Blog
February 02, 2011
I love February 14th — what girl doesn't — so I start experimenting early with new Valentine's Day recipes. For the occasion, I stocked up at the Farmer's Market on baskets of fresh, juicy red raspberries. I was mashing some with banana as the base for a Valentine's dessert idea I had when Chloe looked at the contents of the bowl and started shrieking "I want some!!! My girl went on to eat every last drop when suddenly, it hit me: what baby wouldn't love this bright, pink homemade puree that's packed with potassium and Vitamin C? Luckily I had pints more of raspberries on hand, so I quickly mixed up a new batch to taste for myself. What can I say, my daughter has good taste. It was delicious. Even though this recipe is perfect for babies given it's smooth texture and simple composition, there's no reason adults won't love it too. Swirled into plain Greek yogurt or even served on top of ice cream, it's a treat that you can serve your special someone this Valentine's Day or any
February 01, 2011
By definition, a baby carrier is a device used to carry an infant or small child on the body of an adult caregiver. On-the-body baby carriers are designed in various forms such as slings, wraps, and soft structured front, back or hip carriers. Varying materials and degrees of rigidity, decoration, and support are used for carrying the child. Here are a few common types of baby carriers and some considerations for choosing a baby carrier that best suits your family.
Slings
Slings are a baby carrying device comprised of a piece of cloth. The ends of the cloth are linked together, sometimes with a metal ring on one end and known as a Ring Sling. It is "slung over the shoulder and a pouch to put the baby in is formed at the wearer's waist.
Wraps
A wrap carrier does exactly what it sounds like: it wraps itself around you
January 04, 2011
Because of the unusually close relationship that exists between a mother and her baby, especially during pregnancy and breast feeding, all efforts to prevent obesity in your baby will have to begin with you, the mother and to a lesser degree with the father as well. This fact presents both a challenge, but also some unique possibilities to shape your baby's appetite, digestion and metabolism and to lay the foundation for your baby's lifelong healthy lifestyle. In this article we will take a look at some general lifestyle recommendations, and we will also discuss some less-known measures and approaches that will help you and your baby stay or become lean. First of all, if there were ever a time where it would be a good idea from a nutritional point of view - to make sure that your food is packed with anti-oxidants and essential fatty acids, the period when you are either pregnant or breastfeeding your baby is that time. And that means lots of fruits and vegetables, nuts, fatty fish, whole
January 04, 2011
We cherish our children and devote ourselves to serving their best interests in their health, happiness and development. When they are babies, we hold them close to our hearts to nurture our bond with them. In their maturation they insist on freedom and we gradually let them go to foster their independence. We give them the best guidance we know so they may make the best choices along the pathway of life. Our choices decide the quality of life for generations to come. Our Universal circumstances are now pressuring us as a collective society to choose between health and sustainability or toxins and conventional agriculture
Cotton In Our Everyday Lives
A helpful fact from the Untouched World website (untouchedworld.com) warns "pesticides used in conventional cotton farming can enter the human food chain. Cotton is grown primarily for its fiber and is regulated as a non-food crop. However, the majority of the cotton plant by weight ends up in our food supply. Cottonseed oil
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
December 05, 2010
This report is from the symposium on October 10-12, 2010 at Norte Dame University addressing the "Environment of Evolutionary Adaptedness . The conference was held to address the potential causes of the current epidemic increases in childhood diseases. These are a few of the many diverse presentations that I wish to present:
A 3-month-old baby conducting her mother's singing of a lullaby. A vast study demonstrating the links between childhood experiences and health in adulthood. Monkeys with bad genes that turn out fine when receiving good mothering.
Attending this symposium awoke feelings of both deep concerns about how many parents in the so-called developed countries, including the United States, give birth and care for their babies. It also inspired me and strengthened my dedication to the work we are doing at ERGObaby and also the work that we share in common with the Attachment Parenting International Organization. The symposium brought a difficult message
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.
The Second Secondary Curve: This
December 05, 2010
In the first half of the 20th century proponents of the Eugenics movement influenced nearly thirty state legislatures to pass a law allowing the involuntary sterilization of people with developmental, mental, sensory and physical disabilities.i This legislative trend was based on the belief that these and other "socially inadequate populations, ii would produce offspring that would be burdensome to society. The result of this policy was the forced sterilization of 60,000 American citizens, some as young as ten years old. Add to this the forced institutionalization of millions of disabled people and you see that parenting with a disability was a rare opportunity. However, by the 1970's most sterilization laws were struck down on procedural grounds and rules were adopted that prohibited sterilization by institutions receiving federal funding. Moreover, the de-institutionalization movement drastically increased the number of people with disabilities living in communities. In the 1980's the
December 05, 2010
Handicapped and crippled used to be terms for the disabled and now "Special Needs has become an umbrella underneath which a staggering array of diagnoses can be placed. Children with special needs may have mild learning disabilities or profound mental retardation; food allergies or terminal illnesses; developmental delays or serious psychiatric problems. (Terry Mauro, About.com) In almost every community in the United States there are parent support groups and other community organizations directly involved in providing services to families with the aim of achieving full inclusion in the social and educational life of the community for special needs children. Easter Seals www.easterseals.com is the leading non-profit provider of services for individuals with autism, developmental disabilities, physical and mental disabilities and other special needs. It was founded in 1919 in Ohio by Edgar "Daddy Allen, a man who saw that children with disabilities were often hidden from public view. In
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