The Babymoon

The following was written by a new mama. I think this is beautifully written and a wonderful reminder to all women and mothers. Our society/culture puts so much pressure on women jumping back into their routines and fitting into their clothes. Shouldn't we instead be cherishing these first few weeks?

The past two weeks have FLOWN by. And now that they have, I feel I must offer all my friends who are soon to be mothers a bit of unsolicited advice: Let's make the babymoon official! When you get married, you take a honeymoon, right? You plan to do only relaxing, fun activities for at least a week, sometimes two and no one begrudges you that time...they wouldn't DARE...so it's completely guilt-free. It's a traditional gesture of good-will offered by society to a new couple. And yet when we have a baby, each and every one of us feels differently about society's expectations of us and how soon we should be getting back to real life. It's undefined, or rather self-defined. When Corban was born, so many people told me "enjoy that baby...they grow up so fast!" But for some reason I still felt guilty sitting around holding him, which jaded what little sitting around I did manage to do. And I believed people when they said I could hold my baby too much. When Jadon was born, I stubbornly held him all I wanted and enjoyed our baby time so much more but my mind was half distracted with returning to work too quickly. This time around I decided there would be no guilt and there would be certainly be no work. Only "play" for 2 solid weeks. The first week was the BEST...just James and the boys pampering us girls. Lots of family snuggles. Seventh heaven! Naps. Movies. Favorite foods. Meals from friends. Photo ops. At the end of week 1 James had to go back to work so week 2 of babymoon was courtesy of my fantastic in-laws. They occupied the boys with fun activities, made meals and did housework while I relaxed. Jeuel and I went out for lunch with some friends. We listened to Christmas music. We napped some more. The first two weeks have been such a healthy time of easing in to life with three kids. As I begin week 3, I don't feel overwhelmed, I feel refreshed. I feel happy and blessed.
By Christi Nelson

Natural Pregnancy and birth....

If you’re considering a natural pregnancy and birth, you’ll probably want to add home or birth center water birth to the list of topics you and your husband are studying. While this process of giving birth in a carefully controlled water tub has been slow to catch on in hospitals, more of them are offering this service to expectant mothers than ever before. This is largely because of the overwhelming benefits of a water birth for both mother and baby, which are listed (full article).


Natural Pregnancy Tips

Giving Birth Without Intervention

Peace on Earth Begins with Birth

It is December and is therefore the time of year when the whole world begins talking about Peace on Earth. Countless songs have been playing over the radio for the past month extolling the virtues of good will, kindness, understanding and love. I wonder, what would World Peace really require? What would True Peace entail? All year long—not just during the holiday season—the Midwives at Goshen Birth Center wear t-shirts that read, “Peace on Earth Begins with Birth.” It is a catchy phrase, and a nice slogan to throw around. But could it really be true? Could our ideas about birth inform the whole way we approach life? There are, in fact, people who dare to believe that the way we view the issue of birth has enormous consequences on our treatment of all human rights issues. There is a group of women who call ourselves the Friends of Goshen Birth Center, who believe that our positive birth experiences have changed us for the better. We are women who want to help carry out the mission of Goshen Birth Center because giving birth in an atmosphere that is encouraging, relaxed and joyful has made us more peaceful individuals and helped us to live out more peaceful lives in our families. We believe every person has a right to begin life in a supportive and loving environment. We believe that women should not have to fear labor and birth, but should be comforted by the experiences of others. We believe in the power of community, courage, knowledge, confidence and joy. We are the Friends of Goshen Birth Center, and we want to share our stories with as many people as possible. Not only do we want to promote Goshen Birth Center and the incredible group of Midwives and nurses who have stood by us as we brought life into the world, but we also want to promote the reality of peaceful, joyful, natural birth and encourage people that a peaceful world needs peaceful hearts, peaceful from the very beginning.

By Eleigh Tricker

Attachment Parenting

Note from the blog poster- sometimes we need a reminder to refocus, a chance to regroup, a refresher of the principles, or a simple reaffirmation that while we're not perfect, we're mostly on track.

Attachment parenting, a phrase coined by pediatrician William Sears,^[1] is a parenting philosophy based on the principles of attachment theory in developmental psychology. According to attachment theory, the child forms a strong emotional bond with caregivers during childhood with lifelong consequences. Adherents believe that sensitive and emotionally available parenting helps the child to form a secure attachment style which fosters a child's socio-emotional development and well-being. They also believe that in extreme and rare conditions, the child may not form an attachment at all and may suffer from reactive attachment disorder. Principles of attachment parenting aim to increase development of a child's secure attachment and decrease insecure attachment.

Per Dr. Sears' theory of attachment parenting (AP), proponents such as the API attempt to foster a secure bond with their children by promoting eight principles which are identified as goals for parents to strive for. These eight principles are:^{[citation needed]}

1. Preparation for Pregnancy, Birth and Parenting

1. Feed with Love and Respect

1. Respond with Sensitivity

1. Use Nurturing Touch

1. Ensure Safe Sleep, Physically and Emotionally

1. Provide Consistent Loving Care

1. Practice Positive Discipline

1. Strive for Balance in Personal and Family Life

(wikipedia)

Attachment Parenting isn't new. In many ways, it is a return to the instinctual behaviors of our ancestors. In the last sixty years, the behaviors of attachment have been studied extensively by psychology and child development researchers, and more recently, by researchers studying the brain. This body of knowledge offers strong support for areas that are key to the optimal development of children, summarized below in API's Eight Principles of Parenting.  (AttachmentParentingInternational)


Personally, I’m a little uneasy with the term “attachment parenting.” It feels presumptuous; after all, what well-intentioned parent isn’t attached to her kids? Still, I must admit subscribing to some degree to many of the tenets of AP. In an interview, Bialik, 36, noted that AP is actually a continuum. “It’s not all or nothing,” she says. “Some people sleep with their kids, some people breast-feed their kids until they’re 5 and some people don’t. The core principle is that a child’s voice matters.” Read more


AP Subject of Public Television Documentary, API Blog Editor Featured, Shares Experience