I don't have a very good overarching theme for these images.
I just thought I'd celebrate Wordless Wednesday
(in my usual non-wordless fashion)
by sharing some fun pics from Instagram
(@HoboMamacom & @PirateFamilyFun).
On a trip to Barnes & Noble, I was pleased to see this sweet little sticker in the window:
People have been asking me where we sourced this Rainbow Dash hoodie,
so I will let you in on the secret: Amazon. Bam.
I made this nifty little animated gif
to demonstrate how quick & easy
changing a cloth diaper can be!
Prefolds can get a rap as a type of cloth diaper
with a steep learning curve,
but you can see how just popping
a
soft and snuggly prefold
under a
snapping or taping diaper cover
is sposie-simple.
Or, after three kids in dipes,
maybe Sam's just a pro!
Since Mikko was a baby, we've been dealing with drama surrounding elimination. When he was a toddler, this morphed into an
unwillingness to defecate.
This is a post I've been debating whether or not to publish, and
one I might take down at some point as Mikko gets older and needs more privacy. For now, I've decided to post it, because: (a) You're not alone if you're dealing with this same issue, and (b) there's nothing shameful about toileting issues, no matter what age. It can be really worth it to talk openly about struggles with
going.
There are many reasons a child might have resistance to eliminating —
some physical and some psychological. It's appropriate to rule out physical reasons first, and I am
not a doctor, so
check with your own medical providers for advice on any physical obstacles. We ruled out any sort of issues with physical structure or internal disorders with Mikko, so we were cleared to proceed with examining other causes.
The most common cause suggested for trouble pooping was
not what Mikko's problem was. To whit,
he does not suffer from constipation. Any time we brought up his hesitance to poop, we got advice on constipation — whether it was with his pediatrician or other well-meaning parents. But Mikko's stools are soft and well-formed and come along with regularity. Constipation was
not his problem.
1 So what was?
Alrik is
tootling along the potty learning road, but I feel like I don't know where the next turn is. Maybe you could help me navigate!
We did a very loose form of
part-time elimination communication (EC) with Alrik from newborn age, combined with cloth diapering. I was much less active in ECing Alrik than I was with Mikko, partly because of some residual bad experiences we've had with poop withholding in Mikko. As time has gone on and I've researched it more, I've chalked that up to a sensory issue, but I'd had some fears that we'd somehow "caused" it by ECing so wasn't feeling as avid about infant pottying when Alrik was born, for fear we'd spur a repeat.
So, the good news is,
when Alrik is pantsless, he's a near-100% potty user. The bad news is,
when he's got anything on his rear, he doesn't bother to remove it before going.
What, then, is the next step?
Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the
best blogposts I've read throughout the week.
 |
You know what happiness is when you're 6 and 2?
Finding that someone left out one of those fancy mall rental strollers
in the parking garage and taking turns in the driver's seat.
And then … getting the $1 for returning it! |
Good links!
The chances are very good that if your cloth diapers have gone through something strange that you would never (deliberately) do, they’re still fine. They won’t need to be stripped or burned. It’s not a one-off that causes most cloth diapering problems: it’s the systemic use of things that cause problems over time.
Because what many people are too afraid to hope for, and too convinced otherwise to entertain, is the possibility of raising a happy, healthy child – complete with a compassionate and moral and fierce spirit – without punishing them, or at least while actively resisting punitive methodology. That’s right. No grounding, yelling, lecturing, time-outs, spanking. Yeah, I wouldn’t have believed it either. Until I started experiencing it firsthand. It’s been one of the most humbling and exciting and amazing partnerships of my life. And my kids seem to feel pretty good about it too.
I wrote this when I was pregnant with Alrik two-plus years ago and never hit "publish," I guess afraid my pickiness about clothing would come across wrong. I'm feeling willing to take the chance now that it will just spark some interesting discussions.
This post contains affiliate links.
I've been sorting through boxes of Mikko's baby things, trying to find (a) newborn clothes and diaper covers and (b) homebirth supplies. I've been piling things by size, and Mikko has been trying to help me, which has been not as helpful as he intends. "No! Not in that pile, Mama. Here, I do it right."
I'm astonished at how many of his baby clothes I don't like.
 |
Unsnapped one-pieces made for good
boxing robes for our bruiser. |
For one thing, his sex was a surprise, prompting everyone to load us up with pastel yellows and greens. Then, once he was born, it was all light blue, all the time.
Don't get me wrong — those are all lovely colors, in moderation. But I lean toward vibrant clothes for kids, and the pastels just look insipid to me.
And beyond the colors are the cuts. We got a lot of onesies and other one-pieces. I know people think onesies are the awesomest thing ever — except that we don't. I was doing elimination communication AND cloth diapering a baby who peed every five minutes (no exaggeration). PLUS, we had a huge baby who was wearing diapers that were on the bulky side — we could barely ever get the snaps closed in the first place, much less keep them that way. I intuited that we would need separates; I put several examples of
kimono-style t-shirts and
elastic-waist pants on our baby registry and pleaded in the comments that these would be "so convenient!" No one took the hint.
affiliate links in post
Merry Christmas Eve!
Tomorrow marks the start of the
twelve days of Christmas (yes, historically, celebrating Christmas started on December 25 and lasted even longer than Hanukkah! It would be a great way to avoid that post-holiday letdown, right?), so I bring you:
I wrote a new song based on
what our babies want for Christmas: nummies, snuggles, laughing together, going outdoors, and being close to us.
Because what would you do with ten lords a'leaping, anyway?
I
recorded the song in a video (below) so you can hear the musical version, or
here's a graphic, too, for your viewing pleasure:
Disclaimers below the video if you're into that sort of thing. If not,
merry Christmas, and enjoy!
Welcome to the Sunday Surf, a tour of the
best blogposts I've read throughout the week.
 |
| Vroom! |
This (terribly lit) picture makes me laugh for a couple reasons. It shows how
independent and determined our little 18-month-old Alrik has become if you know what to look for. First, the obvious: He's hogging the steering wheel of this arcade game (no money required for the under-2 set!) and quite volubly protested any of his older brother's attempts to take over the driving.
Secondly,
he's wearing Mikko's Spider-Man pajamas. Inside-out. And backwards. He brought them to me and insisted I help him put them on like so.
Speaking of two years old, I bet that age is going to be a treat with this one!
Since I skipped last week, I've got so many links!
Love to upcycle or want to start? Lots of ways to reuse objects to make useful new items!
A retelling of Santa Claus as someone who invites us to give along with him.
Santa is real. He is the spirit of giving for all those in need. But, we are blessed to have the means to create our own Christmas. So, it is our charge to collect items that we no longer use: clothes, books, and toys. Then Santa Claus comes to collect our donations on (or around) December 5th to redistribute to those in need on Christmas.
An answer to “why bother?”
How to green up even your cloth diaper purchasing and washing!
The other day I was talking to someone about cutting processed food out of my diet, she said (with some irritation), “Well, I grew up eating junk food and I’m just fine!”
It reminded me of when car seat belts first were installed (before children’s car seats). A friend at the time told me, “Well, I’m not going to use them and I’m certainly not forcing my kids to wear them. When I was growing up, we had a station wagon and we kids played in the back on our trip across the country and back and believe it or not, we survived!”
Like the author, I’m fascinated by the illogic in these arguments. And like the author, we’re also trying to cut down on processed foods in the interests of hopefully promoting health.
Interesting and compassionate perspective after 2 1/2 years of helping other women through a range of birth experiences.
Support your favorite bloggers:
If you're shopping online this holiday season, particularly at Amazon, please consider clicking through an affiliate link first — no cost to you, and a nice token of gratitude for your beloved blogs! If you have Amazon Associates or other affiliate links, add them to the linky Teresa at Mom Grooves and I set up:
Be sure to bookmark the page so you can continue shopping through people's affiliate links all year round!
Carnival news:
Our December
Carnival of Natural Parenting on
Childhood Memories was so inspiring! Read the links as you make memories this season. Here's my take, and the links to the other posts are at the end:
Stuff does not equal memories
The
Body: AMAZING Carnival hosted by
True Confessions of a Real Mommy and
Anktangle was also … well … amazing! Here's my post, with links to the other uplifting posts at the end:
On running my first 5K race
And, make sure you sign up for the Parenting Blog Carnival Calendar:
The parenting blog carnival calendar: Keep track of upcoming writing opportunities!
As a writer, you no longer have to memorize due dates for the blogging carnivals you love. Notifications will come right to your Google Calendar and inbox!
As a carnival host, you can snag more participants and keep them apprised of due dates and themes!
Check out upcoming carnivals in the calendar below, and click the "plus" button at the bottom to add it to your Google account.
To add carnivals to the calendar, see the
static page with an email form that takes you step by step through submitting your carnival information. Any carnivals on topics of interest to natural parenting bloggers are welcome.
I'm Lauren Wayne, writer and natural parent. I embrace attached parenting with an emphasis toward green living. 
