PerryWinkles Kids Blog

Ever since having a baby four months ago fine dining outings have gone out the window.  We make up for it by splurging in our cooking sometimes but last weekend I was craving being out and having a nice meal.  Since I’m still nursing and my baby wakes up a few times a night to eat, getting someone to babysit isn’t really an option yet.  So we decided to step it up at brunch instead and made a date with other friends with a kid.  Globe Bistro on the Danforth in Toronto has been on my list of places to try since they opened.  They use seasonal, local ingredients and their menu is mouthwatering.

After I left them a messages regarding a reservation for four adults, plus one child so we needed a high chair, plus a baby in a stroller so we needed space I thought for sure they’re not calling back.  But a very friendly man did call back and was happy to accomodate us.  We had a great experience. The food was excellent and I was completely comfortable being there, babies and all.  The restaurant is spacious, they do indeed have high chairs and we weren’t the only families dining there.  Not only can you have a fantastic meal but you can also do it up by ordering their ‘boozey smoothies’, mimosas or caesars.  I was only slightly disappointed that they forgot the aged cheddar on my eggs and that we had to wait so long for a hand-squeezed fresh orange juice.  It was worth the wait.

This is a great place to do family dining in style and I was happy to satisfy my craving to pamper my tastebuds.  Fine dining doesn’t have to go out the window after having a baby after all!

PerryWinkles Kids

As the cold weather settles in we start to wonder if it’s possible to stay warm, fashionable and comfortable while carrying our babies outside.  Slings are great for warmer weathers but trying to tie one over a jacket can prove challenging.  One solution to having to layer and wear your unbuttoned jacket around your sling or baby carrier (we’ve all seen the awkward attempts!) is the Mamaponcho.

Perfect for the Fall or Spring, the Mamaponcho has a pouch attached where your baby sits warmly and comfortably and can also be worn over your baby carrier or sling.  It’s also useful as pregnancy wear.  Made in Germany of 100% virgin wool, it retails between 162 euro and 198 euro.  Some custom orders are still hand-made by the mompreneur who created them.

PerryWinkles Kids - Fine Children’s Clothing

Retailers take note - stroller-friendly store access is critical to get the business of moms! Sounds obvious, I know, but I never truly appreciated the importance of this until now that I am a stroller-pushing mom. These days as we go out for our daily walks I will only enter a store if it has easy access. That means not more than one step leading up to it, the door looks like it’s easy to push in (wheelchair access is a huge bonus) and the store doesn’t look too cramped, like I will hit everything along my path as I walk around.

The perfect case in point was yesterday when I finally got organized to go to a French bookstore in Corktown in Toronto. I’d been dreaming for days of picking up a French novel in order to work on my quickly rusting language skills. This was the perfect afternoon outing. I would spend some time picking out a book, and when Clara got fussy or needed to eat, I would hit the coffee shop. Clara fell asleep on my walk over there - perfect, all going according to plan. My disappointment was phenomenal, then, when I arrived at Champlain Bookstore only to see five steps leading up to it, a small door, and behind it a small landing area after which was a turnstile. I knew that pulling the stroller up the steps would inevitably wake Clara up and couldn’t imagine how I would manage the door and the turnstile with my new appendage. Feeling too guilty about not having allowed my baby to have her nap in her crib already, I moved along and let her sleep instead. C’est dommage. We’ll shelf the French project until I return with a baby carrier.

A walk around Corktown’s strip of gorgeous designer furniture stores made it clear why there are no other strollers in this neighbourhood. Not one store was easily accessible, according to my criteria. I was busy eyeing good breastfeeding locations and when Clara woke up I beelined for the nearest Starbucks. As much as I despise their coffee I have found Starbucks coffee shops to be easily accessible and places where I usually don’t feel self-conscious about breastfeeding.  This one, alas, was small and had large windows everywhere.  I would have felt like I was on display. I settled for a cozy restaurant that I remembered had booths and, surprise, they happened to have easy access too.  Great!  So I achieved my first successful breastfeeding at a restaurant by myself! Not a waste of an afternoon, after all.

PerryWinkles Kids - Fine Children’s Clothing

As this holiday season approaches I have one more reason to dread traveling at this time of year - I now have to manage the lineups, customs, security, shoes off, shoes on, boarding pass at hand routine with a 4-month old baby. This adds feeding, changing diapers, changing dirty clothes, soothing to sleep and playing with baby to the mix. A lot to handle, while not forgetting to bring all the baby gear for sleeping away, holiday gifts and, almost forgot, my own luggage!

Canada’s Baby Care Book, a great reference book on baby care from birth to 12 months created by doctors of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, has a good list of tips to keep in mind before hopping on a plane with babies under 6 months (p.281):

• “Book a non-stop flight when possible.
• Give yourself lots of extra time to get to the airport. You’ll need it.
• Change the baby shortly before boarding, then take advantage of early boarding opportunities, if offered.
• To reduce earache, encourage your baby to suck on something during ascent and descent.
• Book an extra seat for the baby. The cost may be worth it by journey’s end. “

Also when traveling this holiday season don’t forget to offset your carbon footprint. Zerofootprint lets you calculate your carbon emission for air travel and buy offsets that go towards carbon-neutral projects. A return 1.5-3 hour flight, for example, generates one tonne of CO2. You can then purchase a Travel Offset for $16 that will offset this amount of carbon emission and travel with a clean mind.
PerryWinkles Kids - Fine Children’s Clothing

Here is a great idea for a gift with a cause if you have any cooking aficionados on your holiday list. Frontier College, Canada’s oldest national literacy organization, is bidding up a signed copy of Jamie Oliver’s popular book, Cook with Jamie, in order to raise funds for literacy. Frontier College, based in Toronto, reaches out to children, youth and adults to help them gain the literacy skills they need to improve their lives.

Place your bid on eBay Canada before this coming Tuesday, November 20 and support a great community organization this holiday season.  Bon Appetit!
PerryWinkles Kids - Fine Children’s Clothing

One thing about pregnancy is that the world becomes more social. Living in a place like Toronto, where strangers avoid looking each other in the eye or striking up a conversation, this was a welcome change in my life when I got pregnant. Sure, sometimes you get tired of everyone asking you the same questions but I liked being noticed and having strangers (mostly older women) sharing my excitement when they noticed I was pregnant. I felt more connected with those around me through my changed state.

I also learned the power of sharing my experiences with other pregnant women. Being pregnant is such a unique experience that you cannot fully describe it, hard as you may try, to those that haven’t gone through it. When you talk to other pregnant women and share the little idiosyncrasies of being pregnant you know they are getting exactly what you’re saying. So you bond naturally.

Then comes the baby, and everyone loves babies! Any time you’re out walking around people are peeking into your stroller, trying to get a glimpse of the cute little thing passing by. People inevitably have a moment of tenderness looking into a baby’s eyes or seeing a baby sleep peacefully. Once again, you feel like the world is noticing you and they know your state of mind – you are a mother.

One of the strangest experiences for me after having my baby was going out alone. This wasn’t just because I missed having her glued to me and hearing her little noises but because, all of a sudden, I was anonymous to the world. I was just one more person, no bump, no bundle, no stroller. No one took notice.

One day when I ran out to the pharmacy on my own only days after having my baby someone asked me how many months pregnant I was. I was surprised that instead of taking offense to her comment I felt happy that she had noticed me.

My experience has taught me that people welcome a reason not to remain anonymous. I may just strike up the odd conversation with strangers. I have a suspicion that they may not think I’m crazy but rather they may just smile back. One of the many lessons that my baby will have taught me, I’m sure!

Veronica

PerryWinkles Kids - Fine Children’s Clothing