Ferynne Updates

-Ferynne has finally started jumping in her jumper. She now rocks out to her favorite music: Bit Shifter (hahaha)

-Ferynne's second bottom tooth came in this morning!

-EC is going great. She woke up at 7 this morning with a dry diaper and told me she had to use the lou. Which sucked at first because I didn't want to get up and she was just doing her usual morning fussiness. But then after awhile of fussy I realized she was actually trying not to go in her diaper and was trying to wait for me to respond to her... so my heart melted and I got up and asked if she had to go lou lou. Of course, she smiled at me and I went ahead and put her on the chair. Then all at once I realized that her diaper was still dry and she was at that moment going all in her chair! Wow! So I was able to put her diaper back on her, the same diaper I had put on her before bed last night!
She really is loving our communication. =)
Things I've learned:
-There is absolutely NO TRAINING involved what-so-ever. It is the natural response to a natural need.
- It's SO EASY! No really, it is! It helps you realize more and more that a baby is just another human being and this is such a great bonding process. She just needs your help, she is not yet able to do things. We deliver babies into this world and yet cannot commit to mothering them enough to help them fullfill a human need?  Yes, there are times we need to slap a diaper on them... but not ALL the time. If we ignore their basic needs then what other needs will we ignore as well?  Like I said, we cant do it all the time, but they deserve for us not to completely abandon them in their own dumping grounds(poor kids)!
-This is the sort of thing you don't have tot commit to right away, all you have to do is decide to pay attention and begin practicing "signals" with your baby. No mess, no stress. You most likely will not be able to grasp how normal it is until you start and realize there is a whole other world that is right, that Western civilization has blinded you to(don't be a victim of the singular lie you were raised on, recreate your idea of who babies are).
-If you think it will require extra attention of your baby,  it wont.  Just extra awareness. =)
Each day it gets easier and easier.

Elimination Communication(not potty training)

 

I am doing EC with Ferynne.

It's really quite a simple concept people tend to make complicated and sound intimidating. In fact, when I first learned about it, though I recognized it was an amazing idea, I was very intimidated about 

it. What is it? 

Women, mothers, all over the world(apart from Western Society) have listened to their babies attempt at communication for years. Since time began, babies have got a certain set of needs. And those needs are to eat, to be warm, to sleep, and to eliminate when they need to. When a baby is hungry he/she tells us, when a baby has any sort of discomfort it is communicated. Babies have the ability to communicate when they need to eliminate straight from birth.  ECing is simply taking the time to learn how to understand such communication, letting the baby know you understand them, seeing their faces light up when you do, and providing a healthy safe environment for them to eliminate and not sit in it. When you wait until the baby is a few years old to "potty train" by that time your baby has to relearn what you have made him/her forget.

* Babies are aware of their elimination needs from birth and communicate about those needs through various vocal and bodily signals. Within the first few months of life, babies have the ability to consciously release their bladders and bowels. By taking them to appropriate elimination places during infancy, we enable them to maintain a connection with their bodily sensations and learn from an early age what to do when they experience those sensations.

* Elimination Communication should always be gentle, non-coercive, and based on babies' interests and needs. Communication is the most important aspect of Elimination Communication, and should be the focus.

* Elimination Communication can be done using diapers all of the time, some of the time, or not at all. By reducing the number of diapers used, Elimination Communication provides a more environmentally-sound option than conventional cloth or disposable diapering.

* Elimination Communication can be practiced full-time or part-time, by stay-at-home parents or by working parents. Elimination Communication can be practiced by people of all income levels and physical abilities.

* Prompt loving attention to our babies' needs promotes strong baby-parent bonds, fulfilling natural human instincts. The bond of trust built through feeding and comforting is strengthened when caregivers respond to the baby's elimination needs. 

Here is a website, if you scroll down you can see her 5 day old baby practicing EC:

http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.com/elimination-communication.html

If your still not convinced, there are youtube videos you can watch for more info, or you can go here:

http://www.freewebs.com/freetoec/

Sonya and Brendan Get a Home!

After a long Saturday of house hunting up in Seattle, this house stood out like a shining star! Sonya and Brendan made an offer, and when we went to the open house on Sunday, the agent called to say it had been accepted! [Notice Brendan is on the phone with her in this pic!] So, if all goes well, move in should be around April 5th! For more pics, check out our Web Album!