• Created on 6/17/13 by Sarah Clark

             When I had my first baby, my son, he became the center of my life.  It really changed everything for me.  I stopped working for pay outside my home.  I was suddenly a different person- a mother.   My sleep patterns changed (or were eliminated), my body was totally different (like- fluffier), my marriage changed, my husband was suddenly a different beast, everything was different!    And even though the first few weeks made me weep like a crazy person with uncontrolled and unfamiliar hormonal fluctuations, I just loved him so much.  I mean, love... read more

• Created on 6/4/13 by Melanie Mayo

In my 25 years of being a parent, a student of human development, a human in constant development, an impassioned researcher of the human sciences, and a parent coach engaged with the challenges and triumphs of real moms and dads, I have gathered a superabundance of excellent information. But I’ve also come to recognize that a great gift in this era of information overload is to arrive at the other side of a gazillion helpful facts to a few solid peaceful parenting principles. I wrote Parenting for Peace around seven such solid-gold nuggets -- principles informed by... read more

• Created on 3/4/13 by JenniO11

brought to us by Tummy Calm   Parents are often told by their pediatricians to give their children gas drops to help relieve tummy aches, ease fussiness, alleviate painful bloating, gas pains and even excessive spitting up. But knowing which to give and when to give them can be confusing.   The information below may help you decide what is right for your family, explaining what different formulas are available, and also give you other ideas for treating your little ones’ tummy troubles.   Gas Drops Explained Gas drops are an over-the-counter... read more

• Created on 2/6/13 by Melanie Mayo

Thank you to Kate Lindello for sharing her experience with postpartum depression in the hopes that it will help other moms.   The following information was originally posted on Kate's blog where you can read more of her writing.    Find support in Mothering's forum for Postpartum Depression.      It's time. I know I mentioned awhile back that once Helen was born I was struggling with postpartum depression and anxiety and that I would be sharing my story with all of you. I knew from the moment I started feeling like myself that I wouldn't keep quiet... read more

• Created on 11/16/12 by Beth Berry

By Beth Berry     Before you begin your holiday baking, I thought you might want to know about the existence of a product I stumbled upon a few months ago in a Mexican grocery. Passing the jellies and pancake mix on my way to the dried beans, a small glass bottle with a familiar label caught my eye. It was Karo corn syrup – the kind your grandmother uses in her pecan pie – only there was something markedly different about this particular bottle. Above the familiar Karo font was a single word that I never imagined I'd see in conjunction with a brand name of... read more

• Created on 11/2/12 by Melanie Mayo

By Paul M. Fleiss  Increasing numbers of American parents today are protecting their sons from routine circumcision at birth, but as their boys grow up, they often find themselves at odds with doctors who cling to old-fashioned opinions and hospital routines.  I often receive calls from distraught parents who say that a doctor insists that their little boy needs to be circumcised because there is something wrong. When they bring their son into my office, I almost always find that there's nothing wrong with the child's penis. Occasionally there's a slight... read more

• Created on 10/10/12 by Melanie Mayo

The Question of Routine Swaddling By Gussie Fauntleroy Nov 09, 2011 Please see the Special Report: Swaddling Reconsidered for more information and resources on routine swaddling.  Remember the bumper sticker, “What Would Jesus Do?” Here’s a variation on that query: What would Jesus’ mommy do? We are told his mother wrapped her newborn in swaddling clothes. So if it’s good enough for baby Jesus…? Yet simply because a practice has been widespread in various cultures and time periods doesn’t mean it is best for babies. Likewise, even though routine swaddling... read more

• Created on 10/4/12 by SKValenzuela

Following on last week’s post about planning for a calm birth, and in honor of Attachment Parenting Month, I want to share some thoughts about the incredible and beautiful first hour after birth and its importance to the bonding between mother and baby. First, though, what do I mean by the term “attachment parenting”?  In The Attachment Parenting Book, Dr. William Sears defines “attachment parenting” as an approach rather than a set of rules: Above all, attachment parenting means opening your mind and heart to the individual needs of your baby and letting your knowledge... read more

• Created on 10/3/12 by Mothering Editorial

By James J. McKenna Issue 114 September/October 2002 Mothers and infants sleeping side by side, also known as cosleeping, is the evolved context of human infant sleep development. Until very recent times, for all human beings, it constituted a prerequisite for infant survival; outside of the Western industrialized context, for the majority of contemporary people, it still does. Because the human infant's body continues to be adapted only to the mother's body, cosleeping with nighttime breastfeeding remains clinically significant and potentially lifesaving. This is... read more

• Created on 9/17/12 by Melanie Mayo

Seven babies have died after being fed a formula or breastmilk additive called SimplyThick–designed to help premature babies swallow and keep down liquids. Although the FDA has warned against the use of the product for premature infants, SimplyThick is widely available. Continued use of the thickener led to twenty-one infants developing inflamed intestines, seven of whom died. The [FDA] first warned in May 2011 against feeding SimplyThick to premature babies because it may cause a tissue inflammation known as necrotizing enterocolitis. The FDA is... read more