Health & Wellness
Health & Wellness
December 01, 2011
Babies have many ways of communicating with us. They have distinctive cries to tell us when they’re hungry, tired, or gassy, and when they’ve soiled their diaper.
The cry of a baby who has colic, however, does not fit into any of these categories. I will never forget the first time a baby who had true colic was placed into my hands. Her cry was piercing and relentless, and none of her parents’ attempts to soothe her were working. It was obvious that she was in extreme discomfort.
Her body was rigid and her abdomen was hardened with gas. Her legs and feet were flexed, her back was arched, and her fingers were clenched into tiny fists. Her crying seemed to come from the depths of her being. It is said that when a baby has true colic, their uncontrollable and inconsolable crying lasts for more than three hours a day, at least three days a week, and continues for more than three weeks. Dr. Morris Wessel proposed this widely used definition of baby colic over fifty years ago.
Since
Health & Wellness
Sleep
October 01, 2011
Recently, there has become a clear distinction between co-sleeping and what experts now refer to as bed-sharing. In order to decide what is best for your family, it is important to know the difference.
According to Attachment Parenting International (API), the definitions are as follows:
“Co-sleeping refers to sleeping in ‘close proximity,’ which means the child is on a separate sleep surface in the same room as the parents.” “Bed-sharing, also called the ‘family bed,’ describes a sleep arrangement where the family members sleep on the same surface.”
While new parents may feel pressured to have their baby “sleep through the night,” this scenario describes a myth. Frequent waking occurs for myriad reasons, and throughout most of the phases of a baby’s growth and development into childhood. Most parents find it less disruptive to sleep in close proximity to the baby, to accommodate for nighttime feeding and other needs with minimal interruption. In fact, babies often
Health & Wellness
Sleep
October 01, 2011
“Most of the present world cultures practice forms of cosleeping and there are very few cultures in the world for which it would ever even be thought acceptable or desirable to have babies sleep alone.” Dr. James J. McKenna’s book, Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent’s Guide to Cosleeping brings light to the facts behind outdated cultural opinions and practices that have interfered with the most natural and supportive ways of parenting and co-sleeping. With passion for his subject, Dr. McKenna includes guidance on how to support babies getting optimal sleep, nourishment during the night, and how best to respond to little ones who are crying. Letting babies “cry it out” is not the way, according to decades of research and eons of experience throughout human evolution. Our nature is to snuggle, as our biology confirms. Snuggle, don’t struggle.
“All mammals cosleep in one form or another.” “The
Health & Wellness
August 01, 2011
Vimala McClure was a young woman in her early 20’s when she went to India and cared for babies in a large children’s home. Despite the very rustic living situation, and the limited amount of food for the babies, they seemed to thrive. She wondered why, until the evening she saw the older girls massaging the babies before putting them to bed. “The babies loved it,” Vimala said, “and they went right to sleep afterwards.” So when Vimala returned to the US, and had babies of her own, she chose to massage them, and in the process brought infant massage to the West.
The massage Vimala designed, in those deep moments listening to her own babies, combined together the Indian infant massage techniques she had learned at the children’s home, with Swedish massage, reflexology and yoga. She collected information about babies’ amazing response to touch, and wrote her classic book, Infant Massage: A Handbook for Loving Parents. That book started a movement. The massage she developed, responding to
Health & Wellness
March 04, 2011
Yes, that’s it. The parenting tip we can all celebrate: “Simplify, simplify, simplify,” is sage wisdom from visionary architect, Nader Khalili.
A Comforting To-Do List
Imagine your list beginning with “Simplify, simplify, simplify.” Repeating these words consistently brings order to any list of things to do. No matter what crowds the brain demanding a brilliant solution by noon; no matter how many errands are required before the evening traffic rush home, these 3 words always calm and clarify the next simple baby step to take.
Healthy Child’s 2011 calendar is chock full of ways to simplify and amplify your family’s wellbeing. Topics include: “Growing Your Own Food” in May, “Potty Training” in July, and how to enjoy a “Green Halloween” and giving “Green Gifts” for the holidays. These are just a few of their weekly Twitter party offerings. Healthy Child is also advocating for The Safe Chemical Act, creating new safer policies for our children in our legal system. (healthychild.org)
Health & Wellness
March 03, 2011
For nearly 20 years, Healthy Child Healthy World has selectively collaborated with groups and companies that focus on reducing and eliminating chemical exposure in home products, furnishings, personal care products, and food. In doing so, the organization supports protective policies, and engages the public to take action in their personal lives by making greener, cleaner, and safer choices in simple but meaningful ways. It is a national, non- profit 501c organization headquartered in Los Angeles, CA. It is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors and distinguished group of advisors and is strengthened by community and corporate partners. (healthychild.org)
Transmuting Tragedy into Positive Change
“The greatest tragedy is for a parent to bury a child. It’s not natural.” I’ve heard this said repeatedly throughout my life. Just as often, I’ve witnessed the flow of profound love combined with grief, caused by such losses, transmuted and redirected
Health & Wellness
March 03, 2011
According to Stuart Levy of Tufts University School of Medicine, by contributing to the rise of drug-resistant bacteria, antibacterial soaps and hand sanitizers are contributing to a list of dangers, including resistance to antibiotics. Other concerns come from a prevalent active ingredient commonly found in antibacterial hand sanitizers, a chemical called triclosan. Evidence of triclosan disrupting the endocrine system and altering hormone regulation has been established through scientific studies using animals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
With these concerns, people are beginning to wonder what’s worse, the germs or the chemicals we use to kill them?
Janelle Sorensen, Chief Communications Officer for Healthy Child offers this: “We've evolved over millions of years alongside germs and microbes to the point that most germs and microbes are now either beneficial or benign to us. In fact, according to Scientific
Health & Wellness
December 05, 2010
As a part of the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, the federal government helps support state and local agencies to provide early intervention services to children with disabilities and developmental delays. Early intervention services serve children from birth to age three and sometimes even up to five years of age, depending on the state. Children receiving early intervention services often have conditions including low birth weight, Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, expressive language delays, visual impairment, hearing impairment, autism, or other developmental concerns. Comprehensive Individualized Family Service Plans are developed to provide therapeutic services designed to meet the child's needs. Research shows that the younger a child is when service begins, the better the outcome.
Imua Family Services is the non-profit organization that provides early intervention services to our local community here on Maui. They first operated as the Maui branch of the Hawaii Chapter
Health & Wellness
December 05, 2010
Do you know that how you care for your newborn baby can affect the development of its spine?
When the baby is in the womb, and when they are first born, the spine is in a "C configuration. This is called the primary curve. The secondary curves have not yet been formed and the early days and months of the baby's life are of the utmost importance in the development of these curves.
The First Secondary Curve: Most parents realize that their newborn baby cannot support the weight of its head. At this time the baby's head must be supported. It is important to be careful how you hold the baby, always caring to support the neck and head. The baby's little neck continues to wobble and they strain to hold their heads upright. As the baby gets older, these motions and exercises develop the muscles of the neck and begin to promote the development of the first secondary curve of the spine which is the arch of the neck.
Health & Wellness
November 06, 2010
In May 2010 Maui based chiropractor, Tracey Wright, D.C., embarked on a journey to Fortaleza, Brazil. There she joined 15 other chiropractors from around the world. The bond that magnetized them was AdjustWorld, a non-profit organization whose mission is to share Chiropractic throughout the world in order to allow individuals of all ages to clearany interference in their bodies and allow Life to flow as it was intended. AdjustWorld knows that as people are adjusted they remember who they are and they choose to express greater levels of Love towards themselves and their fellow human beings. They will make higher conscious choices about our "internal environment that will automatically change our choices toward our external environment.
I was honored to be a part of the team chosen to treat the local community in Fortaleza. With a population of over 2.5 million, it is the 5th largest city in Brazil and one of the highest demographic densities in the country. This is the