Baby Leu

Diaperless Baby Pic

To go along with my previous post, here’s a picture of the split pants I was describing.

I’m not a hippie…

but am saying and doing more and more things that are leading people to make such comments. It all started when Adam and I bought our ‘81 VW camper-van. Friends immediately started referring to us as hippies. Now with this baby, I’m making some decisions that can only further that label. It’s just the longer I go on, the more I realize how many things we do just because it’s how it’s always been done. Of course that doesn’t mean there isn’t wisdom in it, but it doesn’t mean there IS wisdom in it either. So, I’ll just go ahead and make my announcement, since I don’t think many people are reading this anyway…and sooner or later everyone is going to know anyway. We are planning a homebirth. Oh, I can hear the gasping now. Without going into all the reasons why we are choosing this, let me just calm your fears and say that if anything started to look like it was risky, dangerous, or complicated I can just transfer to the hospital.

Now let me get to what was prompting this post in the first place. The big diaper debate. And not just cloth vs. disposable. I mean, diaper or no diaper. : )

First let me say, I have made no decisions yet nor do I claim to really know what I’m talking about since this is our first child. But what has led me to consider the following is my experience living here in China and watching how the parents here “potty train” their children. So I’ve witnessed it with my own eyes that it is possible to not use diapers at all. Potty-training from birth. . . although it’s not really training, but communication. Here in China it involves whistling. The babies here all have split pants (basically a hole cut in the crotch of the pants). When they need to go (which mom learns from babies facial expressions, timing, noises), mom just squats down holding the baby out in front of her and can often be heard softly whistling while the baby goes to the bathroom. The baby learns to associate this whistling with going to the bathroom and eventually, mom can kinda guess when baby will need to go and the baby is able to go on cue to the whistling. I know it sounds far-fetched but nearly every mother does this here in China, as well as other parts of Asia, India, and Africa. Babies are carried around all the time with their bare bottoms hanging out and I’ve yet to see a parent get peed on (although I’m sure it happens occasionally) Obviously, we can’t just let our child go to the bathroom on the sidewalk in the U.S., so I thought this would never work. But my curiosity got me on the internet and this is actually the practice of some moms (mostly considered crazy) in America. They simply hold the child over the toilet. It is referred to as Elimination Communication, or EC. No, it’s not full-proof. Yes, there are accidents, but overall, if time and attention is given to it, it is effective.

I have no idea if I will be brave enough to try this in the U.S., but when you consider that probably over half the world practices this, there must be something to it. And the practice was around long before hippies were. : )

SIDS

The following is a link to a very interesting article linking SIDS to fire-proof baby mattresses. I was a little skeptical at first, but after reading the whole article, I think I will be rethinking mattress options.

http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/articles/138/1/Crib-Death-%28SIDS%29-Factors

Then this article goes into more detail about the toxic materials contained in baby mattresses.

http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/articles/238/1/5-Problems-With-Baby-Mattresses

Baby Dream

Last night I dreamt that I gave birth to twins…both boys.   Their names were Brayden and Abbot.  I’m not sure why.  I can’t say I’ve considered either name or even heard of the name Abbot.  The really great part of the dream however was that the delivery was virtually painless.   After it was all said and done, I was thinking to myself, wow, that was so easy!!! What’s all this talk about labor and delivery being so painful!!??

On another note, for those of you who have let me know you can’t figure out what you’re looking at in the ultrasound picture….I’m not savvy enough to know how to put little arrows on the picture for you, so I’ll try to describe it.  The black area in the middle is my uterus…little one’s home for the next five and half months.  Baby is laying on his / her back, head on the left.  Maybe Adam can help me put some arrows up.  One thing’s for sure…there’s only one in there.