Attached at the Hip

Simple is Beautiful

Simple is beautiful, no doubt!  I have been ogling Kate Quinn Organics and their understated-but-lovely line of infant and children's clothing for some time.  What's truly unique about Kate Quinn Organics is that they have sizes up to 8 years old in many styles, where most organic clothing manufacturers leave off around 2 or 3 years.  Their rich hues are enough to make one's heart palpate!  And, as an added bonus, they have adorable styles for both girls and boys (which is very important when you're a mother of three boys!).

So, why organic?  Not only is organic cotton amazingly soft and luxurious to the touch, it is also free of the many chemicals that make cotton one of the "dirtiest" crops in the world.  Organic cotton keeps these chemicals away from our bodies, as well as out of our air, water, and soil.  And when it's as cute as clothes like Kate Quinn's, who wouldn't want organic?

What We're Made For

I just finished watching The Business of Being Born - and all of the extra footage.  When the movie ended, I still wanted more.  The "extras" are definitely worth watching, with many good and very valuable points made, as well as some closure that I felt was missing at the end of the film.

It was good.  It was very good.  I think every woman needs to watch this, ideally with her spouse, and ideally early in pregnancy or even before.  There is so much that women in this country don't know about how birth works, both from the physical perspective and from the medical perspective.  

Did you know that the U.S. ranks 2nd-to-last in the industrialized world in infant mortality?  And it is on the rise?  The only industrialized country with a worse record for infant mortality is Latvia.  We're tied with countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic.  If our medical system and medical advances are so great, why are so many babies dying?  And mothers are dying, too.  According to an OB/GYN on the film, we spend twice what countries like Japan and the Netherlands pay for each birth, yet have significantly lesser outcomes.  One big difference?  Those countries have a significantly higher proportion of midwife-attended births, and save obstetricians for when they're really needed - when there's a real problem.  When complication-free births are allowed to be intervention-free, you get fewer iatrogenic injuries and deaths.  There are also fewer pre-term babies when pregnancies are allowed to continue until the baby is ready to be born.  

I, personally, could've used a box of Kleenex (or, rather, Seventh Generation facial tissue) for the film.  There are so many highs and lows in the movie - the horror of unnecessary interventions leading downhill quickly; the rush of emotions and endorphins as a baby is born into the water at home.  I've seen both sides of birth, and so react very strongly both to the injustices and the triumphs.  

Birth is an absolutely amazing process, and one of the points that the movie makes very well is that it is a huge disservice to women that they are not being told that; that they don't know that birth is empowering, engaging, awe-inspiring, elating, overwhelming; that they don't have the chance to experience the hormonal bond between themselves and their newborn in the moments after birth; that they are not an active participant in the most incredible experience they'll ever have.  Women who birth at home don't do it because they're super-human.  They do it because they are human - and human women are designed for - and capable of - this most amazing thing we call birth.

Review: Lunapads

I was recently asked by my sister to start a buying club with Lunapads, a Canadian company manufacturing and selling reusable menstrual products and accessories.  I've heard wonderful things about Lunapads over the years, but had never tried their products or purchased from their site.  The buying club seemed like a good deal, however: 20% off orders over $300, so long as they are paid for and shipped to a single person.  I run a local co-op/buying club already, and have also run other online co-ops, so it seemed quite reasonable to take the opportunity to try out Lunapads.

I was able to put together orders from 17 ladies totaling over $1600 in retail cost.  The Lunapads service was excellent.  They shipped the next business day, despite the huge size of our order.  When a few items were missing from the order, I received sincere apologies and they reshipped the items immediately.  They upgraded some items that were out of stock to the "deluxe" counterpart, and even added a free chocolate bar with the replacement items!  The service was absolutely second-to-none.

The products are wonderful, as well.  After sending my cloth items through an initial pre-wash, they came out of the dryer amazingly soft and "yummy."  The quality on each item is excellent and they're wonderful to use.  Most of the women who participated in the buying club said that they, "can't wait to need to use them!"  (If that isn't a ringing endorsement, I don't know what is!)  They also have a range of "comfort" products that is very tempting.  I saw many of these items but haven't used them myself.  The herbal heat pack smells amazingly good and would be fabulous for any sorts of aches and pains.  It should also work well as a "cool" pack - just put it in the fridge or freezer for a gentle cold compress.    And, while they don't manufacture it, they do sell the Diva Cup, which is one of my very favorite mama care products.  Lunapads are a great companion product for the Diva Cup, and are even offered in a kit together with it for extra savings.   

While the cost of reusable products can be a bit shocking at first, the benefits of them (health, comfort, ecological impact, to name a few) far outweigh the cost.  And, considering that these products can be used for years - rather than mere hours - you realize just what an economical choice they are, too.

I have been thoroughly pleased with my dealings with Lunapads thus far, and am looking forward to working with them on another order in the next few months.