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Potty Training
Before my baby was born I read about Elimination Communication, a method of detecting and responding to an infant’s elimination needs. It’s not as much “training” as it is becoming in tune with the natural timing of my baby’s body functions. Elimination Communication means teaching children how to eliminate properly right from the start. It’s…
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Avocado Applications
The avocado is one of my favorite fruits. Avocado is packed with nutrients such as folate, potassium, vitamin E and lutein. When in season during the summer months, avocados are always on my weekly grocery list. Guacamole People seem to think of guacamole everytime an avocado is mentioned. It’s an easy recipe: mash a whole…
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Breastfeeding: The Art of Being a Woman
Breastfeeding is what I’ve found to be the most profound expression of motherhood. Not labor and delivery of the baby, not pregnancy, not conception, all important and indispensable stages of becoming a mother. When I say breastfeeding is the most profound expression of motherhood, it is because I see it as a choice a mother…
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Busting Breastfeeding Myths
Ever since my baby was born, I’ve heard a number of breastfeeding myths from my mother and some aunts, women whose parenting skills were shaped during the ’70’s, when milk companies took advantage of the women’s liberation movement to sell mothers formula. Here are some of the myths I’ve heard, and the truths that bust…
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Our Love Story
My husband and I met in New York City during the blizzard of 1996. He lived in a haunted Victorian Mansion, with a billiards table in the basement, taxidermy birds, fox and a giant elk, antique furniture piled on top of each other, grand pianos, giant ceramic demons hanging from trees, and feathered Indians made…
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Placenta Fertilizer
One of the questions I asked my midwife as I neared my due date was “What do we do with the placenta?” Her suggestions: cook it up for a nutrient-rich post partum snack that chases away after birth depression; then plant the rest of it to fertilize the earth. I had some placenta immediately after…
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Children’s Fairyland
This weekend we went to Children’s Fairyland in Lake Merritt, Oakland, an outdoor amusement park with a fairy tale theme. Created in 1950, this historic park still has the creepy allure of old-fashioned fairs. Attractions look like they are in need of a new coat of paint. The pen marked “Three Blind Mice” had a…
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Zinc Oxide for Diaper Rash
Along the lines of caring for our baby the best way we know how is the treatment of diaper rash. No matter how careful or diligent a parent one is, there is no avoiding an incident or two of baby developing diaper rash. Perhaps it’s an allergic reaction to something baby ate, or a soiled…
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Chlorine-Free Baby Diapers
Long before our baby was born, the subject of diapers has plagued my husband and me. Our midwife suggested using cloth diapers. Cotton is breathable and comfortable against babies’ sensitive skin. Reusable diapers are environmentally responsible. The problem with cloth diapers lies in the cleaning process. The right way to do it would be to…
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My Home Birth Story
October 31 at 9 a.m. my water broke. My midwife, Kristen, came about an hour later to check on me. She suggested going on our daily walk, to help the baby descend lower and bring on the contractions. So hubby and I went to take a walk, which was the longest walk we’ve ever taken,…