I am almost embarrassed to post this review, but it’s for one of those products that I wonder why I had never heard of it before I stumbled across it on some crunchy blog somewhere. It’s the Naturally Fresh Crystal Deodorant. Once I became pregnant and then became a nursing mother, I became increasingly concerned about the products I use and the chemicals they contain. This deodorant contains natural mineral salts and ammonium alum and checks out well on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Database. It’s important to note that this product is a deodorant and not an anti-perspirant. While you might still sweat, the crystal provides a natural barrier against odor-causing bacteria. You simply moisten the... [Read more]

Becoming a mother made me more frugal and brought me back to basics. Fortunately, play dough is surprisingly easy to make from scratch! I love knowing what’s in it and that it is truly non-toxic, and I love experimenting with different colors and scents! I find homemade dough to be superior to store-bought. It’s smoother, smells better, and can be made in large quantities. The recipe below can be halved if you want to make a small amount of a variety of colors, or it can be doubled to make a gallon-sized bag worth. It takes about 15 minutes to make, and I recommend cleaning the pot before the dough dries in it! This recipe makes a quart-sized bag. To celebrate fall, this time I made pumpkin-pie scented orange play dough. Basic Play... [Read more]

When I wrote about Five Toddler Sleep Lessons, Rosemary left a question in the comments section: Interesting to read all your experiences and to see what a common problem this is…I’m in a tough situation so your advice would be helpful. I’ve co-slept with my son since he was 3 months old, and it has worked great for us. He wakes up to nurse, then falls right back asleep. Neither of us wake up fully, so I’ve been able to have great sleep from from about 12 mos until now (24 mos.) But over the last 2 weeks his sleep has been terrible. He won’t go to bed until 10:30 (used to sleep easily at 8:30) and wakes up 3 times a night nursing voraciously (like, 30-40 minutes!). I’m pregnant (2 mos) and get so irritated with this! I take him off... [Read more]

I recently had the pleasure of working through a review copy of Spanish for Breastfeeding Support by Tanya Lieberman, IBCLC and Diana Glick, MA. The book is a self-guided course to teach you how to support breastfeeding mothers in Spanish. It’s an extremely helpful tool for building effective communication skills. Not only does it provide the necessary grammar and vocabulary for breastfeeding support, it also provides the one thing I have often found lacking in foreign language instruction — conversation skills! All the vocabulary and grammar will not get you very far if you do not feel comfortable actually speaking the language. The written and audio exercises offer the perfect practice that will allow the lactation specialist... [Read more]

The November Carnival of Breastfeeding will focus on “Breastfeeding Experiences in the Hospital.” Did you have a particularly good or bad experience you’d like to share? Do you have tips for choosing a breastfeeding-friendly hospital? Please email me your post by November 16, 2009, for consideration for the blog carnival on November 23, 2009. Photo by TheTruthAbout... As a reminder, here are the guidelines that will increase the chances a post will be selected for inclusion in the carnival: – A well-written, grammatically correct post – Thoughtful commentary directly on point for the carnival subject – Overall quality of the rest of your blog and whether the general subject matter is something of interest to our readers... [Read more]