Primal Pregnancy Resources page 3

[Kay]

I found this interesting article about Baby Essentials that are not really "essential":

Part 1 - The crib http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/01/15/...omment-page-1/
Part 2 - Infant seats http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/01/22/...ant-car-seats/
Part 3 - Strollers http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/01/28/...t-3-strollers/
Part 4 - Diapers http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/02/05/...art-4-diapers/
Part 5 - Baby tubs http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/02/12/...baby-bathtubs/
Part 6 - Baby brain boosters http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/02/26/...rain-boosters/
Part 7 - Baby food http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/03/13/...t-7-baby-food/

Although I'm still going to get some of the above things, I'm with her that they are not absolutely essential. It's refreshing not being told you MUST get this and that.

[maba]

A good resource for cloth diapering:

http://www.diaperjungle.com/index.html

[cillakat]

Infant Nutrition and Starting Solids
compiled by Katherine Morrison
excerpted from the following sites and from other sources over time
http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-heal...Feeding-Babies
http://www.westonaprice.org/Recipes-...mula.html#eyfb

note: don't ever prechew baby's food. this is a major source of s. mutans transmission.
While cavity formation is multi-factorial, it is considered 'infectious'

From day 1
while breastfeeding (for mom)
☐ mom should be taking high DHA fish oil as DHA is occurs in
greater amounts than EPA in fish, wild game, wild plants.
☐ getting plenty of vitamin K from animal products, fermented foods, vegetables
☐ getting sufficient preformed Vitamin A from food and supplements combined (250-300 IU per day),
or a monthly 10,000 IU dose of preformed A, or eat liver occasionally....monthly is fine.
☐ taking 1000 IU D3 per 25 lbs body weight per day on days that midday,
summer, full body, unprotected sun exposure cannot be obtained
☐ At all latitudes, Vitamin D deficiency is a problem in our modern world
unless getting midday, summer, unprotected, full body sun to the point just
before a burn occurs
☐ Vitamin D Dosing, Levels and Testing information
http://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0AV...A0d3BjMw&hl=en

while breastfeeding (for baby)
☐ Vitamin D drops: 400 IU per 10 lbs body weight on days that baby cannot get midday
summer, unprotected, full body sun to the point just before a burn would occur
☐ Do not give cod liver oil - it contains too much Vitamin A in ratio to D and most often
too little DHA in ratio to EPA
☐ Even modest amounts of dietary A can magnify D insufficiency and deficiency
Countries that routinely supplement with cod liver oil have very high fracture rates among
other problems that are likely caused by an intake of A too high in relation to D status.

Four Months
☐ continue breastfeeding
☐ continue nutritional supplements for mom
☐ continue vitamin D for baby

Egg and Liver Feeding
☐ daily: an egg yolk per day with a tsp of grated frozen liver
☐ important: freeze liver for 14 days prior to using
☐ boil egg for 3.5 minutes, open it, scrape yolk into a little dish
use microplane grater or similar to grate 1 tsp liver into the yolk
feed baby
☐ supplies cholesterol and sulphur-containing amino acids both are important
for optimal brain development
☐ yolk types in order of preference
→from pasture-fed hens (flax, insects etc insure excellent fatty acid, vitamin A and lutein content)
→from high DHA organic free range eggs
→from organic free range eggs
→from high DHA eggs
☐ egg white contains proteins that are allergenic and difficult to digest
delay feeding egg yolk until 12 months

Six Months
☐ continue the above and if you can handle it, add.....
Organ Meats
☐ traditional cultures populations in Italy, Japan, South and Central
America and Africa start infants on soft organ meats, typically
liver and brain when they are available
☐ do what you can

Ten Months
☐ plain yogurt to familiarize baby with sour taste - may take many tries
don't give in and sweeten it
☐ meats (boiled or stewed are best....long cooking times, low temps)
☐ fish (sardines or mackerel are ideal as is wild salmon)
☐ fruit (banana, avocado, pear, apple etc)
☐ vegetables (broccoli, kale, collards, green beans, etc)
☐ fermented foods in addition to yogurt: sauerkraut etc

One Year
☐ whole eggs
☐ whole milk
☐ other fruits and vegetables not added at 10 months
☐ fish if not introduced at 10 months
☐ other foods listed above

General
☐ little amylase is produced before the end of the first year
amylase is required for the breakdown of starches
☐ lactase is produced in abundance to digest lactose, the primary
carbohydrate in breastmilk (which is also the primary macro
nutrient)
☐ zinc, iron, vitamin A, vitamin D and B vitamins, and Ω3 fatty
acids are the most important ones for cognitive development and
should be the focus of infant feeding.
☐ animal foods supply zinc, iron, A, and in fatty fish, vitamin D
is supplied as well
☐ infant growth is heavily dependent on calcium, phosphorus, protein

Formula Recipes
☐ true insufficient supply is rare, but real
http://www.westonaprice.org/Recipes-...mula.html#eyfb
http://www.beinghealthynaturally.com...antformula.php
http://www.beinghealthynaturally.com...ntformula2.php
http://www.beinghealthynaturally.com...ntformula3.php
http://www.beinghealthynaturally.com...ntformula4.php

[maba]

Thanks again for the informative post cillakat. I'm taking a pre-natal from TwinLabs that has 8000IU of vitamin A of which 3800 IU is from beta-carotene. The days I eat liver, I don't take the pre-natals to avoid a hig Vitamin A intake. Is what I'm getting everyday from my prenatals too much Vitamin A?

ETA: I usually eat about 2-3 eggs per day.

[cillakat]

Very Best Babywearing, Sling using, Baby carrier using website:
http://wearyourbaby.com/

The videos are amazing. There is literally a video or picture description of every baby carrier known to woman. It's amazing.

The very best parenting book I've ever read:
Howard Glasser's All Children Flourishing

The Continuum Concept is kind of a joke amongst anthropologists. The inaccuracies are extensive.

The movie Babies is wonderful.

Don't be fooled into thinking that bedsharing is safe. In a primal environment (environment of evolutionary adaptation) it was - because it was safer to have baby quiet and attached to moms breast at night for obvious reasons. In a modern environment, predators are no longer a concern and we have these tricky little things called beds. And pillows. And blankets

Having been, over the last 20 years, down the road of two real life friends dealing with SIDS deaths and one online friend, all I can say is: don't do it. It's not worth it. All three were in adult beds with mom.

Katherine

[cillakat]

A friend sent me this link yesterday. It has a lot of information on breastfeeding:


http://www.kellymom.com/

And some very very bad information on Vitamin D that is 20 years old.

[Kay]

Thanks a lot for the informative post cillakat.

I've read The Continuum Concept and though her account of the tribes is interesting, it was a bit of a let down. I imagined something a lot more detailed and scientific. But that said, in a way her conclusions make sense overall, even though they're based on shaky grounds.

About co-sleeping, it's hard to find research from un-biased sources but so far, I've seen nothing to suggest that babies that share bed with mom are more prone to SIDS. It happens to babies sleeping in their cribs too, it's just in the latter crib-sleeping does not stand out as a reason because it is the norm.

I can't seem to find any statistics that seem reliable because most website are either for or against. All co-sleeping is lumped in one big group: at the very least they should be defined in two major groups: one where the parent simply takes the baby with her to bed (no planned sleep-sharing) and the other, planned out co-sleeping with all safety precautions taken.

There's the the Chicago Infant Mortality Study whose conclusion was

To lower further the SIDS rate among black and other racial/ethnic groups, prone sleeping, the use of soft bedding and pillows, and some types of bed sharing should be reduced.

The sids center lists Japan and the Netherlands as having the lowest sids rate in the world. I know the Dutch are quite relaxed about baby care, tend to prefer home-births but probably co-sleep at a rate similar to other western countries. But in Japan Co-sleeping is more prevalent. Here are some thoughts on co-sleeping in Japan.

I know that for me I won't let the baby sleep in the bed if there are pillows and thick bed sheets, only if I'm sleeping without a cover. I'd be too worried that the cover will slide over the baby's face. Seeing that it'll be winter and cold, there's no way I'm sleeping without thick covers. My solution will be a side bed like this:


This way it's almost as if the baby is sharing our bed: she'll hear/feel me breathe (which I think is very important in the first months), she'll know I'm there very close and I don't have to get up to breastfeed, I just reach and pull her to me.

Another thing that's being promoted here in Germany are sleeping bags for babies, so no bed cover is used and risk of suffocating is reduced (at least that's what they claim). Something like this:

[FairyRae]

Best prenatal vit? My sis is preggo and primal and I'd love to get a prenatal multi rec from you all!

[maba]

@FairyRae: I used to take Twinlab pre-natals which was recommended at the GNC store where I buy my supplements but I was concerned about the 8000 IU of Vitamin A in it. I recently switched to a brand Cillakat recommended, Nutri-Supreme .

@Kay: That's the kind of co-sleeper I'm looking for. I would be comfortable with the baby sleeping with us on the bed if we had a bigger bed but with the size we have I'm thinking a co-sleeper might be better.

[FairyRae]

Thanks for the info Maba!