The One Year Mark

The last week of February marked one year in business as Immigration Solutions LLC. During this first year I have had paying clients from the following countries:

Burkina Faso


Colombia


Cuba


El Salvador


Ethiopia


Gabon


The Gambia


Ghana


Guinea


Iraq


Mexico


Peru


United States

Mexican states represented include:

Aguascalientes
Chihuahua
Distrito Federal
Durango
Estado de Mexico
Guanajuato
Hidalgo
Jalisco
Michoacan
Morelos
Nuevo Leon
Tamaulipas
Veracruz
Zacatecas

Thank you, Lord, for an interesting first year! I have learned about countries I didn't know existed, and have helped people file for immigration benefits I thought only attorneys could do. I wonder what next year will bring...??

Pink Eye

My baby woke up one morning last spring with his eyes almost plastered shut from yellow eye gunk. The area around his eye was red and swollen, and over the next couple days the whites of his eye were pink. Here's what I did:

• I brewed some double strength chamomile tea. Every other hour, I dipped clean cotton balls in the tea, squeezed some tea into the corner of my baby's eye, then wiped the gunk out of his eye.
• Every other hour (when I wasn't applying chamomile tea), I expressed 5-7 drops of breast milk into the corner of my baby's eye. The anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties of breast milk are amazing! Knowing how to hand express breast milk is not only useful to relieve engorgement, but is also helpful to heal infections like pink eye and prevent infections in scrapes and cuts. Click here for a step-by-step guide to hand expression. The most important thing to remember is that the milk sinuses are behind the areola - not in the nipple. Squeezing the nipple will only give you a sore nipple, so make sure you are placing all the pressure on the areola.

After two days of chamomile tea and breast milk, my baby's eye was back to normal. If you have effectively used any other natural remedies for pink eye, I'd love to hear about them!

A Month in Our Life: January 2010

A sample weekday:

6:00 - Mama and baby wake up before the sun. Within about 10 seconds, baby is full of energy and ready to start the day. Baby uses the potty in the bathroom. Mama and baby read books together.

6:45 - Baby helps mama make breakfast by operating the coffee grinder (to grind flax seed). Mama and baby eat breakfast. Baby knocks on Erika's door to play with her and her cat. Baby says goodbye to Erika, which usually "requires" putting on Ticha's hat and scarf.

7:30 - Mama does the dishes, tidies the bedroom, folds the diapers, packs our bags, and gets ready. Baby plays with Ticha, the most creative person I've ever met. They make houses for cat toys (including one named "Pink Ears"), play hide and seek, roll hand weights in the hallway, make car ramps out of old suitcases in the living room, and clomp around the house in Ticha's high heels or Erika's boots.

8:45 - Mama and baby play outside. We usually head to the alley, look inside every garbage can in sight, run up and down dirt piles, jump off tree trunks, slide on the ice, and play with rubber bands stashed in a box next to a neighbor's recycle bin.

9:45 - Baby plays with Ticha some more. Mama packs lunch and loads the car.

10:00 - Mama and baby leave for the office. Baby naps in the car. Once parked at the office, mama does her Bible study and takes a short nap.

12:00 - Mama sets up the office. Mama and baby eat lunch. On Fridays, mama treats Estela and baby to tortas or huaraches from Rancho Liborio.

1:00 - Mama and baby play together. This usually involves chasing each other around the office, "vacuuming" the carpet, climbing all over mama as if playing in a jungle gym, making a ruckus with musical instruments, pushing trucks, throwing balls, practicing putting keys in the door and clicking the Ergo together, turning the lights on and off, and reading lots of books. Periodically during the day, baby blurts out the words "dot" or "cuckoo" or "crash-bang-boom" and then peals with laughter.

3:00 - Mama and baby walk around the neighborhood and talk to "the usual suspects." Baby seems to be learning at least two new words a day, and his all time favorite right now is "hat." On the way to the post office every day, we walk by a group of day laborers waiting for work, and since it is cold outside they usually all have hats or hoods on. Baby likes to point/wave to each man in turn and announce "hat."

3:30 - Mama and baby play together some more in the office. Baby announces he's ready for a snack by saying "eat," announces he needs to go potty by patting his diaper, and announces he's already gone potty by taking his diaper off.

5:30 - Mama and baby eat dinner. Mama tidies up the office. While listening to lullaby music, baby gets ready for bed, and mama and baby read together. Last thing before leaving the office, we tuck the stuffed monkey under a "blanket" and give it a smooch and say night night.

7:15 - Mama and baby leave the office. Baby falls asleep in the car.

8:00 - Once home, mama eats another dinner, does laundry, works on business stuff, then hopefully has a little time to relax and read before soaking the next morning's breakfast.

10:30 - Mama crawls into bed with baby.

Babywearing 103: Carriers

Carriers are structured baby-wearing contraptions.

Pros: The structure of a good carrier balances baby's weight over mama's hips and shoulders, so mama can wear baby comfortably for long stretches of time (hours and hours at a time). The structure of a good carrier places baby in a natural seated position, so that baby's spine and hips are not compressed. (Baby's bum is naturally lower than his knees when in this position.) A good carrier leaves mama completely hands-free, even when baby is nursing. A good carrier provides support (often a hood) to prevent baby's head from bobbing or jerking while asleep. Baby fits comfortably in most carriers from the newborn stage through toddlerhood (and beyond). Carriers are adjustable so that one size fits all adults. Many carriers come with instructional DVDs, which make learning how to use the carrier easy.

Cons: Carriers are more expensive than slings or wraps. Some carriers are only designed for baby to be facing in, not out. Some modern carriers are not designed for babies under four months (when they cannot hold their head up on their own). You can usually buy an "infant insert" for use during the early months, but these inserts aren't consistently easy to use.

Note: The popular Baby Bjorn and other similarly styled carriers do not provide most of the benefits listed above and are actually bad for mama's back, baby's back, baby's hips, and baby's genital area. When purchasing a carrier, it is important to make sure the carrier is structured so that baby is sitting in the carrier (not dangling unsupported), such that baby's bum is lower than baby's knees.

Variations: The waist band and shoulder straps of modern carriers connect with buckles. The waist band and shoulder straps of Asian back carriers connect with tied sashes.

Recommendations: For a modern carrier, the Ergo Baby Carrier (aptly named because it is designed to be ergonomically correct) consistently rates higher than all other carriers. For a less gear-like look, try the Beco Baby Carrier, which is currently rated second highest on www.DiaperPin.com. For an Asian back carrier, try the Kozy Carrier. The Ergo can be worn on the front (facing in), on the hip, and on the back. The Beco can be worn on the front (facing in) and on the back. The Kozy can be worn on the front (facing in and facing out), on the hip, and on the back.

I wore my baby in an Ergo Baby Carrier on and off from the time my baby was about six weeks old until. From birth until about 10 months, we used the Moby Wrap as our go-to carrier. But at 10 months I switched to the Ergo because my baby was gaining weight rapidly and I felt the Ergo provided the best support for my back. To be honest, my baby disliked the Ergo for the first week or two of constant usage because he was used to being worn facing out. But he soon adjusted and loves it now. In fact, I think he has said the word "Ergo" this week more than any other word!

Front Carry

(Kozy Carrier)


(Beco Baby Carrier)

Side Carry

(Ergo Baby Carrier)


(Kozy Carrier)

Back Carry

(Ergo Baby Carrier)


(Beco Baby Carrier)

Two Babies at the Same Time

(Kozy Carrier)

Babywearing 102: Wraps

Wraps are basically long pieces of fabric wrapped intricately around your body. The sight of 6 yards of cloth piled in your hands may at first be intimidating, but don't despair! With just a little practice you can master this superbly comfortable way of wearing your baby. First, practice wrapping and tying the cloth around your body. Once you've got that down pat, practice placing a stuffed animal or rolled up bath towel into the wrap. After you feel semi-comfortable doing that, place your baby into the wrap. While it is more difficult to learn than other ways of carrying your baby, it is well worth the effort! The Moby Wrap quickly became our favorite carrier and faithfully served as our go-to carrier for my baby's first 10 months of life outside the womb.

Wraps are unbelievably comfortable for both mama and baby. Baby's weight is evenly distributed across both of mama's shoulders and her back, giving mama hours of comfortable baby-wearing time. The fabric is more comfy than a favorite t-shirt and hugs mama and baby perfectly, regardless of size or shape. And wraps are also fantastic nursing covers. If mama is wearing the wrap (empty) and nursing her baby in her arms, the folds of the wrap naturally fall to cover baby's head and mama's entire chest area.

Wraps are especially beneficial for premature babies and babies with breastfeeding challenges. Both groups of babies need lots of skin-to-skin contact and "kangaroo care" is an easy way to provide that contact for long stretches of time (hands free). Mama takes off baby's clothes (except perhaps a diaper) and places baby into a wrap directly on her bare chest - the wrap covers mama's torso, so a casual observer would never suspect she was not wearing a shirt. Skin-to-skin touch regulates baby's heart rate, blood pressure, stress hormones, and body temperature. Mama's chest temperature actually changes to meet her baby's needs, and research shows that kangaroo care is more effective at keeping baby warm than a traditional preemie incubator!

The downside to wraps is the time it takes to put them on. A mama can partially compensate for this by putting the wrap on when she first needs it and leaving it on throughout the day (whether or not baby is in the wrap).

For a comfortable fit and no back strain, baby's bum should hit at or just above mama's belly button. And baby's bum should always, always, always be lower than baby's knees. This protects baby's spine, genital area, and hip alignment.

Click here to watch a great video demonstating how to wrap a Moby Wrap around your body and place your baby in the wrap in the hug hold.

Click on the pictures below to see step-by-step instructions for each of these holds. Of course, this is just a sampling of the great variety of ways you can wear your baby in a wrap. Next on our agenda is figuring out the hike hold on my back.

Cradle Hold


Twin Cradle Hold


Newborn Hug Hold


Hug Hold


Lotus Hold


Sling Hold


Baby K'Tan
The Baby K'Tan is like a wrap without the wrapping. It takes only 5-7 seconds to put on, so is a great alternative to a sling for easy, around-the-house wear. Because baby's weight is distributed on mama's shoulders and back, it is also great for short jaunts out and about. However, it's not as comfortable as a regular wrap for long stretches of time.