on libraries – an update

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I may have mentioned this before but historically, I have always been a voracious reader. I have memories of being ten and sitting down under the playground reading fictional adventure novels while kids ran around me. This happened only if the book was magically compelling, and unsurprisingly lots of YA fiction novels are at that age.

I also distinctly remember the awkward moment when at a family reunion I was hiding away under a bed reading the newest Harry Potter book when someone sat on the bed. The mattress springs crunched above me uncomfortably, so I snaked out an arm and gently tapped the family member’s ankle, sending them into an understandable jump-off-the-ground-in-total-fear-mixed-with-surprise moment. I stopped hiding under beds to read soon after that (but partially because I grew too big).

I remember years and years of trying to read during car rides while sitting in the back of my mom’s old Honda van on that way to visit some family, and feeling car sick from focusing on the words swaying about with the car’s inertia, yet still trying. I remember as an elementary school student, we had those book fairs (done by Scholastic Books I believe), which excited me to no end, and always happened in the library. I was one of those kids that liked to get some new books (and those cutesy erasers!).

 

As I also love things that are free (catch me in my hand-me-down clothes even as a late twenty-something mom), my love for libraries is not much of a surprise. My earliest memories of libraries are glimpses of bright light shining through musty building windows that displayed rows on rows of colorful books. I remember getting excited that I could pick out whatever I wanted, enjoying the smell of old novels, and how I loved feeling the pages of a well-worn novel. Those strong sensory experiences still continue today to evoke my love. There are also unidentified memories of accompanying adults who brought me to unfamiliar libraries on book-returning errands. And vague memories of playing those generic learning games on those chunky monitors screens.

I remember as a teen, trekking up the half mile or so from my house to the local public library, often with my friend Julia, to see what books we could find next. We had voracious appetites for fiction and fantasy, and I remember ambling through the shelves often picking books to read based on their titles or their cover art when I had no specific “to-reads” in mind. When I moved back home with my parents after college, I restarted my walking sojourns to said library, mostly to resume my enjoyment of fiction novels in between work.

I remember in high school, after tearing my ACL and not being able to run track and field senior spring, I hung out in the library with my “potluck” friends (so named because our hangouts started via a potluck meal). My grades actually improved while there so I graduated with an even higher GPA thus avoiding the stereotype of “senior slump”. And it was there that I started Pet Sematary and had my first intro to Stephen King and to more adult horror books.

While at Swarthmore I made myself a home at the Cornell science library on my free time, and started working their my sophomore year as a library assistant for work study. My now husband recalls always making sure to come chat with me when I was at the front desk as he was already crushing on me. I remember getting to work the closing shifts on nights and weekends and as a result, getting to be one of the last people in the library. I wasn’t a night person so that was often exhausting, but also a weirdly surreal experience as the  building that housed the library (called the science center) was generally emptied out on weekends at that point with most of the lights off. It was quite peaceful. I remember my friend Becky and I staking our claim in a space and waiting it out in the college’s larger library (McCabe), working away until 10pm when they brought out the snacks. It was also a common library for group study as there were these study rooms on the upper floors if you wanted more privacy. I went back recently and some of the layout had changed (on the main floor at least) and it was so disorienting. Seeing a library change, even if it is for the better (which it was) is such a sucker punch to the memory.

For graduate school (MGH Institute of Health Professions in Boston) I would hide away in this renovated attic corner of the library with my friends, where we would study and sometimes practice physical therapy techniques on one another on the floor, but more often than not we would chat and enjoy life while simultaneously complaining about the breadth of material to study.

I once accompanied my husband last minute on a business trip to Ybor in Tampa, Florida. While he was doing his work thing, I decided to kill time by investigating the local library (the Robert W. Saunders Sr. Public Library). I had to walk about 2 miles to get there, and was 20 weeks pregnant, but it didn’t deter me because I always find it fascinating to see libraries in new states. I didn’t get a lot of time to explore it but I saw that it offers meals to those in need between 11:30am and 12:30pm, and it had different historical plaques and pictures about it like those below.

I also worked in the Cambridge Public Library when I was volunteering for the Eradicate Childhood Obesity Foundation and got used to navigating around one of the biggest (and oldest) library establishments in the country.

Then I visited my town library often when we briefly bought a house and lived in Swampscott, MA. After the birth of my baby, I started doing what I called drive-bys: running in to acquire books on-hold and returning the books I’ve read before taking the munchkin home. I would also, on occasion, explore the small town libraries nearby, getting jealous at some of the beautiful redone buildings and children’s sections.

When we moved to Cambridge, we lived right next to a school that had a branch of the public libraries in it, so I took Figlet to children reading events, and continued to supply my addictive habit. We also slowly were beginning to get to know other parents and nannies, with Fi starting to recognize familiar faces.

When we moved back to Maryland in November, I immediately went back to my childhood library and got a bunch of books to read, and continued in that manner until COVID-19 hit. Now, I have begrudgingly started doing e-books (still not able to do audio books because I get too distracted).

But most of all I look forward to Figlet getting older so I can see if my love of books instilled in her, and so I can spread my love of libraries and share my memories made in them while we make new ones together. She’s already started to show a taste for reading- she has a little book box that she draws from to make us read to her any time we go for naps/bedtime, or mention something she remembers us reading aloud to her. Be still, my heart!

I think part of the appeal of libraries, isn’t actually just the physical books though. For one, they usually offer ebooks and audiobooks, and CDs/DVDs, Blu-ray, journal accesses, etc (and they have branch-offs like maker spaces too). But the main reason to keep and support physical libraries is because of their environments. If they are doing it right (/if they are supported), they draw in and cater to their community. They offer computer usage and free internet to all and they hold events to enrich, educate, and encourage new skills and passions. They provide a safe place to stay if you can’t go home right away, or a place to go and study/get work done if you just need a change of pace. In an age where people don’t invest as much time in their towns in a larger centralized social sort of way, where community centers may not always exist, one can usually rely on their public library to be a get-together place. And if they don’t have something offered you want, they usually are receptive to feedback. These are traits that cannot be replaced by Amazon stores or online shopping.

For those interested, the book, Bibliotech: Why Libraries Matter More Than Ever in the Age of Google by John Palfrey goes into more detail about multiple reasons that libraries are important.

I also have started thinking more about the models of book-sharing and used books, and started to appreciate companies like Wonder Books, that take books no one else wants and try to keep them from being shredded (including from libraries!) I also love love love the free libraries outside on people’s yards and think they are cute way to share books in a hyper-local environment. Maybe library’s could start setting up Free Libraries at parks or areas that aren’t as well stocked with books to find new homes for the books the library might be planning to throw out?

a useful book for those who are “boobin”

First off, it’s been a while! I kind of fell off the face of the earth for a year there as I struggled with sleep deprivation, postpartum anxiety and depression, isolation, moving, you name it! I’m finally starting to get my energy and whatnot back and so here I am diving back in though, so many things have changed. A quick catch-up:

• we finally make the leap and moved back to Maryland (though we may be moving again soon to buy a house!)
• we are renting in my old childhood neighborhood so we see my parents fairly often
• the little one is approaching her 2nd birthday, and being fully immersed in toddler life is very different than life with a baby
• I now have access to land (even if I’m just renting it) and so I’ve been getting my hands dirty and gardening a lot more
• I have also started foraging, which has opened up a whole new world for me about our food supplies and patterns of consumption in society (more on that later)
• I started (and completed) a death doula training. I’m still not exactly sure where it will take me, but it was a huge eye opener for me in so many ways, which I’ll try to explain in the coming months
• I started working with a Restorative Exercise Specialist for my postpartum recovery
• I am in the middle of becoming a breastfeeding counselor (but taking it slow and steady)
• and of course, we are in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic that effectively shut the world down, which has been insanely taxing on everyone

 

Now that that update is done, we can jump right in now with the book! Actually, first I have a bone to pick. Let it be known that every parent’s baby feeding journey is different. Because of this, it can be really difficult to receive advice/information/comment from people try to apply their beliefs or experiences/what they’ve heard on someone else. The best solution is to not do that. Instead, just listen as, in this case, a maternal figure may explain their difficulty with breastfeeding and sleep. Clear your mind and just listen. Alright, now I begin.

Personally, I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s written by an IBCLC (an international board-certified lactation consultant, for those, like me, who hate acronyms).

The IBCLC certification is obtained after completing 1 of 3 specific pathways. Either choice, they all require amassing crazy amounts of hours working with lactating women (500-1000 hours in 5  years depending on the pathway), taking 14 health science courses, and completing 90 hours of lactation education. Then, with all that done, the next step is to take a crazy long exam and wait months to hear the results. If you pass, you are officially an IBCLC, which is a health professional (they often work as entrepreneurs, or in hospitals (you generally see one before you can be discharged, post-birth to address feeding your infant), or even in pediatric facilities (usually by referral from the pediatrician, or request of the parent).

With that explanation done, I don’t think that every mothering womxn will like or agree with it, but it definitely resonates with a certain vein of that population. Nagle addresses how to breastfeed and sleep train, in the loosest sense of the words.

She addresses the fears a mother may have that their child is not behaving as society tells us they should, that they want to be comforted by breastfeeding, etc, and that’s okay, and biologically normal.

Her words are reassuring to a specific type of anxiety that is present in parents who wants to breastfeed and/or who wants to continue that journey but has been inundated by the errant comments like “you shouldn’t breastfeed past x age or they’ll never stop”, “don’t soothe your baby by breastfeeding- they won’t learn to self soothe”, “your baby still isn’t sleeping through the night?!” I’d also recommend it to anyone who has ever said those comments or thought them. Breastfeeding is a biological function and a personal choice. We all need to live and let live a little more when it comes to this topic.

Does she give the A to Zs about the chair method, extinction/cry it out (CIO) methods, the Ferber method, or other ways of sleep training that are so common? No. This is not that kind of book.

I think it helps if you come at this book thinking it is a resource that helps you assuage panic and feel empowered to say things like, “oh right, it’s not weird that my 3-year old still wants to breastfeed, and my choice to continue or not should be based on my own opinion, not what others have told me is ‘right’ or ‘normal’.”

In other words, I think this book is awesome because it can make you feel like you have a choice, when you might be feeling otherwise based on the comments you received (and I fully understand that mothers who have made other choices get just as much sh*t. There is a constant struggle to police womxn for their choices around feeding their babies, but the whole point of us being a super-connected, educated, research and experience-filled world was to allow us to have more options and freedom, and less judgement. I will stop my diatribe in a moment, but I can’t emphasize enough how it is so important to help empower moms to understand all their options, not demonize the choices they make). End rant.

 

Note: If you are interested in learning more about IBCLC’s and what they do, here is the link for you.

on racial differences in maternal care

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Fi and I visited my parents a few weeks back, and as a result she got her fill of dog exposure. Studies are still looking into the impact of early dog exposure (e.g. the first year of a baby’s life) on the child’s risk of asthma, allergies, and eczema later in life, and preliminary data seems to suggest that dogs have a positive effect in decreasing the risk of all three.

One study even found a higher correlation of eczema reduction for black children as opposed to white children from dog exposure, which could be useful as black people statistically have a higher risk for eczema (especially women).

These kinds of studies highlight the need for analysis of subgroups (e.g. race, gender, type of birth) to really understand who is being affected specifically. However, subgrouping is only useful so long as the studies are done through non-biased non-reductionist lenses. If accomplished, such specificity would allow for more applicable research to come out that could help promote better health, wellness, and medical decisions.

Which reminds me, I also listened to a webinar from the Black Mamas Matter Alliance. It covered a lot of material, but there was one particular point that stuck out to me (besides the need for a lot of policy reform across the country). It was the need for doulas, particularly those who live in the communities they serve (called community-based doulas).

Doulas act as support people for mothers, providing nonjudgmental (and non-medical) advice to moms from pregnancy to postpartum, making sure moms understand their rights and options. A doula from one’s own community would invaluable as they would understand the dynamics behind the community, as well as having firsthand experience with how the medical/clinical facilities are.

The webinar also talked about the need for insurance coverage for doulas (especially under Medicare), so that more mothers can afford them. I couldn’t agree more, especially as doulas correlate with better outcomes and statistics for the mothers overall.

The webinar is up on the BMMA site if you want to listen to it.

And lastly, I also read a book by a black midwife called Listen to Me Good, which was a book about a less well known figure in women’s history named Margaret Charles Smith. She was a midwife in Alabama who worked from the 40s to the 80s.

She never thought she’d become a lay midwife, as the hours were terrible and the pay even worse, especially for a black woman in the south. She learned traditions of birth and postpartum care through her grandmother and other “wise women”, and then later got standardized training through the nearest hospital, which allowed her to assist more women in a systemically recognized and medically approved fashion. She still continued to serve women as best she could without putting her neck on the line (she also helped deliver white women’s babies, which was a contentious point at the time).

The book also reflects on the various struggles black women faced in trying to work as midwives in Alabama, first due to explicit racism, but in later years, also due to systemic racism and prejudice through the worlds of healthcare and medicine, as doctors sought to get rid of lay midwifery (and devalued nurse-midwifery too in some areas). Many women, like Miss Smith, continued to try to care for women regardless, as they were the only option for hundreds of miles, and because white doctors were generally not interested in making the trip to aid poor black women give birth.

It really puts into perspective that even today, black women in America are still three to four times more likely to die during childbirth (or the first week immediately after) than white women. Food for thought.

One thing that could help bridge this increasing gap is better sensitivity training and education for medical practitioners. I was curious about different traditional practices and beliefs around postpartum care which led me to some interesting studies. One such study covered a few Central American countries and their beliefs around both the perinatal and postpartum periods.

I do think it’s important to know of the different roots behind postpartum treatments to help understand why a family may act/react the way they do to particular medical practices in western birth facilities (like hospitals). This is the way, in my opinion, to create a culture of care that uses a mom’s background/culture along with the medical evidence based practice to put the best interests of moms first, rather than of healthcare premiums.

 

on parenting, environmentalism, and community

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I recently finished Achtung Baby by Sara Zaske, which was a great read all about the differences in parenting mentalities and practices of Germany (specifically Berlin) versus the U.S. It covered categories ranging from policies about children walking to and from school alone, to history courses offered at their respective schools and the differing practices when it comes to forming children’s senses of cultural and civic responsibility, to how to allow the children to establish confidence in themselves.

Zaske also addresses the importance of unstructured play on future development of children, and how to try to change/influences policies where you live.

I read this books, not to replace my own instincts in parenting my baby, but to understand how much of my parenting style is built from within a specific culture, and is not just “intuition”. The more I read, the more I see what culture I am blended within, and the more I can truly pick and choose what works best for me.

Of the “parenting” books, I have also read The Happiest Kids in the World by Rina Mae Acosta and Michele Hutchinson. It depicts two expats’ views on parenting, this time in the Netherlands. The expats were one British woman and one American woman talking about their insights into raising children (from infancy to eleven years of age) based on the fact that parenting in the Netherlands focuses on creating happy children. The whole society gets involved to make it a priority.

It’s a good read, and I recommend it for any parents who are worried that they are trying to push their children into checking off too many accomplishment boxes, without taking into account their children’s wants and preferences. Or it’s a fun read if you are just curious to understand how parenting is done in other places.

Previously, I also read Bringing Up Bébé by Pamela Druckerman, and French Twist by Catherine Crawford. So my distribution in countries has extended to Germany, France, and the Netherlands but I am working to expand that presently.

These books aren’t here to specifically instruct or convince readers on a certain way of how to parent per se. In fact, most of the authors are expats raising their kids in a new culture and then trying to blend that with their their own in attempt to find balance. However, they all do reflect on commonalities they see in whatever society they are part of at the time, the one that shapes their raising of children. They also do end up implanting little nuggets in the malleable pockets of my gray matter that make me question the status quo of my own culture. In particular, why does my culture (and many others) prioritize working above all?

How does removing playtime for young children and filling it with structured activities with parental supervision impact both the future generations of children as well as the parents currently doing the implementation? What can individuals do to try to mitigate the cascade of symptoms that lead to a cemented cultural practice enforced by litigation (the culture of suing everyone and everything for accidents)?

My mind is teeming with perceived implications for my own little one, and I’m wrought with fervor to carve out a way to achieve the most balanced route for her to grow as her own person. Now I wouldn’t say I worry about her future yet in the anxious melodramatic ways that bubbles into most of my thoughts, but I would say I’m genuinely curious about what happens next. How do I find like minded, community-based people who want to preserve the innocence of youth, but also encourage the growth of young independence in a society that looks to constant busyness as a sign of success? Is it possible within our societal framework? Also, what is happiness and how do we create a space for our children to discover it, and have it be lasting? More to come on this subject in later posts!

One last tie-in I have for today. I read a book called There’s No Such Thing As Bad Weather by Linda Åkeson McGurk, and it compared different aspects of parenting in Scandinavian countries versus the United States (and other English-speaking countries). Much of it compares how the way we raise our children in regards to their relationships with nature. According to McGurk, in Scandinavia they have more focus on outdoor education for young children so that when those children grow up, they continue to appreciate nature and are naturally (ha, pun) more inclined towards environmental protection.

But another large takeaway from the book was that your society has to support these kinds of initiatives. In some Scandinavian countries, people can cross over (or children can play on) other people’s private land/property (think huge backyards and fields) legally, so long as they don’t cause any damage.

The countries also work to instill independence and responsibility in their children by letting them take more age-appropriate risks (like 8 year olds walking to and from parks alone, or playing outside for hours after they’ve gradually learned the areas with their families). I also recently rewatched Lord of the Rings with my husband, and it always instills in me how important nature is to humans, and how much of humanity just sees it as something to conquer rather than a large part of our health and happiness. We forget that we need the good bacteria from the soil and plants, that the fresh air helps decrease infection and disease risks, that our food either comes from or is fed from nature, that we derive a sense of peace from greenery, and that we can find comfort with change by appreciating seasonal life cycles.

It feels like letting our children learn from and develop stronger appreciations from nature sets them up with a good baseline to be happier and healthier than we are. I’m excited to hear and see about all the different initiatives small communities in America enact to figure out the balance that works for each child and family.

on biomechanics and katy bowman

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I haven’t posted in a while because “times [but mostly things in my life] they are a-changing”. What I mean by that is that I have a bunch of exciting things I’m trying to get involved with that are still centered around my various beloved themes, including:

• community
• women’s health… and now, a throwback,
• biomechanics!

Let me catch you up. Once upon a time I was a confused undergraduate trying to narrow down the vast world of supposed choices to figure out my next step post-college. I knew I had splashes of talent in various areas, but that I was also relatively unskilled overall in a whole larger host of things, making me not a great candidate for any job (at least that was the opinion I had of myself). I remember I came to a point where I narrowed the choice down to two respective options:

1. go to graduate school for biomechanics. Specifically comparative (non-human) biomechanics, but with the desire to see if I could follow in the footsteps of those inspiring people who learn from nature and then connect that learning to something in the human world (e.g. the tensile strength of sharks’ skin as a model for bulletproof vests, or the boxfish’s shape as a model for the most aerodynamically stable (and ugly) car), or
2. go to physical therapy school. Essentially PTs are the biomechanists of the medical world (so in this analogy an orthopedic surgeon would be more like a biomechanical engineer). This therapy path would allow me a more direct way to give back to the people and help others.

As you may know, I ultimately chose physical therapy, and then ended up leaving it about halfway through the program because the physical contact (manual therapy, measurements, etc) with patients was not conducive with my skin condition. This  ultimately made physical therapy less than an ideal career for me.

So then, the deluge. How am I full circling back to the idea of biomechanics (though not necessarily comparative this time)? Well, first I started working in the field of women’s health a little over two years ago, which has since led me to undertaking the process for a prenatal and postnatal coaching certification (I actually just finished this past week and am officially a certified prenatal and postnatal coach!). I am also tying that field of knowledge to a few other movement-related initiatives, including the current co-creation of a course for single mothers of color (but I’ll go into more on that when it’s further along). I also am in the process of figuring out if I have the time to set up and lead stroller/carrier friendly walks in a local nature reservation.

While in the midst of these various endeavors, I also ended up finding Katy Bowman, a biomechanist and movement educator known for her Nutritious Movement company, which builds on her nature-based movement ideologies/passions. She believes in modifying our every day human environments (along with many movements we do) to better promote health and wellness, because movement-optimized environments require us to move better by their very nature. An example she gives is not having a couch in your home. This then requires you to do more squats (if you end up sitting on the floor, or chairs of lower heights), and forces you to move your hip, knee, and ankle joints in greater ranges of motion. The no-couch life also facilitates less sitting time by virtue of there not being any comfy furniture to sit upon, thus increasing your NEAT which helps your body even at the cellular level.

As I delved more into her material, I realized I had found someone that encompassed that overlap in my interests that I didn’t know existed; she is not a practitioner of health or medicine therefore not subject to the insurance whims, nor is she just an academic  stuck talking only to other academics/writing scholarly papers while being removed from the direct societal implementation. Bowman also intersects nature with the manmade world, bridging the choice I was stuck between (loving the idea of physical rehabilitation and the like while having a passion for being involved in natural environments, but unsure of how to make either a thing). Even more excitingly, after some light searching I discovered she too has a masters (in health studies, while I’m health sciences, but close enough) so I know it’s possible to straddle the academic world even in a health-esque field while not being a PhD or MD.

This is endlessly inspiring to me because now I’m starting to think it isn’t impossible to focus on prenatal and postpartum women and work with them and their babies/ young children to create lifestyle changes and increase our movement, while doing it all in nature. Though I’m not fully sure of the direction I’m going to end up going to get it started, all in all, things are looking to be very promising in the near future.

I have also used Bowman as an entry into foot health (using her book Whole Body Barefoot), subsequently contemplating the health of my own feet on a more regular basis. Since I left the category of a nulliparous woman (a woman who has never given birth), I’ve been thinking about how my body alignment changed during pregnancy and how now I still often feel joint laxity and generally less in-tune with my body. This has resulted in me walking more duck-footed than I had previously. I am testing out her suggestions to improve my foot (and global postural) health presently, but honestly ,uch of her program is just good practice for regaining balance and better alignment generally (like doing calf stretches and one leg standing balance exercises). I’m already noticing that I am more able to abduct my pinky toes further since starting. My personal goal is to retrain my feet to be able to wear minimalist shoes (or shoes that alter the natural foot mechanics the least). This includes working my way to comfortably wearing shoes with no heel lift (which normal even sneakers and many types of sandals have).

Before that book, I also read Bowman’s book called Diastasis Recti: The Whole Body Solution to Abdominal Weakness and Separation. Though the content is obviously useful for postpartum moms, the condition of diastasis recti (DR) can impact men and nulliparous women too.

In this book Bowman talks about how our modern lifestyles put a lot more pressure (force) on our cavities (diaphragmatic, stomach, and pelvic) and so to combat that we need to make environmental changes in our lifestyle. This includes actions like sitting less in the day and returning to using our bodies to move more (rather than always having appliances and tools to help us).

The point isn’t to remove all modern conveniences entirely if it’s not possible in our lives, but to balance out those convenient factors so our bodies have a chance to regain better mobility and functional strength while we continue to go about our daily lives.

The most crucial exercise Bowman suggests as a takeaway from her book is better rib engagement. This is done by drawing our ribs down and back without just sucking in our stomachs. We need to get our ribcage muscles and joint attachments to be less stiff because it impacts our ability to use our arms in their full range, and can cause issues if we move our pelvises with our ribcages all the time. Anyway, the book is definitely worth checking out to hear Bowman explain all of this (she does a much much better job).

The last thing I read by Bowman was a paper she put out about Movement Ecology. She addresses movement in multiple avenues, highlighting how we as a species gravitate towards decreased movement, which means more than just decreased exercise. She investigates movement as a broader topic, looking at how our daily activities and the environment around us help move and change our bodies in multiple ways, including at the cellular level (e.g. literally deforming our cells as when we lay on an object and our cells flatten). It’s cool stuff!

The fun thing about Bowman’s work (and I’m just talking about the books/papers I referenced in this post, so foot health techniques, diastasis recti prevention, and movement ecology practices), you can already come up with a fairly comprehensive program for prenatal and postpartum mothers to help them stave off lifestyle-related aches and pains, and regain more function respectively, while building foundational blocks of strength and mobility. And that’s what I’ll be playing around with next with my own routines.

On a tangent, I wonder how much of the severity of my topical steroid withdrawal would be alleviated  if I moved more?

on seed cycling

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I wrote this post a while back but just realized it was relevant to this blog. It may feel a bit out there, but I’m all about exploring other less mainstream categories too. So, having absolved myself of all guilt for anyone who misinterprets this post as hard fact, I begin.

I came across the term ‘seed cycling’ used on social media and became intrigued as to one, what it meant, and two, what benefit it had (if any).

A quick Google search led me to both answers. Seed cycling is somewhat literally what it sounds like (although my first guess as it was 4am as I wrote this, involved interpreting cycling as bicycling). You cycle between seeds in your diet, consuming specific ones at specific types during your menstrual cycle (and supposedly it can be use for peri-menopausal and post-menopausal women as well).

Anyway, the theory is that a menstrual cycle is most naturally working if it is within the 28-day cycle, and anything else indicates some sort of imbalance of estrogen. The seeds chosen during the two phases of the menstrual cycle (when estrogen is decreasing and when it is increasing) are chosen specifically to help balance out the estrogen in each phase to allow the person to resume the natural cycle duration.

At this point you may be wondering why am I posting about this on my eczema blog? Well, you may recall from my post on pregnancy, that one of the factors believed to provoke eczema in pregnant women is the surge of estrogen. So my hypothesis is that if one’s cycle is off, and they experience larger ranges of estrogen surges during phases of their cycle, perhaps that would increase the intensity of an eczema flare.

Here’s a quick overview about the menstrual cycle (I previously worked as a women’s health consultant, so I both enjoy this kind of knowledge and could use the refresher myself). We have 4 phases: menstruation, the follicular phase, ovulation, and then the luteal phase.

• MENSTRUATION – This is the phase in which the lining of the uterus (or the endometrium), which has thickened over the month, comes off and there is bleeding from the vagina.
• FOLLICULAR PHASE – This phase starts on the first day of menstruation. The pituitary glands, triggered by the hypothalamus, release follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and FSH in turn causes the ovaries to release a few follicles, each of which has an egg. One of these follicles’ eggs will start to mature, while the others die (around day 10). The uterine lining starts to thicken during this phase too due to follicular stimulation. The follicular growth also causes a surge in estrogen, which the body compensates for by the hypothalamus releasing gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH), which gets the pituitary gland to release lutenizing hormome (LH) and FSH.
• OVULATION – During this phase, the high levels of LH triggers the release of the mature egg from the ovaries in two days. The egg is propelled by little hair-like structures through the fallopian tube into the uterus. Once there, it can survive for only about 24 hours. During this process, the egg has “hatched” out of the follicle, and the follicular remnant that gets dragged along outside the egg becomes the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum releases progesterone and a little estrogen, a mixture that helps keep the uterine lining thickened.
• LUTEAL PHASE – During this phase the corpus luteum releases progesterone and a little estrogen, a mixture that helps keep the uterine lining thickened. When no pregnancy occurs, the corpus luteum falls off and dies (around day 22), causing a drop in progesterone. The progesterone drop triggers the uterine lining to fall off (aka menstruation), hence the cycle repeats.

So how does one do this seed cycling, you ask? Well, during the follicular phase (day 1 when you start to bleed to day 14) you take a daily dose of 1 tablespoon of ground flax/pumpkin/chia seeds. From days 15-28 you take a daily dose of tablespoon of ground sunflower/sesame seeds. That’s all there is to it.

But why is this supposed to work? I couldn’t find any rigorous studies on seed cycling, but came upon a blog post written by a naturopathic doctor (Dr. Lindsey Jesswein). She explains that the seed hulls have chemicals called lignans, which help “modulate hormone pathways”, and the seed oils (made of omega fatty acids) help “provide the building blocks for steroid hormone synthesis”. Jesswein then describes each seed (minus chia) a bit more by what they provide:

• Flax – vitamin B, manganese,  and magnesium
• Pumpkin – iron, magnesium phosphorous, zinc
• Sesame – vitamin E, vitamin B1, manganese, irin, magnesium, copper, sesamin
• Sunflower – vitmin E, linoleic acid, magnesium, potassium, zinc, calcium

The Herbal Academy (which was how I came to Dr. Jesswein blog post) goes into a bit more detail about the various benefits of each of these seeds and provided studies, but noted that the information was on individual seeds and not their impact with seed cycling.

A few of the studies they included (and some additional ones I found) found that:

• flax may help to lengthen the luteal phase and reduce missed periods,
• pumpkin may improve HDL cholesterol levels and reduce hot flashes, joint pain and headaches
• pumpkin and sunflower may aid in reducing postmenopausal breast cancer risk
• sesame seeds, according to Ayurvedic philosophies, are supposed to be able to improve “scanty menstruation”
• a maternal diet of flaxseed versus casein results in lower body fat mass and visceral fat mass, cholesterol, and triglycerides for the offspring when weaned. Note I have no idea what species they were studying as I could only access the abstract, but I’m assuming they tested mice

Overall the evidence of large changes for the menstrual cycle is not huge, but at the same time, it generally doesn’t hurt to consume seeds in one’s diet so it may be worth trying if you want to play around with your nutrition (though always seek advice from a medical professional first, especially if you have a specific condition you are trying to treat!).

I’m curious to apply seed to myself so I might give it a trial for a few months and report back. Maybe. I’m also incredibly fickle, so probably not. I generally eat flax anyway with breakfast and the like, but I wouldn’t be able to notice if there were any changes because I’m still breastfeeding and thus not getting my period anyway.

Also I do understand that engaging in many different eczema projects simultaneously results in confounding the data as to which project individually helps my eczema, but it is my belief that eczema cannot be managed by just one miracle solution (though diet is a huge one) and so enacting multiple positive changes and approaches, so long as they are sustainable to myself lifestyle, I view as being the most maximally beneficial.

 

REFERENCES

Gossell-Williams, M., Hyde, C., Hunter, T., Simms-Stewart, D,. Fletcher, H., McGrowder, D., Walters, C.A. (2011). Improvement in HDL cholesterol in postmenopausal women supplemented with pumpkin seed oil: pilot study. Climacteric. 2011 Oct;14(5):558-64.

Hall, Annie. “Seed Cycling for Hormonal Balance.” Herbal Academy, https://theherbalacademy.com/seed-cycling-for-hormonal-balance/. Accessed 22 Oct 2018.

“Menstrual Cycle.” Better Health Channel, https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/menstrual-cycle. Accessed 24 Oct 2018.

Phipps WR, Martini MC, Lampe JW, Slavin, JL, Kurzer MS. (1993). Effect of flax seed ingestion on the menstrual cycle. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 1993 Nov;77(5):1215 – 1219.

Somwanshi SB, Gaikwad VM, Dhamak KB, Gaware VM. Women’s Health Issue: A Brief Overview on Irregular Menstruation. IJNRD. 2017 May;7(5):2456-4184.

Troina AA, Figueiredo MS, Moura EG, Boaventura GT, Soares LL, Cardozo LFMF, Oliveira E, Lisboa PC, Passos MARF, Passos MCF. Maternal flaxseed diet during lactation alters milk composition and programs the offspring body composition, lipid profile and sexual function. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 2010 Fed;48(2):697-703.

Zaineddin AK, Buck K, Vrieling A, Heinz J., Flesch-Janys D, Linseisen, J, Chang-Claude J. (2012). The association between dietary lignans, phytoestrogen-rich foods, and fiber intake and postmenopausal breast cancer risk: a German case-control study. Nutrition and Cancer. 2012;64(5):652-65.

on polycystic ovarian syndrome (pcos)

photo source: what does it mean to have a diminished ovarian reserve?

The other day I stumbled upon a briefing in my email that led me to this study, which indicated that women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) have an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. As a woman who was diagnosed with PCOS as a 17 year old (and as a woman with an egregious sweet tooth), this news alarmed me, but not just for the risk mentioned.

First off, PCOS is a reproductive hormonal condition that can impact fertility. With PCOS woman is thought to have at least two of the following: high levels of androgen, increased facial hair, multiple cysts in her ovaries, and/or infrequent periods. The risk of PCOS is also greater when a woman is obese.

When I was first diagnosed with PCOS, I was around 17, and went to the Ob/Gyn because I hadn’t had my period in 6 months despite not being sexually active. The doctor inquired on my lifestyle, and when he discovered I played on two soccer teams and ran track on the off season, he quickly decided that my period’s absence must be due to my high level of physical activity. For some reason, he still decided to do an ultrasound, and then proclaimed that I had cysts in my ovaries. He retroactively mentioned that they might be the reason for my errant hairs on my chin and below my belly button (as PCOS is known for causing hormonal fluctuates that result in increased androgen). He then had me get a blood test, the results of which showed that I had slightly lower levels of estrogen than is “the norm”. He prescribed me birth control pills to balance out my hormones and sent me on my way. And so I began my journey on “the pill” for about 3 or 4 years.

After that, every time I subsequently went to see a Ob/Gyn, in college and after, I dutifully marked down that I had PCOS on the medical intake forms. It was never remarked upon again as my body weight was normal, which at the time was the big red flag with PCOS. It wasn’t until I started going through what we later found to be topical steroid withdrawal that my PCOS became a problem. Because my skin was so bad, doctors believed it may have had something to due with my hormones, and so I had a gamut of tests, from blood and saliva draws, to MRIs. They found that my cortisol levels were high and decided it would be worth it to see if taking me off the pill alleviated said result (it was also discovered that I had a pituitary adenoma, which led to me having to see a neurologist, and in following years having to get an annual check-up MRI. This continued until one doctor said they weren’t sure I ever had the adenoma, but instead perhaps the imaging had been read incorrectly the first time. Such is the way with imaging readings, I’ve learned).

When I was pregnant, I dutifully told my new Ob/Gyn about my PCOS diagnosis, and he replied that many women were given the diagnosis of PCOS when they were young without it truly being the case. Rather, he elaborated, it was more likely the case that I was young and my body was still adjusting to its hormonal changes. So maybe I had a cyst or two temporarily but it was not the same thing as PCOS. He furthered that the diagnostic signs for PCOS are a bit outdated, a statement of which newer studies seem to agree.

With the uncertainty around correct diagnoses, how then would one know if they are at more risk for type 2 diabetes or not? After I pondered this for a while, and my mind wandered down such avenues of questions, I inevitably came to the same conclusion where I always end up. Does it really matter? Or are most of these conditions still the product of lifestyle? Is the answer still then to eat more vegetables, cut down on sugar and processed foods, don’t consume excessive caloeies, sit less and move more?

Whenever I get to this conclusion I start to wonder what cultures still follow these stipulations more closely, and if said cultures have been studied for their rates of lifestyle diseases. But that’s a post for another day.

 

REFERENCES

Dewailly D. Diagnostic criteria for PCOS: Is there a need for a rethink? Best Practice & Research Clinical Obstetrics & Gynecology. 2016 Nov; 37: 5-11.

Kakoly NS, Earnest A, Teede HJ, Moran LJ, Joham AE. The Impact of Obesity on the Incidence of Type 2 Diabetes Among Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Diabetes Care. 2019 Jan.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. Office on Women’s Health. https://www.womenshealth.gov/a-z-topics/polycystic-ovary-syndrome.

on matrescence

Photo by J carter on Pexels.com

If you follow news in the field of maternal health, you may have heard the term matrescence thrown around in the last year or so.

Often defined as the transition of a woman into motherhood, it has also been likened to going through adolescence again, mom-style, due to:

• the fluctuation in hormones,
• the rapid changes in the body,
• the newly forming identity of oneself and one’s place in society, as well as
• the changes in one’s day to day life.

Alexandra Sacks, a psychiatrist, wrote a piece in the NY Times called The Birth of A Mother that proposes an idea for why this transition is so powerful, but often overlooked. She explains how a lot of this transition is overshadowed because society focuses on the baby and ignores how momentous of a change it is for the mother.

This lack of conversation around the realities of becoming a mother has been suspect in being one of the many factors that contributes to postpartum depression, as a mother may feel she is supposed to be estatic about her newborn baby, while suppressing any negative emotions despite the magnitude of change her life has just undergone.

In effort to mitigate that mental divide, to allow mothers to express all their emotions, and to create recognition in society about the magnitude of change motherhood is, many companies, academic institutes, and individual professionals are researching and producing more information about this time, working to get the message across. Another huge player in the field is the clinical psychologist Aurélie Athan, whose focus is on reproductive psychology. She looks at both striving and struggling moms in order to normalize the transition to motherhood and continues to work to revive the term and meaning of matrescence. She has even worked on getting some of the first academic concentrations and graduate-level certificate programs created that focus on reproductive and maternal wellbeing because she recognizes the importance of getting health providers, activists, and others involved in the spread of awareness about matrescence.

So if you are a new mom wondering why you feel so off, so different, and how to deal with these feelings of ambivalence towards your new life, know that you are not alone and that you should definitely speak up about how you feel. It will help cultivate a culture of acceptance around our motherhood adolescence.

on pediatric eczema: will my baby have it?

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

This is a crossover post from my personal blog.

A while back I wrote a post about what it’s like to have eczema and be pregnant, followed by another post after my little one was born all about living life with eczema and a baby. But today’s topic isn’t about the mom, but rather, about the baby and the baby’s risk of inheriting eczema from his/her parents.

The inspiration for this post comes from the eczema community on instagram. Many ladies have been asking about this topic, so I figured I would try to search for an answer. I apologize if it isn’t the clearest of posts. It’s a culmination of a bunch of witching hour moments over a few days, when Fiona decided that midnight, 1am, 2am, 3am, etc are equally important times to wake up each day.

Most of us know that there is a genetic component to eczema but what does that actually mean? There are a few different ideas being studied about where genes come into play with this condition that are lumped under the “outside-inside model” which look at skin barrier dysfunction (as opposed to the “inside-outside model”, which is about the gut health). Some examples of the outside-inside model, which I’ll go over individually, include:

• FLG (a gene, that makes the protein filaggrin). I mentioned this protein in an older post on my personal blog, talking about how there were treatments for eczema being developed that made use of it. The gist was that a loss-of-function in the specific gene results in less filaggrin being made, and filaggrin is an essential player in keeping the skin barrier intact.
• Tmem79/Matt (colloquially known the Matted mutant gene, so named because in mice it results in their fur having a matted look). Researchers found that mice that had this mutant MATT gene also had skin barrier issues and dermatitis issues, and that humans had a similar gene with a common single nucleotide polymorphisms (or SNP). When there is a misstep (or a mistake) in humans’ SNP, there are significant atopic dermatitis associations.
• Th2 (a cytokine, or a protein that impacts cell signaling). Th stands for T helper cells, and they help with host defense, but also impact inflammation. Some, like Th2 are know for being (pro)inflammatory, while Th1 is known to be anti-inflammatory. I mentioned this a little when talking about pregnancy and eczema. Research from 2015 showed there are many different Th types, that all may have their own impact on inflammation.
• interleukin-1 (a protein from a family of inflammatory and regulatory cytokines). Many studies are still showing that breastfeeding reduces your child’s risk of eczema, because of some components (interleukin-beta specifically) in the breast milk that the child consumes. One such study went so far as to say that breastfeeding halves the risk for children between 0 and 3 years of age (and no you don’t have to breastfeed for 3 years for that to be the case!). The way interleukins work is that they are released when there are bacteria or immunological disturbances. The interleukins show up and affect cells like capillary endothelial ones, making them release chemicals and attract monocytes (large white blood cells that help kill bacteria). The problem with certain types of interleukins is that they can be associated with Th2 (or Th-22, which is made by IL-22), or they can be known to be associated with inflammatory diseases like IL-17.

Then there has been a lot of research investigating if and how probiotics can help prevent eczema for babies too, and even Gerber makes probiotic-included products now. In particular, Lactobacillus rhamnosus was seen to have mixed results, with some studies showing it reduced genetic susceptibility to eczema (meaning it somehow calms the baby’s risk of having eczema) for children with thirty-three eczema susceptibility SNPs. On the flip side, other studies said Lactobacillus rhamnosus had no effect on reducing the child’s risk of eczema.

To be honest, I am still a bit skeptical of the studies done that show no effect because, from what I can tell, they have the parents give the babies probiotics for say 6 months, and then check back in when the child is 2 years old or so to see if there is a benefit. If a modern western diet (high carb, especially in refined sugars) can alter an adult’s gut microbiome fairly rapidly, why would the probiotics a baby takes at 6 months still be helping the gut at 2 years (the biome diversity would have changed due to diet by then, and the gut must stay healthy for it to help the skin)? Wouldn’t one expect the gut microbiome diversity to change and said “good” gut bacteria to not be able to survive the environment anymore?

I still think, as the studies show no negative effects, what would be the harm in giving your baby probiotics (after consulting with your baby’s pediatrician of course)? That and also making sure to keep your baby on a diet that creates a gut environment more conducive to good bacteria flourishing.

Also note, I wasn’t able to access the whole study so I’m not sure how the probiotics were administered unfortunately. On a tangent, that’s always a frustrating point to me. I don’t think studies should cost the public to access because we should want to encourage people furthering their health in any way possible. I understand scientists need to make money too but I do wish there was another way besides charging subscriptions to databases of research. 

But I digress. So what is the takeaway for all those future mamas worrying about passing eczema on to their children? Do they have cause for concern? Perhaps. The way I see it (noting I could be interpreting this incorrectly) is for:

• filaggrin: If the loss of function filaggrin gene is passed on, the child would probably have an increased risk.
• Th2: the Th1/Th2 dominance seems to be more dependent on estrogen than genetics (though I could be wrong) so my guess would be that having a girl would make her more susceptible in that case (again, I definitely could be wrong).
• MATT gene: The atopic dermatitis shows up is because of that misstep (mistake) in the common SNP of the gene. As a result I think the answer is yes, it probably is a risk for one’s children, because missteps (I believe) would be passed down since they are mutations.
• interleukins: I believe the pro-inflammatory ones that are problematic are a product more so of consistent stressors on the body (both from invaders like bacteria, and from literal stress). If the baby/child is relatively healthy and isn’t too stressed out, in tandem maybe with the mom breastfeeding her baby (so long as she is able to, aka isn’t on chemotherapy or radiation or something), then I do think the risk of eczema from this perspective, is decreased.

But the real question now is how do all these components balance out in an individual, in a baby? Does having a loss of function filaggrin gene guarantee a lifetime of eczema? Or does it just make you more susceptible but you are fine if you don’t have the MATT gene’s SNP misstep (or one of the other 33 SNPs mentioned that are related to eczema susceptibility)? It would be interesting to see a study done that investigates all these components together, so we could know which are still present when you have people with severe eczema, topical steroid withdrawal systems, etc. As for the initial question, sure, there are genetic components that you pass down to your baby, but it seems like not all the heavy hitters are genetic so your baby may still be fine.

One more thing to leave you with: the American Academy of Dermatology made a post a while back saying a few ways to reduce your baby’s chance of eczema (not referring to genetics naturally), which included:

• having a dog at home before the child’s 1st birthday
• moisturizing a newborn’s skin
• not eliminating a bunch of things in your diet
• eating a healthy diet while pregnant, and
• breastfeeding (and having a healthy diet while breastfeeding too).

All in all, know this: if you do have a baby and he/she has eczema, the research body is growing in the field and more understanding of what causes eczema are coming to light, which means better ways to treat it will follow.

 

 

REFERENCES

Bauer SM. Atopic Eczema: Genetic Associations and Potential Links to Development Exposures. International Journal of Toxicology. 2017 Mar 30: 36(3): 187-198.

Cabana MD, McKean M, Caughey AB, Fong L, Lynch S, Wong A, Leong R, Boushey HA, Hilton JF. Early Probiotic Supplementation for Eczema and Asthma Prevention: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Pediatrics. 2017 Sep; 140(3).

“Can anything prevent my child from getting eczema?” America Academy of Dermatology, https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/eczema/prevent-my-child-from-getting-eczema. Accessed 9 Jan 2019.

Hofmann A, Kiecker F, Zuberbier T. A systematic review of the role of interleukin-17 and the interleukin-20 family in inflammatory allergic skin diseases. Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2016 Oct; 16(5): 451-457.

“Interleukin 1.” R&D Systems 1999, https://www.rndsystems.com/resources/articles/interleukin-1. Accessed 18 Dec 2018.

Jepsen AA, Chawes BL, Carson CG, Schoos A-MM, Thysen AH, Waage J, Brix S, Bisgaard H. High breast milk IL-beta level is associated with reduced risk of childhood eczema. Clinical & Experimental Allergy. 2016 Jun 2; 46(10): 1344-1354.

McLean WHI. Filaggrin failure – from ichthyosis vulgaris to atopic eczema and beyond. Britist Journal of Dermatology. 2016 Sept 26; 175(52): 4-7.

Morgan AR, Han DY, Wickens K, Barthow C, Mitchell EA, Stanley TV, Dekker J, Crane J, Ferguson LR. Differential modification of genetic susceptibility to childhood eczema by two probiotics. 2014 Aug 21; 44(10): 1255-1265.

Raphael I, Nalawade S, Eagar TN, Forsthuber TG. T cell subsets and their signature cytokines in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Cytokine. 2015 July; 74(1): 5-17.

Saunders SP, Goh CSM, Brown SJ, Palmer CNA, Porter RM, Cole C, Campbell LE, Gierlinski M, Barton GJ, Schneider G, Balmain A, Prescott AR, Weidinger S, Baurecht H, Kabesch M, Gieger C, Lee Y, Tavendale R, Mukhopadhyay S, Turner SW, Madhok VB, Sullivan FM, Relton C, Burn J, Meggitt S, Smith CH, Allen MA, Barker JNWN, Reynolds NJ, Cordell HJ, Irvine AD, McLean WHI, Sandilands A, Fallon PG. Tmem79/Matt is the matted mouse gene and is a predisposing gene for atopic dermatitis in huma subjects. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2013 Nov; 132 (5): 1121-1129.

on new adventures (sleep training and postpartum doula training)

Photo by Oliver Sjöström on Pexels.com

Hello again. It’s been a while since I’ve posted any content, in fact I think I haven’t posted since I was in my second trimester!

Well, I have since given birth to my beautiful little one, Fiona, and am now working through a new stage of life with her: sleep training.

It may seem a bit late as she is almost 7 months now but in reality sleep training can be initiated at any age. In my case, in her earlier months I was so worried about her weight gain (as she is small and has been consistently in the 5% quartile) and her potential food sensitivities that I was eating (she’s exclusively breastfed and she occasionally had blood in her stool), that I focused on nothing else.

As a result, Fi now appears to be in a bad holding pattern where she fluctuates between waking up twice a night to waking up every hour or so from 12pm-5am and fighting going back down to sleep unless I feed her. Her daytime naps are a total crapshoot (sometimes she sleeps like a goddess, other times she will fight it for hours but is too tired to do anything else).

So, I am working on reading through the research about various techniques to go about breaking the latter habit, looking at everything from the Ferber Method to the Sears Method. I’ll be headed to the library later today to get the official books on various methods, but in the meantime, from scouring the internet at 2am, here are a few of the suggestions (from secondary sources):

The gradual retreat/disappearing chair method

1. place chair by crib
2. put baby down when drowsy then sit on chair
3. when baby cries, go to her and pat/stroke her but avoid eye contact
4. when baby stops crying, move chair slightly further away and sit
5. if baby cries again repeat pat/stroke and no eye contact
6. when baby stops crying move chair further back again
7. repeat until baby is asleep. might take 10 minutes for them to fall into deep sleep

The kissing game method

1. put baby down when drowsy and promise to return in a minute to give a kiss
2. return almost immediate to give another kiss
3. take a few steps towards door then return and give another kiss
4. promise to return in a minute to give another kiss
5. put something away/do somethin in room, then give another kiss. 6. promise to return in a minute for another kiss
6. pop outside room for a few seconds then return for a kiss
7. as long as child is lying down she gets more kisses (no chat, cuddles, stories, drinks)
8. repeat until child is asleep

The Ferber Method

1. put baby in crib awake, turn off lights, say goodnight and leave room
2. if baby cries, come back after predetermined time (a minute or two). Pat baby in reassuring way but don’t pick up. Leave room promptly
3. this time stay out of the room slightly longer before returning to reassure baby
4. continue with longer and longer periods of time
5. if baby wakes in the middle of the night, start back over with lowest wait time at beginning of night
6. on second night, wait a little longer than previous night (so first night try for example 3 min, 5 min, 10 min. second night try 5 min, 10 min, 12 min)

The night weaning method

1. start gradually by nursing baby shorter periods of time or giving smaller amounts of milk in bottle, prolong time between feedings by patting baby to sleep
2. make sure baby get plenty to eat during day (decrease distractions)
3. offer extra feeding in evening
4. avoid weaning during transitions (vacations, traveling, teething)
5. have non-boob feeder comfort during night
6. eliminate feedings one at a time. tell her she can nurse in teh morning. pat her belly/back

The pick up, put down method

1. if baby cries when first put down, put hand on her chest with “shhh” or key phrase
2. if that doesn’t work, pick up and repeat phase
3. when she stops crying but is still awake, but her back down even if she starts to cry on way down
4. if still crying, pick her up again. do until you can see signs that baby is settling (cries getting weaker)
5. when behavior settling, don’t pick up anymore. place hand on chest and say phrase
6. leave room
7. if baby starts to cry, repeat process again as many times as needed until she’s asleep

The nighttime crier method

1. put baby down when drowsy
2. Visit baby briefly ever 5-15 min if she’s crying
3. make visits boring, brief, but supportive
4. do not remove child from crib (no rocking if you do). Most babies cry 30-90 min then fall asleep
5. middle of night crying: temporary hold baby until asleep (helpful for transitions) if she cries for more than 10 min. little talking, no lights. dad is often more effective 6. give baby security object 7. phase out nighttime holding

The overall commonalities between all these methods is that you first have to have a good bedtime routine established, and that you should feel free to adjust the timings as you feel best fits your baby.

So far we’ve attempted sleep training once with Fiona (last night in fact), and it took hours to get her down. Jake had to do it because she got ragingly upset if I tried to and me attending to her didn’t result in her getting fed. I am handling the nap version of this today (so far unsuccessfully) and then we’ll see how tonight fares.

Speaking of how things fare, that brings me to my other adventure. I have finally gone and signed up for a postpartum doula course and will be working my way through that in the coming months. I might just skip ahead to do the reading that pertains to sleep habits and use the material to help inform my ongoing real life experience. I’ll be taking the little one to the library next to where we live to stock up on the necessary books and then I’ll come home and work through them with her.

More to come about my course and in depth sleep training experimenting with Fiona soon!