Hey y'all!
We're having a "Cloth Diapers 101" workshop on August 24th starting at 5:30pm at The Birth Cottage. We need your help to spread the news. As an incentive, we'd like to give you a couple ways to win.
First Winner- New bumGenius 4.0 One-Size Diaper!
All you need to do is post the following on your Facebook wall and give us a shout out:
Using "<@>Ecological Babies" post: If you're interested in cloth diapers and want someone to give you the "in's and out's", attend Ecological Babies free upcoming workshop August 24 at the Birth Cottage starting at 5:30pm. If you can't make it, they do free one-on-one consultations!
Winner will be randomly drawn (from random.org) and announced the day after our workshop (Aug 25th). Note: Winner must be able to do a store pick up to receive the diaper.
Second Winner- $10 Credit on ANYTHING in our store!
If anyone in the workshop attends because of your Facebook post on your wall and they tell us, we'll give you $10 in credit. Sweet, huh? All they need to do is mention you and the Facebook contest during the workshop!
We'll write down all the referral names at the workshop and do the drawing at the end of the workshop. Winner will be announced and notified after we return home from the workshop! Note: You don't have to be local to win this one.
We hope you'll help us out, so we can help more people choose cloth for their babies!
Peace,
Jen Starks
Owner
www.ecologicalbabies.com
ecologicalbabies@gmail.com
850.284.5887
Monday, August 9, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
Some Survival Tips for Traveling with a Toddler & Infant 22 hours in the Car
We recently took a road trip with our two kiddos (6 mos & 2 yr, 8 mos)up to Indiana to visit both sides of our family. Since I'm currently still recouping from it, I'm not sure I'm going to do it again. Then again, I said that after Rita Clare's birth and somehow got back into the idea :o)
Gone are the days when we could make it in a long day for 12-14 hrs. Now, we break it up into 2 nights and 3 days, in order for it to be bearable. I know, that's a huge difference! Last summer, we purchased a pop-up camper so we could make our trips into little family holidays rather than pure torture.
This post is just going to be some tricks we used on during our car time. Rita Clare, our 2 yr old, was the hardest to please but we anticipated this.
RC:
1. Bag of surprise gifts wrapped in tin foil- I purchased little items from the dollar store that she could use either in the car or some time on our trip. (Silly Putty, gel pens, capsules that grow in water, jump rope, sunglasses, stickers, candy, cd)
2. Pipe Cleaners- great fun to manipulate and doesn't make a mess!
3. Colored pencils and a note pad (blank)-don't dare bring crayons in the car, risking a lost one to melt somewhere.
4. Water coloring pad
5. New markers that only show colors in a specific coloring book-it's quite amazing!
6. Borrowed DVDs and a new one.
7. LOTS of cds.-I included kids sing a longs, some calming ones, and some of mine I haven't heard in a while. If I'm happy, then the car is a lot more pleasant!
8. Activity book with dry erase markers. Actually, I wise up early on and we only used these during some down time on our trip when I was with her. She really liked them those.
9. LOTS of books. She's really into the seek and find books.
10. A doll to play with.
11. FAVORITE snacks-string cheese, pretzels, graham crackers were the biggest hit.
12. Finger puppets and songs with finger gestures- RC now knows what each finger is called and can sing "Two Little Blackbirds" all by herself.
13. Talking about things outside of the car.-Great distraction, especially when she wanted to wake Tyler up by screaming or when stuck in traffic.
Tyler:
1. We packed about 8 different toys. It was nice when RC would fall asleep and he started to fuss.
2. Mesh food eater. This was great when we tried stalling him from nursing. It always seemed to happen that we'd be less than 30 minutes from our destination and he'd have a meltdown. Then we'd all kinda start to melt down too. He liked the cheerios and bananas but boy he was a mess after the nanners! We also put ice in there a couple times.
3. Butt and Back Massages! Every time I took him out of his car seat, I'd nurse him and change him. Then I'd let him play on his belly while I gave him a good rub down. I'm sure his little tush was aching during some of those long hours.
All in all, they we both champs! We were lucky when they'd both fall asleep at the same time. That was basically our break during our traveling days (no fun). On the bright side, I almost finished my sweater I'm knitting for myself-woohoo!
Do you have any good travel tips I didn't mention? I'd love to hear them!
Jen Starks, Owner www.ecologicalbabies.com ecologicalbabies@gmail.com 850.284.5887
Gone are the days when we could make it in a long day for 12-14 hrs. Now, we break it up into 2 nights and 3 days, in order for it to be bearable. I know, that's a huge difference! Last summer, we purchased a pop-up camper so we could make our trips into little family holidays rather than pure torture.
This post is just going to be some tricks we used on during our car time. Rita Clare, our 2 yr old, was the hardest to please but we anticipated this.
RC:
1. Bag of surprise gifts wrapped in tin foil- I purchased little items from the dollar store that she could use either in the car or some time on our trip. (Silly Putty, gel pens, capsules that grow in water, jump rope, sunglasses, stickers, candy, cd)
2. Pipe Cleaners- great fun to manipulate and doesn't make a mess!
3. Colored pencils and a note pad (blank)-don't dare bring crayons in the car, risking a lost one to melt somewhere.
4. Water coloring pad
5. New markers that only show colors in a specific coloring book-it's quite amazing!
6. Borrowed DVDs and a new one.
7. LOTS of cds.-I included kids sing a longs, some calming ones, and some of mine I haven't heard in a while. If I'm happy, then the car is a lot more pleasant!
8. Activity book with dry erase markers. Actually, I wise up early on and we only used these during some down time on our trip when I was with her. She really liked them those.
9. LOTS of books. She's really into the seek and find books.
10. A doll to play with.
11. FAVORITE snacks-string cheese, pretzels, graham crackers were the biggest hit.
12. Finger puppets and songs with finger gestures- RC now knows what each finger is called and can sing "Two Little Blackbirds" all by herself.
13. Talking about things outside of the car.-Great distraction, especially when she wanted to wake Tyler up by screaming or when stuck in traffic.
Tyler:
1. We packed about 8 different toys. It was nice when RC would fall asleep and he started to fuss.
2. Mesh food eater. This was great when we tried stalling him from nursing. It always seemed to happen that we'd be less than 30 minutes from our destination and he'd have a meltdown. Then we'd all kinda start to melt down too. He liked the cheerios and bananas but boy he was a mess after the nanners! We also put ice in there a couple times.
3. Butt and Back Massages! Every time I took him out of his car seat, I'd nurse him and change him. Then I'd let him play on his belly while I gave him a good rub down. I'm sure his little tush was aching during some of those long hours.
All in all, they we both champs! We were lucky when they'd both fall asleep at the same time. That was basically our break during our traveling days (no fun). On the bright side, I almost finished my sweater I'm knitting for myself-woohoo!
Do you have any good travel tips I didn't mention? I'd love to hear them!
Jen Starks, Owner www.ecologicalbabies.com ecologicalbabies@gmail.com 850.284.5887
Monday, July 5, 2010
Interview with a Local Midwife
I had the opportunity and honor to be taken care of by Diana Janopaul, a local midwife here in Tallahassee. It was during my pregnancy with Rita Clare, when I spent some quality time sharing my new journey into motherhood with her. At the time, she was working at The Birth Cottage. However, she decided to take a leap of faith late last summer to start her own practice, being allowed to grow more intimate with a few clients while spending more quality time with her family.
I briefly interviewed Diana and encourage you to take a look at her website, learning more about what she does in the community as a midwife....awesome and inspiring woman!
Jen Starks, Owner www.ecologicalbabies.com ecologicalbabies@gmail.com 850.284.5887
I briefly interviewed Diana and encourage you to take a look at her website, learning more about what she does in the community as a midwife....awesome and inspiring woman!
How/when did you first become interested in becoming a midwife?
I first became interested in midwifery when I was living in NYC at 18 years of age attending NYU. Honestly, I probably had never even heard the word "midwife", but when I found a copy of Ina May's Spiritual Midwifery in a bookstore on 8th Street
What's the best part of being a midwife?
The best part of being a midwife, other than the obvious baby catching part, is the emotional connections I get to forge with women and their families. Birth is a peak experience and I have the honor of being present for that moment over and over. It is wonderful!
What's the worst part?
I don’t think there is a worst part. Some parts are harder than others-- not being able to plan to do things with my family if I have a woman due is hard. Lack of sleep is hard. Dealing with insurance is super-hard. But, those things are outweighed by all of the good things.
Why did you start "Where the Heart Is Midwifery?
I started Where the Heart Is Midwifery last November. I had been practicing in a birth center setting for almost four years, but needed more flexibility for me and my family. I wanted to slow down a little bit and be able to focus more on each woman. I also was intrigued by the idea of doing all of the care in the woman's home. It has worked out really well for me. I accept two women a month (occasionally three!). I come to their homes for all the care, including the prenatals, lab draws, birth, postpartums. I can be flexible to meet their scheduling needs, so I do evening and Saturday appointments, if need be.
If you had someone call you skeptical about a home birth, what would you tell them?
If someone were interested in homebirth, but skeptical about it, I would suggest that they sit down with me and their list of questions/concerns and talk. Most concerns that couples have are easily addressed and often based on inadequate information. My job is not to "talk someone into" a homebirth; it is to present accurate and complete information so that the couple can make a good decision for themselves. I find that out-of-hospital birth works well because women feel safe in their own nest. It is important for a woman to feel safe, no matter where she chooses to birth.
If you had only a couple minutes to talk with pregnant mamas on the best ways to take care of themselves during their pregnancy, what would you emphasize?
I would tell them to get to the basics-- eat real, whole food. Sleep as much as their body requires-- if it is asking for a nap in the middle of the day, go for it. Avoid those things that we know are not good for us and, therefore, couldn't be good for a developing baby. Exercise--stretching, yoga, swimming, walking are all good exercises for a pregnant mama.
Relax, laugh and enjoy the pregnancy!
Jen Starks, Owner www.ecologicalbabies.com ecologicalbabies@gmail.com 850.284.5887
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