The Dream, At Last Realized

In 24 hours we will have our first African American as the President of the United States. I am thankful and proud that my son will grow up this new America. We may have some distance to go yet until King's dream is truly reality, but I am joyful to see this change that so many gave their lives for.



*My Favorite Dr. King Quote*


Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek,
but a means by which we arrive at that goal.
We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful means.

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Be Kind To Yourself

Some days, I lose my confidence in the choices I have made as a mama. For no reason, I question all of my 'momstincts' wondering how I might have done better. I am definitely my own worst critic. I think that this harsh self scrutiny is a symptom of a bigger issue. When you are the giver, it is easy to give so much to everyone else around that there is nothing left for yourself. Recognize this for what it is.
Be compassionate, to yourself too.



THAT LIVES IN US

If you put your hands on this oar with me,
they will never harm another, and they will come to find
they hold everything you want.

If you put your hands on this oar with me, they would no longer
lift anything to your
mouth that might wound your precious land –
that sacred earth that is your body.

If you put your soul against this oar with me,
the power that made the universe will enter your sinew
from a source not outside your limbs, but from a holy realm
that lives in us.

Exuberant is existence, time a husk.
When the moment cracks open, ecstasy leaps out and devours space;
love goes mad with the blessings, like my words give.

Why lay yourself on the torturer's rack of the past and the future?
The mind that tries to shape tomorrow beyond its capacities
will find no rest.

Be kind to yourself, dear – to our innocent follies.
Forget any sounds or touch you knew that did not help you dance.
You will come to see that all evolves us.

~ Rumi ~

Breastfeeding Mothers Need Support

The numbers of mamas who start out breastfeeding their little ones is at an all time high. The CDC reported in May of 2008 that a whopping 77% of new moms were initiating breastfeeding after the birth of their child. We now know that there is nothing that can even come close to the value of breast milk for infants. Why then are the numbers significantly lower when it comes to exclusively breastfeeding past the three month mark? I believe that this drop indicates that we are not supporting our new mamas enough as a society. Often, it is at the 12 week mark that American women must return to work in order to keep their job. Often times our families; Husbands, Mothers, Grandmothers, or Mother-in-Laws encourage women to quit breastfeeding. Without support, we find it is extremely difficult for women to continue with their plan to nurture their children by means of nature-given sustenance.
A lot of women have trouble in hospitals with the interference of well-meaning medical professionals. They are given poor advice to supplement their breastfeeding with infant formula. I have known a number of women who tried this route and eventually couldn't keep their supply going enough to continue to breastfeed. I am extremely thankful for my midwives, who taught me about the supply and demand system of breastfeeding. I was shocked at how often my son wanted to feed in the beginning. I was afraid that he might not be getting enough to eat. My midwife assured me that this is the way in which babies create the supply they need. Had I supplemented with formula at this crucial time, I may have hurt my chances of establishing a good supply and would have been battling the very thing that I feared, a low supply. In researching this post, I found that there is very little information out there for mamas who want to return to exclusive breastfeeding after supplementing.
A few tips I did find are:

*Keep track of how much formula you are supplementing for a few days in a journal or a note right on the fridge. Then, go on a breastfeeding mission, curl up in bed with your baby (and some dvds) one weekend and breastfeed as much as possible. After you have encouraged your little one to feed more, try cutting the formula you supplement by one ounce. This slow process should allow you to catch up with your supply without leaving your baby hungry.

*Another good tool is baby-wearing. Keeping the little one close to the bosom in a baby sling might remind her to eat and stimulate you to produce.

*Pump after your baby is finished with the breast. You can then fully drain both breasts to increase your supply, and also you will have some breast milk to bottle feed later in place of the formula.

*Be aware of the support available to you.
Find your local La Leche League
Often times, if you have health insurance, it will cover the assistance of a lactation consultant.


Is your pediatrician breastfeeding friendly? If so, they should be supportive of you working to unwean your little one. If not, maybe look for one who will be.
If through all of this you find that with your work schedule, or other conflicts you can't unwean your baby, don't hate yourself. Do the best you can to nurture yourself as a mother too. Sometimes, stress can be the biggest obstacle to breastfeeding.

Here is a list of those breastfeeding friendly, or lactogenic foods you can include in your diet:

Oatmeal-a healthy way to start your day and kick in those mammaries!

Fenugreek- an herb that can be taken or in tea form that you can drink

Quinoa- see my last post to see how remarkable this supergrain is

Omega 3 fatty acids- don't forget these beneficial fats! we need them even more while breastfeeding. They are also essential in the building of the brain and nervous system. If you don't want to take a supplement like fish oil or flax seed oil, eat salmon a couple of days each week. Salmon doesn't have a lot of mercury, but it is super rich in Omega 3's.

Water- often we overlook how dehydrated we really are. You must have enough water to make milk.

Not a food, but try to get as much rest as possible. It can be super hard for mama's to get enough sleep and I find that my stress levels are directly related to sleep deprivation. If you can't get enough sleep, try to at least rest and maybe some deep breathing or meditation.

More Links:
Supply and Demand an article

Starting Over an article

Le Leche League International

kellymom



photo credit: brynhild - norse mythology, valkyrie
by Birgit Amadori www.breastfeeding-art.com

Breakfast of Incan Warriors

Have you tried Quinoa (keen-wa) yet? This ancient supergrain was referred to as the 'Mother Grain' and held sacred by the Incan people.
I have been hearing about how nutritionally good Quinoa is but had not tried it until recently. After some research, I was totally blown away by the health benefits this wonderful food has to offer. Not only is Quinoa a complex carbohydrate, it offers an amazing source of protein (all nine amino acids), iron, and several vitamins and minerals including magnesium. Quinoa is one of those lactogenic foods so aside from all of the other healthy benefits, it can help with breastfeeding. Quinoa is also gluten-free and has a low glycemic index. I wish that I had tried quinoa when I was pregnant, it seemed so difficult to find healthy sources of the protein and iron that I needed.
I have started eating Quinoa as a breakfast cereal with hazelnut milk (you could substitute almond or soy), unsweetened coconut flakes, blueberries, hazelnuts, a little agave syrup (you could also use maple) and fresh ground nutmeg. It is quite lovely and a great way to start the day. My toddler hasn't yet taken to eating it, probably a texture thing. I just mix it into his oatmeal for an added benefit. I'd love to hear feedback from anyone who is also enjoying this amazing ancient food.

For a great detailed breakdown of Quinoa's amazing benefits check out:
http://www.whfoods.com/

Current Favorite

Can You Imagine?

For example, what the trees do
not only in lightening storms
or the watery dark of a summer's night
or under the white nets of winter
but now, and now, and now - whenever
we're not looking. Surely you can't imagine
they don't dance, from the root up, wishing
to travel a little, not cramped so much as wanting
a better view, or more sun, or just as avidly
more shade - surely you can't imagine they just
stand there loving every minute of it,
the birds or the emptiness, the dark rings
of the years slowly and without a sound
thickening, and nothing different unless the wind,
and then only in its own mood, comes
to visit, surely you can't imagine
patience, and happiness, like that.

~ Mary Oliver ~

How Clean Is Your Soap?

Before I became pregnant, I didn't give a lot of thought to the things I put into my body. I knew certain things were not good for me, but I must admit that I didn't really ever think about the eventual consequences. I knew that organic food was a better route for my body and the planet, but I never considered committing to eating only organic. Once I started building a new human inside myself it was like the blinders came off. I could suddenly see the dangers everywhere. After my son was born and I started breastfeeding, my awareness rose again. I am not advocating living a paranoid life rooted in fear. As with everything, we do need balance. Beside the air we breathe, water and foods we ingest there is another way that we assimilate toxins into our bodies and that is through our largest organ, the skin. There is a lot of controversy right now about parabens and other additives contained in skin care and beauty products. There are many who claim that parabens not only contribute to cancer but also disrupt hormonal balance. Of course the FDA does not recognize these claims...for now. The great thing is, for those of us who wish to avoid these risks, there has been a resurgence of handmade products on the market. Just like the artisan breads and locally grown produce that we love, we can now find wonderful body care products to nurture our skin. My favorite is Nakee' Natural. These products are made with such loving care from the best ingredients and you can feel it in your skin when you use them. To me, actually feeling the physical difference in my own body is the real test.

If you are concerned about what is on the shelves of your bathroom cabinet, a great resource is the Skin Deep database. You can search for skin care and beauty products and also see what kind of chemicals are contained in the products you are currently using.

Going G

Did you know that it can take a disposable diaper 500 years to break down in a landfill? Just imagine how many tons of this waste alone is dumped every year. It is somewhere around 3.5 million tons in just the US! A lot of families are now looking for alternatives to this gluttonous system. Some are switching to a washable cloth diapering system. Did you know that there is yet another option when it comes to diapering your little one's bum? When our son was born we wanted to use cloth and we did part time, but could never fully manage all that goes along with re-usable diapers. My hat is off to all of you mama's who manage this, some of you with multiple babies in dipes! Last year we discovered a more environmentally responsible diapering option than throwing diapers in a landfill, G-diapers. They have turned out to be a good choice for us. I must admit the real reason I finally gave G's a try, was that Seventh Gerneration suddenly made their diapers smaller and I got stuck with a whole case of diapers that didn't fit my son. After contacting 7th Gen, they basically told me 'too bad'. I thought that was a pretty horrible thing for them to do to their customers. It basically forced everyone to move up a size, and therefore get less diapers for the money. One of those sneaky tactics companies use when they don't want to be honest and just raise the price. But on the positive side, I finally took the plunge and gave the G-diaper a try. With the G, you basically have a cloth outer with a disposable liner. The kicker is that the liner can be flushed down the toilet, or actually composted in your garden (the pee ones only). Even if you do have a really scary poop or for some reason decide you can't flush or compost, you can throw the liner away and it will break down in, get this, 50-150 DAYS! I hear some folks saying that the water it takes to flush them makes them bad for the environment, but to me that is like arguing for disposable clothing. So until we all are using composting toilets, we are flushing our waste for now- but that is another post. For our family they have been wonderful, I won't say that they never leak, but I do think that can be a problem of any diaper type. They have a really terrific website with a lot more information, so check it out www.gdiapers.com
I would love to hear some feedback about your diapering experiences- good or bad.

Renewal Through Inspiration

in-spi-ra-tion (in-spuh-rey-shuhn)
–noun
1. an inspiring or animating action or influence.
2. something inspired, as an idea.
3. a result of inspired activity.
4. a thing or person that inspires.
5. Theology.
a. a divine influence directly and immediately exerted upon the mind or soul.
b. the divine quality of the writings or words of a person so influenced.
6. the drawing of air into the lungs; inhalation.

As we enter another new year, it is a time when we like to review and think about the changes we would like to make in our lives. This year though, I notice that there is a lot of talk about moving away from setting unattainable lofty goals, and instead seriously embracing ourselves as we currently are in order to create the very best version of this authentic person. Embracing change for the best as an ongoing evolution as apposed to a single yearly act. In my Yoga class last night our instructor talked about this kind of change, and not waiting for the flip of the calendar to make new. Each breath we take is an opportunity for renewal. As we breathe, we literally change over the gasses in our lungs, exchanging that which is no longer needed for that which is. As a mama, this approach really resonated with me. Sometimes stressors like sleep deprivation and busy schedules get us down and we feel ourselves slipping away. Renewal can be as simple as stopping, taking a breath, and starting over in the present moment. We often approach a new beginning by waiting to start next week, month, or year. I love the concept of constant renewal through inspiration.

Moonday's Child has a Blog!

After some prompting from my lovely friend over at Pink-Heels, I have decided to start a blog.

When I became pregnant with my son, I became obsessed with information on natural pregnancy, birth, and now mothering. I hope to share some of the knowledge I gained along the way and hopefully, I will be able to add something valuable for those seeking information on their own journey.

My favorite resource of all is http://www.mothering.com/ check it out for wonderful, and inspiring articles on all things concious parenting.