Baby related subjects: Babywearing and Elimination Communication

First of all: Babywearing.

With Louie, I hadn't heard of the term "babywearing."  I did have quite a bit of time before we got her to research different products, and I bought a Graco front carrier and a Baby Bjorn front carrier.  Didn't like the Graco one; gave it away.  We liked the Baby Bjorn pretty well, although my shoulders and back got tired after a while.  It was pretty good for going on walks, etc., but not great for around the house, as I still felt like I needed a hand on her whenever I leaned over.  It's hard to do things around the house one-handed.

We didn't have any more babies around for a while, and I started feeling like I may as well share my baby things with my sisters who were beginning their baby-bearing.  Who knew if I would ever get another baby small enough for a carrier again anyway, and if I did, they could lend stuff back, right?  So, my Baby Bjorn went to my sister.

A while later, I started doing foster care and got a 6 month old.  My sisters didn't live very close by, and so after a certain day of carrying this baby around, I decided it would be worth it to get another Baby Bjorn NOW instead of waiting to get mine back.  So I went to BabiesRUs and bought a Baby Bjorn that had back support.  I liked it MUCH better, because my back didn't get so tired, but I still had the other problems.

I have only had one other baby (4 months old) since that time until now, and that only for a month, so I hadn't felt the need to expand my options.  So when I got this brand new baby, it was time to babywear again.  I wanted to wear her more than I had worn my other babies, because I had heard how good it was to do.  Also, she liked to be held a lot, and it is not easy to hold a baby and run a house. 

I tried Baby in the Baby Bjorn, and it felt like she was trying to straddle a horse.  That wouldn't work!  My friend had made a ring sling for my sister, who passed it on to me.  I liked it much better.  My shoulders and back weren't as tired (although she is much smaller than Louie and my other babies were, so that could be why).  She could just lay in there and sleep (although try sitting in church with a baby laying across your lap and not have your two toddlers sit on her head!  Not easy.)  However, I still felt the need keep a hand on her when I leaned over, and she was always down by my elbows, so I kept bonking her when I tried to do anything.  Also, I had started to hear of babies suffocating in slings, so I was a little paranoid.  So, again, the sling was good for walking or sitting around, but not so great for getting things done around the house.

A girl at church had a wrap that she had her baby in, and I thought it looked really nice to use, so I talked to her about it, and she said it had been made by a friend, and gave me an idea of how to make one and how to use it.  I also looked online and found a website that showed me how.  My friend's wrap was made out of that fabric that is wrinkled that used to be popular for the skirts in a bag (I am totally uneducated about fabrics, so I don't know what it is called.)  She liked it because it didn't stretch out too much.  On the website, it suggested stretch cotton jersey (like tee shirt material) for up to 15 pounds.  I decided that might be comfier for now, so I went to the fabric store and found some decent looking cotton jersey for $5 a yard.  I actually only bought two yards, then after cutting it lengthwise, sewed the ends together so I had a four-yard piece.  I'm pretty skinny, and 4 yards is about perfect for me, so if you aren't 110 pounds or less, I'd probably go a little bit longer.

A wrap looks complicated, but it is really super simple to make and use (I really don't sew, and you don't have to know how in order to make one.)  I made mine Saturday night, and used it for the first time yesterday.  I LOVE IT!  Baby slept in it all three hours of church.  She was centered with my body so my back and shoulders weren't tired.  She was out of the way of my arms so I didn't keep hitting her (and the toddlers also weren't sitting on her head because she wasn't across my lap).  She felt secure, so I didn't feel like I had to keep a hand on her at all times.  I could even put some of the material behind her head to support it.  I can wear a baby and do things at the same time now!  I'm very excited.

So, as you may have gathered by now, I totally recommend that if you plan on babywearing, you make a wrap.  It costs WAY LESS than buying one if you get your material on sale (especially if you buy half the yardage you need and sew it together - the nicest thing about that is that it is easy to find the center.)  It is cheap, easy to use, versatile, comfortable, convenient, much less bulky than the other options, and when you are done with it, you can give it away or use the material to make something else!

Next: Elimination Communication

I am an eclectic diaperer.  I use disposable and cloth.  I have used different types of cloth diapers and covers/soakers.  I started mostly cloth diapering Louie when she ran out of the millions of disposables that were given to us for her baby showers, so I never had to cloth diaper a newborn.  I do have one-size-fits-all diapers, but Baby is so small that they drown her.  Besides I am using them for Jack and Pie.  I have felt slightly overwhelmed by all the diapers I have been going through for all three girls, and I've been trying to think of different options.

I first heard of Elimination Communication (also known as EC, infant potty training or natural infant hygiene) once Louie was either potty trained or nearly so, so I couldn't use it for her, although I thought it sounded cool.  I've not had any newborns since then, and didn't realize that you could start it even with older babies, so I hadn't really considered doing it until last week when I was trying to figure out how to reduce my diaper usage.  I googled Elimination Communication and watched 10 or 20 You Tube videos about it, and got all excited about trying it with Baby.  I was actually in the middle of watching a video and Baby was acting squirmy (It's my cue!  Should I try it?), so I decided to start right then.  Wow!  Within the next 12 hours, she probably went pee 10 times and poo 2 times!  She stayed dry all night.

Now we don't need diapers at all!  Just Kidding!  Really, I'm still trying to learn her cues.  I probably get about half of her eliminations, and probably misread her cues about half the time (She's whining, she probably has to go potty!  Nope, I just never finished burping her.)  We are probably still going through the same amount of diapers SO FAR, because I am more aware of her eliminations, and I don't want her to get used to dirty diapers, so I am changing them more often when I miss one.  I haven't done the whole "leave her diaperless on a pad so you can note her elimination times" thing, just because our house is too cold.  I expect that eventually we will learn each other's cues better and go through fewer diapers, but for now, her bum is lots cleaner and healthier.  I'm thinking I should just buy some cheap cloth diapers on eBay.  I feel like I am a lot more aware of her eliminations, so I could just have her in diapers without covers during the summer.  Easier to get on and off; less waste if I miss a pee or poo.  I started this last Wednesday, and she has been dry 4 out of 5 nights.  I have taken her to the bathroom before bed, and because she sleeps with me I have been able to wake up and take her when she starts squirming in the middle of the night.  I only have to get up once; I would rather do that than have to wake up because she is crying with a dirty diaper like I was having to do before.  I actually just had to pause my blogging because I was wearing her (in my wrap) and she started fidgeting, so I took her to the bathroom and she went pee!  I have had her go in the training potty, big toilet, a bowl, and the bathroom sink.  So far I like the sink the best, because it is easiest for me to hold her over it.  Sorry if that grosses you out.

These are my thoughts on EC for now.  We'll see if I actually stick with it.  Although, I don't see why I couldn't at least stick with it part time.  If I am not near a bathroom, or if I am super busy, I don't have to stress about it, but if I can tell she needs to go, why not take her if I can?  I am going to try to stick with it, but not let my life be completely ruled by it.  I think that will be the best way to avoid getting burnt out by it.  I must say, though, it is the coolest thing when she squirms, I take her to the bathroom and say "sssss" and she goes!  It is pretty cool to feel like we are communicating that much.  I say, anyone who is considering it should at least try it.

I did some sleuthing

So, I was eating some Dannon yogurt.  Being the compulsive reader that I am, I was looking at the information on the container, and noticed that it didn't say rBGH or rBST free (I think those are the same thing - growth hormones.)  So I decided to call Dannon and ask if their yogurt was rBST free.  They said that as of this year, all their products ARE growth hormone-free.  Then I asked if there were GM ingredients in their products.  They said there could be.  I asked them to note that I didn't want GM ingredients (they called them biologically enhanced or something like that that started with bio-), and that if they did use them that they should label it so.

Then I was feeding Baby her Similac Advance and didn't see anything about rBST free on that label either.  So I decided to call and ask the same things.  They said they could have rBST, could have GM ingredients, and that while most of their formula containers (all the powder 12.9 oz and larger for sure) are BPA free, some are not, but they should all be by 2011 (I can't remember if it was the beginning or the end of 2011).  They said they do offer a Similac Organic that would be rBST, GM, pesticide, etc. free.  They said it is 98% organic, so they can call it organic.  I asked about the other 2%, and they said that that consisted of some of the fortifying ingredients (probably the vitamins and stuff) that were not available as organic.

I also called the company that makes Soothie Pacifiers, and they said that they were high-grade medical silicone, and therefore BPA-free.  When I asked what silicone IS exactly (animal, vegetable or mineral?) they weren't sure so they Googled it and came up with the answer that it was an element.  I haven't researched further yet.

All three companies were very nice and helpful.  They said they would pass on my concerns.  I think that obviously some concerns were being addressed (like the BPA in the Similac), others (most notably the GM) had not been brought up by enough people.  It took both Dannon and Similac a while to find the answer to my question about whether their products contained genetically modified ingredients, and at Similac they said they didn't really get that many people asking about that.

One other thing I mentioned to one of the companies (can't remember if it was Dannon or Similac) was that if they were GM and growth hormone free, they could label their product as such and people would see that and be more likely to pick their company's product over competitors. 

I was a little nervous about calling because I am always scared of sounding like a fool, but what I realized after the first phone call is that these companies LOVE to get feedback (obviously as long as I was not yelling at them or some such thing.)  So, my thought is that if everyone would take the time to call the different companies that they patronize and ask about things like BPA, growth hormones, Genetic Engineering, pthalates, etc. it would eventually make a difference.  If you want to get some ideas about different bad chemicals that are out there and where they may be a great book to check out would be Slow Death by Rubber Duck by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie.  A good synopsis of it is found on Lady Susan's blog.

My Letter to My Senator

I just watched Food, Inc. a couple of nights ago, and it GROSSED ME OUT!  I can't believe the garbage I eat!  I don't actually eat much processed food compared to most people, so I considered that I ate fairly well.  But when I think of the poor pig that gave me that disgustingly fatty bacon ($ .99 on sale!) I am sickened.  I know I can do better.

I've recently started to become aware of genetically modified (GM) foods (also known as genetically engineered or GE).  Considering the fact that 70-75% of processed food contains GM ingredients, you'd think that I would have been aware of it long before now.  However, companies in the U.S. are not required to label GM foods.  Watching Food, Inc. reminded me about why I'm starting to have a problem with that.

I had somewhat recently sent a form letter to my congressmen about labeling GM foods, and received a fairly dismissive response from one senator.  (And I think I actually threw it away in disgust!  Stupid me!)  So, tonight I sent another form letter (via the above link), but added my own words as the first paragraph.  What follows is my letter:

"In your previous response to my concerns about genetically modified foods, you stated that GM foods were considered safe, and there was already plenty of regulation; the food industry didn't need more. I feel that whether or not the government, or scientists, or anyone believes that GM foods are safe, I should have the RIGHT to make my own decision, when purchasing my family's food, about whether or not I want to buy GM foods. Labeling food with "Contains Genetically Modified Ingredients" would be no harder for a company to do than it is for them to label a food "Fat Free" or "Made with Whole Grains". The only reason I can imagine a company would oppose full disclosure would be if they feel like there is something to hide. If there is truly nothing wrong, and everything right, with GM foods, let them convince me (safety assessments by unbiased third parties would be helpful here). Once I am convinced, then I can FREELY CHOOSE to purchase those products IF THEY ARE LABELED.


"I am therefore writing to urge you to support and co-sponsor legislation to require the mandatory labeling and safety testing of genetically engineered foods. The Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act would require labels on gene altered food, and the Genetically Engineered Food Safety Act would call for federal standards for safety assessments of these experimental foods now in our stores. It is shocking that the FDA has never developed binding federal rules to protect consumers from the food safety risks of genetically engineered foods. Unlike crops from traditional breeding, genetically engineered crops contain antibiotic-resistant marker genes, viral promoters and foreign proteins never before consumed by humans. Yet the FDA relies on the very companies that have a financial interest in bringing these biotech crops to market to assess their safety. FDA has stated, "Ultimately, it is the food producer who is responsible for assuring safety" of gene altered foods. Congress must step up and fill the gaping regulatory hole left by the FDA to protect American consumers. The Genetically Engineered Food Safety Act would fill this hole by requiring mandatory pre-market safety testing for all GE foods. The Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act would require mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods. Here in America, we pride ourselves on having choices and making informed decisions. Under current FDA regulations we don't have that choice when it comes to GE ingredients in the foods we purchase and feed our families. Labeling is essential for me to choose whether or not I want to consume genetically engineered foods. Genetically engineered foods are required to be labeled in the 15 European Union nations, Russia, Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, and many other countries around the world. As an American, I firmly believe I should also have the right to know if my foods have been genetically engineered. If food makers like Kraft and Kellogg's can label the products they sell in these countries, they can certainly do it in the U.S. A recent poll released by ABC News found that 92 percent of the American public wants the federal government to require mandatory labeling on genetically engineered foods. As ABC News stated, "Such near-unanimity in public opinion is rare." I hope you will listen to me and the other 92 percent of the American public who want mandatory labeling and show your support for American consumers by supporting and co-sponsoring the Genetically Engineered Food Right to Know Act. I look forward to a written response confirming your support. Thank you!"

Will I change my mind about GM foods if they are shown to be safe?  Probably not.  I prefer my food to have the genes God intended it to have.  Food has been tampered with way too much as it is.  Besides, I don't think people should be able to patent raw foods and seeds.  It gives them too much power.  Do I expect my Senator to change his position?  Not really.  This particular Senator (in the last couple of years of me actually finally paying attention to politics) has a pretty bad track record as far as voting the way that I consider to be the "right way."  So, I may not change his mind, but at least I can share my view.  I want to be able to make a difference in a lot of ways, but since my life is not currently conducive to my being super politically involved my hope is that there will be enough people like me just doing their little part, that it will end up making the big difference I hope for.  So for now, I'll sign petitions, send form letters, occasionally write my own letters or make phone calls, talk to people who are open to listening, educate myself, and teach my children.  And I'll post on my blog in the hopes it helps someone else on their journey of learning and making a difference.

I love it when I find new things!

About a year ago, Louie suddenly started having (shh, don't tell her I told) body odor!   I had heard about there being aluminum in deodorant, but I had about a 20 year supply of ArridXX that I got for a steal of a deal, so I was going to just keep using it until it ran out (or I died from too many metals in my body).  But when my baby suddenly seemed to be sometimes in need of deodorant; well, there was NO WAY that I was going to let her be exposed to all that junk!  So I chucked (well, donated - other people are going to buy it anyway.  I may as well save them some money.  Right?) my 20 year supply and bought some natural deodorants from the health food store.

Now, I'm not the stinkiest person in the world, (like, you can't smell me unless you stick your nose too close), but I definitely DO have body odor.  With my Arrid, by the end of the day I kinda stunk, and with my natural deodorants, by the end of the day I kinda stunk (and really stunk by the time I got to my shower next day).  Unless a shirt had a lower armpit, I couldn't wear it more than once due to the musty smell.

So, I was reading through Lady Susan's blog a few days ago and came across her recipe for deodorant.  (I think it could possibly have uses on babies bums too.  I wonder...)  I had all the ingredients already, so I thought I would make a trial batch (since it is a 1:1:1 ratio, my trial batch included 1/2 tsp. of each ingredient.). I have a ton of arrowroot (a lot more than I have of cornstarch), baking soda and coconut oil that I had purchased through Azure Standard.  I decided to go unscented for my trial batch.  Why waste the essential oils?

Day 1:  Yesterday.  As you may have noticed from my previous blog, it was a crazy day.  That being the case, I didn't get out of my shower until 2:00 (naptime!).  I applied the natural deodorant mixture with my fingers (I also was too lazy to melt the oil first, so it was more "cut in" than completely mixed.  I just had to mush it well to get it stick together better.)  It kind of had the feel of my old ArridXX.  I kept thinking I had to wash the deodorant off my hands, and then had to remind myself that I could eat this stuff if I wanted to, and I didn't have to wash it off.  I could just rub it in!  I smelled myself before bed.  Nada.  Not even the faintest musty smell.

Day 2:  Today.  So, I normally take a shower every day (cause I'm too stinky not to), but today I had to be somewhere early, and didn't have time to.  But I wasn't stinky when I woke up, so I thought I would be okay.  I didn't even wash my armpits, but I did reapply some more of my natural deodorant, to be safe.  I smelled my pits throughout the day (I did perspire some, but I'm okay with that).  No smell.  And I just smelled myself about 1 minute ago.  Nothing.  I smell like me!  Without any stench!  I am so stinkin' excited!

Now I just need to find a deodorant container to put my homemade stuff into.  Anyone have some extra Arrid containers they want to get rid of?

I have been inspired.

Having newly come to the world of blogging, I happened across this blog.  Having been thoroughly entertained by Lady Susan, I decided to set off on my own writing adventure.  I do not expect to be nearly as entertaining or as witty as Lady Susan, however, this adventure will give me the chance to write about many things which I want to share.  I currently have another blog which is available for my family, close friends, and my children's birth families to see.  However,  there are certain things which I don't necessarily want to share with all of them (for example, my sometimes use of  "family cloth".  Of course, it is the first thing I mention here, so you can know right away what you may be getting into.  I'd rather share that with complete strangers.)  In this blog, I expect to write about whatever random thing I want to share at the time. 

First ramble of the blog:  I do not generally consider myself a writer.  I actually commonly say, and feel, that I hate to write.  I think that the reason for that starts back in 6th grade when I heard some girls making fun of my friend's poetry.  I had been writing what I considered to be pretty good poetry, but I started to feel like maybe I couldn't write for my own enjoyment.  I might be mocked!  What if I used the wrong word?  What if it sounded babyish?  What if someone thought less of me after reading my writing? 

The next time period I remember really having an impact on my like of writing (I don't know how much I ever really loved it) was during 8th grade in my English class.  We had to write all sorts of stories.  First, we had to do a rough draft...AND THEN HAVE OUR PEERS CRITIQUE AND PROOFREAD IT!  Then a second draft...AND HAVE OUR PEERS CRITIQUE AND PROOFREAD IT!  (There may have been yet another round of this humiliation.)  Then a final draft, which we could turn in.  Being something of a perfectionist, I would critique and correct as I wrote.  There was no way that I was willing to consciously leave in misspellings or improper punctuation, etc.  The final result of my refusal to let anyone see anything but my best in the first place, was a lack of the proper amount of drafts (since once I finally showed any of my writing to any of my peers, I rarely, if ever, got any corrections; how can you make more than one draft without any changes?), and therefore, a poor grade in the class.  If this was what writing was, I didn't like it.

My dislike of writing caused me, at times, to make some poor choices in school.  In 9th grade, I got a D- in a class because I refused to turn in the two main projects which involved writing reports (I believe they also involved other scary things like interviewing people, but that may have been a different class).  I dropped out of a class mid-course during college because I was overwhelmed by the amount of writing I would have to do.  It was a really interesting course too.

My fear of writing has been the main cause of my not completing my degree.  Why torture myself?  And forget even thinking about doing a Master's...a THESIS???!!!!  Never in a million years!

Now, lest you think that my angst about writing has caused a permanent writer's block until this moment, let me put your worries to rest.  I actually have written a fair amount of papers that have been required of me for various reasons.  I have also semi-faithfully kept a journal.  But to purposely set out to do something like, say, write a book sounds about as fun to me as walking on a bed of nails.

I give you this information, dear readers, in the hopes that you will be easy on me.  Try not to make fun of me.  Overlook any improper punctuation, poor grammar, misspellings, overuse of parentheses and ... (whatever those dotdotdot things are called), annoying repetition, annoying repetition, annoying repetition, um...or any other flaws in my ramblings.  I say this hypocritically, because I often notice these things in other people's writings (but not on purpose!).  I try really hard to see past it, though.

Having written all that, I look up and see that I can't find a spellcheck button!  Also, no right-clicking on a word to see synonyms.  What if I used the wrong word (is angst even the right word to put in?  Is is spelled correctly?)? -(Is that where the question mark even belongs?!!!)  Stress is starting to build up.  I could check my dictionary and my writing guide to make sure, but do I really want to stop this before it gets off the ground?  That could make this whole adventure too overwhelming.  I take a deep breath and decide.  I'll just write.