Natural Baby and Childcare
July 26, 2010 – 8:46 pmSo I’m about halfway through this book, Natural Baby and Childcare, by Lauren Feder, MD. She is a naturally-oriented MD who also practices homeopathy. I heard about the book while riding in the car with my mom listening to Dr. Oz on satellite radio.
So far, I resonate with a lot of what she says regarding medicine, childhood illnesses, home remedies, nutrition (with a few exceptions, one being: she advises parents to avoid coconut oil — that’s a fail in my opinion), and breastfeeding, among other things. Some of the parenting advice I don’t necessarily resonate with. That’s in part because I am not totally sold on the whole Attachment Parenting philosophy, although I think it definitely has aspects I intuitively agree with, and I certainly want to parent mindfully and intentionally. I find I resonate with AP’s overarching philosophies, but not so much with some of the particular approaches they preach. For instance, I don’t really see my husband and I doing a long-term co-sleeping thing or forgoing sleep training altogether — but that’s us; everyone is different and will land in a different place in making these decisions.
But, I’m really glad I’m reading this book. I feel like, despite the sifting I find myself doing, I’m learning some useful things about baby and childcare. And, from a holistic medical perspective, I’m getting some decent advice from Dr. Feder.
How about you? Has anyone read this book? Do you love it? What do you think about Attachment Parenting? Do you have other parenting philosophies you like?
4 Responses to “Natural Baby and Childcare”
I haven’t Lauren Feder’s book but I have read the Dr. Sears “Baby Book” which promotes Attachment Parenting. Like you, I agree with some aspects of it so we will probably only incorporate parts of it into our parenting. I do recommend you check out “The Happiest Baby on the Block.” I haven’t read the book but I have the DVD. It’s not a parenting style just pointers on how to calm and soothe a newborn. I know several people that swear by the techniques that include swaddling and rocking in this particular way that imitates what the baby felt in the womb. BTW- I am still waiting for my baby boy. I will be sure to let everyone know when he finally decides to join us!
By Lesley Schwartz on Jul 27, 2010
Lesley:
I’ll definitely read “Happiest Baby”. I’m reading all sorts of things right now, including “Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth”, “Hypnobirthing”, and I just got a copy of “Birthing from Within” but haven’t opened it yet. besides Natural Baby. I have a long list….
your little guy is just waiting for the perfect moment….
By vegeater on Jul 28, 2010
We definitely did some of the attachment parenting things – co-sleeping (Arms-Reach co-sleepers are handy, handy things for keeping an eye on one’s tiny baby), babywearing (www.sleepywrap.com), and nursing. All were great for a lot of reasons. We did a little sleep training – after a point we always used the same routine, we made incremental steps to get him from doing whatever he was doing (wanting to be held *all* the time), etc. – but mostly found that when our kiddo was ready to sleep by himself (in his case, once he was healthy), he did – as long as we kept a routine in place. It may have helped that he goes to a Montessori daycare, which is very focused on independence and (a somewhat freeform) routine. I think we needed a little input from both philosophies. So far (fingers crossed!) we have a fairly independent, highly verbal 13-month-old who’s incredibly bonded to both of his parents. He reaches for us in strange situations, but he’s also interested in the world and wants to interact with it — after he’s observed it a while, that is.
Dr. Sears has a really good website, if you’re trying to troubleshoot an issue. There are also some sleep training philosophies that are middle-of-the-road, which I found reassuring (Elizabeth Pantley and Kim West are two sleep trainers whose books/philosophies seemed reasonable).
By Lucie on Aug 9, 2010