Quinny Zapp Xtra disaster!

The other night Henry and I were walking home along the same route that we have taken hundreds of times before. He was in his pushchair and it was still light out. We got to the car park by the pool when I went to cross the street and hit a tiny pot hole. Henry's pram completely toppled over- landing him on his cute little face and me on top of him. It was HORRIFYING. I couldn't get up for some reason. I think my bag was caught on the pram and when I finally got to my feet, I couldn't get the damn pram back to upright because it is so top heavy. UGH. My little boy was lying on the ground with his face smashed into the road and I COULDN'T GET HIM UP. He was screaming... it probably lasted all of ten seconds but it seemed like ten minutes.

I finally got the pram back to it's upright position and I saw the ground first. It was covered in blood. My heart sank and I started to panic. Then I got to Henry and saw that his entire face was streaming blood- out his nose and his mouth and all over his white jumper. I managed to get him unbuckled and threw the pram and my bag out of the road. I had NO idea what to do next. Luckily I was in front of the chemist and one of the men ran outside to help me. He told me to go across the street to the minor injuries unit. Thank goodness we were RIGHT there. I ran over with him and just stopped at the reception and started bawling. The receptionist was amazing and got us a seat and called the nurse out immediately. She checked him over to make sure that his teeth were all there and then told me I could feed him (my boob was out and ready!!) thank goodness. He latched on immediately through his swollen lip and bleeding nose. The boobs saved the day. He fed and fed and fed. I had both boobs out and didn't care who saw. I let him feed in whatever position he wanted, including standing in front of me. No one said anything but positive comments about how great it was I could comfort him and how amazing boobs are!! It turned out that he put his teeth through his lip and smashed up his face but nothing was broken and he's ok two days later!!! He ate a banana an hour later and slept through the night. Mummy didn't!!!

I just want to say that the Quinny Zapp Xtra is one of the worst prams I have used. This was not the first time that the pram almost tipped over. The wheels are TINY and have no suspension and therefore no give if you run into a pothole or a bump in the road. I have a few friends who have mentioned since this incident that they had similar times when this same thing *almost* happened. I can't get the image of my poor child lying in the middle of the road with his pram on top of him. It still makes me sick to think about it. I do not want this to happen to anyone else. I just bought a four wheeled pram with suspension. There is no way I can ever use that pram again and I don't recommend it to anyone.

                                                                Henry, that night.

      Henry today! He looks SO much better! Thanks to boob, some ibuprofen and lots of arnica gel :)

KEYS

We get the keys tomorrow!! We get the keys tomorrow!!! I am SO excited to be able to see the inside of my new house again. FINALLY!!! I need to start measuring and decorating. I am so happy that this has been taken off hold and I can move forward.

I am 17 weeks along now and baby is starting to move fairly often. I just want to get the 20 week scan over and done with so I can know that baby is doing well.

I will post pics of the new place as soon as possible so we can do a before and after comparison! 

NEW HOUSE!

We are FINALLY going to exchange on our new house! I have been waiting for this since late September and was hoping to move while I still had a relatively small belly. It looks like it'll be two weeks from now and I am so excited about the prospect of having my very own house to decorate as I'd like.

I am also excited about spring time in the country and having our own garden and hopefully our own allotment.  I know this summer might not be the most productive with a two year old running around a new baby, but I would love to do some planting.

So, I will post pictures as soon as I can from the new house. There are some walls that need stripping and painting and some flooring I would like to re-do but other than that, we should be able to move right in. I better start packing and getting rid of stuff that we just don't need anymore (my favourite thing!!)

sick!!!

Agh, what is up with 2012? I started off so positive and then insomnia and now this terrible virus has hit me. I am out of bed for the first time in THREE days. Philip has been amazing and he stayed home with Henry while I have tried everything to make this GO AWAY!

I think I am coming out on the other side- finally.

I will write more when I feel better. 

lots of stuff to think about

Today has been a hippy pregnancy/ mother day. I went to my local LLL meeting so I could discuss becoming a leader with the woman who helped me conquer my nursing challenges with little Henry at a few months old. While I was there, I met a woman who just gave birth to her first baby and used hypnobirthing. She raved about it and after looking into it further, it is definitely something I want to do! I am really hoping that with even more knowledge and a brilliant support system, I will be able to achieve the birth I dreamt about with Henry.

I also borrowed a book all about nursing while pregnant and tandem nursing which I plan to read tonight! I need to get as much information as I can so I can be fully prepared when the next baby shows up :).

I also slept last night but am still tired due to the other nights of little to no sleep. Henry refused his nap today so he's in bed at 6:30 p.m. I hope it doesn't backfire and he's not awake at 4:00 a.m! I took a bath in epsom salts and listened to some hypnosis on my iPhone especially for sleep. It worked. Thank goodness.

On that note, I am exhausted and going to read my book until it's a decent time for me to sleep. Nighty night.

insomnia

Insomnia whilst pregnant and nursing a 17 month old is no joke. It sucks and makes for one tired and CRANKY mama. That is all. I am too tired to write anything else.

It's going to take me a while.

So, I got out of bed at 8:30 today! woo. Henry slept 7:30- 7:30 and I went to bed at 10:30. I woke up like 100 times but I am so surprised with Henry!

Instead of lying around nursing all morning I stuck to my motivation resolution and got out of bed, made us porridge and went to visit a friend. My plan was to come home and have Henry nap while I made our pizza dough for dinner and then had a little rest myself.

Henry had other ideas. He REFUSED to nap. Even after an hour of nursing, rocking, patting and begging- the answer was still NO! Cue a bad mood for mama. I mean, this is my first day of getting out of bed at 8:30 and I slept like crap last night. I wanted a good hour to myself. I can't believe how tired I am and I am hoping that bodes well for a night of actual sleep?

I at least feel accomplished for sticking to my goal. I just wish I wasn't in such a bad mood with the little man. Only 3.5 hours until Daddy is home. Watch me count the minutes! 

New Years and some new thoughts

It's been a while since the last post. I had to go off my diet and I am still very sad about it. I am pregnant though and my cravings and morning sickness took precedence over any diet I was supposed to be following.

I am VERY happy to say that I am coming out of the other side of the first trimester and am feeling so well compared to the last eight or so weeks. As a result, I am hoping to be able to go back to some semblance of the diet I was on. I am LOVING starches though and I don't see that going anytime soon. I will try to cut back my bagel habit out because I am fully aware of the effect it is having on my skin and my energy.

I am in the middle of a really good book that is changing the way I think about eating. It is called The Slow Down Diet and it is written by Mark David. It's brilliant and I am looking forward to putting his eight metabolic enhancers into practise. It seems totally doable when pregnant which is more than I can say for any other diet I have thought about.

It's not really a diet so I think that's why it's resonating with me at the moment. It speaks to me because it basically says what I kind of already knew but in an organised and well thought out, scientific manner. It talks about breathing properly, slowing down when eating, eating during the day instead of at night and eating good quality foods. I knew all of that but I NEVER do it. Plus, he makes it sound so good and so important that I feel compelled to do it.

Another exciting development in my life is that I have given up facebook- COLD TURKEY. My addiction was ridiculous. I was spending up to 10 hours a day on there. WHAT?? When I think of what I could accomplish during that time, it makes me sick. Even if I spent that time reading a book or blogging, it's better than mindlessly refreshing the page looking to see who hates Mondays or is mad that it's snowing. I'll miss sharing updates about Henry but if I get off of facebook, I might actually have something to update.

I am really hoping to find my energy and motivation. It has been gone for so long and it's not fair to Henry. Especially if I am going to be adding another lovely baby to the family. I need to get my s**t together! So I will blog my progress so if anyone cares can read it and you can cheer me on :)

I wish everyone a happy new year and I hope that this year will be a wonderful one for all of us!

SHINGLES?!?! WTF?!?!

Ah, I have shingles! Awful. They suck and I only have them mildly BUT they are on my eye.

I am pretty sure that it's because of the detox. There is no other reason for it. SO I am upping my veggies even more with red peppers, garlic and parsely in my salad to boost the immune system.

I am also using some homeopathic remedies and putting breast milk in my eye. It seems to be working. I am trying really hard not to use any anti viral medications because that's the very stuff I am detoxing from. Those and the anti biotics.

So I will let you know how I get on. So far, so good. I am getting some well deserved rest tonight and Daddy is on Henry duty for middle of the night feeds. I am hoping the detox is nearly over so my immune system bolsters itself and fights this horrible stuff off!! 

Day 5

ok- so the cravings are slightly less. I definitely need to up my veggie intake. All I have been eating is protein and more protein. I am starting to feel better. It's a weird feeling because I don't think I have ever felt well. I have always been sluggish and sleepy. Last night I slept well and today I feel clearer mentally. My stomach isn't bloated and I've lost 2.5 lbs in 5 days! I was at a meeting today where they had sausage rolls, quiches, chocolate cake and fruit juice and although I was starving, I wasn't tempted to cheat at all.

I know this diet is working already. I have never been able to say that before. I am excited to see what's going to happen next! :) 

Day 3.

UGH. I want want want sugar. I want it now!!! I can't stomach the idea of eating anything green so I have been living off of butternut squash, eggs, unsmoked bacon, lemon juice and water, quinoa, yeast free Rye bread and limited potatoes. I need to eat some green veg because I know I need the vitamins.

I would kill for a shot glass of fruit juice right now OR a chocolate chip! haha. I know that this will subside in a few days and my taste buds will actually change but right now it's hard.

My energy is kind of crap at the moment (even more crap than normal). I feel REALLY fuzzy headed and just want to go to bed right now (it's 8:15 p.m.). Thank goodness mum is here to help with Henry as it's the weekend because I just don't have it in me to entertain him at the moment.

The one good thing is that I find that I really think about food now before I eat it. Since there is nothing to eat that I am craving- I just don't eat. Normally after dinner I would eat a bowl of ice cream or have something chocolatey no matter how full I was. I do feel hungry all of the time but I think it's in my head.

Let's hope this clears in a few a days!!!! Thanks for the support :)

the herbalist and the diet.

So I went to the herbalist today and she confirmed what I thought; I have a candida issue. Basically it's when the yeast in your body mutates to its fungal form and creates havoc. Utter havoc.

I have been symptomatic for my whole life- as long as I can remember. It stems from eating a poor diet, taking antibiotics and being on birth control. The symptoms for me are: damaged thyroid, obesity, lethargy, exhaustion, thrush, fuzzy head, and a rampant skin condition. Fun.

So I went to see the herbalist today and she did some crazy Kinesthology stuff and basically found that I have a major candida issue but also have issues with dairy. The result: I am going to have to give up A LOT of food. I know I should focus on what I can eat and the positive results that will happen but I am still a little daunted by the list of foods that I simply can't eat- at least for a while.

Right now I am eating a takeaway pizza and drinking some elderflower cordial. It's my last supper if you will. As of tomorrow I will no longer be able to eat: wheat, dairy, seeds, nuts, fruit, SUGAR, alcohol, anything fermented, or anything with yeast.

WOW. So I will be eating meat, eggs, fish, vegetables, (no sweet potatoes!!! ahhhh), brown rice (in moderation), potatoes (in limited moderation), and quinoa.

Hopefully my energy levels should show up finally on this diet and obviously the weight will fall off. Those are the two motivators. I will update on my progress because I really want to keep track of how my body responds to this. Hopefully some of you will want to know as well :)

Right, off to bed!! 

Gluten free and Nourishing Traditions

It's been a while. I was home for 6 weeks and then I needed a little time to settle in back in the UK. While I was in the States, I tried my very best to eat well but found that it was extremely difficult to succeed. The cost of food out there is RIDICULOUS. I was in shock. To be honest, it wasn't even that great of quality either. So, I am VERY happy to be back in the UK and in the garden of England.


As a result of overindulging in American food, my skin condition (hidradenitis suppurativa) has gone completely awry. I was in agony due to the heat and the food overloading my system. I have now taken it upon myself to do some research into various causes for the disease and it seems that it is likely an autoimmune response to gluten and other not so nutritious foods that most people eat on a daily basis.

So I have decided to go gluten free and revamp my eating habits using recipes from the book, Nourishing Traditions. I will blog my journey through the recipes. The difficult part is not being able to eat any wheat flours. I find myself overwhelmed with the 6 different kinds of flour you use instead of just using wheat flour. I am not a terrific baker anyway and feel that I will never be able to accomplish baking again!

The first recipe I chose from the book was beef stock because it didn't involve any flour and is essential to a lot of the other recipes in the book. I must admit that I am very squeamish when it comes to animal bones but I got over it pretty quickly thanks to my lovely butcher offering to saw them up to fit in my stock pot. The end result is pretty tasty and according to the book is full of minerals and gelatin and all sorts of lovely fats that will help my body heal from the traditional modern diet.

I am also giving up refined sugar. I am trying to get my sweet tooth under control. It had free reign in America and I am paying for it with unbearable sugar cravings.

So, I have been gluten free for a week as of today. I have lost 6 pounds. I am still undergoing the detoxing and therefore am a bit lethargic and my skin is breaking out a lot. I have been told that it can take months for the skin to heal. I am more than willing to do this if my skin will get under control. I have learned so much from reading the book about the things we put into our bodies without even realising the effects they can have on it.

I will keep you all posted on how my journey is going and I will take some pictures along the way with my fancy new camera! My next recipe is to make cream cheese and whey from biodynamic yogurt. Whey is another essential ingredient in a lot of the recipes in the book. Lactofermenting really freaks me out but I am willing to give it a go! :)

it's been 2 months.

Agh, where does the time go? Seriously? I have been away from here for the last two months because I was busy writing the newsletter for the national charity that I am involved with. It is becoming a bit all encompassing and I am looking forward to the six week holiday I will be taking to go home at the end of June. 

For the first time in three years, I will be staying at my childhood house. I haven't really lived there since 2003 and it will be very strange to once again be living there. I have always avoided it because it reminds me too much of my Mom and it made me sad. I think that with the counselling I have received this year, it will be a good thing to go back and face my fears and sadness. I am slowly emerging from this hole that I have been surrounding myself with for the past nearly nine years. It is hard, so hard, to come to grips with the fact that I need to let my mother's hold over me go. I held onto it in fear that if I did let go then I would lose her somehow- that that piece of her would be gone forever. Becoming a mother has really showed me that I am my own person and that it's ok to not always wonder what my mother would think about my life. 

Today is her birthday so I guess she is on my mind. I had no intentions of writing something so serious when I opened up this page. 

On a lighter note, I am really excited to be able to be home for a longer period of time. I can't believe that it's nearly Henry's birthday. I can't believe how far we have come in a year. This time last year I had no idea how all encompassing raising a child would be. I also had no idea how much love a person can have for another human being. I can't imagine my life without Henry. It is surreal to think that there was a time when I didn't know him. I am so glad he chose me to be his mummy. 

I also am hoping to get a new camera when I am home this summer so I can properly document his life. These random iPhone shots just aren't doing him any justice.

It's easy being green.

So what if I stole my title from Bethany's photo album on facebook- I like it :)

The truth is that it IS easy (and cheap) to be green. My newest obession is soap nuts and they are both cheap and easy to use. These things are amazing. They are the dried fruit of the soap nut tree and they contain a substance called saponin. This magical saponin cleans things: everything to be exact.

The first thing I did was throw 6 nuts into the muslin bag provided and wash my laundry as normal. (It was just my sheets so I didn't really care how they came out.) They came out clean but there was no smell which I found highly unnerving so I went for a walk and bought some lemongrass essential oil. I then learned all about grinding soap nuts into a powder and putting them into a sock with the essential oils. I also added 2T of vinegar and 2T of baking soda to the drawer. My clothes came out AMAZINGLY clean and smelled nice too. The soap nuts even got the nappies clean and soft!! yay! :)

The next thing I decided to do was to make the soap nut liquid. You take 15 or so soap nuts and boil them in a litre of water for 30 minutes or so (I use spring water as I have yucky hard water which ruins everything). You then strain the soap nuts and are left with a golden soapy liquid! This can be used to clean your surfaces, be made into a shampoo or hand soap. My only issue is that I like suds and this liquid doesn't sud. Therefore, I am going to buy a foaming soap pump for my shampoo and hand soap. I must say that the liquid got my hair much cleaner than the baking soda fiasco from a few weeks ago! I also froze a lot of the liquid into cubes that I will be able to use as laundry detergent. I simply pop 3-4 cubes into the drum and then add my vinegar and baking soda combination!

My other "green" obsession is coconut oil. This needs to be the refined coconut oil. It is a but pricy but you can use it for EVERYTHING. I use it as my moisturiser (it smells AMAZING) and I have made toothpaste out of it. (Coconut oil + baking soda + peppermint oil = toothpaste!) I also cook with and eat the coconut oil. It tastes amazing when I make chicken korma. I throw two tablespoons into my smoothies to make it creamy and coconutty! It's awesome. It is supposed to help you lose weight as well so it's a win-win situation!

So at the moment, the only chemicals I use are the ones in my makeup and I use that sparingly. I need to find some good, chemical free makeup. Does anyone have any suggestions??

update

So apparently no poo + hard water = HELL for your hair. UGH. Stupid hard water!!!! So, I am ordering some soap nuts and am going to make shampoo out of that. Now I am waiting for them to arrive. I am still no poo on everything else but the shampoo and conditioner. They are both JASON which I thought was super great since there is no sodium laureth sulfate but on Skin Deep it got a 6 which is pretty hazardous. UGH.

I will update when I get my soap nuts. I plan on using them for EVERYTHING :).

NO POO

Alrighty, I am on day two of being "poo" free. and my hair is a GREASY mess right now with the detox going on. UGH. For those of you that have no idea what I am talking about; let me explain.  I have stopped using any chemicals in the shower. (I am working on the makeup...) I have started washing my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar.

So far, so greasy. It apparently takes your body a while to adjust to this no poo routine. While you use shampoos, you strip your hair of its natural oils. Your scalp then overproduces oils to make up for this. When you stop using shampoo, you need a bit of time for your body to figure out what's going on and stop producing all the excess oils. Hence my pony tail and greasy mess of a head even when I have just stepped out of the shower. I can't wait until the promised time comes when I will have beautiful hair that needs to be washed once a week. Ahhhhhh I am dreaming of it right now!

I am also not using toothpaste anymore. I am making my own with coconut oil, baking soda and peppermint essential oil. It works great. I am also making a body scrub with olive oil and brown sugar. (I have been doing this one for years as I just love olive oil on my skin!) I just read about a face wash with olive oil and castor oil. You mix the two together and apply it to your face. Then you get a hot wash cloth and just steam the oils and wipe away at the end of a minute. I will let you know how I get on with this one.

It seems as I have jumped off the deep end but I just can't stand spending loads of money on those so called "natural" body products that don't even work that well. I have been spending £5.99 for shampoo for the last year. It still has some pretty nasty stuff in it. I ran out of shampoo this week so decided to take the plunge! I also love the satisfaction of using every day things to make products that work really well; I feel so self sufficient!! I plan on using these on Henry as well so that this is the norm and he doesn't have to "de-tox" at the age of 29. It makes me cringe to think about all of the chemicals I have exposed myself to over the years (hello- smoking cigarettes?!?!?! yuck!)

So- I will keep you updated on my no poo transition. If you have any questions, I have lots of links bookmarked! And if you see me- yes I have showered today ;)

babywearing

Firstly, I have taken a look at my life and realised that I am on the internet WAY TOO MUCH. I have cut down to one hour at night and occasionally during the day if Henry is asleep and all my "chores" are done. So I may not be around as much.

Secondly, I just read a brilliant article on babywearing and I would like to write a post about it. I am OBSESSED with wearing my child. I love everything about it. I don't remember how I came to decide when I was pregnant that I wanted to wear my baby but I know that at 17 weeks pregnant I bought my first wrap.

We all know that my birth was less than ideal. I had a slow physical recovery and could barely walk for the first few weeks. As a result, I used my stroller/pushchair/pram (whatever you want to call it!). I was gutted that I couldn't just pop the wrap on and go. I bought a cheap, second hand pram off of eBay because I knew deep down inside that using a pram just wasn't going to be my style.

I entered my postpartum days with a hybrid wrap called a "papoozle" made in Scotland by the Tots Bots company. I also bought an Ergo second hand at the recommendation of my friend. The papoozle didn't offer my newborn enough support and the Ergo felt too open and stiff for him. So I bought my beloved Moby wrap and it was love at first wrap. I used this wrap nearly every day for six months. I wore him at home when he was fussy and out for walks. I wore him when we went out to dinner or to the pub. He went everywhere with me and was always so happy and calm. I liked having my hands free and my baby within kissing distance. The Moby and I were a match made in heaven.

I decided that I wanted to try a few other kinds of carriers and bought a cheap mei tai and a babasling. Neither of them did it for me the way the Moby did. I knew though, that eventually Henry was going to get too heavy for me to use the Moby so I planned ahead and bought a Didymos woven wrap. Oh my goodness. This wrap is like a diamond for most women. My husband bought it for me on my birthday trip to Germany. It cost about £100 (more than my engagement ring!!! haha) and is way more than I would normally spend on anything baby-related but I am not ready to stop wearing him!

Two weeks ago the inevitable happened. I was about to leave my house and little Mr. Strong Baby took both of his shoulders and got himself out of the wrap. That was the end of the Moby. It was such a sad day for me. I then pulled out the didymos and had a go. The learning curve for woven wraps is a bit intimidating as you need to actually hold the baby and wrap the wrap around him BUT this leads to an amazingly tight and sturdy carry. It is brilliant. He is so secure and so happy in it and my back feels much better!! :)

So back to the article that I read today. It is great! It validates how I have felt about carrying my baby. I will include it at the end but just wanted to mention why I like it so much. As a babywearer you sometimes get some rude looks or comments. A few of my favourites are: "You are ruining his spine by wearing him like that. There is not enough support." OR "He is squished in there- poor child."I would like to print this article out and read it to them. I also encountered a lot of strange looks from my family members when I was home for Christmas. They soon understood when Henry would drift happily to sleep or calm right down in it. He has been in his pram a few times. Daddy and Grammie usually take him out in it and when I don't have any trousers washed and need to wear a dress- he goes in the pram! (Luckily it doesn't happen too often).

So, have a read of the article. Babywearing is an amazing bonding experience that I hope to continue for as long as possible.

Awesome babywearing article. It takes you to the middle of the article. You need to scroll up :)

Here are some pictures of me, Daddy and Grandpa wearing Henry!

Moby

Ergo

Grandpa with the Ergo

Daddy with the Ergo

Moby

Didymos hip carry

Information overload Part II.

Ok- the other one was getting wordy but this is actually the original topic I wanted to write about so thought it would be better to give it its own post. 

It all boils down to the fact that there is so much information available to us. I am a member of a website called babycenter. It's basically a big chat room type site with different groups to suit your needs. I started looking around on there and found all of these "crunchy" and hippy mama groups. This was so up my ally and I started to go nuts researching all of the different ways I can make my life more natural. I also found myself joining all of these natural parenting pages on facebook. These pages give you links to visit or links for other blogs that give you even more links to visit and so on. It's endless. The information is literally endless and I am overwhelmed. 

Just for fun I will tell you about my internet searches for the day. They are in no order, just what I can remember. (Don't forget refreshing babycenter and facebook all day...)

* I am recovering from the stomach flu so I was searching ways to naturally cure diarrhea. (fun times).

* I bought some Dr. Bronner's soap so was researching just how to use it, which then led me to amazon.co.uk looking for Dr. Bronner's hair conditioner.

* I was on amazon.co.uk looking for coconut oil which then led me to look up how to use the coconut oil again.

* I was looking up how to make a natural bathroom cleaner which led me to look up natural laundry detergent and information about soap nuts.

* I was looking up how to go "poo free" which then led me to look up natural cosmetics and then information about how to make my hard water soft.

* I was looking up organic babyfood and what Henry should be eating which then led me to a thyorid diet which then led me to want to eat only locally grown vegetables and things in season... 

The problem is that I will go onto babycenter or something similar and realise that I am no where near natural enough and then overload myself with information on how to make myself more natural. The other issue with babycenter or the leakyboob or those sites is that I want to help my fellow mamas so I am on there trying my best! Plus my real life friends need me too!

Then there is the issue of my facebook pages. I love them- don't get me wrong, but they are constantly giving me new things to think about and articles to read. So then I research about circumcision or vaccinations or something esle. It's endless people and it's overhwelming. Part of me longs for the days of reading a book at my Mom's house while she shake and baked some pork chops and then cleaned up with fantastic spray. I, of course, want to live better BUT it sure is information overload out there.

Then there is the problem of the fact that my husband and I are sitting here side by side with him on his stupid iPad and me on my laptop with the telly going in the background. What kind of example are we setting for Henry? I think I am going to have to impose some sort of information and technology de-tox. 

I want to do so many life and diet de-toxes that I just don't even know where to begin... ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

Information overload Part I.

Somedays I really just want to shut down my iPhone or my laptop. It is amazing how dependent I have become on having the internet at my fingertips. As recently as 2005 I was still checking my e-mail at school because I was too poor to afford the internet at home. 

I used to happily log on to MySpace and then facebook to see what my friends were up to, then check my email and occasionally check the weather. That was it. I moved on from there to paying all of my bills online and getting my bank statements e-mailed to me. From there I started buying and selling things on amazon.com and using google instead of an encyclopedia. Even this amount of use was acceptable. I had a PC at the time so I had to be home and sitting at my desk. I worked full time and was still a student so I didn't have a lot of free time. 

Then I moved away from home and the facebook addiction started. I was on there constantly as I didn't have very many friends here in the UK and desparately missed my life back home.  I also had a laptop for the first time in my life and was able to be online and in my bed! Then I learned about multiple tabs and would seach the internet for lesson plans, news at home, anything else besides doing actual work- all while being on facebook. This was pretty bad but the pinnacle of my internet addiction was when I got my BELOVED iPhone. 

Oh iPhone, how you have changed my life. I no longer need to turn the telly on or a read a book when I can't sleep and wake up my husband. I no longer need two hands to search the internet while nursing my baby. (It really did save my life while nursing though...) I am on my phone all. the. time. I can use it everywhere. I no longer need to wonder about anything because together my iPhone and google can answer all of life's great questions. 

The problem is that I am a curious person by nature. I like to research EVERYTHING. It got really bad when I found out I was pregnant. I would sit there for hours researching every pregnancy symptom known to man. Then I needed to look up things to buy for the baby. Then I needed to research all about cloth nappies. Then I joined babycenter and was on there talking to other moms-to-be about our daily problems. It's only gotten progressively worse since I had the baby. I wonder where I find the time to even go online. I am up way after he goes to sleep just sitting here seeing if people are going to tell me about their dinner or work that day. It's becoming a serious problem... I honestly think I am addicted to the internet. I can't imagine a day without it. This is a serious problem and one that I am hoping clears up when the weather becomes better and I can go outside. If not- I might need to fast!