Mother Nature has finally released her iron-fisted clutch on winter. I was honestly starting to think that it would never end. Imagine, a year of winter. Crime, suicide and mortality rates would without a doubt skyrocket. 12 months of snow, ice and cold. The thought of it is making me nauseous. I once told my husband I would love to go live up North for a while–Iqaluit type stuff. After spending most of my winter bitching about winter, I now seriously doubt that will ever happen.

This year, Montreal received nearly 400cm of snow (thats about 158 inches for you Imperialists) over 86 days of precipitation from November to April. That’s 67 cm (26 inches) of snow a month, or about 2.2 cm (1 inch) of snow a day! Getting around the city in a stroller was an extreme challenge. So, on a lot of days, we just vegetated at home.

You can understand then my enthusiasm when yesterday I went for a walk on dry, clear sidewalks and without toque or mitts or scarves. It lifted my spirit. I felt really, really HAPPY. We deserve a warm and sunny spring . Mother Nature–bring it on!

This week my husband had a one-week training course in Ottawa. Seeing as my son and I were not busy, I decided it would be fun to join him mid-week. There is the possibility that we might end up moving there in the coming year and although I have been to the Ottawa/Gatineau region before (this the the Canadian national capital for you less geographically inclined folks), I never really looked at it from an I-might-live-here-someday perspective. It was an enlightening experience, but certainly not one that left me feeling happy about an impending move. Dear God, let me stay in Montreal!

First, my husband and I decided that we were Quebeckers and that we did not want to live on the Ontario side. In any case, we couldn’t really afford anything there but a trailer park home. Basically what the region boils down to is horrible urban planning. There is a dead-after-five downtown core because no one lives where they work, and that is surrounded by suburbia. I hate the suburbs. I hate having to take my car to go anywhere. I like being able to walk to shops and grocery stores and bakeries and what-not. I don’t want to have to drive to WalMart or Zellers or Loblaws. Give me the country or the the city–but please, nothing in between.

So we drove around for a couple of hours to see what our options would be. Good friends of ours who live in the region told us to check out two great places. (They have been living there for 7 years now and are dying to get OUT–how encouraging is that?). One is the town of Chelsea (less suburban, more country). It is nice, even very nice, but too far for my husband to bike to work (he would be working in the dead-after-five downtown core). He doesn’t want to be home late. He prefers family over work and doesn’t want to spend hours every day commuting. Fair enough. Brownie points for Daddy, no points for Chelsea. Then there is one area in a town called Aylmer that is about 10 blocks cool. It’s not that close to the dead-after-five downtown core, but doable with a bike. Prices are higher but not so much that we couldn’t afford a little something. Nonetheless, I am kind of depressed about the whole thing. I never realized how much I loved my life here in Montreal until I discovered how I disliked the Ottawa region.

I am guilty. I am an antisuburbanite.

Before I got pregnant, before I was even serious enough to consider getting pregnant, I thought that breastfeeding a 2-year old was, well, weird. I thought that any Mom who breastfed her child for that long must have issues with letting go and that for sure, that “kid” will grow up with some problems. Boy oh boy, if I could go back in time, I would probably slap myself upside the head and give myself a huge lecture on the benefits of extended breastfeeding–not just for the baby, but for the Mommy too.

Now that I am a breastfeeding Mommy, I can’t imagine my relationship being any different with my son. As a friend mentioned on a forum I belong to, it’s not like you wake up one morning and you are nursing a toddler. The transition is gradual…you think that nursing a 2 (or 3, or 4) year-old is inconceivable, until it just gradually happens. Nursing my almost 20-month old toddler, I could not agree more. It’s not weird, it’s not disgusting, it’s not child abuse. It’s nourishing. It’s comforting. It’s normal and natural. Not to mention the most brilliant mothering/parenting tool I am aware of.

According to kellymom’s researched sources, extended breastfeeding has been shown to benefit toddlers nutritionally, toddlers are sick less often, have fewer allergies, are smart and socially well-adjusted. The benefits to the mother include a reduction in the incidence of breast, ovarian, uterine and endometrial cancer. So what’s the problem?

Breasts have been so “sexualized” in western society that as babies become walking and talking toddlers, breastfeeding somehow evolves into something almost perverse. Any breastfeeding mother knows this is pure rubbish! It is ironic that most people don’t oject to children sucking their fingers, pacifiers, or bottles past infancy.

Historically, and presently in many countries, breastfeeding past the magic 12 months is not considered “extended”–it’s simply “normal”. I believe that if more people understood the benefits of extended breastfeeding beyond 12 months, cultural change might lead to its acceptance in Western society.

NOTE: I am very much aware that not every woman makes the choice to breastfeed her children. This is not a personal attack to those women. This is my personal view on the benefits of extended breastfeeding.

MommyKnows and www.thebabymarketplace.com (a great place to shop for baby and toddler clothes) are hosting the Ugly Fish Organics Strum Something Tee Giveaway.Go on over and comment and be entered to Win one of two Ugly Fish Organics Strum Something Tees.

In the New World of parenthood, thousands of items are being touted as “essential” to having a baby, but garbage and junk aside, the most essential item is without a doubt a baby sling. The benefits of babywearing cannot be denied. The variety of slings, wraps and carriers available make it near impossible not to find the perfect babywearing device for your situation. I must also mention that once adopted, babywearing becomes addictive. I have 6 baby carriers. Two wraps, one mei tei, one ring sling, and two framed carriers. And yes, I use them all.

So what benefits are we talking about here. According to Dr. Sears, some of these benefits include babies crying less, babies learn more, are smarter, are more organized, and are humanized earlier. While all of these benefits are wonderful, the greatest benefit for me was the functional/practical aspect of wearing my baby. I could nurse (discretely) and live hands-free while doing other things. Not to mention that our son had colics for the first two and half months of his life and the wrap literally saved us. When my son was 4 weeks old, my best friend got married and I was determined to go. I carried my son in a sling almost the whole evening and got more complements about the fabric of the wrap I was wearing than the clothes I was wearing underneath! He slept and nursed all evening while I ate a nice meal, chatted and even danced.

How to start? It first seems mighty overwhelming. There are so many slings, wraps and different types of carriers available. What this means however is that there is the perfect carrier for you. Determine your needs first and remember that some carriers are so versatile they can be used for front, back, side carry as well as for nursing, sleeping and just plain wearing when you are busy and need your two hands. Googling “babywearing” returns hundreds of websites. My favourite by far is this site.

There is nothing more natural and ancient than carrying our babies to give them the comfort, nurturing and love they need. Give it a try, you’ll wonder how you ever did without.