Cat Skinner Club

The Other Side of Pregnant

The Other Side of Pregnant

We’re at the Niagara house as I write this, and I love this place. It’s gray and misty today and the back forty looks like a painting with the tall grasses a rich palette of umber and golden. I’m watching my family pass around little Noah who is snoozing peacefully in their arms, and my girls are curled up on the sofa with Faerie Tale Theatre playing on the television. My life feels very rich. In my vast amount of pregnancy reading, there seemed to be lots written about how the bonding process isn’t always instant. I had no worries…

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Breastfeeding Sucks

Breastfeeding Sucks

The following post is a detailed account of my initial experiences with breastfeeding. Skip this if you’re squeamish. Glossary (for the non-baby-having readers) Nipple: The little nub at the end of a breast. Usually two, in my case this became four Areola: The area surrounding the nipple. Slightly darker than the skin of the breast unless you go all National Geographic like I did and end up with what look like deli slices Latching on: The act of baby positioning himself on areola and drawing nipple all the way back to his soft palate without choking, bucking, coughing, punching or…

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Birth Story, Part Two

Birth Story, Part Two

My last post (read it here) left off just before I demanded that we make our way to the hospital instead of continuing to labour at home… For nine months my heart had imagined a spiritual birth where I was at one with my body. Now that labour was here, I knew I needed the sweet, sweet relief of modern science in order to bring this baby into the world. I thought about my girlfriends who had managed to deliver without drugs and I wondered what kind of hocus pocus allowed them to do this and not suffer from PTSD.…

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Birth Story Part One

Birth Story Part One

Time is in fast-forward now, and the hours and minutes have lost all meaning to me. Instead of compulsively checking my smart phone, time is tracked from feeding to feeding, and each free moment is spent eating or bathing or napping. Writing seems to be sitting and waiting for me to return, and so I try to steal a moment here and there to remember the events of the last month. I want to try to paint a picture for you. Especially for those of you who are pregnant, are thinking of getting pregnant, or have already been on this…

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16 Days

16 Days

A Little Tin of Chocolate I began writing this blog in 2008, fresh after a breakup from a very complicated relationship, and filled with excitement because I was about to embark on a solo vacation to Paris. Life felt pretty huge and terrifying then. I was raw with emotion, and apprehensive about what the future held for me. When I returned from my trip, I would have no place to live, and I’d be facing the realities of being single and thirty-something. I drank Paris in, and fell deeply in love with a city that I always suspected would have…

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