What You Are Missing:

If you haven't signed up get updates on posts at AMotherInIsrael.com you might have missed:

A series on Pashkevilim, Anti-Establishment Wall Posters in Jerusalem

Abortion in the Religious Zionist Community

Tips on Staying Home and Staying Sane

Frugal Strategies for Young Families that Pay Off as Your Family Grows

How to Make a Sourdough Starter

Eruv Tavshilin and Shavuot Recipes

Breastfeeding and Introduction of Solid Foods: New Guidelines from the Israeli Health Ministry

The Week of the Police Robots

Dr. Chana Kattan: Large Families Yes, Demanding Careers No

Stepping Off Your Teen's Emotional Rollercoaster

And much, much more.

See you over there! Hag Shavuot Sameach and Shabbat Shalom

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Posts for the week of March 1 at AMotherInIsrael.com

Posts this week at A Mother in Israel's new location:

Army Service and Taxes: A guest post at DovBear.

Seed Experiments: Does Microwaved Water Prevent Seeds from Sprouting?

What to Do When the Elevator is Broken

Winner of Purim Basket Contest Announced

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's Ruling about Women Reading the Megillah for Men

Links on the Megillah Ruling and More

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Guest Post: Breastfeeding and Working

Thanks to commenter Ariela for sharing her experience and recommendations. And as usual, don't miss the comments.

Working and Breastfeeding on AMotherInIsrael.com

Friday, February 27: New Posts at A Mother in Israel.com

Here are this week's posts at my new location, AMotherInIsrael.com:

Petach Tikva's Bat Cave.

Purim Costume Brainstorming.

Purim Basket Giveaway. The winner will be announced on Monday, March 3.

Creative Cooking Using Leftovers: Chicken Casserole.

A Week with No Shopping and Other Links.

Shabbat shalom!

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More New Posts at AMotherInIsrael.com: Goats, girls and prayer, parenting, tzniut and more

Join the discussions at my new blog, AMotherInIsrael.com If you're having trouble accessing the feed in your blog reader, try typing in amotherinisrael.com/feed.

Exclusive: Street Goats in Bnei Brak Don't miss these pictures.

Guest Post: Jewish Girls and Prayer. A discussion about educating girls in the Orthodox community.

Babies Need Company. What is socialization for babies?

Blog Notes. Comments on moving house.

An Uninspiring Letter to the Women of Ramat Beit Shemesh.
Rafi posts a letter he received on the RBS list, thanking women for dressing modestly.

News from Around the Jewish Blogosphere Carnivals, congrats and more.

New Posts at AMotherInIsrael.com

Here are the newest posts at my new location, AMotherInIsrael.com:

Guest Post: Jewish Girls and Prayer
News from Around the Jewish Blogosphere
Exclusive: "Street Goats" in Bnei Brak
Environmenal Dissidence

The RSS feed for the new blog doesn't seem to be working. Until I get it fixed (and probably longer), I'll continue to link to new posts here.

Announcement: A Mother in Israel is Moving

This blog has moved to
AMotherInIsrael.com

Go there to read newer posts. Since the old address began with MomInIsrael I've directed MominIsrael.com to the new location as well. Older posts appear there, as well as most comments. Bookmark it and if you're a blogger, I'd appreciate it an update in your blogroll.

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I've put up a few new posts to make up for being absent over the last few days, and more are on the way:
Grabbing the Chapper: A Model of Israeli Tolerance and Cooperation
Update List of Injured Soldiers and Civilians
Why I Moved My Blog to Wordpress
Breastfeeding: The Optimal Way to Space Babies

Or you can read them all at once here.

Happy belated Tu Beshevat!

Updates on wounded soldiers

The list of prayers has been updated, with positive reports on several of the more seriously injured soldiers.

Dvir ben Leah's condition continues to be critical.
He has not woken up since he was wounded by a mortar
shell at the beginning of Operation Cast Lead.

Special prayers for his recovery are scheduled for TUESDAY
FEB 3 (10:20 AM NY Time/5:20 PM Israel Time)

Dvir’s family is calling on Am Yisrael to join in reciting tefillot (prayers)
and tehillim (Psalms) for their son.

Psalms to be recited: 13, 25, 30, 103, 112, 142

For Psalms in Hebrew and English, please visit:

http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2601.htm

May he and all the sick and injured have a refuah shelaima--a complete and speedy recovery.

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Ten Ways to Buy Less When You Breastfeed Your Baby

My latest post on breastfeeding appeared yesterday on the environmental blog Green Prophet. Reprinted with permission.

A common misconception about breastfeeding and babies in general is that they require special equipment. But we already know that a mom who buys less is by default acting in an environmentally friendly way.

So what are the essentials, and what aren't? This is your guide to making breastfeeding truly green. Products you don't buy, won't have to be manufactured, packaged, transported, cleaned, or disposed:

1. Formula. Parents are often advised to keep formula on hand "just in case." But they are more likely to offer formula to a newborn when they have it in the house, which is why formula companies give out free samples. The first time baby won't settle down, usually in the middle of the night, parents worry (understandably) that he is hungry and offer him a bottle.

But babies cry for many reasons, and parents need to know the signs that the baby is getting enough milk. Giving a bottle in the early weeks exposes the baby to infection and can interfere with the baby's natural immune system. If a supplement is truly needed, the first choice is the mother's own milk. And once babies are eating a variety of nutritious solid foods, formula (made from cow's milk) doesn't offer anything extra. It's expensive, highly processed and overly sweet.

2. Bottles. The cultural association of babies with bottles is deeply ingrained. In some cultures, dolls come with a breast tied on a string (but children who grow up with breastfed siblings simply put the doll to their chest). Babies can drink from a cup from about six months of age.

Mothers who plan to be separated from a young baby will want the convenience of bottles, although a cup or spoon will do in a pinch. Water bottles are not necessary for breastfed babies on even the hottest days. Instead, nurse baby a little more often and check that urine is clear and plentiful.

3. Nipple cream. The breast's surface is perfectly suited for baby, and need be washed only with water. Lanolin creams only soothe and don't cure pain caused by a bad latch, and some creams can cause an allergic reaction. Pain should always be evaluated because a bad latch can lead to poor milk transfer and low weight gain. Medicinal creams, when prescribed to treat specific conditions like thrush or eczema, should be applied after feedings and do not need to be washed off.

4. Disposable breast pads. It's better to use reusable cotton pads for the early weeks and months when breasts may leak. A folded handkerchief works too.

5. Pumps. Unfortunately, pumps have made it onto the list of necessary baby items. Some babies whose mothers return to work after six months may do fine with solid foods and a cup at the babysitter, nursing the rest of the time. (Mothers who pump at work usually continue until age nine to twelve months.) For short outings hand expression is free and works as well as or better than a pump, with a little practice.

Some working mothers even prefer hand-expression, but it does require privacy. Good quality pumps don't have to be purchased new. They can be borrowed from Yad Sarah (an organization that distributes medical equipment) or rented from a lactation consultant. Other types of pumps are difficult to sterilize and may not last through two babies. Try bringing baby along-- in Israel, babies are welcomed almost everywhere and a lucky few moms have even managed to bring baby to work.

6. Vitamins and drops. Concoctions for increasing milk are overrated--the way to ensure enough is to nurse often and effectively. Analysis of the milk of mothers from different cultures, diets and socioeconomic levels has shown little difference in quality or quantity.

A mother's diet, unless extremely deficient over several years, has almost no effect on her milk. Mothers, like everyone else, should care for themselves by eating well and setting the stage for healthy eating as children grow. Regarding drops for babies, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends: In the first 6 months, water, juice, and other foods are generally unnecessary for breastfed infants. Vitamin D and iron may need to be given before 6 months of age in selected groups of infants (vitamin D for infants whose mothers are vitamin D-deficient or those infants not exposed to adequate sunlight; iron for those who have low iron stores or anemia).

7. Powdered cereals, teething biscuits, and jarred baby foods. "Baby" foods became popular with the advent of artificial feeding, when solids were introduced before babies were developmentally ready. But after six months of exclusive breastfeeding, as recommended by the AAP and Israel's health ministry, babies can eat soft table foods mashed with a fork and graduate to finger foods shortly afterward.

8. Special nursing clothes and bras. Wear a loose t-shirt that you can pull up -- the baby covers your torso. Try a button down shirt on top of a tank top, or slash holes in a t-shirt and wear a loose shirt on top. You can experiment with regular and sports bras (or none--bras don't prevent sagging, which is caused by pregnancy), but one that is too restrictive can lead to plugged ducts and infections.

9. Contraceptives and feminine hygiene products. Some people believe that you can't get pregnant while nursing, while others insist it doesn't make a difference. The truth lies somewhere in between. Mothers can learn which factors delay the return of periods, and when and when not to rely on breastfeeding for birth control.

10. Breastfeeding pillows. They're hard to transport, and it's usually more effective for the mother to support the baby's weight herself. In the beginning a regular pillow can support her arms and raise the baby to the height of the breast.

The one item I do recommend purchasing, second-hand if possible, is a good quality sling or baby carrier. Mothers get used to carrying babies' weight as they grow and it's great exercise. Carriers keep babies calm and eliminate the need for shlepping a bulky stroller to the mall (not that you need anything) or beach.

Consider carefully before buying--your baby needs your loving arms more than any accessory.Subscribe in a reader

What can I get for you today, contraceptives? Or a suppository?

Are you the kind of person who wonders what other people in the drugstore are buying?
If so, you'd like my health fund’s drugstore. Here, pharmacists must locate antibiotics and blood pressure medication on their own, but drawers containing ointments, contraceptives and suppositories are labeled in two languages. At least they don't have a drawer marked “pregnancy tests.”


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Link for list of injured soldiers and civilians who need prayers

List of injured Israeli soldiers and civilians, updated daily.

This is a sticky post and will remain at the top. Scroll down for recent posts.

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Green links and the water shortage

Super Raizy hosts Haveil Havalim: The Super-Hero Edition of the Jewish-Israeli blog carnival.
Ilana-Davita hosts the "Green" edition of the Kosher Cooking Carnival.
Speaking of green, I ask whether whether a traditional eastern European diet is "kosher" for your health on the Israeli environmental blog Green Prophet.
This website points out the lack of Jewish chaplains in the American military and suggests ways to help, such as hosting military personnel within your community.
And last but not least, a subject much on my mind but so depressing I have avoided writing much about it--Israel's drastic water shortage. Here's the money quote from Haaretz (emphasis mine):

Committee chairman MK Ophir Pines-Paz acknowledged that "the crisis is severe, but there is no sense of crisis and no one is behaving as if it were a crisis. We expect the government to adopt a determined, aggressive police of enforcement and punishment, including criminal charges [against violators of water restriction regulations]."

Most water is used for industry and agriculture, but homeowners are not being taught or encouraged to save water except for a few ineffective ads that seem to have gone off the air. As for the weather, we keep getting predictions of several rainy days. Then we end up with a few minutes of precipitation and a revised, arid prediction.