The New Homesteaders: Off-the-Grid and Self-Reliant

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“No she’s not a good baby at all! In fact,  she’s a very bad baby! I believe she’s purposely keeping me from an uninterrupted night’s sleep.”

That’s what I should have said.

But instead I just said, “Well, err..not yet.”

In truth, she was nowhere near sleeping “through the night” and several months later, she’s still waking at night and I’m still nursing her as she sleeps next to me in bed.

“Really? Not yet? Hmmm…” Her raised eyebrows said it all.

This relative is from a generation in which co sleeping, babywearing and extended breastfeeding were all frowned upon (as AP moms know, they still are in many circles ), but the idea that babies should be “trained” to sleep through the night at an early age still dominates conversations and bookshelves.  Sleep “training”  books, videos and articles are everywhere.

(Check out askdrsears.com for the best advice on all aspects of attachment parenting, Dr. Jay Gordon has some good advice too).

Why don’t more parents consider that if it’s so difficult to get a baby to sleep through the night, perhaps they SHOULDN’T be sleeping for long periods of time without waking and feeding?

Here’s a link to a terrific essay by Kathy Dettwyler that explains my philosophy on this issue much better than I can.

I admit that my sweet girl’s repeated requests for “boo” throughout the night can be trying.  Yeah, and sometimes I long for just ONE night of eight (six anyone?) straight hours of sleep. But I’m convinced we would not be as closely bonded nor would she be as healthy, calm and well nourished had we opted for solitary sleeping and early night weaning. And I would be missing out on all these precious nights of parenting and bonding with my baby.

One thing I’ve learned since becoming a mother is that every needs to make choices based on his/her family’s needs and values and only listen to others to a point. I’m sure co-sleeping and extended breastfeeding don’t work  for everyone. However, I think it’s time to think about infant sleep patterns in a new way, not just in light of the desire to get an uninterrupted night’s sleep.

Let’s hope this time the 50th goes to Francine Busby.

Bilbray on Torture and American Idol

DCCC Targets Bilbray
Check out Francine Busby’s website : busbyforcongress.com

Mama Voted for Obama

Why Mommy is a Democrat

and Why Daddy is a Democrat

“Democrats make sure everyone plays by the rules, just like Mommy does.”

from Why Mommy is a Democrat

http://www.littledemocrats.net/index.html

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betterworldbooks.com

Better World Books collects and sells books online to fund literacy initiatives worldwide. With more than two million new and used titles in stock, we’re a self-sustaining, triple-bottom-line company that creates social, economic and environmental value for all our stakeholders.

What more could you want from a book store? Ok, so there’s no espresso  bar…

Arnold can’t persuade his own party to prevent the looming catastrophe. I’ll take Gray Davis over this any day!

On a recent trip to Target for new jammies, I found few options not sporting either a cartoon character from a movie/tv show/(?) or a with name brand logo sewn on the front. Baby billboards. Wonderful. Even worse were the clothes with obnoxious catchphrases like “Shopaholic in training, ” “Diva” or “Spoiled” scrawled on them. Real cute. Seriously–who would buy that for their child?  

Forget the affect on the children who wear these clothes, what about the laborers who produce them? Were the cutsey “Diva in Training” pjs sewn by hands not much larger than my baby’s? For 20 cents an hour? Are they made with materials harmful to the environment?

I could drive myself bananas worrying about all of this. Maybe I will. But in the meantime, I’m taking a few steps to stop being part of the problem. I’m planning to buy more locally produced goods and services as well as items produced and sold through fair trade channels.

I’m excited by all the socially & environmentally conscious options I’ve found, both locally and via the internet. 

Here are a few:

• Check out The Center for the New American Dream, an organization dedicated to responsible consumerism. Take a look at their downloadable booklet Simplify The Holidays.

The site is filled with lots of excellent resources including the wallet buddy, which you can refer to each time you make a purchase. It will remind you that “every dollar I spend is a statement about the kind of world I want and the quality of life I value.”

The National Green Pages is a great source for organic and fair trade products.

Pumpkin Pie Originals is a terrific little local company that makes cute, organic babywear. I found them at the Encinitas Farmers Market.

The list could go on and on.

Funny how, after eight years, we’ve gone from a surplus to an unfathomable deficit and all the money is ending up in the military-industrial complex and the financial industry. Hmm…I’m no economist, but it’s not hard to see the big picture of what happened here.

(Why doesn’t anyone in the mainstream media ever mention PNAC??!!)

And why haven’t the democrats stopped them? The few voices of reason — Feingold, Kucinich — are seen as extremists.

Now, even if Obama wins, there’s nothing left for healthcare, education etc. It’s all tied up in a war and Wall Street. I hope he can undo the economic damage the way Bill Clinton did after Reagan/Bush. Perhaps alternative energy and green jobs can provide the boost the high tech industry did during the Clinton years. There is hope. But man, there’s a lot of damage to undo.

Over the past several months I’ve been impressed by Obama’s ability to consistently make choices that help him win.

As a liberal Democrat, I often disagree with Obama’s votes (what was up with the FISA vote?) as well as his campaign choices (why debate with an evangelical pastor as moderator?). But time after time, Obama has made choices that steer his campaign in the right direction. In my opinion, after eight dark years of Bushies, the most important quality a Democratic candidate can have is the ability to win. If Biden helps put a Democrat in office, then he’s definitely the right guy for the job.

Unlike John Edwards in Kerry 2004, Biden seems more able to play the attack dog -VP role. Biden is tough. Experienced. He’s even funny (remember his joke about his own verbosity in the primary debate?).

More than that, I’d love to see Biden debate Romney (assuming he’s McCain’s choice) on our Iraq war policy (Biden’s son was just re-deployed to Iraq) and ask him why none of his five young sons hasn’t sign up for the military if the Iraq war is such a just cause. Wouldn’t that be sweet?