A new mom will quickly learn when baby is telling her that he is tired or hungry. Baby will also tell you when he is about to soil his diaper - or ‘eliminate’ in the jargon. The signs are usually a grunting and moving into a certain position. My son used to get this far away look on his face and he would be very noisy so that everyone around him knew what was on the way!
Many moms in America are now practicing ‘elimination communication’ whereby they watch baby for signs that he is ready to ‘eliminate’ and then dangle him over the toilet or a potty. The technique does require virtually constant observation of the baby but apparently baby soon learns the procedure and knows that if he grunts hard enough it saves him having to sit around with a diaper full of you-know-what!
The savings achieved through having to buy far fewer diapers are considerable, and of course you would be doing your bit to help the environment.
Potty training at the ‘traditional’ age of around 2-3 can be a real battle and a scary time for a kid. Starting much earlier would spare you both but the technique does require constant attention and, for this reason, some experts ‘pooh-pooh’ the idea (sorry!) of starting potty training so early. Heather Welford of the National Childbirth Trust believes most parents will be too busy to watch baby all day and says ‘I think it will always be something practiced by a minority of parents doing it for ideological reasons such as being closer to the baby or to help save the environment’. Two good reasons I would have thought.
About The Author
Katy Luck runs a website with advice and articles about having babies. Visit her site at http://www.baby-talk.co.uk.
The bedrock of the Christian faith is the good news about God’s love. Christian teachings about who we are and about our relationship with our Lord and each other is rooted in the fact that God is love and that He loves His creatures. "And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16.
When we are really hurting, we put up our defenses, become rebellious, and may even feel victimized. We keep trying to lighten the burden by using our own meager resources. We try all sorts of escape mechanisms, only to discover that we feel more and more isolated, lonely, and lost. Our greatest need is to let God into our life.
Do you realize that God really loves you and His love is there to heal you, renew you, restore you, and lift you up? You may be carrying a heavy burden. Let God remove the load. You may be experiencing a broken relationship. Let God mend your heart. It may be job dissatisfaction, financial difficulties, or a deep concern for a world possessed by unspeakable evil and destructive powers. But right now, in this moment of grace, in this moment of spiritual renewal, discover God’s gentle healing power in your life.
God is reaching out to comfort you as you have never been comforted before. Why not allow God to hug you right now? Let Him put His loving, compassionate arms around you right now. Experience the dissipation of all your hurts and disappointments as you permit yourself to be soothed, massaged, and gentled by your gracious loving Father.
Prayer:
Gracious Father, in this moment of grace, in this moment of spiritual refreshing, lift my burdens and bring your gentle healing power into my life. Support me, O Lord, through this troublesome life, until the busy world is hushed, the fever of life is over, and my work is done. Then Lord, in your mercy grant me a safe lodging, a holy rest, and sweet peace at last; for the honor of our Advocate and Mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available soon.
You are welcome to visit AMEN Ministries: Your Soul’s Service Station for spiritual refreshing, soul edification, browse our newly expanded mini shopping mall or review our recommended books you may want to add to your personal library.
Blessings to all!
Ice Damming
by: Gil Strachan
Ice dams are the accumulation of ice at the eaves and valleys of roofs, and in some winters create major problems. Insufficient attic insulation or attic ventilation can cause roof snow to melt and slide down to the eaves, where the roof surface is cooler and the melting snow freezes to the roof. Subsequent melting causes water to pool behind this dam and sometimes the water seeps between the shingle layers, wetting the roof deck and possibly the walls and ceilings below.
Interior damage caused by ice dam. What To Do?
1. Carefully seal all ceiling penetrations such as light fixtures to keep warm, moist air out of the attic.
2. Ensure adequate attic ventilation of approximately 1 sq.ft. per 300 sq.ft. of ceiling area (no less than 50% at the gables or soffits, and no more than 50% through the roof)
3. Ensure that soffit vents are not blocked by insulation. If blown-in insulation tends to drift into the eaves, use 1/4inch plywood or paneling to create barriers between the rafters. Pre-fabricated barriers are also available. A minimum insulating value of R20 (approx. 8 inches) is recommended.
4. In new homes, roofing felt is applied from the edge of the roof to a point not less than 12″ inside the inner face of the exterior wall. In some localities this eaves protection must go 10 or 12 feet up the roof (especially on low-sloped roofs) and the full length of valleys.
5. Try roof heater cables as an interim measure, until it’s time for new roofing materials. Don’t forget to point out the problem areas to your roofer, so he can provide adequate protection materials.
A word to the wise: Roofing is an apparently “easy enough” job for anyone, but there are many fine points that may escape the do-it-yourselfer. A professional roofer can be your best friend!
About The Author
Gil Strachan is a professional home inspector, representing Electrospec Home Inspection Services in east-central Ontario, Canada since 1994. www.electrospec.ca is one of the web’s largest, most authoritative home inspection information sites.
How do you take care of your body’s biggest organ ? Let’s think about this question for a moment. We eat low fat foods for our heart; lower sodium intake for out blood pressure; dental check up twice a year; eye exams and physicals yearly. We do all of these things to make sure we live long healthy lives. But the biggest organ, our skin, is often neglected, dehydrated, sun damaged and suffocated by the products we put on our skin.
The first ingredient listed in skin care products is the largest percent of what that product is made of. What is the first ingredient in your skin care products? Mineral oil, petrolatum or lanolin oils are commonly used in skin care products. These ingredients are considered "skin suicide" because over a period of time they can actually dehydrated the skin. They also speed up the aging process because it causes toxic to build up in the skin. Think about that? You would not want to accelerate the aging process. We age enough with stress.
What about the "drying" alcohols and the harsh chemicals? SD alcohol 40 is a drying alcohol that cause the "lipids" of the skin to flatten out, causing the skin to lose its contour (similar to a balloon losing air.) A lot of products use fragrances or artificial FD&C dyes that causes allergic reactions to the products.
Alcohols such as Isopropl Alcohol, SD Alcohol 40 and Ethyl Alcohol dissolves the body’s own natural moisturizers and strips the skin of it’s own protection, leaving it vulnerable to infection. They destroy the skin’s pH balance and since they absorb water, speed up wrinkling of the skin.
Waxes such as beeswax, carnauba wax, candela wax or paraffin waxes are fillers which can clog the pores creating blackheads, and whiteheads. They smother the skin which over a period of time can create enlarged pores.
Petrolatum sometimes known as "paraffin jelly" or "petroleum jelly" is not absorbed by the skin and suffocates the pores. All petrochemicals pollute our water and destroy marine life. Avoiding them is essential for the health of humans, animals, fish, water, land and air.
Did you know that some skin care products use "acetone" in their products? Tell me, WHY would you use a product on your skin that takes off fingernail polish? Acetone is used most often used in astringents, fresheners or clarifying lotions. It is extremely toxic and will dehydrate the skin, speeding up the aging process. Ever feel that burning sensation?
Borax (Sodium Borate and Boric Acid) used in baby powders, bath powders, eye creams, skin fresheners, protective creams and moth washes as a preservative. It is rapidly absorbed by the kin. Borax is still widely used despite repeated warnings from the American Medical Association.
D & C colors are usually synthetic, coal tar colors. They’re toxic and should be avoided when at all possible.
I find it very interesting to see that many products today claim to be "natural. When reading the ingredient list on labels you will find that there are more chemicals in the product than vitamins, herbs or botanicals. Most of the natural ingredients are usually at the end of the ingredient list which often means that the amount contained in the product is minimal and therefore having ineffective results.
When purchasing your skin products do your research. You don’t want to speed the aging process or prevent the aging process for as long as possible?
Betty Lynch, author of "It’s All About You" is a Professional Skin Care consultant with over nine years of direct sales experience. She leads a large successful team with L’Bri Pure n’ Natural Skin Care, which is an Aloe Vera based skin care company. Visit her web site at http://www.bettyl.lbrionline.com If you have any questions or if you would like to receive a 5-piece mini skin care set, feel free to email Betty at cmclynch@prodigy.net
Written by admin · Filed Under Beauty
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that women gain somewhere between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy. Of course, this poundage depends on the woman’s starting weight. If she is overweight, then she should gain less and if she is underweight, then she should gain more. Easy enough. Now, let’s assume that your gal starts her pregnancy at a healthy and sexy weight. What the heck will she look like with thirty more pounds? Don’t worry! It gets evenly distributed throughout her body and doesn’t all go to her ass. Here’s a general breakdown of where the weight goes:
* Baby (aka the bun in the oven): 7.5 pounds
* Placenta: 1.5 pounds
* Amniotic Fluid: 2 pounds
* Increase in uterus (This gets bigger, too): 2 pounds
* Larger boob size (Yay, for you!): 2 pounds
* More blood (She now overheats easily): 4 pounds
* Fluid retention (Not fun for your partner): 4 pounds
* Maternal fat stores (Her weight gain): 7 pounds
Total Average Gain: 30 pounds
To help keep the weight gain on track, your partner should aim to gain 3-5 pounds during her first trimester, which averages out to 1-1.5 pounds per month. During her second trimester, she should gain about 0.5 pounds per week, and she should gain an average of 1 pound per week throughout her third trimester. Again, this is just a guideline, so don’t freak out (and don’t let her freak out) if she gains 2 pounds one week and nothing another. For the most part, her body is doing its own thing. Just relax and enjoy the ride.
Nada Arnot is the owner and creator of http://www.thefunkystork.com - the only site for the modern expectant father.
New Internet Filter and Kid Safe Web Browser Keeps Internet Safe For Kids
by: Greg Writer
Finally there is a solution for parents and grandparents who want to allow their children the freedom to surf the Internet without the fear that they may stumble across the “wrong things” online. Children’s Educational Network has designed a very unique, free Internet filter and parental control multiple themed “Kid Safe Browser” which is the gateway to what they call TUKI.
Most everyone with children has either experienced first hand or knows someone with children who have stumbled across negative content (either innocently or intentionally). The Kid Safe Browser is designed to give parents the ability to have a say as to what their kids are looking at. Parents are given the tools to either delete or add (pre-approve) websites that they deem appropriate or inappropriate.
TUKI is the acronym for “The Ultimate Kids’ Internet” (www.TUKI.com) and this is the membership portion of the their service which offers many premium features. The one very important and meaningful benefit for you and your family is the educational aspect of the Kid Safe Browser. Management of the Company are committed to not only protecting children with technology but also offering educational messaging to teach children the ins and outs of being a responsible, safe web surfer.
This educational messaging is a real powerful feature that we found with TUKI and could not find any other Internet filter or parental control software that also offered an educational aspect.
The Kid Safe Browser gives access to thousands of pre-approved (by teachers and parents) websites that can be surfed (NASA, Nickelodeon, Disney etc.). If a child tries to go to a website that has not been pre-approved the browser displays a message that reads: “This website is not in the ‘Approved List’.
Parents can then decide whether or not that site is acceptable for their child to visit and choose to add it if meets their approval. There is also a “Internet Protection Lockdown” feature that prevents the user from exiting the Kid Safe Browser and entering another browser (AOL, Netscape, IE etc.) that allows access to potentially controversial websites.
Yet, another concern for Parents is that they might receive unsolicited (spam) email. As part of the TUKI membership kids are issued a spam free and safe email account. Again, parents are given the keys to their children’s email box so to speak. Parents pre-approve who the child can send and receive email from. Parents can also add key words (to an already existent ‘Ban List’ that a child cannot send out via email & chat. For instance, a child would be prevented from giving out private information such as a home address, home phone number, school name or sports team or any other bit of information that a parent might feel would compromise their privacy or safety.
Other features of the TUKI membership are “Chore Reminders” and “Encouraging Words”. Since each browser has it’s own (themed) animated talking Internet Guide, (The Noah’s Net Browser has Noah - The Mindstein Browser has Professor Mindstein) Parents can dictate some of the things that the Internet Guide will pop up and say; “Mandy - did you feed Fido today?” “Billy, Your Mommy loves you so much!”
For the most part, the Kid Safe Browser is pretty easy to use. Mostly, your kids will love the talking animated characters; the many games included with the software, and homework sites that make keeping with their schoolwork easier. Meanwhile, you will love the fact that you can sleep at night knowing you’ve taken action in preventing your child form being exposed to sites and sounds that he or she shouldn’t.
As a child advocate I recommend everyone to take action and get this new free Internet filter and parental controlled Kid Safe Browser. To get your own Kid Safe Browser visit http://www.tuki.com and download your very own Kid Safe Browser.
Features at a Glance:
- Fully capable Web browser with parental control over websites that children can surf.
- Ability to ban potentially objectionable words
- Options to approve which buddies your child can communicate with
- Chore Reminders
- Encouraging Words feature
- Talking animated character, emails and instant messaging
System Requirements:
- Windows 98/ME/XP Home or Professional
- Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (included with installation)
- Internet Connection at 56K or faster
- 133 MHz Processor
- 64 MB RAM
- 10 MB free disc space
- Sound card and speakers
About The Author
Greg Writer is a dynamic speaker, author, teacher and coach with over 23 years experience in corporate finance, capital formation, executive level management, sales/marketing and has facilitated the formation and financing of hundreds of start up & early stage companies. Currently the CEO and Founder of Children’s Educational Network, a company dedicated to protecting children online. More information at http://www.tuki.com.
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