dabbling in babbling - add to blogs we like

Reuters Health Information (2002-11-20): Reproductive techniques now more successful, safer

Babywearing
... is carrying your baby in a sling or pack instead of putting them in a stroller.

Mothering Magazine -- Hold Me Close
Mothering Magazine -- Babywearing Tips
How to Babywear
Ten Reasons to Wear your Baby - The Natural Child Project
misc.kids baby carriers FAQ

I am working on my church's special Advent mailing and was trying to find the Christmas graphic for the United Methodist Church theme for this Christmas when I found this page, Worship, with lots of good links. Maybe since I have blogged this page I'll get back to them are read some of them.

La Leche League of Wichita Kansas, and Surrounding Area -- listing of area meetings and leaders

LLLI Online Chats -- if you can't find a group in your area, or need a "fix" more often than once a month.

FlyLady.net: FlyBaby Children -- this webpage has inspired me to do some brainstorming about my son's room. Right now it still has a lot of "our stuff" that really shouldn't be in his room. It has built in drawers and shelves on one wall, so he doesn't really need a dresser. It has 2 standalone bookshelves that are tipping hazards and, if "our stuff" was out of the built-ins, would not be needed at all. This brainstorming is also partially inspired by the fact that DS is scooting backwards now and our DCP says that he will be crawling forward very soon!

Brainstorm warning

* Pin a diaper pin on clothes that are too small when we take them off of him so we will know to put them in the "too small" box instead of back on the shelf after they have been washed.
* Make one of the shelves for clothes that have been worn once but are okay for another day (instead of hanging them over the crib).
* Have a hook somewhere for his coat and hat.
* Put the things on his bottom changing table shelf somewhere else and put all "safe" things down there.
* Clean out the built-in drawers and use them for his clothes etc. (with labels on the fronts at first). We may want to take some of the drawers outside and sand them down a bit so they slide easier. I wish they weren't so heavy because I don't think he will be able to open them on his own for a very long time. (Although that could be a blessing in disguise.)
* Only hang up the dressiest clothes.
* Put clothes in drawers as "outfits" so we don't have to try to find things that "go together".
* Remove (at least) one set of bookshelves and put the rocker and/or his little dresser against the wall.
* Vacuum weekly so he can play on the floor in his own room.

Regular Naps Improve Nighttime Sleep (Diaper Pin)

Popular Science | Fenugreek for Freshness -- this is an herb that some women use to help boost milk supply also.

Does the MMR Vaccine Cause Autism? 11/20/02 -- This is a article that says that MMR does not cause autism. It is based on research in Denmark. The commentary points out that other vaccines in Denmark do not contain thimerosal (mercury) like some do in the US, but at least research is being done.

Five Simple Strategies to Reduce Stress and Eliminate Exhaustion 11/20/02

DH and I had a discussion last night about DS not "sleeping through the night" yet. Our approaches to how to get DS to sleep and how quickly to respond to him when he wakes up are starting to diverge a bit. Here is a Sleep Problems FAQ by Dr. Sears. And an article on What Attachment Parenting Is Not that are fitting. One point that I made last night was that when DS can communicate in ways other than crying, how I respond may be different. I don't want him to learn to cry himself to sleep. Here are a couple more relevant articles from Dr. Sears:
8 Infant Sleep Facts Every Parent Should Know
31 Ways To Get Your Baby To Go To Sleep and Stay Asleep Easier

Can Yuppies Bear Children - I'm not sure exactly how I stumbled onto these articles, but I want to link to them

Romancing the Mom -- This one really makes me want to quit my job. Perhaps after "the upgrade" that I'm working on (and trying to finish before Christmas) my supervisor would be more open to a part-time arrangement.

What About Dad?
Attachment Parenting: A Style that Works

‘Sink Reflections’
FlyLady says a tidy soul comes first -- I'm a FlyBaby!

He Can't Be Hungry. He Just Ate!

Quiet Alertness

Several times in the past week I have noticed DS being quiet, alert and content when other babies and children around him were upset, crying, or "getting in trouble". The following paragraph from Dr. Sears' 10 Ways Attachment Parenting Makes Discipline Easier explains it pretty well.

4. Attachment parenting promotes quiet alertness. Both research and our own experience have demonstrated that attachment-parented babies cry much less. So what do they do with their free time? They spend much of it in the state of quiet alertness. During waking hours, babies go through many types of behavior: crying, sleepy, alert and agitated, and quietly alert. Babies are most attentive to their environment in the state of quiet alertness. By not fussing and crying, they conserve their energy and use it for interacting. The result is they are more pleasant to be with. Because a responsive parent takes time to enjoy the baby when he is in this state, the baby is motivated to stay in the state of quiet alertness longer.

ANTIBIOTICS AND COLD MEDICINES -- what is safe to take and why

Bath fun!

Last night DS and I took a bath together. It was just getting to hard to hold onto him in the sink and reach his bottom. He had a lot of fun splashing! He sat on the bottom of the tub with me, between my legs, facing the same way as me most of the time. The water was almost to his waist. I sat him up on my leg part of the time so I could wash his legs and bottom. It's too bad that DH missed it, but I'm sure we can get some cute pictures next time.

So I Nursed Him Every 45 Minutes/One Father's Perspective on Demand Nursing -- I like this pair of articles!

Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk (RE9729) -- This is the one I've been searching for. Under "Recommended Breastfeeding Practices": Exclusive breastfeeding is ideal nutrition and sufficient to support optimal growth and development for approximately the first 6 months after birth. Infants weaned before 12 months of age should not receive cow's milk feedings but should receive iron-fortified infant formula. Gradual introduction of iron-enriched solid foods in the second half of the first year should complement the breast milk diet. It is recommended that breastfeeding continue for at least 12 months, and thereafter for as long as mutually desired.

Here are several articles about SIDS.
Changing Concepts of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome: Implications for Infant Sleeping Environment and Sleep Position (RE9946) -- The AAP doesn't know why or how it happens, but "back to sleep" seems to have made a difference.
A Simple Explanation for SIDS (Crib Deaths) -- Dr. Mercola is quite a radical in many ways, but he does make sense sometimes. Dr. Mercola is quite a radical in many ways, but he does make sense sometimes.
CribLife2000 on SIDS: Eliminating SIDS by preventing SIDS
CribLife2000 - Eliminating SIDS: A Simple Explanation for SIDS

I found the American Academy of Pediatrics website (with help from pumpmoms). Here are a few articles of interest.
AAP - Safety Tips for the Holidays -- mostly common sense (to me, at least)
AAP - A Woman’s Guide to Breastfeeding
AAP - Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5
"Kid's Health" supplement in the October 18-20, 2002 weekend edition of USA Today
AAP USA Today Supplement - What is the Best Nutrition for your Baby?
The Use and Misuse of Fruit Juice in Pediatrics - RE0047 -

This is so cute I decided to put it on my template.

Diaper questions

I bought 10 Bummi doublers recently with a buy-it-now on ebay for a good price. The seller said she had lots of other diapering supplies and asked what I might want. I asked about Bummis Super Whisper Wrap covers, Fuzzi Bunz, and tote bags. She told be that Fuzzi Bunz are possibly dangerous to little boys' developing testicles because of the amount of heat that is held in. I asked her for references and am now searching all over the web trying to find any information about this. So far, I consider it a rumor, but I am willing to stand corrected if there are any studies or even well documented ancedotal evidence (more than, I heard if from a friend who read it on a discussion board that one lady's friend's son was sterile). For one thing, I don't think they haven't been around long enough to tell if boys who wear them have sperm problems.

Separation Anxiety starting?

This morning when I left DS at daycare, he was crying. :-( That's the first time that has happened. Lately he has been more reluctant to have other people hold him when he can see me. I'm sure he got over it very quickly, because he is usually very happy with any of his teachers. I handed him to one of the teachers to finish checking him in (filling out a form with when he last ate and slept), and he cried then. So I took him back when I finished and he quieted down, but I couldn't stay because I had to be somewhere across town at a specific time today, so I handed him back. Then he started to cry again, so I just kissed him and told him I would be back at lunchtime and left. I think I said, "I hate this part" to the other teacher as I closed the door.

Spilt Milk

A word of warning... don't set a lid on top of a freshly pumped bottle of milk and forget that you haven't screwed it on tight. I lost about 2 oz of milk this afternoon. At least it was down a sink so I didn't have a mess to clean up. Tomorrow we will have to dip into the freezer stash because of my blunder. DS is eating like crazy right now, getting over his bug. He drank 6 oz this morning at daycare and probably all 3.5 that I took this afternoon, and I bet he will be hungry when I get there in a few minutes to pick him up.

Fever

DS got sent home from daycare with a 100.6 degree temperature today. We will be staying at home tomorrow, too. He has to stay away for 24 hours after the fever is gone (without fever reducing medicine). DH and I were planning on lunch together and seeing a matinee since our date last Sunday got cancelled because of a problem that came up at my work. He stopped by a very nice restaurant and brought home a nice lunch for me today, and then he went out in the afternoon and rented a couple of movies, but it wasn't the same. Monsters, Inc. is a fun movie, though. :-)

TINY LOVE Soft Developmental Toys - 7 Elements of Baby's Development
TINY LOVE Soft Developmental Toys - Multiple Intelligences