When we found out that we were expecting Hannah, one of the first things we did was look for a dog.  I remember thinking "if we can't raise a dog together, we can't raise a baby"...David and I both agreed that we loved Pit Bulls and that's the dog that we wanted.  One day randomly I emailed about 20 people from Craigslist with puppies, the first lady to respond lived in WV and had a quote "rescue", the picture of the puppy she sent us wasn't exactly the best but we took a leap of faith and road out to view the pups.  Almost instantly David knew that he wanted the pup that is now our Whiskey girl!  She's still the best $45 either one of us has probably ever spent.

Fast forward about 2 years and we find out we're expecting Savannah, again why not have 2 dogs for 2 kids?  David desperately needed another male type animal in the house and I can't blame him, he was surrounded by females both human and animal (5 if you count my old Pomeranian who now resides with my mom).  This time we went through a rescue called Bully Paws Rescue and we found our baby blue boy Titan!  In fact it was amazing the reaction from our home visit volunteer for Bully Paws "we are so thrilled that you all are adding a Pit Bull while expecting another baby, you all are setting the perfect example of a loving and caring family for both your girls and Pit Bulls!"...I was really touched that someone said that.


A lot of people gave us issues when we got Whiskey before Hannah came, statements like "pits and babies don't mix" or "aren't you worried for your child's safety"...ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS I thought!  Over the 3 years that we've had Whiskey and now 1 year with Titan I trust these dogs with my girls more than I do most humans!  No one takes into consideration that both of these dogs have been raised with our girls from birth, they are loyal and sweet, caring and compassionate and so patient with our kids it's almost unbelievable.

Did you know that Pit Bulls were actually bred to be one of the most obedient and loyal breeds out there?  Back in the older years (my husband could probably tell you exactly when) bull fighters used to use Bull Dogs in sport to pin down large bulls in the ring but over time the trainers noticed that the Bull Dogs were turning on them.  They decided to breed the Bull Dog with the traditional family pet the Terrier.  Once they did this they had the "Pit Bull" this breed never turned on their owner becoming essential in the sport.


Next you had the Europeans who brought the Pit Bull over with him becoming the first real cowboys in our society, the dogs provided not just companionship but safety and protection.  Over time cowboys created the best breed, they didn't have time if a dog turned on them, immediately it would be put down, essentially only the best of the breed survived.  As the dogs got older the cowboys would leave the dogs with their wives and children when they went on long distance trips.  This is how Pit Bulls became the "Nanny Dog"!  The wives and mothers were in charge of so many other activities around the house that they would leave the children with the Pit Bulls to watch them as guardians.  This baby-sitting could last 5 minutes to several hours and no one blinked twice, children in fact were safer because the dogs could protect and guide the children and even were play toys for their miniature owners.  They also were not owned by the lower class as history might suggest, in fact they were owned by many more of the middle to upper class families of our time.


Now whenever some says to me that I'm crazy for owning two Pits with my two girls in the house I tell them "how many times has your Chihuahua bit your kid" or "how many times has your cat scratched your kid"...dumb breeds dumb.  The simple fact is that what I call "My Breed" the Pit Bull is widely misunderstood.  Yes, there are bad dogs out there but there's bad dogs in every breed not just Pits.  I take huge offense to anyone who bashes or talks down about my dogs because my dogs are to me just as much as my children part of our family.  They are the best dogs I've ever owned and I wouldn't trade them for any other breed.  Does no one remember "Petey" from Little Rascals? Yeah folks, that was a PIT BULL!


Each family needs to do their own research on what breed will work best for them and their children, Pit Bulls just happen to be the best damn breed for me and my family!  I will close this off by saying I won't bully you or your dog, whatever breed that might be if you don't bully my breed...educate yourself, investigate what you are talking about and learn the history of an animal before you banish it because of ignorance. 

Recently there's been A LOT of controversy over breast-feeding vs formula feeding, I've stayed out of these arguments because honestly, no one can win, no one person is right or wrong.  Like I said in my previous post My 10 Survival Tips for Expecting Moms, you MUST do what is right for your child and you and only you can make those decisions, you can't let what's the new hype or popular argument keep you from doing what is best for your family.

For me personally, I come from the family of the Big Breast Club, breast feeding was not something that came easily to me even the slightest bit.  With Hannah I tried breast feeding probably 3 weeks while supplementing with formula.  Then when I was having problems with my milk production I tried pumping.  Unfortunately, no matter how hard I tried or what I did, Hannah was losing weight, she was constantly hungry and my body just couldn't give her what she needed.  So as much as I wanted to be a breast-feeding mommy (cost above all other reasons) I had to make the RIGHT choice for her and me and put her on formula.  I experienced the same thing with Savannah but my milk was even worse off, barely producing 1 oz a day, so Savannah went onto formula much faster than her sister.  Formula was much easier for both girls, they eat well, they are more than healthy and happy and even when Hannah was in daycare it was easier to handle for her provider.

I still remember being in the hospital with Savannah and a family member came to visit, I was feeding Savannah a formula bottle and she said "well, breast is best, that's what I'm going to do when I'm a mom" and I just so wanted to snap and say "well, when your a mom and you realize it's not as easy as it looks, you'll see", but instead I said "research and studies have shown that children on breast milk or formula don't grow any different, they are getting the correct nutrients and that's all that matters".  Regardless of her words or any other opinion both my girls are perfectly healthy, in their correct height and weight percentages for their ages and great eaters, they even sleep better than about 50% of the breast fed babies I know.  

I personally believe that formula was the best decision for me, my girls and my husband.  He loves being able to feed Savannah and I love watching him interact with her during those feeding times.  Having his help made sleeping so much easier as well.  I would get up one time, him the next, because of formula we were able to share the responsibilities of feedings rather than it falling solely on me because of breast-feeding.  Him being able to help with feedings also allowed me to not build resentment or be overly tired and get grumpy which is overall healthier for the entire family....trust me, me and grumpy don't go well together!

Again, this is my own experience and what worked for me and my family, it might not work for you and you might be great at breast-feeding and I applaud that 1,000% but don't feel like formula is the enemy or that you have to exhaust yourself and possibly hurt your child just to not get looked at wrong because you aren't breast-feeding.  Just like picking out the diaper that works for your baby, not everyone likes Pampers Swaddlers but I do, some prefer Huggies but I don't, I feel this debate can go either way, but I don't think there's a right or wrong way to make sure your child is getting everything he or she should be getting nutrition wise.

Not a sermon, just a thought (I've always wanted to put that in an post!!! eeekkkk!)