ALL ABOUT KIDS
BIRTH
TO 12 MONTHS
1. Decisions, Decisions
This first year will test your commitment to natural parenting; it's time to firm up your stance on some key decisions. Here are a few examples that may come up:
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Breast Feeding - Is It Worth It?
Breastfeeding can be quite a daunting task. This new activity takes over mom's life during the first year. Regardless of the difficulty, parents should take every measure to ensure the baby is exclusively breastfed before transitioning to food. Multiple recent studies have shown that even supplementing with formula can have severe lifelong impacts on babies, such as increasing their risk of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer by up to 25% in adulthood. I highly recommend reserving a hospital-grade breast pump to help ensure an adequate milk supply.
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On rare occasions when this is not possible, some services sell human breastmilk, or you can make your own that far outperforms the toxic powdered formula.
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Vitamin K
The idea of giving a vitamin K injection soon after birth is a hotly debated topic in many circles. I recommend that parents look into both sides of the argument and dig in to the research before being confronted with this decision so that they are not caught off guard.
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To Snip or Not to Snip
Somehow, circumcision has become a "standard practice" within most medical circles. Except for the religious obligation to do so, this procedure is barbaric and unnecessary. Thankfully, support for not circumcising seems to be growing.
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Vaccines
Regardless of your thoughts on the effectiveness of vaccines, it is a real problem that potential side effects and the likelihood of those side effects are not fully disclosed to parents before vaccine administration. Parents are supposed to be given informed consent before medical treatment of their children, but in most cases, that standard is not being met. Sadly, it is up to the parents to ensure that they understand both sides of the argument here and to do their research to become genuinely informed before deciding whether or not to vaccinate their children. An excellent place to start is by reading the vaccine inserts that detail the probability of developing severe side effects and the likelihood of the vaccine being effective at disease prevention. The MMR vaccine insert that I read, for example, showed that the probability of developing severe side effects, in many cases worse than the disease itself, was far more likely than the vaccine even being effective at disease prevention.
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When Baby Has a Fever
Most naturally raised breastfed babies will not develop a fever in the first year, but it can be pretty concerning for parents if they do. It has been my experience that there is nothing to worry about unless the fever exceeds 103 degrees. This is simply a sign that the baby's developing immune system is working correctly.
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Ear Infections
A simple and harmless fix for the common ear infection is garlic oil drops, which can be made at home or purchased online.​​ These work as well or better than antibiotics—the only catch is that the pain takes about 5 hours to subside once the drops are administered.
2. Know the Facts
Unpopular but true facts about babies...
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Baby formula is no substitute for mother's milk. Not even as a supplement.
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Butter, eggs, and liver (and most other farm foods) are all great for babies after 6-9 months of age.
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Baby food needs to be salted because the taste of salt has been linked with brain development.
Learn For Yourself with These Recommended Resources:
This groundbreaking book covers the effects on children and subsequent generations of deviating from a natural diet. Includes photos of documented and verifiable deformities that result. A must read for any parent.
Figuring out how to feed baby once they are old enough for food can be a daunting task. Note: the answer is NOT rice cereal. Thankfully we have this baby specific book from the heralded author of the original Nourishing Traditions cookbook. This is an absolute necessity in any parents library.
This is the book that started it all. Dr. Weston A. Price traveled the world to document the transition of native cultures from a traditional diet to a modern one. What he found is perhaps the most striking and important revelation of our time. It would be difficult to be an informed parent in any capacity without first reading this book. It is equally important for adults to read for their own benefit.
Dr. Edward Howell provides us with earth shattering evidence about the importance of food enzymes. Our bodies were designed to consume mostly raw calories from sources such as dairy, fruit, honey, nuts & seeds. Dr. Howell walks you through his detailed research and will change the way you think about food forever.
Written by Ross Horne, a real truth seeker when it comes to health and curing of disease. This book is a free and valuable resource for all. I highly recommend you give it a read.
Whatever your opinions on vaccines, this documentary is a must watch before deciding how to proceed with your own children. No exceptions.
3. Take Responsibility
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Being a parent is the most important job you will ever have.​
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If at all possible, one parent should stay home with baby. There is simply no other way to reliably raise baby with traditional methods.​
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Now is the time to cultivate habits that allow you to work traditional food preparation into your busy schedule. Super markets are not the answer.