The Little Things

I am enjoying finding little ways to reduce my impact on the environment. A lot of them are pretty painless, like brining my own grocery bags when I go shopping (the hardest part was getting in the habbit of brining them).

For Pat's Fathers Day gift, I decide to wrap it in newspaper that I pulled out of the recycle bin. I even made a bow! Once he unwraps it, back to the recycle bin it will go. Bonus - total cost was 0$!

My Favorite Pregnancy and Parenting Resources

I know a lot of awesome ladies who are either pregnant right now or have recently had little ones, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite pregnancy and parenting resources.

I used Fertility Friend while we were trying to get pregnant. It has free charting software and a great charting course that you can take to learn the ropes.

I also really loved the forums at mothering.com while we were trying to conceive and then once I got pregnant. They have great infertility and TTC boards, and then once you get pregnant, you can join a Due Date Club with other ladies who are due the same month as you.

The best book I read while I was pregnant was Ina May Gaskin's Guide to Childbirth. It was incredibly empowering, and I really appreciated all of the research she shares in the book.

Want to have the easiest labor that you can? (Who wouldn't?!?!) Your baby's position has a ton to do with how your labor progresses. Spinning Babies is a great website for optimal fetal positioning.

Check out DONA to find a doula to attend your birth. What's a doula? (From the DONA website) "The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek meaning "a woman who serves" and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period." Having your baby at a hospital? That's even more reason to have a doula there to support you. (I'm going to post soon about exactly why doulas are amazing.)

My favorite baby name website.

Pregnancy pool so that all of your friends and family can guess when your baby will be born.

Ask Dr. Sears is a good resource for general pregnancy and baby questions. I also really like The Baby Book by the Sears family.

Hands-down the BEST breastfeeding resource on the web is Kellymom. The website has tons of evidence-based articles and the forums are great too. It's the next best thing to working with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC).

If you're interested in cloth diapering, Diaper Swappers has tons of information as well as really knowledgeable people on their message board. I use (and love) diapers made by a St. Louis-based company called Cotton Babies. They have stores in Missouri and Washington and you can order through their website.

If you have a stroller-hater like Samantha, then you'll want to check out The Baby Wearer. They have tons of information and reviews about baby carriers. Don't settle for the Baby Bjorn, there are much better options out there. I have used and enjoyed a Moby Wrap and Ergo Sport carrier.

An Accidental Hippie

I'm not exactly sure when it happened...my slow progression toward more natural living. I can just distinctly remember a conversation with a co-worker about things that had become normal parts of our daily life (breastfeeding, co-sleeping, baby wearing, cloth diapering, natural child birth) and thinking, "Wait a second! I've turned into a hippie!"

A lot of the natural parently stuff wasn't really planned, it just kind of happened. After having laproscopic surgery during infertility treatments that involved two incisions in my abdomen, I knew that I would do just about anything to avoid a c-section. My research about how medical interventions in birth often lead to c-sections cemented my resolve to have Samantha as naturally as possible, although the plan was still to have her at the hospital on post. Reading about some of the hospital's policies (no food during labor, I'd be hooked up to an IV and all kinds of monitoring gadgets, Dad's had to leave recovery at 10:00 pm, and on and on) led me to find a Midwife and birthing center.

When Sammy was born, she would only sleep if Pat or I held her, so she camped out in our bed with us. She also loathed the carseat and the stroller, so we bought a couple of baby carriers to make carrying her around a little easier. I found an awesome cloth diapering site along the way, and I loved that fact that they would save us money and look so darn cute on Sammy.

I guess I'm just trying to say that I didn't intentionally arrive where I am today, it just kind of happened...naturally.

I promise to not totally go over the deep end. I'm still shaving my legs and bathing regularly (more on my love-hate relationship with shampoo later). I'm just making small changes as I can to be a little kinder to my family, friends, and the environment, and I'm kind of starting to embrace this whole Earth Mother thing.

I also in no way want to make anyone feel bad about they way they go about life. I truly believe that, barring any extenuating circumstances like mental illness or substance abuse, people make the best decisions they can with the information they have at that time. Every family is different, and what works for mine won't work for everyone. I just hope to inspire you to sometimes look at things with a different perspective.