Pregnancy & Early Parenting
A few highlights of pages we liked:
Pregnancy:
The Momdays Pregnancy Calendar
The Visible Embryo
Birth:
childbirth.org - Birth is a natural process, not a medical procedure. Lots of info on Labor and birth. While there make up a birth plan with their interactive birth plan.
Breastfeeding:
The Adoptive Breastfeeding Resource Website - You can breastfeed your adoptive child!
La Leche League - Lots of information here.
http://www.breastfeeding.com/ - More information
http://www.breastfeeding.org/bfarticles.html - direct link to lots of great articles.
Breast is norm - Bottle is inferior - My little rant. Not by any means an original idea, but my take on it.
Co-Sleeping:
Ten Reasons to Sleep Next to Your Child at Night by Jan Hunt
Family Bed: An expert’s opinion by David Servan-Schreiber, M.D., Ph.D
Products we loved:
The Arm’s Reach Co-Sleeper
Avent breast pump and bottles
SewBaby Homepage - Sew your own baby products
MayaWrap Baby slings - There are a lot of other slings out there now . This is the one that we used. If you’re crafty you can try: http://www.thebabywearer.com/lists/Sewing.htm
Suggestions:
I suggest most books by Dr. William Sears / Martha Sears. I also suggest the What to Expect When Expecting series to round out your library. Other good books are the Nursing Mother’s Companion and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding.
As with anything, as my husband says “you’ll have to pick the meat off the bone.” There are things I don’t agree with in some of these books, but I suggest having the Bible , a well rounded library, and a good dose of common sense in deciding how to raise and discipline your child.
The best advice I can give is find an older woman in your church whose children you admire. Ask her what she did. And above all watch out for Ezzo stuff.
Be Wise, Don’t Babywise
ezzo.info - TONS of links regarding the Babywise/Ezzo system
Woman to Woman by Helen E. Aardsma - (not KJV quotes, however) She makes a good point. Who does the Bible say we are suppose to learn the womanly art of being a wife and mother from?
I do not suggest anything by Ezzo or having to do with Babywise or other sleep training systems. As I believe it is contrary to a baby’s natural sleep patterns. Young infants are not made to sleep in the same why we do.
I DO NOT think that a mother must harden her heart to her baby’s cries which is an infants only way of communication. Or that you need to break a newborn from the habit of needing its mother for comfort as well as food.