tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10229606028213578692024-03-16T14:50:48.597-04:00The ArtsyMamaFull Time Working Mother's Efforts to Continue Her Choices in Parenting Which Include Breastfeeding and Cloth DiaperingThe ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-62019619504213366502011-06-26T23:44:00.000-04:002011-06-26T23:44:22.604-04:00New Post on The Artful MamaNew post today on The Artful Mama titled <a href="http://theartfulmama.com/2011/06/know-your-childs-allergies/">Why it is so Important to Know Your Child's Allergies Inside and Out</a>. Take some time to stop by, read the post and subscribe to the feed.The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-76012196116094252552011-06-20T00:32:00.000-04:002011-06-20T00:32:25.705-04:00Monday's Mamas: Moved to The Artful MamaPlease check out today's Monday's Mamas post <a href="http://theartfulmama.com/2011/06/mondays-mamas-reflections-part-2/">Reflections on Balance Part 2</a> over on The Artful Mama.The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-50121328674070077922011-06-15T16:00:00.000-04:002011-06-15T16:00:13.171-04:00I'm moving!I am excited to announce the launch of my new website - <a href="http://theartfulmama.com/">The Artful Mama</a>. Blogger will always have a place in my heart but I want to grow as a writer and needed to spread my wings. If you have enjoyed my posts and want to continue exploring attachment parenting and balancing work join me at my new home away from home. Hope to see you there.The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-64116089229315407262011-06-12T08:00:00.002-04:002011-06-13T03:59:25.090-04:00Monday's Mamas: Reflections on Balance Part 1<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Balance can mean different things to different parents, and we are all familiar with the concept. In dissecting the word to uncover the feeling beneath, you may find that you are ultimately trying to experience a sense of peace as you go about parenting and life.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=1022960602821357869&postID=6411608922931540726" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Peace comes in many forms. Sometimes we just don’t feel peaceful or balanced. Parents who work have the unique challenge, or opportunity depending on how you view it, of combining the busyness of family life with being away from the family in one way or another. There are several ways to "find balance."</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">One potential saving grace for the working parent is to observe and nourish the family's rhythm. Routine and rhythm can be similar, although routine generally speaks to things we do regularly and rhythm points more to the flow of our day.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Tuning into the basic rhythm of life (unencumbered by our to-do lists) is as easy as noticing our breath. Just as we inhale - expand, take in air - we also participate in activities of life that are expansive, energetic, and powerful. As the oxygen goes to all parts of our body we receive what we need for the next phase of breath: exhale - contraction of the lungs, the release of air and toxins - time to release, introspect, and focus inward. In between the exhale and inhale you can observe a small space; a nothingness. This space is often missed in family life - the time to just be and not necessarily take in or let out anything.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Observing the family's rhythm may or may not initially feel so easy, but with a little practice you will begin to notice trends in your family. Start by tuning into the rhythm of your breath whenever you remember and particularly when you feel stressed. Just notice the cycle of expansion-contraction-space. It is amazing how the body has an already built in rhythm that we can live our life from.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Next, choose a length of time such as a week or two weeks and observe how your family goes about the day. Notice what types of activities everyone is engaging in - expanding, contracting, spacious - and what results are experienced. Notice what doesn't work, what does seem to work, and areas you would like to observe further, get some help with, or explore as you go along. For example, you might notice your infant does well when you nurse and talk first thing in the morning. On days you are too busy to talk and try to rush out the door she may be fussy. You may notice that too much TV results in crabby kids or that not enough healthy food in the house results in a crabby mom. Just take note.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">From there, spend some time with your notes each evening and list your priorities as a working parent. Obviously your relationship with your child is important, as is your health, and your job. On a daily basis what do you really want to put first and what can you cross off the list when you feel like it's just too much? Be accountable to yourself and re-evaluate your priorities as necessary. Be gentle with yourself and your family along the way; this isn't about meeting some idea of a perfect rhythm.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Nourishing the family's rhythm is about honoring and doing what works, in momentary increments. Many times we have a pretty good idea of what does work for our family and just need to see it on paper. Sometimes we need some help figuring that out. Other times we just need to honor the rhythm of life and change to a different type of activity.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Consider thinking about your family's rhythm like you do your breath. It is already there; it just needs noticing. It may or may not be as rhythmic as the breath because it involves many people, their preferences, and uniqueness - but it is there. Attention to the rhythm allows you to focus and slow down. Sometimes just adding in some free space to do nothing can make the difference in a day that seems completely haywire.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Reflections on Balance Part 2 will discuss the value of presence in experiencing balance as a parent.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #888888;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcw4jPFHd7u7eUdz-6-d0HsnwZ1beLF5HdIG4Gdnm9Z14fQfYKvAbI7wUJSPfHx_arfAu7V0KUq_1pqN12eKf4Pm9NGfzu9urXXgx7CYbf0VRydG2t4aHRtc0KZFKxtLBkLKbt84hJ8aU/s1600/Amy190.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcw4jPFHd7u7eUdz-6-d0HsnwZ1beLF5HdIG4Gdnm9Z14fQfYKvAbI7wUJSPfHx_arfAu7V0KUq_1pqN12eKf4Pm9NGfzu9urXXgx7CYbf0VRydG2t4aHRtc0KZFKxtLBkLKbt84hJ8aU/s1600/Amy190.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Amy Phoenix is a gentle yet direct parenting guide, healing facilitator, creator of </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://peace4parents.com/">Peace 4 Parents</a>, and mother of four dedicated to sharing insights and practices to transform frustration and anger, heal the past and nurture conscious relationships.</span><br />
<br />
<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo3WeIpvIu3NMo4SHodjwIuG_mNZOYCbFUmd0QiGAF9wG6kMJUzD3841Bn6E40GOd9kp0rU183IqW-Ck1_2uXKb99ZMNdAwuF18L8Id3tWC-hv3xdlC_cCC1iYVYhWkA2Kw-nQYdXxYo/s1600/mondaysmamas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo3WeIpvIu3NMo4SHodjwIuG_mNZOYCbFUmd0QiGAF9wG6kMJUzD3841Bn6E40GOd9kp0rU183IqW-Ck1_2uXKb99ZMNdAwuF18L8Id3tWC-hv3xdlC_cCC1iYVYhWkA2Kw-nQYdXxYo/s1600/mondaysmamas.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Are you a Monday's Mama? Do you have a story to share or a product/service to make a mama's life easier? Let me know and your article or product could be featured in the next Monday's Mamas. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Monday's Mamas will be a chance for the working mother who identifies as natural or attached to share her story with the online community. It can be a personal story or it can be an informational post about just how does an AP mama manage all those tasks we have to do while still caring for our children in the way we have chosen? This is open any mama who maintains a dual lifestyle: working out of the home, returning to school or the work at home mamas (WAHMs).</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">To submit an article for consideration, please use the Google Docs </span><a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dG9McjV0eVZXU3hROVR0Y3VMMzJPQkE6MQ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">web form</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> or email your article to Shannon (artsymama.riley {at} gmail.com) no later then 11:59pm EST on Friday.</span></div></div>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-77439276767890697602011-06-08T08:00:00.000-04:002011-06-08T08:00:08.517-04:00Wordless Wednesday: Art Show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I sold these two Artist Prints of my watercolors at an auction the other week for charity to benefit Cystic Fibrosis Research. I had them made with the hopes of selling more I just don't know when I am going to find the time. These particular ones are part of a limited run. It was a little heartbreaking to actually part with them but it was for a great cause.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBy-OIOSfbxW82cBqg9DvQolkUvYoeahf8-v0hCcC36Bki1RjZZye_fO4gHbmS3_UI5djeF4bSXshp2AC7whJmVdC44BH7TtKaZzEg2tc5zSZ4ATlkL5bE6sPzp5ilMP8LMO70hyphenhyphenEuvL0/s1600/P5110208.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBy-OIOSfbxW82cBqg9DvQolkUvYoeahf8-v0hCcC36Bki1RjZZye_fO4gHbmS3_UI5djeF4bSXshp2AC7whJmVdC44BH7TtKaZzEg2tc5zSZ4ATlkL5bE6sPzp5ilMP8LMO70hyphenhyphenEuvL0/s320/P5110208.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BLH8Fkp2pMtUML3Sbc3zodcmhLUhmvkMFC7HbTGynzKdV5uWqop2Y1xOCDQioopPswi2OTxBOoJA8_CV0-ODJftg1Lh3yyO_voy_-9RqGaG_OHRa-yMywRrNxe4uZVREsUk9Gz2Y4bs/s1600/P5110209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8BLH8Fkp2pMtUML3Sbc3zodcmhLUhmvkMFC7HbTGynzKdV5uWqop2Y1xOCDQioopPswi2OTxBOoJA8_CV0-ODJftg1Lh3yyO_voy_-9RqGaG_OHRa-yMywRrNxe4uZVREsUk9Gz2Y4bs/s320/P5110209.JPG" width="258" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: xx-small;">Images are property of the artist and may not be reproduced.</span></div>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-67653809554018868412011-06-06T06:00:00.009-04:002011-06-16T22:22:14.602-04:00Call for Submissions for The Freedom of Cloth Carnival<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/submissions-freedom-of-cloth/9v9hj-imgur-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-9782" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-9782" height="297" src="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/9v9hJ-Imgur-1-300x297.jpg" style="float: left;" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; line-height: 15px;">Logo created by The New Daddy <br />
using an image from Erica Blonde on Flickr</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
As the <a href="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/">Natural Parents Network</a> works to compile your articles into a <a href="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/contest-write-for-npns-cloth-diapering-book/">cloth diapering resource</a>, we're excited to announce that we will also be hosting a week long cloth diapering carnival. <strong>The Freedom of Cloth Carnival is scheduled over the week of July 4th (July 3-9) to celebrate the beauty of finding independence from unnecessary waste through the use of cloth diapers, as well as to support independent, mama-run businesses.</strong><br />
<br />
The Freedom of Cloth Carnival, hosted by Natural Parents Network, is being planned and coordinated by two incredible NPN volunteers: Melissa at <a href="http://teamkemendo.blogspot.com/">The New Mommy Files</a> and Shannon, aka <a href="http://theartfulmama.com/">The Artful Mama formerly The ArtsyMama</a>. <strong>We will be choosing themed posts from carnival participants to feature here on NPN throughout the week.</strong> In addition to the great posts by carnival participants, <strong>there will be several exciting giveaways featuring products from cloth diapering related WAHM (work-at-home-mama) businesses</strong>.<br />
<h3>Freedom of Cloth Carnival Daily Themes</h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Sunday, July 3rd - Cloth Related Recipes</strong></span><br />
Do you make your own wipe solution or rash cream? Have a perfect system for lanolizing wool? Maybe you have gone so far as to sew your child's entire stash of diapers. Feel free to get creative and share any cloth-related "recipe" or tutorial from your repertoire.<br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Monday, July 4th - Choosing Your Cloth Style</strong></span><br />
Do you use a little bit of everything, or one style of diaper exclusively? Tell us why you love AIOs (all in one diapers), or why fitteds are all you could ever need. You can write a post focusing on one style of diaper, compare different types you've used, or explain why you love what you love. Share your style with us, however you'd like!<br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Tuesday, July 5th - Cloth Diapering Must Haves</strong></span><br />
Are there cloth diapering accessories you simply could not live without? Tell us about the most important items in your diapering stash and why you love them! Feel free to concentrate on a single item, talk about the pros and cons of different diapering-related products, or list off every single thing in your diapering arsenal - it's up to you!<br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Wednesday, July 6th - Wordless Wednesday</strong></span><br />
Feel free to share photos of your stash or your children with their fluffy cloth bums. Submit your photo by email, with preferred caption and a link to your blog, to Jorje {at} verthandi.org. <strong>The deadline for photos only is Monday, July 4th.</strong> If you choose to create your own fluff themed Wordless Wednesday post, there's no need to submit it in advance. There will be a linkup on Wednesday here at the Natural Parents Network, so visit our Wordless Wednesday photo montage to link up!<br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Thursday, July 7th - Cloth Through the Stages: From Infancy to Potty Independence</strong></span><br />
Did you find that what worked for your newborn suddenly failed to cut it when you had a mobile baby? Maybe you had to change your whole routine when your toddler learned how to open an aplix diaper. Do you use cloth as a back up for elimination communication, or cloth trainers with an older toddler or a preschooler? Share with us how cloth worked for your child through one or more stages on their path to potty independence.<br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Friday, July 8th - Cloth Troubleshooting and Laundry Day</strong></span><br />
Do you have the perfect wash routine? Tricks on how to get to the bottom of and fight smelly diapers? Did you find a way to keep your busy toddler from taking their diaper off, or to keep your heavy wetter from leaking through her pajamas at night? Maybe you love your wool dryer balls so much that you want to write a whole post about them. Share your best tips and tricks for solving any diaper-related problem.<br />
<br />
<span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Saturday, July 9th - Inspired by Cloth</strong></span><br />
Has cloth diapering led you to use cloth instead of disposable products in other parts of your house? Do you use mama cloth, un-paper towels, or cloth napkins? Tell us how cloth diapering has inspired you to become "greener" overall.<br />
<h3>Submission Details</h3>You are welcome to participate on just one day, or join us all week long.<strong> Write on as few or as many themes as you'd like, but please fill out the webform below once for each post you submit</strong>, or <a href="https://spreadsheets3.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&formkey=dDJpNmQzeHl3VG80NDJMTEU1MGJuV2c6MQ#gid=0">click here to open it in a new tab</a>.<br />
<strong>Send a separate email with the text of each submission to Melissa {at} naturalparentsnetwork {dot} com and ShannonR {at} naturalparentsnetwork {dot} com no later than midnight central time on the submission deadline of Friday, June 24th</strong>.<br />
<h3>Posting Details</h3>Once you submit your post, you will receive an email from one of the carnival hosts to let you know it was received. Once we have read all the submissions, <strong>we will follow up with details on when to publish your post and suggestions for any necessary edits</strong>.<br />
You will also receive a separate email with code for the top and bottom of your post prior to each day you're participating.<br />
<br />
<strong>Please do:</strong> Write well. Write on topic. Write a brand new post for the carnival. The carnival themes aren’t meant to be exclusionary. If your experience doesn’t perfectly mesh with the day's theme, please lend your own perspective. Please also feel free to be creative within the gentle confines of the carnival structure. If you’re feeling so inspired, you could write a poem, a photo essay, a scholarly article, or a book review instead of a regular blog post (though those are welcomed, too!), as long as what you write is respectful of the carnival’s intent. If you want help determining that ahead of time, please talk with us.<br />
<br />
<strong>Please don’t:</strong> Please don’t use profanity of the sort that might be offensive to more sensitive readers or their children. Please don’t submit irrelevant or argumentative pieces contrary to the principles of natural parenting. You don’t have to agree with all our ideals — and certainly you don’t have to live up to them all perfectly! — but your submission does have to fit the theme and values of the carnival.<br />
<br />
<strong>Editors’ rights:</strong> We reserve the right to edit your piece or suggest edits to you. We reserve the right to courteously reject any submissions that are inappropriate for the carnival. Please also note that since there are two co-hosts on different schedules and conferring over email, our personal response to your submission might seem delayed. Don’t be alarmed. We also reserve the right to impose consequences if the responsibilities of the carnival are not fulfilled by the participants.<br />
<br />
<strong>If you don’t have a blog:</strong> Contact us (Melissa {at} naturalparentsnetwork {dot} com and ShannonR {at} naturalparentsnetwork {dot} com) about potentially finding you a host blog to guest post. Please write your piece well in advance of the deadline in that case, so we can match you up with someone suitable. But if you really have something amazing to write — why not start your own blog? If you want advice, we find <a href="http://scribbit.blogspot.com/2009/04/ebook-is-here.html">Scribbit’s free Blogging in Pink ebook</a> to be a very helpful and down-to-earth guide, for beginners on up.<br />
<br />
<strong>If you have questions:</strong> Please leave a comment or contact us: Melissa {at} naturalparentsnetwork {dot} com and ShannonR {at} naturalparentsnetwork {dot} com<br />
<br />
<strong>Links to tutorials:</strong> Our NPN co-founders, <a href="http://hobomama.com/">Lauren</a>, <a href="http://codenamemama.com/">Dionna</a>, and Dionna’s husband, Tom, have written several tutorials for <a href="http://codenamemama.com/carnival-of-natural-parenting/">Carnival of Natural Parenting</a> participants about how to schedule posts in advance, how to determine post URLs in advance, how to edit HTML — all for both WordPress and Blogger users. These will be extremely useful for The Freedom of Cloth Carnival as well. For these tutorials and more, please see <a href="http://www.laurenwayne.com/p/tutorials.html#carnatpar">this handy summary post at LaurenWayne.com</a>.<br />
<br />
<strong>Grab the carnival button for your site!</strong><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.naturalparentsnetwork.com/freedom-of-cloth" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank" title="Freedom of Cloth"><img alt="Freedom of Cloth Carnival" height="125" src="http://i.imgur.com/9v9hJ.jpg" width="125" /></a></div><br />
<div><form accept-charset="UNKNOWN" enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded" method="get" style="text-align: center;"><textarea cols="20" readonly="readonly" rows="5">&lt;br /&gt; &lt;div align="center"&gt;&lt;a href="http://www.naturalparentsnetwork.com/freedom-of-cloth" mce_href="http://www.naturalparentsnetwork.com" target="_blank" title="Freedom of Cloth"&gt;&lt;img src="http://i.imgur.com/9v9hJ.jpg" mce_src="http://i.imgur.com/9v9hJ.jpg" width="125" height="125" alt="Freedom of Cloth Carnival" /&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;/div&gt; &lt;p&gt;</textarea></form></div><br />
<iframe frameborder="0" height="1479" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/embeddedform?formkey=dDJpNmQzeHl3VG80NDJMTEU1MGJuV2c6MQ" width="760"><p><p><p><p>&lt;p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Loading...&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</p></p></p></p></iframe>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-28092339521119458502011-06-04T13:33:00.001-04:002011-06-04T13:33:37.685-04:00No food goes to waste in this house!<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/06/04/2031.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/06/04/s_2031.jpg' border='0' width='320' height='320' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />Little Man loves food. He also loves his cat. So the two go hand in hand in this house. A bite for Little Man and a bite for Ollie. It isn't ideal but it makes for some mealtime fun and a lot less mess with a living vacuum cleaner following my toddler's every move. If the cat isn't having it - the dogs will. Little Man especially enjoys his rides around the dinner table courtesy of our enthusiastic pug, Dory. <br /><br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/06/04/2033.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/06/04/s_2033.jpg' border='0' width='320' height='320' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-52940448959564226312011-06-01T07:12:00.001-04:002011-06-01T07:12:07.959-04:00Wordless Wednesday: Jogging<br /><br /><center><a href='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/06/01/469.jpg'><img src='http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/06/01/s_469.jpg' border='0' width='210' height='281' style='margin:5px'></a></center><br />- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone<br />The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-90583189857460973552011-05-30T14:51:00.000-04:002011-05-30T14:51:51.676-04:00Monday's Mamas Musts: Menstrual CupsI know what you are thinking - why is she going to talk about this, I don't want to talk about my period. But this week is my first cycle since Little Man was born! It is an odd feeling waiting for the return of your cycle after you give birth especially if you are waiting a long time. For me it has been two years since I had a regular cycle. Personally I did not feel like a woman without it. It was nice for a while not to have it and not to have to worry about when it was coming or having to deal with all the symptoms and extra things I needed for it. When I didn't have it though I would worry that I'd be caught some where in public without my necessary accouterments.<br />
<br />
Disposable pads gave me problems with yeast and I always hated before when choosing a tampon that I either chose something with too much absorbency or too little. Plus disposing of your tampons or pads had its own list of issues for me. I hated the smell in my bathroom and when I was a teenager and didn't know better - I cost my parents a tidy chunk of change fixing our septic by flushing them. I've been cloth diapering with Little Man so I thought maybe I should look into reusable options for myself.<br />
I found that the women I went to for my other parenting and natural solutions had a wealth of information on the topic. <br />
<br />
Hobo Mama: <a href="http://www.hobomama.com/2010/05/instead-vs-divacup-for-your-menstrual.html">Instead vs. Diva Cup for Your Menstrual Cup Needs</a><br />
The Green Girls: <a href="http://www.thegreengirls.com/blog/post/2009/01/The-Diva-Cup.aspx">The Diva Cup</a><br />
The Crunch Chicken: <a href="http://www.thecrunchychicken.com/2009/06/two-years-of-divacup.html">Two Years of Diva Cup</a><br />
<br />
Menstrual cups can save you money, time and the environment! You have a greater investment up front but you save money over time by not having to buy them month after month. I will cover the cost of my cup after three and half months and be able to keep using my cup long after that! Sounds a lot like cloth diapers, huh? There are many options out there and apparently most women become collectors of cups - another thing they have in common with cloth diapers. <br />
<br />
I chose The Diva Cup, which is latex, BPA and dye free and had excellent reviews. It comes in two sizes: Size 1 for under 35 pre-pregnancy and Size 2 post pregnancy or older then 35. The cup is sized so it can fit snugly inside. It works with suction to stay in place and prevent leaks. Fluid is collected inside the cup and you empty it in the toilet, rinse it and replace it. You sanitize it before the first time you use it and then again at the end of your cycle. It gets stored in the breathable bag that it comes in and it is always there for you when you need it. Oh and neat little fact: <a href="http://www.divacup.com/en/home/history/">Diva Cup was created by a mother-daughter team - Francine and Carinne!</a><br />
<br />
So why is it a Monday's Mamas Must? Because you only need one and it is very easy to travel with. Having to remember only one of these handy little things is one less thing you need to think about as a mama. Depending on your flow, it can be emptied once every 12 hours - time saver! The contents are flushed down the toilet and it is reinserted - nothing for a toddler to "find" in your garbage! It can be worn while swimming or exercising. Reusable menstrual cups are very convenient for busy mamas.<br />
<br />
Resources for further information :<br />
<a href="http://www.divacup.com/">Diva Cup</a><br />
<a href="http://menstrualcups.org/">MenstrualCups.org</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo3WeIpvIu3NMo4SHodjwIuG_mNZOYCbFUmd0QiGAF9wG6kMJUzD3841Bn6E40GOd9kp0rU183IqW-Ck1_2uXKb99ZMNdAwuF18L8Id3tWC-hv3xdlC_cCC1iYVYhWkA2Kw-nQYdXxYo/s1600/mondaysmamas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo3WeIpvIu3NMo4SHodjwIuG_mNZOYCbFUmd0QiGAF9wG6kMJUzD3841Bn6E40GOd9kp0rU183IqW-Ck1_2uXKb99ZMNdAwuF18L8Id3tWC-hv3xdlC_cCC1iYVYhWkA2Kw-nQYdXxYo/s1600/mondaysmamas.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Are you a Monday's Mama? Do you have a story to share or a product/service to make a mama's life easier? Let me know and your article or product could be featured in the next Monday's Mamas. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Monday's Mamas will be a chance for the working mother who identifies as natural or attached to share her story with the online community. It can be a personal story or it can be an informational post about just how does an AP mama manage all those tasks we have to do while still caring for our children in the way we have chosen? This is open any mama who maintains a dual lifestyle: working out of the home, returning to school or the work at home mamas (WAHMs).</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">To submit an article for consideration, please use the Google Docs </span><a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dG9McjV0eVZXU3hROVR0Y3VMMzJPQkE6MQ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">web form</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> or email your article to Shannon (artsymama.riley {at} gmail.com) no later then 11:59pm EST on Friday.</span></div></div>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-43156075552607234142011-05-25T19:18:00.001-04:002011-05-25T23:30:17.715-04:00Guest Post: Flats Challenge with Elizabeth of Mothering The Maelstrom<div></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/FlatsChallenge2.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="#FlatsChallenge" border="0" height="250" src="http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/FlatsChallenge2.png" width="150" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">This week is the Flats and Handwashing Challenge from Dirty Diaper Laundry. Bloggers and others from all over are using flat diapers and handwashing them in an effort to demonstrate exactly how economical it can be to use cloth diapers. </span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Cloth diaper use has skyrocketed in recent years, but the focus has been primarily on "modern" cloth diapers. All-in-one diapers with the waterproof cover built in are very easy to use, there's no doubt about that. With the elastic legs and velcro closures, they are basically a Pampers that you throw in the washing machine instead of the garbage.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">But all this diaper technology comes at a cost. A decent all-in-one diaper will set you back anywhere from $15 to $25 for just one. While this is still a savings over disposable diapers in the long run, it can make it difficult for families on the bottom end of the economic spectrum to get started with cloth diapers. All-in-one diapers (and their cousins, the pocket diaper and the all-in-two diaper) can also be tricky to wash. Fancy fabrics require special detergents and special care to prevent build-up, leaks, and other problems. It doesn't take long to learn how to take care of cloth diapers, but any additional effort makes them one step further from being accessible to needy families. Let's face it, when you are struggling just to put a room over your head, you don't have a lot of time or patience to fuss around with diapers.<br />
<a name='more'></a></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The answer, it seems to me (and to the folks at Dirty Diaper Laundry) is flat diapers. This diaper is an oldie but a goodie. One layer of fabric that is easy to wash by hand or by machine and also dries super quick on a line or in the dryer. Best of all, it's wicked cheap. Depending on whether you use exotic hemp or bamboo flats, or just regular old cotton flour sack towels from Walmart, flats can cost less than a buck a diaper or up to a few dollars per diaper. And frankly, the cheap flour sack towels work GREAT.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The trouble comes when you try to use them. Any mama worth her salt will get the hang of folding and pinning (or Snappi'ing) cloth diapers before too long, but when you show the diapers to less frequent or more harried caregivers like dads, grandparents, and teenage babysitters, they tend to balk. What quickly becomes second nature to the mama seems like an ancient and mysterious art to the uninitiated. Something like origami, samurai, and a little bit of sumo (for those wiggly older babies) all rolled into one.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">It's quite overwhelming. Often caregivers, like daycare providers and dads, will just say "no way". It seems far too daunting.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">So how do we build bridges between a very cost effective diapering solution and the community of caregivers that often helps support a low-income family? Make it EASY.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Easy. Easy. Easy.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn3WJZ_y11vXhZPp6mrSjAvwdCTzHtNZ-hS9TaDcpwFgWUgCKyZbmtOAXRfe7HFLs7zpU3ssINfzZ0ydkl_r1hoYFT_pGWNdw-Fv_8XkockfQFQcriPvF6fBcQ-GbqJtYunoBcbeXks4Y/s1600/DSC01070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn3WJZ_y11vXhZPp6mrSjAvwdCTzHtNZ-hS9TaDcpwFgWUgCKyZbmtOAXRfe7HFLs7zpU3ssINfzZ0ydkl_r1hoYFT_pGWNdw-Fv_8XkockfQFQcriPvF6fBcQ-GbqJtYunoBcbeXks4Y/s320/DSC01070.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Turns out you don't have to use all those fancy (and, personally, I think FUN) folds. You don't have to use sharp implements like pins or Snappis either. A little bit of velcro and one simple tip will do the trick.</span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">It's called the pad fold.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">If you can fold your dish towels, pillowcases, and washcloths, you can do this one too. You simply fold the flat diaper up into a rectangle about the size of a large feminine pad. No special instructions for this one, you do it any way you like. As long as you end up with a rectangle that fits between the baby's legs and doesn't reach their nipples or shoulder blades, you're good. Lay that pad into a waterproof wrap-style diaper cover and you've got yourself a cheap and easy diaper that anyone can use. </div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I recommend a velcro cover instead of snaps just because people are used to seeing velcro-type stuff as a diaper fastener so it seems more natural. One of my favorite low-price high-quality covers is the Tweedlebugs one-size cover. It is a one-size cover so it will fit the average baby from birth through potty training and at $9.95 per cover, you can't really ask for much more. There are tons of options out there though, and it can get even more economical if you are handy with a sewing machine and have some thick old fleece blankets nearby. You just need something with velcro and a nice snug fit.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhoRTMB8al3W6x2QtwbSu6_63NOwNbDVliy9cH0mvQGP-KXm5pJaPDAgPL9YZBStT6FsXm9KeKiQ464GwaW94UK0DPFumWPa7krKmbzQ_UE3YeB-bMxtTCBoLqavxccgGE91E7Jj_Q6c/s1600/DSC01071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNhoRTMB8al3W6x2QtwbSu6_63NOwNbDVliy9cH0mvQGP-KXm5pJaPDAgPL9YZBStT6FsXm9KeKiQ464GwaW94UK0DPFumWPa7krKmbzQ_UE3YeB-bMxtTCBoLqavxccgGE91E7Jj_Q6c/s320/DSC01071.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So... if pad folding is so easy, why would anyone do anything else? Why bother with the kite fold or a Snappi?</span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">There are several reasons, but the main reason is that when you pad fold, you are almost guaranteed to get poop on the cover each time the baby poops. You don't have to wash a diaper cover after each use. Just once a day or when it gets poop on it. So if you can keep the poop off of the diaper cover, you can get by buying less covers. Snappis, pins, and fancy folds help you do that. But pins won't do you any good if you can't get your caregivers to use them. And while buying more covers to get you through the day is more expensive, it's still light years cheaper than using disposable diapers.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Another reason you wouldn't pad fold is if you are using pull-on-style covers. These covers don't hold the flat in place as snugly as wrap-style covers do and it can slip to the side or even slip out. Pull-on covers need to be used with some kind of diaper fastener. But we don't want to scare skittish caregivers with pull-on plastic pants or (heaven forbid) wool soakers, and the pad fold is the perfect partner for a nicely fitting velcro wrap cover.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">"But what about washing?"</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Well, rinsing and washing poopy diapers is generally a deal-breaker for babysitters. Luckily though, flats are very forgiving. Just tell the babysitter to toss the diaper in the pail and you'll deal with it later. You can come back later and dump the poo in the toilet and swish if necessary. And diapers in the pail will wait for you until you have time to wash them. Oh yes, believe me, they will wait for you. They won't start washing themselves. But seriously, washing isn't as tough or time-consuming as it seems so you'll be fine. And tell grandma or the babysitter, "Just toss it in the pail". That will put their mind at ease.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">The key is to make things seem easy and familiar. So if you'd like to start saving some money using flat diapers, but your babysitter says "no way", let them watch you change a pad-folded flat in a wrap cover, then toss it in the pail, and they just might come around.</div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Happy Diapering!</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7XDCDTRRA0tQzFk-A4UEJNqr-K_XUwtvVLR70bdc0UcCVt8WE-09QC1ziSGIDBLzoLk6PD_PnjlWyldf8mPW2Tknq69-pJ69xZKhyS5mD2Q62I-pLQNwhHU1WlXhjpieVpEEQ6DfRMA/s1600/another+profile+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN7XDCDTRRA0tQzFk-A4UEJNqr-K_XUwtvVLR70bdc0UcCVt8WE-09QC1ziSGIDBLzoLk6PD_PnjlWyldf8mPW2Tknq69-pJ69xZKhyS5mD2Q62I-pLQNwhHU1WlXhjpieVpEEQ6DfRMA/s400/another+profile+pic.jpg" width="180" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">Elizabeth Wickoren is a holistic parenting guru and free-range mama of four. She enjoys reading, quantum physics, and collaborating with local businesses and media to educate the public about holistic parenting. When the media doesn't have time to listen to her babble, she babbles to herself over at her blog, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://motheringfromthemaelstrom.blogspot.com/">Mothering From The Maelstrom</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: Author</span></span></div>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-91403714197641408442011-05-25T07:04:00.002-04:002011-05-25T07:04:45.279-04:00Wordless Wednesday: 15 Months of Nursing!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEUXM1ByE-YHDjpXa-5Zo8ka31k8Q1ooGBU3qFy_9xNLg4hPNt-6Np9ds1b6_ezKciF-YYiY8i5SUhiHuPf5zNLwMjh0h2bX7AjUQfq8l_Q2tXJ8uYC5B4S8uU1BaQyJaC1Fx3ZJ94SU/s1600/P4220144.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="300" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTEUXM1ByE-YHDjpXa-5Zo8ka31k8Q1ooGBU3qFy_9xNLg4hPNt-6Np9ds1b6_ezKciF-YYiY8i5SUhiHuPf5zNLwMjh0h2bX7AjUQfq8l_Q2tXJ8uYC5B4S8uU1BaQyJaC1Fx3ZJ94SU/s400/P4220144.JPG" /></a></div>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-9136448877762908242011-05-23T06:19:00.000-04:002011-05-23T06:19:35.932-04:00Monday's Mamas Musts: LanolinThis is going to be a short but important one. Do not forget the importance of lanolin. Most everyone knows that it is a great nipple soother in those first few months of getting nursing and your latch down. What you may not realize is that it comes in handy again when your nursling begins teething. Your nursling's latch changes during the introduction of teeth and teething pain so you need to work with them again to maintain good nursing habits. Lanolin is a great soother when you are being used as a soother for sore gums! <br />
My other uses for lanolin:<br />
<br />
<ul><li>I also use a tube of it to relanolize my wool diaper covers.</li>
<li>I use it as a barrier cream for diaper changes.</li>
<li>As a first aid ointment on infant scratches because it is safe if they nibble on the affected area.</li>
<li>Hand protectant during cold winter months for cracked and dry hands.</li>
</ul><div>What are some of the uses you've found for lanolin?</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo3WeIpvIu3NMo4SHodjwIuG_mNZOYCbFUmd0QiGAF9wG6kMJUzD3841Bn6E40GOd9kp0rU183IqW-Ck1_2uXKb99ZMNdAwuF18L8Id3tWC-hv3xdlC_cCC1iYVYhWkA2Kw-nQYdXxYo/s1600/mondaysmamas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo3WeIpvIu3NMo4SHodjwIuG_mNZOYCbFUmd0QiGAF9wG6kMJUzD3841Bn6E40GOd9kp0rU183IqW-Ck1_2uXKb99ZMNdAwuF18L8Id3tWC-hv3xdlC_cCC1iYVYhWkA2Kw-nQYdXxYo/s1600/mondaysmamas.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Are you a Monday's Mama? Do you have a story to share or a product/service to make a mama's life easier? Let me know and your article or product could be featured in the next Monday's Mamas. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Monday's Mamas will be a chance for the working mother who identifies as natural or attached to share her story with the online community. It can be a personal story or it can be an informational post about just how does an AP mama manage all those tasks we have to do while still caring for our children in the way we have chosen? This is open any mama who maintains a dual lifestyle: working out of the home, returning to school or the work at home mamas (WAHMs).</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">To submit an article for consideration, please use the Google Docs </span><a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dG9McjV0eVZXU3hROVR0Y3VMMzJPQkE6MQ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">web form</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> or email your article to Shannon (artsymama.riley {at} gmail.com) no later then 11:59pm EST on Friday.</span></div></div>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-31716106341798382722011-05-18T06:52:00.002-04:002011-05-22T13:01:22.282-04:00Wordless Wednesday: Boating with Nana<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWhFXRKA8KChIlXqG5JUH61F1c3u0iSGO5yPbWE-9D0Au5fC9HL4Imso5ah8wNMT6WSl9QpWxIJkCcp8jaTEoHuUTFEfxCvodfxnIFIrEr2J7gbXlj5tcZhAFdKIFKQaQXoHok2xe6q9o/s1600/P4210095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWhFXRKA8KChIlXqG5JUH61F1c3u0iSGO5yPbWE-9D0Au5fC9HL4Imso5ah8wNMT6WSl9QpWxIJkCcp8jaTEoHuUTFEfxCvodfxnIFIrEr2J7gbXlj5tcZhAFdKIFKQaQXoHok2xe6q9o/s320/P4210095.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7fdfOua35L_1ydSOZz4OzP7LnIaMnu2hA0emNJcQM2BsHpun7eLRCPw8PG0nLtFEeaOrtXR15BHCDZIZx1VTe9IXqk0nOFJCCndpCduu2Xn5dEWb14_p1ySVdiBPXKXo5qiveNgOnly8/s1600/P4210096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7fdfOua35L_1ydSOZz4OzP7LnIaMnu2hA0emNJcQM2BsHpun7eLRCPw8PG0nLtFEeaOrtXR15BHCDZIZx1VTe9IXqk0nOFJCCndpCduu2Xn5dEWb14_p1ySVdiBPXKXo5qiveNgOnly8/s320/P4210096.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIRw9Znaqnmb43hbuktny6uN-_tZsWUSIVS33zw17_VvygQ7KJBOK4a9qWVFsjlFiEU4MfpKAjjqdbG5U67Ppw1r8PxiTA655Ni4rxAH4cgcbcJUhPGHHsoteegPWKhgzxUQpnmFW0Dg/s1600/P4210097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsIRw9Znaqnmb43hbuktny6uN-_tZsWUSIVS33zw17_VvygQ7KJBOK4a9qWVFsjlFiEU4MfpKAjjqdbG5U67Ppw1r8PxiTA655Ni4rxAH4cgcbcJUhPGHHsoteegPWKhgzxUQpnmFW0Dg/s320/P4210097.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTeK7D9kDU0fiWgHMRb4jOPg8_Cagl3AeScDhNQbB2AeMOXVPNhm0eKe7AnYiuAaeXnTUPa-88h6hOfBg1IzLLM8NUXusPXUFFXzGIYe1ENbj4HOTxJxOfjLGpBqlGJcm087wOMAKXVI/s1600/P4210046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTeK7D9kDU0fiWgHMRb4jOPg8_Cagl3AeScDhNQbB2AeMOXVPNhm0eKe7AnYiuAaeXnTUPa-88h6hOfBg1IzLLM8NUXusPXUFFXzGIYe1ENbj4HOTxJxOfjLGpBqlGJcm087wOMAKXVI/s320/P4210046.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-50645310703345352302011-05-17T08:00:00.003-04:002011-05-17T08:00:00.294-04:00Winner & Coupon: Oh Plah! Teething Cuff<a href="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/giveaway-oh-plah-teething-cuff/oh-plah-bracelet_2/" rel="attachment wp-att-7656" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="oh-plah-bracelet_2" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-7656" height="266" src="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/oh-plah-bracelet_2.jpg" title="oh-plah-bracelet_2" width="400" /></a>A big congratulations to the winner of the <strong><a href="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/giveaway-oh-plah-teething-cuff/">Oh Plah! Teething Cuff giveaway</a></strong><strong> sponsored by </strong><strong><a href="http://www.roundhousedc.com/index.html">Roundhouse Design Collaborative</a></strong> — #10!<br />
<h3>Sarah</h3><a href="http://theartsymama.blogspot.com/2011/04/giveaway-oh-plah-teething-cuff-15-53.html?showComment=1304046690402#c3966587596148382324"> Sarah says</a>:<br />
<blockquote>"My 17 month old son would enjoy the Oh Plah! bracelet. He is getting his eye teeth in and chews on everything...he especially loves things that don't look like traditional teethers."</blockquote>This was a <strong>joint giveaway with <a href="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/">Natural Parents Network</a></strong>, so entries were combined and one winner drawn. The winner entered here at <strong><a href="http://theartsymama.blogspot.com/2011/04/giveaway-oh-plah-teething-cuff-15-53.html">The ArtsyMama</a>!</strong><br />
<br />
<span style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="winner-oh-plah-10.png" class="hv alignleft" height="166" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=e683f3f45c&view=att&th=12ffa9734293948a&attid=0.1&disp=thd&realattid=f_gnrw2dfe0&zw" width="144" /></span>The <strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Oh Plah! Teething Cuff</span></span></strong> is latex-free, BPA-free, phthalate-free, recyclable teething bracelet looks perfect on parents, but it's safe and fun for babies and kids to play with, bend, twist, and chew.<br />
<br />
If you were not the lucky winner, you can <strong>buy an Oh Plah! Teething Cuff at </strong><strong><a href="http://www.roundhousedc.com/ohplah_teething_bracelet.html">Roundhouse Design Collaborative</a></strong> and receive a <strong>terrific discount</strong> when you do so!<br />
<blockquote>Get <strong>15% off an Oh Plah!</strong><br />
at <a href="http://www.roundhousedc.com/ohplah_teething_bracelet.html">Roundhouse Design</a> through June 30!<br />
Enter code ohplah15 at checkout.</blockquote><a name='more'></a>You can <strong>purchase your own Oh Plah! Teething Cuff at <a href="http://www.roundhousedc.com/ohplah_teething_bracelet.html" target="_blank">Roundhouse Design Collaborative's website</a></strong>. They sell for $14.99.<br />
<br />
The Oh Plah! comes in six different colors and designs. They also ship <strong>internationally</strong> — costs are calculated during checkout.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/giveaway-oh-plah-teething-cuff/roundhouse-dc-logo/" rel="attachment wp-att-7655" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="roundhouse-dc-logo" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-7655" height="95" src="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/roundhouse-dc-logo.png" title="roundhouse-dc-logo" width="195" /></a>Be sure to <strong>connect with Roundhouse Design Collaborative</strong>:<br />
<ul><li>Like <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Roundhouse-Design-Collaborative/57565452391?sk=wall" target="_blank">Roundhouse Design Collaborative on Facebook</a></li>
<li>Follow <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/ohplah" target="_blank">@OhPlah on Twitter</a></li>
</ul><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><strong><br />
</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><strong><br />
</strong></span><br />
<span style="font-style: italic;"><strong>Disclosure:</strong> Roundhouse sent our reviewer a free Oh Plah! for review.<br />
See our <a href="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/disclosure/" target="_blank">full disclosure policy here.</a></span></div>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-63640619379282466472011-05-16T07:30:00.003-04:002011-05-22T13:01:52.870-04:00Monday's Mamas Musts: Inspired by Finn Teething Necklace<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCp8vZuIr0y9nvojvcxhhCSIBgoIFniagSjE-2pGhQP0MymiehyI28gBTv8grMm_LRvw_ebnAJG5PME1ZDk6W2WCtiCbWMbgOhTRSFrBO1NSP0mgJmwxwSggQ4VCnWIwg5MqeFqujKhI/s1600/P5090195.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoCp8vZuIr0y9nvojvcxhhCSIBgoIFniagSjE-2pGhQP0MymiehyI28gBTv8grMm_LRvw_ebnAJG5PME1ZDk6W2WCtiCbWMbgOhTRSFrBO1NSP0mgJmwxwSggQ4VCnWIwg5MqeFqujKhI/s320/P5090195.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I chose the 15" length so that Little Man could wear it longer.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
A few weeks ago I had written a post with my alternative solutions for a teething baby. In that article I mentioned baltic amber necklaces but as of then had not used one for Little Man. After the positive responses I had gotten from that article and the feedback from other moms who use the baltic amber, I had to try for myself. I mean if I can prevent his teething discomfort instead of soothing it after the fact with my other methods - I'm all for it.<br />
I visited <a href="http://hyenacart.com/inspiredbyfinn/">Inspired by Finn</a> to get a teething necklace for Little Man. What I liked about their necklaces was the selection and the various patterns. There were many different options for styles and lengths. Their site has recommendations for styles that would look good on boys - a must if I was going to be able to convince my hubby to put a necklace on his boy.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
I was also impressed by the <a href="http://hyenacart.com/stores/inspiredbyfinn/index.php?c=63&p=14913">information</a> that I found about baltic amber and its healing properties. I already knew that amber was fossilized tree resin - thanks to Jurassic Park. What I did not know was that only amber from the Baltic area of Europe contains special healing properties due to its high content of Succinic Acid. The amber releases this acid when it is warmed by your body and it is absorbed through your skin. The acid acts as a natural pain reliever, inflammation reducer and immune system booster! It has been used in Europe for many years as a teething solution.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3T5ylmaz3IhQaeZt5dWiIKNXbnTDCXmYPeMae44C7gqoc4oJ2lisk6aEgSPTE2ds1X-TLPKOI7Iv9NQF-C2HVqVB3dRblach7IuEOOL4nWkCNNSTeu6Y-DklheceXRDmMUAji9t1ymU/s1600/P5090207.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX3T5ylmaz3IhQaeZt5dWiIKNXbnTDCXmYPeMae44C7gqoc4oJ2lisk6aEgSPTE2ds1X-TLPKOI7Iv9NQF-C2HVqVB3dRblach7IuEOOL4nWkCNNSTeu6Y-DklheceXRDmMUAji9t1ymU/s320/P5090207.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready for bed.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We have been using the necklace for about a month and I must say that I really do like it. He barely pays attention to it while it is on him. It is usually tucked under his shirt and he does not even notice it. At night I wrap it around his ankle and it is hidden under his zippered pajamas. He cannot work a zipper yet so I have no worries of him getting at it in the middle of the night and he is still getting the benefits of wearing it. It is definitely helping because I notice a difference in his demeanor right away if he does not have it on. He is very grouchy and jams his hands in his mouth. With the necklace on he is a happy boy!<br />
As for how my husband reacted to this necklace - he is on board with it as much as I am. He has seen the benefits of the necklace and is a staunch defender of his son wearing a necklace. We have gotten comments from well-meaning relatives about him choking on the necklace and my hubby has informed them of the safety precautions that the necklace has. The clasp on the necklace is a plastic screw style closure that breaks if tension is applied to it. Each of the amber beads are hand-tied so that if the necklace breaks - the beads stay strung on the cord. <i>Besides we all know the cool boys in high school wore necklaces.</i><br />
So this is now on my list of things that mamas need to know about. The necklaces are of high quality, they work for most people I know who use them and they look good. Inspired by Finn also carries <a href="http://hyenacart.com/inspiredbyfinn/index.php?c=28">adult sizes</a> as well as other styles for <a href="http://hyenacart.com/inspiredbyfinn/index.php?c=50">wrist</a>, <a href="http://hyenacart.com/inspiredbyfinn/index.php?c=182">knee</a> and <a href="http://hyenacart.com/inspiredbyfinn/index.php?c=145">back pain</a>. They have <a href="http://hyenacart.com/stores/inspiredbyfinn/index.php?c=63&p=50010">hazel wood</a> jewelry as well.<br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><u>Disclosure</u>: I purchased my Inspired by Finn necklace at a discounted price for review. I try to seek out only items that I feel my readers would enjoy and find useful. All statements are my opinion. If I do not like a product, I will not be recommending it to you.</span></i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo3WeIpvIu3NMo4SHodjwIuG_mNZOYCbFUmd0QiGAF9wG6kMJUzD3841Bn6E40GOd9kp0rU183IqW-Ck1_2uXKb99ZMNdAwuF18L8Id3tWC-hv3xdlC_cCC1iYVYhWkA2Kw-nQYdXxYo/s1600/mondaysmamas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo3WeIpvIu3NMo4SHodjwIuG_mNZOYCbFUmd0QiGAF9wG6kMJUzD3841Bn6E40GOd9kp0rU183IqW-Ck1_2uXKb99ZMNdAwuF18L8Id3tWC-hv3xdlC_cCC1iYVYhWkA2Kw-nQYdXxYo/s1600/mondaysmamas.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Are you a Monday's Mama? Do you have a story to share or a product/service to make a mama's life easier? Let me know and your article or product could be featured in the next Monday's Mamas. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Monday's Mamas will be a chance for the working mother who identifies as natural or attached to share her story with the online community. It can be a personal story or it can be an informational post about just how does an AP mama manage all those tasks we have to do while still caring for our children in the way we have chosen? This is open any mama who maintains a dual lifestyle: working out of the home, returning to school or the work at home mamas (WAHMs).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">To submit an article for consideration, please use the Google Docs </span><a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dG9McjV0eVZXU3hROVR0Y3VMMzJPQkE6MQ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">web form</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> or email your article to Shannon (artsymama.riley {at} gmail.com) no later then 11:59pm EST on Friday.</span>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-15158217878507183462011-05-10T00:00:00.008-04:002011-05-22T13:02:14.182-04:00How Does Your Garden Grow?<strong>Welcome to the May Carnival of Natural Parenting: Growing in the Outdoors</strong><br />
<em>This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by <a href="http://codenamemama.com/2011/05/10/may-carnatpar/" target="_blank">Code Name: Mama</a> and <a href="http://www.hobomama.com/2011/05/may-carnival-of-natural-parenting.htm" target="_blank">Hobo Mama</a>. This month our participants have shared how they encourage their children to connect with nature and dig in the dirt. Please read to the end to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.</em><br />
***<br />
I have not gardened very much - really not at all. Not since I was a child and really enjoyed finding earthworms. I'm allergic to bees and I have Irish skin to boot. The outdoors and I have shared an understanding - I won't try to mold you to my ways and nature won't try to kill me. The house I bought with my hubby three and half years ago had sat neglected and empty for nearly a year. The woman who had owned the house had a garden though. How do I know? I found this plaque in the "weeds" from my vantage point of the back deck. There are raspberry plants all over my yard. I have yet to have any because they attract all sorts of flying, stinging insects and then by the time I realize the flowers are gone and there might be fruit there - the deer have already feasted on them.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
However, despite all of this I can name almost every plant in my yard. I know all the flowering plants even without flowers. I can identify and respect from a distance the poison ivy. I know enough that I need to pop off the dead flower part to my rhododendron plant if I want the next season's flowers to grow in straight. I'm extremely protective over my hydrangea bushes - the only two things I planted and really wanted to have as a part of my yard. Hubby accidentally dug them up and threw them in the brush pile (he is just as good a gardener as me) and I flipped out. He did replant them and get me a third just in case they did not come back - which they did. But after that it gets a little hazy and mostly if you are a plant unlucky enough to live in my yard, you had better be pretty good at taking care of yourself.<br />
<br />
So what is it that I am teaching Little Man about the things we eat or enjoy in nature? There is one thing I hope he will learn about nature from me - to enjoy its beauty. That is something I am pretty decent at doing. I love to take nature photographs. I could fill every memory card I have with photographs of flowers, plants, landscapes and animals. When I look at my hard-drive 80% is nature photographs and the rest is a smattering of other subjects. So I would like to share with you some of my favorite nature photographs that showcase the beauty of the world we live in.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3kCFB2IuCTUzWOJoRtnRPqLdDTjHUfmyzCrNgEhOBXMELjPhLznyrWIUj0KVp10vLFX5PhZ-1Mohe-LcJokcZOQfUnnL9C4rxVZ9ow94mNfU1IUvZO30e1OC-aU7Vr0Fi81jHnWeYjA/s1600/IMG_1398.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3kCFB2IuCTUzWOJoRtnRPqLdDTjHUfmyzCrNgEhOBXMELjPhLznyrWIUj0KVp10vLFX5PhZ-1Mohe-LcJokcZOQfUnnL9C4rxVZ9ow94mNfU1IUvZO30e1OC-aU7Vr0Fi81jHnWeYjA/s400/IMG_1398.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flower in the butterfly garden at the University of Florida 2008</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wu1c-KU132ytZa5YGy81c09swAmR7YOGwj6UhnJUOd-2sUiQlHiiwXZLvMzCiDD9Ubmv74SQqnZP4KFa0_M1mdzjIjrK48R7427_y8TIoYdorFEJcWBxt2Zyw00o6jcVgeXBNwWKxQk/s1600/IMG_1412.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5wu1c-KU132ytZa5YGy81c09swAmR7YOGwj6UhnJUOd-2sUiQlHiiwXZLvMzCiDD9Ubmv74SQqnZP4KFa0_M1mdzjIjrK48R7427_y8TIoYdorFEJcWBxt2Zyw00o6jcVgeXBNwWKxQk/s320/IMG_1412.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nymph, tree butterfly, 2008</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_akLYFEWqaWRu1vEJYkXexKvf9L_3kbf6-qZN3SdY4dGWdUEu8-VL4lkFVjkOP0rHrAsFkRw5JA_qTJbeBOH3llGNLq9n7S2gppaVkjglqpO_qv8vNQ_695LV8D8oJPu0kWwLqZkbIo/s1600/IMG_1521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiP_akLYFEWqaWRu1vEJYkXexKvf9L_3kbf6-qZN3SdY4dGWdUEu8-VL4lkFVjkOP0rHrAsFkRw5JA_qTJbeBOH3llGNLq9n7S2gppaVkjglqpO_qv8vNQ_695LV8D8oJPu0kWwLqZkbIo/s320/IMG_1521.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The morning sun from the road I lived on as a child 2008</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlcKJRpnCxFALxHE22kIdA4Pqq7Yb3_9dBRp_8wWTlHcePbSLySrwfSfszTu3gKwYqrKZXUdJsddDrWJKww3j2di9hHjHFOTFmaSK_IYSttzfoEjNYj18FfIemEQCLgWPBRQx1rJ6DvA/s1600/IMG_1599.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtlcKJRpnCxFALxHE22kIdA4Pqq7Yb3_9dBRp_8wWTlHcePbSLySrwfSfszTu3gKwYqrKZXUdJsddDrWJKww3j2di9hHjHFOTFmaSK_IYSttzfoEjNYj18FfIemEQCLgWPBRQx1rJ6DvA/s400/IMG_1599.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An outlet on the island of Bermuda during our honeymoon 2008</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37oeaI670Dx3DdsQ7OfWpucvIcnQd8OAVT8g6lt28GIvZlM9oMkyYmHVfrBtH67sEqdNsf4RO5-_qnO_mrSoUITA-EGyIK2-3LeOmP_S5YvwvpK0o80MZBU0iOY4Y-wzdK5_sQRY2_1c/s1600/P7070155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh37oeaI670Dx3DdsQ7OfWpucvIcnQd8OAVT8g6lt28GIvZlM9oMkyYmHVfrBtH67sEqdNsf4RO5-_qnO_mrSoUITA-EGyIK2-3LeOmP_S5YvwvpK0o80MZBU0iOY4Y-wzdK5_sQRY2_1c/s320/P7070155.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trumpet Vine, Delaware 2009</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQ7B4RAcipDci4QRilQyjoKIzoV4smiAno8Vte-207saZCHO2Rfx8bsmUTBSMYBLaDmu0ZydF7OaiuTBagqcZwQfubb5fG4cJaGgdoLYV4NbqUh76HmmOyWGk3X-Mh4UBVajvtXTI63Q/s1600/P7080169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQQ7B4RAcipDci4QRilQyjoKIzoV4smiAno8Vte-207saZCHO2Rfx8bsmUTBSMYBLaDmu0ZydF7OaiuTBagqcZwQfubb5fG4cJaGgdoLYV4NbqUh76HmmOyWGk3X-Mh4UBVajvtXTI63Q/s320/P7080169.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lewes, Delaware 2009</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglGsZanH1HOQgf_dxE10ewVL9f5zJj4sLEN1O1i76xaIf7gNTEWbFCPxEoAvJyqzgoAwpTay-uKCwUul7-2YlLW_8OoV1gd5pNGrpgq-rOGGe5kyHXu3AwP6ItajGY7YL-66mdF1Sf8E/s1600/IMG_2490_2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglGsZanH1HOQgf_dxE10ewVL9f5zJj4sLEN1O1i76xaIf7gNTEWbFCPxEoAvJyqzgoAwpTay-uKCwUul7-2YlLW_8OoV1gd5pNGrpgq-rOGGe5kyHXu3AwP6ItajGY7YL-66mdF1Sf8E/s320/IMG_2490_2.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our backyard fall of 2010</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcIP1XQ0GTaTGIIz-ZoLEvHfOpW876JATuX1-QXRYLifjMT2QPPE9V9WKMCD3pjZd-0vTWmhD2SNngx3_GqHLHLF7cADvangk5odufLwa57xwgoTlEcdXZ8qHos9emMmae6fH0icSdb0/s1600/IMG_2756.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrcIP1XQ0GTaTGIIz-ZoLEvHfOpW876JATuX1-QXRYLifjMT2QPPE9V9WKMCD3pjZd-0vTWmhD2SNngx3_GqHLHLF7cADvangk5odufLwa57xwgoTlEcdXZ8qHos9emMmae6fH0icSdb0/s320/IMG_2756.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raspberry eating deer 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25Zl-SJvLz-pRDwAVJfzw3M_GEWmdLYJSzAjL74m2K-mVMlxEv12FXHHbnWZiw7oDNUzr8DR6V3e_mD4dzHKCuRFZsoMr3kGX_enjFsG2X5Dskog5_vJpxaIS-j8sLc4QBLaFeTkPnmE/s1600/P4210041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25Zl-SJvLz-pRDwAVJfzw3M_GEWmdLYJSzAjL74m2K-mVMlxEv12FXHHbnWZiw7oDNUzr8DR6V3e_mD4dzHKCuRFZsoMr3kGX_enjFsG2X5Dskog5_vJpxaIS-j8sLc4QBLaFeTkPnmE/s320/P4210041.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cormorants 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOkIwh4vW8PHOTxVXaHkzazK75uwttvFr63K8s3uWm37_Z2i0oIMED4RpZpeTln2Eq1wgrryBP7hgFNMyDz-q1Q9t2Q9fvkzoxY3uoEY0D4M-pUrfSHbT2yeRA0zesG5QA3sxIxjDIns/s1600/IMG_2844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzOkIwh4vW8PHOTxVXaHkzazK75uwttvFr63K8s3uWm37_Z2i0oIMED4RpZpeTln2Eq1wgrryBP7hgFNMyDz-q1Q9t2Q9fvkzoxY3uoEY0D4M-pUrfSHbT2yeRA0zesG5QA3sxIxjDIns/s400/IMG_2844.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raspberry plants and weeds 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJWfA99WJY3CJ5_d9DqP3UFZSZmlkmI6VUf2v1dhjAXgNb28Xv_nT9ksSr4gaOukpNF_qOWHZimkVuWQGGKLS1zYd3MFM_b3G72dMIG1PQK09mZjC5_BkKufx31SyfsiGlX5ZtYBfNXM/s1600/IMG_2845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBJWfA99WJY3CJ5_d9DqP3UFZSZmlkmI6VUf2v1dhjAXgNb28Xv_nT9ksSr4gaOukpNF_qOWHZimkVuWQGGKLS1zYd3MFM_b3G72dMIG1PQK09mZjC5_BkKufx31SyfsiGlX5ZtYBfNXM/s320/IMG_2845.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kwanzan Cherry Tree Blossom 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_kq_qniOWTGe5Knp9ZqUZyDfZdmQLLvfx4T4imlNRPbyEs28pcWBnwsg4qVmH7EuzzovCQ8RvrkFJPPoXC9jtELCk0aRu-mUbGf_Og4Docd8i7-n9WeD1ojgKpA7tlQqI8WqIEE7QIto/s1600/P4210064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_kq_qniOWTGe5Knp9ZqUZyDfZdmQLLvfx4T4imlNRPbyEs28pcWBnwsg4qVmH7EuzzovCQ8RvrkFJPPoXC9jtELCk0aRu-mUbGf_Og4Docd8i7-n9WeD1ojgKpA7tlQqI8WqIEE7QIto/s320/P4210064.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Entrance to Three Sisters Spring, Florida 2011</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">All images are property of the artist and may not be copied or reproduced without express written permission.</span><br />
<br />
***<br />
<a href="http://www.hobomama.com/p/carnival-of-natural-parenting.html" target="_blank" title="Carnival of Natural Parenting"><img align="right" alt="Carnival of Natural Parenting -- Hobo Mama and Code Name: Mama" border="0" class="alignright" src="http://i233.photobucket.com/albums/ee159/lintpicker/CNPnaturalparent.jpg" /></a>Visit <a href="http://codenamemama.com/carnival-of-natural-parenting/" target="_blank"><strong>Code Name: Mama</strong></a> and <a href="http://www.hobomama.com/p/carnival-of-natural-parenting.html" target="_blank"><strong>Hobo Mama</strong></a> to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!<br />
Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:<br />
<ul><li><strong><a href="http://mommajorje.blogspot.com/2011/05/get-out.html" target="_blank">Get Out!</a></strong> — <strong>Momma Jorje</strong> gives reasons she doesn't think she gets outside enough and asks for your suggestions on making time for the outdoors.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://theartsymama.blogspot.com/2011/05/how-does-your-garden-grow.html" target="_blank">How Does Your Garden Grow?</a></strong> — <strong>The ArtsyMama</strong> shares her love of nature photography.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://peace4parents.com/we-go-outside" target="_blank">We Go Outside</a></strong> — Amy at <strong>Peace 4 Parents</strong> describes her family's simple, experiential approach to encouraging appreciation of nature.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://fabulousmamachronicles.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-not-so-green-thumb.html" target="_blank">My Not-So-Green Thumb</a></strong> — Wolfmother confesses to her lack of gardening skills but expresses hope in learning alongside her son at <strong>Fabulous Mama Chronicles</strong>.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://smilinglikesunshine1.blogspot.com/2011/05/enjoying-outdoors_10.html" target="_blank">Enjoying Outdoors</a></strong> — Isil at <strong>Smiling like Sunshine</strong> describes how her children enjoy the nature.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://codenamemama.com/2011/05/10/may-carnatpar/" target="_blank">Five Ideas to Encourage the Reluctant Junior Gardener</a></strong> — For the rare little ones who don't like to get their hands dirty, Dionna at <strong>Code Name: Mama</strong> offers tips for encouraging an early love of dirt (despite the mess).</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.authenticparenting.info/2011/05/connecting-to-nature.html" target="_blank">Connecting to Nature</a></strong> — <strong>Mamapoekie</strong> shares how growing your own vegetable patch connects your child to nature and urges them to not take anything for granted.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://monkeybuttjunction.com/?p=784" target="_blank">The Farmer's Market Classroom</a></strong> — Jenn at <strong>Monkey Butt Junction</strong> shares how the Farmer's Market has become her son's classroom.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://toloveeverymoment.blogspot.com/2011/05/seeds.html" target="_blank">Seeds</a></strong> — Kat at <strong>Loving {Almost} Every Moment</strong>'s hubby Ken shares his perspective on why gardening with their kiddos is so important . . . and enjoyable!</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.puginthekitchen.blogspot.com/2011/05/03/toddlers-in-the-kitchen" target="_blank">Toddlers in the Garden</a></strong> — Laura at <strong>A Pug in the Kitchen</strong> shares her excitement as she continues to introduce her toddler and new baby to the joys of fresh veggies, straight from the garden.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.wanderwonderdiscover.com/2011/05/natures-weave.html" target="_blank">Nature's Weave</a></strong> — MJ at <strong>Wander Wonder Discover</strong> explains how nature weaves its way into our lives naturally, magnetically, experientially, and spiritually.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://hey-red.net/365/?p=308" target="_blank">Becoming Green</a></strong> — Kristina at <strong>Hey Red</strong> celebrates and nurtures her daughter's blossoming love of the outdoors.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://her.joshandrosemary.com/blog/little-gardener/" target="_blank">Little Gardener</a></strong> — Rosemary at <strong>Rosmarinus Officinalis</strong> looks forward to introducing her baby girl to gardening and exploring home grown foods for the first time.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://dreamingaloudnet.blogspot.com/2011/05/cultivating-abundance.html" target="_blank">Cultivating Abundance</a></strong> — You can never be poor if you have a garden! Lucy at <strong>Dreaming Aloud</strong> reflects on what she cultivates in her garden . . . and finds it's a lot more than seeds!</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.diaryofafirstchild.com/2011/05/10/growing-in-the-outdoors-plants-and-people/" target="_blank">Growing in the Outdoors: Plants and People</a></strong> — Luschka at <strong>Diary of a First Child</strong> reflects on how she is growing while teaching her daughter to appreciate nature, the origins of food, and the many benefits of eating home-grown.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://wildparenting.net/2011/05/10/how-not-to-grow" target="_blank">How Not to Grow</a></strong> — Anna at <strong>Wild Parenting</strong> discusses why growing vegetables fills her with fear.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://parentingbythelightofthemoon.blogspot.com/2011/05/carnival-of-natural-parenting-growing.html" target="_blank">Growing in the Outdoors</a></strong> — Lily at <strong>Witch Mom Blog</strong> talks about how connecting to the natural world is a matter of theology for her family and the ways that they do it.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.becomingcrunchy.com/2011/05/a-garden-made-of-straw/" target="_blank">A Garden Made of Straw</a></strong> — Kelly at <strong>Becoming Crunchy</strong> shares tips on making a straw bale garden.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://lovenotesmama.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/the-tradition-of-gardening/" target="_blank">The Tradition of Gardening</a></strong> — Carrie at <strong>Love Notes Mama</strong> reflects on the gifts that come with the tradition of gardening.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://bouncetomoon.blogspot.com/2011/05/gardening-smells-like-home.html" target="_blank">Gardening Smells Like Home</a></strong> — Bethy at <strong>Bounce Me to the Moon</strong> hopes that her son will associate home grown food and lovely flowers with home.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.angelbabyjazzymama.blogspot.com/2011/05/new-normal.html" target="_blank">The New Normal</a></strong> — Patti at <strong>Jazzy Mama</strong> writes about how she hopes that growing vegetables in a big city will become totally normal for her children's generation.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.anktangle.com/2011/05/outside-with-you.html" target="_blank">Outside, With You</a></strong> — Amy at <strong>Anktangle</strong> writes a letter to her son, a snapshot of a moment in the garden together.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://wp.me/pdES1-1uk" target="_blank">Farmer Boy</a></strong> — Abbie at <strong>Farmer's Daughter</strong> shares how her son Joshua helps to grow and raise their family's food.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://granolacatholic.blogspot.com/2011/05/Growing-Kids-in-the-Garden.htlm" target="_blank">Growing Kids in the Garden </a></strong> — Lisa at <strong>Granola Catholic</strong> shares easy ways to get your kids involved in the garden.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://littlegreenblog.com/green-home/gardening-and-pest-control/growing-food-without-a-garden" target="_blank">Growing Food Without a Garden</a></strong> — Don't have a garden? "You can still grow food!" says Mrs Green of <strong>Little Green Blog</strong>. Whatever the size of your plot, she shows you how.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.gardenvarietymama.com/2011/05/growing-things.html" target="_blank">Growing Things</a></strong> — Liz at <strong>Garden Variety Mama</strong> shares her reasons for gardening with her kids, even though she has no idea what she's doing.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://ukmummyblogger.blogspot.com/2011/05/moments.html" target="_blank">Moments</a></strong> — <strong>UK Mummy Blogger</strong> explains how the great outdoors provides a backdrop for her family to reconnect.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.clothdiaperingmama.com/2011/05/10/condo-kid-turns-composter-and-plastic-police/" target="_blank">Condo Kid Turns Composter and Plastic Police</a></strong> — Jessica from <strong>Cloth Diapering Mama</strong> has discovered that her young son is a true earth lover despite living in a condo with no land to call their own.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://agiftuniverse.blogspot.com/2011/05/gardening-with-baby.html" target="_blank">Gardening with Baby</a></strong> — Sheila at <strong>A Gift Universe</strong> shows us how her garden and her son are growing.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://naturallynena.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-choose-your-local-farmers-market.html" target="_blank">Why to Choose Your Local Farmer's Market</a></strong> — <strong>Naturally Nena</strong> shares why she believes it's important to teach our children the value of local farmers.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://crunchychewymama.com/index.php/unfolding-into-nature/" target="_blank">Unfolding into Nature</a></strong> — At <strong>Crunchy-Chewy Mama</strong>, Jessica Claire shares her desire to cultivate a reverence for nature through gardening, buying local food, and just looking out the window.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.hobomama.com/2011/05/may-carnival-of-natural-parenting.html" target="_blank">Urban Gardening With Kids</a></strong> — Lauren at <strong>Hobo Mama</strong> shares her strategies for city gardening with little helpers — without a yard but with a whole lot of enthusiasm.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://thedearmanfamily.blogspot.com/2011/05/mama-doesnt-garden.html" target="_blank">Mama Doesn't Garden</a></strong> — Laura at <strong>Our Messy Messy Life</strong> is glad her husband is there to instill the joys of gardening in their children, while all she has to do is sit back and eat homegrown tomato sandwiches.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.almostallthetruth.com/2011/05/why-we-make-this-organic-garden-grow" target="_blank">Why We Make this Organic Garden Grow</a></strong> — Brenna at <strong>Almost All The Truth</strong> shares her reasons for gardening with her three small children.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.ithoughtiknewmama.com/2011/05/nature-baby/" target="_blank">5 Ways to Help Your Baby Develop a Love of the Natural World</a></strong> — Charise at <strong>I Thought I Knew Mama</strong> believes it's never too early to foster a love of the natural world in your little one.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://namammaste.com/2011/05/april-showers-bring-may-produce" target="_blank">April Showers Bring May PRODUCE</a></strong> — Erika at <strong>NaMammaSte</strong> discusses her plans for raising a little gardener.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://thepracticaldilettante.com/2011/05/10/growing-outside/" target="_blank">Growing Outside</a></strong> — Seonaid at <strong>The Practical Dilettante</strong> discovers how to get her kids outside after weeks of spring rain.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.my-natural-motherhood-journey.com/eating-healthier.html" target="_blank">Eating Healthier</a></strong> — Chante at <strong>My Natural Motherhood Journey</strong> talks about how she learns to eat healthier and encourages her children to do the same.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://childorganics.blogspot.com/2011/05/beauty-of-earth-and-heavens.html" target="_blank">The Beauty of Earth and Heavens</a></strong> — Inspired by Charlotte Mason, Erica at <strong>ChildOrganics</strong> discovers nature in her own front yard.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://letstakethemetro.blogspot.com/2011/05/seeing-garden-through-weeds.html" target="_blank">Seeing the Garden Through the Weeds</a></strong> — Amanda at <strong>Let's Take the Metro</strong> talks about the challenges of gardening with two small children.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.intrepidmurmurings.com/2011/05/creating-a-living-playhouse/" target="_blank">Creating a Living Playhouse: Our Bean Teepee! </a></strong> — Kristin at <strong>Intrepid Murmurings</strong> shares how her family creates a living playhouse "bean teepee" and includes tips of how to involve kids in gardening projects.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://pandamoly.blogspot.com/2011/05/grooming-tree-hugger-introducing.html" target="_blank">Grooming a Tree-Hugger: Introducing the Outdoors</a></strong> — Ana at <strong>Pandamoly</strong> shares some of her planned strategies for making this spring and summer memorable and productive for her pre-toddler in the Outdoors.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.somuchshoutingsomuchlaughter.com/2011/05/sowing-seeds-of-life-and-love.html" target="_blank">Sowing Seeds of Life and Love</a></strong> — Suzannah at <strong>ShoutLaughLove</strong> celebrates the simple joys of baby chicks, community gardening, and a semi-charmed country life.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://livingmontessorinow.com/2011/05/10/experiencing-nature-and-growing-plants-outdoors-without-a-garden/" target="_blank">Experiencing Nature and Growing Plants Outdoors Without a Garden</a></strong> — Deb Chitwood at <strong>Living Montessori Now</strong> shares some of her favorite ways her family discovered to fully experience nature wherever they lived.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://teamkemendo.blogspot.com/2011/05/garden-day.html" target="_blank">Garden Day</a></strong> — Melissa at <strong>The New Mommy Files</strong> is thankful to be part of community of families, some of whom can even garden!</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/garden-etiquette/" target="_blank">Teaching Garden Ettiquette to the Locusts</a></strong> — Tashmica from <strong>Mother Flippin'</strong> (guest posting at <strong>Natural Parents Network</strong>) allows her children to ravage her garden every year in the hopes of teaching them a greater lesson about how to treat the world.</li>
<li><strong><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=1022960602821357869&postID=1515821787850718346#" target="_blank">Why I Play with Worms.</a></strong> — Megan of <strong>Megadoula, Megamom and Megatired</strong> shares why growing a garden and raising her children go hand in hand.</li>
</ul>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-44711781815710396132011-05-09T08:00:00.017-04:002011-05-22T13:02:33.181-04:00Monday's Mamas Musts: Four Hand MassageBeing busy attached working mamas we need to remember to stop and take care of ourselves. That being said there is not all the time in the world to sit back, relax and kick up our feet. I barely have time to put moisturizer on before I'm running out the door in the morning or nursing, wearing, entertaining Little Man in the evening. But all this can make me a very uptight and unhappy (physically) mama. So I forced myself on vacation to go with my own mom to get a massage. Let me tell you it was hard work!<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
My mom goes for massages every week as part of her physical therapy for her shoulder and back. She recommends every chance she gets that I come with her for a massage. I went in August with her for an hour long four handed massage. We took Little Man who was 6 months at the time and still nursing every time he even glanced at me so it was not as relaxing as it could have been especially since he was in the next room and I could hear them talking. I kept thinking I would have to get up and run out in my sheet to nurse my son. No chance for relaxation when you are betting that it is going to be all over in the next 30 seconds. <br />
<br />
This time I went with her and I felt confident enough leaving Little Man with my hubby and my father. My hubby watches Little Man all day by himself (my hero) so I knew he'd be fine. My mom originally thought that it was for another hour but fortunately for my sanity it was only scheduled for 30 minutes. The room that I was in was nice and the music was relaxing. My "relaxing" massage turned into a therapeutic deep tissue massage though because they discovered the knots in my back and shoulders from trying a not so great baby sling with a heavy toddler.<br />
<br />
Four handed massage is when two massage therapists work on you at the same time. They will either work on separate parts of the body at the same time (think shoulders and feet) or work together on the same part of the body (think back or legs). What is great about four handed massage is that you get the effects of an hour massage in 30 minutes. What takes one massage therapist an hour to do they can do in half that time.<br />
<br />
Because my relaxing massage turned into a "this is going to be a little sore tomorrow" massage this particular massage place offered oxygen therapy as a means to quicker recovery, free of charge. I was given a glass of oxygenated water to drink after my session. It tasted different - but not bad. I guess it worked because I did not feel sore the next day after my - though the 90 minutes of yoga might have had something to do with that too. I not convinced that the next time I find an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxygen_bar">oxygen bar</a>, I won't still shake my head and mutter, "Air is free people". But since that water was free, it was nice to have.<br />
<br />
So the next time you are thinking to yourself that you could really use a massage but don't have the time. Consider a four handed massage. You can fit it in during your lunch hour or in between work and picking up your children. Even better let your partner have some quality time with your children and treat yourself to a relaxing me moment.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo3WeIpvIu3NMo4SHodjwIuG_mNZOYCbFUmd0QiGAF9wG6kMJUzD3841Bn6E40GOd9kp0rU183IqW-Ck1_2uXKb99ZMNdAwuF18L8Id3tWC-hv3xdlC_cCC1iYVYhWkA2Kw-nQYdXxYo/s1600/mondaysmamas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuo3WeIpvIu3NMo4SHodjwIuG_mNZOYCbFUmd0QiGAF9wG6kMJUzD3841Bn6E40GOd9kp0rU183IqW-Ck1_2uXKb99ZMNdAwuF18L8Id3tWC-hv3xdlC_cCC1iYVYhWkA2Kw-nQYdXxYo/s1600/mondaysmamas.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Are you a Monday's Mama? Do you have a story to share or a product/service to make a mama's life easier? Let me know and your article or product could be featured in the next Monday's Mamas. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Monday's Mamas will be a chance for the working mother who identifies as natural or attached to share her story with the online community. It can be a personal story or it can be an informational post about just how does an AP mama manage all those tasks we have to do while still caring for our children in the way we have chosen? This is open any mama who maintains a dual lifestyle: working out of the home, returning to school or the work at home mamas (WAHMs).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">To submit an article for consideration, please use the Google Docs </span><a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dG9McjV0eVZXU3hROVR0Y3VMMzJPQkE6MQ"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">web form</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> or email your article to Shannon (artsymama.riley {at} gmail.com) no later then 11:59pm EST on Friday.</span>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-8741796139926836422011-04-27T00:55:00.001-04:002011-05-22T13:03:04.286-04:00Irresponsibility on Television: Sleep Training<span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span>There are only a few shows that I watch on a somewhat regular basis - mostly because I don't have time anymore. If I do get the opportunity and the urge to start bedtime is not an overwhelming draw I will sit and watch something. I had such an opportunity tonight and now I wish I hadn't. Fox has some hits and misses. <br />
I love <i>Glee </i>and had grown fond of <i>Raising Hope</i> the show about a single dad raising his daughter while living with his young parents and crazy grandmother. Most of the time the show presents parenting situations in a funny and amusing way. This episode was not one of them. It was about their attempts to 'sleep train' Hope. The parents are friends with an affluent couple who appears to have it all together. They get into a conversation and suggest that the family sleep-train Hope so they can make her more independent and a self-soother. Typically that particular family is held as a comparison to the main family as they look like they have it all together but they have managed to create a jerk of a son and are materialistic. While the main family might struggle with finances but their son is being responsible for his child and is a genuinely nice person.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
However, in this episode the writers chose to suggest that the main family was irresponsible and created a needy and wimpy child by allowing him to sleep in their bed when he was young. In the episode, Jimmy is still tormented by childhood nightmares in this episode and this story line is being used as a 'this could happen to Hope" if we don't train her to sleep on her own. They were touting Cry It Out methods as being what responsible parents should do for the good of their children. That allowing their child to cry until they fell asleep on their own was the only way to make independent adults.<br />
I do not understand why this should ever have been a story line for a comedy. It is irresponsible for the writers to put this out there when there is so much research on how Cry It Out methods are harmful to infants. Crying for extended periods of time triggers stress hormones and disrupts the brain chemistry - forever changing your child. The uninformed viewer who may have a child later on down the road or currently be in the midst of a high needs infant situation may think to themselves, "It wasn't so bad when they did it on that show I watched, the baby was fine the next morning." Come on people - do your research!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/949653/the_dangers_of_letting_your_baby_cry.html?cat=25">The Dangers of Letting Your Baby "Cry it Out"</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://drbenkim.com/articles-attachment-parenting.html">Cry It Out: The Potential Dangers of Leaving Your Baby to Cry</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.phdinparenting.com/2008/07/05/no-cry-it-out/">Cry it out (CIO): 10 reasons it is not for us - PhD in Parenting</a><br />
<br />
If you are a parent struggling with finding balance between sleep and caring for your child here are some resources that offer alternatives to the sleep training methods.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/ensure-safe-sleep/">Natural Parents Network resource page: Ensure Safe Sleep</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://parents.berkeley.edu/advice/sleep/alternatives.html">UCB Parents Advice about Sleep: Alternatives to Ferber?</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.theconnectedmom.com/2010/11/10-alternatives-to-crying-it-out.html">10 Alternatives to CIO - Connected Mom</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Image Credit: </span><a href="http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/131223-raising-hope/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">popmatters.com</span></a>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-65172984384774350072011-04-23T10:37:00.002-04:002011-05-22T13:04:15.916-04:00Quick Travel Tips from the Road<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/04/23/1154.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/04/23/s_1154.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
Forgive the quality of my photo - we are enroute home. So I wanted to share the little wisdom I have garnered from this trip before it escapes my road-weary mind. Here are my tips for traveling with toddlers, they are in no particular order.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Start your trip just before bedtime. This maximizes the amount of time you will have for straight shot driving.<br />
Use your best overnight diaper solution for car travel. Must wick moisture away from baby's bum and hold a good amount without leaking.<br />
Use your best barrier cream. Even if that is a thick non-cloth approved cream. Use a diaper liner, you'll thank yourself later.<br />
Bring good quality wetbags or ziplocks. Nobody wants to dunk and swish in a roadside restroom - but you are not going to want to sit in a car with the stinkies either (especially if there is traffic). If you are brave enough to do that you wouldn't want that water running all over your floor boards either. <br />
Bring an assortment of simple to eat/clean finger-foods. Traffic and boredom will happen. Food is an entertainment option (thank you cheesy bunnies)<br />
Keep a tote with varied yet simple (read: no parts or unattached accessories) These can be rotated as necessary. Note to self: Peter Rabbit needs a leash.<br />
Flushable non-alcoholic wipes for bottoms/hands/toys/noses/ice cream-in-my-hair/etc. are a good idea for travel. So is waterless hand-sanitizer. <br />
A car seat mirror is a must! You need to see the cute face he makes while making silly noises!<br />
A comfy and safe car seat is another must. <br />
Comfortable and loose fitting natural fiber clothing is a good idea. Put a blanket in reach also. <br />
Be prepared to stop often for stretching little legs and burning off extra steam. Plan for it in your travel time and then add two more hours to that time. <br />
Bring green tea bags with you. When you get to your destination you should give your toddler a tea bath. Let them sit and play in the water for as long as they like. Little Man had a bright red, angry bottom when we got there. 20 minutes in the bath and some "no diaper time" in the morning and his redness and irritation was a thing of the past. <br />
So these are my tips. What have you used on your road trips? I'm already planning our next trip to Nana and PopPop's so I'd love your suggestions. We've just encountered MORE traffic - hooray! <br />
<br />
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhoneThe ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-50377164919230947462011-04-20T09:33:00.002-04:002011-04-20T09:38:09.819-04:00(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Rest Stop Break<center><a href="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/show_photo.php?p=11/04/20/768.jpg"><img border="0" height="281" src="http://photo.blogpressapp.com/photos/11/04/20/s_768.jpg" style="margin: 5px;" width="210" /></a></center><br />
We stopped during our drive for a little fun. I think this was about 19 hours into our drive. Little Man slept most of the way and only one meltdown which was quickly remedied by Mama sitting in the back to make silly faces and hand out cheesy bunnies. On Friday we'll be doing it all again so wish us luck.<br />
<br />
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhoneThe ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-85912791817036798872011-04-19T00:00:00.003-04:002011-04-20T09:21:23.300-04:00Natural Parents Network Volunteers' Favorite Posts<center><a href="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com" target="_blank" title="Natural Parents Network"><img alt="Visit Natural Parents Network" src="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/NPN_Badge.jpg" /></a></center><br />
<br />
I'd like to share with you some of the best posts written by other NPN mentors, authors and moderators, all volunteers in this incredible network. If you haven't yet, I encourage you to join the NPN community on the <a href="http://www.naturalparentsnetwork.com/">blog</a>, on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Natural-Parents-Network/155221757831460">Facebook </a>and on <a href="http://twitter.com/natparnet">Twitter</a>.<br />
<br />
Joella - Fine and Fair - <a href="http://fineandfair.blogspot.com/2011/03/unusual-gripe-with-bebe-gloton.html"> An Unusual Gripe with Bebe Gloton </a><br />
<br />
Amy at Innate Wholeness offers simple tips to <a href="http://innatewholeness.com/top-ten-ways-to-be-present-with-family"> be present with family </a>whether you're having fun and want to soak it up like a sponge or would rather run and hide in a cave.<br />
<br />
Charise at I Thought I Knew Mamashares <a href="http://www.ithoughtiknewmama.com/2011/03/sound-bites-from-a-miscarriage-journey/">sound bites from her miscarriage journey </a> of forgiveness and gratitude.<br />
<br />
Shannon H - Pineapples and Artichokes - Let's Talk About Diversity - Shannon writes about how she is trying to raise her daughter to be <a href="http://maydela.blogspot.com/2010/05/lets-talk-about-diversity.html" target="_blank">accepting of everyone</a>.<br />
<br />
Jennifer - Hybrid Rasta Mama - <a href="http://hybridrastamama.blogspot.com/2011/04/dont-say-no-to-me.html">Don't Say No To Me </a>discusses the overuse of the word "no" and offers some aid in finding creative ways to avoid "no."<br />
<br />
Melissa - The New Mommy Files: Memories, Milestones and Missteps - <a href="http://teamkemendo.blogspot.com/2010/10/case-for-instinctual-mothering.html">The Case for Instinctual Mothering </a><br />
<br />
Amanda at Let's Take the Metro shares a comprehensive list of <a href="http://letstakethemetro.blogspot.com/2011/03/things-i-always-keep-on-hand.html"> all the food she keeps on hand</a>.<br />
<br />
Suchada - Mama Eve - <a href="http://www.mamaeve.com/index.php/caring-for-baby-a-toddler/baby-a-toddler-sleep/sleep-crying-and-balancing-closeness-with-boundaries/">Sleep, Crying, and Balancing Closeness with Boundaries<br />
</a><br />
Shannon R - The ArtsyMama - <a href="http://theartsymama.blogspot.com/2011/03/ten-things-i-wish-i-knew-before-little.html">Ten Things I Wish I Knew Before Little Man</a><br />
<br />
Kristin - Intrepid Murmurings - <a href="http://www.intrepidmurmurings.com/2010/06/babywearing_twins/">Babywearing Twins: Tips and Tricks for Babywearing Two</a><br />
<br />
Julia at A Little Bit of All of It tells the story of <a href="http://wifemomandmore.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/how-motherhood-came-to-me">how motherhood came to her</a> and how a miscarriage shaped her feelings and perceptions surrounding the birth of her first daughter.<br />
<br />
Emily - Embrita Blogging - <a href="http://embrita.blogspot.com/2011/03/10-things-that-make-me-happy.html">10 Things That Make Me Happy</a><br />
<br />
Lauren - Hobo Mama - <a href="http://www.hobomama.com/2011/03/postpartum-sex-vs-sex-before-kids.html">Postpartum sex vs. sex before kids</a><br />
<br />
As part of an ongoing series about balance, Amy at Anktangle writes about a daily ritual she has adopted to help her <a href="http://www.anktangle.com/2010/11/tea-time.html">maintain balance</a> in her life.<br />
<br />
Cynthia at The Hippie Housewife is reminded that while the days may sometimes be long, the years are short, and after a rough day the best thing to do is <a href="http://hippiehousewife.blogspot.com/2010/11/days-are-long.html">give thanks for the best parts</a> and try again tomorrow.<br />
<br />
Dionna at Code Name: Mama offers <a href="http://codenamemama.com/2010/06/02/good-job/"> 7 Alternatives to Good Job</a>: "Good job'ing" kids can be a mindless habit to fall into. Instead of using a generic "good job," try one of these ideas to really connect with and nurture your child.<br />
<br />
Darcel @ The Mahogany Way has the <a href="http://themahoganyway.blogspot.com/2011/02/bored-jar.html">ultimate boredom busting activity for children</a> of all ages.<br />
<br />
Alicia at Lactation Narration discusses the long journey of <a href="http://lactationnarration.com/index.php/2010/11/close-to-weaning/">child-led weaning</a>, during which she thought several times that her child was weaned before she really was.<br />
<br />
Mandy @ Living Peacefully With Children: Letting go of the <a href="http://livingpeacefullywithchildren.wordpress.com/2010/01/31/the-illusion-of-control/">illusion of control</a> opens up a an entirely new world.<br />
<br />
Luschka @ Diary of a First Child talks about the <a href="http://www.diaryofafirstchild.com/2011/03/24/lactivism-breast-feeding-bottle-feeding-formula-and-mothers-at-war/">battle between breastfeeding and formula feeding mothers</a> and the industry that stokes the flames of a war on mothers.<br />
<br />
Mary Michael @ The Accidental Natural Mama <a href="http://www.accidentalnaturalmama.com/2011/01/welcome-to-mama-hood.html">recounts her journey to Mama-hood.</a><br />
<br />
Momma Jorje shares some good news and important information about <a href="http://mommajorje.blogspot.com/2011/04/sunday-surf-just-lice.html">Lindane and Lice</a>.<br />
<br />
I hope you enjoy these links, and that they give you plenty of encouragement, inspiration, and a little something to think about! I know I've learned a lot from these girls and I hope you have too!The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-38765151991094425202011-04-18T00:40:00.003-04:002011-05-22T13:04:59.061-04:00Call for Submissions for Monday's Mamas<div align="center"><a href="http://theartsymama.blogspot.com/2011/04/call-for-submissions-for-mondays-mamas.html" target="_blank" title="Monday’s Mamas Submissions"><img alt="Monday’s Mamas on The ArtsyMama" height="150" src="http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l496/The_ArtsyMama/mondaysmamas.jpg" width="150" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="http://theartsymama.blogspot.com/">The ArtsyMama</a> was started as a personal blog for an attached parent returning to work after the birth of her first son. Shannon the writer of <a href="htt://theartsymama.blogspot.com">The ArtsyMama</a> had found an online community of natural and attached parents during her time home with her son but had not found one for working parents who practice AP. She began her blog as a way to discuss her thoughts and feelings, her triumphs, successes and even her pitfalls that came up while she was venturing into this new didactic of AP Mama and Working Mama.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
Monday's Mamas will be a chance for the working mother who identifies as natural or attached to share her story with the online community. It can be a personal story or it can be an informational post about just how does an AP mama manage all those tasks we have to do while still caring for our children in the way we have chosen? This is open any mama who maintains a dual lifestyle: working out of the home, returning to school or the work at home mamas (WAHMs). <br />
<br />
<b>Submission Details</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
This topic is open to all dual/attached parents. If you practice only a little bit of attached parenting or work only part time that is not a problem either. I am open to all mama's stories.<br />
<br />
Submissions will need to be submitted the <b>Friday before they are to be run</b>. If I have more then one submission I will post the earlier time stamp and save the later for the following Monday. To submit an article for consideration, please use the Google Docs <a href="https://spreadsheets.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dG9McjV0eVZXU3hROVR0Y3VMMzJPQkE6MQ">web form</a> or email your article to Shannon (artsymama.riley {at} gmail.com) no later then 11:59pm EST on Friday.<br />
<br />
Please write a new previously unpublished post for the Monday's Mamas. If you have your own blog and would like to cross-post I will email you with instructions on posting before each Monday. Please do not post your article before the posting date you are assigned. If you do not have your own blog please use our google docs form to submit your article.<br />
<br />
I reserve the right to accept articles based on the relevance to the topic and quality of writing. I also reserve the right to edit submissions for clarity (i.e., spelling and grammatical mistakes), but I will never edit the substance or meaning of your article. Articles requiring excessive editing will be returned and may be accepted at a later date. Please allow me sufficient time to consider your submission before expecting a personal response.<br />
<br />
What is not acceptable: Please do not use excessive profanity. Do not write about topics that advocate practices contrary to the principles of natural parenting i.e., cry it out or baby training.<br />
<br />
<b>Keep in Touch</b><br />
<b><br />
</b><br />
Bookmark this page and stay tuned for future articles. Subscribe to The ArtsyMama on Google Friend Connect, follow me on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/TheArtsyMama">Facebook</a> or through <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheArtsymama">Feedburner</a>. Put the Monday's Mamas button on your blog or webpage.<br />
<form><textarea cols="20" readonly="readonly" rows="5"><div align="center"><a href="http://theartsymama.blogspot.com/2011/04/call-for-submissions-for-mondays-mamas.html" target="_blank" title="Monday’s Mamas Submissions"><img src="http://i1120.photobucket.com/albums/l496/The_ArtsyMama/mondaysmamas.jpg" width="125" height="125" alt="Monday’s Mamas on The ArtsyMama" /></a></div></textarea></form>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-17812427009907588952011-04-17T09:22:00.003-04:002011-04-18T01:26:41.290-04:00Why Nurse a Toddler?<a href="http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e331/ekalma/carnivalofbreastfeeding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e331/ekalma/carnivalofbreastfeeding.jpg" /></a>This post was written for inclusion in the April Carnival of Breastfeeding brought to you my Elita of <a href="http://www.blacktating.com/">Blacktating</a> and Tanya of <a href="http://breastfeeding.blog.motherwear.com/">The Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog</a>. This month's theme is on Extended Breastfeeding. Please check out the other submissions listed at the end of the post.<br />
***<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2AMvdAeCcw5tIKOzzJeBwhYajksei9CpyZVwYO3c8GhsANkmGtyyUEzMj8I8djnUtdadTOmpp4IWWA1HQibgj2aMl3pO_kMG-5J_fJ68vWjmkyxSzw7nYsFdDwvuDKDyW8dXUJnN-ZXE/s1600/DSCN0428.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2AMvdAeCcw5tIKOzzJeBwhYajksei9CpyZVwYO3c8GhsANkmGtyyUEzMj8I8djnUtdadTOmpp4IWWA1HQibgj2aMl3pO_kMG-5J_fJ68vWjmkyxSzw7nYsFdDwvuDKDyW8dXUJnN-ZXE/s320/DSCN0428.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Man on his Birthday!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I guess to really answer this question I have to start at the beginning. Our start was extremely difficult - I was told I was not nursing him correctly and to use a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplemental_nursing_system">Supplemental Nursing System</a> and to supplement with formula or pumped milk. This was so awkward to do and I did not want to use formula that I resorted to exclusive pumping. I did this round the clock for two, very long and stressful months. During month three I finally got help from a lactation consultant and was able to learn how to nurse properly. At month six, I returned to work, which meant back to pumping. I struggled to maintain an adequate supply for my son while I was away at work. I ended up having to supplement because I could not keep up. At month ten, I read a great article from Natural Parents Network and began <a href="http://naturalparentsnetwork.com/why-nighttime-breastfeeding-so-important/">bed-sharing</a> to increase my supply and to get some much needed sleep. Finally, I was getting the hang of this nursing thing after months of struggling.<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynuRRB1biwGHuCe3sPCfIP3BtaPaoa7oaC7C7WDdM-AUg8rUrquDmorhqpbISK7qMW-zx06FItaq6ztMneowWqBfTkTZg2KOIUUiwv-YBckt4yvZcl1WagtyFd9p12nT-nqtAuZ2p3h0/s1600/DSCN0076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynuRRB1biwGHuCe3sPCfIP3BtaPaoa7oaC7C7WDdM-AUg8rUrquDmorhqpbISK7qMW-zx06FItaq6ztMneowWqBfTkTZg2KOIUUiwv-YBckt4yvZcl1WagtyFd9p12nT-nqtAuZ2p3h0/s320/DSCN0076.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squiggling during Christmas Festivities</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So we've continued to nurse now at thirteen (almost fourteen) months. I have finally found the light at the end of our tunnel that most nursing moms struggle with and overcome earlier. Our plan of action will be to continue nursing until we decide it is no longer right for us. Hopefully, this will continue to be his decision and not mine.<br />
This newly discovered ease of nursing has arrived just in time for toddler antics. My son - who probably knew what to do all along anyway - can now nurse while trying to stand on his head. He can walk up to me at home, lift my shirt, nurse and then off he goes. He can nurse while thwarting my attempts at writing (or pepper it with his own little flair). Or he can have days where he is so distracted that he ignores me completely and only settles down for a marathon feed at bedtime. <br />
Nursing, has magic healing powers. If he falls while trying to chase down the cat - nursing makes it better super-quick so he can be off again! If he is feeling awkward, nervous or shy in a new place, we can quietly nurse until he feels confident enough to engage the situation. We nurse when he is cranky or tired because he feels relaxed and peaceful in my arms. <br />
Our nursing bond has helped me as well. When I've had a stressful day at work, I can reconnect and let go with my child in my arms. His wiggling and squiggling remind me of the love we share and how much fun we have together. All the day's stresses melt away when I look in his eyes. That moment is ours and ours alone to share with each other.<br />
Now that we have reached this point in our nursing journey I have been able to assist other mothers who may be struggling with their own nursing relationship. I have been able to share my story with others and help them find the resources that they need in order to continue. I model breastfeeding as normal no matter where we are so that future parents see it and become comfortable with it. I share my extra milk with mothers who need it to feed their children. I nurse a toddler - because I can nurse a toddler.<br />
<br />
Carnival Participants:<br />
<br />
<div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Mamapoeki from Authentic Parenting: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Extended Breastfeeding?</span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Mama Alvina of Ahava & Amara Life Foundation:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;"> </span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://ahavaandamara.blogspot.com/2011/04/breastfeeding-journey-continues.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Breastfeeding Journey Continues</span></span></a></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Elita @ Blacktating: </span></span><a href="http://www.blacktating.com/2011/04/last-time-that-never-was.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">The Last Time That Never Was</span></span></a></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Diana Cassar-Uhl, IBCLC:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;"> </span></span></span></span><a href="http://dianaibclc.com/2011/02/24/old-enough-to-ask-for-it/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Old enough to ask for it </span></span></span></a></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Karianna @ Caffeinated Catholic Mama: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://caffeinatedcatholicmama.com/2011/03/30/a-song-for-mamas-milk/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">A Song for Mama’s Milk </span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Judy @ Mommy News Blog:</span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"> </span></span></span><a href="http://mommynewsblog.com/my-favorite-moments/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">My Favorite Moments</span></span></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"> </span></span></span></b></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Tamara Reese @ Kveller: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://www.kveller.com/baby_and_toddler/baby-care/extended-breastfeeding.shtml" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Extended Breastfeeding </span></span></a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Jenny @ Chronicles of a Nursing Mom: </span></span><a href="http://fabnaima.blogspot.com/2011/04/highs-and-lows-of-nursing-toddler.html" target="_blank"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">The Highs and Lows of Nursing a Toddler </span></span></b></a></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Christina @ MFOM: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://mfomnews.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/natural-term-breastfeeding/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Natural-Term Breastfeeding </span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Rebekah @ Momma’s Angel: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://ellenrebekah.com/332" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">My Sleep Breakthrough </span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Suzi @ Attachedattheboob: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://attachedattheboob.blogspot.com/2010/11/why-i-love-nursing-toddler-1.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Why I love nursing a toddler </span></span></a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Claire @ The Adventures of Lactating Girl: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://wp.me/pDcm9-xi" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">My Hopes for Tandem Nursing</span></span></a></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Elisa @ blissfulE: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://blissfule.me/index.php/2011/04/counter-cultural-extended-breastfeeding/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">counter cultural: extended breastfeeding</span></span></a></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Momma Jorje:</span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://mommajorje.blogspot.com/2011/04/extended-breastfeeding-so-far.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Extended Breastfeeding, So Far! </span></span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Stephanie Precourt from Adventures in Babywearing: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://www.adventuresinbabywearing.com/2011/04/continued-breastfeeding-straight-from.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">“Continued Breastfeeding”: straight from the mouths of babes</span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">The Accidental Natural Mama: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://www.accidentalnaturalmama.com/2011/04/nurse-on-mama.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Nurse on, Mama </span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Sarah @ Reproductive Rites: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://reproductiverites.wordpress.com/2011/04/18/gratitude-for-extended-breastfeeding/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Gratitude for extended breastfeeding </span></span></a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Nikki @ On Becoming Mommy:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://onbecomingmommy.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/the-little-things/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">The Little Things </span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Dr. Sarah @ Good Enough Mum: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://goodenoughmummy.typepad.com/good_enough_mum/2011/04/extended-breastfeeding.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Breastfeeding for longer than a year: myths, facts and what the research really shows</span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Amy @ WIC City: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://wiccity.blogspot.com/2011/04/extended-breastfeeding-as-mothering.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">(Extended) Breastfeeding as Mothering</span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">The Artsy Mama: </span></span></span><b><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://theartsymama.blogspot.com/2011/04/why-nurse-toddler.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Why Nurse a Toddler? </span></span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></b></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></b></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Christina @ The Milk Mama:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://themilkmama.com/2011/04/16/the-best-thing-about-breastfeeding/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">The best thing about breastfeeding </span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">TopHot @ the bee in your bonnet: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://itsallaboutthehat.blogspot.com/2011/04/from-mouths-of-babes.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">From the Mouths of Babes </span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Beth @ Bethstedman.com: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://bethstedman.com/?p=1762" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Extended Breastfeeding: To Wean Or Not To Wean </span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Callista @ Callista’s Ramblings: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://callistasramblings.blogspot.com/2011/04/pressure-to-stop-breastfeeding.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Pressure To Stop Breastfeeding </span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Amanda @ Postilius: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://postilius.blogspot.com/2011/04/nursing-my-toddler-keeps-my-baby-close.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Nursing My Toddler Keeps My Baby Close </span></span></a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Sheryl @ Little Snowflakes: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://lilsnowflakes.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/tandem-nursing/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Tandem Nursing- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly </span></span></a></b></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Zoie @ Touchstone Z: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://touchstonez.com/2011/04/18/breastfeeding-flavors/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Breastfeeding Flavors </span></span></a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Lauren @ Hobo Mama:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://www.hobomama.com/2011/04/same-old-same-old-extended.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Same old, same old: Extended breastfeeding </span></span></a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Tanya @ Motherwear Breastfeeding Blog: </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://breastfeeding.blog.motherwear.com/2011/04/the-biggest-misconceptions-about-extended-breastfeeding.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Six misconceptions about extended breastfeeding </span></span></a></b></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Jona (Breastfeedingtwins.org): </span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><a href="http://www.breastfeedingtwins.org/2011/04/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Breastfeeding older twins</span></span></a></b></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;"> </span></span></span></div><div style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Motherlove Herbal Company:<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;"> </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><a href="http://motherloveblog.com/?p=1062" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: lime;">Five reasons to love nursing a toddler</span></a></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;"><br />
</span></b></span></div><div><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Special Inclusion:</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: black;">Dulce de Leche:</span></span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <a href="http://dulcefamily.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-is-it-like-to-breastfeed-older.html">What is it Like to Breastfeed an Older Child</a></span></div>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-18673680300137159732011-04-14T19:34:00.000-04:002011-04-14T19:34:24.533-04:00Alternative Teething Solutions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOYBSwGomP_5FAc5lEV8oh6XNiwlkxXVwH2jCPCDZThcRb6FkFOt9neLou2UEUZ5KBmUTGbwFeAx42sVZa7zAYUGnpKlST2A7StKRNy8Iv335XUIA_YpIYmCwWIBKSPrJyusd3y4k7xg/s1600/P4050143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHOYBSwGomP_5FAc5lEV8oh6XNiwlkxXVwH2jCPCDZThcRb6FkFOt9neLou2UEUZ5KBmUTGbwFeAx42sVZa7zAYUGnpKlST2A7StKRNy8Iv335XUIA_YpIYmCwWIBKSPrJyusd3y4k7xg/s320/P4050143.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Last Thursday the FDA issued a <a href="http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm250264.htm">warning</a> about the use of the topical pain medication benzocaine. Benzocaine is the active ingredient in teething gels and other topical pain medications. The FDA received reports that have linked this drug with a rare condition methemoglobinemia, which is serious and can result in death. In the warning the FDA said that OTC or over the counter medications should not be used on children under the age of two without a health professional's advice and supervision. <br />
So what is a mother to do when even if she is advised by her healthcare professional she still has reservations about applying the teething gel? Here are a few of the options that have worked for us.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Frozen Washcloth</u></b><br />
That is always the first thing I reach for when Little Man shows signs of teething. I take a regular terry washcloth wet it and squeeze out the excess water. Then I stick it in a freezer bag and place it in my freezer. I usually keep one in there for quick use. If you don't have one already you can wet one and stick an ice cube inside. I secure it with a clean piece of yarn or string. Little gnaws away on it and is happy with cool, massaged gums.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Oh Plah! Teething Cuff</u></b><br />
I use the Oh Plah! when Little Man cannot get soaked because of a wet washcloth or if we are out of the house. Its shape and texture allow it to get into his mouth and apply pressure to his gums. If you haven't checked out my <a href="http://theartsymama.blogspot.com/2011/04/giveaway-oh-plah-teething-cuff-15-53.html">review/giveaway</a> yet - you should! It is great because I don't have to worry about it breaking or leaking water or gel because there is none. I can freeze it too if I wanted for some added comforting measures.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Nursing</u></b><br />
I know what you are thinking - "she's going to put a teething baby to her breast for comfort while he is cutting teeth!? Is she nuts?" No, I'm not nuts. Nursing offers yet another comforting sensation to teething infants and no they do not always bite. I did not even know that Little Man had his first tooth until my mom found it. Also Little Man and I practice nursing manners. If he bit me, he was removed. It did not take him long to learn not to do that. I wrote about our experience <a href="http://theartsymama.blogspot.com/2011/01/nursing-with-teeth.html">here</a>. Nursing is very comforting to a breastfed baby. The closeness and the warmth is familiar and can release a lot of the stress of teething.<br />
<br />
Now on to some things that I have yet to try myself but I have heard work wonders from other moms. These will be acquired for any additional siblings for Little Man.<br />
<br />
<b><u>Amber Teething Necklace</u></b><br />
These get a thumbs up from me without having to try it myself because I use an amber pendant for my own pain. Teething necklaces are small beads of baltic amber that are hand-tied into a short necklace or even a bracelet. Babies should not be left unattended while wearing the necklace and the necklace should fit well - not too long or too short. My friend Amanda used one with her son and she wrapped it around his ankle while he slept so he would not choke. Otherwise he wore it on his neck. They are not meant to be chewed on. The baltic amber secretes a healing oils when it is warmed by the skin. Your baby absorbs this pain relieving oil and it soothes his teething pain. They have been used for many years in European countries.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/spiralmama2?ref=seller_info">Spiral Mama</a> - from USA!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/purecomfort?ga_ref=auto&ga_search_query=baltic+amber+teething+necklace&ga_search_type=handmade&ga_facet=handmade">Pure Comfort</a> - from Canada</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/Balticbamber?section_id=7741671">Baltic Amber Teething Necklaces</a> - from Lithuania</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/Amberforsale?section_id=5473609">Amber for Sale</a> - from Latvia</div><br />
<br />
<b><u>Natural Material Teething Necklaces</u></b><br />
On etsy there are a few varieties of teething necklaces made from natural materials. There are unfinished hardwood pendant teething necklaces and knotted wooden bead necklaces in beautiful fabrics. Here are just a few of the shops I found with some really beautiful products.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/Rewoodtoys?section_id=7758475">Real-Wood Toys</a>- wooden pendant necklaces<br />
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/paintedturtlewt?section_id=7407556">Painted Turtle Wooden Toys</a> - wooden pendant necklaces<br />
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/tarynstuff?section_id=7222439">Taryn Stuff</a> - wooden pendant necklaces<br />
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/GritsAndGiggles?ref=pr_shop_more">Grits and Giggles</a> - fabric and wooden bead knot necklaces<br />
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/littleheadbands?ref=pr_shop_more">Little Headbands</a> - fabric and wooden bead knot necklaces<br />
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/KangarooCare?section_id=7883637">KangarooCare</a> - crocheted and wooden bead necklaces<br />
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/jhubb015?section_id=7997484">The Little Things Boutique</a>- Fabric and wooden bead necklaces<br />
<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/taprilcrosier?section_id=7959435">Marine Parents [the shop]</a> - Fabric and wooden bead necklaces<br />
<br />
All of these options are safe and do not involve your child eating anything or you risking giving them too much of something. There are also homeopathic teething tablets but I would rather exhaust all of these options first before giving Little Man something to ingest. What methods do you use? What works for you and your little ones?The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022960602821357869.post-85909114999563994802011-04-13T00:00:00.016-04:002011-04-13T00:00:07.954-04:00Wordless Wednesday: Duck Walk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8_dIHsAL3XJcoocniEGdVUt9OFNNcpGQ5NucUtpNB0l2MBJ3ql4yHmYpxya5jQhyphenhyphenvdad5nqvHFrQ1B9RdULJALpuaimIYDVxrgTQmKqWQvj-kafp6PhTSHSF7LDd0hvcfvWN7_J9x3U/s1600/P4120012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8_dIHsAL3XJcoocniEGdVUt9OFNNcpGQ5NucUtpNB0l2MBJ3ql4yHmYpxya5jQhyphenhyphenvdad5nqvHFrQ1B9RdULJALpuaimIYDVxrgTQmKqWQvj-kafp6PhTSHSF7LDd0hvcfvWN7_J9x3U/s320/P4120012.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLI9U0Zmh02-m-hyRBMIaRYCOzA3byL01y6SSGaKAEvY2SiBpGqpgubYW5LWkU0M7bBG0KEu8f7d9YM6HRN44PrKthlMuSl9rgccfBbU5WQaiSjH-eU-Ub-CgziLUc_Rm2ntSf1nHysA/s1600/P4120006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjLI9U0Zmh02-m-hyRBMIaRYCOzA3byL01y6SSGaKAEvY2SiBpGqpgubYW5LWkU0M7bBG0KEu8f7d9YM6HRN44PrKthlMuSl9rgccfBbU5WQaiSjH-eU-Ub-CgziLUc_Rm2ntSf1nHysA/s320/P4120006.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxa6E_mhxtuJi4E4NipHY-9Lm3wKTljjhfAkgP4IvJ_zmYfwwCb4COZUb2bx9LcFbXMmddKDxs-OeKADzRCbw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">This is the "new" toy in our house. This was my wooden duck toy from when I was young. For the past two nights we have run up and down the hallway with the duck. Either I push it and it waddles after Little Man or he chases it. Tonight he wanted to be the one to make it go. My hubby did not want the duck to come to our house when my parents moved. I think I made a wise decision to save it - don't you?</div>The ArtsyMamahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08671242376010823782noreply@blogger.com4