Reading Roundup

Here are some of my favorite posts, videos, articles, and information that I have come across this week.

DIY - Siblings at Birth Class - Wonderful information if you are considering having your child present at the birth of their sibling.

Learning Things the Hard Way - "Just because information is not widely accepted, doesn’t mean it’s not true."

Milk Sharing: A Toddler Breastfed by Others - Even if you are unable to breastfeed, there are other options out there for giving your baby breastmilk. The end of this post has some great links and resources.

Homebirths in U.S. rise by 29 percent after lower costs and 'Hollywood Influence' - "With the recent decline in home risks, additional reasons for the recent increase in home births may be the desire for a 'low-intervention' birth, the mother having specifically desired surroundings, a so-called Hollywood motivation, and even lower costs."

3 Reasons to use Cloth Diapers - "..it takes 250-500 years for those diapers to breakdown! The very first disposable diaper created in the 1950’s is still in the landfill."

The following video may be my new favorite home birth video. It shows just how this senario can be a normal, natural, calm, and positive experience for everyone. FYI - I totally got choked up when they put baby skin-to-skin with Dad. So sweet!

Stacey & Cody's Homebirth 09/02/11 from Story-Frames on Vimeo.

Labor of Love - This video is 45 minutes long. However, it follows two families and their homebirth experience. If you are considering a midwife or a homebirth, you might find it beneficial to see the care they received.

Course Materials (aka BOOKS!)

I was SO excited when I got the mail yesterday because my course materials arrived. In the meantime, I've been looking over the online materials. I've subscribed to their student forum and get those updates each day as well. I'm also continuing to work my way down the book list.

I'm currently reading Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin (preview the book). I'm so excited that I will be actually be attending a birth at The Farm next month. It's pretty crazy to me (and WAY cool) that my first birth as official labor support will be at a world-renowned location. Almost every childbirth book I read somehow manages to mention The Farm, mainly because of their stats. They have really great outcomes there with minimal interventions.

In other news, ever since I announced to the world my pursuit of certification, I have been dreaming about babies and mommas and pregnancy and labor and delivery almost every night. Things have been really busy as we are starting off a new year with work and trying to get organized plus me getting ready for tLG's birthday party(ies) this weekend. I think about my doula certification a lot during the day but not as much as I would love to just sit and daydream about it. Still, my subconscious overflows with those thoughts at night and I get to dream about it. I'm a pretty vivid dreamer so maybe this way is better than day dreaming. :)

Natural Remedies for Pink Eye

I came across this article today for treating pink eye. I've always been a fan of using breast milk for eye gunk because of its amazing infection fighting properties not to mention that it is perfectly pH balanced. This post also gives another alternative - tea bags!

Pink Eye!!!

As I was thinking about the different types of conjunctivitis (viral, bacterial, fungal), I wondered about other types of home remedies that could pink eye. This, naturally, made me wonder about coconut oil which has antiviral, antibacterial, AND antifungal properties. We have a running joke around here that you can use coconut oil to fix anything, and I mean anything! A quick Google search led me to several articles and testimonials of how coconut oil has cured pink eye in a jiffy. Here's one...

Coconut Oil for Pink Eye

Other home remedies for treating pink eye include

Hot/Cold Compress

Echinacea

Honey

Chamomile

Almond Oil

Elderberry

Aloe Vera

Raw Potato

Eyebright

Just remember that antibiotics should be your last line of defense, not the first. Most cases of pink eye are viral in nature and antibiotics would be ineffective anyway. I hope this gives you some alternative treatments to try at home first.