EC Essential -- The Tunic!

Even though I have 3 weeks of sewing orders in the queue, I took a half hour today and whipped up a tunic for Malcolm out of some lovely camel colored wool jersey that I just got in:

For an almost-11-month-old who's now walking (aacck!!), this is a really handy piece of clothing. It's long enough to keep him warm with only trainers underneath (and he would be discreetly covered if he was nakey butt) but it's not so long as to get in his way when he's crawling or sitting on the potty. And, add a pair of matching wool pants (not yet sewn) and we're ready to go out and about.

In addition to the tunic length, I also make these as a regular shirt length (4" shorter) and a gown length (6" longer), in either long or short sleeve. They are currently available in both cotton and bamboo, and I will be getting more wool jersey colors in a couple of weeks.

Affirmations for Peaceful Parenting

Take a few short minutes to read these -- very inspiring!

NVC Book Giveaway Winner!

Wow! I really enjoyed reading all your comments and seeing that NVC has inspired many of you already. So nice to read that many are open to learning about it as well.

So without further ado, the winner of the NVC book giveaway is...

Jess said...
I've only heard of NVC, but I'm hoping to read more soon!

So Jess, please get in touch with me here to give me your contact information. I need to hear from you by October 9 or I will redraw for the books. ETA: Again I had to redraw and so the new winner is...

Lisa said...
this is some of the first I've really seen about NVC, but I'm hoping to read more and learn more about it. Thanks for doing this!

Thanks so much everyone! I'm having a lot of fun with these giveaways, so stay tuned for future ones. :)

Non-Violent Communication Books Giveaway!

Being introduced to Non-Violent Communication (NVC) a few years ago was a real eye-opener for me. The idea that one could be compassionate while still recognizing and asserting one's own needs seemed so foreign. Striving to create win-win solutions and really hearing the needs behind my children's behaviour takes a lot of patience and effort and I fall short often, but it is so worth the connection and cooperative spirit it fosters.

As October 2, 2009 has been designated International Day of Non-Violence, I decided I would like to have another giveaway -- a set of two booklets that combine parenting and NVC: Raising Children Compassionately by Marshall Rosenberg and Parenting From Your Heart by Inbal Kashtan.

All you have to do to enter is make a comment on this post (entries from "anonymous" will not be accepted). I'd love to hear whether you've heard of NVC before and if so, how it has affected your parenting.

You can get bonus entries for:

• posting about this giveaway on Facebook with a link to this post
• blogging about this giveaway with a link to this post

Winner will be decided using a random integer generator. Giveaway closes October 2 at 11:59 PM PST.

And when you're done entering here, go on over to my friend Annie's blog and enter her giveaway for Scott Noelle's book The Daily Groove!

Organic Pouch Sling Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the Organic Pouch Sling Giveaway is...

Robin said...
I like the looks of the Feeleez, myself. :)

(winner was drawn using a random integer generator)

Robin, please get in touch with me here to give me your full name and address so I can send you your sling! I need to hear from you by October 5 or I will redraw for the sling. ETA: I did not hear from Robin by the deadline so the redraw has resulted in Kyre being the new winner. Kyre, please get in touch with me ASAP to arrange to receive your sling.

Thanks to all who entered - it was fun seeing all your comments about what products you think are unique or interesting at our store.

Please stay tuned tomorrow for an announcement of our next giveaway which will be in honour of International Day of Non-Violence on October 2.

Organic Pouch Sling Giveaway for International Babywearing Week!

I'm a really avid babywearer and would love to see more babies being worn. So, in honor of International Babywearing Week this week (September 21-28), I'm doing our first ever giveaway -- a CF Organic Pouch Sling. This sling is a (now sold out) Sage Smoke 100% organic colorgrown cotton in size medium (25"). It features both light leg padding and a handy outside pocket (good for your phone, wallet, spare diaper, or toy).

If you'd like to be entered to win this sling, all you have to do is visit Continuum Family and make a comment back here about what you think our most unique/interesting product is.

You can get bonus entries for:

• posting about this giveaway on Facebook with a link to this post and Continuum Family
• blogging about this giveaway with a link to this post and Continuum Family

Giveaway closes September 28 at 11:59 PM PST.

Parenting… a Radical, Political Act

On a day recently when I was questioning my decision of 6 years ago to quit the office 9-5 and become a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom, a link to this article found it's way into my inbox. I felt immediately re-inspired...

The only thing I would add is: “Each time I take my baby to the potty and put reusable cloth on his bum I am sticking it to the disposable diaper industry and feeling good about minimizing my contribution to the landfill”.

Which Training Pants for EC?

Jane in Australia writes:

Hi,

I would love to order some of your training pants for my 10 month old daughter, Alice, and wanted to see which ones you would recommend - I haven't used training pants before, but was wanting some to hold one wee when we're out, and so not to wet Alice's clothes, but not too extra absorbant that I won't be able to tell if she's done a wee or not?

Thanks for your help,

Jane

For training pants, it's a bit of a trade off -- if you want something that won't wet outside clothing then you need to get ones with a waterproof (PUL) outer, yet these ones make it difficult to tell if they have gone without checking inside the pants. However, something that you will be able to see or feel easily that she has gone will likely wet the outer clothing to some degree. Training pants with a PUL layer inside give you the best of both worlds -- they generally won't wet outer clothing unless they're left on for a bit. Yet you should be able to feel them and see that she's gone. I would recommend going with bamboo training pants, as they are more absorbent than cotton. In particular, my CF Side Snap Trainers in bamboo, with optional PUL layer inside and bamboo velour inner are a very absorbent option. And I've just added some cute print outer options in bamboo interlock. I will also soon be getting some solid color outers in bamboo french terry.

Another good choice if you want a pull up option would be the EcoNix by BongoBaby. These have bamboo velour and inner PUL layer on the soaker section, although the body is cotton (organic).

In general, I recommend going with a side snap trainer unless you and your baby are fairly consistent with catching poops. ;)

Cooperative Games a Hit at Our House

Whenever my six-year-old daughter has a playdate at our house, one thing that invariably comes out at some point are the cooperative board games. We have several of the Family Pastimes games and have spent some great quality family time playing them. It is so nice to play a game where no one has to be the loser and everyone is working together towards a common goal. And it's so encouraging to see her and her friends choose to play these quality games over other activities.


We've recently restocked these games in our store with all the best-selling ones (Princess, Caves and Claws, Secret Door) and added a couple of new ones that we've recently been playing and enjoying (Ogres and Elves, Dark and Dangerous Skies).

EC Gift from Japan

I was touched and absolutely thrilled to receive this gift in the mail the other day:


It was from three of my Japanese customers -- a ceramic chamber pot and lid. In case you can't read the card, it says:

Dear Deirdre,

Hi. We hope you and your baby Malcolm are spending the sweet and intimate time! This chamber pot is a gift from the three of us. We find it extremely helpful in ECing baby boys :). Good luck!
Sincerely yours,
Keiko, Chiharu and Maiko from Japan
P.S. We love your hand-sewn baby gears. Thank you always.

I am really loving this pot! It is perfect for nighttime pottying. It is so much more stable than the plastic ones (no worry about spilling the potty contents all over the bed in the dark) but it's not that heavy. And, it is perfect for pottying a boy because it is deep enough that I can lower his bum right down inside without touching bottom and he doesn't pee over the top! :)

I will definitely be getting some of these for my store in the near future. They will be a great alternative to the plastic potty.

EC in Brazil

Tamara H. wrote:

Congratulations to your beautiful baby! I'm so glad I found your shop. I'm a German midwife living in Brazil and I'm looking forward to showing your things at Brazil's first and only EC group that I'm leading.

Warm wishes,
Tamara
http://www.slingando.com/

I'm so glad you found our shop too, Tamara! I love that my EC products are making their way around the world. Although I've had some go to Chile, these will be the first ones going to Brazil.


Tamara has chosen a great selection of EC trainers and undies to show parents interested in EC. I will be most interested to hear how her talk goes. For now, I must get back to sewing, before baby wakes... :)

New Member of Continuum-Family!

We are thrilled to announce that our baby boy, Malcolm, was born on January 3, 2009 at 11:05 a.m. weighing in at 8 lbs 10 oz and measuring 21 inches long.

This was our third home birth and we are so glad that we were able to be all together, with his two older sisters (Madeline, 5.5 and Zara, 3) on hand for the last 10 minutes to see him arrive.




Here's Malcolm at one day old, snuggling up with his two sisters:



It's still pretty much business as usual at Continuum Family, but we are estimating that custom orders (most items from our CF line, especially pouch slings and baby clothing) will be about 3 weeks from date of order to date of ship for the rest of January.