Blog
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 James J. McKenna’s book, Sleeping with Your Baby: A Parent’s Guide to Cosleeping brings light to the facts behind outdated cultural opinions and practices that have interfered with the most natural and supportive ways of parenting and co-sleeping.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
September 01, 2011
There certainly is no dearth of websites and organizations which offer information on parenting and baby development. However, the Attachment Parenting International (API) organization is one of the relatively few organizations which offer a coherent, comprehensive and practical approach to raising children, based on a very specific set of values. And what is more important, the advices that API puts forth, are based on solid scientific insights, developed over the past some 60 years.
The fundamental ideas of API stem from the pioneering work of Sir John Bowlby who formulated the concept of Attachment Theory. His work has subsequently inspired hundreds of researchers across the globe. They have strived to refine the concepts to make them even more applicable for parents and to assist early care workers in their efforts to help babies and children who have not had initially good circumstances.
In this article we will take a look at the founder of Attachment Theory, Sir John Bowlby
September 01, 2011
When my husband was out of town, I thought I would give the kids a treat and take them out to eat. When I asked them if they wanted to go, they all shouted, “Yay! A picnic!” They grabbed a table cloth and ran outside to wait for me to bring the food. I quickly put together a picnic with food that we had on hand, and we sat outside eating dinner and playing for the rest of the evening.
Since then I have thought about how much healthier we would all be if we went “out” to eat more often--if more families thought about going out to eat as a picnic in the park instead of eating unhealthy food at a chain restaurant. As parents, we can influence the attitudes our kids have about healthy eating and physical activity, and create a healthy nutrition environment at home.
Eat meals together as a family
Try to eat one home-cooked meal together with your family each day. Studies show that family meals are associated with improved intakes of fruits, vegetables, grains, calcium-rich foods,
September 01, 2011
Most women don’t even start thinking about making healthier choices for the benefit of their baby until they are actually pregnant. But, many studies have shown that preconception nutrition can improve fertility and pregnancy outcomes. In fact, combining certain dietary patterns is referred to as the “fertility diet” and may favorably influence fertility in otherwise healthy women. So, when you start thinking about cute little toes and baby carriages, start making some of these pre-pregnancy nutrition and lifestyle changes too.
Add vitamins to your routine. It is well known that taking folic acid before pregnancy can prevent birth defects of the brain and spinal cord, so be sure you are taking a supplement either as part of a multivitamin or by itself. Another important nutrient to add is iron. Many women tend to be low in iron, and iron needs will increase during pregnancy. Starting pregnancy with good iron levels by taking supplements or eating iron-rich
September 01, 2011
“Attachment parenting,” as we know it, comes from the work of Dr. William Sears and his wife Martha Sears, R.N. They were among the leading proponents of attachment parenting in America. But the original idea comes from John Bowlby, a British psychiatrist, physician and writer. Born in 1907, he was raised by a nanny in his home, where he saw his mother only at exact times of the day, teatime for one hour. This was not uncommon at that time with the upper class. He was very attached to his nanny, but after 5 years, she had to leave. He was devastated, and, at age 7, he was sent away to boarding school. This was very difficult for him and he suffered tremendously. He was quoted in his book, Separation: Anxiety and Anger, as saying; "I wouldn't send a dog away to boarding school at age seven."[1]
Because of his own experiences, he continued to have sensitivity towards children for his whole life. He did not consider boarding school a bad thing for children over the age of eight,
September 01, 2011
Translated from German by Rita Newman, Pediatric neurologist & ERGOparent Expert –
Attachment
”Attachment is a deep and enduring emotional bond that connects one person to another across time and space.“ ~ John Bowlby
John Bowlby (1907-1991) a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst living in London, and Mary Ainsworth (1913-1999) are considered to be the pioneers of the attachment theory. According to their extensive research, attachment to a human being or caregiver is the natural need of an infant in which the attachment becomes a safe emotional haven for them. Carrying babies in a wraparound baby carrier or an ergonomic comfort carrier will, for example, assist in the development of secure attachment as it brings the baby in physical contact with its caregiver.
The secure attachment
Particularly important, for the development of secure attachment, is the appropriate response towards the respective needs of infants.
August 01, 2011
Touch has been called "the mother of the senses": perhaps because it was the first to develop in evolution. Touch is defined as "the most general of the bodily senses, diffused through all parts of the skin, but in humans, especially developed in the tips of the fingers and the lips." The fingers and lips have a disproportionately large number of neurons that travel to and from the brain. Thus they are the means by which the infant does most of its early learning; hence the need for “baby-proofing.”
Touch is the earliest sensory system to develop. When a human embryo is less than an inch long and less than two months gestation, the skin is already highly developed. For example, when the palm is touched at two months gestation, the fingers grasp the palm. The fingers and thumb will close at three months when the palm is touched. Touch can have strong effects on our physiology. When the skin is touched, that stimulation is quickly transmitted to the brain, which in turn regulates our physiology.
August 01, 2011
For most parents, infant massage is a rewarding activity in its own right. Just consider the sheer enjoyment of touching and gently rubbing and stroking this little marvel of nature, with its lush, soft and delicately fragrant skin and all its subtle, yet clear signs of appreciation of being massaged.
Over and above being a mutually pleasurable activity, research into infant massage over the past decades has established a range of beneficial effects on the infant, and equally important, on the relationship between the mother and her baby. In this article, we will look at some of the effects of infant massage on premature and full-term babies, respectively. These effects include weight gain, sleep organization and mother-baby relationship.
Infant massage for premature infants
Extensive research has been conducted on the effects of infant massage on stable pre-term infants. Certainly, premature birth is no trivial matter. At present approximately
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
August 01, 2011
When should you start feeding your baby solid foods and what should you feed her?
Start feeding solids to babies between 4 and 6 months.
Introduce new foods 3-4 days apart.
Try foods several times.
Try several textures and flavors.
Avoid foods that can cause choking.
“The first year is a great time to introduce a variety of foods with different textures and tastes before the “picky eating” ages of 2 and 3 begin.” Christanne Harrison
Introducing Solids: Time for Tofu (and Other New Foods)
When my son started kindergarten, I asked him what he wanted in his lunch on his first day of school. He quickly responded, “Tofu squares!” He came home and proudly told me his teacher said that she had never seen a kindergartner with tofu in his lunch before. I started feeding my son tofu before he was a year old, and he has loved it ever since. Obviously, not all children are going to like tofu