I went into my first labor like a warrior to battle, out to defeat the evil enterprises of medicine that would try to make me take drugs, have repeated interventions and cause my birth to be stressful instead of relaxed, medical instead of natural and healthy. Turns out I was actually pleasantly surprised that my […]
Labor, Delivery, and Saying "NO"–5 More Interventions We Refuse Read More »
To be a good parent, you’ll quickly find that you have to say “NO” an awful lot. I was surprised to find when first pregnant that the fine art of NO actually starts well before the child even leaves the confines of the womb and has nothing to do with discipline. If you want to
You Can Say NO to Your Doctor – 5 Standards We Refuse in the Womb Read More »
Parenting is hard stuff. Balancing baby’s needs and new mommy’s needs is hard, figuring out when to start feeding solid food and what kind is hard, watching a child get sick is hard. Deciding on boundaries is hard, using consistent discipline is hard, facing down a stubborn 4-year-old who is screaming at the top of
It seems like we live in a world where everyone thinks they have a right to an opinion about everyone else’s family size (and parenting strategies, but that’s another post entirely). Many people think two is the most appropriate number and are fascinated by asking the question, “Are you done now?” Some Catholics get a
If croup hits, you want to be prepared. Make sure you have these home remedies for croup on hand before you need them.“My kids always get a croup-y cough this time of year…” “Every cold has turned into croup lately…” “I always recognize that ‘croup cough’ and know things are getting worse…” Since a fearful
It’s Scary When Your Child Can’t Breathe (Natural Remedies for Croup) Read More »
When I started with cloth diapers (on baby number 3!) just over a year ago, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I didn’t really want to take a lot of time to research on the Internet, and the cloth diaper forums can be overwhelming (and suck you in). My colleague Erin Odom
Ready for Cloth Diapers? (or not?) How to do it Frugally and Successfully Read More »
Sippy cups may as well be an entire course in Mommy School, particularly for those going for the “Health and Nutrition” certification on their SuperMom degree. A new mom has to to figure out: I’ve personally evolved over three kids from prioritizing cost and shopping garage sales to focusing on safety (and convenience). We have
Finding a Safe Sippy Cup for Babies and Toddlers {Review of 8 Options} Read More »
This is the post I was hoping someone would send me back in July before John was born, or December when I was about to jump into cloth diapers and was scared out of my mind. I couldn’t quite visualize what cloth diapering would be like, and that was a major psychological roadblock for me.
A Cloth Diapering Rookie’s First Steps: the Routine, the Laundry, the Vocabulary Read More »
Paper or plastic? No, I’m not putting plastic on my baby’s bottom, but the question for grocery shoppers might as well be the question for young moms: Cloth or disposables? Just as we used to be asked again and again at the grocery store, “Paper or plastic?” we now encounter the “disposable or reusable” question
There’s not really a baby step process to having a baby – it’s an all or nothing deal to be sure. You just have to jump in with both feet and get all wet, sometimes quite literally. I still remember my husband and I, in the very first few days of parenting, trying to figure
Cloth Diaper Reviews: What’s the Best Cloth Diaper For You? Read More »
You know that meme about how parents’ treatment of pacifiers changes as they have more kids, from sterilizing the thing every time it touches anything but baby lips to grabbing it from under a church pew and poking it back into baby’s mouth? That’s totally me, minus the pacifier. With my first child, I read
Eat Well, Spend Less: What Goes on this Real Food Baby’s High Chair Tray? Read More »
Will I be called a hypocrite for teaching you how to make disposable baby wipes using bleached paper towel? Last week a reader used the term because I freely admitted to using disposable diapers in the same post as I said, “It’s important to know what’s going on baby’s skin.” The mission of Kitchen Stewardship®
Babywearing can be a great tool for soothing baby, can allow mama to multi-task, and can be that second pair of hands that we all need sometimes. The moby wrap was my favorite when my kids were babies. Here are a few of my tips on breastfeeding in the moby wrap and a couple of
I was the mom in Bradley birth classes furrowing her brow at the stories of nursing toddlers, saying, “When my child is old enough to ask for mama’s milk, that’s when it’s been long enough.” Eighteen months later, I was the mama with the screaming child: “I want milllllllllllllk!!!!” He didn’t wean until two-and-a-half. So
“Wait, what is that?” That’s what came out of my mouth, in a nicely polite voice. In my head, I ninja-chopped the nurse’s hand, sending whatever she was trying to feed my 12-hour-old newborn flying across the room, and cried in my fiercest mama bear voice, “Don’t put anything in my baby’s mouth without my
“How many hours were you in labor?” I still can’t figure out what my answer is going to be. A week? A day? 2 hours? For my first two, labor was much more defined: 13 hours, 5 hours. Much like with number two, however, my body was preparing for this number three for many days
We all get worn out sometimes, and after a busy day or week (or month!) there are occasions when I’m just. too. tired. to cook. Whether your fatigue comes from parenting, pregnancy, or a busy work or school schedule, we all need some quick meals in our repertoire that don’t take much effort to get
