Due to a series of events causing anxiety, fear and confusion in a person who feels all of those very easily … we will be giving HypnoBirthing a go for our second baby.

I’ve been reading many books as you all know, on parenting, but have really only just started reading on birth.

I’ve started with the Sears “Birth Book” which is great and I’ve been reading and re-reading the section on VBAC’s as well as visiting The Human Pacifier who often has really great for inspiration with videos there…most of the time I end up crying over.

I’ve had a few others from my Midwife which I’ve read as well.

Over the past year and a bit I’ve been using Meditainment and have found it very useful in calming me down or getting me to sleep, so I feel that HypnoBirthing will probably do the same for me. (I’m just really sad that Meditainment does not have a Birthing section…oh well)

I found this article PDF interesting with the history as well as the different cultures view points of breastfeeding.

In reading the book Baby Matters  I understand a little more of my own culture I see how we are influenced by marketing from Formula company’s as well as our culture becoming more needful of our perceived ‘own time’.

What is in the PDF
When should weaning from Mother’s milk occur?
When are we naturally intended to begin weaning?

When is our natural final weaning?

How have humans weaned through the millennia?

What do the “experts” say?

What does the research show?

If we read this quote from the World Health Organisation site
“….Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed(1) for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health(2). Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond. Exclusive breastfeeding from birth is possible except for a few medical conditions, and unrestricted exclusive breastfeeding results in ample milk production….”

I found both the book and the PDF very interesting as well as the recommendation’s from the World Health Organisation…which I would also like to note that the WHO writes for everyone and the last bit of the quote is written for our western culture which is affected by the ‘lack of milk’ syndrome.

My Dad Merlin has joined the blog world.

Have a look at his book reviews. He is currently reading about children and the behavioural affects that TV has on their developing brains. I’ll be flicking him a few more of my books so he can review them too….over time.

Merlin’s Book Reviews

I’ve begun reading this book by Sue Gerhardt she also has her own web site

I’m really interested in the brain and how it develops and why we do things in a certain way…why we react in ways we do.

I feel that this book is really important and also works well with Pam Leo and Naomi Aldort. All about how we are “put together” and its right from the very beginning of life.

Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves: Transforming Parent-child Relationships from Reaction And Struggle to Freedom, Power And Joy

This book has been really amazing for me!

I have been able to see things about myself and understand why I am the way I am. I am able to stop or heal my own hurts and with hope not pass them on to my children.

I feel that this book has done a lot to heal my depression, and also give an in-site to my own brain.

There are HEAPS of tips on how to talk to your children and how to work with them.

This book I feel has a great resemblance to Pam Leo’s book. Both are very good. Pam’s is short and to the point for people who need just a kick start into respecting children and Naomi’s book is the deep in-site.

Naomi talks about our almost subconscious way of talking to children and in some case our other loved ones. We use fear to force control, we use shame ie …oh you didn’t eat all your dinner or oh look at you your grub no one will want to hug that mess. Naomi talks a lot about crying as well which I find really important. No one should be left alone to cry (unless this is what they really want). Many parents will do anything to distract their child from crying instead of letting the child relase what ever hurt they have in a safe and loveing environment – meaning parents holding, sitting and listening or being close by to be there once they have let loose all their hurts.

This is a big area and becasue of this book I might right a lot more about crying and the need to understand our emotions.

A GREAT BOOK!

Jan Hunt

This is a short book and very easy to read. There are LOTs of things to think about in this book along with many good little tips as well. At some points through the book I felt a little uncoumfortable it challanged my thinking and like many other times I’ve changed my point of view on a few things.

She has many little story’s  to share like this one “Learning Disability”: A Rose by Another Name

As with just about every Attachement Parenting book they are full of advice and ideas not must do’s and must not do’s

Meredith F. Small is the Author of Our Babies Ourselves and this is a short little interview she has had.

Please remember that each person has their own area which they are good/educated in. I love Meredith’s book and I totally recommend it to anyone even if you are not a parent but I felt that she talked very little about the psychological side of each parenting style…meaning did the parenting styles which each culture imposed on their children give them the type of child they (the parents) wanted? Be it integrated be it distant be it what ever.

Each person who has studied in one or a few areas extensively (like Meredith) can offer us a part of the puzzle…then we as parents can put them all together creating…using Meredith’s words as a “care-package” that we want for our children.

I’ve only read half the book but already I’m totally immersed in this book and really wish I had this information at my figure tips before Ara but…better late than never as they say.

“….I began by digging into medical, psychology, and science research journals. It was not long before I realized there was a tremendous bulk of research available, and the direction it pointed was very distinct. I found a lot of amazing information that is just not made available to parents.

I began to recognize that many of the very common problems parents have with babies today stem from the new “modern” parenting practices promoted over the last century (by industry-educated, predominantly male doctors) — colic, rashes, diarrhea, constipation, sleeplessness, ADHD, diabetes, obesity, hyperactivity, antisocial behavior — and then continuing into adult problems of high blood pressure, depression, eating disorders, and inability to form strong bonds with a mate.

Parents have been encouraged that responding to their baby’s pleas for affection and attention would only “spoil” them. Yet, I have found no sound research to support any long-term benefits from such detached parenting. In fact, a mountain of studies suggest quite the opposite — that responsive parenting is best….”

A woman after my own heart…I like to see the information and understand the history before I can make up my own mind about information give especialy from well meaning friends and Plunket.

Please visit her web site - Yes I know its not all that great to look at but the information is great…remember to keep in mind there is No money in basic parenting.

“….Does your baby fuss, cry, and want to be held all the time? Do you have an older child who’s stubborn, opinionated, demanding – a real handful?

In Parenting the Fussy Baby and High-Need Child, William and Martha Sears acknowledge the difficulties you face but show you how responsive parenting can turn these challenges into advantages for both you and your child. They demonstrate that despite tough beginnings, these children develop wonderful sensitivity, confidence, trust, and other desirable qualities. In fact, the Searses prove that difficult children can provide the most rewarding parenting experiences of all…..”

We have found this book a GOD SEND! Ara is a classic Highneeds baby and this is a great manual for us…..and yes things can be very trying at times but with this book we can now see the good side.

This book can be brought from the Sears or from Amazon

“….Dr. Bill and Martha Sears draw from their vast experience both as medical professionals and as the parents of eight children to provide comprehensive information on virtually every aspect of infant care. Working for the first time with their sons Dr. Bob and Dr. Jim, who are both pediatric specialists in their own right, the Searses have produced a completely updated guide that is unrivaled in its scope and authority. The Baby Book focuses on the essential needs of babies – eating, sleeping, development, health, and comfort – as it addresses the questions of greatest concern to today’s parents…..”

We love this book even though we in NZ most of this information is REALLY helpful!

You can buy this book from the Sears themselves or from Amazon