Swaddling

Our little guy swaddled for his photo shoot at 13 days old.

Our little guy swaddled right now as I type at 41 days old.

Do you swaddle your little one? Why or why not? What are your favorite swaddling products or do you just use  blanket? Do you have any swaddling success stories- like newborns sleeping through the night due to swaddling? ;) How long did you swaddle?

Our little guy usually manages to wiggle an arm or two out, and sometimes, depending on the swaddler we use, he'll even get a leg out! Sometimes he's too sweaty and I take it off partway through the night. I don't know that he oves it, but I don't think he hates it. 

Moms, please share your experiences.

Co-Sleeping

I have no doubt that this could be a controversial post, but I wanted to take some time to discuss cosleeping.

First, let's get some definitions correct. According to Dr. James McKenna, author of Sleeping With Your Baby: A Parent's Guide To Cosleeping, cosleeping means that parent and child sleep in the same room. Bedsharing, on the other hand, is just what it sounds like: parent and baby share a bed. The terms should not be used interchangeably. While bedsharing is one form of cosleeping, cosleeping does not always refer to bedsharing. 

We bedshare. For now.

Every parent has to make the decision that is best for his or her family. I'd like to offer the benefits of bedsharing here in case you are trying to decide what you should do. These are taken from A Look At the Cosleeping Debate, an article by Louise Edgerton posted on www.lifescript.com.  

- Ease in breastfeeding

- Baby sleeps longer

- More sleep for parents

- Decreased separation anxiety

- Increased bonding

- Increased skin-to-skin contact

- Synchronized arousal and waking

 

Additionally, "Cosleeping promoters at LabourofLove.com state that, in child development, babies who have a secure attachment to their mother or parents (meaning that if the child feels secure his or her needs will be met by a responsive parent) tend to be less anxious, more exploratory, and learn faster than other children who have insecure attachment issues. Cosleeping allows parents to respond to the child's needs almost immediately and with little fuss, reducing separation anxiety and increasing a secure attachment. Bonding between baby and parents is heightened from increased contact" (Edgerton 2007). 

 

And before you say, "Don't you worry you'll roll over on him?" I will address that common question with some thoughts of my own. First, when I'm sleeping for only 2-3 hours at a time before feedings, I am certainly not getting into deep enough sleep that I am rolling without knowing. Second, I sleep on my side with my baby safely in the crook of my arm, with no blankets or pillows around him to suffocate him, so that if I were to roll, it would not be on top of him, as that would mean rolling over my own arms, but rather I would roll away from him. Third, as described in Sleeping With Your Baby: A Parent's Guide To Cosleeping, Dr. McKenna reminds us that a mother knows where her child is. However, not all mothers should bedshare, especially those who are under the influence of alchohol, smoke, are obese, or have a husband (or sleeping partner) who falls into any of those lifestyles.

 

In the end, though, the choice is up to each parent. 

 

And until it no longer works for us, these parents choose to cosleep and bedshare. (And I would like to note that at certain points during occasional nights, our son does spend time in his bassinet, but as he wakes and becomes agitated, he is brought back into bed with us.)

New Resource

Hello all!

Last night, while feeding my little love in the middle of the night, I was cruising the internet and found a new site that I wanted to share. It has oodles of great mommying resources, especially for nursing. One of the most helpful things this site offers that I have not seen much of on other sites is video! There are several instructional/how-to videos you might like, so check it out. I will add it to my link list on the side.

www.pumpstation.com

On a personal note, today is my baby's due date! He is now five weeks and two days old, but is now "to term." Pretty crazy. In honor of this lovely event, he has taken to spitting up! The past few days he has spit after pretty much every meal. Prior to this week he would only spit up maybe once a day, if that. Can anyone offer any ideas why this has changed? At least it's not projectile...and we can both wear this lovely scent. :)

Interview with Mary from Pajamas and Coffee

Today's post is kind of a cheat, because I am just using a post from another blog! But, I guess that is kind of what this blog is about: sharing what I find on the fabulous interweb. :)

Mompetition is a blog that I feel often hits the nail on the head when it comes to all the different mom perspectives out there and does so in a hilarious way. 

This particular video, I feel, sums up my perspective on starting this blog. We each do things our own way and it's OKAY! I am not here to judge anyone's parenting, just looking to "throw out a life preserver" here and there and hope others do the same for me. 

Enjoy!

A new blog!

I used to be an avid blogger. I would blog daily. I would blog about everything.

A few months ago a moved to a new home back in the town where I grew up, and a few weeks ago we had a baby! Blogging kind of slipped into being a thing of the past.

Well, folks, I'm Baaaaackk!!! :)
This blog will hopefully be a little more focused on connecting with other moms out there and on being a place to share resources on natural mothering.

See the links on the side for some of my favorite websites that I research during middle-of-the-night feedings. :)


I feel so blessed that I am able to stay home with my little one and am excited about raising him.
I'm excited to share what I learn as I go on this blog. Stay tuned! :)

Here's our little booger, Burkley James. Photo by Heather Wilson Photography.