Sunday, September 30, 2012

Sunday Surf: Marshmallows and your pelvic floor

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
"Mama working on the computer," portrait by Mikko

Yup, yup, this Surf is late. We'll just go on to the links, then:



Carnival news:

Carnival of Natural Parenting -- Hobo Mama and Code Name: MamaSubmissions 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.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Let's push for better maternal health for all mothers

Shanti Uganda Push Birth PartnersUganda 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.

P5240803The 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.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: To the redwood forest

A glimpse into our California road trip adventures from earlier this summer. We drove over the Golden Gate Bridge and over into Muir Woods for some green (red?) space.

driving over Golden Gate Bridge — San Francisco California trip travel


mom and baby at Golden Gate Bridge


family walking into Muir Woods


redwood trees in forest Muir Woods — San Francisco California trip travel


mom and baby babywearing in Muir Woods

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Calling for submissions for the October 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting!

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:

UntitledTheme: 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.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Babywearing extravaganza: Resource roundup from our NPN volunteers


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!

Visit Natural Parents NetworkThe 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

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Sunday Surf: From Boston to veganism

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:


moving sidewalk in airport
Bus to train to plane to car, with two suitcases, two backpacks, two kids, and a carseat!

boy taking subway train T in Boston
Into the city for uncle-nephew bonding

boy playing ipad game with nana
Relaxing with Nana … and her fun toy

baby asleep on grandfather's shoulder
Snoozing with Papa

boy on airplane with headphones on
Home again, home again, jiggety-jig.

Links!




Carnival news:

Carnival of Natural Parenting -- Hobo Mama and Code Name: MamaSubmissions 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!