Mama Mondays & Mothering magazine

I have gained a new community of mama friends since Soren's conception (yes, we started gathering before birth!), and I am particularly grateful for a playgroup that meets Monday afternoons just a couple of blocks from our house.

Two mamas who are Port Townsend High School grads come home to stay, with sons just a little younger than Soren, decided to start the group and invite babies (and moms) around the same age, because "we're going to be attending the same functions for the next 18 years." The number of mom-baby pairs ranges from 6-12.

Here are two photos from one of the first gatherings. I shot the group photo, so I'm not in it, but Soren is front and center, and he and I are at right of center of the second photo. Thanks to host Abbie for sharing them from her camera. It will indeed be fun for all our guys (and a few gals, although they're definitely outnumbered) to grow up together.

Also on the parenting topic, I have to give a cheer for Mothering, my favorite magazine addressing this subject. It only arrives every other month, which is not soon enough, and the current issue was delivered to my mailbox yesterday. I discovered Mothering in my midwife's waiting room when an article on choosing a cloth diaper "system" caught my eye, and I treated myself to a three-year subscription. I was thrilled that my first issue arrived in the mail the day after Soren's birth.

Mothering was founded in the mid-1970s and advocates "natural" parenting: home birth, cloth diapering, co-sleeping, breastfeeding, etc. Although our family falls slightly to the right on this left-leaning spectrum, I would much rather read this issue's cover story on why some consider childhood vaccinations not worth the risk (we're vaccinating, albeit on an alternative schedule, FYI) than waste my time with mainstream articles on how to decorate the nursery or photos of celebrities in maternity wear. I pass on my copy to another mama after I've devoured it--usually in 24 hours or less; this issue was no exception.

Check out Mothering.com! You have to purchase an online subscription to read the magazine, but there is a wealth of information in the Community Forums (scroll down to see the topics), and you don't have to register to view the posts and answers.

NOTE: I've updated my New Mama Booklist again, with diaper-free resources and the sleep books we found so helpful.

P.S. I haven't seen any comments for quite a while. I do read them all, and enjoy knowing what you find moving or funny. Keep 'em coming!