Friday, December 24, 2010
We're on Facebook
That's right! We are officially on Facebook. It's not much right now, mainly just a feed of the posts on here. I'll try to make it more interesting sometime in the future but for now it is what it is. So look The Pistachio Project up and feel free to "like" it.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Safer Toys
With Christmas being almost here, I thought I’d do a post about safe toys. Toys unfortunately can contain a whole host of chemicals and children are more susceptible to toxins. Which is why last year I began to rid our house of the yucky toys and start buying the good ones. I also let all the grandparents and family members know what we were doing. Yes, that caused a bit of craziness that Christmas especially when they don’t see chemicals like I do. However, in my opinion I felt it better to give everyone the heads up so that they could spend their money on toys that my kids would actually get to keep.
Just what chemicals are in toys?
Bisphenol-A (BPA) – BPA has been found to cause reproductive problems, breast cancer, prostate cancer, metabolic disorders, and even attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Phthalates - linked to hormonal and reproduction problems, liver and kidney damage, and cancer.
Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) – PVC also known as vinyl leaches phthalates.
Lead – can cause neurodevelopment disorders, behavioral problems, seizures and even death at high levels.
All these chemicals can possibly be in plastic toys, yes even lead apparently. Cloth toys can possibly contain lead if they’ve been painted on, such as cloth books. Wood toys if painted can contain lead, and depending on what the wood was glued with or varnished with those can be toxic too.
Want to try and buy safer toys? It’s rather difficult but here are some tips.
If buying plastic look for toys labeled BPA, PVC, and Phthalate free. PVC is what is used in many plastics to make them flexible so if you can bend the plastic around a bit then odds are good that it has PVC in it.
Safer plastics are numbers 1 , 2, 4, and 5. Definitely avoid plastics labeled 3, 6, and 7.
Safer plastics are numbers 1 , 2, 4, and 5. Definitely avoid plastics labeled 3, 6, and 7.
There have been promises of removing toys containing these chemicals from stores but these promises seem to be empty. Toys R Us promised to reduce products with PVC from their stores. However, a recent study shows that they did not and that 72.5% of all toys/children’s products tested contained high levels of chlorine, indicating they were likely made of PVC. Moral of the story? Don’t just by any plastic toy, apparently most are made with PVC still.
Check out healthystuff.org. This site has tested many toys and scores them based on their toxicity results.
You best bet for safe toys is to buy them from Europe. Why? Because Europe is smarter then the US and has banned many of the chemicals that we still allow. Now that’s not to say that other countries are all bad. It’s definitely possible to have a safe toy company in a typically toxic country. I’m just saying that Europe has higher standards so it’s easier to find safer toys.
What do we do? I buy wood toys. I don’t do plastic toys anymore. If grandma feels the absolute need for a plastic toy then it stays at her house where at least the kids won’t play with it constantly. I allow bath toys to be plastic but it has to be PVC, PBA, and Phthalate free.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Toxins in Foam Puzzle Mats
Thinking about getting your child a foam mat for Christmas? You might want to think again. Apparently both Belgium and France have completely removed ALL of their foam puzzle mats due to the carcinogen, Formamide being in them.
I've been leery of foam puzzle mats for a while now. They just smell awful and usually if there's a strong smell then there's bound to be a toxin in it. Not to mention many foam puzzle mats (at least in the U.S) now have Microban in them which is a cousin to Triclosan. Now, I know I'm not a crazy crunchy nut (okay, maybe I still am but not about this). If other countries are banning and removing puzzle mats then odds are I am not crazy for not wanting them in my house.
Baby Items Before and After Crunchy
I thought it would be interesting to compare the items I used with a baby before I was crunchy and the ones I use now that I'm crunchy.Item - Then / Now
Diapers – Huggies / gDiapers and GroVia
Wipes – Kirkland / cloth wipes with just water
Diaper disposal - thrown away in a plastic bag / PlanetWise wet bag and washed in the laundry
Bottle – one with BPA in it / Born Free - Glass
Pacifier – one with BPA and Phthalates / Soothie
Carriers – Bjorn / homemade stretchy wrap and Ergo
Baby soap – Johnsons & Johnsons / None or Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild
Baby lotion – Johnsons & Johnsons / Extra Virgin Coconut Oil or Weleda
Diaper Ointment – Vaseline / Extra Virgin Coconut Oil if I ever need it!
Laundry Detergent - Kirkland / BioKleen
Sleeping arrangement - Crib or Swing / Co-Sleep or Swing
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Got Milk?
I am not the type of person that breastfeeding comes easily to. In fact, with my first two children I did not get to solely breastfeed like I planned to. My first was failure to thrive so we supplemented and then I got pregnant right away and there went what little supply I had. My second child I did a bit better but he was still about 40% formula fed. Breastfeeding is something that I’ve always planned on doing. I know that “Breast is best” as they say and I wanted to give my kids that. Not to mention how much I had to spend in formula! My goodness, it’s expensive.
Therefore when baby #3 was still cooking, I was researching my heart out on ways to make breastfeeding successful this time. Imagine my surprise, when 4 days after she was born, she had already re-gained her birth weight! Wow! Here was my chance to exclusively breastfeed a baby! Then on day 8 things changed. She had suddenly lost weight. Not good. As far as we can tell, it probably had something to do with the stress of moving. (That’s right, we moved when the baby was only a week old. Add two crazy older brothers and the stress was sure to kill my supply)
The weight loss sent me back to all my research, along with a few visits to the lactation consultant. I would not let this happen again! Especially since the baby had started out so well with breastfeeding. Don’t give me that false hope. So I tried pretty much everything in the book to increase my supply. By day 15, she was back to gaining weight like she should. Success! Of course, I’ll never truly know if it was something I did, a combination of things I did, or if it was just time and de-stressing.
However, for those out there researching or those who are just curious, here’s ways to increase milk supply.
Nurse frequently – that’s every 1.5- 2 hours. Prepare for exhaustion!
Offer both sides.
“Switch Nurse” – I did this without realizing that it was a way to help. Basically, if baby gets sleepy or goes to comfort nursing, switch sides. Switch sides so that you are offering each breast 2 times per feeding. It’s a pain but that’s how my daughter seems to nurse best…since she’s a sleepy baby when eating.
Avoid pacifiers and bottles. – Sucking needs should be met by breastfeeding. You don’t want to plug the paci in when baby really should be eating.
Avoid anything but breast milk. – Obviously if baby is in serious need of calories then there might be no alternative but to give formula. Just remember that to keep supply up you need to either breastfed baby before that bottle of formula or pump as often as you would breastfed.
Take care of yourself – Relax, eat well, drink plenty, and sleep. (well, try to sleep.)
Pump – Pump after feeding. This will send a message that more milk needs to be made because baby aka the pump is still eating.
Power Pump – This involves pumping for 10 minutes, stopping for 10 minutes, and repeat for 1 hour. I found this to be more beneficial for me as I didn’t have time to pump after many feedings, plus I produced more milk with power pumping.
Oatmeal – Not scientifically proven but many moms swear by it. Eat a bowl of oatmeal every day. Not that into plain oatmeal? I can’t stand it, so I went for Oatmeal cookies. There are hundreds of “Lactation Cookie” recipes out there.
Mother’s Milk Tea – Has a combination of herbs that are supposed to increase supply. Tastes like licorice though and you need to drink about 3-5 cups a day.
Fenugreek – The traditional recommendation for low supply. Comes in pill form or you can buy the real stuff. You know you’ve taken enough when you start to smell like maple syrup. Yum!
Red Raspberry Leaf Tea – I love this stuff. I started drinking it during pregnancy to have an easier labor and postpartum bleeding. I am still drinking it because it also supposedly helps with milk supply.
More Milk Special Blend (or any of the “More Milk” blends from Motherlove) – I did not try this one but I’ve heard it highly recommended. It’s pricey and harder to find, which is why I was holding off and was going to use it as my last resort.
Kellymom.com – Ok it’s not necessarily a way to increase supply but it’s a great resource on the many ways to increase your supply, along with great information on all things relating to breastfeeding.
Of course as with all things medical, make sure you are in contact with your doctor (or in this case even a lactation consultant) if your milk supply is affecting baby’s weight gain. You want to be doing weight checks to make sure baby is not losing weight or in need of supplementation.
Therefore when baby #3 was still cooking, I was researching my heart out on ways to make breastfeeding successful this time. Imagine my surprise, when 4 days after she was born, she had already re-gained her birth weight! Wow! Here was my chance to exclusively breastfeed a baby! Then on day 8 things changed. She had suddenly lost weight. Not good. As far as we can tell, it probably had something to do with the stress of moving. (That’s right, we moved when the baby was only a week old. Add two crazy older brothers and the stress was sure to kill my supply)
The weight loss sent me back to all my research, along with a few visits to the lactation consultant. I would not let this happen again! Especially since the baby had started out so well with breastfeeding. Don’t give me that false hope. So I tried pretty much everything in the book to increase my supply. By day 15, she was back to gaining weight like she should. Success! Of course, I’ll never truly know if it was something I did, a combination of things I did, or if it was just time and de-stressing.
However, for those out there researching or those who are just curious, here’s ways to increase milk supply.
Nurse frequently – that’s every 1.5- 2 hours. Prepare for exhaustion!
Offer both sides.
“Switch Nurse” – I did this without realizing that it was a way to help. Basically, if baby gets sleepy or goes to comfort nursing, switch sides. Switch sides so that you are offering each breast 2 times per feeding. It’s a pain but that’s how my daughter seems to nurse best…since she’s a sleepy baby when eating.
Avoid pacifiers and bottles. – Sucking needs should be met by breastfeeding. You don’t want to plug the paci in when baby really should be eating.
Avoid anything but breast milk. – Obviously if baby is in serious need of calories then there might be no alternative but to give formula. Just remember that to keep supply up you need to either breastfed baby before that bottle of formula or pump as often as you would breastfed.
Take care of yourself – Relax, eat well, drink plenty, and sleep. (well, try to sleep.)
Pump – Pump after feeding. This will send a message that more milk needs to be made because baby aka the pump is still eating.
Power Pump – This involves pumping for 10 minutes, stopping for 10 minutes, and repeat for 1 hour. I found this to be more beneficial for me as I didn’t have time to pump after many feedings, plus I produced more milk with power pumping.
Oatmeal – Not scientifically proven but many moms swear by it. Eat a bowl of oatmeal every day. Not that into plain oatmeal? I can’t stand it, so I went for Oatmeal cookies. There are hundreds of “Lactation Cookie” recipes out there.
Mother’s Milk Tea – Has a combination of herbs that are supposed to increase supply. Tastes like licorice though and you need to drink about 3-5 cups a day.
Fenugreek – The traditional recommendation for low supply. Comes in pill form or you can buy the real stuff. You know you’ve taken enough when you start to smell like maple syrup. Yum!
Red Raspberry Leaf Tea – I love this stuff. I started drinking it during pregnancy to have an easier labor and postpartum bleeding. I am still drinking it because it also supposedly helps with milk supply.
More Milk Special Blend (or any of the “More Milk” blends from Motherlove) – I did not try this one but I’ve heard it highly recommended. It’s pricey and harder to find, which is why I was holding off and was going to use it as my last resort.
Kellymom.com – Ok it’s not necessarily a way to increase supply but it’s a great resource on the many ways to increase your supply, along with great information on all things relating to breastfeeding.
Of course as with all things medical, make sure you are in contact with your doctor (or in this case even a lactation consultant) if your milk supply is affecting baby’s weight gain. You want to be doing weight checks to make sure baby is not losing weight or in need of supplementation.
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