Parental Guidance Suggested

Homemade Almond Milk

2011-04-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years I've been becoming more mindful of the way that I eat. It's been quite a slow process, but every few months I'll see something or read something that gives me a little kick to up my game. A few days ago I saw an episode of Dr. Oz (this show is amazing and you should watch it!) that featured the filmmakers of Forks Over Knives, a new documentary coming out next month about the importance and benefits of eating a plant-based diet.

Having been born and raised in Kansas, where meat and dairy are always part of the daily diet, I thought I'd have a hard time eating mostly fruits/nuts/grains/veggies full time. However, once I did, I noticed a HUGE difference in the way my body ran. I stopped drinking milk for a few days and my digestive system thanked me for it:-) This was sort of an issue though, because we drink a protein shake every day after we work out, so how was I supposed to mix my shake if I stopped drinking milk?

The answer: almond milk! Not store bought though, I wanted to MAKE it. So after reading this blog post about it, I decided to try it myself. Here's how it went.

First I soaked 1 cup of raw, organic almonds in water. The recipe says try for 8-12 hours, but I was impatient and could only wait 3.

After about 3 hours and a little stirring, they looked like this.

Next I put the soaked almonds and 4 cups of water into my food processor. Notice in the photo, my food processor has a max liquid fill line on the container. I didn't see this until after I made my almond milk. I recommend doing 1/2 of the batch at a time so you don't go over this line. You'll see why soon.

Then the recipe calls for 1/4 cup agave nectar. I recommend 2 Tablespoons instead. The milk came out WAY too sweet.

Add 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract. I'm going to attempt to make my own organic vanilla extract this summer! But for now I just used what I had.

Then put the top on, blend on high for a few minutes. If you recall I pointed out the max liquid fill line earlier. There is a reason why that's there. When I started my processor, water just started pouring out of the top like crazy. It was not fun. At this point I STILL hadn't realized I was over the max line, so I was wondering why this was happening. So I just packed the whole thing with towels and kept blending. It was really messy.

Obey the line.

When it was done, it looked like this:

Now, you can drink this as it is if you want a chunky almond shake. But, I did not. So I used some cheesecloth (but I have plants to purchase a reusable nut milk bag), and strained the almond mixture into one of my new Le Parfait jars.

I poured some of the mixture in, let it strain for a few minutes, then helped it along by pressing on it with a spoon while holding onto the cloth so it didn't fall into the jar. Eventually I just took the cloth off and squeezed the milk out.

Here's about how much milk I got out of my 1 cup of almonds. I'd say it's about 2 cups of milk.

I saved the dry almond chunks to use in oatmeal. It's actually pretty good by itself! You could put it on crackers too.

The next day I mixed a protein shake with my almond milk and it tasted GREAT. I feel like this is a perfect non-dairy, non-soy alternative to milk, and I don't plan on going back to milk at all. You can even mix in some cocoa powder for chocolate milk! I add cocoa to my protein shakes.

Be sure to share if you try this! It's really satisfying to make your own food like this. The effort is totally worth it.

French Canning Jars!

2011-04-26T16:58:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from The Zero Waste Home: Le Parfait canning jars. Not only can you use them for canning, but as containers for bulk food shopping! I have a few months before I will have mature tomatoes to can, so until then I'll fill them up with bulk beans or fruits/veggies when I go grocery shopping at my newest favorite market. I bought mine here, which has the best prices on these jars I could find. These are the 0.5 liter size. I only got 2 at first, but over the next few months (or years) I'll keep collecting them in different sizes, and as my canning needs increase. I have a pretty small garden this year.

I am IN. LOVE. with these jars. They're sooooo pretty:-)

My Thumbs are Feeling Green

2011-04-23T14:27:00.000-07:00

More beauty shots of my garden in progress. My strawberries are turning red!

Peas

Onions

Hydrangea

My square foot garden!

Strawberries and spinach

Seeds are Sprouting!

2011-04-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

You may remember my post last year about the seeds I planted. Well we ended up moving that summer so I never even got the chance to plant them in a garden! THIS year, however, I built my own beds and planted seeds again (I kept the same ones from last year: they're all organic). These are some of the seeds I started indoors a little over a week ago. It's SO nice to see them growing! I can't wait to get them in the garden so they can start giving me food!

I'll keep posting updates as my garden grows. How's YOUR garden coming? Did you plant any vegetables this year?

Cucumber

Pinto Bean

Lettuce

Soap Nuts!

2011-04-15T12:20:00.000-07:00

A while ago I came across a new concept (new to me, anyway) of using soap nuts to clean laundry. I read about it on a blog, and started researching it more. I finally decided to take the plunge and buy some and see how they work! I got them in the mail today and I'm SO excited to try them. I have a load in the washer right now!

Soap nuts are a natural, organic way to clean your laundry. They even soften your clothes in the washer so there's no need for softening sheets. You use 4 in a small fabric bag that they provide and that lasts 4-6 loads. When your done, you can compost them! Zero waste:-)

This one little bag cleans 4-6 loads of laundry!

Like I said I have a load in the washer right now, so I'll report back once I see how they work! Here's hoping:-)

*Update: Wow I just got a load out of the dryer and I am IMPRESSED! They don't have a smell at all, which is the smell of CLEAN:-) A few t-shirts were a little static-y which is fine with me. If you don't like that, then I suggest Shaklee biodegradable dryer sheets. Overall, I am super excited about how well these work and have NO plans to go back to traditional laundry detergent. Yay for natural solutions!

*2nd update: As of December 15, 2011 I still have not used the entire bag of soap nuts. But, we don't have kids yet so I'm only doing laundry for two people. But still! This one bag has lasted 8 months so far! That is awesome.

Quinoa Adventures

2011-04-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

Last night I decided to have salmon and quinoa for dinner. I bought some salmon at a local market I discovered yesterday. More on the market in the future, but I just wanted to share this meal because it was yummy!

I bought this salmon and organic lemon at the market for dinner!

This is the only store I've found that sells NATURAL salmon that didn't come from a fish farm and isn't pumped full of hormones and antibiotics.

So here I was getting ready to measure out my quinoa, and the bag slipped out of my hand and all of the sudden I had quinoa dunes on my counter, and it spilled all over the floor and into the open drawer below. Awesome. Well...it makes a cool picture:-)

At least I got some in the measuring cup!

Dinner is served! Broiled salmon, quinoa with lemon juice, and sautéed red bell pepper and zucchini.

I. Love. Salmon.

This meal really didn't take long to put together. Maybe 15-20 minutes including prep? Easy peasey. And yummy.

Currently Reading: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education

2011-03-07T15:28:00.000-08:00

As you may know by now, I'm an advocate for homeschooling. Just check out my previous posts about it here, here, and here. I've learned a lot more about homeschooling since those posts. Recently I checked out a book from the McPherson Public Library called "The Teenage Liberation Handbook: How to Quit School and Get a Real Life and Education" by Grace Llewellyn. I'm only on page 48, and I love it. I sort of had a "lightbulb" moment when reading it just now.

I think a huge road block for parents when they think about homeschooling is they don't feel like they have the skill or knowledge base to teach their children EVERYTHING they need to know. Well, the great part about that is: you don't need to. Children are born with a love of learning, and believe it or not, they can actually teach themselves! All you need to do as a parent is provide them with the resources. The best resource a kid can have is your public library. Not only that, but daily life activities are great teaching tools. Do you have a garden? Do you like to sew? Do you like to cook? Do you love to travel? Taking your kids out of school actually frees them up to experience life! All of those activities I just listed have multitudes of math, science, geography, and history lessons! And they're actually FUN to learn when you're not held hostage by grades at the end of the lesson.

I can't wait to read more of this book (oh by the way, I hated reading in school, but I LOVE to read books that I actually get to choose;-) and I promise I'll write many more posts about what I learn from it.

In the meantime, if you're interested in reading about the daily lives of people who actually homeschool, hop on over to The Pioneer Woman and see how much fun they're having!

Breaking My Sugar Addiction

2011-01-26T14:31:00.000-08:00

You may recall my previous posts about sugar here and here. Well, it's been 2 years and I haven't done anything about my sugar addiction. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it's gotten worse. I finally started to reconsider doing a sugar detox when I saw an episode of Dr. Oz the other day, talking about how sugar is now connected to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and liver damage. Really? Liver damage? Why am I doing this to myself?

Ugh. I'm not looking forward to this, but I know that if I don't get rid of my sugar addiction, bad things will happen. So, I started Googling. There are some common themes I keep finding on the topic of breaking a sugar addiction.

Eat more protein. This helps regulate your blood sugar and greatly diminishes sugar cravings
Start the day off with a good breakfast, and don't go too long without eating. Snack on healthy foods like nuts, hard boiled eggs, and edamame (YUM!).
Take it slow. Don't try to go cold turkey, cause it won't work. Instead work on consciously reducing your intake a little every day.
Get rid of the hidden sugars in your diet. I've started looking at labels a lot more when I shop, and I was shocked to find how many foods have sugar in them. Even the store brand of 100% whole wheat bread had high fructose corn syrup in it! Come on!!! Look out for these forms of sugar on your food labels:

Fructose
Maltose
Sorbitol
Evaporated cane juice
Syrups
Xylotol
Sugars ending in "ol" or "ose"

So...here we go. This is NOT a New Year's resolution, it's just something I want to do so I can be healthy! I know it's going to be hard, I'm probably going to mess up, but I gotta try. I'll keep you updated. In the mean time, feel free to ask me how it's going:-)

Passion

2010-10-25T20:13:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been months since I've posted on this blog. I needed to take a little break to remove myself from it and learn a little more about compassionate communication.

Today I stumbled across this post from my friend's blog. I totally forgot she wrote this! It reminded me why I started this blog, and why I should keep writing. I am passionate about all things pregnancy, childbirth, parenting, etc. In fact, in the past few months we've moved back to my home town in Kansas and I've decided I want to open a birth center here! My friend and I talked about it today: what steps we need to take to start the process, the workshop we want to attend next fall, where we would be located, etc. It's so much fun to dream! I can't wait to start putting these dreams in motion.

Not only has my passion for these things grown, but my other passions have evolved that would sort of merge well into my dream of opening a birth center. Last year I started Wonderland Baby, and with that I could create special onesies just for the babies born in the birth center. I've also found a new passion for photography! I would love, love, love to include birth photography as a service in the birth center. I have so many inspirations for these dreams, but my main inspiration has by far been my friend Kathy, who is actually on her way to California from Washington RIGHT NOW to do her very first birth photography session!

It's so wonderful to be able to follow my passions in life. I'll keep you updated on the process of the birth center planning;-)

Sewing Tutorial: Quilted Pot Holder

2010-04-17T17:36:00.000-07:00

For a while now I've wanted to get into quilting. It looks a little overwhelming though, so for my first quilting project, I decided to make a pot holder with some scraps I have. So if you've ever wanted to try quilting, here's a great intro project to sew along with!

To start, I used an embroidery hoop as my pattern. I traced it on the batting and then cut it out.

I chose 3 fabrics and cut them into diagonal strips

Next I placed them out how I wanted them to look on the final product.

Time to sew! Place RIGHT sides together and sew each piece on.

This is what the back looks like when you're done.

Front

Press the seams down with a hot iron (you can spray some water on the fabric with a water bottle to make the fabric easier to press down)

The front after pressing

Now put your batting on the back of the fabric you just pieced together

Choose a single piece of fabric to go on the back, trace the circle (or whatever pattern you're using) and cut out. Then place it on top of the batting, with the right side up. Now you have a fabric sandwich:-)

Pin all three layers together

The back

Now for the actual quilting part! I chose to just sew along the sides of each seam. Nice and simple. Sew through all three layers, removing the pins as you go.

You can trim the excess fabric off around the edges before or after you sew. I did it after, but in hindsight it might have been easier to trim it before.

Next you sew on the binding around the edges. Here's a link on how to sew your own binding, or you can buy prepackaged binding at your sewing/craft store. Keep in mind that if you're using a circular pattern like I did, you have to cut the binding on the bias.

Ta-Da! This only took me about an hour to do, and now I've actually quilted something! Yay:-) Hmm..maybe a small blanket next?

Toys!

2010-04-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

I love looking at children's toys. It's fun. I recently found some new (to me) websites that have tons of really cool toys, and I wanted to share them with you!

I think my favorite one is Moolka.com. They have organic toys, musical instruments, toys for creative play, and pretty much any cool toy your kid could ever want:-)

Love this wooden sports car!

How cute is this guy?!

Love these colorful blocks!

My next favorite site is called Artebebe.com. I think their forte is with plush dolls and puppets. So cute! Like these:

This cute little guy is an activity bear that makes all kinds of fun noises.

I love knit dolls like this. Easy to sew doll clothes for!

These knit rattles are so adorable:-)

They also have really cool wooden toys like this play dough tool set.

Okay that's enough toys for today:-) Where are your favorite places to shop for toys???

Sewing Tutorial: Baby Swaddler

2010-04-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

I'm a huge believer in the techniques of The Happiest Baby On the Block book/DVD. So for a friend's baby shower, I made her a swaddler! I got the basic pattern from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing For Baby. Her pattern uses velcro flaps, and I'm just not a fan of velcro on baby things, so I modified it to tie instead. My friend loves it so much she wanted me to make another one! So I took pictures while I made it so I could share with you!

This was the first swaddler I made for my friend's baby shower.

This is the design from the book. Cute, but again, I'm not a fan of velcro. It's not very adjustable, and it's hard to get a tight swaddle.

Here's what you need to get started (in addition to a sewing machine and some sewing music. I sew to Michael Jackson:-)

1 yard (44" wide) of cotton fabric for the outside
1 yard (44" wide) of soft fabric for the inside. Cotton fleece works well, or you could use Minky fabric like I did. SO SOFT!
Pattern pieces from the book
Scissors
Straight pins
Water soluble marking pen
Thread

Minky fabric:-) Love.

First, cut out the fabric pieces using the pattern from the book. There are just two pattern pieces, and you cut out one on each fabric.

When cutting out this piece on your soft fabric, cut along this dotted line I've marked out. In order to keep the swaddler from being too bulky or hard to tie, we don't use this fabric down the flaps. Oh, and your pattern won't go off the fabric like mine is:-) I didn't have enough fabric so I cut another piece and sewed it on.

I decided to extend the pattern to make the finished product a few inches longer, as requested from my friend:-) And since I didn't have enough fabric to do it in one piece, I sewed on the extra length. You can just stick to the pattern, though.

So this is the part where I need to extend the flaps to make long pieces to wrap with. I basically just started out cutting along the flap on the pattern and just kept going. I ran out of fabric so I had to cut some other pieces out and sew on the extra length.

Now that all of your pieces are cut out, it's time to sew the darts. There are two on each piece of fabric. Mark where the dart lines start on the fabric.

Measure the length of the side of the dart line. This one is 2".
Remind me to do my nails before my next sewing tutorial:-)

Now you fold the fabric in half so the outside marks of the dart line up. The RIGHT side of the fabric should be together. Now use your measuring tape to measure the same length from the previous picture, and mark that line with your marker. Sew along that line.

Now it should look like this!

Do the same for the other pieces. This is the dart from the larger pattern piece. This dart is 4 and 1/4"

Once you've sewn all the darts, follow the directions in the book to place both of the minky pieces together (RIGHT sides together), pin, and sew. Do the same with the cotton pieces.

When I sew over darts I like to cut them down the middle and spread them open so it's less bulky. The trim off the edges, like in the picture below.

So now you should have the two minky pieces sewn together, and the two cotton pieces sewn together. Put the cotton pieces (RIGHT side out) inside the minky pieces (WRONG side out).

Pin the two fabrics together

On the top piece, pin from dart to dart, as shown below.

Sew!

So now you can flip it right side out!

Start flipping right side out, through one of the side openings.

It will look really weird at first, and you'll freak out cause it won't look right.

Then you tuck the minky pouch into the cotton pouch.

And then you'll be relieved cause it worked.

So now this is what it looks like.

As you can see, I had to sew on extra fabric on the ends of the flaps. You might have to do this also. Just make sure you fold down the seams and sew them so they look pretty.

This is kind of what it will look like when we're done.

Fold down the edges and iron. Sometimes it helps to spray it with water so they stay down better. Do this all the way around both flaps.

Fold again and iron. You'll probably have to pin this as you go, or it won't stay down.

Sew with a decorative stitch, if your sewing machine has one. I just used a zig zag stitch.

Now fold under the unfinished edges of the minky fabric and sew.

Done! This one is really long:-) Yours will look more like the first one I made.

Beauty shots!

Looks comfy:-) Maybe I should make myself a sleeping bag like this! Haha.

FIRST Sewing Tutorial!

2010-03-28T19:05:00.000-07:00

*Courtesy Warning: This post is for women,

and if you're a man, it may be TMI*

I'm so excited to share with you my very first sewing tutorial! I follow several blogs that always have fun sewing tutorials and I always wanted to do one, so here is the first of many to come! So, you would think that for my first tutorial I'd do some cute baby item since I sew adorable baby clothes for a living (if you haven't been

to Onesie Wonderland, now's the time).

But, instead, for my first tutorial I chose something that I've been sort of interested in for a while now: reuseable feminine hygiene products! Yay! If you've never thought about using reuseable products for that time of the month, I'm here to spark your interest:-) Seriously, ladies, think about all of the plastic/paper that we throw in the trash each month (not to mention the money we spend on those products)! To learn more (ex: laundry care) you can go to this FAQ page at Lunapads (this was the main inspiration for my pattern below).

So, without further ado, let's get sewing! For this project you'll need:

Cotton fleece for the insert (I used acrylic because that's all the store had but I plan to go find some cotton fleece this week)
Flannel for the body of the liner.
1/4" elastic, about 4 inches in length
Velcro, sew on snaps, or a button

To begin, I just got a disposable liner and stuck it to a cereal box to make a pattern. Trace around it, then take the liner off and throw it away.

Next I cut around the center of the liner and put it back and traced it, because this is the shape I want the center portion of my reuseable liner to be. I also traced around the outside for a seam allowance.

Now draw some wings! Don't worry, it doesn't have to be perfect.

Cut out your pattern, and you're ready to go.

I cut out the center because that's my center insert pattern. Now cut a couple 2" pieces of elastic. I just laid them on top to show you where they'll eventually go.

Now put your center pattern on the fleece, trace, and cut out.

Now put the rest of your pattern on the wrong side of your flannel fabric, and trace TWO pieces. Cut out.

Put the two pieces WRONG side together, and stitch around the edge. Leave about an inch and a half open at the end so you can turn it right side out.

Turn your fabric right side out, and you'll have an opening left that looks like this.

Turn the edges in, like so.

Press with a hot iron so it will lay flat and be easy to stitch shut.

Stitch around the edges with a straight stitch

Lay your center insert on top, and put marks on the sides where you'll place the elastic.

Put one end of the elastic piece a few centimeters past the mark you made. You'll sew right on top of that mark, so you want to leave some extra length.

Do this for both pieces. Your liner will now look like this. By the way, the purpose of the elastic is so you can add extra inserts onto the liner for heavier days. This makes it easy to change them out when you're on the go, so you don't have to change the entire liner. But when you're making the liner itself, the first insert will be sewn in for light days.

Place your center insert back down, and turn the other end of the elastic under the edge of the insert.

Sew on top of the edge of the insert to secure the elastic.

Now it will look like this!

Repeat for the other end, and now it should look like this.

Using a zig zag stitch, sew around the edge of the center insert to secure it to the liner.

Ta-da!

Okay now you just have to sew on the velcro (or snaps, or button). You have to put one side of the velcro on top of the left side, and the other side of the velcro on the bottom of the right side. This way they will come together when you close it.

This picture is of the scratchy side of the velcro.

This is the soft side of the velcro, sewn on the bottom of the liner, on the opposite side.

You're done! Now bring the flaps together to close it, and you have a reuseable pantyliner!

I hope you enjoyed my first sewing tutorial! Let me know if any of the pictures or instructions weren't clear. And of course stay tuned for more tutorials in the future!

Next I'll show you how to sew a baby swaddler!

I. Love. Amy. Butler.

2010-03-14T12:44:00.000-07:00

I want to decorate my house completely with Amy Butler fabric. I just wish she would do more yellow/grey designs (I'm really into yellow and grey right now).

Go see more of these pictures at the Amy Butler website.

Starting Seeds!

2010-03-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

I love this time of year! This year is extra exciting since I've signed up for a community garden plot. I'm starting seeds inside right now, and hopefully within the next few weeks I'll be able to set up my raised beds and get some plants in the ground!

These are spinach and pea seeds I'm starting out on my patio. They do well in cool weather so I put them outside with the top of my cake stand over them so they don't get too wet from this Pacific Northwest rain.

Someday I'll get a camera that will actually focus on what I want it to:-)

These are the seeds I'm starting inside. We have (all of these are organic btw): sugar pumpkin (for pumpkin pie in the fall), sweet pepper, several different varieties of lettuce, Beefsteak tomato, Ace tomato (for canning my own spaghetti sauce!), and Sweet Pea Currant tomato.

Are you starting seeds for your organic garden yet??

YouTube is a Wonderful Thing

2010-03-03T12:53:00.000-08:00

The first piece of advice I would give to anyone who is pregnant would be to spend hours and hours on YouTube, watching births. Search Hypnobabies, home birth, and/or water birth. It is so inspiring to watch women bringing their babies into the world in such a beautiful way. I think it's important for first time mothers especially to spend time watching women give birth because the idea of childbirth can be very scary. The unknown is always scary. If you've ever watched women give birth on TV shows like 'A Baby Story' or '16 and Pregnant', you may notice some big differences when you watch the home births (and Hypnobabies and water births) on YouTube. Just prepare yourself for a lot of naked pregnant women.

Also, if you've never seen a hospital birth or a cesarean section, you might want to search those too, just so you can see the differences (and similarities).

Here's an example of a woman giving birth and using Hypnobabies (more on Hypnobabies to come). This one isn't very graphic. No nudity, so don't be scared:-) You'll notice some words she uses like "pressure waves" and "center switch". Pressure waves are referring to contractions. With Hypnobabies, a lot of terminology is different because of the way the words affect our attitudes.

For example, the word "contraction" has sort of a negative connotation to it. It makes us think of tensing up, which increases our perception of pain. Instead, Hypnobabies uses "pressure wave" to help you stay present and just "ride the wave", per se.

"Center switch" is referring to her hypnosis. Not interacting with the outside world, but not completely focused inside yourself like you would be while pushing or in transition.

If you're interested in learning more about Hypnobabies, you can go to their website. I would encourage you to follow their blog, they always have really inspiring birth stories from mom's who've used Hypnobabies . I'll also have another post about Hypnobabies coming soon!

It's Time To Spice Things Up

2010-02-03T22:01:00.000-08:00

I think this blog would be a lot more fun if I mixed in some crafty things. There's a whole lot of talking going on here, and it just seems to me like PGS needs a little light-hearted crafty-ness sometimes. For example, here are some blogs that I love and that inspire me daily:

Homemade By Jill

Sparkle Power

MADE

So You Think You're Crafty

Little Birdie Secrets

So be on the lookout for some fun crafts/tutorials!

Parental Guidance Suggested is gettin' crafty.

Take A Breath...

2010-01-28T16:55:00.000-08:00

You know that feeling you get when you read something outrageous or see a documentary that moves you so much you just want to get up and do something about it right then? Well, that's often the way I feel when I write a post on here. I'm usually fired up about something, no matter what it is. I guess I kind of use this blog as an outlet.

Having said that, I realize that publishing a post like the last one immediately after I write it is probably not a good thing:-) In the future I'll take a breath, walk away, come back and edit if necessary.

The main goal of this blog is to inspire people to be informed about the decisions they make about their families. That's why it's called Parental Guidance Suggested. I'm suggesting that you be intentional about the way you guide your families, instead of just going through the motions and relying on doing "what everybody else does".

I know that yelling at people and sounding judgemental does not inspire. The last thing I want to do is sound judgemental, and turn people off so much that they miss the point of what I'm trying to say. So, in the future I promise that I'll find a better way to deliver my thoughts, opinions, and research so that is does inspire you, not make you feel defensive.

You know, in a weird way this is a great way to think about how you relate to your kids:-) But, I think I should be done typing for the day. Or the next few days.

Top Five Things I Wish Every Expectant Family Knew

2010-01-22T11:20:00.000-08:00

I recently found this article on Birth At Home In Arizona, a new blog I'm following. So it inspired me to write my own Top Five list* (a few of these are on that other list too, but I decided to give my own little explanation).

Top Five Things I Wish Every Expectant Family Knew BEFORE They Give Birth:

Your doctor is not God, and you have the right to question him/her. Like Stephanie said in her article, you are the one that hired your doctor, and you have the right to fire them, too. Doctors aren't always right, and they don't always have YOUR best interests in mind (many times they're just trying to avoid a potential law suit), so it's up to YOU to decide what you want to do. I know it's easy to be intimidated because they've gone to school for so long and have a fancy degree. If you find yourself questioning your doctor but too scared to say anything or ask the questions you want to ask, take someone with you to your appointments who will speak up for you. If you feel like you have to constantly fight for what you want, maybe you should consider changing doctors/midwives.
"Due dates" are not set in stone. Be patient. Yes, the average pregnancy is 40 weeks. However, unless you track your cycle religiously, you don't know when you got pregnant and your doctor is using an average number to give you a "due date" (it's more like a guess date). Sure, they also can see how big the baby is with an ultrasound, but this isn't always accurate. You should give yourself a two week window before and after the guess date your doctor gave you. Your baby will come when it's ready.
Induction is a no-win situation, so it should only be used for true medical reasons (newsflash: a big baby is not a good reason). Being induced leads to a snowball effect of medical interventions, and greatly increases your chances of getting a cesarean. Watch this documentary for a great explanation of this. So unless you want a c-section, you shouldn't ask your doctor to induce you because you're tired of being pregnant. Or because you think the baby is too big. Or because you want to choose your baby's birthday. When interviewing doctors, ask how long they'll let you go past your guess date before they insist on induction (ideally they should say 2 weeks). This is important, because you don't want to feel pressured-you want your baby to come when it's ready!
You should watch The Happiest Baby On the Block. I wrote this post last month explaining some of the principles of the video, but you really should watch it before you give birth. Keep it in the house for a couple weeks after baby is born so you can go back and review the techniques when you're stressed and can't remember them. You can probably find it at your local library, movie stores, or just buy it used on Amazon.
Diapers aren't your only option, believe it or not. Diapers are expensive. Diapers are bad for the environment. Diapers can hinder your communication with your child. They can even hinder your child's development. You didn't realize diapers could do all that, did you? Yes, there is a better way, and it's not as gross or time consuming as you might think. You might even ENJOY it! You can read more in this post, and I highly recommend you get this book from your library/bookstore/Amazon. Trust me on this one. I was skeptical at first too, believe me! But when I finished this book, I knew that this was the alternative to diapers I was looking for.

*I am not a medical professional. These are simply my conclusions after researching each of these topics extensively. You should do your own research on these topics and then decide what's right for you.

Great Co-Sleeping Article

2010-01-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

Co-Sleeping: Does It Really Need to Be Explained?

I like this. The more I think about it, the less sense it makes to even have a nursery. Baby furniture is expensive (you don't even need a changing table if you go diaper free!), and they hardly spend any time in there anyway. Why not just buy a co-sleeper or a playpen and let them sleep in your room for the first year or so? You can probably find one on Craigslist or eBay so they're a lot cheaper. They're also portable, so you can eventually move them into their own room when you're ready, take them on vacation, Grandma's house, or into the hallway/other room for some "mommy and daddy time":-)

Plus, if you breastfeed, co-sleeping is way easier for nighttime feedings.

Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper

Do you co-sleep? Maybe you think people who co-sleep are crazy? I want to hear your opinion on this one.

Presence.

2010-01-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

Being present is a struggle for me.

I'm a planner. I like to think of ideas, plan projects, plan my garden, plan my life. My word for this year is presence. So my goal is to be here, now. Not constantly think of what's ahead. As much as I like to plan for the future, I also realize that today is going to be yesterday really soon. And yesterday is going to become last year, and then before I know it, last year will become 5 years ago.

Right now I'm in a bit of a funk. It's like clockwork. A few weeks into the school term, and my brain turns off. I want to be done because I have 1,000 other things I want to do. I'm also in a sewing funk. I want to do it...I really do. I just don't.

Oh well. I can't be super excited and motivated all the time, right? Ugh...it's times like these when I want to eat an entire row of Oreos.

...How's that for a completely random post? :-)

Guest Blogger: Kathy Carlisle

2010-01-11T17:23:00.000-08:00

I have a special treat for you today:-) My good friend Kathy graciously agreed to share part of her personal journey to healthy living. Kathy and I met through our husbands, who play basketball together. The first time we hung out together, I knew she was in my life for a reason and that she would be a huge inspiration. Kathy was actually the one who encouraged me to do this blog! I really wanted to share all of my research and knowledge on parenting and child development, but I was scared that nobody would take me seriously since I don't have any kids of my own (yet). Kathy told me to follow my passion and that people would benefit from this information if I shared it. Oh, and by the way, Kathy is the amazing photographer who took all of the pictures for my Onesie Wonderland website, and also my profile picture here on PGS. You can see more of HER passion at Heaven's Eye Photography. P.S.-She has an awesome blog too, so you should check it out:-)

Me and Kathy

"My Journey...

Let me see if I can sum up my life up until the "rebirth" a year ago.

I was an "All-American Girl" living the "All-American" life....or should I say that life was living me.

I have an amazing husband. Three incredible kids. And now...a beautiful blue Dane that keeps us on our toes.

I was going out to eat more and more the busier we got with life.

I considered myself to be healthy with no major problems and thin body type. On the outside...the whole package. On the inside thoughts of...

I want to get healthier. I want to see a naturopath to get rid of my headaches. I want to eat better. I want to cook better. I want more money. I want to inspire and make a difference.

Well, be careful what you wish for:)

All my desires came in the form of a diagnosis....One year ago, at the age of 34, I was diagnosed with MS.

Now before you gasp of feel sorry for me...understand why I may feel sorry for whoever is reading this.

If you have ever been pregnant or are considering getting pregnant then you will know exactly what I am talking about. There is an internal switch inside most women when they are pregnant that tells them to eat better. That they may want to start working out more. Or resting more because you are finally in tune enough with your body to know that it needs just that. Well, we CHOOSE to turn that switch on and to give our bodies the priority for the first times in our lives for many. But, as soon as that baby comes out and mother instincts kick in, all of the sudden our needs and wants go into the back seat again. Not only is that switched flipped to off, it is buried for many years to come...forever for some! Well, MS for me, helped me to go find that switch again and turn it on forever. I have chosen to slow down my life enough now that I can hear my body again. I am choosing to eat healthier and healthier everyday, and I choose to REST when my body tells me to rest (no coffee or energy drink to keep me going...go figure)!

I could blog all day about exactly all that I doing and how it is transforming my life...but I think that will be doing you an injustice by taking away from your own journeys that you are about to embark on.

Some of you may not be able to relate to my story because you are "healthy" and will make changes eventually. Some of you have no idea you are brewing a lovely cancer, or an auto immune disease, or diabetes with the foods you are putting into your body everyday. Some of you are lacking so many of the vital nutrients and have no idea how to make huge changes. Some may have symptoms like headaches, stomach aches, fatigue, funky menstrual cycles, or eczema that you are so used to dealing with, that you have stopped listening to the obvious signs that your body is trying to warn you with.

But something in ALL of us craves better. We all want to be healthier but either don't have the tools to get there or too many walls up that have made the fear masked. Believe me, I have dealt with fear in my journey and I continue to squash it everyday. What happens if we could get curious about our lifestyles again instead of labeling them with, "I'm just too busy." or "I'm just too tired." or finding like-minded people to back us up in our lack of choice making...."that's just how it is, we live in a different society these days". Believe me, I have used EVERY excuse in the world to stay in my easy little world of fast food, convenience and numbing up. Change is never really that easy if you are set in your ways. So open your mind back up to the possibility that you COULD change and that you could CHOOSE to change. Whatever that change may be that you know will make your life better, stop making excuses and letting fear get in your way.

So when I say that a year ago was a "rebirth" for me....I mean that I have begun to live again with fresh eyes. I plan on never letting this dose of perspective get away from me or buried and I will continue to inspire because I am just like you...

full of fears

full of excuses

The difference...the perspective...I KNOW that I am not guaranteed tomorrow. I am grateful for today. I am making CHOICES that aren't mainstream and I am open to change. I continue to be excited for each new day and the adventures that it brings and all life keeps giving me in return is JOY. Love this Life...because it could be different or gone tomorrow!"

-Kathy

Thoughts on Contraception...

2010-01-09T23:03:00.001-08:00

Here's an interesting podcast I found while reading Pioneer Woman. The podcast is from a Catholic radio show called Two Edge Talk and they're talking about why they believe that using any form of contraception is wrong. I'd like to hear your thoughts on this after you listen to it.

For once, I'm not going to take a position on this subject (yet). I just want to see what your initial reaction to it is.

FYI, they talk about "natural family planning" (abstaining from sex during the fertile time around the woman's ovulation) in the context of using it to space out your children as opposed to using it as a form of birth control to not have kids at all.

It's about 20 minutes long. Let me know if you have any thoughts!

Scrutiny on Swaddling

2009-12-31T13:12:00.000-08:00

If you read any book about babies and sleep, they almost always recommend swaddling to help calm a fussy (or screaming) baby and help baby sleep longer. However, the overwhelming majority of people I talk to say, "Oh my baby HATED to be swaddled so we stopped trying". I was really confused when I heard people say this. At first it was just one or two, so I figured they must be right and their baby really did hate to be swaddled. Then, every other parent I talked to started to say the same thing! I started to wonder what the common denominatorcould be in this scenario. Surely it wouldn't be recommended so much if it didn't work.

So, I watched "Happiest Baby On the Block" again. If you're not familiar with this DVD (it started out as a book), I strongly suggest borrowing it from your local library, or even buying it if you have an

infant under 3 months of age or if you're expecting.

The techniques in this DVD are called the Five S's. They are:

Swaddling (this ALWAYS comes first!)
Side/Stomach
Shushing
Swinging (or more like jiggling)
Sucking

Image from People Magazine. Click here to read article.

When describing how to swaddle, Dr. Karp (author of Happiest Baby On the Block) makes it clear that swaddling is simply the first step to soothing a crying baby. It will NOT calm a baby down by itself, and it's not meant to stand alone as a soothing technique. I think this is the biggest misconception about swaddling. Many parents think that their baby should love to be swaddled and instantly calm down after they are swaddled. You may be surprised to find out that this is not the case. He also states that many babies will struggle with you and even scream louder when you are swaddling them. This is normal, and it should not deter you from swaddling because it's simply the first step in your soothing routine. Swaddling should always come first before you try any other technique. Why? First of all, it keeps your baby's arms down and out of their face. This means they won't randomly wake themselves up, as babies do sometimes when they flail around in their sleep. This also makes it much easier to hold and move around with your baby.

For swaddling to work as intended, you must wrap your baby very tight so their arms don't come loose. Don't worry if it's too tight (unless they start to turn blue!), your baby has been used to being in tight quarters for the previous 9 months. Once they're swaddled, then you can start trying soothing techniques such as turning baby on their side or stomach. This works because babies have a falling reflex (a.k.a the startle reflex or Moro reflex) and they don't like to be on their back*. Next, a good technique to add is shushing. There are a few options for this. First you can just try doing a loud "shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh" right next to baby's ear. Do this as loud as baby is crying so that they can hear you. When they start to calm down you can decrease the volume, and you can stop when they stop crying altogether. Another option is to use a hair dryer or the vacuum cleaner. Have it close enough that they can hear it. You can also make recordings of these sounds to put in their crib at night, or just use a radio turned in between stations so it just plays white noise (this would probably be best for nighttime).

In my personal experience, I've done swaddling, side, shush, and jiggling all at the same time and it works like a charm. You'd be amazed how quickly your baby stops crying when you get the right combination of these techniques going. This is referred to as the "calming reflex" (babies are born with a lot of reflexes-it's designed for basic survival). Once you get the right technique down, your baby will stop crying in an instant, like a reflex. It's amazing to witness, and it feels GREAT when you are the one to stop your baby's "colicky" screaming.

Basically what all of these techniques are designed to do is recreate the atmosphere of the womb they are so used to. The swaddling and the side/stomach puts them in a tight position as they were in the womb. The shushing is the constant white noise they would hear in the womb as momma went about her day. The swinging or jiggling recreates the constant movement they would feel as mom walked around the house, up and down the stairs, etc.

Baby humans are very immature when they are born (which is why you shouldn't be so concerned about delivering after your "due date", but that's another post for another day), unlike baby animals. Baby horses can walk and run on their first day of life, because it's necessary for their survival. Baby humans need big brains for survival, and it takes months and months for them to gain control of their muscles to gain physical independence. This is why babies need us to go through all of these steps to help soothe them in their first 3 months of life. Eventually you won't need to do all of these things, and they'll learn to soothe themselves. In the meantime, feel free to keep baby swaddled all through the night to help them sleep longer, and keep a radio in their room (if you don't co-sleep) for white noise; white noise tends to be much more helpful than music and recordings of heartbeats in the first few months of life.

All of that to say...your baby does not hate to be swaddled. They just need you to do more than just swaddle them. Swaddle, turn them on their side or stomach, shush, and jiggle (and, if you want, give them your finger or pacifier to suck on). It helps immensely to see these techniques demonstrated for you. So, to learn more about how these techniques can save you from the frustration and desperation a screaming baby can put you through, check out the DVD from your local library or movie store. TRUST ME, it will save. your. sanity.

*It is recommended that your baby always sleep on their back during the night to help prevent SIDS. Always supervise baby when they are on their side or stomach during the day.

Sugar and Infertility

2009-12-28T15:36:00.000-08:00

I'm willing to bet that several of you know at least one couple who's had/ is having trouble conceiving. It seems like younger and younger women are having these issues. I can't believe how many women I know in their early to mid twenties that find themselves faced with an unwanted period month after month.

Since I've been researching my sugar addiction lately, I've come across several sources that link a high intake of sugar to fertility problems. If you know someone who's having fertility problems, a step as simple as cutting refined sugar from their diet could be the one thing that helps them get pregnant. Here are some articles to browse:

http://myyearwithout.blogspot.com/2009/03/nutrition-related-fertility-busters.html

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Fertility/infertility-and-blood-sugar-levels/show/184743

This is from an interview with doctor Deborah Metzger, MD, PhD who's written a book on fertility (on this site):

MEMBER QUESTION:
Dr. Metzger, could you describe how a women's diet can impact ovulation and create hormone imbalance? What diet is helpful to restore imbalances?

METZGER:
The sugar is the most important. I have always been an advocate of Sugar Busters!, which came out in the 1990s, as a very important diet. Sugar per se doesn't have nutrients in it, so any time you take calories that have sugar, refined flour, or something like that you're being robbed of nutrients. But more important, when you take in something that is broken down quickly, such as white foods, your insulin raises quickly. High insulin levels disrupt the delicate hormonal values in the ovaries so more testosterone is produced, so the quality of egg may not be what is needed. In some women, high insulin levels may cause irregular ovulation, irregular periods, or something commonly known as polycystic ovarian syndrome or PCOS.

MEMBER QUESTION:
How far in advance of trying should I start taking prenatal vitamins?

METZGER:
In terms of preparing for pregnancy, a lot of women say, "Once I get pregnant, I'll make these changes. I'll eat well, take my vitamins, and quit smoking." It's important to understand that they may not get pregnant, or once pregnant that the fetus has already been exposed to these things for two to four weeks. So it's very important that a woman starts to prepare several months in advance of getting pregnant. That includes going on the low-sugar diet, prenatal vitamins, decreasing stress, and seeing an acupuncturist.

MEMBER QUESTION:
Should my husband be taking a multivitamin or other vitamins while we are trying to conceive?

METZGER:
Yes, in particular selenium, about 200 micrograms a day, and zinc, 50 milligrams a day. These have demonstrated to improve the number and quality of sperm. In addition, for the man the low-glycemic diet has been demonstrated to have beneficial affects on sperm.

MEMBER QUESTION:
My doctor told me that it isn't in any textbook but that his years of practice have shown that women on vegetarian diets or who limit their protein (due to calories/fat etc.) are more difficult to treat. Have you found this as well?

METZGER:
Yes. Besides being on a low-glycemic diet adequate protein intake is essential. Probably about half of all women do not get adequate protein intake, particularly vegans and vegetarians. Vegans and vegetarians also do not get vitamin B12; this is a very important aspect of nutrition.

MEMBER QUESTION:
Is caffeine really that detrimental to fertility?

METZGER:
Drinking a cup of coffee or a diet soda with caffeine, or anything containing caffeine, is like drinking a cup of sugar. The caffeine stimulates the liver to release glycogen, which is turned immediately into sugar. There have been a number of studies showing that caffeine intake does affect fertility. I don't think any of us would want to see our babies drinking caffeine.

In case you're curious about this and how you can start to cut sugar from your diet, I encourage you to do some more research on this subject. Also, here are a couple books to get you started:

The New Sugar Busters by Steward, Bethea, et. al.

Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels

I Admit It...

2009-12-27T16:34:00.000-08:00

Hello. My name is Karilyn Sanders, and I'm a sugar addict.

*SiGh*....I said it. I'm guessing I'm in good company, too. Just an hour ago, after I finished my dinner (frozen pizza-don't judge), I immediately began to crave a dessert. A cookie, some cake, a bowl of ice cream, even a glass of chocolate milk would do the trick. Anything to satisfy this need for sugar. My husband makes fun of my addiction to chocolate (chocolate is my food drug of choice, but it really comes down to the fact that it's all sugar), and jokes that one day he'll come downstairs and find me rubbing baking cocoa on my teeth to satisfy my chocolate cravings. The irony is, I've thought about just eating a spoonful of chocolate syrup before because I didn't have any other chocolate in the house. Actually, I've done that with chocolate icing too.

My husband and I ate this entire package of cookies yesterday. The excuse in our minds was, "It's Christmas weekend!" Does this sound familiar? I'm totally airing out all my dirty laundry right now, and I really hope it inspires you to get real about your possible addiction to sugar, too.

Wow, it's sounds so pathetic now that I'm writing it on a public forum, but that's the ugly truth. I am addicted to sugar. After reading about sugar addictions online, I've discovered that some experts believe it's harder to quit sugar than cigarettes or even heroin. I don't doubt it. I don't think I've gone a day without sugar in the last 20 years of my life, if not my entire life.

That's why I think it's really important for me to realize I have this addiction and start a journey towards an addiction-free lifestyle, especially before I have kids. Can you imagine parents encouraging their children to start smoking or snorting crack before they're even 1 year old? Yet, that's what Americans do with sugar. We introduce it extremely young and don't even know we're starting a serious addiction. That's what it is! A serious addiction.

I want you to think of all of the people you know with diabetes. Right now, make a list in your mind. How old is the youngest person you know with diabetes? I know several people with diabetes, and none of them were born with it. Guess what else feeds off of sugar? Tumors. Cancerous tumors. Do you have a child with ADD or ADHD? Take them off of sugar for a week or a month and see if they're concentration and behavior improves. Sugar is also related to inducing epileptic seizures.

I'm convinced that a change in diet can cure any health problem. Americans abuse food, which leads to health problems. We have health problems, so we go to the doctor and are prescribed medication. We take medication, and have an array of side effects because we are on medication. So, we go to the doctor again and get more medications to take care of the side effects we're experiencing because of the first medications we were prescribed. See the cycle? Americans complain about how expensive healthy food is, but we're spending TONS of money on needless medications because we don't eat healthy food! What would happen if, instead of going to the doctor with our health problems, we went to a nutritionist?

In the words of my friend, Kathy: "Be curious about it."

Be curious about how a change in diet could change the way you feel so tired in the afternoons. Be curious about how you could lose that stubborn 10, 20, or 30 pounds just by eliminating sugar from your diet.

Be curious. Do some research. You could ultimately save your life by limiting your sugar intake. Interesting, isn't it?

Guest Blogger: Katrina Cordova!

2009-12-21T08:01:00.000-08:00

As part of my series on the American food industry and my journey toward healthy, organic eating, I wanted to have some guest bloggers share their stories and points of view. Katrina is my first guest blogger, and my best friend:-) We grew up together in Kansas and both have similar goals in life (including raising bilingual children-only she has the advantage of having a husband who's already bilingual!) about becoming more aware of what goes into our bodies. So without further ado, I give you my beautiful friend, Katrina.

Katrina and I at her wedding in 2007.

"Growing up, desserts were a big part of my family's diet. After a family dinner, it was rare for us not to have some kind of dessert (and 90% of the time, it would involve chocolate). We always referred to ourselves as "chocoholics". I always struggled with my weight. I can't say that I've ever been a big girl, but I've always enjoyed exercising and eating healthy foods, so I never knew how I gained weight so easily. After I was married, I packed on 25 lbs within a year. My self esteem was low.

My sophomore year of college, I had a professor who had Lupus Disease. She shared with my class that she gave up refined sugars to help heal herself. I immediately asked myself what "refined sugar" was. I wasn't the only one wondering; someone else asked my professor for me. She said it was table sugar: the sugar we cook with and pour all over fruit, and everything else we want to add sweetness to. I remember that when I heard this, I was flabbergasted. I wondered how anyone could possibly NOT eat sugar. My professor claimed a healthy diet, without sugar, has helped heal her body. She went from being wheelchair bound to a healthy, beautiful, vibrant lady.

A year ago (two years after), I started my search for healthiness. I desired to be as healthy as I could be. I started reading books, and I researched different diets. I read the book Living on Live Food by Alissa Cohen. I had researched the Raw Diet after a friend of mine suffered from Cancer. It's a diet that claims to heal almost every ailment out there (including Cancer). I read this 300 page book, and was convinced this was the way to go. My husband offered 100% support, and we were determined to try it. Well, it lasted for no more than a month. We then decided it was not practical for our lifestyle. We had to plan food way in advance and could make meals, but the majority of the meals had to be made in a food dehydrator since nothing was cooked. So, we decided to stop that diet. (I do believe this diet does have many health benefits, however.) In the meantime, I tried to eat healthy, control my portions, and exercise at least a few times a week, but the extra weight was not coming off, and my self esteem was not improving. I couldn't understand, because I felt that I was living healthfully.

A few months later, I read The Bible Diet by Jordan Rubin. This man's story is amazing. He was on his death bed with Crohn's disease, until he decided to change his lifestyle. He started only eating what God commanded the Jews to eat in the Old Testament. He is now healthy as can be! This story was inspiring, but then I turned to the back of the book, to the 40 day diet plan. You had to purchase supplements and go by his plan exactly (again, expensive and not practical). I was discouraged after this, because I just didn't know what to do.

Then, I read Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels. I love watching The Biggest Loser. Almost every episode makes me cry, because each person finds themself while learning how to be healthy and take care of themselves. It's so much more than looking good; it's loving yourself. Jillian talked in her book about detoxifying your home (basically going green). Organic eating does not include any of the fillers, pesticides, or chemicals most shelf items do. I learned that your body has to work twice as hard to digest food when you eat pesticide-infected food, which means you have less energy to fight off sickness and infection. If you eat whole foods, grown from the ground, without chemicals, your body immediately recognizes them and is able to digest them much easier, so your body's enzymes can then fight off sickness, instead of working overtime to digest the foreign foods you fill your body with.

So I decided to try and eat organically. I slowly started buying different organic items, but I still hadn't given up sweets. I had to have dessert every day.

Soonafter, I learned that I had PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). This is a condition where a woman's eggs don't drop regularly, or they get stuck in the ovaries and turn into cysts. Women this this condition have side effects such as: irregular periods or no periods, acne, facial hair, weight gain, difficulty losing weight, and eventually diabetes type II down the road. All of these were concerns for me, but the one that scared me the most was that most women with PCOS have a very hard time conceiving. For some reason, that has always been a fear of mine. This was a hard possibility for me to accept.

I signed up to receive Jillian Michael's newletters by email. One day, I received one that addressed PCOS. She said there was no cure, and no proof of what causes it. She did mention some ways to help control it, however. One of those ways was to give up refined sugars. At that moment, I decided that was it; I had to give up sugar.

It has been about a month now, and I've lost 10 lbs--simply from avoiding refined sugars, eating 90% organically, and exercising a few times a week. I have had some sugar from time to time, but I've learned about agave nectar--a honey-like nectar from the agave plant. 100% organic. It tastes wonderful, and it breaks down easily in your body, unlike sugar. I put some in my organic coffee, or in my homemade, organic yogurt. It tastes like sugar!

This has been quite a journey for me, and I'm still learning and still discovering new things. It is difficult at times, when others around me say, "Oh, come on, it's okay every once in a while', or when going out to eat. But this is not something I want to do most of the time and it isn't something I'm doing just to lose weight; this is a lifestyle change that I want to adapt permanently--for my own sake, and for the sake of my future children and the ones I love. Otherwise, I could be one of the women with PCOS who end up with Diabetes II. I don't want that for myself. I want to take care of myself and love myself. I want to be healthy and active. These are my desires, and this will be a life-long journey; but if there is a way I can avoid sickness and diseases, why wouldn't I do whatever I could to avoid such monstrosities?"

Thanks, Katrina! Stay tuned to read other inspiring stories from guest bloggers soon!

You Can Be Part of the Solution! Start a Community Garden!!!

2009-12-20T23:44:00.000-08:00

Growing your own produce is the perfect way to make sure your family has healthy-and affordable-food. However, not everyone has a big backyard to grow this produce in. The perfect solution? Community gardening!

Community gardens are a great way to accomplish a number of goals:

Build relationships with your neighbors
Grow organic, healthy food (and/or beautiful plants!) for your family.
Food sharing! If you grow more than you can eat, just have a produce swap with your fellow gardeners so you can each grow different foods and enjoy them all!
Community service: Your garden can donate food to local shelters or food banks, have children's programs to teach kids the importance and FUN of growing their own food
Family time: This is a great way to spend time together. You can grow your own food, then harvest it, cook it and eat it together as a family. Good bonding time!

Here is a GREAT resource for finding a community garden to join or starting your own! It's called the American Community Gardening Association. My favorite part of this website is all the tips they give about advocating to keep your community garden and even starting your own (unfortunately there are some hoops to jump through to get this kind of thing up and running). They even have an annual conference!

So go check it out and feel free to share any other resources you know of related to community gardening. Thanks!

I Can't Believe We All Support This.....

2009-12-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

Right now I'm watching a documentary about America's food industry called Food, Inc (click the link to see the trailer on YouTube). First of all, let me say that I am a small town girl from Kansas. Good 'ol meat and potatoes (and lots of bread and corn) are staples in the midwestern diet. I'm not opposed to eating meat, and I doubt I'll ever be a vegetarian. Having said that, the way we raise livestock for food in this country is appalling. It should be criminal.

In this documentary, they point out that almost all of the meat we buy in grocery stores in controlled by a few HUGE companies who have only one goal in mind: $$$! The filmmakers went around the country to farms who sell to these companies to see how our "farm fresh" food is being raised. Most of the farmers wouldn't even let their cameras into their chicken coops for fear they would lose their contracts (farmers are forced into certain upgrades and ways of raising the animals or else the huge companies won't buy from them anymore). The most recent upgrade that farmers were forced into is using big dark, enclosed chicken coops that don't let any light in. Their chickens literally do not see the light of day their entire lives. Chickens are being pumped with so many antibiotics and growth hormones that they grow so big and so fast their bones can't keep up. So, these chickens literally can't even walk around. They're bones can't hold them up. We treat cattle the same way. Cows are meant to eat grass, and that's what their bodies are designed to digest. Yet, farmers feed them almost nothing but corn and corn products. Why? Because this makes them fatter, faster, which means more money. As a result, these cows are being fed to death. Their bodies can't deal with all of the corn their being fed. But, it doesn't matter to the farmers because they sell them and slaughter them before they can die of obesity. Not only is this HORRIBLE for the cow, but it's bad for us, too! We are eating this meat that has been genetically altered so that food companies can make more money! This isn't healthy for us or our children.

There is way too much information on this subject for one post, so I'm going to keep talking about these issues throughout the next few months. This is SO IMPORTANT to talk about because we have to change our entire mindset about food. Trust me, I know the importance of keeping a budget on trips to the grocery store. Organic food is more expensive. But that's how these huge corporations keep us as loyal customers of their horrible products. That's how we are contributing to the horrible condition our food is raised in. We need to change the way we think. That's why I'm going to be spending a lot of time on this in the future. Our children deserve to be raised with a different mindset so they don't have to struggle so much with how to eat healthy.

In the meantime, here are some resources to check out on these issues.

King Corn: You Are What You Eat. Another great documentary showing how corn is in EVERYTHING we eat! This is not a good thing (I know, I love me some corn on the cob too).

The Backyard Homestead by Carleen Madigan. This book has really inspired me to start growing my own food (especially once we buy a house with a yard-someday!).

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. He was featured in Food, Inc. and has some great books out on how we can make better choices when it comes to eating.

And, obviously Food, Inc. I found this on Netflix but I'm sure you can rent it from any movie store or buy it online. This one was especially moving for me. However, I would probably advise against watching this one with small children. It almost made me cry, so I'm sure young children would be very sad to see sick and dying (and dead) chickens as well as baby chicks being handled like car parts in a factory on conveyor belts. Yeah...very sad.

I'm Still Here...

2009-12-06T16:48:00.000-08:00

Yikes...it's been way too long since my last post. If you don't know, I've been getting a new business off the ground called Onesie Wonderland. It's all the things I love: sewing, creativity, and all things baby. I guess you could call me a Mompreneur (sans the actual "mom" part).

So here's an interesting new book I'm beginning to read....it's called "Killing Monsters: Why Children Need Fantasy, Super Heroes, and Make-Believe Violence" by Gerard Jones.

Interesting, no? I'm really not that far into it, but I'll let you know more about it when I finish. As I was telling my husband the other night, I feel like one of my gifts is my curiosity. When I hear a "controversial" book title such as this (or Diaper Free Baby), my first instinct is to immediately see if my library has it so I can read it. I might totally disagree with the initial premise of the book, but I feel like I have to read it anyway so I can judge for myself. Also partially because I enjoy discovering new things that most people choose to ignore.

Stuff I Believe In...

2009-10-20T23:40:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading this blog from the beginning, you know that I've already talked about one of my favorite documentaries, The Business of Being Born. But since this kind of information never goes out of style, I'm talking about it again. Right now I'm taking an Infant Development class and today we talked about the birth process. Some of the girls had no idea what the professor was talking about when she explained how a lot of things are over used in hospitals, such as pitocin, epidurals, and c-sections. One girl raised her hand and asked, "What are the negative effects of using pitocin?" Our professor gave a pretty good answer, but I told the girl to go rent The Business of Being Born for a much more complete explanation. So, here's the trailer to grab your interest if you haven't already seen this amazing documentary.

Now, as with every documentary, you have to understand that they might be exaggerating some of the statistics here and there, and it may seem pretty one-sided. However, this information is the kind of information every pregnant woman should know before she goes into labor. It's an absolute travesty that women are going into labor without the knowledge they need in order to made informed decisions about their birthing experience.

You can rent this DVD from Blockbuster and Netflix. If you haven't seen it, I implore you to get your hands on it! Then share it with your friends:-)

Giveaway Winner!

2009-10-17T21:20:00.000-07:00

We have a winner!

(drumroll please..)

Random.org says the winner is #3!

And #3 is Pehpot! One of my followers. Congratulations Pehpot! I'll get you in contact with the lovely people at Eco Store so you can get your $25 gift certificate to their website.

Eco Store Product Giveaway!

2009-10-07T08:09:00.000-07:00

Finally, green cleaning products that aren't super expensive! I admit that I would love to use more environmentally safe cleaning products, but I hate how expensive they are! Well here's your chance to win some products for free! The lovely people at Eco Store USA are offering YOU the chance to win a $25 gift certificate for their products! And how convenient-all orders $25 or more qualify for free shipping:-)

Ways to Enter:

Become a follower of my blog! If you're already a follower, you automatically get one entry. Yay!
Get another entry by signing up for Eco Store USA's No Nasty Chemicals newsletter, then write a comment on this post telling me you did so.
Like to tweet? Get another entry by becoming a follower of Eco Store USA on Twitter. Leave a comment below telling me that you did.
Last but not least, get a final entry by posting about this giveaway on your blog! Provide a link back, and let me know you did (and the address of your blog so I can check it out!)

This giveaway will close on October 16th at 11:59pm (Pacific Time)! Make sure you don't comment anonymously, or your entry won't be counted.

Now go spread the good news!

Toys, toys, toys

2009-09-11T20:52:00.000-07:00

Is your home overrun with toys?

Forgive me for a moment while I rant, but one of my pet peeves is plastic toys. Not just plastic toys, but hoards of plastic toys. They're ugly, they're noisy, and they really hurt when you step on them. Not to mention how easily they break. Oh, and they're ugly. Did I mention how annoying they are? :-)

Okay now settle down, I know your kids probably have plenty of plastic toys in their toy box (or all over the ground) right now. I don't mean to insult anyone, just hear me out.

Toys don't have to be noisy and ugly. Just take a look at some of these...

Bamboo Racer

Wooden Snake Pull-Along

Russian House Architectural Block

Wooden Tree House

Aren't these pretty? Also, as a great alternative to buying plastic toys for your kids would be to buy them creative things to play with instead. Ex: paint sets, molding clay, disposable camera, shovel/pail. AND you could also emphasize toys that get your kids up and active! For example: jump rope, soccer ball, roller blades, trike/bike, scooter, etc. Maybe you can start going for a family bike ride once a week!

If you're also annoyed with the piles of plastic in your house, you can have your kids help you pick out some toys to donate to charity and get them out of your house!

Discipline Tip of the Day

2009-08-27T11:53:00.000-07:00

So lately I've been reading through The No-Cry Discipline Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. I really liked her other book, The No-Cry Sleep Solution (you can find it in my Top Picks in the side bar). So today I'm bringing you just one of the great tips she talks about.

"Use Positive Words"

All too often we are tempted to use negative words with kids-especially when they're doing something really annoying at the exact moment you've just lost your patience. Words like, "no, don't, and stop!" are overused in our parenting vocabulary. Instead, we can use positive words to convey the same message.

Instead of saying, "Stop hitting your sister!" you can say "Please play nicely with your sister". Or, instead of saying "No, you can't have a candy bar", you can say "You may have an apple or a yogurt".

Not only will you be more pleasant to be around, you'll be setting a good example for your children. That is the goal anyway, isn't it?

You can find this tip on page 84 of Elizabeth Pantley's book, The No-Cry Discipline Solution.

Your BABY Can Read!

2009-08-19T17:13:00.000-07:00

I was just searching online for children's flash cards in Italian (I plan to raise my children to be bilingual), and I stumbled across this website. It's a program called Your Baby Can Read. It's actually a lot like Rosetta Stone (which I use), but for babies. You can start it with your baby at 3 months old. Go to this website and watch videos of 18-24 month old babies literally reading. It's crazy!

It makes so much sense, though. I already knew that we wait too long to teach kids a lot of things (potty training for instance-see my post on Diaper Free babies), and I knew that you can teach babies words, but it never occurred to me that we can teach babies to actually read. When I saw this, the first thing I thought was, "does it come in Italian?!" Right now it's only in English, but according to the website they're currently in the process of translating it into several different languages. How cool is that?

So go to the website and let me know what you think. Has anyone out there actually used this program? Would you be interested in using it?

To Induce or Not to Induce...?

2009-08-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

Recently my friend Hannah over at Bellies In Bloom wrote a post called The Seduction of Induction. I happen to agree with her on many pregnancy/childbirth issues, and this is one of those things. I have several friends and know many other women who have been induced, and I know it's pretty common these days. I just encourage you to do your research if your doctor recommends that you have an induction or if you are considering it. You can start with Hannah's post. You can also watch The Business of Being Born, which I've written previous posts about. Be informed!

What's Your Favorite?

2009-08-13T21:08:00.000-07:00

Wow...it's been almost a month since my last post. Talk about writer's block. I'm reading some new books on discipline and hopefully I'll have some good stuff to write about soon.

In the mean time, why don't you leave a comment and tell me about your favorite parenting book or best piece of advice? Share the wealth!

Website Review: MyRegistry.com

2009-07-15T10:11:00.000-07:00

I wish I would have known about myregistry.com when I got married. On myregistry.com, you can add items from anywhere online! You're not stuck to one or two stores. Let me tell you what all you can do with myregistry.com:

You can "E-nounce" your registry (send out emails letting people know it's there)
You can send invitations! This is great for wedding showers, baby showers, bachelorette parties, etc.
Link your registry with your Facebook account!
Receive emails and/or text messages every time someone purchases something on your registry

The thing I like most about this site is that if you have a lot of family and friends across the country, they can easily buy and send you gifts for your shower/event. There's also a way to receive cash gifts! Pretty handy.

I'll definitely be using myregistry.com in the future:-)

Book Review: "On Becoming Babywise"

2009-07-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

Recently one of my friends asked me if I had read "On Becoming Babywise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep" by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam. I hadn't, so I decided to pick it up from the library and see what it had to say.

I have mixed feelings about this book. For starters, it is written by two male doctors. So the whole tone of the book is very scientific and textbook-ish. At the end of each chapter is a little quiz, making sure you know the specific terms they've outlined. The techniques they describe are very structured. In general, the book is boring and will make you feel like you're taking a class.

Having said that, the information is good. There are a few details that I disagree with, but that's up to each parent to decide whether they like or not. One of these details is about co-sleeping. They say that it is unsafe: no if's, and's or but's. I say that if you want to co-sleep, there's a safe way to do it. You just have to do your research and commit to being as safe as possible. For example, you can use a bassinet or co-sleeper with an infant/toddler. As for older children, you run the risk of losing your sex life and sleeping with your kids forever. This is up to you, I suppose, but I personally recommend (after a lot of research, which you should do for yourself if you're interested) co-sleeping only until your baby doesn't need night-time feedings. It's just easier to have them next to them bed when you're breastfeeding several times a night. After that, though, you should get them in their own bed. Again, that is my personal opinion and you should never take my judgement for your own. Do your research and decide what's best for you.

There are several other books I would recommend instead of this one.

If you're struggling with getting your baby to sleep through the night, I like The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley. This book is written by a mom, so it's not a boring textbook. It's also very gentle and mom-friendly, unlike the cry-it-out technique. It's not a quick-fix; it's a process that will take different times for different families, but it's worth it.

I'd also recommend renting The Happiest Baby On the Block DVD. If you pair this DVD with The No-Cry Sleep Solution, you're bound to have success. I LOVE this DVD. It comes in a book too, but the DVD is quicker, it shows you how to do the techniques and it's really easy to understand. You can get it from the library, or Blockbuster online (not sure if Netflix has it. Anyone know?), or you can buy it. It's worth it either way. I've used these techniques with instant success. Love it.

Giving Advice by Invitation Only

2009-07-06T21:35:00.000-07:00

In the past year or so I've had several friends get pregnant and have babies for the first time. I've noticed a trend when people come across pregnant women: word vomit. You know, the uncontrollable urge to spew out every birthing experience/story and piece of advice about parenting and babies you've ever heard?

I know, I have that urge too. Whenever there is a pregnant woman among a group of women, un-solicited advice is bound to be thrust upon the unsuspecting prego. This sort of situation is a natural occurance, because women love to talk about their own experiences, as they should. However, this can easily become very annoying and overwhelming if you're constantly getting random (and not always correct or helpful) information. Not to mention confusing and misleading. Of course, this is not always the case and you may have some very helpful and welcome advice. But in my opinion, it should be shared by invitation only.

My suggestion is that when you feel the 'word vomit' urge, take a moment to think about what you're about to say. You could be the 9th person to offer her advice that day. Did she ask you for that information? Is it relevant to her (no need to tell horror stories about painful labors when she tells you she wants a birth without medication)? Are you sure that your information is correct? If so, then feel free to share your story, advice, or resource. I will be the first to admit that I am guilty of giving un-solicited advice. That's why I have this great blog so I can write all of my advice in this non-threatening environment and you all can take it or leave it:-) People will seek out your help if they need or want it. I'm not saying "butt out", but I am encouraging everyone to be mindful and aware of what you are offering.

Did this ever happen to you when you were pregnant? Please feel free to share your experience here.

Egg Donation

2009-06-30T21:39:00.000-07:00

Have you ever considered donating your eggs?

If you've ever known a couple who could not get pregnant on their own (or if you've experienced this yourself) you know how heartbreaking that situation is. We have a friend who was able to get pregnant because of egg donation, and it's so cool to me that people are able to give such an amazing gift to infertile couples. You can find a clinic near you (you can Google "egg donation" and your zip code or city) and apply online. There are requirements like age (21-30), health, weight, etc. After getting medical tests and making sure you're in a stable frame of mind, you are approved and wait for a couple to choose you. When you're chosen, you take a series of self-administered injections to prepare your ovaries for collection (a 20 minute out-patient procedure) and you're paid $5,000-$10,ooo-depending on the agency-upon collection. How sweet is that? Getting paid thousands of dollars to help a couple become parents is pretty awesome.

I've seriously considered doing this myself, but I would not be eligible due to a blood clotting disorder I have. I lose an egg every month that I'm not using, so I wouldn't mind donating it to a deserving couple. I encourage you to do your own research and find out if egg donation is something you'd consider, and tell your friends about it! Here's a link to the site I first learned about this from. Let me know what you think (after you've done your research, of course:-)!

Two Words My Kids are Never Allowed to Say...

2009-06-16T09:49:00.000-07:00

"I'm bored."

I hate those words. Yes, hate is a strong word, but I use it without hesitation in this situation. I've been browsing blogs lately, and since it's summer, parents are freaking out. They think that since school's out, they are going to be plagued with constantly entertaining their children for the next 3 months. Wow.

Here are some ways to prevent these words from coming out of your child's mouth. Not ways to entertain them...ways to promote self-entertainment. Remember when you were a kid? What did you do for fun? Personally, I spent hours and hours outside, in the sandbox, on our swings, under the porch, up in a tree, in the dog's kennel, or at the neighbors house playing with dolls.

One thing you should never do when your child says "I'm bored" is drop what your doing and try to make up some exciting activity to occupy them for 10 more minutes. That might seem like it's what you're supposed to do as a parent, but that will just keep them dependent on you for their entertainment. They'll lose their ability to be creative and imaginative. What you should do is set them up for success by supplying avenues for fun and let them decide what to do next. So, here's what I propose:

Set up activity centers around the house, and in your yard, if you have one. Centers could be craft centers with paper, scissors, glue, crayons, paint, markers, stickers, ribbon, wrapping paper, cheap craft sets from the store, play dough, modeling clay, disposable camera (kids love taking pictures; you can print them, frame them and put them up around the house or in their room). Another center could be in your backyard: a discovery center. This could include a little net for catching (and releasing) insects, a magnifying glass, small shovel and pail (and a designated area they are free to dig up), a notepad and pencil so they can draw or record insects, animals, and/or plants that they find.
Create hiding places. Kids LOVE hiding places. Kind of like cats:-) Do you have an attic that's safe to play in? That was one of my favorite places as a kid. I loved to pull out old toys and play with them up there. Also, you could build or buy a small playhouse for the backyard. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or special, just a place they can claim as their own. You could also just plant a row of tall plants, or plant them in a circle with a small opening so your child can go and sit inside. Sunflowers would be good, or tall grasses. Also, Google "living willow structures" for some even cooler ideas;-) You could also go with the old school treehouse. Always a classic.
Make a list. Find a place in their room or the fridge and write a list of ideas they can go to when they can't think of anything to do. You can also use pictures if your child can't read yet. You can let them know that if they are ever tempted to come to you and whine that they're bored, they should go to the list first and see if they can come up with an idea on their own.

Now, this doesn't mean that you shouldn't ever do fun things with your kids. You should play with them and interact with them. Kids need that. However, kids also need to learn to be content by themselves. You don't want them to always be dependent on others for entertainment, or else you'll be hearing "I'm bored" all summer.

What other activity center ideas can you come up with?

One of my favorite blogs...

2009-06-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

One of the blogs I read on a regular basis is Homemade by Jill. This week she's giving away a free EZ View Desktop by The Original Scrapbox. If you haven't been to their website, you should go check out all of their Scrapbook Storage. It looks like beautiful furniture and would blend well in any room. Go by and check it out!

Poll Results!

2009-06-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

For the last few weeks I’ve had two polls up for everyone to vote on.

The first one asked: “Under what circumstance did you become a parent?” 41% of you said that you planned to conceive. The other 59% said that you had an unplanned pregnancy, but you were in a committed relationship or you were married. This relates well to the other poll…

The second poll asked: “When did you start to research parenting information/techniques?” About 21% said, “When we started trying to conceive”. About 29% said, “When I found out I was pregnant”. 21% said, “When I encountered problems with my kids”, and 29% said, “I don’t really research anything, I just figure it out as I go along”.

The reason I started this blog was because I was getting the sense that most parents don’t do a lot of research before they become parents. Not only that, but also most parents don’t do a lot of research when they become parents, or even after they’ve been parents for a while. I learned this because I have always been interested in child development, pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting. So, I’d always be reading books and watching documentaries on those subjects. I began to recommend books to my friends who were pregnant or had kids, and the first thing they would say is, “Do you have kids?” or “Are you pregnant?” Now, I realize that this is a completely normal question to ask, but I realized that there seems to be a rationale that experience is better than knowledge. Experience can be the best way to learn, but when you're responsible for a human life, it's pretty helpful to do your research first.

Now, I’m not trying to step on any toes or send you on a guilt trip. You're not a bad parent if you don't read 5 books a month. That’s not what this is about. It’s about education. My goal is to “Encourage parents to continually increase their knowledge and skills”. The point is that there are so many books, documentaries, websites, and other resources available to parents, but they are not always used, for whatever reason (or excuse). For example, many women (or men, for that matter) aren’t as educated about childbirth as they could be. What’s good for your baby and what’s not? Many women think childbirth is scary and painful, they expect to beg for an epidural, and they dread the whole experience. Instead of watching women scream as they lie flat on their backs on A Baby Story, rent a documentary (The Business of Being Born is a good one, and also Orgasmic Birth) about natural childbirth so you can see what a normal birth looks like. Consider water birth. Know what effect an epidural has on your baby. Know why getting induced may lead to a C-section. Know what questions to ask your OB-GYN, or why you should consider using a midwife instead.

Are there any moments in your life when you stop and think, “There has to be a better way?!” For instance, is bedtime a constant struggle? Does your child throw fits every time you go into public? Are you sick of changing diapers? Those are the golden opportunities for research. When you think there might be a better way, there often is. All it takes is a few minutes with your good friend Google, followed by a trip to the library. And if you think you’re too busy to be reading books, you’re probably in need of them most.

Benefits of Bilingualism in Children

2009-06-01T22:52:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wished that you grew up knowing more than one language? I definitely did. For me, it was about wanting to connect to other cultures. I wanted to travel to Europe and just blend in and be able to communicate with people and enjoy other cultures. That’s why I decided I want to raise my kids to be bilingual, even though I’m not.

Everyone has a different reason for wanting their kids to be multilingual. Maybe your family is from another country, and you want your kids to keep in touch with their heritage. Maybe you’ve already lost that part of your heritage and you want to claim it again. Maybe you don’t know anyone who is multilingual and you think it’s just an important skill to have. In any case, there are many proven benefits to being multilingual, and raising children to be multilingual from birth (although you can start at any age if you already have older children). This is a list from the Multilingual Children’s Association website. They have an abundance of helpful information for anyone considering raising multilingual children. I encourage you to browse their site for more incredible information.

“Growing up with multiple languages is the easiest, fastest, and most effortless way to learn a foreign language. For your baby, it will be as natural as learning one language is to all babies.

· It is easier to learn another language from birth than it is during any other time in life -- baby simply has two first languages.

· Your child will have a head start in school. In most countries, a foreign language is mandatory.

· If your child wants to study more languages later in life, she will have a leg up. The differences in sounds, word order, stress, rhythm, intonation and grammatical structures will be easier to learn. For related languages, such as Spanish and French, the similar vocabulary will make learning especially fast.

· Multilingualism has been proven to help your child develop superior reading and writing skills.

· Multilingual children also tend to have over all better analytical, social, and academic skills than their monolingual peers.

· Knowing more than one language helps your child feel at ease in different environments. It creates a natural flexibility and adaptability, and it increases her self-esteem and self confidence.

· Your child will develop an appreciation for other cultures and an innate acceptance of cultural differences.

· Career prospects are multiplied many times over for people who know more than one language. Helen Riley-Collins, president of Aunt Ann's In-House Staffing in San Francisco, said more than half her clients request nannies who speak another language. "Families who are involved in international business are thinking ahead," she said of her clients, many of whom work in high tech, investment banking or finance. "They want to give their children a head start in business in 20 years."

If your native language is different from the community language, you probably will feel emotionally closer to your baby when speaking your native language to her.”

Now, since I’m not bilingual (yet), there are a lot of resources I have to seek out to help me raise my kids to be bilingual. First, I decided I want to become bilingual myself. The avenue I chose to take for that was to buy Rosetta Stone (Italian). I got a refund from my financial aid at school and used it to make the best purchase of my life! You can ask me for more info on that if you think you might want to buy it. Other resources I’ll use are children’s books in Italian. You can go online and find TONS of children’s books in other languages. It’s a great way to reinforce the language.

For more information on techniques, FAQ’s, and resources go to the Multilingual Children’s Association website.

Are you raising bilingual children? Do you want to? Share your experiences with us! How have you seen the benefits or challenges of raising a bilingual family?

Homeschool III: Putting it into Practice

2009-05-26T10:01:00.000-07:00

What are your options with homeschooling?

Part time homeschool:

Go to school for a few classes, homeschool the rest of the time

Multi-children options:

Homeschool only the children that it seems to benefit. Maybe one of your children learns great at school and doesn’t want to homeschool (perhaps after a trial period), and another child works best on their own and thrives in a homeschool setting. Send one to school and keep the other home.

Trial homeschool:

Taking your kids out of school for a year at a time. Give them time to catch up if they need to, recover from a distressing period in their life (death of a family member, close friend, etc), use as a trial to see if homeschooling works best for your family.

Full time homeschool:

Unschooling

Not structured to imitate a school setting. Lots of freedom for when and what you study, focus on interest and curiosity-fueled learning. Learning through real life: grocery-shopping, meal planning, gardening, volunteering, etc. To read more about this, read books by John Holt...or Google it:-)

Mini-school

A school structure in the home. Example: desks, structured lessons, routine, worksheets, tests, etc. (In my opinion, if you're going to do this, you might as well just send your kids to school)

Both

Sometimes you have a schedule and structure, sometimes you give freedom to explore

"So, my kids are home. Now what do I do?"

There are SO many resources to help you. Your greatest ally will be your local library. Here are just a few ideas to get you going.

You can go online and see the laws for your state as to what subject are required to be taught. This does not mean they have to be taught like they would be in school. This is the whole point of homeschooling-doing something other than school. So, one of the requirements is science. How can you teach science? How can you get your kids interested in science? Well…do they like food? Yes. So you can teach them how to grow their own food. Give them a space for gardening, and use every aspect of gardening as an opportunity for teaching science. What does a seed need in order to grow? Sun. Why does it need sun?

Photo from wendyr at eHow.com

Here is when you can teach the process of photosynthesis, or give them books and let them read about it, then have them teach YOU about photosynthesis. OR you can watch a documentary on National Geographic about the process and have your kids teach you about it after, or you can go on a field trip to a local nursery and have an expert teach your kids about it. There are just unlimited options here. I think that’s why I’m personally interested in homeschooling. I’m a creative person and I love all of the options!

Even if you don’t consider yourself a “creative” person, you can still successfully homeschool. Become friends with your librarian. Talk to them about what sort of subjects you want to teach and ask them to help you find resources. It’s their job! That relationship can be very helpful.

Another subject I’m becoming more passionate about is bilingualism. Did you take Spanish or French classes starting in high school? How much of it do you remember now? Here’s a thought: start your kids early. In many cities (like Portland), public school districts offer language immersion programs. Another option for homeschooling would be to send your child to that type of school for the part of the day that is taught in the foreign language, and homeschool the other portion of the day. Even though it’s incredibly helpful, you do not have to be bilingual in order for your kids to be. This is a whole other subject for a future post, but I just wanted to throw that in here.

In the previous post (Homeschool II: Advantages and Disadvantages) I listed several resources that I’ve found very informative and inspiring. I encourage you to find those books at your local library or buy them online if you’re interested in learning more about homeschooling.

Now I want to hear from you. Are there any questions/concerns about homeschooling I haven’t addressed in the past 3 posts that you’d like to discuss? Would you like to share your experience with homeschooling? Please feel free to leave a comment!

My next post will be about bi/multilingualism in children and how you can raise your children to be bilingual (and why you should consider it)-even if you’re not!

Homeschool II: Advantages and Disadvantages

2009-05-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

Okay I know it took a while for this post but I've been reading a lot (4 books) for research! There's a lot of great info out there. I'll put a list of references at the end of this post.

One of the few homeschooling families I knew growing up, I knew through church. They have 4 children, and the oldest is now attending a private 4-year college. His name is Jonathan, and he agreed to answer a few questions about being homeschooled. He was homeschooled all the way through high school.

How much input did you have in what you studied?

"I had a fairly substantial degree of input in what I learned. Of course, core subjects such as math, science, and English were required but in many ways I could shape my other courses to reflect my specific interests."

What would you have changed?

"I would have had a little more structure. Personally, I need a lot of structure; I perform best in a highly structured environment. That being said, I really appreciated the flexibility of my schedule. I do need a certain amount of that as well."

Would you recommend homeschooling to parents?

"Yes, in general, particularly through the middle school years. But as strongly as I would recommend it I would caution parents: it isn't for everyone, both parents and children. As beneficial as it is for some, it can be equally harmful for others. It really should be evaluated on an individual basis."

What was the best part about homeschooling?

"The best part? I would have to say the relationship I developed with my family, especially my Mom. It shows an incredible amount of love to give up a career...to teach one's children. I have the utmost respect, love, and admiration of her because of it."

Wow. Wouldn't you love to hear your teenaged son say that about you one day? That leads very well into the advantages of homeschooling.

Advantages of Homeschooling:

Closer family bonds. You can see evidence of this by Jonathan's answer above. He thought the BEST part of homeschooling was his relationship with his family. I didn't expect that answer at all, quite frankly. I thought he'd say the best part was all of the traveling they did, or the flexibility of his schedule, or how he got to choose what he learned. Homeschooling can be a great way to create a closer family unit. Did you think that it's just normal for your teens to pull away and rebel in high school? It doesn't have to be that way, clearly. More on that later...
Overlapping disciplines. Is your child obsessed with dinosaurs? Trains? Horses? Planets? Use that to your advantage! Studying dinosaurs, for example, can be a history lesson, a science lesson, a math lesson (if you have 2 T-Rex's, and 3 Triceratops, how many dinosaurs do you have?), a biology lesson, and an art lesson (drawing pictures of dinosaurs, making dino-crafts, etc.) How cool is that?
Confidence. Students who have individual attention, room to be creative, and have the liberty of shaping their own education have higher self-esteem. Also, the active participation from parents in their child's education is the best gift. It lets your children know you care about their education, which will make them want to work hard to make you proud.
Freedom. Freedom from a traditional school schedule, from a restrictive curriculum, from the competitive nature of grades, and from constant standardized testing. This means field trips whenever you want, spending more time on some subjects than others as needed, and being creative throughout the day!

Possible Disadvantages:

Giving up a source of income. In order to homeschool, obviously one parent must stay home full time. This doesn't mean you can't find a way to work at home or during times your spouse or partner isn't working. Luckily, homeschooling doesn't have to cost a lot. In fact, there's an entire book dedicated to combatting this issue. Homeschool Your Child for Free, by LauraMaery Gold and Joan M. Zielinski. Also, you may think that if you're a single parent, you can't homeschool. This may not be the case. I've read about many single parent households that homeschool. In the book listed below, The Homeschooling Book of Answers, there is information about this specifically.
Difficult transition. This could be an issue if you're taking your child out of school to start homeschooling. There will obviously be a transition time where your child will need to adjust to a different lifestyle. This can be either fairly easy, if your child hasn't been in school long, or wants to be homeschooled. However, if your child is afraid of missing their friends at school, the transition may be more difficult. This can be eased by finding time to be with those friends outside of school. And, of course, you'll need no transition time if you homeschool your child from the beginning.
Lack of support. Sometimes you'll find that there is some resistance from your friends or family about your decision to homeschool. This can be frustrating if they don't understand why you're choosing this path. You can try to help educate them about homeschooling and help them understand where you're coming from, but in the meantime it's also a great option to find other homeschooling families and find support from them. Everyone has different reasons for choosing to homeschool, but you will all be able to share experiences and advice. There are many resources for this, which I will list below.

Homeschooling Books and Online Resources:

Homeschool! (Ahhhh!!!!!!)

2009-05-11T19:09:00.000-07:00

I'm starting a new series about options with homeschooling. Don't stop reading yet! Stay with me on this! We can get through this post together. Just breathe...

Homeschool. I know many of you are gasping in horror at the sight of that word. That's why I feel the need to discuss this topic on my blog. It's a word with a lot of stigma, myths, and misconceptions. Through this homeschool series, I'm going to address many of those myths and misconceptions. I ask you to open yourself to the possibility that you will learn something you might not have known previously about homeschooling.

I'd like to share my previous misconceptions about homeschooling, and this might sound familiar to you. I grew up in a small rural town in Kansas. For a long time, the only kids I knew that were homeschooled were kids from church. That's the only time I saw them. I grew up with the misconception that families who homeschooled did so to protect their children from the evils of the world (religious reasons). I thought that they were social cripples who sat in a basement all day memorizing Bible verses. However, there were many times throughout middle school that I would have done ANYTHING to be homeschooled.

I know that this is what most people think of when they hear the word "homeschool". When I mentioned once to my husband a year ago that it might be worth looking into, he told me the same thing. "There's no way I'm homeschooling my kids! I don't want my kids to be social cripples who won't be able to survive in the real world!". He said this even though he knew and loved a family who homeschooled their kids (who he thought were the most polite and intelligent kids he'd ever known, by the way).

That's why I want to talk about homeschooling. Many people don't do any research on it when their children reach school age because public school is often the only option they think of. Are you sending your child to public (or private) school because you've researched all of your options and found it to be the best? Or are you sending your child to public school because that's the expectation, and that's what everyone else does? I'm going to give you a little Homeschool 101 so you can know your options.

Common misconceptions, and objections to homeschool:

"I'm not smart enough to homeschool my kids"

Well, if this is true, and you went to a public school, then are you sure you really want to send your kids to public school? Haha:-) Depending on what state you live in, there are laws about how much education you must have to homeschool your kids. In Washington, for example, you can homeschool if you are either:

a. instructing your child only and are supervised by a certificated person (i.e., the certificated person and the parent plan educational objectives; the certificated person has a minimum each month of an average of one contact hour per week with the child; and the certificated person evaluates the child’s progress); or

b. instructing your child only and have either forty-five college quarter credits or the equivalent in semester credits (approximately 30 semester credits. 1 quarter credit=2/3 semester credit);

c. instructing your child only and have completed a course in home-based education at a post- secondary institution or a vocational-technical institute (these courses generally do not require an extensive time commitment);

d. instructing your child only and are “deemed sufficiently qualified to provide home-based instruction by the superintendent of the local school district.”

Visit the HSLDA website to see the homeschooling laws in your state.

All you really need is to give your child resources. Teach them how to find the answers to their questions. Teach them how to use a dictionary, thesaurus, internet search engines, and the library. You can't possibly be the source of their entire education. That's not what homeschooling is about. It's about exploring and learning together.

"I want my kids to be around kids in school so they can learn how to get along with others and make friends!"

This is the "socialization" issue. Let me just list a few of the hundreds of ways your kids can learn social skills and make friends outside of school.

4-H Club
Girl Scouts
Boy Scouts
Sports teams (community leagues, club teams)
Community theater programs
Community choir/band/orchestra
Church
Playing with neighborhood friends
Homeschool group events
Events at your public library (reading time, craft days)

Really, just be creative. In my opinion, unless you literally lock your kids in the house, it will be hard to keep them from making friends.

There are so many more issues about homeschooling I want to address, which is why this will be a series! Keep an eye out for the future posts talking about:

Advantages and disadvantages of homeschooling (including an interview with a current college student who was homeschooled through high school)
How to get started (including LOTS of resources)
Different homeschool options

If you're curious about homeschooling, a great book to read would be The Homeschooling Book of Answers: The 101 Most Important Questions Answered by Homeschooling's Most Respected Voices (Prima Home Learning Library).

So what have been your assumptions of homeschooling? Do you know anyone who homeschools their kids or who was homeschooled?

Fertility Awareness: Do You Know Your Body?

2009-05-06T18:01:00.000-07:00

I came to read the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health after a long and frustrating journey with birth control. Six months before my wedding, I went to the health clinic, watched some old VHS tape about different forms of birth control, and was prescribed the pill (I don’t remember exactly what brand). For the first few days I took it, I was throwing up and extremely nauseous. Awesome. That eventually went away and seemed to be the only negative side effect. A few months after we got married, we moved across the country, and I ran out of pills for a couple of weeks. When I finally went back to the doctor to get a new prescription and started taking the pills again, I had yet another several days of vomiting. Lovely. Again, it eventually went away. Even though there weren’t any apparent side effects, I began to realize that I had not been the same since I’d started taking pills. I knew something was “off”, and so did my husband. So I decided to take control of my health and demand a new form of birth control that didn’t wreak so much havoc on my hormones. My doctor and I decided that the IUD was the best option for me.

Okay, let me just pause for a moment here to discuss the IUD with you ladies. If you’ve never had a baby (or even if you have), getting an IUD inserted is not a pleasant experience. I had not eaten much that morning, and to make a long story short, it was the worst pain I’ve ever experienced in my entire life, I was not at all prepared for it, and I ended up vomiting and nearly passing out in the doctor’s office after the procedure. Really? Again with the vomiting? Not off to a good start. Needless to say, I had to call my husband to come pick me up and drive me home. The next 9 weeks that followed were full of heating pads and hot baths. My cramps didn’t really get better (typically the cramps should be gone by 6 weeks), and I had now developed a sharp pain that happened every few days. I remember thinking to myself, “Why am I putting my body through this torture? There HAS to be a better way.” And as always, I began to research. After talking with several of my friends, I realized I wasn’t the only one to rebel against hormonal birth control. Many of my friends exclaimed their happiness with finally being off the pill! Who knew you could be so happy when you’re not medicated?

I don’t remember how, but I came across the book by Toni Weschler, Taking Charge of Your Fertility, 10th Anniversary Edition: The Definitive Guide to Natural Birth Control, Pregnancy Achievement, and Reproductive Health. I have a pretty open mind, so I had no judgments about the claim of “natural birth control”. I know we all have friends who use “natural birth control”, aka the rhythm method or the pull-out method, and they are now all parents. Rest assured, this book teaches something very different. As I read, I learned that there are 3 separate signs I can keep track of to know when I’m fertile and when I’m not. The author teaches you how to chart these signs so you can get to know your body and use that information to your advantage (avoiding pregnancy or achieving it). These 3 signs are 1) Waking basal body temperature 2) Cervical fluid and 3) Cervical position. It’s important to realize that basal body temperature is not effective by itself because it can only tell you when you’ve ovulated after the fact. Anyway, this method is called the Fertility Awareness Method, and there’s no way I can explain it all in this post, so I highly recommend that EVERY WOMAN read this book (if you can’t find it in your library, it’s well worth the money to buy it), no matter what stage of life you’re in, and even if you’re not interested in natural birth control or pregnancy achievement, because it still contains important information about the female body that we never learned in high school health class.

I started using this method a couple weeks ago (when I got rid of that stupid IUD!), and it’s actually kind of fun to keep track of your temperature patterns and learn how to listen to your body! I also want to point out that Toni Weschler wrote a book for teenage girls called Cycle Savvy: The Smart Teen's Guide to the Mysteries of Her Body, which I’m reading right now (so I know whether to recommend it on my Top Picks or not). And no, it does NOT talk about using the method for birth control or getting pregnant, but it does teach girls how to get to know their own body, which I think is so important. It’s also a great guide for talking to your daughter about her reproductive health and sex. Fact: Well informed teens make better decisions. I’ll talk more about this book when I’m done reading it. So far so good, though.

I know this post is super long, so I’ll be done for now, but I want to really encourage you to get your hands on this book and read through it. Like I always say, knowledge is power, and I promise you will learn something about your body you didn’t know before.

Continuing the Conversation

2009-05-02T16:58:00.000-07:00

After talking with some of you and reading your posts, I decided to make this somewhat of a mini-series:-)

Some points of clarification:

Race, as a physiological difference between human beings, does not exist (there is no scientific basis for it, and that is a fact). It only exists as a social ideology so we can label people and justify our reasons for discrimination.

Racism does exist, because we've taught ourselves to put value on race instead of humanity. It is a form of discrimination. Discrimination has always been a part of the world's history, and that will not soon end.

The biggest point I want to stress with the last post is that we need to be conscious of the fact that race does not truly exist, and be conscious of the fact that it's a creation of society, not science. Be aware of how you view race and ethnicity. Be aware of how you teach your kids to think about these matters. Simply being aware of this is the first step to changing the way you think and act.

For example, instead of thinking in terms of race, think in terms of ethnic groups. Ethnic groups are categories of people who are distinctive on the basis of national origin or heritage, language, or cultural practices. What ethnic groups do you consider yourself to be a part of? This is different than the idea of race. No matter what race you are, you can belong to any ethnic group. In America, we tend to think that your race determines your ethnic group, which is so limiting.

I think a big reason why we view each other in terms of race is because of the fact that as Americans, we've lost touch with our ethnic backgrounds. For African Americans especially, this can be a challenge, since there are often no records of where their families came from due to American slavery. For others, like me, my background is so varied that it's hard to embrace it all. I'm a European mutt, but the ethnic group I cling to the most is Irish. Both sides of my family are very much into genealogy, so I know that somewhere in the record books I can see where my family originated, but through the years there has been so much intermarriage that it all seems insignificant at some point. I know that my last name (my maiden name) is Irish, so I know that someday I'll go to Ireland and feel like I have a special connection there. When we can't identify with an ethnic group, we default to just being "white" or "black". I think there is a strong case for and against "American" being an ethnic group because there are so many ethnic groups that make up America.

After reading these last two posts, have you begun to think of your ethnic identity differently? Which ethnic groups do you feel you are a part of? How can making the distinction between race and ethnicity help you connect with people?

For my next post, we'll be departing from this topic to discuss TAKING CHARGE OF YOUR FERTILITY! WhooHoo! And yes, this applies to you even if you aren't interested in having children soon, if ever. You can follow my updates on Twitter! www.twitter.com/pgsuggested

Race: A "Pigment" of Our Imagination

2009-04-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I'm a Child and Family Studies major. Recently in one of my classes (Minorities) we've been talking about what race really is (or isn't). I think this information is absolutely fascinating and I have to share it with you. You may not think that a blog about race has anything to do with parenting, but I think it has everything to do with it, because these are the concepts we should be teaching our children.

This information is from: Hodgkinson, Harold. "What Should We Call People? Race, Class, and the Census for 2000." From Phi Delta Kappan, October 1995, pp. 173-179.

RACE DOESN'T EXIST.

The concept of "race" is a relatively new one. It didn't even appear in language until about 600 years ago. Race only exists because our society believes in it. There is absolutely no scientific basis for it.

Consider this: There are four blood types. A, B, O, and AB. If you need a blood transfusion, you will get a blood from a person with a blood type that matches your own, regardless of what "race" that person was. Also, there is only one protein that colors human skin. It's called melanin, and it's brown. The color of human skin ranges from very light to very dark, based on the amount of melanin coloring your skin. We know that our skin can become lighter or darker depending on how much time we spend in the sun. Here's an interesting fact: "the darkest quarter of the white population is darker than the lightest quarter of the black population" (Hodgkinson).

WHERE DID THIS IDEA COME FROM?

The Age of Reason. The Enlightenment. We started to classify animals and organisms. These categories were based on perceived physical difference. This lead to classifying "types" of people. This was called "Race Science", or what we now call "Scientific Racism". This is where people tried to say that different races were more superior than others because of their intelligence, etc. The fact is, there's just no basis for those claims. We all have the same organs, the same gestation period for our babies, and the same feelings.

So why do we still think in terms of race? There are so many challenges we face when we try to put everyone is a category. First of all, race is easy when you think of it as "black" and "white". However, people have mixed backgrounds. We'd have to have hundreds of categories for people. Cuban-American, Chinese-American, African-American, Mexican-African American, Canadian-Irish-German American, French-Italian-Native American American. Haha, you get where I'm going with this, right? What's the point in having these categories? I think people are just too hung up on labeling people so that we can make quick judgements. What happens if we can't tell "what you are?" Heaven forbid you'd have to get to know them before you decide if you like them or not. That would just be too much work, right?

WHAT'S THE REAL ISSUE IN OUR SOCIETY?

In his article, Harold Hodgkinson makes a great point by using this story.

"I am frequently asked, 'Are there place in the U.S. where black, Hispanics, Asians, whites, and Native Americans can live together in peace and harmony?' My answer is, 'Of course. Such places abound. Shaker Heights, Ohio, to name but one.' But there are virtually no poor people in Shaker Heights. Next question: 'Are there places in the U.S. where rich people and poor people can live together on the same block in peace and harmony?' My answer is, 'I have never seen such a place anywhere in the U.S.'"

So, the point here is, why do we spend so much time and effort trying to put people in categories when the real issue here is poverty? The common denominator in every "race" is that there are rich people and poor people.

Another quote from Hodgkinson drives this point home: "the furor some whites showed when informed that their children would have to go to school with minority children is mild when compared to the reaction of upper- and middle-income parents (of any race or ethnic background) when told that their children will have to go to school with poor children (of any race or ethnic background)."

The issue of race seems so insignificant when faced with all of the poverty in our country, and the world. The reason I'm writing this blog is to open your eyes as mine were opened when I read these articles. I didn't realize that the idea of race was just a way to justify inequality. We need to teach our children a new way of thinking. For example, my children will be half "white" and half "black". What category will they fall under? They will feel isolated if we keep thinking that race matters so much. Instead, they should see themselves on spectrum of beautiful human diversity. We are all one race: the human race. Within the human race, there is diversity, which is what makes our world so beautiful and interesting. Our difference should never be a basis of discrimination. There should never be pressure to be a part of only one group. This is also why I plan on raising my children to be bilingual. I want them to have another way to connect to people across the world. I think that's what we're missing. We miss the connection we all have to each other. This may sound idealistic and naive, but I think that if we can change the way we think, and change the way we teach our children to think, the world will truly be a better place to live. It all starts at home.

Poll Results

2009-04-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, I had a poll that asked, "Have you ever considered having a midwife and/or doula attend your birth (whether at home or at a hospital)?". Of the 11 people that answered (Come on people, only 11? You can do better than that! ), 6 said yes (54%), 4 said no (36%), and 1 said yes, but family/spouse was not supportive (9%).

Midwives can be a great option to use during your pregnancy and delivery. They're cheaper than obstetricians (why pay a surgeon if you don't want to have surgery?), they're less likely to push you to have medical interventions if you don't need them, and they give you their undivided attention. That's the most important part. If you want the attention of a midwife but need an obstetrician (if you have a high-risk pregnancy), a doula would be a great option. A doula does not provide any medical service. She is there for emotional, spiritual, and physical support throughout your labor. Women who want to have an unmedicated birth are much less likely to ask for drugs when they have a midwife or doula present (for the effects of epidurals, see this post from Bellies in Bloom). This is because they are trained and experienced in childbirth, know the process of labor, and can help "keep your eye on the prize":-) Labor also tends to be shorter and have fewer complications when a doula is present. This is because labor depends highly on the emotional state of the woman. If a woman is not comfortable in her surroundings, stressing out, or anxious, labor will slow down or stop. The more comfortable, relaxed, and confident a woman is, the quicker and smoother her labor will go. Doulas can help you feel comfortable, relaxed, and confident. Visit dona.org for more information about doulas and how you could benefit from having one attend your birth. Also, here's a great explanation of the relationship between doulas and dads.

So, what do you think? Have you considered using or have you used a midwife or doula? What was your experience? If you haven't ever considered it, why not? Did this information urge you to consider it for future pregnancies? If you're a husband and/or father, would you recommend that your wife/partner look into using a midwife or a doula?

Which baby carrier do you like?

2009-04-19T15:58:00.000-07:00

This is one topic I'm constantly researching. There are TONS of baby carriers out there, and the three types I think are generally the best are slings, wraps, and mei tai's. It may not seem important to get a baby carrier, but there are many benefits of using one. Not only is it just plain convenient when you're doing chores around the house, but it's great for bonding (especially for dads!). And honestly, who wants to carry around a big 'ol car seat everywhere you go? They're awkward and heavy. Visit The Baby Wearer for more information on babywearing and why it's great for you and your baby.

Slings: I originally fell in love with the Peanut Shell. They are SO CUTE! I bought one for my friend Britnee (below), and one for my sister-in-law. They're really simple to use. After walking around for a couple minutes with my friend's son (I think he was around 9 months old at the time?) in it, though, it got kind of heavy. This could be because it wasn't the right size for me. The picture below is my friend Britnee modeling her lovely Peanut Shell with Caiden.

Other brands that make slings are Hotslings, and Maya Wrap. You can also make your own if you're a savvy sewer.

Wraps: From what I've read, these are the most comfortable, because you can spread the weight evenly on both shoulders. They're also very versatile because you can wrap them in many different ways. Some of the wraps on the market are the Storchenwiege (expensive but durable and beautiful), the Moby Wrap, the Bali Baby Wrap, and many others. Just Google "baby wrap" to find more. This is also probably the easiest one to make. All you need is about 2.5-5 yards of breathable, strong fabric and you can wrap it any way you want! Pretty cheap if you go that route. Here are some YouTube videos that demonstrate different ways to wrap your baby. It may seem a little tedious, but if you're going on a long walk or going out for the day, it would be worth it if it's the most comfortable.

Mei Tai: This is easier than a wrap (although not as versatile), but probably more comfortable than a sling. My favorite mei tai is the Kozy Carrier. It's really cute, and they're custom made so you can order exactly what you need. They're also reversable so they can go with a bunch of different outfits:-) You can get one side with a cute pattern, and the other side with a solid color so Daddy can wear it without feeling like a dork. Other good mei tai's are those from Mei Tai Baby, and Baby Hawk (SUPER CUTE!). Again, you can also make your own for a completely custom baby carrier:-)

I need your input! Are you a babywearer? Which carrier is your favorite/most comfortable and why? Which carriers aren't comfortable? That's good to know, too.

My Favorite Parenting Show

2009-04-17T23:29:00.000-07:00

I love Supernanny. Every family she visits, it seems like she goes through all of the same concepts. This leads me to believe that the majority of parents are just not educated about good techniques. Here's the rundown:

-Time Outs: They work. When a child misbehaves, give a warning (only one!). If they repeat the behavior, it's time to follow through. Find a spot away from distractions and take your child there to sit for 1 minute per year of their age (2 year old, 2 minutes; 3 year old, 3 minutes, etc.). When you first put them there, explain why they're in time out. It's likely they'll get up a few times. Don't say a word, and put them back in the spot. If you've not been consistent with discipline before, this process could go on for upwards of an hour. Think it's not worth it? Don't give up. Keep taking them back to the spot until they sit there for the entire time. At the end, go to them, explain why they've been put in time out, and ask them for an apology. End with a hug and a kiss, and go on about your day. Key concept here is consistency. Don't give up. By the way, don't threaten time out without following through. If you say, "If you do that one more time, you're going to time out", then make sure the next time they do that, you take them to time out. When you don't follow through, you're giving the child the power to control the situation. Follow through every time. It'll make your life easier in the long run.

-Charts: Having trouble getting your kids ready in the morning? Lack of bedtime routine? Make a chart with words and pictures outlining the routine that kids need to follow. Let them check off each item as they complete them. You can get organized and give your kids a little responsibility, which gives them self-esteem.

-Bedtime: When the time comes (you decide when the time is right for your child) for your child to sleep in their own beds, don't flip flop. Supernanny does this great technique (which I've successfully used when I was a nanny) where she lets the kids know what the bedtime routine is. If you say you're going to read a book, read one book. If you say you're going to read 2 books, read only 2 books. Don't get into the "just one more" game. Stick to your word. When it's time for bed, say goodnight, turn the light off, and leave. When they come running out of bed, say nothing and put them back in bed. Sit on the floor in their room in the dark, with your head down. Don't give them attention. Every time they get out of bed, just put them back without talking to them (same concept as time out). Again, even if this takes an hour or so, don't give up. It's worth it to be consistent. It won't go on like this forever. Even if it feels like it at the time. Oh, and this can work for naptime, too.

The most important concept in all of these tips is consistency. Be consistent. Be consistent. Be consistent.

Do you watch Supernanny? What's your favorite technique you've seen her use?

Ever Thought of This? Diaper Free Baby!

2009-04-16T14:19:00.000-07:00

When I was a nanny, I had to chase around a two-year old every time it was time to change his diaper. He would never tell me when he'd gone in his diaper except when he'd done a #2 and it was really uncomfortable for him. Has anyone here ever had to change a really dirty diaper on a two year old who can't stand still? Yeah. Not fun. His parents said they were trying to potty train him, but he just had no interest. This got me thinking..."there HAS to be a better way".

So I started to research, as I often do. I came across the phrase, "infant potty training". Infant potty training? I didn't think this was possible. I also saw the phrase, "elimination communication". So I researched some more, and I saw a book about this subject. The Diaper Free Baby, by Christine Gross-Loh. I went straight to my library and checked it out. When I began to read, I was VERY skeptical. I kid you not; by the time I was 20 pages in, I was convinced that every family should be doing this.

Photo from organicbabyproducts101.com

Did you know that babies ARE aware of their urges to eliminate? Did you know that by paying attention, you can tell when they need to go? This is possible. The reason it's so hard to potty train toddlers is because we've TRAINED them to eliminate in diapers, and they've lost that connection with their bodies to be able to control their eliminations. Using the techniques in Gross-Loh's book, you can quit having to buy diapers and not have to go through the struggles of normal potty training. I do have to stress, though, that this book's focus is on learning to connect to your baby and be able to communicate with him or her. The potty training is really secondary. The book is really fascinating, though.

Here's the potty that is recommended in The Diaper Free Baby. It's easy for babies/toddlers to sit on, and it's cheap so you can buy several to put around the house for convenience. And they come in several different colors:-) Cute.

Here's another product I found at The EC Store that's great for traveling. You can fold it up and keep it in your diaper bag or purse. When you're out at a restaurant, just pull it out and unfold it so it's flat and it goes on top of any toilet so your child can easily sit without falling it. Also, when you fold the legs down it becomes freestanding. They come with liners so you just put a liner in, let your child go potty, tie up the liner and throw it away! They sell refill liners but you can just use old grocery bags with a few paper towels or napkins in the bottom. Cheap and easy!

Intrigued? Do a little research of your own. You can start by Googling "elimination communication". Then head to your library and pick up The Diaper Free Baby. Other books on this subject (which I have not read) are Diaper Free! by Ingrid Bauer, and Infant Potty Training by Laurie Boucke. Maybe you can start your own Diaper Free Baby support group with your friends!

Have you already read up on this or maybe even tried it with your child? Share your story with us!

Documentary you MUST watch!

2009-04-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

There is one documentary that launched my interest in researching childbirth. The Business Of Being Born opened my eyes to the misconceptions modern women have about giving birth. If you are pregnant or plan on ever being pregnant, I urge you to get this from your local library, rent it, or just buy it and share it with your friends. While this documentary focuses on home birth, keep an open mind and realize that it still has great information you can use even if you plan on giving birth in a hospital. The most important lesson I learned from it was that women need to take control of their own care. Ask questions, trust your gut, and don't be intimidated by a doctor because of his or her credentials. This documentary is incredibly empowering. Hopefully it will prompt you to start asking questions, and research to get those questions answered (like I did!).

Introduction

2009-04-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Parental Guidance Suggested!

This blog is meant to be a source of other resources:-) Anyone who knows me, knows that I love to share any information I come across. So I thought this would be a great way to do that. As a babysitter and nanny, I have observed many different styles of parenting. Now, as many of my friends are beginning to start families, I have even more opportunities to observe. These observations prompted me to start researching. I started reading books about pregnancy and childbirth, and then parenting.

Through my observations, I've learned that in general, parents do more research about cribs and car seats than they do about being an effective and skilled parent. When I tell anyone about a good book I've read regarding parenting, the first question out of their mouth is always, "Are you pregnant?" or "Do you have kids?". This makes me wonder why it's such a foreign concept for anyone to begin to research parenting before they're pregnant or already a parent. When you want to become a doctor, there are years of schooling and training you must go through. The same applies for any other job. So, why is it that we don't seem to value training to be a parent when most parents would say that it is the most important job they've ever had? I want to change the way people think about parenting. Just because we have the natural ability to create a child doesn't mean we are naturally equipped with all the knowledge and skill that raising a child requires.

Through this blog, I'll share with you any books I read that I think have good information about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting; along with my thoughts about them. I'll also share any documentaries/movies I watch that I think have valuable information.

Let's commit to learning how to be the best and most effective parents we can be.