Plastic Baby Bottles - To Leach or Not to Leach

Today as I was innocently traversing the web, I ran across an article telling me plastic baby bottles are good and safe and all is right in the world.

Not 15 minutes later I came across another article. It stated plastic baby bottles are still bad and leachy with Bisphenol-A and can make my child sick.

"Were you confused? Panicky?"

No.

"Why not?"

Because I don't care.

"You don't care? What do you mean you don't care? What's the whole point of The Mommy Spot if you hang up on us now? You don't care - that's rich. I'm picking up my mouse and..."

Wait. Set down your mouse, no clicky-clicky. I don't care about conflicting studies, opinions, rants and general media hoo-ha towards plastic baby bottles because I don't use them. Never have.

You see, the key to not panicking when choosing products for our babies and children is to choose the safest, most natural route. Before my son was born, I sat in front of the computer for hours trying to determine things like whether or not plastic baby bottles were safe. (Hence, The Mommy Spot was born with my son.) I can't make these decisions perfectly because I am not a scientist (although some would call my recipes experiments), and quite frankly I'd never stop obsessing if forced to choose a safe plastic. So I go with glass.

No one ever accused glass of leaching. The bottles are sturdier than you might think; yes, they're much stronger than your grandma's crystal. I've even dropped a full bottle in a parking lot without a break. (Don't try this at home - they're not indestructible, after all.)

I always harp on making more natural choices, and I'll continue to do so for as long as news stories like this and this prevail. Because you don't have to lose sleep, worry about your family's health, or care one little bit when your choices are natural.

A Yummy Salad Recipe

I asked for salad recipes from my readers, and I'm happy to share the first with you from Jo of From the Plow. I must admit, it sounds great to me, and I intend to try it. Jo says:

"I have a favorite salad for you that Aaron and I eat at least 3x per week. Not sure if it's exactly the healthiest salad - but you could leave some things out to make more healthy.

1/2 and 1/2 combo of romaine lettuce and baby spinach
green onion
cucumbers
tomatoes (we like grape best)
walnuts
craisens
garlic bagel chips
feta cheese

served with 1:1 ratio of olive oil and pomegranate blush vinegar dressing"

Jo claims it's to die for, and I'm thinking I believe her! Thanks for sharing, Jo!

Anyone else, feel free to email me your favorite salad recipes to themommyspot(at)gmail(dot)com.

How to Get More Greens in Your Diet - Part I

Whether your goal is to shed some pounds or give your family more nutrient-rich food, the first thing you need to do is get more greens on the dinner table. The best way to accomplish this is through vitamin-packed salads; but if this makes you envision a tasteless bowl of iceberg lettuce with carrot curly-cues and no dressing, you're not alone.

I was never a fan of the salad. It seemed like a "filler," something used to round out a meal and make it look bigger. Restaurants, wanting to attempt to serve courses, would plunk down that bowl of lettuce and cucumber, and I'd end up picking off the croûtons and leaving the rest.

But now I can scarf down a salad with the best of them, because I've learned the trick of variation. It's not all about the iceberg, baby. Here are a couple of my favorite salads:

Mix together spring mix greens (I like Earthbound Farms Organic), chopped Campari tomatoes, sliced cucumber, onions, alfalfa sprouts, pomegranate seeds, and chopped walnuts. Dress with balsamic vinegar and a good olive oil.

Here's a recipe my friend recently shared with me, and I love it! Mix together baby spinach, orange slices, and pine nuts (my addition). Combine 3 Tbs. honey, 1 1/2 Tbs. lemon juice, 1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil, a pinch of salt, and 1/8 tsp. cumin. Mix well and toss with the greens.

You might want to make these salads in size extra large, because they're so good your family will want more! Chop the veggies into a variety of shapes and sizes to entertain the kids as well as yourself! Also, if you have leftovers, these greens tend to keep just fine until the next day, unlike the wilty iceberg. Got a favorite salad recipe you'd like to share? Email it to me at themommyspot(at)gmail(dot)com and I'll post it here!

How to Lose Weight Naturally - Part Two

I'm like most of us - as a teen, I could wolf down half a large pizza and two big Cokes and never see the effects on my hips. The scale showed two extra pounds? No problem. I just thought about losing weight and it was gone. But as an adult, no one ever accused me of being too thin. I bounced all over the scale, and my closet had clothes in it covering five different sizes! When I got pregnant, I literally thought this was it for me, goodbye any recognition of a waistline. Thanks to losing weight naturally with fresh, healthy food, that didn't happen.

I think one of the most important keys to losing weight is to not deny yourself to the point of feeling resentful. Denying any pleasure in eating is no way to go. Instead, it's a matter of shifting your eating pleasure to other foods. Here's my trick: Cookie in cupboard is calling my name. (I try not to have cookies in the cupboard to begin with, but occasionally they jump into my grocery cart when I'm not looking. Bad, bad cookie.) Cookie in cupboard must be eaten. Alrighty, but first I must eat something really healthy and nutrient-rich before moving on to said cookie. Often (but not always) I don't have a desire to eat the cookie after I've eaten a piece of my favorite fruit, like grapefruit or a banana or both! If I still want the cookie, I figure I've gotten some goodness in me anyway, and I won't be floating along on a nasty sugar buzz.

So now you're thinking, "The girl just ate two pieces of fruit and a cookie! You can't lose weight that way!" My rule: Never feel guilty about eating fruit and vegetables. Ever. Eat until you explode if you so choose, unless you're drenching your vegetables in cheese. Then we gotta talk. But if they're nice and fresh, eat all you want. Because if you eat all those fresh fruits and vegetables, you will lose weight. There's no way around it. You're filling up on things so full of nutrients that I guarantee that cookie will not feel nearly so enticing once you've worked up a veggie buzz. And yes, my friends, there IS a veggie buzz.

More on that later...

How to Lose Weight After Pregnancy and Beyond

It's January, the month of the diet. Resolutions are made and broken this time of year, and I'll dare say most of them revolve around the waistline. There is so much I could share on this topic that I know it will never fit in one posting.  But I'll give you my very best advice in a condensed form, and in later posts I'll expound on some things. If you have weight to lose after your pregnancy, or if you just plain want to get healthier, the most important thing to remember is that what you eat while you're trying to lose weight needs to be something you can comfortably eat for the rest of your life.

I have known people to attempt to lose weight through all sorts of extreme eating measures - rice and chicken broth for 6 weeks, cabbage soup at every sitting, or meals made up of nothing more than grapefruit and bacon! While these may work temporarily, who wants to eat only grapefruit and bacon for the rest of your life? The big factor for weight loss is not cutting back on food take - it's increasing the food! Increase the high-nutrient stuff you were meant to eat in the first place. If you can focus as much of your eating attention on fresh fruits and vegetables, you'll be amazed at not only how much weight you lose (and fast!) but at how much better you'll feel.

When I found out I was pregnant, I started eating healthier and healthier, including as much large salads, fresh fruit, and raw vegetables as I could. I managed to gain only the needed amount of pregnancy weight. After pregnancy, I continued my healthy eating because I was nursing. Combining nursing with my new eating habits knocked off that post-pregnancy weight in record time.

Dr. Joel Fuhrman gives lots of science-based advice in his books, one of which I have reviewed here. (Disease-Proof Your Child.) His books, including Eat to Live (look for an up-and-coming review on that one), totally changed the way I look at food. I'm not a vegetarian - not completely - and I still eat things I used to, but I eat a lot less of them. In fact, the more I add fresh fruits and vegetables to my meals, the more I crave the healthy stuff!

The most fun part of eating like this is you can stuff yourself silly on the days you feel like you want to eat all day. And you can stuff yourself silly on all the other days too. In fact, you should. Keep a big container of cleaned fresh veggies onhand, and grab those first if you feel like reaching for the Ding Dongs. Make big elaborate salads to go with every meal, and eat until your heart's content. Keep big bowls of fruit, with a large variety, cleaned and ready to eat. You'll find the more easily accessible the fresh food is, the more you'll reach for it. And pick up a copy of Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman if you really mean business! (For the record, Dr. Fuhrman isn't paying for or aware of any of my blogging about him - this is strictly based on my own experiences with what I've learned from his books and website.)

Whew! This is my "How to Lose Weight" information in a nutshell. I'll cover more over the coming days, so check back! In the meantime, whether you have weight to lose or not, have yourself a salad feast in the coming days. Experiment adding all the goodies you can to it, and eat till your heart's content.

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How to Calm a Fever After Vaccinations, and Other Hints

One of the worst parts of getting babies vaccinated is the knowing, or not knowing, what is to follow. Will there be crying? Sleeplessness? Crankiness? And those are just your own side effects! What about baby? Many babies end up feeling like they have a touch of the flu, and it's not uncommon for a baby to run a slight fever. There's one natural remedy that can help ease a baby's fever after vaccinations. Just a couple drops of peppermint or chamomile essential oil in a bath is not only soothing to the discomfort after those shots, but it can get baby through that feverish part a little quicker.

If you're like me and you obsess over the side effects and toxins that are sometimes present in vaccines, there is a homeopathic remedy that can be used called Thuja. Get the tablets at 6x strength and administer those two times daily for 2 - 3 weeks after the injections. It is said these tablets help remove the excess toxins from the body. A good health food store should be able to point you towards the correct tablets. Remember, homeopathic tablets just melt under the tongue, so it's nice and easy for little ones! They're usually sweet tasting too.

Ask your doctor what side effect to expect, and which ones are serious enough to come back into the office. When babies and young children get their vaccines, they'll sometimes feel achy and feverish for up to 24 hours. This might come across as crabbiness, tiredness, or fussiness. So be extra patient, give lots of cuddles, and plenty of kisses until it's all over. But if anything about your child's behavior raises those parental alarm bells, call your doctor, no matter how silly the concern. It's better to be safe than sorry; and that's one old adage that really stands true for parents.

(Note: Look for my up-and-coming review of Dr. Sears' new Vaccine Book.)

Natural Remedies for Clearing the Stuffy Nose

If there's one thing that will keep a child of any age awake, it's the stuffy nose. And if they're awake, you're awake! With over-the-counter medicines being called into question, you're probably wondering how to deal with things like a stuffy nose in a natural and safe way. I've got a few tricks to share with you - some perfect solutions for newborns, and some perfect even for you.

One of the most helpful remedies for the stuffy nose is salt water. This can be used for any age, and it doesn't have to be uncomfortable. For older children and adults, a weak solution of about a cup of warm water and a teaspoon of sea salt can be gently sniffed from an eyedropper into each nostril. For infants and toddlers, you can try a product called Baby Simply Saline. As the name implies, it is simply water and salt in a container that makes it easy to spray into baby's nostrils. No preservatives, no stinging.

If you're nursing a newborn, an unusual but effective technique is to put a few drops of breastmilk into each nostril with an eyedropper. Sounds weird? Well, since the breastmilk has bacteria fighting properties, it's actually a great natural choice. And it's free! I've found this unique remedy in many books on natural baby care.

If you didn't get a chance to read my post Natural Remedy for Baby's Cough, hop on over to it. Using a humidifier with essential oil can also help a stuffy nose. I give instructions on that post to help you out.

Got any of your own remedies you find helpful? Raw onion slices near the bed? A special tea? Share them with us in the Comments section - I'd love to hear more!

Natural Cold and Flu Prevention

Picture this: I'm sitting in the crowded optometrist waiting room, my son on my lap. Wall to wall children all waiting for an eye exam. In walks a couple with their 11-year-old girl. She's in her pajamas. She's in her slippers. She has a nasty case of bed head, and she's got a cough that rivals my dogs' meanest barking. Why oh why, dear reader, would a parent bring their very sick child into close contact with so many healthy children? Did she really need her eyes examined that very day? As far as I could tell, her eyes didn't seemed affected by her virus. It couldn't possibly be the reason they felt the need to drag her into public.

As soon as we got home, I cracked out my bottle of Echinacea extract and slipped it into Little Guy's every beverage. (It's kinda sweet, so he digs it.) I fed him large portions of broccoli, which is loaded in vitamin C, as well as cranberry relish. Fortunately he likes that too. Two days ago, he woke up crying with a slight fever. I immediately started him on some homeopathic cold tablets. He sneezed twice. Cold over.

Are you seeing what I'm missing here? Okay, I'll clue you in. I did not take Echinacea. I did not eat large quantities of broccoli and cranberry. I do not own homeopathic cold tablets for myself. I caught a cold with a heinous barking cough. I'm taking care of myself now, but even though I did right by my son, I should have done it for the whole family. It's time for another trip to my favorite health food store so I can stock up on that ounce of prevention, which I hear tell is worth a pound of cure. I hope you'll do the same. Because you never know when you'll have a run-in with a pajama-clad child coughing like a dachshund after a squirrel.

Drinking Water: Leaded or Unleaded?

We've heard so much about lead in toys lately that it's getting downright overwhelming for most of us. But it's important, now more than ever, to stay informed. When you build an arsenal to fight against the scary news, you cease to be overwhelmed, and instead you can be reassured that you're doing the right thing.

Aside from the recent toy scare, most of us probably envision lead in the home only occurring in old, dilapidated houses with paint chips falling off the walls; but there's more to it than that. One place lead is commonly found is in plumbing. I know what you're thinking - "Please don't tell me! I don't want one more thing to have nightmares over!" Believe me, I felt the same way while reading up on it. But there are a few simple things to do to alleviate the worries. And that's what we're all about here.

First of all, know that if your house was built before 1988, as was mine, lead solder may have been used in the plumbing. My father pointed this out to me this weekend while helping my husband install a water heater. (You don't want to know - not a pretty story, and I'm not sure I'll get over the watermarks anytime soon.) If you suspect lead soldering in your pipes, run your cold water for 30 - 60 seconds in the morning before using it, and again if the water hasn't run for six or more hours. Let the water get as cold as possible, too. This will clean out the pipes of water that's had a chance to sit overnight against the lead. There are water filters out there that do trap lead, so if you filter your water, look for one of those. Also, clean out the little screen on your faucet head regularly. Solder particles can get lodged in there after breaking free of the pipes.

If you'd like to test your water, you can call your local health department for more info, or contact the EPA at their Safe Drinking Water Hotline. The EPA has all sorts of info on their site if you want to do more research on your own as well.

Remember, the more we know, the less there is to be afraid of! We can certainly protect ourselves by passing it on!

Weird Things You Should Know About Your Newborn

My best friend is always on the lookout for interesting news articles to pass on to me for my blog. This one from CNN News is no exception! It covers things we discuss here a lot, like cradle cap and baby acne, and a few things I've not discussed like (gasp) baby boobs! So if you're expecting soon, hop on over and read the article. It could save you some unnecessary concern. Heaven knows a new mom doesn't need any added worry!

Oh, and I haven't forgotten the orzo recipe I promised yesterday. Although Little Guy didn't scale the walls yesterday as anticipated, he has started a horrible bout of teething. I'm not exagerrating when I tell you he has about six teeth coming in! He hasn't had a new tooth in about six months, so I guess he's playing catchup. But the orzo recipe is coming so check back. (Thanks to my best friend for that too!)

Also, don't forget to check out that vacation contest at Mike's Travel Tips. It's a relatively new blog, and it's their first contest. So if you enter, your chances are darned good for winning a free trip for two, with a nice choice of over 60 locations.

Finding Calcium in Baby's Vegan/Vegetarian Diet

One of my biggest concerns in feeding my son a mostly vegan diet was where he would get his calcium. I grew up eating a pretty standard American diet with plenty of dairy products, so it has been hard sometimes for my mind to shift gears. Like most Americans, I had no idea calcium was found in fresh fruits and vegetables. In fact, if you tell most people they can get all the calcium they need just from eating their veggies, there's a good chance they'll think you're kidding.

I ran a check on many of the vegetables I feed my little man, and I'm happy to see that with the variety he receives each day, his needs are being met in the calcium department, as well as other important nutrients. Check out NutritionData.com to run your own checks. I had a lot of fun there, and I'm sure I'll visit the site a lot more in the future.

Since the vegetables that tend to be higher in calcium are usually the dark and leafy green ones, there are all sorts of things you can do to make these foods more interesting to the discriminating child. Here's one I do, which is great for babies and young toddlers because it's very mushy. Substitute any leafy green you choose:

2 - 3 shredded leaves of kale, minus the middle tough part, steamed or boiled until soft (retain a little cooking water)
1/2 cored apple
baby cereal, enough for desired consistency

Put the cooked kale and the apple into the blender and blend until smooth, with a little of the reserved cooking liquid. This makes a nice mush. Add cereal until you get the desired consistency. The apple adds a nice flavor, and the cereal is a recognizable texture for babies, so getting them to eat it is pretty easy. Adults can try eating kale sauteed in a little olive oil with garlic and toasted sesame seeds. Yummy!

Another option is to put these leafy greens into smoothies, as discussed in one of my former blog entries. This is even healthier, since the vegetable is eaten raw.

The Green Smoothie - Trick, Treat, or a Little of Both?

For about six months now, I've been serving up a mysterious green beverage at lunch each afternoon. This unique drink can scare the faint of heart if they happen to be watching what gets dumped into my blender, but what they may not realize is how delicious and addictive it is!

I'm talkin' green smoothies here. They're loaded with nutrition and taste like dessert, so don't let the strange hue throw you. If you're looking to sneak veggies into your kids' diets, this is the perfect way. And with Halloween around the corner, you can pass the beverage off as a witch's brew or eye of newt or bug juice. Just get gross about naming it and I'm sure they'll be intrigued.

Here's how I do it: Most of my smoothies have 1/2 a banana in there for sweetness, but sometimes I use a couple of dates (without pits - your blender asked me to remind you). Then I may toss in 1/2 a cored apple or a peeled kiwi. A handful of grapes (with or without seeds) makes a nice addition. After that, the fun really starts. I usually have a tub of fresh baby spinach in the fridge. One handful of that or a Swiss chard leaf adds nutrition that is virtually tasteless! (Read: They'll never know it's in there if you don't tell them.) I sometimes add a small amount of sprouts or dried seaweed for an extra vitamin kick. After that, I fill the blender to the 2-cup mark with our favorite juice or soy milk and blend it until smooth.

The possibilities are endless here. The best part is, when you blend the fresh fruits and vegetables, you're breaking down the structure of the plant much more than chewing it, which releases all its goodness. Something about the little cell walls being smashed.

When my son hears the blender, he gets excited and can hardly stand waiting for his smoothie! The amount I discussed here is enough for two adults to have a glass if they each promise to share with an eager toddler. But lately I've been making a little more so my son can have his own portion and Mom and Dad can enjoy their own!

Kiss Dry Skin Goodbye!

The first few years of your child's life are probably the only ones he'll hug and kiss you with reckless abandon. The first time my son wrapped those chubby arms around my neck and engulfed my cheek with his mouth, I just melted. And I'm not even speaking of the effects of his drool!

But that brought some concerns to mind (see "The Hum"!). What face lotion had I used that morning? Did I really want him eating it? I'd long been concerned with the ingredients for my own health, but now my chunky monkey was chewing on them.

I've always believed there's a natural solution to all our physical needs. I can't imagine God thinking, "Too bad they have dry skin. I guess they'll have to wait for someone to invent Oil of Olay." Instead, we have countless plants, herbs, and oils to experiment with and learn from. In many cases, the simplest, purest solution is the best solution. Take, for instance, my favorite lotion.

I used to fork over copious amounts of money to purchase "natural" face lotions, tonics, and other general magic in a bottle. The prices were steep, but I loved the results and I felt I was doing the most for my skin. Then I started learning about parabens, preservatives, and other icky additives. But when I became pregnant, I knew I wanted to keep things natural. Somewhere in the back recesses of my brain, I had stored the fact that women use coconut oil to prevent stretch marks. I don't know where I heard it originally, but no matter. I purchased some. (It took some looking to find coconut oil without added stuff, believe it or not. I learned it's best found with the cooking oils, and not in the health and beauty departments. Look for organic.)

It wasn't long before I was using coconut oil for things other than my increasing stomach. I found it works wonders on freshly shaved legs. After those wonderful baby kisses started, I discovered using a small amount of coconut oil on the face absorbs quickly, leaving no oil, and improving skin over time. The best part? It's moisturizer for your whole body for about $7 a 14-ouce jar! (What department store sells their lotion for 50 cents an ounce???) I also experiment with melting smaller amounts and adding a drop or two of an essential oil for a natural fragrance. It makes a nice scented body lotion, and when I run out, I whip up another "flavor".

Now my little darling can munch his mommy's cheeks until he reaches the age it's just not cool to like your mom so much. I sure hope that's a long, long way off - but whatever that age, this mommy will have great skin and a youthful, dewy glow!

Living on the Fringe

If you've chosen to raise your family chemical free, then you already know you've chosen an adventure, one most families will never attempt. Just the mere mention of "I feed my child organic" is enough to receive that wordless stare that speaks volumes. Your peers suddenly alter their opinion of you. You're called a granola cruncher, a tree hugger. And every time you go through the grocery checkout, you have to tell the cashier, "That's kale. Swiss chard. It's tofu, and the sign says it's on special." Then the cashier's favorite question - "WHAT are you MAKING?"

The funniest part is, just 100 years ago, even 50, most everyone lived chemical free and thought nothing of it. Also funny, much of the world still lives that way.

I like putting things into a historical perspective. It clears up a lot for me. For instance, whether you believe the world has been around for billions of years or a mere 6,000, the human race has been doing its thing for a long, long time. For more time than our brains can truly comprehend, mankind has been eating organic produce. No chemical pesticides, no fertilizer more potent than what came out of the back end of a yak. For countless generations, mothers had breastmilk to offer their babies - no alternatives, no controversy. Furniture was magically constructed without the use of formaldehyde, and children slept in pajamas not previously treated with fire retardants.

In so many countries, this is still the case. We could point our fingers accusingly at America and condemn its affluence, but this is just not my bent. Yes, affluence does often couple up with greed and the want for more, but it doesn't have to. This is not the American condition; it is the human condition, and we need to control it on an individual basis before controlling it as a nation or as a world.

As individuals, we can choose to purchase organic food, products with pronounceable ingredients, and paint that doesn't contain VOC's - not to stick it to big, bad "Corporate America," but to improve our own health. Eventually, manufacturers and farmers will follw suit. They'll have to, to stay competitive. If not, well, after awhile you manage to learn which shampoos you like that are free of parabens and lauryl sulfates, and what store carries the most locally-grown produce.

It takes a real effort these days to eliminate chemicals from your daily life. They've become a huge and silent part of most of the items on the store shelves. But trying to change your family's ways, one step at a time, isn't as daunting as most people think. With a little time and research, your family will have a healthier lifestyle.

And don't fear being called a radical. Because what we now call living chemical free, your grandmother simply called living.

The China Study - A Must Read!

I've recently finished reading The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell and Thomas M. Campbell II. If you're like me and you've always been confused about all the conflicting health information out there, this book lays things out clearly and scientifically - without getting dull!

Spending a lot of time studying nutrition, in particular the nutrition that affects my toddler, I want cold hard facts. Not emotional mumbo jumbo that results in scaring me into sleepless nights. The China Study is based on Dr. Campbell's lifelong scientific journey into nutrition. For over 40 years, he's been involved in studying the eating habits and health of the many different regions of China, where people often live and die in the same province with unchanged diets. This has given a very clear picture of how our diet can and does affect our health, both for better and for worse.

Dr. Campbell also provides his knowledge through the years on many other major studies he's been a part of. This information was so fascinating to me that I couldn't read the book without a notebook and pen handy. Dr. Campbell clearly proves that through proper diet, such common conditions as obesity, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis can be avoided and often reversed. I found it to be a hopeful book, avoiding the fear tactics I so often encounter in reading on nutrition.

If you're interested in improving the nutrition and health of your family and in providing them the best possible way of eating to prevent and even reverse disease, this is definitely the book to read! I simply cannot say enough about it. I'm sure my copy will quickly become very dogeared! For more information, I've added a link to the book on Amazon in the sidebar.

Rainy Days and Learning to Walk Always Get Me Down

My little angel hasn't been so angelic these days. His perfect 2-hour naps, at correct intervals, stopped rather abruptly. Meal times are a test of wills - I want to feed him a well-balanced lunch, and he wants to pull away the utensils and eat them instead. Bedtime? Fuhgettaboutit. Used to be he'd drift off to dreamland at 7:30 promptly. Now, I pray for anytime at all. Overall, I've become the mother of a wiggle worm with a bad case of the whineys. So what's all the fuss about? With the help of my pediatrician, I have uncovered the answer.

Turns out learning to walk is a pretty big deal in the world of a baby, in more ways than just the obvious reaching a milestone. When a baby begins getting interested in walking, the mind is in overload. There is so much to learn, it's exciting, mentally and physically stimulating, and it's pretty much all they want to do from the time they get up until the time they go to bed at night. If you can get them to bed, that is.

I read somewhere before that every time a baby learns a new skill, they literally practice in their sleep, making sleep a restless time. My pediatrician told me not to worry about a messed-up sleep schedule - that after my son learns to walk, things will most likely wind down and go back to normal. (Well, not entirely - I'll be chasing a little boy, which will be new.) She reassured me that my son is not destined to be a lifetime wiggle worm, and that this is temporary. All I can say is "Whew!" I got enough to worry about. Like saving up for tiny little walking shoes. Have you seen the prices of those things???

How to Choose a Sunscreen for Your Beach Baby

Ah, Memorial Day is behind us, which can only mean one thing - summer is on her way in! If you're like me, you've been watching your baby's skin closely every time you take him out in the sun. You've got the big floppy hat on his head, he's been wearing long pants most of the spring, but as the days get warmer, you can't really put him in turtle necks anymore.

I spent a large amount of time at my local health food store last week, poring over all the options for baby sunblock. Before that, I'd spent some time online, reviewing ingredients and trying to find the perfect lotion for the sunny days of summer. What I found was not exactly surprising, but definitely disheartening. Many of the ingredients I try so hard to avoid in my own products were in the baby sunblocks. Many contain parabens, and since there are conflicting reports on parabens, I wanted to steer clear of those. Alcohols are another item I try to avoid, as well as anything I just plain can't pronounce. That took most of the products off my list of possibilities.

The one I finally decided on came recommended by the girls at the health food store, and to my relief, it was not of the $20 variety. I purchased Natural Sun by Aubrey Organics. I can pronounce almost everything in it (some of those Latin plant names are tricky), and it smells like something I'd like for dessert.

California Baby was another brand that appealed to me, but it was one of the $20 a bottle choices. Natural Sun was only $8.50. Although we haven't needed to test it out yet, I will certainly let you in on how it performs.

So now it's time to break out the flip flops, the beach ball, and a nice mystery novel and head for the great outdoors. I do feel much better knowing I've got something on hand for all those sunny baby days to come.

Heat Rash Solution: Keeping Baby Cool as a Cucumber

I've been slowly working my way through a book on Chinese Medicine for children. I say slowly because so much of the information in the book is geared more towards parents who actually have access to a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, which I do not, so I haven't been delving into it like I thought I would. There are some do-it-yourself solutions in there, however. One in particular struck my attention, since the weather is warming up.

The book, Keeping Your Child Healthy with Chinese Medicine by Bob Flaws, refers to this condition as "prickly heat". I always called it heat rash - those tiny little bumps or red blotches that babies often get on their faces and bodies when it's hot outside. My son got heat rash pretty regularly throughout his first summer. I tried cool washcloths damp with water or chamomile tea, which seemed to alleviate things a little, but I wish I would have heard of this solution: cucumber.

Bob Flaws recommends rubbing some fresh cucumber slices on baby's skin to eliminate the rash. I think this sounds like a wonderful idea. My son hasn't had any heat rash yet this season, and I'm hoping he won't. But if he does, I'll give the cucumber a try. Heck, I may try it on myself if the day is hot enough! Sounds refreshing! In the meantime, if any of you try it out, let me know how it works. If nothing else, you'll have a baby with delicious smelling skin!

Babies and Television: Should They Watch?

I received this article today on babies and young children watching TV, and I wanted to pass it along. We're steering our son clear of the television until two years of age. This kind of article encourages me to keep going with that plan.

Cleaning New Baby Teeth - To Brush or Not to Brush

Someone forwarded me a news story the other day, and I wanted to pass it on. As my son's mouth seems to sprout a new tiny perfect tooth every other day, I've really been wondering: How much am I supposed to be cleaning in there? I personally use a little toothbrush with rubber nubs on it as opposed to bristles, and he doesn't mind at all. In fact, the sensation makes him giggle. I figure it's good to get him used to me being in there now, so when he's got a mouthful of teeth, he won't protest.

This article talks about the increase in tooth decay in very small children, so it's an important one to take a look at. Here it is!