• Last updated 5/10/13 by Cynthia Mosher

    Although every human female is different, there is no doubt that her body is endowed with a unique capacity to breastfeed, should she choose to do so. "The human infant is likewise biologically designed to sleep next to his or her mother’s body and to breastfeed intermittently throughout the night, at least for the first few years of life. In fact, nothing that a human neonate does makes sense except in light of the mother’s body."   This is a collection of new evidence in support of cosleeping and the family bed, and  includes "The Science of Sharing... read more

• Last updated 5/7/13 by Cynthia Mosher

  By Peggy O'Mara Published in Mothering, Issue 141       One of the biggest crises of confidence that new mothers face has to do with sleep. Mothers feel responsible for their babies' sleep. Others ask mothers if their babies are sleeping through the night, as if this is something the mothers can control. Mothers lie to one another about whether or not their infants sleep through the night. And everyone lies about not bringing their babies into bed with them.   We lie because our society has unrealistic expectations of babies, and therefore we have... read more

• Last updated 5/3/13 by JenniO11

brought to us by Mothering sponsor Boba   Thoughtful Design Bests Babywearing Challenges It’s no secret that babywearing is the most natural choice for baby’s physical, emotional, and social development—but that doesn’t mean it always comes naturally. When choosing a baby carrier, it’s important to understand what growing babies need and how you can best support them.    Unfortunately, some baby carrier manufacturers have not thought through babies physiological development, and their poor designs can have unintended consequences. Luckily, carriers like... read more

• Last updated 4/26/13 by Marcy Axness

We tend to throw around the word “attachment” a lot when talking about kids and parenting, so let’s make sure we’re all talking about the same thing: attachment is a measure of the security of relationship between a child and those one or two or three adults with whom that child is in consistent contact. We now recognize that healthy (secure) attachment is a fundamental form of nourishment for a child’s growing brain. In particular, attachment fosters rich circuitry in the area of the brain that mediates social and emotional functioning. A parent's ability to be... read more

• Last updated 4/9/13 by Melanie Mayo

Mothering recently ran a fun reviews contest in our Diapering category and the response from the community was HUGE. It is clear that our mamas love cloth diapers!    So which diapers received the best reviews? We've pulled out 10 of the most highly rated cloth diapers to share with you here.   Check them out and then head over to our Diapering reviews section to find a ton of additional feedback on a wide range of diapers and supplies!      Charlie Banana 2 in 1 Size Diaper   9 Reviews | 5 Stars   Review from member "mummamal"   Pros:... read more

• Last updated 3/21/13 by Melanie Mayo

  Originally published at MotherWiseLife.org   On our MotherWise Facebook page, we often post breastfeeding photos as part of our effort to normalize nursing, and the reaction is always the same: lots of support and celebration, lots of oohs and ahhs, but also a plethora of insulting, attacking, disgusting comments.  No matter how many times this happens, I am always stunned by the ugly reactions people have to a mother feeding her child.  Our society has received some strong social conditioning, and apparently the message is that one of the worst, most... read more

• Last updated 3/18/13 by Melanie Mayo

As a breastfeeding mama, having searing pains radiating throughout your breast is every mama’s worst nightmare. Unfortunately it is quite common. This type of pain is often caused by a breast inflammation from a plugged duct or milk bleb. Luckily with proper diagnosis, there are some easy and natural home remedies you can try to quickly treat the issue and relieve the pain.   When my daughter was five months old, I was working full time and exclusively breastfeeding and pumping. I began to have searing pains in my left breast and thought I had a plugged duct. I... read more

• Last updated 3/26/13 by Melanie Mayo

Babywearing offers a huge amount of benefits, but choosing the right carrier isn't always easy. Recently, we started a conversation in the Mothering community to ask for baby carrier recommendations and the response was wonderful. Check it out here.   Below you will find the top five baby carrier picks from our members.    You can read more reviews, or leave your own, in our Babywearing Reviews Section. And discover everything our members have to say about babywearing in our Babywearing Forum.      Beco Butterfly II Carrier    92 Reviews | 5... read more

• Last updated 3/13/13 by Marcy Axness

Author Ray Bradbury pointed out, chillingly, "You don't need to burn books to destroy a culture -- just get people to stop reading them." Similarly, you don't need to actually ban nursing to decrease the incidence of breastfeeding -- just make it more and more difficult to do.   The ways our culture makes breastfeeding ever more difficult range from the insidiously subtle (hospitals' goody-bag full of formula) to the outrageously overt (Bill Maher's infamous rant equating breastfeeding -- "a private thing" -- with "farting or masturbating or... read more

• Last updated 3/7/13 by Marcy Axness

Along with a good supply of onesies, I routinely counsel expectant parents to stock up on trust. Parenting is a daunting safari into the unknown, and trust is the anxiety antidote when life outruns the reach of our techno-savvy that has us convinced we can figure out and control everything in our lives.   I define trust as “calm reliance upon processes outside of your immediate perception and control,” and it is one of the seven principles that weave through my book Parenting for Peace. For those of us weaned on the information revolution, trust is probably the... read more