See also: Chiropractic
Care for Babies and Children
Need urgent help? Nowhere else to turn? API comes to the rescue (again)!
API Warmline - Attachment
Parenting International launches the API Warmline to serve
families in urgent or distressing situations when information or
support is not available on the API Forum or website.
They also generously make their newsletter
archives easily available. Thank you!
API urges families to first contact their local API parent group
for ongoing and local support or seek support on the API Forum.
When local support is not available, a message can be left at
API's 800 number: 1-800-850-8320 for U.S. families, or a message
sent to info@attachmentparenting.org. The call will be returned by
an accredited Leader who can help. (As always, any
life-threatening or medical calls should go to your emergency 911
number.)
Donations to support this program can be made on the API website
or sent to API, P.O. 4615, Alpharetta, GA 30023.
What
Your
Pediatrician Doesn't Know Can Hurt Your Child encourages
mothers to take a more natural approach to parenting, and to trust
our instincts when it comes to raising emotionally and physically
healthy children. Dr. Susan Markel (an American Board
Certified Pediatrician) is dedicated to helping parents and
children empower themselves to have a healthier and happier
lifestyle. Children come
into the world ready to Love, Learn and Play...
Attachment
Parenting
Counseling with Jan Hunt by phone or email - 877-593-1547
Science
shows
up Supernanny - A mental health expert warns that fashionable
advice to ignore your child's tears may cause lifelong harm
Amelia Hill, education correspondent
Sunday November 7, 2004
"Living Joyfully With Children" by Win and Bill Sweet
I think it's a great book to give to new parents. It is
easy to read and written in short bits with plenty of anecdotes to
give you an idea of how to apply the principles presented.
It does deal with toddlers and older children primarily, not much
on infants. The best thing it has to offer is to help people
be conscious and present in their parenting. So much of
actual parenting seems to be reactive in nature and replaying old
scripts from our own childhood experiences. The other really
useful thing is that it gets both parents on the same page.
The Sweets recommend sitting down and forming principles to govern
your family by. This allows you to talk it out between
yourselves and determine if your parenting goals are the same.
Then as your children get older they begin to participate in this
process. This allows them to feel a part of making the
family work, instead of just being told what to do. There is
also a huge emphasis on letting children have as much unstructured
play as possible, even and especially as they approach and enter
adolescence. All around I think it is a very good choice to
give to new parents. It's easy to read, broken down in small
digestible bits, and very practical.
Attachment Parenting Blog:
- "A fun and opinionated web site written by an attachment
parenting couple raising three children in our modern times."
The Holistic Moms Network
is for moms who are interested in natural health and holistic
therapies, follow an "alternative" parenting style, or are looking
to connect with other moms who share their perspective?
Marcy Axness is the author of PARENTING FOR PEACE:
RAISING THE NEXT GENERATION OF PEACEMAKERS (due out in
2011?)
Mindful Mama - Good
News for Mom, Baby and the Planet
Hooked on Nature is an
educational campaign to inspire communities to develop an
infrastructure that provides youth of all ages with an opportunity
to develop a relationship with the natural world - based in Palo
Alto, CA.
Is
Nature
Deficit Disorder Real?
AstrasScouts: Help Us
Reinvent Scouting for Tomorrow. AstrasScouts Values and
Goals: Ending All Prejudice, Honoring of all Cultures, Pursuit of
Knowledge, Personal Responsibility, Individual Excellence,
Teamwork/Friendship, Justice brings Peace, Global Awareness
America Serves is a
student-driven, student-focused service project opportunity for
high school students interested in learning about the challenges
faced by children in other parts of the world, and doing something
about them. The goal of each AMERICA SERVES project is to
design, plan, and execute an educational fundraising event for an
overseas relief organization chosen by the students. This
excellent
resource is now available from Amazon.com.
Seeds of
Compassion - from a conference Apr. 11-15, 2008, with the
participation of the Dalai Lama. When we look across secular and
religious wisdom traditions, and across human history and
cultures, compassion may well be the virtue that is valued most
highly and most broadly. The resources below seek to expand our
conversation about what compassion looks like in action and how
best to nurture it in future generations.
The Natural Child Project
- Our vision is a world in which all children are treated with
dignity, respect, understanding, and compassion. In such a world,
every child can grow into adulthood with a generous capacity for
love and trust. Our society has no more urgent task.
Healthy Child Online - the
parenting website and E-Newsletter that gives you reliable
information about natural health and holistic medicine for
children. In addition, we offer you insights on encouraging and
fostering in children the following qualities: self-love,
compassion for others, joy, contentment, and vibrant health and
vitality on all levels - physical, mental, emotional, and
spiritual.
New
Method
For Parents Helps Children Clear Negative Emotions Early
from mercola.com
Building a Foundation for Compassionate
Intelligence by Diane Gordon
Children
and
Nature - A Relationship of Primary Importance - Discusses
crucial elements in raising a healthy child.
Children of the
New Earth magazine - the first, and currently only,
international magazine to bring together all the latest
information on everything pertaining to the extraordinary
phenomena collectively known as the “Children of the New Earth.”
Why Wear Your
Baby? By Sharon Reuven - "Although babywearing is an old
concept, researchers in the past fifty years have confirmed the
wisdom of this timeless practice. Studies have revealed that our
children's social, emotional, and physical development are all
significantly affected by early exposure to motion and human
contact."
Spiral Scouts - an
alternative scouting structure - Many families who choose
homebirth or midwifery care may be uncomfortable with the
intolerance exhibited by some of our national scouting
organizations. Spiral Scouts is a response that provides a
structure for scouting groups where different belief systems can
plug in their own belief system modules. I think this is a
neat idea!
Get Mothering Advice From Your Pet--Not
Your Doctor
Reading Magical Child by Joseph Chilton Pearce is an essential eye-opening experience for a conscious, conscientious parent. [ Reaching Beyond Magical Child - six, one-Hour videos, is now available from Touch The Future .]
Here's the transcription of an interview on educating and birthing children.
One of his most important messages is that for very young
children, the problem with television isn't the content of the
shows. In fact, the problem is that images on television are
a level of abstraction that is inappropriate for such young
children. It forces their brain to develop this prematurely,
at the expense of more developmentally appropriate skills.
It's a sobering thought that watching television can lead to
Sensory Palsy.
Mothering Magazine celebrates the experience of parenthood as worthy of one’s best efforts and fosters awareness of the immense importance and value of parenthood and family life in the development of the full human potential. As a readers’ magazine, we recognize parents as the experts and wish to provide truly helpful information upon which parents can base informed choices.
They maintain a nice index of articles from their archives.
Pathways
magazine for thought provoking articles for your family's
health. This magazine is from the Holistic Pediatric Association
and the Alliance for Holistic Family Health and Wellness
NursingFamilyMagazine
- The Instinctive/Attachment Parenting Newsletter - Our goal at
Nursing Family Magazine is to bring encouragement, support,
enlightenment, information, and empowerment to families
everywhere. This is a publication about creating strong family
bonds by following your heart! Breastfeeding, baby wearing,
co-sleeping, gentle birth, simpler living and more! Celebrate
Motherhood!
The Compleat Mother Magazine Forum - Bulletin Board from The Compleat Mother - The Magazine of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Breastfeeding
The
Kindred Spirits Mothering Forum
Attachment
Parenting - API's
Eight
Principles of Parenting
Aware Parenting is a
philosophy of child-rearing that has the potential to change the
world. Based on cutting-edge research and insights in child
development, Aware Parenting questions most traditional
assumptions about children, and proposes a new approach that can
profoundly shift a parent's relationship with his or her child.
Parents who follow this approach raise children who are bright,
compassionate, competent, non-violent, and drug-free.
Empathic
Parenting , Journal of the Canadian Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Many articles from the
journal can be found at the Home of Empathic
Parenting .
The Natural Child Project
- Our multiple-award-winning site on empathic parenting,
homeschooling, and child advocacy has a parenting advice column,
personal stories, and articles by Jan Hunt, Alice Miller, Naomi
Aldort, Joseph Chilton Pearce, and others.
Alliance for Transforming the
Lives of Children: Creating a Culture for Compassionate
Parenting
Harvard Researchers Say Children Need Touching and Attention
America's "let them cry" attitude toward children may lead to more fears and tears among adults, according to two Harvard Medical School researchers.Instead of letting infants cry, American parents should keep their babies close, console them when they cry, and bring them to bed with them, where they'll feel safe, according to Michael Commons and Patrice Miller, researchers at the Medical School's Department of Psychiatry.
Nurtured.Com : A
meeting place for those who follow less traditional methods of
raising children.
Birth Bonding as the
Foundation for Attachment Parenting
For a wonderful set of links to natural products for babies and
children, . Better yet, simply subscribe
yourself .
Nursing Family Magazine
maintains a very large list of resources.
What does Child-Friendly Mean? A quiet place to
nurse or feed your child. A little extra time to board the
bus. The warmth and support of the entire community. A
place for children in daily life. Contact www.childfriendly.org
800-500-5234 - Ask for a How-To Kit and start transforming your
neighborhood into a place that supports and respects children.
Mothering Magazine
(Jan/Feb 2005 issue, p. 25) has a list of 24 groups that help moms
do their job well.
Empowered Motherhood
LLC helps moms-to-be successfully transition into motherhood.
Sometimes you find yourself becoming a parent without feeling
like you're completely grown up yourself.
If you feel like you're not completely grown up, responsible and
mature, pregnancy is a great time to put the finishing touches on
your growing up process.
The first step is to GROW UP
"To be a master lover, first become a masterful man. Work on
yourself and don’t indulge in petty excuses or complaints. Live
your life with purpose. If you don’t know what it is, find it,
then live it with gusto. Live with integrity. Be a clear
communicator. Learn to be vulnerable. "
What does it mean to be a modern, mature man?
They've got some great intro resources, incl. video, podcasts
Straight Talk
- Boys and Men Need Support
The Good Men Project
- Recognizing changing roles in work and family life—and the
absence of thoughtful media aimed at men—the Good Men Project
Magazine set out to revolutionize what a men’s magazine can be.
Some wonderful articles by Sarah J. Buckley, MD, from the section on Mothering - Care of the Newborn at Women of Spirit
Research on Infant Sleep and
Parenting Advice
The
Humanity
Sleeper from Humanity Family Bed has a bolster to keep baby
from rolling off the bed and has an extra thick absorbent pad to
absorb breastmilk leaks. People love it!
Cosleeping
&
SIDS Fact Sheet from Linda Folden Palmer, DC, author of Baby
Matters
From Primates to Late Nights: One Researcher’s Path to Sleep Studies - Interview with James McKenna, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Director of the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory at the University of Notre Dame.
This is an excellent article about the way in which co-sleeping
helps to regulate the baby's physiological functions and reduces
the SIDS risk.
Why
babies
should never sleep alone: a review of the co-sleeping
controversy in relation to SIDS, bedsharing and breast feeding.
McKenna JJ, McDade T.
Paediatr Respir Rev. 2005 Jun;6(2):134-52.
" . . . co-sleeping at least in the form of roomsharing
especially with an actively breast feeding mother saves lives . .
. "
Shunning
the
Family Bed. Who Benefits Most? from Dr. Mercola
Babies:
Not
Designed to Sleep Alone by Dr. Jay Gordon
And
Baby
Makes Three in One Bed from the NYTimes 12/29/05
Bedtime Story by James J. McKenna contains amazing information
about just how beneficial cosleeping really is. [This article is
available at birthlove.com, a subscription site that is well worth
the small cost!] [Ed: birthlove.com is not available
at this time.]
Sharing
a
bed with your baby from UNICEF UK.
If your child's sleep problems are severe enough, you may
consider trying some of the tips from sleep
and
crystal children. Children love crystals for their
jewel quality, and a protective bedtime ritual is likely to be
very reassuring for them.
Elizabeth Pantley
has tons of information about gentle parenting.
New
information released July, 2017
The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night by Elizabeth Pantley. Professionals who work with parents of babies may request a set of 4 newsletters, which are also available online: Newborn Babies and Sleep, What is Preventing Your Baby from Sleeping Through the Night?, Regular Naps Improve Nighttime Sleep, Early Bedtime Means Better Baby Sleep.
Checklist for Safe Co-Sleeping
She also has a new book out called Gentle Baby Care : No-cry, No-fuss, No-worry--Essential Tips for Raising Your Baby. Some excerpts are available online: Going Visiting with Your Baby, Crying in the Car Seat, Handling Unwanted Advice, Stop Diaper Changing Battles
Professionals can request a set of one-page articles from my books - for use on your website, as handouts, or in your newsletter. I provide these to many professionals who work with parents of babies and young children. I will be happy to send you the newsletter set at no charge. The titles are:
Newborn Babies and Sleep
Colic –What Can You Do About It?
Toddler Cooperation
Wonderful Sounds for Sleep
Going Visiting with Your Baby
Crying in the Car Seat
Baby Tantrums
Hitting, Kicking, Biting & Hair Pulling
The Baby Blues: Do You Have Them? & What to Do
Stop Diaper Changing Battles
Help Your Crying Baby
Eight Sleep Tips for Every Child
Solving Naptime Problems
Tantrums, Fussing and Whining
What Triggers Your Anger?
Stop the Interrupting
Moving from Crib to Bed
Should Babies & Toddlers Watch Television?
Handling Unwanted Advice
Quick Facts About Potty Training
The Potty Training Readiness Quiz
Potty Training – Get Ready, Get Set, Go!
First Born Jealousy
How to Have a Happy Marriage When You’re Busy Being Parents
All titles are available in Microsoft word text files by email.
(Some are in PDF reproducible format.)
Spanish versions of some titles are also available upon request.
Tim Seldin, President, The Montessori Foundation and Chair, The International Montessori Council wrote the forward to my newest book, The No-Cry Discipline Solution. He has graciously provided four articles for this set:
Children are Little Scientists
Learning How to Pour
Learning to Observe your Child
Children Love to Work and Play
Sign with Your Baby by
Joseph Garcia - How to communicate with hearing infants before
they can speak
Translating
Newborn by Sonia Shah - You know your baby’s trying to tell
you something, but what is it?
American
Sign
Language Browser
Music Together - The Joy
of Family Music! - Music and movement for newborns -
preschoolers and the adults who love them!
Fam Jam! Music
Together® is a registered Music Together® center based in
Eldorado and in Santa Fe, run by a friend of mine.
see also: Father's Hormones
see also: Postpartum Depression
and Maternal Birth Trauma
Birth Navigators -
Teaching Men About Childbirth. Their book looks
excellent! It's Men At Birth (or
through Amazon.com)
Internet Resources for Fathers
Just for Dads
from betterbirth.com
I have seen workshops offered with the title, "The Daddy Shift"
to help expectant fathers prepare.
The Fathers-To-Be Initiative is bringing you a newsletter to update you on our progress in the field of fathering education. Fathers-To-Be provides opportunities for parents, birthcare professionals and educators to learn about the importance of fathers and how they can beneficially contribute to pregnancy, birth and early parenthood.
Fathers-To-Be Handbook - A Road Map for the Transition to Fatherhood by Patrick M. Houser
One Baby Two Parents - Supporting Early Parenthood Campaign
The Evolution of Dad : A Documentary-In-Progress about the Evolving American Father by Dana H. Glazer
As a father and a filmmaker, I want to share why it's as important to get fathers involved in this movement as it for moms.
Most dads aren't aware of what's really going on in our culture. They think the issues promoted on MomsRising.org have nothing to do with them - that these are just women's issues. At the beginning of this past year I started work on a documentary film project about the changing role of fatherhood, titled The Evolution of Dad. (www.evolutionofdad.com)
Before embarking on the project, I figured that, being a fairly involved dad of two young sons, I must know something about fatherhood. However, looking back, it's amazing how little I really did understand, especially regarding all the different cultural assumptions and messages we're given about what defines a good father. The bottom line is that while our society might say that fatherhood is important, the real underlying message is that dads are better off spending more time at work and less at home.
From my perspective, the only way we're going to create any serious change is by getting dads more aware and more involved in the process. That's why I'm making my film and that's why I'm doing all I can to support Moms and FamiliesRising. These are issues that affect every one of us.
What I'm asking from you is to include the men in your life in the conversation about work/family balance as much as possible. Tell them why you became a member of MomsRising.org, why they should become a member of FamiliesRising.org (at http://www.momsrising.org/signup) and share this link: http://www.momsrising.org/familiesrising
Only together, moms and dads united, can change really happen.
Happy Father
of Home Born Babies - This is designed to be a forum for
fathers who have homebirthed their children or for fathers who are
contemplating the homebirth experience.
BREAST
IS
STILL BEST, EVEN IF IT IS DAD'S by Alexandra Frean - Times
Online - June 13, 2005
This is a fabulous article from Mothering Magazine:
Labor
Union:
The Story of a Bradley Dad
By Dimitri Kaasan
Issue 119 - July/August 2003
Birthrites:
Healing After Caesarean has a new section on Men's
Experiences [Here men can contribute their own stories and
read other stories about cesarean and VBAC experiences. I
find that many men don't understand the impact that it has on a
woman to have her body cut open, her baby extracted, and her
uterus brought outside her body for repair, after which she is
expected to recover from her pregnancy and her surgery while
nursing a newborn baby and looking radiant for the photos.]
THE
TRAUMATIC
BIRTH EXPERIENCE: A FATHER’S PERSPECTIVE
Meet
the men who got PTSD from seeing their partners give birth -
Whilst the physical trauma of birth is solely female, there is
also a large body of evidence suggesting that new fathers equally
struggle to recover from their experiences in the delivery room.
And while, as a result, many of these men are in dire need of
psychological counselling or medical help, the resources simply
aren't there.
STRESS
AND
WEIGHT GAIN OBSERVED IN MEN DURING PARTNER'S PREGNANCY
- First-time fathers are more likely to put on weight and
drink excessively during their partner's pregnancy than after the
baby is born, according to the findings of a study by Australian
researchers. [Medscape registration is free.]
New
dads
can get postpartum depression, too
I Will
Support - A Father's Affirmation by Patricia Blomme
I Will Support - Father's
Affirmation - by Patricia Blomme
[I received a report that this magazine was defunct.]
FirstTime Dad.com -
"answers your questions about being a new dad and talks about
issues important to you, in your language."
Home School Dads -
Geared specifically for the fathers who homeschool. Get the latest
homeschooling news, articles, organizations, events, Homeschool
Mall, and much, much more!
The National Center for
Fathering - 1(800) 593-DADS
The research, which involved 8431 fathers and 11,833 mothers, found that 4 percent of men scored higher than 12 on the Edinburgh postnatal depression scale at 8 weeks postpartum, indicating major depressive disorder, compared with 10 percent of women. This paternal depression was found to be predictive of adverse emotional and behavioral outcomes in the children at age 3.5 years, even after adjusting for maternal and later paternal depression.
"Although largely neglected to date, paternal depression in the
postnatal period should be recognized and treated by health
professionals in order to lessen any adverse effects on the
child," the researchers, led by Paul Ramchandani from the
University of Oxford in the UK, advise.
Paternal
depression
in the postnatal period and child development: a prospective
population study.
Ramchandani P, Stein A, Evans J, O'Connor TG; ALSPAC study team.
Lancet. 2005 Jun 25-Jul 1;365(9478):2201-5.
FINDINGS: Information was available for 8431 fathers, 11,833
mothers, and 10,024 children. Depression in fathers during the
postnatal period was associated with adverse emotional and
behavioural outcomes in children aged 3.5 years (adjusted odds
ratio 2.09, 95% CI 1.42-3.08), and an increased risk of conduct
problems in boys (2.66, 1.67-4.25). These effects remained even
after controlling for maternal postnatal depression and later
paternal depression. INTERPRETATION: Our findings indicate that
paternal depression has a specific and persisting detrimental
effect on their children's early behavioural and emotional
development.
My first two are 20 months apart. I was concerned about two things; That I wouldn't love the second one as much as I loved the first, and how my daughter would still feel loved, important & valued even as I spent time meeting the needs of the new baby.
I read books in advance about bringing home baby, being a big sister etc.
I made sure to spend time with her when baby was sleeping.
I included the older one in my arms (arm) while breastfeeding the baby.
I asked for and appreciated daddy's extra help with the older one.
I asked for help.
We all survived.
buy a gift for her first child from the baby....works like a
charm.
We did a gift from the baby to big brother also - he still talks
about how <baby> left the hospital to go get him a gift
LOL!!!
And books, and spending special time with the older child, and
have the older child help with the baby (bring diaper, pick out an
outfit, etc).
There will be ups and downs, but everyone will survive!
One way to facilitate a special bond with the newborn is to arrange to have the siblings brought to the mother and newborn as soon as the placenta is out and most of the blood is out of view, or as soon after that as practical. It is especially meaningful for siblings to see the baby still attached to the placenta and perhaps to participate in cutting the cord. The newborn will still have bonding hormones for about 60-90 minutes after the birth, and there will still be bonding hormones "in the air" that the older sibling will absorb.
If the older sibling doesn’t see the newborn for some hours after the birth, then it helps to have the newborn lying on the bed alone; this way the sibling doesn't first see the newborn in the mother's arms, as if the newborn has taken the place of the older child. Then, allow the sibling to discover the newborn on their own.
In The Experience of Childbirth (p. 56), Sheila Kitzinger writes,
"The baby should be in a cot[1] and not in the mother's arms when
he sees it for the first time, and the mother should avoid any
elaborate displays of affection for the new baby. She can
point out the tiny nails and eyelashes and how little and helpless
the baby is - which will almost certainly invoke a response of
tenderness on the part of the older child - but should allow the
first expression of joy in the baby's birth to come from the child
himself. If a doll or some other special present is waiting
to celebrate the birthday, the advent of the baby is made even
more welcome. The toddler can sit on the bed and can be
cuddled at the same time as the baby, and if a special store of
biscuits[2] or fruit is kept by the mother's bed for feeding
times, and toys and other materials for quiet occupations are in
her room, they can be very pleasant and looked forward to rather
than resented by the displaced child. By no word or action
should the mother suggest that the older child intends to hurt the
baby, and she should instead be given positive encouragement and
help to hold him correctly.
"When grandparents, relations and other visitors arrive, a toddler who enjoys it can be the person who takes them to the new baby and shows him to them. In this way the new baby belongs to her too and is not simply a rival."
[Notes about the British words:
1. The British use the word cot instead of crib or bassinet.
I personally would recommend having the baby simply lying on the
bed or sofa next to the mother.
2. The British use the word biscuits instead of cookies. I
might suggest a more nutritious snack.]
Brainy kids' brains develop slowly - [3/29/06] - Very smart children, despite their reputation for being ahead of their peers mentally, actually lag behind other kids in development of the "thinking" part of the brain, a new study says. . . .
"Intellectual
ability
and cortical development in children and adolescents.
" Shaw P, Greenstein D, Lerch J, Clasen L, Lenroot R, Gogtay N,
Evans A, Rapoport J, Giedd J.
Nature. 2006 Mar 30;440(7084):676-9.
"Children who are adept at any one of the three academic 'R's
(reading, writing and arithmetic) tend to be good at the others,
and grow into adults who are similarly skilled at diverse
intellectually demanding activities. Determining the
neuroanatomical correlates of this relatively stable individual
trait of general intelligence has proved difficult, particularly
in the rapidly developing brains of children and adolescents. Here
we demonstrate that the trajectory of change in the thickness of
the cerebral cortex, rather than cortical thickness itself, is
most closely related to level of intelligence. Using a
longitudinal design, we find a marked developmental shift from a
predominantly negative correlation between intelligence and
cortical thickness in early childhood to a positive correlation in
late childhood and beyond. Additionally, level of intelligence is
associated with the trajectory of cortical development, primarily
in frontal regions implicated in the maturation of intelligent
activity. More intelligent children demonstrate a particularly
plastic cortex, with an initial accelerated and prolonged phase of
cortical increase, which yields to equally vigorous cortical
thinning by early adolescence. This study indicates that the
neuroanatomical expression of intelligence in children is
dynamic."
As midwives, we focus A LOT (sometimes obsessively) about consent
from our clients about their treatment and the treatment of their
babies. Wouldn't it be lovely if this respect for consent
continued throughout the baby's lifetime?
Many aspects of traditional parenting simply assert dominance and
control over the child. Bringing more consciousness to the issue
can change that.
Delicate newborn skin can react with rashes to all sorts of minor
irritants, especially dry cleaning fluid and laundry detergents!
Fabric softener can be amazingly irritating to sensitive
skin. Some alternatives include using natural fabrics, using
a lot less detergent, drying on low heat and not overdrying your
clothes.
THE SOAP THAT GROWS ON TREES!TM - Maggie’s Soap NutsTM
are the only laundry soap that grows on trees!
Truly effective, 100% natural and safe for your most sensitive
skin. Soap NutsTM are the dried fruit of the Chinese Soapberry
tree. They contain saponin, a natural cleaner used for
thousands of years to clean clothes, just like the plants used by
Native Americans for washing.
I'll add my vote for Charlie's Soap, which is dye- and perfume-free. It cleans well and rinses clean - here's some detailed info.
My son had eczema and I have pretty allergic skin, and it made a
big difference for us.
I'm also very sensitive to the issue of laundry detergents, since I'm laundering and sterilizing linens for use on newborn babies at birth, and I also have very sensitive skin.
I used those discs for a while, and they didn't seem to do much. I poked around online and found some interesting information about them. The most interesting thing was that they may seem to work the first few times you use them because there is usually so much residual detergent in our laundered clothes and linens that they bring their own detergent to the next laundry cycle.
Here's a webpage that calls those laundry discs a hoax.
What I learned from all this was that you can actually wash your
clothes without any laundry detergent at all. Apparently
water and mechanical agitation get clothes pretty clean without
any added cleaning agent. Now, I just use a very small
amount of fragrance-free Seventh Generation laundry liquid in my
regular laundry and do a separate load if there's anything that
needs extra cleaning.
The Sling Station has helpful information on how to choose a sling or baby carrier.
How to Deal with Child Protection Workers in Unassisted Births by
Capper, a former child protection worker (called Child Protective
Services in the US) and now police officer. [As of spring, 2002,
the BirthLove site is by subscription only - it's well worth the
$10 membership fee; you can get a "sampler" by reading BirthLove's
Top Twenty- For Free! .] [Ed: birthlove.com is not available
at this time.]
Popular Baby Names
from the Social Security Administration
Strollers and baby carriages are being introduced into Africa,
but the pediatricians there are concerned that they may damage the
mother/child relationship. In contrast to current practices
of carrying their babies in wraps or slings, the strollers are
seen as "the ultimate in pushing the baby away from you",
according to Nairobi child psychiatrist Frank Njenga. "The
baby on the back is actually following the mother in warmth and
comfort. The baby feels safer, and safer people are happier
people." [from San Francisco Chronicle, 5/20/04, quoted in the
APPPAH newsletter, Spring? 2005]