Are you teaching your child Spanish?

It’s Cinco de Mayo and it has me thinking…. I have to start speaking more Spanish to my daughter. I want her to know Spanish. I want her to read and write it, not just speak it.

My first language was Spanish. My mom is a hard working immigrant who knew (at the time) just enough English to get by, but spoke to almost everyone in her life in Spanish. So speaking Spanish was never a question for me. When I was around 8, my mom would force me to sit at the kitchen table and she taught me how to read and write in Spanish. The purpose of this was so that I would be able to write letters to my relatives in Ecuador (back in those days long distance phone calls were rare and we actually had to write letters…imagine that).

Fast forward to this very moment….I currently work as an account manager at a financial services firm and the main reason I was hired (other than the fact that I’m awesome lol) is because I am completely fluent in Spanish and the position calls for someone to interact and manage Latin American clients.  BOOM! So basically you can say that because of my mom I have my nice job today. I did thank her and got her a gift FYI.

I would like for my daughter to grow up the same way, but I realize that it’s quite different for me. For starters, I’m American. I was born here in the USA. My main language is not Spanish. I don’t speak Spanish to anyone other than my family and even that is Spanglish) and to my clients. In my day to day life I speak English.  I think in English. I dream in English. I curse in English LOL! Overall, I feel more comfortable speaking in English pero tambien soy una Latina muy orgullosa.

So this makes me realize that I have to make a conscious effort to speak to my daughter in Spanish. I will have to sit her down at my kitchen table once she’s old enough. I will have to teach her the importance of knowing Spanish, not only because it will open many lucrative opportunities, but because it’s a direct and distinct tie to her heritage. She’s the daughter of very proud Latinos, and even more than speaking Spanish, I want her to grow up feeling prideful of her roots.

Is this something you think about? I’m very interested in hearing my fellow Mamis opinions on this matter.

Enjoy the afternoon my loves!

It’s been a long time!

Hi Mamis!

So the summer has passed us by (was it ever really even here?) and I’m still breastfeeding…

STILL!

The good news is that it’s down to 2x a day

The bad news is that my breasts are still not mine

I’m trying to wean on my daughter’s time table but man…I’m dying to get my boobs back!

While this happens I promise to keep updating my blog (even when life gets in the way) and I’m thinking of expanding this internet space of mine to include more product reviews, raves, bashes, and Mami life hacks…what do you all think?

Let me know Mamis…

Have a great afternoon 🙂

Long time no post!

Hi Mamis…

 

Sorry for not posting in a while…I’m actually in the process of revamping the blog…stay tuned for the new format, I think you’re going to like it!

And even though I missed posting something for Mother’s Day (really…every day should be Mother’s Day but that’s a separate post)…below is picture reminding each and everyone of you of your importance 🙂

Have a great day Mamis!!!

 

 

Mami Shortcuts

Hi Mamis…

So I just finished giving myself a 10 minute manicure over at Sephora…and while I was waiting for my polish to dry (Marc Jacobs Nail Lacquer in Oui – amazing purple/pink color) I started thinking about mami shortcuts.

Our time is limited so we come up with time savers – for everything. For example…I apply my makeup during my commute to work (only recommended if you have steady hands and nerves of steel). I often eat at my desk so I have my lunch hour free to devote to personal errands, etc. So this afternoon when I grew tired of looking at my man hands so I ran into Sephora and spent $0 on a nice manicure. Whohooo! It’s the little things that keeps me going!

What are your mami shortcuts? Please share!

I think I want my breastises back

Hi Mamis…

I have a major confession to make. I think I’m ready to wean my daughter off the boob. It’s really hard to admit that since I’m so super pro breast feeding and baby led weaning, I feel like a hypocrite. It’s just come to a point where I want my boobs to be my own again.

Right now my darling little meatball nurses on demand (which means she nurses at night) and I’m kind of finding myself increasingly annoyed by late night nursing sessions. I know, that’s pretty crappy but it’s the truth. I fear that my increasing annoyance will taint my whole breastfeeding experience.

So what do I do? How do I begin the weaning process? When do I begin it? The World Health Organization currently recommends that mothers breastfeed until the age of 2. Luckily enough, my meatball will be 2 fairly soon. Should I wait? We’re almost there, about 2 months away, or should I start weaning now?

Do any of you have plans to wean? Have you weaned? How did you feel? How do your boobs feel? Did they get engorged and was it painful or did you barely notice? Please leave your comments, I’m really curious to read your thoughts and advice on this matter.

Have a great evening mamis!

OH!!! And if you didn’t notice, the title of this post has a reference to a lyric from Drunk In Love which has pretty much been on repeat since December. All hail Beyoncé!!! (Who also breastfed!!!!!)

Happy New Year Mamis! 2014 and I’m still breastfeeding!

Happy New Year!

2014 is here and I am still breastfeeding (I can’t believe it!). I didn’t think I’d be doing it for this long, I was certain that once meatball started solids, she’d prefer real food to mama’s milk but nope! She still loves to nurse whenever I am near, and she loves to nurse herself to sleep.

A lot of people ask me why I’m still doing it, or rather they tell me I need to stop (family members included -_-) and all I say is that I don’t have any plans on weaning my daughter. I want her to go off the boob at her own pace. Now let me just say that this is what WORKS for us and is not necessarily what everyone should do. Always assess your situation, desire and need and take it from there.

Nursing a toddler is not easy, it gets annoying and sometimes I wonder when I will get my boobs back, but for me…it’s just not something I plan to give up until she goes to college……KIDDING!!! LOL KIDDING!!!!!

Are any of you mamis still nursing past 6 months? 1 year? More? Did you wean? Why? Sound off on the comments mamis!

MUAHZZZZZ

Have a great evening 🙂

Even the Pope approves

Good morning Mamis

Even if you’re not Catholic or religious for the matter you have to admit that Pope Francis is very different than his predecessors. He’s shaking up the Vatican by living modestly and making bold statements. He’s Time magazine’s Person of the Year and with good reason. I like him a lot. He was already cool in my book, but then he came out and defended a woman’s right to breastfeed in public…even at the Vatican. Smart guy!

YES POPE FRANCIS AKA POPE AWESOME!!! Read the article here.

Remember mamis..breastfeeding in public is a choice, you don’t have to do it if you don’t feel comfortable but isn’t it nice to know that major world figures are coming forth and normalizing breastfeeding? I’ve done it myself on more than one occasion and I’ve never gotten a negative reaction but then again, I don’t care either way. Anyhoot…a more detailed post on that later…in the meanwhile…..

Have a great weekend and eeekkksss!!! 5 days until Christmas (or 4 if you are Latina/o hee hee)

XOXO

So true! It’s good to research but always follow your gut!

I couldn’t agree more with this! There are so many ways to do things for your baby, and it’s great to learn more but what’s ultimately best is to follow your natural mami instinct.

Have a good night mamis!!!

Traveling without baby….yikes!!!

Hi all…I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted, but what can I say? It’s been hectic. So hectic that I needed a little getaway to clear my mind and reset.

I went to Punta Cana with my girls and had an amazing time, got to reconnect with myself and got some sleep..but I didn’t make the decision to go lightly. Yes I’m still nursing and pumping, so that was a huge factor..I’m also co-sleeping so I was really anxious about Meatball waking up scared without mami. After mulling it over, my babysitter aka my mami convinced me to go and took care of meatball for the weekend. After the decision was made, I had to go into planning mode…what does a nursing mom take with her on vacation? Where does she pump? How does she store the milk?

Luckily for the first leg of my trip was short so I didn’t have to pump, I made sure I nursed meatball right before I left for the airport. Once I got to my destination, I set up shop with my Medela Pump In Style Advanced and pumped. I froze my milk, but sadly that milk and almost all of my stash ended up a casualty of airport security. Note…you CANNOT transport liquids even if it’s your own breast milk so I had to toss my stash. I was super pissed but I also didn’t want to get kicked out of the airport (yikes!)

Back to my pumping…I had to do it often and though I did have a nice hotel room to do it in…the real tricky part came when I found myself on a plane with very engorged breasts. So what did I do? Simple..I had no choice but to pump, so I asked the flight attendant if I could pump in the plane bathroom and she said yes. I have to say it wasn’t a prime pumping spot, but it was more than adequate. The bathrooms on Jet Blue are quite clean and as spacious as I’ve seen (for a plane toilet). I was able to pump out 8 ounces, clean up and go back to my seat in 10 minutes. When I was done the flight attendant asked me if I needed to refrigerate my milk or if I needed anything else. They even offered to move my seat to an aisle for easier access to the bathroom. The attention from the crew was AWESOME. They were very nice and accommodating, and because of that I am making sure to fly Jet Blue whenever I can!

So was traveling as a pumping mom annoying…yes…but was it unmanageable? NO. So far I can say I’ve pumped on a train, plane and automobile! Ha ha! Proud member of the Mile High Pumping Mami Club!

 

 

International Pumping Day

Hi mamis…pumping mamis!!

Today is International Pumping Day! Oh the joy! You all know I have a love/hate relationship with pumping, but it’s nice to know there is an international day of recognition for it!

So today, on my way home from work (as I carry my milk with me) I’ll buy myelf a little token of appreciation 🙂

Join me if you’re a pumping mami!!!

Have a great afternoon mamis 🙂

Pump those tatas!