"Loving Up Baby"

Loving is not just an emotion, it is also an action. What do we do that demonstrates our love and helps to make it grow at the same time? This is what I had in mind when I asked the question on the survey we ran recently: Bonding with Your Baby. We asked the members of the Mothering Touch Community "What do you do to bond with your baby?"

We had 97 families answer the survey. Cuddling and Breastfeeding tied. They were either "Our Very Favourite" or "We love this" for 77% of the contributors. Telling stories and singing songs got 66% and carrying baby in a wrap or sling got 61%. Remember, people could choose more than one thing as their "favourite".  

Some very thoughtful parents pointed out the essential flaw in the survey - I didn't give people the option to say "I don't like this one ." or to say "I thought of it, but we don't do it." I acknowledge it was a little slap-dash. I've learned that I need to pilot-test these things first. But I think it served its purpose which was to provide some fun. Given the response we got, I think people generally enjoyed it. One contributor said: "Your survey made me smile with thoughts of loving up Baby!"

The part of the survey I liked best were the comments some contributors wrote in. They were lovely! They reminded me of all sorts of things that help us to show our love and grow our love for our babies.

Many parents wrote about lying on the floor playing with toys. They wrote of skin to skin contact and playing as a family with parents and big brothers and sisters. Dancing around the living room to lively music gives many families joy and reminded me of the fun I had with my own kids that way.

Very valuable to some parents was helping the baby to have a place in the extended family by looking at photos of family members and talking about them, or by fostering a relationship with grandparents and aunts and uncles. Being outdoors and enjoying nature with their babies was also mentioned often. "We love to walk around in the world and I tell her all about what we see."

Mirrors were a valuable "toy" parents mentioned. Looking in the mirror with baby and talking about that other baby  we can see there is a great pastime.  And laughing - never forget how good being silly makes us feel: "We love looking at each other in the mirror and laughing."

Sharing the things we love with our babies also helps us to grow a lasting bond with them. "Playing guitar for her and letting her climb on me..." "enjoying books together," "exploring nature," "we have a lot of fun singing to the ocean."

One comment summed all the others up: "I love to just sniff him and kiss his soft, pudgy cheeks. Pure, true bliss!" 

Thank you to all the parents who contributed their tips and wisdom. What lucky babies! What lucky parents!

Recipe of the Month

In honour of Valentine's Day, I'm going to post the most decadent chocolate dessert I make. It's warm, gooey, and the ultimate comfort food. The ice cream is essential.

Choco-hoto-pots

Butter for ramekins

3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 large eggs

3/4 cup icing sugar

3 tbsp all-purpose flour

Place baking sheet in an oven preheated to 400°. Butter four 2/3-cup ramekins and set aside.

Using a microwave oven or double boiler, melt together the semisweet chocolate and the butter. Set aside to cool.

In a separate bowl, combine eggs, sugar and flour. Add cooled chocolate mixture, and mix until blended.

Divide mixture evenly among ramekins and place on baking sheet. Bake until tops are shiny and cracked and chocolate beneath is hot and gooey, about 20 minutes. Place each ramekin on a small plate with a teaspoon and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Becoming a Doula

As the Mothering Touch Centre's Eva Bild says, being a doula means working  "heart to heart, eye to eye and breath to breath" with the mother. At Mothering Touch we offer DONA-Approved Doula Training Workshops that teach you how to support women and families during pregnancy, labour and postpartum. The workshops are taught by Doula Trainers with more than 10 years of experience. If you've ever thought of becoming a doula, check out our information page , and read one woman's experience here. Our next Birth Doula Workshop is coming up in March, and we invite you to join us!

The Early Years Awards

It's time again to vote for the Early Years Awards! Sucess By 6 is an organization that advocates for and supports and young children and families. Every year you have the opportunity to vote for your favourite family-friendly businesses in Victoria, recogizing them as valuable parts of our community. Eva is very proud to have been awarded Child Advocate of the Year in 2010. Take a few minutes to fill out the survey (remember to look for us under Favourite Local Source for Parenting Information!), and you could win a family trip to the Westerly Hotel in Courtney, including a trip to the Horne Lake Caves, or a great weekly prize! 

Bamboobies Giveaway!

We have two sets of luxurious Organic Bamboo Overnight Nursing Pads by Bamboobies to give away! These nursing pads are incredibly soft (one woman says they're like a cashmere sweater for her boobs!), and the larger size keeps you covered and leak-free while you sleep.

To enter the draw send your answer to the skill-testing question to contest@motheringtouch.ca

Skill-testing question: What is the name of Eva's cat? (hint: she shares the name of the Greek goddess of birth)

Send in your entries by Valetine's Day- we'll draw for our two winners on February 15 and notify you by email if you've won. Good luck!