Parenting To Prevent Childhood Obesity (Guest Post by Kiyah Duffey)

Infant specialist Magda Gerber’s feeding recommendations made perfect sense to me and have “served” my children well. She encouraged parents to be observant and responsive to cues, pay undivided focused attention during breastfeeding, bottle feeding and all mealtimes, trust infants and toddlers to know their bodies and communicate their needs. As the result of these practices, my children not only continue to...

Parenting Without The Labels

Here’s an understatement: first-time parenting can be daunting. The overwhelming responsibility many of us feel to “get it right” motivates us to seek child care information and advice.  The good news there is that we’ve already proven we have the basic requirement for good parenting – we care enough to ask questions. Then we discover the work of child care experts or methodologies like Attachment...

Weaning A Toddler

Hi Janet, I am really enjoying your site. The RIE philosophy fits so well with the way my husband and I are trying to parent, and I am learning so much. One issue that we are facing now, however, is weaning from the breast, and I couldn’t find much on your site that gave any strategies of the best way to approach this with a toddler. My son is 19 months and still nursing frequently. For many months, the...

Breastfeeding For Comfort (The All-Night Diner)

A discussion I had with Annie from “PHD In Parenting” a while back (Attachment Parenting Debate – For Crying Out Loud!) sparked some interesting commentary. A couple of days ago I received this new comment and question… I am beyond excited to have found your blog Janet, and this debate has been so revealing for me. My daughter is almost 1 year old and I have been practicing Attachment Parenting because it...

There’s A Person On Your Breast – Don’t Take The Intimacy Out Of Breastfeeding

Sometimes I read an opinion or sense a pervasive attitude that gives me a knot in my gut. If you’re a blogger (I’m learning), this is a signal that you need to share your thoughts. Of course, at first you tell yourself, “Hey, Self, forget about it – don’t ruffle feathers. Your point of view will be unpopular and may offend. Other parents may feel criticized and judged — which is the last thing in the...

Mindful Mouthfuls – Helping Our Babies Learn Healthy Eating

If we are what we eat, aren’t we also a product of the way we eat?  As busy new parents we’re usually focused on the mechanics of breast or bottle-feeding, then introducing solids: when to start, which foods, in what order, how much and how to provide the best nutrition. But most of us also hope to foster healthy eating behaviors for our children. We want to do all in our power to prevent eating disorders,...

Random Thoughts On “Beyond Bottles And Breasts” (My Previous Post)

One thing I have felt across-the-board with all the stories about breast and bottle feeding is that we are all doing the very best we can. We can all agree that the experience of parenting an infant is not easy, whether it’s your first or fifth child.  There are extreme highs and lows (usually depending upon how much sleep you’ve had), from ecstasy to hopelessness. I have been there. We make choices based on...

Beyond Bottles And Breasts – The Key To Whole Baby Nourishment

I am riveted by the contentious online debate between breastfeeding advocates and formula feeders. I’m reading heart-wrenching stories of women who persevere through frustration and physical pain until they finally give up breastfeeding, and then feel judged by breast-feeders for their perceived ‘failure’. At the same time, I’m hearing about the stunning lack of support breast-feeders deal with. They are...