Natural Nursery Blog

The Potty Training Readiness Quiz

By Elizabeth Pantley, Author of The No-Cry Potty Training Solution

Potty training is easier and happens faster if your child is truly ready in all three areas: physical, cognitive and social. But the big question is: how do you know when your child is ready? If you have never traveled this road before, you likely don’t even know what signs to look for. Take this quiz to find out where your child is on the readiness spectrum.

1.         I can tell by watching that my child is wetting or filling his nappy:

a.         Never.

b.         Sometimes.

c.         Usually.

2.         My toddler’s diaper needs to be changed:

a.         Frequently, every hour or two.

b.         It varies.

c.         Every two to three hours–sometimes less frequently.

3.         My child understands the meaning of wet, dry, clean, wash, sit, and go:

a.         No.

b.         Some of them.

c.         Yes.

Continue reading this article - here.

6th Aug, 2006, Dr Stephen Sears, Morning Sentinel, Maine Today.com

According to a recent study from researchers at the University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and the University of Rochester NY breastfeeding for the first six months makes a difference in the baby’s ability to resist infection. In this study the parents of 2,277 children, between six and 24 months of age, answered questions about whether their baby’s breastfed, for how long; and how often their babies had respiratory infections or symptoms including ear infections, colds, flu, and pneumonia or wheezing.

Babies who were fed only breast milk for the longest span of time, six months or more, had lower rates of pneumonia and ear infections. Stopping breast feeding between four and six months of age doubled the odds that the infant would experience three or more ear infections in the first year of life.

Read the full article.

By Lisa Ryckman, Rocky Mountain News
August 8, 2006

We’ve created a nation of fat babies, and it all starts with the first thing put in their mouths.

A Harvard Medical School study of 120,000 kids that spanned 22 years shows that babies and toddlers are more likely to be overweight now than ever before. The study found that the biggest jump came in the number of overweight infants, which increased by 74 percent.

The number of babies at risk of becoming overweight rose by nearly 60 percent. One of the best ways to change the numbers: breast-feeding, says Dr. Matthew Gillman, the study’s senior author.

A recent German study of 9,000 babies found that the longer children breast-feed, the less likely they are to be obese at age 6. Babies nursed for 3-5 months were 33 percent less likely to be obese; those breast-fed for more than a year were 72 percent less likely to become obese.

Researchers have found that human milk keeps insulin levels lower than formula and contains proteins that are easier to metabolize, both factors in fat storage.

The Harvard study results came during World Breast-feeding Week (Aug. 1-7), which celebrated the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes, which has existed for more than 20 years. The code provides guidelines for marketing infant formula and bottle-feeding products and challenges communities to support nursing moms and babies.

Jennifer Dellaport, chair of the Colorado Breastfeeding Task Force, says formula marketing can discourage breast-feeding by playing on new mothers’ concerns about milk production - a worry that can become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"Most women make plenty of milk, and replacing feedings with even small amounts of formula will cause a woman’s body to begin producing less milk," she says.

"Families have a right to know about the benefits of breast-feeding and to be supported if they choose to feed their babies this way."

Colorado has one of the highest breast-feeding rates in the nation: 82 percent of babies are breast-fed at birth, and more than half are still being nursed at six months, although less than 20 percent are being exclusively breast-fed at six months.

Last year, 21 states reached the national Healthy People 2010 objective of 75 percent of mothers initiating breast-feeding, but only Oregon achieved an exclusive breast-feeding rate of at least 25 percent through 6 months, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

For breast-feeding info: Colorado Breastfeeding Task Force, www.coloradobreastfeedingtaskforce.org or 303-869-1888; La Leche League, www.lalecheleague.org or 303-779-6722; the National Breastfeeding Helpline, 1-800-994-9662.

2nd & 3rd of September, Bristol Harbourside.  £3.50 entry for adults, free for children.

With 150,000 visitors and over 200 exhibitors the 2005 Organic Food Festival became the fastest growing food event in the UK and one of the biggest celebrations of organic food held anywhere. The festival also includes the Demo Kitchen, Family Marquee, Health, Beauty & Textiles and a programme of Talks & Tastings. 2005 also saw the launch of the Fringe - a festival in it’s own right of food themed arts with contributions from the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra, Desperate Men and many more.

This year promises to be even bigger and better, with improved layout and stewarding to help minimise crowd congestion, more stalls and, of course, lots of freebies.

We are delighted to be a sponsor-in-kind for the event, so do look out for us if you make it down.

The Festival is the highlight of the Soil Association’s Organic Fortnight, so do look out for events near you too.

For more information and directions, see the Soil Association website.

For your baby’s sake

Health: disposable nappies contain up to 200 chemicals and it is still not known just how many of them will be absorbed through a baby’s delicate skin.   

Skin conditions: many parents find that their baby’s skin condition such as eczema or nappy rash is relieved by using organic cloth nappies as they allow more air to circulate than disposable nappies. Specially soft and untreated silk nappy liners are available to help delicate skin recover.

Comfort: many parents claim that cloth nappies are more comfortable to wear than disposable nappies.  Certainly, it must be nicer to have a layer of soft natural fabric next to your skin rather than the artificial materials used in disposable nappies.

Potty-training: a toddler in a cloth nappy is likely to be more aware of when they have wee’d or poo’d, encouraging them to ask for the potty.

For the environment’s sake

Around 3 billion disposable nappies are used each year in the UK (for example, Leicestershire County Council estimate that they have to deal with over 50 million each year), so let’s have a look at how they are produced and disposed of.

Production: each disposable nappy will need around a cup of crude oil for its plastic wrap and 7 million trees are cut down every year to make disposable nappies.  This is a major depletion of our fast dwindling natural resources.

A Women’s Environmental Network commissioned a study in 1991 showed that disposable nappies use 3.5 times as much energy, 8 times as much non-renewable raw materials and 90 times as much renewable material as reusable nappies. They produce 2.3 times as much waste water and 60 times as much solid waste. This even allows for the washing of cloth nappies! They require between 4 and 30 times as much land for growing natural materials as reusable nappies.

The physical production of the nappy involves the use of many chemicals and bleaches to product that lovely shiny white so beloved of the big companies.

Disposal: 3 billion nappies is a lot and it is estimated that 90% of them will end up on landfill sites - that is a lot of space!  The cost to local councils is enormous - Bristol CC estimate that it costs them £500,000 per year to deal with thrown away nappies.

It is believed that it will take up to 500 years for these nappies to decompose (all the while producing dangerous methane gas), which could be a big headache for our grandchildren.

For your pocket’s sake

An average baby will be changed between 5,000 - 5,500 times (some people say as many as 7,000 times) between birth and potty-training, that could cost as much as £1,000. 

Cloth nappies do require a large initial outlay (especially if you use all-in-ones) but should cost no more than £400 in total (including home laundry).  Obviously, you will save even more money if you reuse the nappies for another child.

Remember, there is a thriving market in second hand nappies, which can retain up to 80% of their value.

Don’t worry if you can’t use real nappies every change, even if you only use 2 cloth nappies a day, that is still 730 less cups of oil and around £100 saved every year.

When the heat is on, life can become very hard when you are pregnant.  Instead of enjoying these long, hot August days, you may find yourself dreaming of igloos and frozen ice-caps, so try out these tricks to help you keep your cool when the temperature rises.

Continue reading this article.

The yummy Tots Bots nappies just keep getting better and better.  Along with a few other changes, Tots will be introducing popper versions of the Bamboozle nappy plus coloured versions.

These are to be launched soon, so we will let you know as soon as we have any more news for you.  But be ready to be quick of the mark - if it is anything like the introduction of the original Bamboozle, stocks are likely to fly.

Saving just 20% of your energy consumption will not only save you money but have a positive impact on climate change.

These easy to action ideas to cut your energy use are taken from the Energy Trust website:

1. Turning your thermostat down by 1ºC could cut your heating bills by up to 10 per cent and save you around £40 per year.
2. Is your water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat shouldn’t need to be set higher than 60ºC/140ºF.
3. Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.
4. Always turn off the lights when you leave a room.
5. Don’t leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave appliances on charge unnecessarily.
6. If you’re not filling up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher, use the half-load or economy programme.
7. Only boil as much water as you need (but remember to cover the elements if you’re using an electric kettle).
8. A dripping hot water tap wastes energy and in one week wastes enough hot water to fill half a bath, so fix leaking taps and make sure they’re fully turned off! 
9. Replace your light bulbs with energy saving recommended ones: just one can reduce your lighting costs by up to £100 over the lifetime of the bulb - and they last up to 12 times longer than ordinary light bulbs.
10. Do a home energy check. Just answer some simple questions about your home and we’ll give you a free, impartial report telling you how you can save up to £300 a year on your house hold energy bills.

Our summer sale has started with big reductions on organic cotton clothing for babies, children (like the pirate top here) and adults, slings, nappies, toys and more.  Many items are reduced by up to 50%.

See the full range on our sale page.

The excellent MooMum has just produced a new batch of lovely pro-breastfeeding bags.  Made from strong cotton, these re-usable bags mean you never have to use another plastic bag and you can spread the word about the benefits of breastfeeding at the same time.

The bags cost £4 each plus £1 p&p and can be purchased from The Mothers Milk Marketing Board.