husband and I – so we wouldn’t have to cook for a couple days. It was a very thoughtful attention (and very helpful)and I thought it would be nice to have one in France someday.

We celebrated her baby shower yesterday afternoon with many of my friends and family members. We had a lovely time. I had asked everyone to bring something to eat or drink and they didn’t disappoint. I made chocolate chip muffins, banana bread with roasted pecans, and bottle-shaped cookies (that I burnt), as well as mini cotton candies for everyone (store bought but put together with love). There was praline and chocolate chip cookies, salmon and cheese muffins, salmon bread, olives and feta bread, brownies, and many more yummy things ! We played a few fun games such as “How Many Baby Items Can You Name?”, laughed, ate, and everyone got to hold little Sissi who loved being the center of attention.

Did you have a baby shower for your baby or something similar to celebrate his or her upcoming birth/or birth?

Two of Her Many Faces