About a month ago I shared my tips for the 10 Things You Can Leave OFF Your Baby Registry. While I did give some recommendations for items to replace those 10 items, I was asked to share some additional tips. My best tip is that babies don't need a lot of stuff. What a baby needs is lots of love and a few essential items. 1. Non-toxic toys and gear. Regardless of what items you place on your list, keep in mind that many popular baby items are made from plastic, or contain potentially toxic chemicals like PVC, phthalates, or lead. While they may be very popular items that are sold in stores all around the world, it doesn't mean that they are "green" or safe for your baby. Be sure to check the labels and look for the following terms or phrases: PVC-free, phthalate-free, lead-free, organic, BPA-free, and formaldehyde-free. 2. Eco-friendly laundry detergent. I'm not talking about Dreft either! There is a difference between gentle detergent and an eco-friendly detergent that ... [ Read More ]
Shared Parenting: Is it a 50/50 Split in Your House?
It may surprise some of my readers just how much my husband and I share the parenting responsibilities in our house. Many of you may assume that I'm a stay-at-home-mom blogger. Actually, my life may seem a little different to you after reading the rest of my post. About a week ago I saw this message on Facebook from a virtual friend of mine; Annie of PhD in Parenting: Hey parenting bloggers: Do you practice some variation of equally shared parenting? If so, would you be willing to write a blog post describing how you split the parenting/household duties and both have time for yourselves/each other too? Would you be able to describe a typical day/week in terms of how things break down? I'm interested in all types of families, but especially in ones where the mom is breastfeeding. When my son was born (he's almost 10 now), I was working full-time as a State Environmental Compliance Inspector. I worked 40 hrs and was the primary "breadwinner" of the family. My husband ... [ Read More ]
10 Things You Can Leave Off Your Baby Registry
I have a few friends who are pregnant and I'm trying really hard not to be too pushy on what they buy for their babies. I was looking over the baby gift registry for one of the girls at BabiesRUs and attempted to give her my recommendations (again, without being pushy). After glancing at the must-have list that BabiesRUs provides new parents I decided it was time to make my own list of must-NOT baby registry items. 10 Things You Can Leave OFF Your Baby Registry Disposable diapers. What? Don't babies need diapers? Yes, but did you know that disposable diapers are full of toxins and chemicals? Your baby is going to be in diapers almost 24 hrs a day for the first 2-4 years of their life. Modern cloth diapers have come a long way since we were kids. They come in fun colors and prints and are just as easy to use as disposable diapers. What about the poop? As a parent I promise you that you will touch poop - even with disposable diapers. Put the poop where it belongs - ... [ Read More ]
Diapering in a Disaster
It looks like Hurricane Sandy is being nicknamed Frankenstorm since it's looking pretty frightening to everyone along the NE United States. Thankfully Sandy skirted past Florida with very little damage (although it was pretty windy this weekend and the temperature has dropped) but I know that many of my readers may be in her path. I pray that you are all safe and that Sandy spares you and your families. If you use cloth diapers I wanted to share an old post with you about how to prepare an emergency kit when you use cloth diapers. In addition, here are a few other posts I've found around the internet with useful tips. My friend Amanda at The Eco-Friendly Family wrote a funny (yet helpful) post about the 10 Things to Do BEFORE a Power Outage. Tonight while on Facebook this post appeared in my stream from Human Milk News on how to protect your freezer stash of breastmilk. I pray that you won't have to use any of these tips and pray for your safety. Have any tips to share or ... [ Read More ]
On Breastfeeding, Attachment Parenting, and Judgement
Attachment parenting. Extreme parenting. Extended breastfeeding. Babywearing. Cosleeping. Cloth Diapering. What do you think of when you hear those words or phrases? Do you hear positive words or negative phrases? It all depends on how you parent I suppose. I will tell you both sides of my story. Child #1 - Parenting Age - 29: When my son was born I still considered myself a fairly young parent even though I know I was older than most of you when you had your first child. I lived in a rural town and didn't have a lot of friends with children. I knew from the beginning of my pregnancy that I wanted to 'try' to breastfeed my son for at least the first few months. I was working full time and had no friends or family who I knew that breastfed. My OBGYNs office didn't provide me with any guidance on whether to breastfeed or offer my child formula but they did give me free samples of formula. In the hospital I struggled with breastfeeding but the lactation specialist and ... [ Read More ]
Happy 3rd Birthday Lil’ B
How is it possible that my Lil' B is actually turning THREE years old tomorrow? Just a few minutes after we introduced him to his baby sister for the first time. January 2009 First photo in a cloth diaper! bumGenius 3.0 - February 2009 January 2010 - 1st Birthday Yes, I made the tutto to match the top. January 2011 - 2nd Birthday Last picture as I kissed my tot goodnight on the eve of her 3rd birthday! (Photographic evidence that mommy needs a new iPhone with flash! Oh, and yes - she does have a fat lip from the weekend just in time for birthday photos!) Happy Birthday Lil' B! You'll always be my little baby! Remember how we said goodnight when she turned two? We officially gave up the boob (breastfeeding)! She never looked back but she does still remember that milk came from mommies boobies. She'll be happy to tell you all about it if you ask her. ***** OK - I'm going to go shed a few tears as I look through more photos. Oh, and I have a big surprise ... [ Read More ]
Bamboobies Reusable Breastfeeding Pad Reviews
It's almost been one month since I weaned my little princess - hard to believe that I will never again breastfeed another baby! As an update to our weaning story the tot will still ask for milk but only when she's really tired or frustrated. She's now exploring and will pinch and grab my boobs just for fun. I never really experienced any pain this time around drying up. It was much easier physically to wean slowly over the last year because I had no engorgement at all this time. I just remember how painful that was with my son when we stopped with little preparation. Fortunately I get to continue to advocate to my friends the benefits of breastfeeding and that you as a parent can set your own limits and guidelines. A few months ago I was introduced to a new product on the market - bamboobies™ reusable bamboo breastfeeding pads. It was past the time when I would actually need to use them personally but I shared them with a few of my breastfeeding friends locally to get their ... [ Read More ]
Breastfeeding – Weaning at Two
I'm sure it's no surprise to you but weaning at two is much different than weaning at one. When I weaned our son we had been planning an anniversary trip out of town for a long weekend and I had slowly weaned him over a week (hardly enough time to do it right) and then we went cold turkey! What I learned that weekend was a very painful lesson - weaning hurts. Over the next two to three days my breasts were very engorged and painful as the milk dried up. Fortunately it wasn't an emotionally painful experience for either of us. At one he couldn't really communicate well and couldn't verbalize his desire. He quickly took to his sippy cup (which we had already introduced) and we never looked back. I guess one (of the many) reasons I held off on weaning my daughter was because I remember how painful the weaning process was. With her we've been working on weaning the right way for over a year. We slowly reduced the frequency of feedings over the year and she usually only asked ... [ Read More ]
Breastfeeding – Day 730 (Our last day)
Well we made it to day 730 (2 years) yesterday breastfeeding Lil' B. We woke up yesterday on her birthday and went through our normal routine. I snuggled my baby one last time while breastfeeding her on her second birthday knowing that it would be our last time. When we finished our morning session I told her sweetly that it was her birthday and that she was a big girl now and that boobies were for babies. I asked if she wanted to 'kiss them goodbye' and she gave them both a sweet little peck and waved goodbye. This morning when we woke up I didn't say anything to her about milk or boobies. She asked me once while I was changing her diaper about the milk and I told her that I would be happy to pour her a big girl cup of milk if she liked. She said "OK" and that was the last she asked about milk today. It's been quite an emotional week with all the changes with day care and her birthday but I feel so much better that she didn't this change didn't upset her. We've gone a ... [ Read More ]
Breastfeeding & the Cover Me Strap Review
I hope you enjoy my first video blog (vlog) and bear with me as I learn new tools. Today I wanted to give you a quick review of the new Cover Me Strap. For more information on the Cover Me Strap please visit: www.covermestrap.com What did you think of my vlog? Want to see more? Share you tips and suggestions with me if you've done a vlog before. Thanks! ... [ Read More ]