• Created on 4/1/12 by Cynthia Mosher

Each day of Real Diaper Week will focus on a different way to advocate for or educate about cloth diapers.  On Wednesday, 4/18, we’ll focus on the savings that families can achieve by choosing reusable cloth diapers, making them a great choice for low-income families.  Read on to educate yourself, then find a way to bring Real Diaper Week to your community. There are many reasons to consider using cloth diapers. You may hear things like “Do you have *any* idea how long disposable diapers will be in landfills?!” or “Have you seen the super cute new prints... read more

• Created on 4/1/12 by Mothering Editorial

The AIDS War on BreastfeedingDavid CroweApril, 2012 Allopathic medicine was at war with natural birth and childrearing for much of the last century, but the battles were most intense over breastfeeding. Natural infant feeding started a comeback in the 1970s with increasing support from doctors (Wolf, 2003) but then along came AIDS. All of a sudden, millions of women around the world had suspect breasts again, supposedly teeming with deadly viruses, and the life-giving act of nursing their own baby was viewed as deadly. Now we know that there was indeed a slaughter, but... read more

• Created on 3/31/12 by Cynthia Mosher

Yes, YOU can. Sewing cloth diapers can be very intimidating at first. Patterns and fabric choices can be overwhelming but, with a little guidance and thought, it can be a breeze! The key thing to remember in diaper sewing for yourself: It has to catch and hold whatever mess your little one is going to produce until you get the diaper changed. I started on the cloth diaper journey when my oldest child was born 10 years ago. Seemed simple enough, I took a cloth diaper a friend gave me and took it apart, I looked at a disposable, and traced that. Then, I... read more

• Created on 3/31/12 by Hoyamum

Let’s face it: our society loves to measure things!  Our breasts don’t have little lines on the side marking the number of ounces they contain so sometimes knowing whether your baby is getting enough milk can seem like guesswork.  Fortunately there are some tried and true ways to tell if your baby is getting enough milk. Often mothers wonder whether they are making enough milk.  One of the most frequent questions or concerns I hear is that a mother believes she isn’t making enough milk.  There are an incredible number of ‘false alarms’ that might make you wonder whether... read more

• Created on 3/30/12 by Mothering Editorial

By Kittie Frantz Issue 138, September-October 2006 First I was a mother of 19 years, nursing my first baby without any help. As was the practice in the early 1960s, the nurses just handed my baby to me in the hospital and she nursed herself. Then, for 20 years, I was a La Leche League leader. We just said to mothers, over the phone, "Keep nursing, the rhythm will come." Then, 15 years into being an LLL leader, when I went back to work as a nurse practitioner, I saw women nursing in greater numbers. In those days, we were told that all nursing babies made your nipples... read more

• Created on 3/30/12 by Mothering Editorial

By Liz Laing Issue 133, November/December 2005 Acne Treatment and Facial Cleanser Wash face with a mild soap, rinse, and gently pat a breastmilk-saturated ball of cotton (not a synthetic material) over the entire face. This process is great for removing eye makeup as well. Burns and Sunburn Apply breastmilk gingerly to burns and they will dry up and look much better the next day. A burn treated with breastmilk and mashed-up blueberries will dry up within an hour, wrote one mom on a Midwifery Today online forum.1 Elena Michaels, PhD, CCH, LMFT, a traditional... read more

• Created on 3/28/12 by Cynthia Mosher

Cloth diapering is as easy as can be!  If you attend a Great Cloth Diaper Change event on April 21, you will have lots of experienced parents available to help you out.  In the meantime, here are some easy steps to follow for you to be able to successfully cloth diaper.     1. Find a diaper that works for you.  The same diaper that works for your best friend might not be a cloth diaper that works for you and your child!  If you are just starting out, I HIGHLY recommend getting a few different kinds of cloth diapers to try out before you commit to... read more

• Created on 3/25/12 by Cynthia Mosher

Consider these statistics: According to a 2010 study, one third of U.S. mothers are cutting back on basic necessities (such as food, utilities, and childcare) to buy diapers for their children. Approximately 90% of Americans use single-use plastic diapers, generating 7.6 billion pounds of garbage each year. This is enough waste to fill Yankee Stadium 15 times over. In the two minutes it will take you to read this post, another 106,000 throwaway diapers will enter landfills in the U.S. where they will sit for at least... read more

• Created on 3/14/12 by Mothering Editorial

Issue 144 - May/June 2009By Peggy O'Mara, Editor & Publisher of Mothering Magazine Yesterday I received an e-mail, signed "Wavering Somewhat," from the nursing mom of a 26-month-old daughter. The mom had read Hanna Rosin's "The Case Against Breast-Feeding," an article published in the April 2009 issue of The Atlantic Monthly, and was now questioning the benefits of breastfeeding over formula. Rosin's article, and an interview with her on The Today Show (March 16, 2009)—in which NBC News chief medical editor Nancy Snyderman, MD, said, "Formula is wonderful"—divide... read more

• Created on 3/14/12 by Cynthia Mosher

As of Tuesday, 3/13/12, there are 232 officially registered Great Cloth Diaper Change hosts planning events for April 21st in 13 countries.  Stacy Mojica is planning one in Savannah, GA and offered to share her experiences here. I am a new Real Diaper Association (RDA) leader. We just started our Low Country Real Diaper Circle (LCRDC) here in Savannah, GA in early January 2012. We attracted members from our existing vibrant and active local natural parenting community.  In just under three months, we already have 72 members, with a core group of about 10 who... read more