Montessori Nature's Smile

Here is what on our shelf this week:

     This is dedicated to us - mums. The reason I decided to write this blog, is because at times being a mum does not seem like much, and it is so easy to loose a focus in between wiping boogers, preparing dinner and picking up that same piece of Lego hundredth time a day. And the amazing thing is that our history is yet to be written and NOW we have time and chance to make a difference and raise beautiful people who will write a history one day. Looking into the lives and sacrifices great mothers made for the sake of their family, you understand that being a mum is a calling.

 Since we had to take our little baby girl to the emergency with the high fever without any other symptoms that lasted for three days I made a decision to research every way possible to strengthen her immune system with natural solutions. It really does work. Here are some ideas for you and your family I would love to share and hope to help you to be stronger this flu season.
I can't not mention a very important factor - a prayer - every time before the meal and when anyone of us get unwell. Let's face it even natural solutions can not really compete with the Creator of the Earth.

"Every baby is born with about 100 billion neurons. Neurons are the special cells responsible for most brain functions, such as thinking, seeing and feeling. We currently believe that those 100 billion neurons are all you get; few or none of them are produced later in life. Neurons connect with each other across tiny spaces called “synapses.” These connected neurons join together to form the systems that perform the various functions of the brain.

There are a few main points of our parenting that we truly believe provide a great foundation for brain development:

1.TALK to the child all the time so she is used to hearing speech (except when child is focusing on something else). When possible while talking make an eye contact. We also have been reading books every day since she was born. Our favourite books to read are the Bible and photography books with big beautiful realistic photos

I try not to offer to my child any toys unless I know they have a very specific purpose: it develops fine motor skills, helps to develop concentration, offers various sensory experiences, etc. We always try to adopt our living place for her to move freely and safely around, and sometimes I feel too many toys can be on the way of her discoveries. Very often her toy can be a piece of different material or a cardboard roll. I stay away from plastic and electronic stuff. I often get an inspiration to make activity for my 7 months old. For example:

 Maria Montessori was a legendary woman. She was the first to break the social stigma about women -she became the first woman to enter medical school in Italy at the age of 22. Maria was a strong and compassionate woman. In 1896 she added the appointment as surgical assistant at Santo Spirito Hospital in Rome to her portfolio of tasks. Much of her work there was with the poor, and particularly with their children. As a doctor she was noted for the way in which she ‘tended’ her patients, making sure they were warm and properly fed as well as diagnosing and treating their illnesses. In 1901 Montessori immersed herself in her own studies of educational philosophy and anthropology.

The beautiful thing about birth is that every mother has a unique story to tell. Mine was quite.. adventures. There were a few very incredible things happening on the way. For example, my girl already had her "favourites" before she was born. At the time of my pregnancy I was working with 3 and 4 your olds. You can imagine impression my belly made on these little people. Our girl got friendly pattings every day from children. She always responded most of the time to one same child by kicking back . The same kid came to me one day and asked if I want to call my daughter Valentina. Little did he know that it is my mum's name. Go figure...During one of our scans the moment we saw her on a screen her little arm went up and gave as a wave. So all those little events made the pregnancy so much more special. I was incredibly lucky and blessed to be accepted to the Birth Centre.

Since our girl was very little - just a couple months old- I thought to myself that all these different positions we put her in car seat, baby chair, later high chair, let alone the whole birth experience, can't be good for her soft little bones and spine.Recently  I heard so much about the benefits of chiropractor for babies so we decided to start the chiro sessions for her. I was so excited about it. Many wonder if it's safe. My husband was very sceptical and did not like the idea of giving our child such a rough treatment (those dads.. so hard from outside and so soft inside:). But it is amazing how God just gently leads us in making a right decision. Recently we talked with one family who took their children to chiro since they were born. They told us how some children can start having seizures out of nowhere. Later on we met another lady who told us that she takes he kids to chiro to help to avoid seizures in future.

It "hit" me today.. After my gorgeous angel woke me up at 4 in the morning and then happily felt back asleep I was left alone with my thoughts.. And it "hit" me..
My goal in writing this blog was to share my passion for "natural parenting", emphasise that every parent has a natural instinct to care for their child. That their inner voice should be the most important one when raising a child - not media, not even more experienced parents. However, I almost left out of sight the most vital thing- faith, God, Godly character, seeking Him first. Don't get me wrong, every single day I dedicate my girl to Him, I lay my hands on her and speak God's word and His blessings over her, I read her Bible. I ask God to lead us every moment in raising this girl into Godly woman. And this is the most important thing I want to share with other parents that there is God who loves and cares for our children more than we could ever do, who will be there for them when we cant. I want to show how significant it is to build up their faith every day from the very start. I pray Jesus teach us all to love our children, know them and give them our best. I wish you every blessing, patience, wisdom, unconditional love and acceptance no matter how old your children are. May God's peace and love rule in your house.

 Maria Montessori had such a profound view on parenting, she said: [L]et us think, for a moment, of the many peoples of the world who live at different cultural levels from our own. In the matter of child rearing, almost all of these seem to be more enlightened than ourselves – with all our Western ultramodern ideals. Nowhere else, in fact, do we find children treated in a fashion so opposed to their natural needs. In almost all countries, the baby accompanies his mother wherever she goes. Mother and child are inseparable . . . . And this lasts for the whole period of maternal feeding, which is the reason for this close alliance. For the mother has to feed her child, and therefore she cannot leave him at home when she goes out. To this need for food is added their mutual fondness and love . . . . Mother and child are one.
Except where civilisation has broken down this custom, no mother ever entrusts her child to someone else. The child shares the mother’s life and is always listening.”

wooooh... where to start? Trust me I spent too much time researching this issue. I was not satisfied with what's generally accepted - starting to introduce baby cereal at the age of 4-6 months. The reason is because baby's gut only seals around 6 month and the stomach is not ready yet to digest grains until the age of one.

At one very early stage of my motherhood I realised that I was sick of those huge books on raising babies which gave you an answer for EVERY single issue, describing every step as if mother had no ability to figure it out. It just did not work for me. So I started to look for something different and found this wonderful book called "The other baby book" written by OTHER mums. Who can be more qualified? From that day on motherhood became one of the most exciting journeys of my life. I wasn't going crazy when my baby started to cry, instead I took it as a gift - the ability of this little creature to tell me that she has a NEED. And how satisfying it is to fulfil it. I always thought  to myself how hard it must be when you relay on someone else for you to be fed, cleaned, dressed, comforted. Well, anyway, It was so interesting to find this article, check it out:

Me and my husband are big fans of wooden materials.  We had a very specific choice of toys for our girl. It might seem being quite costly from the first sight but these materials usually last for a very long time, not mentioning how much enjoyment they bring to our girl. We avoid buying plastic and electronic stuff and and it helps us to save quite a bit.

Being a natural "freak" I wasn't going to give my baby ANYthing that is not natural for her teething. And the problem is that teething is something that goes on forever!! So we found a really great and REAL solution to that:
1. Baby Baltic amber teething necklace.  It can also help with conditions such as, ear ache, fevers and colds, eczema, asthma, acid reflux, irritability and sleeplessness. It work by releasing calming healing oils when worn next to baby’s warm skin. The oils are then absorbed into the blood stream and help to ease the pain associated with teething. Apparently the lighter the colour the better it works. You can find those in every health shop or online and eBay. PS its not for chewing!!!

Once my baby was born I realised that I don't just feel comfortable with modern popular ways to care for babies: leaving baby to cry themselves to sleep, constantly using all sorts of "baby holders" like prams, baby seats, bouncers, etc.; putting baby on a feeding schedule. So when I decided to follow my gut - I found out that there is a name to my parenting style - called Attachment Parenting. I practice co-sleeping, baby- caring, feeding on demand, etc. Of course I am not saying that  what other people do is wrong I just enjoy doing it my way. Here is why I think Attachment Parenting is beneficial: