Essential Reading for EL parents- please help me out!

[Kerileanne99]

So Alex is 3.5 now, and has done so well with all things EL we are doing with her! But I didn't actually find the world of EL until she was several months old, and that was only in the form of YBCR:

So! Announcement! It looks like our little family will be welcoming a new passenger to our EL Roller Coaster in about 7 months

I am hoping you guys can help me out. We are away from home and most of my resources, but I have plenty of time for reading! So hit me with names of books you have read, wish you had read, or just think would be a great addition!
I am particularly interested in the best books for EC, so I know there are some moms and dads out there who can help me with that:)

Thanks for the help

[nee1]

Keri,

Congratulations!!! ! I'm so happy for you.

For EC, the books most widely recommended are
1) The Diaper-free Baby by Christine Gross-Loh and
2) Infant Potty Training (3rd Edition) by Laurie Boucke.

I've got both, and they complement each other nicely. Diaper-Free Baby is good; it contains testimonials from parents and what to expect at each stage. Infant Potty Training is also good, it contains cross-cultural testimonials from both the US and other parts of the world showing that well, what we are doing is what is routinely practiced in several parts of the world. It also has lots of photos to demonstrate the hows of infant potty training. In summary, both books are excellent for EC. My first choice though would be Infant Potty Training as it is a bit more thorough (at 400+ pages), it cites research on potty training, it contains commentary by doctors and other experts, and it contains photos showing you the hows of the entire process.

PokerDad, where are you? . You are the inhouse expert in this, you know.

[PokerDad]

I'll concur with the recommendation. I didn't like the testimonial one as much, though many people liked it most.

Not to derail, but we're on a little potty strike. Cub has gotten so ambulatory that fecal catches are non-existent for about a week or so now. Being familiar with EC, however, has allowed me to view it in stride.

In implementing EC, the most important thing I found was to not use some of the more simple mechanisms outlined in those books - I started with trying to use a bucket, ha ha - he could eliminate in it at a few days of age, but it was a horrible plan to start. I went out and bought two little potties (you can get them on AMZN for a good price) and used the large potty when he was younger - he could hold his head up, I could feed and read to him while he was on that thing! Now whenever he sits on his potty, he grabs a book. Anyway, many little things you'll learn from that large book - too many little things to list here.

I'll think of some books, and I can also hook you up with some information if you like.

The one book I wanted to get, but didn't, was EC Simplified. If anyone has this, let me know.

[Korrale4kq]

Anything Doman, if you haven't already.
Fowler.

And yay! I a, so excited for you!

[khatty]

Wonderful news.

For an EC book I preferred Ingrid Bauer. http://www.amazon.com/Diaper-Free-Gentle-Natural-Hygiene/dp/0452287774.
It contained a little more research and I appreciated her ideas on EC as a way to respect your baby's needs, not just as a potty training method.

I liked a Thomas Verny book about the pre parenting, weekly steps for pregnancy. It had lots of ideas for interacting with your unborn featus. http://www.amazon.com/Nurturing-Unborn-Child-Thomas-Verny/dp/1587541041/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370137091&sr=1-3&keywords=thomas+verny

Of course, all things Doman.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

CONGRATS!!!!

There is an e-book by Pamela Hickein written back when her company was the "Soul Learning Company" called Prenatal Learning or something like that. It was hosted on a website for free and now it is no longer there. It talked about bonding in utero. This is SO vague I know, sorry.  Pamela also has some meditations on YouTube for this very thing, both RBK and Shichida start their classes while bub is still in the belly!

You can also check out the prenatal books noted on BrillBaby. All of our stuff is in storage, but off hand I remember reading "Your Prenatal Classroom" and "Learning Before Birth," there may have been a few others. If I think of any others I will let you know.

[TeachingMyToddlers]

CONGRATS!!!!

There is an e-book by Pamela Hickein written back when her company was the "Soul Learning Company" called Prenatal Learning or something like that. It was hosted on a website for free and now it is no longer there. It talked about bonding in utero. This is SO vague I know, sorry.  Pamela also has some meditations on YouTube for this very thing, both RBK and Shichida start their classes while bub is still in the belly!

You can also check out the prenatal books noted on BrillBaby. All of our stuff is in storage, but off hand I remember reading "Your Prenatal Classroom" and "Learning Before Birth," there may have been a few others. If I think of any others I will let you know.

-------------------

I found the site but it no longer works. I think a long time ago I tried to contact them for someone else without luck, maybe you can try again or email Pamela/RBK and see if you get a response.

Free to download: Soul Bonding During Pregnancy
http://www.light-hearts.com/ripples.htm

A valuable resource has been donated to this website for free downloading! Soul Bonding During Pregnancy is just twenty-five pages long, but it can open the door to a new experience of pregnancy. It is the result of the collaboration of two women, Pamela Hickein and Bridget Luise Esswein, each of them expert in a different form of prenatal education. (To learn about Pamela's ongoing work in this field, visit The Whole Child Institute.) As explained in the Introduction: "To Bridget, a midwife from Germany, prenatal education meant natural childbirth preparation classes -- helping parents with the physical, spiritual, emotional and mental transition into parenthood. For Pamela, prenatal education encompassed something a little different -- a Japanese prenatal infant learning program taught to babies via the mother through intuitive right-brain communication."

In a reassuring and loving style, you are guided through twelve "Exercises for intuitive, creative right-brain communication." Each one is an inspired adventure in connecting with the unborn child. Here is a small portion of the exercise titled "A New World":

Choose a sound which is a part of daily life, for example, the vacuum cleaner or blender. Connect with the baby. Send him your love and attention. Say, "I'm turning the vacuum cleaner on now." Send him the image of its shape and sound. Breathe calmly and tell him in words or thoughts, "Close your ears. You do not need to let in the sound." You can even image a blue light around you, the womb and the baby's ears. While vacuuming you can frequently stop and pat your tummy, and tell him that everything is okay.

The authors of Soul Bonding During Pregnancy (which is no longer available in print) have generously made it available for free downloading. It is a 3.26 Megabyte Acrobat file. Here is the link: Soul Bonding During Pregnancy

 Double click to download for viewing or printing out, or Right-click and choose "save target as" if you wish to save the file to your own computer. Thank you Pamela and Bridget!

http://www.light-hearts.com/Soul%20Bonding%20-%20Prenatal.pdf (I emailed them and it works now! hope that helps)

[Mandabplus3]

Oh Keri CONGRATULATIONS!
I don't have a clue what to recommend for the baby but I would recommend you sort out what you will need for Alex for the next 2 years. Or at least have a plan. Babies are time sappers after all, in a lovely cuddly kind of way 

[CVMomma]

Congratulations!!  My daughter was so excited to hear that Alex is going to be a big sister!!

We are also expecting a little one in 5 months, so I am following this topic with great interest.  My husband is starting to see the benefit of all things EL, but when I explained the little that I know about EC...    Well, it may take a bit of convincing!!

If anyone knows of a downloadable version of books about EC, I would be very interested in that.  Our local library leaves a little to be desired and hubby isn't keen on me buying any more books that I am going to read for a few months and not use again.   So any online reading on any and all things EL, especially EC would be very helpful!

[nadia0801]

A BIG CONGRATULATIONS KERI! How exactly did Alex welcome the news? I can't contribute much about EC, we haven't done much but Robert is so vocal that he's telling me and actually pulling me towards the comfort room before making potty since he's 17-months old.

The books I've read while pregnant was mostly about discipline and EQ. I would highly recommend these:

1. Have A New Kid by Friday
2. Setting Limits With Your Strong-Willed Child
3. How To Raise A Child With High EQ

All of these are available in Amazon.

God bless!

[tlyoung]

Keri,
Congrats! I think a sibling for Alex will be great. I have not been on the site much because we are moving back to SA (not as exciting as your news though). No help with EC but tons of encouragement.

[Kerileanne99]

Thanks everyone for the congratulations and the suggestions!
I already have a huge collection of all things Doman, and we have a crawling track (hoping to build a bigger one now that we have room!) and brachiation bars.
There are just so many more things I know that I want to do

We just put a largish pool in the garden, and are having a Hot Tub installed on the enclosed patio...so I KNOW we will be tackling infant swimming!

PokerDad? Any thoughts or suggestions for some pre-reading and essential materials? I do have the Doman book for teaching your baby to swim...

Nadia0801- we haven't actually told Alex yet! Nine months is just such a long time for a 3 year old, so we are holding off...but we plan to tell her in the next couple of weeks. I have been gathering resources for some Further EL lessons as she really enjoys all things related to the human body. And thanks for the suggestions for the other books as I know she is going to have some serious adjusting to do:)

Khatty- I really like the look of the Thomas Verny book! Thanks for the suggestion.

Tlyoung- congrats on your move! I hope you will stay in touch:)

CVMomma- congrats to you too!

Nee1- thanks so much for the list! As always, you are a a font of well-planned and carefully prepared resources!

TmT- Really enjoying the RB download from Pamela Hickein. Thanks for the link!

Mandabplus3-
Oh! That was actually my first thought when I found out! I REALLY need to sit down (HA!, WC joke!) and tweak a more long-term plan for Alex. I think I shall put together a separate post as I am getting to the point where we are going to have to make some decisions with her. I have Art of Problem Solving's Beast Academy, and she has decided that the '3' on the covers (3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D) mean she should finish them before she turns four! I can't see that happening, but I am not about to discourage her if she wants to try!

Korrale4kq- for some reason I had totally forgotten Fowler:( thanks do the reminder!

[elaida]

For EC books, I checked out from my library and read The Diaper-Free Baby while I was still pregnant. It was fine. While I liked reading the testimonials, I decided it was not a book that I would keep and refer to long-time. I think if you can check it out, it's a fast and easy read, but not something I would recommend spending $$ on (unless you have extra $$ to spend).

I purchased EC Simplified (which has a new website http://www.godiaperfree.com -- do not buy from her old website, which is now run by her ex-business partner and does not have the most current version of her book) using the coupon code available from http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/ . I figured I was contributing to a good cause and would have the support of a forum, if necessary. It turns out, I have never sought the help of the forum, but it's good to know that it is there. The author advocates EC'ing from birth, but includes information on how to start later as well. She has lots of pictures and her website for readers has videos as well. There's a lot of detail and how-to in the book. A lot of the suggestions include how to EC in public, like on the side of the road, in public bathrooms, etc. I just EC at home (since I haven't left the house for more than a few hours at a time so far), so I haven't made use of a lot of the suggestions. The author keeps revising her book, and as she is expecting again, she will revise it again with whatever she learns from EC'ing her new baby. Once you purchase the book, you continue to get all the updates.

Keep in mind that the author is a stay-at-home mom trying to support herself and her family by selling the book and through the affiliate links in her ebook/website. So, the book is mostly the author explaining and sharing her experiences (but in an objective kind of way, not like a journal). This is not a research based book. There is also a section of product endorsements (which is also found on her website). While the section was interesting, it doesn't necessarily represent everything available that might be useful, and you really don't *need* any of the items. I don't know if there are any product endorsements in the book for products that would not give the author a commission.

Overall, I think once you understand the gist of EC (from reading on the Internet about it), you don't really need to purchase any books. It seems like a lot of the EC resources recommend the top hat potty to start with. I could never get it to work (but maybe I didn't try hard enough). So, don't think you really need a lot of stuff to EC with. You can use your existing sink/toilet, a change pad, or a simple potty to start.

As PokerDad has shown, the road may not be smooth. My kid, which is a few weeks younger than PokerCub, also has gone on a potty strike at about the same time that he learned how to crawl (the last two weeks or so). We're still catching poos 100% (and have been since 8 months without any problems). It's just that he's refusing to pee sitting in the potty during the daytime, unless he really needs to. So, if he's already wet his diaper, he refuses to sit on the potty to try to pee some more. I just bought a urinal, since I've been able to get him to go standing up, but it's not that ergonomic for him to stand over his potty. I'm hoping the urinal will help with the potty strike. We'll see. On the other hand, we've been able to keep a mostly dry diaper overnight for a few weeks now. He seems to be able to hold it until he wakes up (twice a night) and then happily pees in the potty then. He's also gone on a diaper strike since becoming more mobile. I think the cloth diapers (we are using bamboo flats) are a bit constraining/bulky, so I've been using underwear with inserts when I can and have been trying out other alternatives as well.

Good luck, and congratulations.

[seastar]

Wow, Keri, that is such amazing news! I am so happy for all of you 

I only read one EC book - The Diaper Free Baby. I enjoyed it and it opened my mind to the world of EC (I found this by accident when I was looking for a potty training book - I had not even heard of EC until I read the first page!)

I also enjoyed the Fowler book and DVD and the Dunstan DVD and book. I am looking through the Fundamentals accelerated learning curriculum by Colin Rose and I'm liking what I see so far - it's EL but focuses on the whole child with happiness as the end goal. One of these days, I'll do a review! I'll check through my bookshelves and report back if I can think of any other good ones.

[Korrale4kq]

Oh yes! I forgot Dunston.

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