Heather Bays: children

Showing posts with label children. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Summer Mini Session Event

I am having a SUMMER MINI SESSION EVENT from August 8th to the 12th! Click the photo below for more info!

Not only that, but, I am trying to get to 200 fans on my photography fanpage:

www.facebook.com/HeatherBaysPhotography
If I make it to 200 fans by the end of the month of July, I will be GIVING AWAY one mini session for FREE!!! Woohoo!! So, if you've been meaning to get portraits of your family, or kids, or yourself or with your partner or friend or even your pets, then here's your opportunity! Come like my page! And if you really love me, then please, share the news too!
Thanks,
Heather!!

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Teen Moms Shouldn't Be Glorified.

Okay, I know that I just started my first period after having a baby and having gone 15 months without it, but this show "16 and Pregnant" angers the shit out of me!!! How could ANYONE think it's okay to make a shows called "16 and pregnant" and "Teen Mom" and be okay filming the trashiest and worst child parents parent this way!!??? And don't we have laws about child labour? These wee babies and toddlers are technically working, they are being filmed for TV! For money making purposes! How is it possible that there have been movies or shows or music videos or even songs that get banned from public, but THESE ones, yes THESE ones are a keeper?! This is outrageous!
http://ca.jezebel.com/5796167/did-16--pregnant-star-get-knocked-up-to-be-on-tv?skyline=true&s=i
I just can't believe that there are people out there who would glorify teen pregnancy. I don't have TV and I even know about these shows! I see and hear about them on the internet (that link is the perfect example.) I see these teens and their tots on the covers of magazines when I'm waiting to pay for groceries at the supermarket. These girls have been modelled the same way Lindsay Lohan is and Paris Hilton and Miss Spears. You're fooling yourself if you think this isn't glorifying it! I know they claim to show people the struggles that teen moms go through, but the fact that there are for sure girls out there that would get pregnant just for a chance to be on these shows tell me that the people behind these shows aren't doing their job. And what parent would LET their child BE ON these shows in the first place? Should I even bother asking, lol?! The problems in these children's lives, both the wee children and the teen children, are not problems to be aired on TV for the purpose of a reality TV show, ESPECIALLY when the consequences are so REAL! I hate television!!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Cloth Diapering Mum!

We have gone cloth! Yep! The best decision ever. We ordered a bunch of AMP diapers after much research, trying to decide how I wanted my cloth diapering system to work. Thanks to our families and a dear friends Mum (one of the coolest Mum's around) we had enough money to buy them which makes this the ultimate gift. We have been using them for almost 2 weeks now and it's SUPER easy and I just LOVE the diapers, they leak far less then disposables and are WAY cuter and so fashionable, lol. Seriously, check out the colours!!

We ordered 20 bamboo inserts, 5 of each size of the microfibre inserts, and 21 of the one size pocket diapers in all different colours that fit babies from 7lbs to 35lbs. I cut up a bunch of soft cotton fabric in squares about the size of my hand to use and wiping cloths. I have a spray bottle and I filled it with water, olive oil, vinegar and baby soap.

I got the recipe from the AMP diapers site:
2 Cups of previously boiled water
1 Tbsp of baby shampoo or baby wash
1 tsp of cooking oil or baby oil (we prefer cooking oil such as canola or olive oil)
1 Tbsp Vinegar (anti fungal)
Pour over wipes in an old wipe container or a similar plastic container of your choice.

Cloth diapers are much easier then I imagined. With what I ordered it seems I can go 4 or 5 days before having to do laundry. My system is something like this...I will fold a bamboo inserts in 3 on the short side (they are rectangular) and lay it on the diaper, this way when I change her I can reuse the diaper if it's not soiled and just throw the soiled insert in the diaper pail bag. And sometimes I will stuff the diaper with a microfibre insert if we'll be playing or going out because they seem really soft and cushy that way and it's much easier and quicker to deal with when you're out...you just throw your diaper in the wet bag instead of the garbage. Here's a short video:

When it comes to laundry day, I just throw both of the pail liner bags in to the front loader and do a cold rinse and then add 1/8 of a teaspoon of Allen's natural laundry soap and do a hot wash. Then I throw the clean diapers in the dryer with 2 clean dry towels (to shorten drying time.) Ta-da! That's it. It sure beats going to the shops and spending like $20 a week on a pack of diapers and lugging them home, only to collect bags of dirty diapers which then end up in the garbage.

These specific diapers will fit Adelaide for her whole diapering life and if we decide to have more babies, we can use them on them too! My opinion after just 2 weeks is obviously grand, but I will do another review in the near future as an update letting you know how things are going with them. But I seriously can't imagine ever going back to disposables!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Life.

Isn't this a great photo taken by my husband?
We've been home (Toronto) from home (Winnipeg) for over 2 weeks now and it feels like forever ago. Maybe because so many things have happened in this time (some good friends had their baby, there was an adoption in the family, we had a battle with Wynn Family Properties because we had no heat - btw NEVER rent from this company) and Adelaide has grown significantly and has learned so much! As of January 5th, she was 10 pounds, so I am sure she's well in to her 11th going on 12th pound. It's incredible how fast she grows out of clothes. She'll wear it one day and then by the time I do laundry and she goes to wear it again...it's too small.

Since we've been home Adelaide has put herself on a schedule. I just followed her lead. I demand feed of course and let her sleep as much or as little as she wants. It's so amazing having a bit of routine and completely effortlessly on my part. She takes 3 or 4 naps a day and sleeps through the night!! Like she goes to bed at 9:30ish and sleeps until noon the next day, waking up 2 or 3 times very briefly for a top up! Since we have a family bed and I breastfeed, I just pull her closer to me so it's completely effortless.

During the day I play music all day and have the curtains open so it's bright and sunny and I go on with my day making noise as I need to and she sleeps through it all. Here's me folding laundry as she naps.

But at night time I close the door and turn off the lights. I've been consistent with this from the beginning so she could differentiate between night and day. I thought going out would be difficult with the schedule she likes, but she's just so flexible. When we go out she just carries on with her thing, sometimes feeds or socializes or sleeps, and then when it's time to go home, she falls asleep in her baby carrier and we just put her in to bed when we get home and she carries on sleeping until the morning. I cannot believe how delightful she is. I feel like somethings gonna change soon...right? Either way, I am so enjoying this. So content and rarely fussy.

I can't believe almost 10 weeks have past since she was born. I feel so much more confident now and things just come naturally. I am so loving being a Mum! My day is spent cleaning, playing, reading and baking bread. I accomplish this while she's napping and thanks to my cousin Fiona who lent us her Over the Shoulder Baby Holder sling, I can get things done AND hold baby at the same time.

Sometimes she sits in this bouncy chair that we got from my parents and she watches me bake as she cheers me on.

She's so strong now too! She loves standing and sitting. She has such great neck support and control.

She shows more interest in toys too, so I made a little play area which we hang out in several times a day.

It's just incredible HOW fast she's become this little person who's so full of emotions! When she cries there's real tears and when she smiles or squeals it's not followed by a fart or poop!

The smiles are so incredible though, one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen, (and I'm pretty well traveled so I've seen a lot of things, lol.)

Heather Bays | Promote your Page too

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Oh Boy, 30 Weeks!!

So, I have reached 30 weeks. I don't know where the time is going, but it is flying by. I can't believe that sometime in the next 8 to 12 weeks we will have a new person added to our family. It's so surreal for me sometimes. I am overjoyed and anxious and a little terrified...I imagine these are all normal feelings for first time parents. I have been raised around children and babies my whole life, so this should be no problem...but when it's YOUR OWN child, it's a little different. Sometimes I wonder if I know what I am going to do with this little person when she gets here. Obviously I will feed her, clothe her, love her, etc. But I've never been a mother before (other then to 3 spoiled cats) so as time is ticking closer and closer to that due date, I am trying to educate myself in the areas I lack confidence.
My husband and I start a couple prenatal classes at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto in October. I feel like they it might be full of obvious information, but hey, if anything, it will boost our confidence, and it will better prepare my husband who has never changed a diaper before.
I continue to read books on childbirth, preferably natural childbirth. I have been reading this blog too, which I find enjoyable.
I have found a midwife from Seven Generations and I have my first appointment coming up. We are going to go ahead with the plan to have a homebirth, but if our minds change and we decide that we're more comfortable in a birthing centre (oh how our society has put fear in us), Sunnybrook has just renovated and opened their new and improved birthing centre. So if you want a virtual tour of the place, click HERE. My midwife would be with me of course and a doctor can step in only if she feels it's necessary, but I am sure since everything has been running smoothly, everything will go just fine. I just have to trust myself, trust my body and of course have a great support system (which I have.)
I have such beautiful light in my new apartment in Toronto, so I had a fun photoshoot. It's important to me to document my pregnancy through photos. Maternity photos are some of my favourites to shoot. Before I was pregnant I thought pregnant ladies were SO cute and it was hard to understand how some people feel unattractive when their pregnant, but as I sit here with a large 3 pound eggplant sized baby in my belly, I completely understand. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable and unattractive, especially as I run out of clothes that fit properly, as all you other beautiful pregnant mama's have probably felt. My veins are more noticeable, I have what looks like cottage cheese growing on my butt and thighs and sometimes I get weird red bumps on my belly. But, when you look at maternity photos, man, pregnancy is a beautiful sexy thing. I have a collection of maternity photos here on my Facebook page, so become a fan and take a look!!
http://www.facebook.com/artist.heatherbays

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Gujarat.

We have arrived in Ahmedabad and it's a little less busy then Mumbai, but when you're downtown you wouldn't know it. Though the streets are wider, they are just as crazy with a few added things sharing the road. You have cars, motorbikes, rickshaws, bicycles, pedestrians, cows, camels, dogs, monkeys and elephants!! It's pretty much a gong show. I love it and hate it. We have met a friend of a friend and he has been kind enough to drive us around and show us the place! We went to the Ashram where Ghandi spent many years. Here is a photo of me trying to spin wool as he did.

He was the most disciplined man to ever walk to this earth and I don't know how he did it?!
We had the best day ever yesterday when he took us to a small town named Sarsa where there is a friends farm and they grow mangoes, potatoes, tobacco, wheat and bananas. It was beautiful and a WONDERFUL change of pace from the city. I actually don't understand why anyone would live in the chaos when you could live in a village away from it all. Our friend from home has a family that runs the farm out there and they were kind enough to show us around.

They took us to a small village of 1000 people where they were preparing for a wedding celebration which would be happening today! The children were so incredible! Here is a photo below of Julian and I with some of the children who were just as interested in us as we were of them.

Aren't they CUTE!? They showed us around their houses, showed us how they cook and what they cook and how they are preparing for the huge wedding celebration. Everyone from the village helps prepare and it was such a wonderful thing to see! They also showed us how they milk the cows. We drank some chai tea and then they took us to the place they bring their milk and get cash in hand for it, the photo is just below.

We are now back in the city and patiently waiting to see the last of the Asian Lions on Monday. Oh I can't wait!! We are hoping to see the last of the wild asses this weekend too. After seeing the country, I would like to spend as little time in the cities as possible. No matter where we go we seem to be an attraction all on our own. People constantly gawking and pointing and blowing kisses. People even come up all the time and ask if they can have a photo with us, lol. Check out Julian's photo below.

Though the cities are exhausting, the restaurants are well worth the business. It's always a mystery when it comes to ordering, but we have yet to be disappointed. Here's Julian below with some kind of HUGE dosa, lol.

If only the garbage and pollution wasn't SUCH a problem. It breaks my heart. All the animals in the street live off garbage, so I suppose India has a system, but it's a terrible one. The cows literally eat the plastic. The amount of plastic we've created being here its sickening and it's out of our control.
We have been reading the newspaper daily and yesterday we read that since the end of 2008, the amount of people living in poverty has grown 34 million!!! Crazy! Working class Indians encourage you not to give beggers candy or money as it encourages begging...but what else are they to do? Instead, you can donate money to an organization, but do your research and make sure it's all going to the right place. Like, 'Kids with Cameras'!! If you haven't seen the documentary 'Born into Brothels', you SHOULD! It's amazing, and not only because I am a photographer.

Below are some videos we have taken. There is one of a monkey trying to open a plastic bottle of water so he can drink it and one of the potato farm. The others wouldn't upload, sorry.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Mumbai.

After spending a week in London we have arrived in Mumbai. We have been here for 2 days now and all I can say is WHOA! I can't believe I survived the taxi ride to the hotel, lol. Lanes and traffic lights mean nothing here. There are far more people then cars and they all mix together down streets just trying to get to their destinations.
The garbage here is pretty crazy, it really makes me feel like no matter how much I try to recycle and stay away from plastic at home, it makes no difference. We took a boat from The Gateway of India to Elephant Island today, and the garbage in the water was unbelievable. I watched parents teach their children to throw their chip wrappers and plastic bottles in the water! I wonder where the closest Gyre is to here and how big it is?!
Anyway...Elephant Island was wonderful! Tons of monkeys!! They are super aggressive though. I watched a monkey attack a women for her water bottle, and then he took the water bottle, twisted off the cap and drank it! I also saw one do that with Coke! Any food that was available was for either a stray dog or a wild monkey, and they would fight over it. There were also cave temples, and Elephanta Caves, that have been carved out of rock, they were magnificent!
So far may favourite things about India are the children, the animals, and the food. The young boys feel the need to blow kisses at me, lol. Julian and I also seem to be an attraction on our own. People running up to photograph us and to have pictures taken with us as if we're some kind of movie stars, lol.
Tomorrow we leave this very stinky over-populated place for Gujarat, where Ghandi lived! Hopefully I can post photos soon. By the way...apparently Mumbai is supposed to double in population by 2050!! Where will everyone go!? lol.