Read It All
The short list. If you aren’t a big reader, but want the basic coverage: 1) Labor & Delivery. a) The Big Book of Birth, Erica Lyon; (an overview of labor and delivery options) b) The Birth Partner, Penny Simkin; (preparing your partner) and c) Husband-Coached Childbirth, Dr. Bradley (partner as coach). 2) From birth onward. a) The Baby Book, Dr. Sears; (the Bible of babycare) and b) HappyBaby: the Organic Guide to Baby’s First 24 Months, Dr. Bob Sears (scientific specifics about “green” babycare). _____________________________________________________________ The long list, which includes all of the above, offers greater depth on various subjects: 3) Pregnancy and Prenatal Care. a) Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn, Penny Simkin et al; b) Mayo Clinic’s Complete Book of Pregnancy and Baby’s First Year, The Mayo Docs; and c) Healthy Eating for Pregnancy, Amanda Grant. 4) Natural Childbirth, Educated Decisions on Medical Interventions. a) Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, Ina May Gaskin; b) The Thinking Woman’s Guide to a Better Birth, Henci Goer; and c) Your Pregnancy and Childbirth, Month-to-Month, American College of OBGYNs. 5) Breastfeeding. a) The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, La Leche League; b) The Breastfeeding Book, Dr. Sears; and c) The Nursing Mother’s Companion, Kathleen Huggins. 6) Infant Sleep. a) The Sleep Book, Dr. Sears; b) The No-Cry Sleep Solution, Elizabeth Pantley and Dr. Sears; c) Sleeping With Your Baby, a parent’s guide to co-sleeping, James McKenna; and d) Sleep Solutions for Your Baby, Toddler, and Preschooler, Ann Douglas. 7) Child Development. a) You Are Your Child’s First Teacher, Rahima Dancy; b) Naturally Healthy Babies and Children, Aviva Rahm; c) Boys and Girls Learn Differently, Michael Guerin; and d) Theories of Childhood, Carol Mooney. 8) Homemade Baby Food. a) Super Baby Food, Ruth Yaron; and b) The Petit Appetite Cookbook, Lisa Barnes.
Read MoreTo many parents of a newborn boy circumcision seems like the thing to do (aside from religiously motivated parents). Why? Oh, because . . . it’s more hygienic (not true), it’s more common among little boys (not necessarily true), everyone else did it in the family (is this ever a valid reason?). Up until the week prior to J’s birth, we were set on circumcising him. Not for religious reasons, but for most of the other reasons parents come up with. It’s easier to clean, we don’t want him made fun of in the locker room, etc. Our doula suggested that we do a little reading and thinking about the reasons against circumcision. We begrudgingly did so. To our surprise, we discovered a whole lot of facts out there that changed our mind. 1) Religious reasons. We are not Jewish or Muslim. The Catholic Church has no definitive stance against circumcision, and conversely it does not require it. So religious reasons were a non-factor for us. 2) Health benefits. The American Pediatric Association no longer recommends routine circs. Instead it states that there aren’t any significant benefits that make it worth doing. Health is not a factor in circumcising! Infections that may occur in that area of the body would be tended to like infections elsewhere. In the rare event someone needed to be circumcised later in life for health reasons, it is readily available at your local urology clinic. Yes, there was a recent study about reducing HIV infection…
Read MoreYou don’t die from pain in childbirth; you die from hemorrhaging. After much consideration, reading, consulting with other parents, and thought on the subject, my husband and I were determined to shoot for a natural labor. Were we crazy? Maybe. Did it work out? Yes. Would we go through it again without medical intervention or pain meds, in particular the beloved epideral? YES. This page is based on my experience. Unexpected things happen in labor and this is no criticism of mothers who do not end up going “med-free.” Rather, it’s an encouragement for all mothers to TRY to go “med-free.” 1) Why unmedicated? I thought you got pregnant, got bigger over 9 months, and then went to the hospital to delivery the baby. I assumed the doctors did their thing and then voila! the baby arrived. Labor and delivery are not so straightforward as this. Here are my two reasons for aiming for an unmedicated birth: 1) better for baby and 2) better for mama. The motivation to endure hard labor without pain medication is that simple for me. I read Erica Lyons’ “Big Book of Birth.” I talked to a close friend who had her son and daughter with midwives medicine-free. I watched a couple describe how the Bradley Method brought them even closer together throughout pregnancy, and then how it made the birth experience a mutual journey for them. I listened to accounts of infections at the site of the epidural (landing mama in ICU), moms being…
Read MorePhoto credits: Emily Rumsey Photography The world of cloth diapering is overwhelming! So many options and brands. Diapers are kinda like jeans–what fits you perfectly might not fit your sister. For all three of our kids, my elder two pictured above at various stages, we (have) or (do) use prefolds, as stated. However, we’ve purchased many other, newer, more exciting, more new-agey options that I’ll discuss here. They’ve worked on different occasions, and to varying degrees of satisfaction. 1) Prefolds. Got a good look? That’s not your grandma’s diaper pin. It’s a Snappi. Love ’em. a) Pros: easy to wash, fits any shape/size/thigh/bum, and inexpensive. b) Cons: takes 8-10 seconds to put on, unlike a fitted. Not many cons in my mind. 2) Covers. We use Babeegreens wool covers. They’re easy, and the wool is waterproof when lanolized, which I re-do about every few weeks. Poopy on there? Rinse it and let it dry! The company is a small family owned outfit in North Carolina and they’re wonderful! Just what you need to cover up your prefold or fitted. Another popular product are the plastic Thirsties numbers. They are wipeable, non-leakable, plastic covers. A drawback to them is they can puddle a little and make your new clean diaper damp. 3) Fitted. Amazing lovely? Yes! Waterproof? No! These suckers do need a cover, which is their big drawback. Also, you need many many of them to get through two days of diapers. Let’s say, about 15 or 20. And that adds up price-wise…
Read MoreBabies teeth at different times, in different ways. We thought SuperBoy was teething at 3 months. In retrospect, he was probably just fatigued and letting us know about it. See post on incessant screaming here. {When Your Infant Screams and Screams and You Do Too (Inside)} Teething babies fuss mostly at night on account of the pain, but can been known to gnaw on anything available during the day, including but not limited to, the legs of chairs. 1) Chew. Cold. Comfort. Sophie the Giraffe is a great teething toy. So are the Natural Touch Teethers. I will place items into the fridge to cool them off. A washcloth with ice balled up in it, rinsed in cold water can be fun for him to suck on for a while. The Nuby Nibler filled with ice or frozen chunks of fruit works well too. Everything is short-lived, however, and does end up on the floor sooner or later. 2) Homeopathy. Homeopathy is a great method of working with one’s own body to deal with, in this instance, pain. It works differently for different people, and differently on the same person at different times. Basically, homeopathic remedies contain therapeutically active micro-doses of mineral, botanical, and biological substances. Two products have worked on SuperBoy’s gums: Hyland’s Teething Gel and Camilia Teething Relief. AND Amber teething necklaces really worked for him! 3) Medications. Infant Tylenol. We never give the fully permitted dosage for his weight and age. When homeopathy fails, and I can tell he’s not hungry, overly tired, or made…
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