Are you expecting your first baby…or in the midst of those early sleep-deprived months? Or maybe you’re an experienced mama who’s new to the idea of “natural.” Or maybe you’re even just curious what other natural mamas do!
(I know I love to read about others’ experiences. Every family is a little different, and many have new ideas for me.)
Since it’s always fun to read about how others live, and there’s not a lot of support in some areas for “natural” mamas, we’re starting a new series in July. It’s called The Natural Baby.
This series will follow our family through our fifth child’s first year of life. We’re experienced natural parents, ready to share what works for us — and we hope you’ll join us for the ride!
The Natural Baby
Throughout this series, we’ll share our real-life experiences and the tips we have for handling situations naturally. Topics will include:
- Natural birth story (we’re planning a home birth)
- Initial bonding
- Delayed cord clamping and natural cord care
- Getting started with breastfeeding
- Cloth diapering a newborn
- Baby wearing with a newborn
- Safe, natural toys to encourage baby
- Co-sleeping
- Introducing solids: homemade baby food and baby-led weaning
- Tummy time: is it necessary or beneficial?
- Doctors’ visits and your baby: do you have to go?
- Treating minor illnesses naturally
- Teething solutions that really work
- Breastfeeding an older baby and toddler
- Cloth diapering an older baby and toddler
- Tandem nursing
- Keeping baby safe on the go
- …and more!
New posts will be available every two weeks. We’ll be sharing new pictures of our little one, new challenges we’re facing, and covering one of the important issues above. We’ll share our experiences and expertise in handling newborns and infants — naturally! As parents to five, we’ve “been there, done that” with almost everything!
Help Us Celebrate
We’re hoping to celebrate our new series — and our new baby! — by playing a little game with you. There will be prizes!
Since we’ve opted for a totally natural pregnancy, we have no idea “who” our new little one joining us is. That’s why we want to play a fun game! We’re asking our readers to guess:
- Boy/girl
- Weight
- Birth date
There will be points for each guess. Boy/girl is worth 2 points (2 if you’re right, 0 if you’re wrong). Weight is worth 10 points (10 for exactly right; -1 for each ounce you’re off). Birth date is worth 5 points (-1 for each day you’re off). We’ll offer a “bonus” 3 points for sharing this post on social media or with friends! A perfect score is worth 20 points!
When the baby arrives, we’ll put up an announcement with all the important details. Then, we’ll tally the scores for everyone who entered. The top score will receive the Grand Prize, and the next two closest scores will receive a runner-up prize.
Prizes will be announced soon!! Expect nice gift baskets from some of your favorite natural baby companies. 🙂
The games begin on May 15, and close upon the baby’s birth. Entries must be done by comment on this post — please put all the baby guesses in a single comment, as well as if you share this for bonus points (so your score is easier to tally). You must leave your first name and email address with your comment so that we can contact you if you win!
Good luck! We’re excited. 🙂
What issues are you most wanting to see covered in The Natural Baby?
