Why "Tribal Baby"?
"How would we raise our baby if we were in a tribe?"
This is the question we asked ourselves when deciding the best way to raise our baby.
Looking at the research, and experience of others tells us that many of the things that our ancestors did through
necessity, are still the most beneficial things for our baby today. What
natural approaches are best suited and expected of a baby, biologically,
throughout human history? Funnily enough, we have found all of these
approaches an easier way to transition into the job of being a family. Traditional,
gentle and responsive options, with the needs of a dependent infant
supported tenderly.
News at Tribal Baby
Baby
Jett is here!
A baby brother for Maven arrived
July 28th, 2008. At Canberra Birth Centre, 5.13am, home that night at 4.30!
Here
is Jett in his purple sling at a few days old. He is a good size at 4.350kg, or
9 pounds 10 ounces when he arrived!
Here is Maven, Jett and I. Maven
and Jett are quite different in hair, eye colour and skin tone, but share the
same chin dimple and look quite similar as well.
Maven is caring of Jett, empties
his potty and gets dry cloths (flannels) and soothes him. It is lovely.
Here
is Jett having a wee on his top-hat potty at about 10 days old I guess.
He has his first cast on to
correct the talipes of his left foot (which will take 7 casts, at the moment
weekly, then treatment until he is three years old)
Talipes - An EC challenge?
It seems not - his cast is set at
the classic EC position, so no problems there. He is a trouper and already
dislikes nappies, which he seldom wears, (we use cloths and EcaPants and
japanese prefolds at the moment, disposables on some outings) and is giving good
eye contact (Giving me the 'eye' - and he has the sweetest little eyes) when he
needs to go or making noises and being more active when he needs to go. Just as
amazing to do the second time around...plenty of wet things to wash of course,
but lots of catches too!
New Tribal Baby
on the way!
Here
I am at 36 weeks, and Maven rubbing his baby brother!
A
bit of a delay with the new site coming online...
Well,
due to a series of personal events that are beyond belief, I have been unable to
work on my site for some months as I recover and also prepare for our new baby.
We are sooo close, too!
Tribal Baby
was
a Sponsor of the Great Down Under Nappy Hunt in 2008.
The 4th Great Down
Under Nappy Hunt was held during March, 2007.
Tribal
Baby was one of the runners-up for the Sponsor Awards in the category of
"Best Overall Site". Thanks for your votes!
Tribal Baby
was
a Sponsor of the Great Down Under Nappy Hunt in August.
The 3rd Great Down
Under Nappy Hunt was held from August 1st - 31st, 2007.
It was a great
experience and I plan to join again next year. Click on the link below to find about
about upcoming hunts - there are a couple each year.
Learn
about upcoming hunts by visiting this site The hunt is FREE and there are heaps of cool prizes... just for browsing the
Net!
Talking
on 96.5 Radio in Queensland, Australia
I talked to Tanya Gordon on a radio show
in Queensland at the end of April, as a result of the article in "That's
Life".
"Baby Toilet Training
If you're a new mum, this interview will change your world. It's the best
kept secret on teaching your baby to go to the toilet on cue... from birth!
If you missed the interview, you can listen to it now by clicking the link
below."
http://www.96five.com/audio/Baby_Toilet_Training.mp3
I am happy with how it went, it was actually a lot of fun, and hope it inspires a few people to
give it a go!
I had a 15 minute chat with her. This is the snippet. Although we talked about
how it isn't 'toilet training', people simply have no other frame of
reference for understanding it, hence the title "Baby Toilet
Training".
"Parenting Resource of the Month" at The Natural Child Project
We are very excited to have been named as "Parenting
Resource of the Month" and reviewed on the www.naturalchild.org
site for April, 2007. That wonderful gentle parenting resource has been so
inspirational and supportive to me. The review can be read at Parenting
Resource of the Month
"The Parenting Resource of
the Month honours web sites and other resources that provide critical
information and encouragement to parents, and which help to promote loving and
trusting relationships within the family as a means to a saner and more trusting
world"
"That's Life!" Issue 16 April
18, 2007
I had a lovely chat with reporter Katie Brown, of Yoga Babes
She wrote a lovely positive article about our EC experiences for
the magazine, which was 'sensationalised' just a little bit by the editors, I am
still chuckling over it!! Although positive, it conveyed a false impression
of EC being as as simple as removing a nappy and going 'sss'. If only it were
that easy, everyone would still be doing it!! EC takes a little more teamwork
than that, but is so worth an investment of time and love for the joys it
brings.
Front Cover: My Baby - toilet trained in two weeks! (Not
precisely, but he was certainly responding daily!!)
We went to great lengths explaining it ISN'T toilet training but
gradual toilet
learning. It is a slow process of teamwork with baby, building communication and
trust.
Other quotes said neither by me nor the lady who wrote the story,
Still laughing and shaking my head:
"It works every time without fail"
"We used EC and it worked every time"
"He never wet his pants" (Oh, wouldn't THAT be great!!)
It also says he is ONE and in regular pants, rather than two.
Although he was in regular pants after 14 months....
Apart from that, I guess as it raises awareness and points to a way of
finding out more for interested folks - that is good. I was telling the lady in
the
shop, who was so excited, told me how I could get extra copies, and
said her mum did the same thing with her and her siblings, as she just didn't
have time to wait around for them to work it out!
It is a pity the stuff Katie wrote about it being gradual and that wet pants are
part of the process, and the whole entirety of doing it part time with nappies
was 'edited', but it was a positive article none-the-less!! If only EC were so
simple as not using nappies, there would be no nappy industry today!!
World Talk Radio: Save $2000 a year on
nappies! 
I was fortunate indeed to be on air in a segment of
Simple
Savings' show with Laurie Boucke talking about EC to Fiona Lippey, founder
of Simple Savings, a great site.
"What is 'elimination communication?' Laurie
Boucke, infant
potty training expert explains what it is and how to begin raising a nappy free
baby. Sounds impossible? Keep listening, you'll be surprised!"
The recording is not currently available, but hopefully will be
again soon.
Tribal Baby
Sleep Sharing
Breastfeeding
Baby - led
introduction of solids