transitions RSS

breastfeeding, communication, compassion, empowerment, Jasmine Wood, mama, mothering, Rita, toddler, transitions, weaning -

At 25 months, our family weaned little Rita (Yes, dad played a big role too) from the breast. I knew it was our time, but yet as we moved closer to her last nursing sessions I felt uneasy. Reflecting on this, I feel it was fear of the unknown. As nursing was the one factor in our routines that had remained constant from birth to two years.

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baby food, baby led weaning, breastfeeding, communication, first foods, food, keeping calm, parenting, puree, solids, toddler, transitions, whole food -

When your 5 or 6 month old baby is watching you eat, gesturing for food, and sitting up (or almost), you are probably asking this question. But, you're confused by popular feeding advice. "Give them iron-fortified rice cereal." suggest many grandparents and pediatricians.  Your friend Hannah's baby loves her homemade purees. Auntie Dani dropped off a bag of jarred and squeeze pouches of commercial "baby food." And, all over the internet, you keep stumbling over "baby-led weaning." Rice cereal, the headless dinosaur is still thrashing its deadly tail of malnutrition. The call to feed your baby rice cereal, as the magic bullet to fill them up and make them...

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community, compassion, creation, emotions, expectations, gifts, guilt, imperfection, kindness, love, mothering, new baby, newbabynewpaltzblog, parenting, transitions -

Who Loves YOU? Your baby, of course. Your partner, of course. Your friends... Of course! How about you? Do you love yourself? Most of us do, but probably not all the time. Maybe not even most of the time. Having a baby can exacerbate this lack of self love. Somehow, that little being brings out your worst: your impatience, your sadness, your anger, your low self esteem, your GUILT! You fall into the comparison trap. You see other mothers at their best. You watch TV shows and movies with "Mom Impersonators". Screen writers condemn and make fun of your very...

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creation, diet, farm, farm market, farmer, farmer's market, food, fruit, gratitude, guilt, newbabynewpaltzblog, nutrition, parenting, pregnancy, processed foods, transitions, vegetable, whole foods -

The creation of a child is a time when many parents take a renewed interest in the content of their diets, often starting in the supermarket. For a couple eating fast food-to-go, it may be their first time in a supermarket, with the intention of preparing a meal from food, not a box. Another couple might start buying Certified Organic food and "shopping the perimeter," where the fresh foods are. And others might pass by the supermarket, headed for the health food store. Shelf stable and highly convenient In the supermarket, you are surrounded by highly processed, salty and sugary foods with dairy, palm, soy and high fructose corn syrup, in nearly...

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bed sharing, bedsharing, breastfeeding, communication, Donna Bruschi, exhaustion, expectations, mama, mothering, new baby, newbabynewpaltzblog, nighttime parenting, parenting, sleep, transitions -

How can families who breastfeed get the most sleep every night? And protect their precious baby from harm, while doing so?

Soon after beginning breastfeeding, nearly every breastfeeding parent has fallen asleep while breastfeeding, without regard to safety. The stark warnings against sleeping with your baby, fade into a haze of exhaustion. It is a dangerous way of dealing with a life and death problem, that has a fairly easy solution. Setting up a safe sleep environment for your whole family, including your baby, is easy.

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