I’ve posted this one before – but it seemed very appropriate right now – so here are a few things to ponder…and please comment if you have something to add!
1. Fix-It. Don’t throw out your old VCR, DVD player, washer or whatever it is that just broke. Fix it. I recently saved our VCR (we still like videotapes) by simply removing the top and cleaning the insides with a Q-Tip and some rubbing alcohol. Not to mention the fact that no one seems to sell just the VCR anymore. I’ve replaced belts on old dryers and handles on old axes. Stop throwing away stuff just because it’s broken! Now, we did get rid of an old microwave that stopped working, but I didn’t buy a new one – we got along just fine for three years without one. Then, I came along a perfectly good one, for free, that someone was giving away.
10 Ways to Save Money Right Now
No Container Babies- 5 Reasons to Wear Your Baby!
There is nothing I hate worse than to see a mom or dad lugging their baby around in the car seat in a store. I can’t believe a mother would rather lug 12 pounds of baby plus 15 pounds of car seat in an uncomfortable position, like a bucket of water down to the barn. It breaks my heart – the baby is usually bundled in the seat, head rocking and bouncing as the seat bangs into the leg of the person carrying it.
Why wouldn’t you want to hold your baby? Babies smell good. They’re cute and funny. And when I have one, all I want to do is hold it – and when I can’t, I bundle her into a sling and carry her around. And when I can’t do that (like when taking a shower), I make sure that someone else who loves her is holding her. My God, they are only this little once – and it goes by so fast. Once it’s gone , it’s gone – so don’t waste it strapping them into car seats (unless they are actually in the car) or swings! Hold your baby! When they’re teenagers, they won’t let you near them ( and really, they’re not as cuddly as teens, I have two teens and a “tween” and I can verify this fact)!
1. Baby wearing is convenient. I’m wearing and breastfeeding my baby right now – even as I write this! Really? Yes. Really. I can do almost anything I need to do while wearing my 3.5 month old baby…except the dishes, but I find other reasons not to do them too!
2.Babies who are worn in slings or carried cry less. There is a lot of anthropological and scientific evidence of this fact, but I’ve had six babies, so far, and of the six the only colicky, constantly crying baby I had was the one I was encouraged to put down all of the time! That was my first baby. Since then, I have either held or worn all of my babies. Kiara – the latest – gets complimented all the time on being such a good baby. I think they mean quiet. And she is. During basketball games or other outings, she just sits in my lap and looks around. She rarely fusses. In fact, when she does scream, it’s usually because I’ve put her in the car seat for a trip.
3. Babies who are worn, learn more. Yes, another scientific fact! Babies who are worn spend more of their time in quiet alertness. Because your baby’s needs are being met, she doesn’t need to spend so much time looking for attention and therefore can sort out the puzzle around her – learning to adapt to the environment, seeking things to look at, etc. Researchers have also reported that carried babies show enhanced visual and auditory alertness.
4. Worn babies are smarter. OK, this might just sound like I’m bragging, but this has been proven true outside my own household! Because the mother or father of a worn baby acts like a filter, the baby is guarded from unwanted stimuli that can bombard their wee nervous systems. They also develop their ability to listen very early and therefore their language and development abilities are cultivated earlier. For example, if there is a loud clanging in the house (the toddler knocks the pots off the dish rack), a baby alone in a swing or seat will likely respond by startling and then crying. A baby in a sling, next to her mother, will still startle, but because mother is nearby, will see it’s just a noise and that she is still fine – quickly soothed by mom. The startle then becomes a learning experience that the baby is not so afraid of the next time….rather than being “rattled” every time a loud noise occurs.
5. Worn babies sleep more! Especially in the beginning. I’ve rarely felt sleep deprived, even as a new mother…and when I have it’s usually because I spend the night excitedly gazing at my new love. Wearing a baby keeps them close – think of yourself like a Kangaroo. There is a great saying – nine months in and nine months out. Thinking of the gestational period of the baby as being 18 months makes it easier to reconcile.
Breastfeeding, Pumping, the Mommy Wars continue…
Recently, a fairly well-known author, Judith Warner, wrote on her New York Times blog commending Hanna Rosin for speaking out about how much, according to them, breast pumps suck (pun intended).
Warner’s article: http://warner.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/why-i-dumped-the-pump/ and Rosin’s: The Case Against Breastfeeding published in The Atlantic (a publication I used to like a lot).
Rosin’s article is a bit more blatantly anti-breastfeeding than Werner’s, but the effect of both is still the same. They are both not just encouraging women to ban the breast pump – but heralding women who say “screw it, I don’t care if breasts were made for feeding babies – my husband wants to use them!”
Very strange.
Practice Present Parenting…and Smile
I had a wonderful time at the beach with my kids last week. I was sad that all of my children weren’t there – my oldest son Matt recently got a new job and had to remain home to work. I was, however, proud of him for taking it well and being so willing to work (and take care of the house and animals while we were gone). (more…)
Book #12 – The Big Book of Happy…
Have a toddler or preschooler? I spent this past winter compiling 500 games and activities to keep them busy, learning and having fun! I hope you’ll enjoy them.
Want me to sign one and send it out to you? Just email me at michelle@organicallyinclined.org and I’ll send you the info to buy one or send me one you’ve already bought. By the way – this offer is good with any of my books!
gDiapers Coupon giveaway!
THIS OFFER IS NOW OVER – BUT THANKS FOR VISITING, AND WE HOPE YOU WILL VISIT OTHER PAGES ON THE SITE!
`Michelle
Hey! Want to try out gDiapers? I love them. I don’t sell them or anything – I just love them and I am trying to spread the word. gDiapers have these great cover designs and the liners are flushable or compostable! How cool is that? And if you run out of the liners, you can throw a cloth diaper in the cover. Seriously, I’m a convert. So much so, that I emailed gDiapers – told them how much I love them, and they sent me 50 coupons for $2 off to give out to anyone I wanted. So – do you want the coupon? Just send me an email and I’ll mail it to you. What do I want in return? Healthier babies and a healthier planet. (and if you want to link or tell your friends about OI, that would be great too:-)
So email me – michelle@organicallyinclined.org – and I’ll mail out the coupon. Super easy. And I’ll post here when I run out.
Thanks!
Misha
The Family Bed, Revisited
A Blast from the Past
Co-Sleeping is better, overall, for moms and babies. It allows moms and babies to sleep better and comforts babies in a way that is unparalleled by sleeping alone. If you have had questions about co-sleeping, check out this post from last year. And please, tell us your stories of co-sleeping – we’ll post them if you like.
Cold Cereal Ban Update
It has been about 3 weeks since I instituted the complete ban on cold cereal and here is what I have noticed:
My teenage daughter still thinks I’m a loser for instituting the ban (but she would have found something to think I’m a loser about regardless).
My 3 year old son hasn’t asked for cereal in over a week.
There has not been one cereal bowl left out on the desk, in the living room or anywhere else (for some reason my kids believed that cereal was “portable”).
We used to go through a gallon of milk each day – sometimes more. $3 a gallon (if I buy it in the “big city” and not in town) x 31 days in a month=$93 a month in milk alone! I went to the grocery store last on May 17 for our middle of the month trip. I bought 6 gallons of milk (thinking they would last about a week). I still have a gallon and a half left to last until Friday when I will do the monthly restock.
So, not only have I saved about $80-$100 a month on my grocery bill for breakfast cereal – I’ve also more than halved my milk budget – $18 every two weeks is $36!
I’m amazed! No, really. I just took my $600 a month grocery store budget and cut $164ish out of it. And we didn’t lose anything. We still eat breakfast every morning! How cool is that?
Cereal – it’s a bad thing.
I might be able to afford the gas to get the grocery store now!
Frugal and Green Tip of the Day – Eat Less Meat
Or none at all. While I, personally, am trying to eat none, I will admit that it is a difficult habit to break. And not because I’m a big steak eater but because of two small things – hot dogs and bacon! I have a lot of baseball games to go to this time of year and there is always a hot dog vendor…I’m weak for a good old (gross, yes I know what’s in them) hot dog!
Bacon on a Sunday morning is my second failing. If my husband starts frying bacon with pancakes first thing on Sunday morning, I am out of bed and probably two pounds heavier. I’m also a sucker for a good BLT. But I digress.
I am trying to eat less meat. I rarely serve it as a main dinner dish anymore and we eat it less and less, but a Saturday BBQ with friends is hard to give up!
So, why eat less meat? (more…)
I Am A Mom – Feminism Revisited
By Michelle Kennedy Hogan
michelle [at] organicallyinclined.org
When I was 14, I was never having children. Not one. And I wasn’t going to get married either. I was going to be a politician. I was going to be the President. In my head, being a mother and being the President were mutually exclusive. Not being a woman and being the President. At 14, being a woman was a mere bump in the road to my future fame.
Because my maiden name is Kennedy, I spent a great deal of time in my teen years reading about those other Kennedy’s. The famous ones. My hero quickly became Robert F. Kennedy (he still is), but after reading a number of books, I found a book by Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (JFK and RFK’s mother). She had nine children. And while she had lots of maids and nannies to help, she was a very hands-on mother.
A Fine Mess: Humor and Help for Living Simply
g-diapers – convenient and eco-friendly!
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