Thank you Nayla, who wrote me…

I learned about an aggressive attack campaign on co-sleeping sponsored by “Cribs for Kids,” and an effort to find a test case of a healthy co-sleeping case that results in a child’s death in order to start a witch hunt. Doctors are apparently already supposed to determine where the baby sleeps in a household.

I checked out the Cribs for Kids website looking for supporters since I suspected crib manufacturers, lo and behold here’s what I find:

http://www.sids-pa.org/SIDS-ABOUT-FUND.htm

Both Graco and Toys R Us, as well as Walmart and other familiar names, are sponsoring SIDS of Pennsylvania which is fueling the anti-co-sleeping rush. Please spread the word. Cribs for Kids has chapters in 33 state.

I went all over their site and in Education it gives a list of the causes of SIDS, and factors for removing risk and they’re totally delusional. They promote breastfeeding (or so they say) they promote the crib being in the same room as mother (because, you know, it’s safer for baby to be near mom!), they’ve come to the conclusion that sucking is healthy for a baby (so they urge mothers to “give baby a pacifier”) but they can’t sign off on the safety of adult beds. Yet, and here is the rub, none of these types of groups will think “hmmmm, how about we promote safe BED SHARING? bed sharing meets all the requirements for saving babies from SIDS, so why not promote it and educate the public about the safe way to accomplish it? Here’s one for the capitalists, too, why aren’t the crib manufacturers getting into the family bed business? These people are kooks. Dangerous Kooks.

Anyway, enjoy the comic, more on the way!

xox,
Heather

I planned to write a couple of days ago, but I’ve been in the thick of a bunch of sick-o stuff. We have a tooth abscess, a possibly broken finger, the vomits, a sore throat, and lice. I kid you not. such is the life as a host organism with a brood of wee ones! (CAUTION! if you think that parasites can’t happen to you, and you scoff or some such thing. You will get parasites three fold. It’s the way the universe works. Lice, Pinworms, fungus. With your name on it!) So this is the third of six new Resolutions, I promise I’ll get through them pronto!

I am reading the BEST book! I usually wait until I finish, but I’m too excited! For my birthday I got a little mad money, so I went to my local BIG BOX bookstore ;o( and waiting on a table, just inside the door…

I’m telling you, it’s fabulous! Really. Here it is in a nutshell:

DEATH to the SUPERMARKETS BAKE BREAD PLAY THE UKULELE OPEN THE VILLAGE HALL Action is futile Quit moaning MAKE MUSIC STOP CONSUMING START PRODUCING BACKTOTHELAND SMASH USURY EMBRACE BEAUTY EMBRACE POVERTY HAIL THE CHISEL IGNORE the STATE REFORM IS FUTILE ANARCHY IN THE UK HAIL THE SPADE HAILTHEHORSE HAILTHEQUILL LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR BE CREATIVE FREE YOUR SPIRIT DIG THE EARTH MAKE COMPOST LIFE IS ABSURD WE ARE FREE BE MERRY_
How To Be Free byTom Hodgkinson is now out in paperback for £7.99 (Penguin) “Essential” –Time Out “Invigorating” –The Independent “Inspiring” –Psychologies

But it is so much more…check out the website: the idler and perhaps send him a note telling him that he rocks! I plan on doing that this morning…

Love,
Heather

ps. the calendars are FLYING off my desk, I’m ordering more right now…don’t forget to get thy order in pronto (It’s still early!)

First off, Happy Thanksgiving, I hope you and yours have a lovely, lovely, feast.

I had the coolest thanksgiving-y thing happen on Sunday… My feast is going to be 14 people, here, in my tiny house. We have a wooden table that will fit easily 8 people, but only 6 wooden chairs. My dh and I were looking to borrow tables and chairs from anyone.anyone? And then on Sunday, VOILA! the next door neighbor (I mean right next door) put out a round wooden table with 4 leaves and 10 wooden chairs. With a sign that said ‘free’. isn’t that cool?

And don’t forget that the day AFTER Thanksgiving is Buy Nothing Day… so don’t forget to think of something to do that keeps you away from the stores. And that is something to be thankful for, huh?

Love,
Heather

p.s. on the buy note…the 2008 Hathor calendar is on its way and don’t forget Hathor Books for Christmas!

The bathtub taboo was pointed out to me by a Hathor reader (thanks Jess R.!) who found that her more mainsteam friends could approve of breastfeeding and co-sleeping (within reason!) but could not at all accept the idea of climbing into the tub with baby. That was entirely too much. hee hee.

Here’s my bathtime story: With my first child I used a plastic tub on the kitchen counter, and burt’s bees baby soap, and cottonballs to wash, and the Dr. Sears Baby Book open to read the ‘how-to’. It took me months until I ‘figured out’ that I could just get into the bathtub with her and wash her in my arms. With my second baby I figured out that the kitchen sink would easily work as I had long since gotten rid of my plastic tub, so if I didn’t want to take a bath, then the kitchen sink would do. Finally with my third I would use a mesh sling and take baby right into the shower with me (can’t be too hot though!)

Keep in mind that I was ever, always gentle and respectful and I’m so sorry to do this, but here’s ANOTHER reason to homebirth (thanks Helene S!) Please do not watch if you are feeling faint of heart, will haunt your dreams, I’m not kidding (I’m not going to embed it in my post because I’m totally serious, don’t watch if you don’t want to freak. But, the baby is OK in the end.) How NOT to bathe the baby the comments after the video seem to focus on the nurse and how badly she needs to be fired, but I can easily imagine this is not the first baby to be bathed in this manner. And asking at the local labor and delivery hospital how they bathe babies might be a good idea.

Love,
Heather

So, last year at this time I quit buying water bottles. Stopped cold turkey. Sometimes, before then if we were going to go to the park for the day, we would get 4 plastic bottles of water and take them with us. Every day. If my husband was with us it would be 5. If the water wasn’t all gone, it would take about an hour in the sun in the car and the water would be undrinkable. When I think of all that waste it gives my spine a tingle. But, the good news is I stopped. First I bought a sigg bottle or two and we shared. but I kept losing it and forgetting it places and it was just a huge pain in the rear. So, I’m here to say, don’t think you need to buy anything to stop using plastic water bottles. Just clean out that old jar. I have a shelf now with 12+ jars, there’s always a clean one ready to be filled. Here’s the practical tidbits…

1. I have a cooler that is just the right size for 6 jars, I keep it in the kitchen and load it every morning and take it with us, even if I don’t think I’ll be gone for long.

2. The kids drink the jars near the cooler and put them back when they’re done, no running all over the playground with glass water bottles!

3. You can put the jars inside of a sock (using the sock as a jar cozy), it keeps it cool, keeps it from slipping out of hands, makes it a bit more bouncier and the theory is that if it fall and breaks the glass will all be inside of the sock, pick up the sock and throw it away.

4. In a year I’ve only broken 1 jar and life would’ve been much easier if I would have had a small hand broom and dustpan with me. (note to self get a tiny broom/dustpan and put it in the side pocket of the cooler!)

See how easy? and cheap? With all that extra money you save on water bottles splurge on an extra pizza night!

Love,
Heather