Rebecca Wolf

This blog is a chronicle of my daughters' growth - born July 2003 and May 2007. Be sure to check out the Thriving Babies homepage, for videos and instructions on how to use every type of baby carrier. For literacy and homeschooling tips, visit my Rochester-based Learning Center blog at www.SibleyCenter.com.

Tuesday, June 27, 2006

Are You Monocular or Binocular?

My husband, Andrew, had permanent strabismus at birth (meaning neither eye could focus). He had eye surgery as a toddler so he wouldn't be blind, but he never developed binocular vision, or the ability to focus with both eyes. Most agreed that the window for developing binocular vision was very short and at a young age.

The link to NPR tells a different story; one that has Andrew excited that he may have the chance to develop this ability even at the ripe old age of 38 (Happy Birthday to Andrew, yesterday, by the way).


The technique is called Vision Therapy. If you have a similar problem with strabismus or lazy eye, you can go to www.covd.org and see if there are any doctors in your area who offer it.

Who knows, you may start seeing the world in a whole new light!

Rebecca Wolf

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Phlink Me!

Phlink is for Mac users and it is very cool because it:
* Gives you unlimited mailboxes
* Allows you to create pre-recorded messages
* Allows you to create a phone tree based on Caller ID (So Mom gets one message, friends get another, etc.)
* Records your phone calls

It is very cool and I am planning to save my pennies to get it one day!

Rebecca


P.S. It works with Vonage, which we just signed up for and are very happy with! Psst ... e-mail me and I can get you one month FREE as a new sign-up. Too bad Phlink isn't for free, but Skype is. It's free calling to other Skype members, but I don't know anyone else who is signed up :-(

Saturday, June 17, 2006

Infant Sleep Study Research

Just an interesting research study that's been done on different parenting philosophies and the effect it has on a baby's sleep.

Even though I consider myself an attachment parent, I found that I don't fit into the "natural mothering network" as this researcher defined it, but more into the "moderate" group. When Arianna was a newborn, we didn't carry her for 15 hours a day, but maybe 4-6 hours. I didn't breastfeed on demand, mostly because Arianna was happy being breastfed every 2-3 hours, although I did nurse more when she went through the usual growth spurts at 3 weeks, 3 months, etc. We didn't know about cosleeping at the time, so for the first 10 months of her life, Arianna slept in a crib. Her nighttime teething pain was so bad that she started waking up a lot and we all decided cosleeping would provide the most rest for all of us.

I still consider myself an attachment parent because I define it as someone who quickly responds to their child's cues in a caring way. Arianna didn't cry much at all, but I didn't feel pressured to keep her on a strict schedule OR keep her on me constantly. We just adapted ourselves to each other's needs as they became known. I'm glad to hear that this helps promote healthy sleep patterns and manageable routines. It has for us, although Arianna wasn't colicky. The researcher was careful to note that some babies have physical ailments that create unique situations. I think every child/parent relationship is special and unique and when you just listen to each other (and not a philosophy or your friends, etc.), you can usually find that "sweet spot" of harmony.