Earth Babies Blog

Archive for July, 2009

Follow this link – Breastfeeding is offensive – I love this post it is so true and for me hard hitting in its amusing simplicity. Good for a giggle but also to get you thinking.

If you are on Facebook why not join in the MILC virtual nurse-in next week. My issue is not so much that Facebook feels that nursing pictures are inappopriate (though I cannot see why), but more so the double standard of allowing truely sexual profile pics yet deleting those as innocent as breastfeeding.

The Mother’s International Lactation Campaign (M.I.L.C.) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the normalisation, protection and promotion of breastfeeding.

In 2008 and 2009 via the Facebook group “Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding is not Obscene!(official Petition to Facebook)” The organisation hosted two nurse-in events on the popular social networking site. Facebook continues to remove depictions of breastfeeding from their site, demeaning women and encouraging the misconception that breastfeeding is in any way a lewd, sexually explicit or offensive act and is inappropriate content for their site. Facebook has issued several public statements in response to the petition group, claiming to support breastfeeding but removing some images out of “concern for the safety of the many young users of the site.”

The virtual nurse-ins received extensive media coverage all around the world and membership in the petition group has surpased 240 000. On one designated day, participants simply posted as their profile picture the image of a nursing mother and changed their status line to: Hey Facebook, breastfeeding is not obscene. Individuals used a very diverse and representative range
of images for the event including personal photographs, historic works of art and international symbols.

August 1-7, 2009 is World Breastfeeding Week.

My Daddy’s Hands

I came into the world
And reached for your strong hands,
My tiny fingers knew you,
Before I could understand.

Your hands proudly held me,
And smoothed my newborn hair.
They’d grow to love and tickle,
And toss me in the air.

Your hands are the teachers,
That catch and throw a ball.
That steady my two-wheeler,
And soften each new fall.

Your hands are the guideposts,
That set and keep the rules.
Offer good advice and wisdom,
And cheer hard work in school.

Your hands are my anchor,
As I leave my childhood home.
Shake my hand and pat my back,
As I live life on my own.
One day I’ll have a child,
And come to understand.
The power of love,
Held in my Daddy’s hands.

As part of running a website and company like ours is that I do a lot of reading and browsing around the web. Sometimes there are ideas you come across that just feel right. This is what Baby Led Solids was like for me.

Starting solids was a nightmare with my daughter, she was not interested and would projectile vomit it across the room if you got more than one or two spoons in. She never really started eating much before 1 and even then has always been a fussy eater. So I was dreading solids the second time around. Until I came across this article
it is really well worth a read.

I tried it with my son and it was so much less stress and hassle, no blending mushy food, no spooning slop into their mouths. The basic idea is that you let the baby feed themselves and they regulate what and how much they choose to eat. It makes use of their natural curiosity, ability to mimic and desire to learn.

I used to just put a variety of whatever we were eating on Caleb’s tray and let him try it and play with it and generally learn as he went along. His favourites were Broccoli, breadsticks with humous, banana and pizza. He has always eaten well even from the beginning and is very independent when it comes to his food.

DOs and DON’Ts for baby-led introduction of solids from the afore mentioned article

* DO offer your baby the chance to participate whenever anyone else in the family is eating. You can begin to do this as soon as he shows an interest in watching you, although he is unlikely to be ready to put food in his mouth until he is about six months.
* DO ensure that your baby is supported in an upright position while he is experimenting with food. In the early days you can sit him on your lap, facing the table. Once he is beginning to show skill at picking food up he will almost certainly be mature enough to sit, with minimal support, in a high chair.
* DO start by offering foods that are baby-fist-sized, preferably chip-shaped (i.e., with a ‘handle’). As far as possible, and provided they are suitable, offer him the same foods that you are eating, so that he feels part of what is going on.
* DO offer a variety of foods. There is no need to limit your baby’s experience with food any more than you do with toys.
* DON’T hurry your baby. Allow him to direct the pace of what he is doing. In particular, don’t be tempted to ‘help’ him by putting things in his mouth for him.
* DON’T expect your baby to eat any food on the first few occasions. Once he has discovered that these new toys taste nice, he will begin to chew and, later, to swallow.
* DON’T expect a young baby to eat all of each piece of food at first – remember that he won’t yet have developed the ability to get at food which is inside his fist.
* DO try rejected foods again later – babies often change their minds and later accept foods they originally turned down.
* DON’T leave your baby on his own with food.
* DON’T offer foods which present an obvious danger, such as peanuts.
* DON’T offer ‘fast’ foods, ready meals or foods that have added salt or sugar.
* DO offer water from a cup but don’t worry if your baby shows no interest in it. A breastfed baby, in particular, is likely to continue for some time to get all the drinks he needs from the breast.
* DO be prepared for the mess! A clean plastic sheet on the floor under the high chair will protect your carpet and make clearing up easier. It will also enable you to give back foods that have been dropped, so that less is wasted. (You will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly your baby learns to eat with very little mess!)
* DO continue to allow your baby to breastfeed whenever he wants, for as long as he wants. Expect his breastfeedingfeeding pattern to change as he starts to eat more solid foods.
* If you have a family history of food intolerance, allergy or digestive problems, DO discuss this method of weaning with your health advisers before embarking on it.
* Finally, DO enjoy watching your baby learn about food – and develop his skills with his hands and mouth in the process!

The cause of autism has been pinned on everything from “emotionally remote” mothers (since discredited) to vaccines, genetics, immunological disorders, environmental toxins and maternal infections. Today most researchers theorize that autism is caused by a complex interplay of genetics and environmental triggers. A far simpler possibility worthy of investigation is the pervasive use of prenatal ultrasound, which can cause potentially dangerous thermal effects.

Health practitioners involved in prenatal care have reason to be concerned about the use of ultrasound. Although proponents point out that ultrasound has been used in obstetrics for 50 years and early studies indicated it was safe for both mother and child, enough research has implicated it in neurodevelopmental disorders to warrant serious attention.

At a 1982 World Health Organization (WHO) meeting sponsored by the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) and other organizations, an international group of experts reported that “[t]here are several frequently quoted studies that claim to show that exposure to ultrasound in utero does not cause any significant abnormalities in the offspring. … However, these studies can be criticized on several grounds, including the lack of a control population and/or inadequate sample size, and exposure after the period of major organogenesis; this invalidates their conclusions….”

Early studies showed that subtle effects of neurological damage linked to ultrasound were implicated by an increased incidence in left-handedness in boys (a marker for brain problems when not hereditary) and speech delays. Then in August 2006, Pasko Rakic, chair of Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Neurobiology, announced the results of a study in which pregnant mice underwent various durations of ultrasound. The brains of the offspring showed damage consistent with that found in the brains of people with autism. The research, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, also implicated ultrasound in neurodevelopmental problems in children, such as dyslexia, epilepsy, mental retardation and schizophrenia, and showed that damage to brain cells increased with longer exposures.

Dr. Rakic’s study, which expanded on prior research with similar results in 2004, is just one of many animal experiments and human studies conducted over the years indicating that prenatal ultrasound can be harmful to babies. While some questions remain unanswered, based on available information, health practitioners must seriously consider the possible consequences of both routine and diagnostic use of ultrasound, as well as electronic fetal heart monitors, which may be neither non-invasive nor safe. If pregnant women knew all the facts, would they choose to expose their unborn children to a technology that—despite its increasingly entrenched position in modern obstetrics—has little or no proven benefit?

— Caroline Rodgers
Excerpted from “Questions about Prenatal Ultrasound and the Alarming Increase in Autism,” Midwifery Today, Issue 80
View table of contents / Order the back issue
Read the full article on our Web site at: Midwifery Today

What are your thoughts – is it something you have heard of or thought about, does it make you reconsider scans or at least how many scans you have? Have we in true human fashion started using to our detriment a medical tool which was created to be used in emergencies or only when necessary and made it the norm for their convenience and our ‘fun’? Why do we have scans every visit here in SA and do we have a choice in how the obstetricians examine us (not should we but DO we)?

I had 2-3 scans both pregnancies (the visits I was at the gynae) – it was what he did and I did not question it. It was nice I suppose in some superficial ways but I never really got a thrill from seeing that little blur on the screen – now the first time i heard their heart beat at the midwife it all became real — there is no better sound than that amazing gallop of your babies heart beat.

I don’t see scans as necessary on a routine basis, in general the scan could tell me no more about my baby than what my midwife could through more hands on examination. (I never wanted to find out my babies gender pre-birth. That was their special secret and surprise to keep till they arrived).

I never really thought of the dangers of the scans to our babies at the time and I did appreciate the last scans before the birth which in the one indicated a few minor complications and the second set my mind at ease that all was perfect for going weeks longer -but I did feel it made the examination rather impersonal and rushed in comparison to those I had with our midwife. Not sure what I would have done had I known of these concerns prior to my pregnancies – maybe I would have still gone the same route … I dont know.

A Mother’s love is something that no on can explain,
It is made of deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it or take that love away . . .
It is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters even though the heart is breaking . . .
It believes beyond believing when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty of the rarest, brightest gems . . .
It is far beyond defining, it defies all explanation,
And it still remains a secret like the mysteries of creation . . .
A many splendoured miracle man cannot understand
And another wondrous evidence of God’s tender guiding hand.
~Helen Steiner Rice~

What are your thoughts on fathers attending births?
Dr Michel Odent has come out in saying he feels men should not attend births which in many aspects I get what he is saying – I think he is looking from a wider experience observing the dynamics of many births, whereas we react from our personal births.

I cannot however agree that all men should not attend births. – I dont think there should be a cut and dried ‘ruling’ on this. I think it should be the fathers choice and this choice should be respected – if they want to be there, they should not be rejected or blocked out BUT if they do not want to be there they should not be forced or guilted into being there.

A birth space needs positive and calm energy present in order for the mother to be able to focus on herself and the birth and not be distracted by or worry about how others are coping.

My husband was a great support. I cannot imagine birthing without him present for me and also for himself, but I do feel there is some truth in what the Dr says.
My first birth was at a birthing unit (everything already there and organised). Hub and the midwife were with me from start of labour (induced), it was in terms of support a very positive experience.
2nd birth was a homebirth with just my husband and myself and at the very end the midwives – also wonderful but I missed that nurtured feeling – we were in such a ‘get ready’ mode that I never got time to actually focus on the birth or feel looked after – I would definitely have a doula if there was ever a next homebirth. So though I feel my husband was there and involved his constant questions about arb things were a distraction to me (my own fault I was too relaxed and not organised enough to make it smooth running).

ARTICLE LINKS:

Men must give labour a wide berth, says obstetrician Michel Odent

“For many years, I haven’t been able to speak openly about my views that the presence of a father in a delivery room is not only unnecessary but also hinders labour.

and a rather scathing blog reply to this:
Stop telling women how to give birth
(which I personally feel is a little misinformed in terms of the assumptions made about the doctor in question). I do agree with this though – educating better on what to expect and what to do and not do would help men contribute and support in birth in a positive manner,

Surely it would be better to teach his patients more about the process of labour, and the mucky grittiness of it so they are fully prepared mentally for when it does happen rather than just blaming men?

A quick Biography on Dr Michel Odent from Midwifery Today

Michel Odent, MD, has been influencing the history of childbirth and health research for several decades. As a practitioner he developed the maternity unit at Pithiviers Hospital in France in the 1960s and 1970s. With six midwives, he was in charge of about one thousand births a year and achieved excellent statistics with low rates of intervention. Odent is familiarly known as the obstetrician who introduced the concept of birthing pools and home-like birthing rooms. His approach has been featured in eminent medical journals such as The Lancet and in TV documentaries such as the BBC film Birth Reborn. After his hospital career he practiced homebirths. Odent’s 21st-century books (The Scientification of Love, The Farmer and the Obstetrician and The Caesarean) may be regarded as a trilogy. They raise urgent questions about the future of our civilizations.
Odent is a contributing editor to Midwifery Today magazine.

Just read an interesting blog post regarding allowing children to run around naked at home. They actually did a newspaper article AND  section on the ‘The Today Show’ about this …. a show, on this subject? Is it really that news worthy and big an issue?

Honestly is this not taking things a bit far? Over parenting is the newest point of discussion which for me is one of those relative terms, what for one is over-parenting is for another neglect. Personally this is one of those that falls into the category of over-parenting.

I had actually never thought anyone would frown on this, I assumed it is totally normal – something every child does. For me there is nothing offensive about it, particularly when talking about babies and toddlers.

I did elimination communication with my son – he was practically always without a nappy (every photo we have of him is either topless, bottomless or all-less). My daughter was a real bare-bear, she learnt early on how to remove her own clothing and if you wanted to find her you simply needed to follow the trail of clothes.

Obviously as you have probably concluded I am on the all for children playing naked at home side – it is normal, natural and healthy (on so many levels).

here is a link to the blog post that got me wondering – some of the comments are interesting.

What are your thoughts on this – appropriate or inappropriate?

Came across this by chance and thought to share it.

Did you know that children laugh on average 300 times a day compared to adults only laughing 15 times a day? Where did we lose the ability to laugh? Did we actually lose that ability? Laughing is a vital part of being happy in our lives, and it is something that is worthwhile making a conscious effort to do more of.

Read on to find out how children are teaching us adults how to be happy in life.

Green is the new buzz word at the moment, we are all being encouraged to think about the impact of the things we do on our environment and I am delighted that there is this change in attitude and a focus on treading more lightly on the earth. I have really tried to live as environmentally friendly as I can, even before Green was the flavour of the month.

I think I came pre-programmed to gravitate towards all things natural, quirky and simple. My parents gave me a great gift as a child – they taught me to ask questions and not just got with the flow. I think they may have come to regret this at times when they were the flow and I was going against.

This was working great and it was fairly easy to do my bit and live a greener kind of lifestyle. And then my children exploded into my life changing it forever. Nothing prepares one fully for how much you will love the wrinkly, gorgeous little parasite that will invade more areas of your life and time that you ever thought possible. Using eco friendly and natural options helped me to parent in a way that feels congruent to what I believe. I feel like I am working with the parasite- oh I mean baby, in practices such as home birth, cloth nappies, extended breast feeding, co-sleeping, elimination communication etc they just made so much more sense to me than a lot of the do to the baby style parenting that seem so popular today.

Some days though things don’t go the way I planned and I find myself being rather a bright shade of orange (a quick check of the colour wheel shows that red/orange are lurking ominously opposite green) I have read a lot of natural parenting books and websites and have even written articles helping other who want to know about practices like Elimination communication (nappy free) baby wearing, the benefits of extended breast feeding amongst other things. But real life is sometimes far from the books and comes crashing in like a pot of bright orange paint splattering my Green Mom ambitions.

Now orange is a lovely colour one I am quite partial to but it does not fit into my idea of the super natural mom I want to be. The one who always looks cool calm and collected while she plants, bakes, breast feeds, recycles, home schools and all those other great things that earn us the Green Mommy Badge.

One day in particular I remember going to a museum with my sister, my daughter Rachel (3yrs), son Caleb (8 months) we where there to look at dinosaurs, Rachel’s latest craze.

I had duly carried Caleb in a sling while he slept and breast feed him sitting on the floor in a corner while being glared down at by some rather menacing looking ‘wotsit-o-saurus’. Afterwards dead on my feet and with a rather cranky 3year old who wanted mommy to buy lots of toys we collapse at a coffee shop. I just wanted to drink my coffee in relative peace and try to revive myself for the long journey home. I tired to get Caleb interested in an organic 3 wholegrain finger biscuit I had brought with me. After he threw the third biscuit on the floor, practiced standing and wriggling as much as possible on my lap, making it near impossible for me to actually get my drink near my mouth without sloshing the hot contents all over myself and him, my patients was wearing thin.

Caleb suddenly spotted one of those sugar paper tube thingy that they have on the tables and quick as a flash started chewing on it. I was just about to yank it out his hand when I noticed that this tube of sugar was winning where 3 organic biscuits and 2 rattles had failed, it was keeping him quiet and still on my lap. Long enough for me to drink my coffee and an inkling of calm return to my shattered nerves (In my defence it was natural brown sugar and not super processed white sugar – Semantic I am guessing) so with my ideals suffering from a splattering of orange I finish my coffee and trudge the kids back home.

There are plenty of times when I have driven instead of walking, bought some unnecessary thing in way too much packaging. I have even left the computer on all night when I went to settle Caleb back to sleep and landed up falling asleep on the bed with him instead of returning down to where I was working. I would be lying if I said that the TV is not occasionally used as the baby sitter so I don’t have 2 kids underfoot while I cook or clean or whatever other chore needs doing.

I realize that while I am not perfect feeling guilt for a bit of orange every now and again is not making me a better mother in anyway and I might as well recycle this emotion into something more useful, like the drive to do better next time and to think daily of ways to tread lightly on our planet. I think by trying to teach my kids responsible living hopefully it will be easier for them to follow a greener type lifestyle in the future. I think not having the emphasis on all thing eco friendly when I was a kid means that sometimes old habits die hard.

Of course there are the inevitable conversations with mainstream parents who are always keen to tell you about the baby sleeping through the night from a ridiculously early age, and how they go out and have their life back and ‘oh how expensive disposables are’ but how they could never use cloth like you, said with the slightly up turned nose as though the very thought is a beyond repulsive. Some time what they describe seems so easy.

They have the baby all trained so that it is does not really disrupt their life all that much and in comparison I think about the bucket of nappies I have at home to wash, the wooden toys strewn all over the floor, and the umpteen household chores that just never seem to be as important as reading a story or playing dress up going out for a walk. And so what if my son does not sleep though the night, I get to feel his soft breath against my check and I can kiss his fluffy little parasitic head any time I want to in the night.

It may not be the easy way and I am far from being green all the time, but it is the way that makes sense to me even if I get a little orange splatter every now and again. I think more important than trying to be a super green mom, I need to be a mom who is only human and teach my kids that we all have bad days and that sometimes a little orange is okay. So now I am off to find a eco friendly way to get rid of the snails eating our beans.

Now available through our shop.

I fell HEAVY for these dolls when I first saw them, they are to me beeeUtiful – their name Zugly derives from South African (ZA) Ugly! – I must say I love the name almost as much … it adds to the appeal.

I dont think a 34 year old is meant to be so in love with a doll, I have considered trying to slip one onto our bed but qualm at the imagined picture of husband dear’s head shaking eye rolling frown. Now I could easily ‘buy’ one for my daughter but then I will have to share … hmmmm maybe at 34 I SHOULD be able to handle sharing my toys, just hope my 2 year old is mature enough to be as munificent as me

The big-nose Zugly Doll – is a unique Rhodes speciality. Definitely not Barbie dolls, maybe that’s why kids love them so much!

The dolls are made from local wool that’s hand-spun and felted at the Red Barn, and then embroidered and assembled on site. No two dolls are the same and each doll carries a certificate signed by the person who made it.