Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the
best blogposts I've read throughout the week.

"Mama working on the computer," portrait by Mikko
Yup, yup, this Surf is late. We'll just go on to the links, then:
I’ve been reading so much lately about paleo fitness. I’d really like to start walking a lot each day (but how to fit it in with two young kids??), and squatting the right way (not doing squats, you understand, but squatting throughout the day). Better for birthing, for health, and for pelvic floor stability!
I love these little experiments, like
Cleaning the Shower Head With a Bag of Vinegar. This one is one I totally do and totally don’t want to try. I do because, how funny if marshmallows magically make a sore throat disappear! And I don’t, because who wants to be sick? Anyway, I’ll have to remember this for next time! Let me know if it works for you.
This goes along with how we’ve supported Mikko in his new preference for unshorn hair. I’ve stopped asking if he wants it cut, and we defend him to anyone else who wants to pester him about it. I think it’s important with such little things to us (i.e., looking good to other parents) and such big things to them (i.e., self-esteem, body image, and bodily autonomy) to step back and let our kids have their way.
Carnival news:
Submissions for the October Carnival of Natural Parenting are due in
two days: this Tuesday, October 2.
Instilling a Healthy Self-Image: How do you instill a healthy self-image in your children? What do they learn from the way you treat and talk about your own body and others? Share confessions, wisdom, goals, or research you've done. Submission deadline: October 2. Carnival posting: October 9.
See our
Call for Submissions post for full details.
The Festival of Food is also seeking submissions, due Oct. 12. Hybrid Rasta Mama & Diary of a First Child are hosting.
Highlights:
I encourage you to take a look at a couple recent posts:
Let's push for better maternal health for all mothers
Become a Birth Partner with The Shanti Uganda Society and help bring midwifery-based, women-centered care to teens, women, and infants in vulnerable communities in Uganda. I love that they host prenatal education, a birth center, prevention of HIV transmission, a community garden, and even reusable menstrual pad kits for teen girls! Support this incredible organization.
Babywearing extravaganza: Resource roundup from our NPN volunteers
We've got all kinds of babywearing links here! Bookmark this post for information on safety, different types of carriers, babywearing in special situations, and the benefits of babywearing.
Uganda is a country that has been on my heart for a long time, for the high number of HIV/AIDS patients and subsequent orphans. I've learned that Uganda also has a
heartbreaking maternal mortality rate: Every week, 100 birthing mothers die there. That's 1 in 22 women in rural areas, and 18% of new HIV infections occur from mother to child. Far too many Ugandan babies are born dead or die in the first week after birth.
Just imagine the fear and distress of giving birth in a land where you'd know firsthand the outcomes that might await you.
And the answer for decreasing maternal and infant mortality is so simple:
well-trained midwives.
The Shanti Uganda Society, based in Vancouver, B.C., runs a solar-powered
Birth House in Uganda that provides
mother-centered pregnancy, birth, and postnatal care. Through the monthly donations of the Birth Partner program, the maternity center is able to ensure that women have access to a dedicated team of Ugandan midwives, a traditional birth attendant, and a lab technician, which improves birth outcomes and reduces maternal and infant mortality rates.
Births take place in a
private, home-like setting with access to an emergency vehicle should complications arise. Certified in Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV, the birth center is able to safely care for HIV-positive mothers. Both prenatal education and postnatal care are offered, and the birth center runs monthly continuing education workshops for midwives and traditional birth attendants.
We continue to be delighted with the inspiration and wisdom our Carnival of Natural Parenting participants share, and we hope you'll join us for the next carnival in October 2012! (Check out
August,
July,
June,
May,
April,
March,
February,
January, and a summary of all our
2011 posts if you missed any.)
Your co-hosts are
Lauren at Hobo Mama and
Dionna at Code Name: Mama.
Here are the submission details for October 2012:
Theme: Instilling a Healthy Self-Image: How do you instill a healthy self-image in your children? What do they learn from the way you treat and talk about your own body and others? Share confessions, wisdom, goals, or research you've done.
Deadline:
Tuesday, October 2. Fill out the
webform (at the link or at the bottom) and email your submission to us by 11:59 p.m. Pacific time: CarNatPar {at} NaturalParentsNetwork.com
Carnival date: Tuesday, October 9. Before you post, we will send you an email with a little blurb in html to paste into your submission that will introduce the carnival. You will publish your post on October 9 and email us the link if you haven't done so already. Once everyone's posts are published on October 9 by noon Eastern time, we will send out a finalized list of all the participants' links to generate lots of link love for your site! We'll include full instructions in the email we send before the posting date.
I am proud and honored to be a co-founder and part of the team involved in running
Natural Parents Network (NPN).
Natural Parents Network is a
community of natural-minded parents and parents-to-be where you will be informed, empowered, and inspired to live your values. At NPN, you can find articles about
Activism,
Balance,
Consistent Care,
Ecological Responsibility,
Family Safety,
Feeding With Love,
Gentle Discipline,
Healthy Living,
Holistic Health,
Natural Learning,
Nurturing Touch,
Parenting Philosophies,
Practical Home Help,
Preparing for Parenting,
Responding With Sensitivity,
Safe Sleep, and so much more!

The
volunteers who dedicate their time and energy to making NPN the outstanding resource it is also spend countless hours
informing, empowering, and inspiring others on their personal blogs.
Today I would like to share some bookmark-worthy posts that highlight all aspects of babywearing. These posts were featured on the personal blogs of the
Natural Parents Network volunteers and are some of my favorites. We hope you enjoy reading these posts as much as we enjoyed writing them.
We are
always looking for new volunteers so please
contact us if you are interested. Just a few hours per month can help other parents in a huge way!
Benefits of Babywearing / Reasons To Babywear
Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the
best blogposts I've read throughout the week.
What's been going on this past week and a half:

Bus to train to plane to car, with two suitcases, two backpacks, two kids, and a carseat!

Into the city for uncle-nephew bonding

Relaxing with Nana … and her fun toy

Snoozing with Papa

Home again, home again, jiggety-jig.
Links!
A Texas woman was arrested for child endangerment — for letting her 9- and 6-year-old play outside while she watched them from the lawn. Um…
Times have changed since I was a kid. And not all for the better, hey?
Huh.
When a baby has a pacifier in their mouth, it is difficult for them to be able to copy the actions of the adults or children they are trying to mimic, therefore making it harder for them to learn to express their own emotions.
[…]
The authors discovered that boys aged 6 and 7 who used pacifiers regularly as babies or young children were not as likely to copy emotional expression they saw in others in a video they were asked to watch.
I’m not anti-pacifier as once I was — Alrik uses one in the car (that’s where we started) and when Sam’s trying to get him to sleep. (Night pacifier use was fine, in the terms of this study.) I’ve also been known to grab a handy one when I’m simply nursed-out and need some space but Alrik still wants to suck. This sort of study reinforces my conviction not to rely on a pacifier overly much, though, because I do notice he can’t interact with us as thoroughly when he has it in his mouth.
I wonder if there’s any connection between parents’ intent and pacifier use in boys. Do parents want boys not to show as much emotion?
This is the documentary I just watched that got me all conflicted again about being a non-vegan —
Vegucated: T. Colin Campbell, Brian Flegel, Joel Fuhrman, Stephen Kaufman. It’s a really interesting guerrilla-style documentary following three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks, learn the truth about animal welfare and the meat and dairy industries, and see how they feel about veganism at the end of it all.
I came away with two distinct thoughts: (1) I should really be a vegan. (2) I really love meat and cheese, too.
A primer on what egg carton labels really mean. The truth may surprise (and sadden) you. While “cage-free” and “free-range” and “certified organic” can be meaningless as far as treatment of hens is concerned, “Animal Welfare Approved” means the chickens were treated with the highest standards for egg layers: allowing continuous outdoor access and room for natural behaviors and not forcing molting through starvation or performing beak cutting. (However, even then, all male chicks are killed shortly after hatching, which gives weight to the vegan side of things, huh?)
This is the type of eggs I’d like to buy. Or perhaps barter with some neighbors who have chickens. Or keep hens on our condo balcony…
Carnival news:

Submissions for the
October Carnival of Natural Parenting are due early next month: October 2. Stay tuned for more details and a submission form, but here is the theme for now:
Instilling a Healthy Self-Image: How do you instill a healthy self-image in your children? What do they learn from the way you treat and talk about your own body and others? Share confessions, wisdom, goals, or research you've done. Submission deadline: October 2. Carnival posting: October 9.
At LaurenWayne.com:
MomAgain@40 review: We are never alone — Poetry of a Hobo Mama
I'm so thankful for this review from MomAgain@40 of Poetry of a Hobo Mama!