Forgot the Bug Repellent? Doctor Burt's Res-Q Ointment

Well, its not so much that I forgot the bug repellent, as I just did not think I would need it to go sit by the pool with the kiddos for 15 minutes. 15 minutes later, I re-entered the house with 13 mosquito bites-quite itchy!!

I spent a bit of time reading earlier this summer on how to make your own bug repellent. It looks pretty easy, and eventually more economical, but given that I was leaving town and scrambling to pull things together with as little investment as possible, I caved and bought the California Baby Bug Repellant, which I've read several good reviews on. Next summer I am excited to try making my own, but for this year, hopefully I can stretch one bottle through the summer. Since there is one month left, my chances are good. :)

However, having forgotten to apply it before going down to the pool, I was left miserably itchy, trying to make dinner. In my earlier research, I came across Burt's Bees Doctor Burt's Res-Q Ointment (in the little green tin) as a more natural alternative to benadryl cream. As it turned out, I had Res-Q Ointment on hand, and not benadryl, making the choice easy! I have to say, I think it works better than benadryl creams ever did! Five minutes after application I was itch free, and I still am, 4 hours later. Maybe Georgia mosquitos are a weaker breed than the ones in Michigan, but I am very impressed with how well this worked and will be keeping it on hand for our new Georgia home.

Why High Fructose Corn Syrup IS Bad

Have you seen these? Maybe not. When I saw this, I was savvy enough to know that High Fructose Corn Syrup IS bad for me and my kids. But why? That, I did not know. I should, but as with a lot of my health education, I know what to avoid, what to use, how to best use many things, and that is what I know. Most of the why's I have left up to people that I trust. Thankfully, WAPF (Weston A. Price Foundation) addressed High Fructose Corn Syrup in their Spring issue of Wise Traditions. Here is the quick version of why HFCS is bad for you. If you want to see the full article with the slightly more complicated science, or why they do not like Agave Nectar either, go visit their website. They have several articles about both. But for now :)

1. HFCS is more likely to cuase weight gain.
2. It is in a LOT of food, and therefor challenging to use in the advised "moderation".
3. Almost half of tested samples of HFCS also contain mercury!!!
4. HFCS can lead to mineral losses.
5. It can elevate blood pressure.
6. Reduced "cognitive function" in rats. (Seriously, I need all of the "cognitive function" I can get!)

Okay, this is a pretty brief and very basic list. For me, its enough. If you want to see the science and the studies leading up to some of the statements here, and more (I left A LOT out) go check out WAPF. They are loaded with info on bad things. :)

First Trimester Survival Tips

Now on my fourth pregnancy, I almost feel like this is old hat. If only it were a wonderful feeling old hat. :) But at least I have figured out some okay ways and some great ways to cope. It has varied for me each pregnancy, just like each pregnancy is different. But here are some starting tips "from the trenches":

1. Snack: little frequent, protein rich snacks can go a long way to managing and preventing nausea. (I love the Mrs. Mays nut and fruit snacks available at Costco-they have a natural, healthy source of protein-nuts, and about 6g/serving.)
   
2. Gum! I am really loving chewing on mint gum right now. In past pregnancies, there have been times where the thought of having something just sitting in my mouth sounds like a really bad idea. This time, a piece of mint gum has done wonders for taking off the edge so I can make dinner.
3. Preggie Pops: similar to the gum, having something in my mouth is not always a good idea, but when I was on the edge, these seemed to help a bit. And they were a yummy treat. :) Honestly, the drops seemed better than the pops. I had to be doing really well to handle a lollipop.
   
4. Minty goodness: Burt's Bees has a clay face mask with a very minty smell to it. Aura Cacia has a wonderful ginger/mint aromatherapy bubble bath. One of my favorite things to do when I was pregnant with Lucy, was to take a nice bath after the kids were in bed. It was worse in the mornings and at night, so this was a good time to just enjoy nice minty goodness with a good book.
5. Lemon in water: I have read that lemon can help with morning sickness. I am not sure how much it helps, but it sure makes that unappetizing 7th and 8th glass of water look a little more appealing. Much healthier than juice, but tastier than plain water.
   
6. Juice: speaking of juice, getting down those prenatals can be tricky at the best of times. One way I would get them down is to get a glass (of a healthier option) juice. If I used the juice to swallow the pills, and knew I had a cup of juice left to drink after the pills were down, it helped. Bribe yourself.
7. Make dinner count: I know there are amazing women out there who cook their way through pregnancy. I am not one of them. I am realizing that the pregnancy/new baby season is one where cooking ends up low on my priority list. One trick I am learning is to make a meal count for two or three. Whenever possible, I try to double the meal and freeze the other half. When I am having a really rough day, I can pull it out of the freezer and know that I do not have to work very hard to make dinner that night. :)
8. It is okay: It is okay to take a break. It is okay to nap on the couch while the kids are watching Blue's Clues. It is okay to ask for help. :) At least, I hope it is okay. My kids are all doing fine so far. And I get a nap to get through the morning!
   

Another Organic Cheat Sheet

I stumble across these occasionally and always read them diligently to tuck away in my brain for when I need it. Unfortunately, I suffer from mommy brain and three minutes into the grocery store cannot remember all of the items on my list, much less a list I saw in a magazine two weeks ago. The current magazine is Cooking Light, although, upon closer inspection, I discovered that it came from the Environmental Working Group's website. You can get this guide from them pretty enough to print and frame here. (Well, maybe not quite that pretty.) I like these lists because it helps me know how to prioritize my budget. Which foods are okay to fudge on and regularly or occasionally buy conventional, and which foods I want to make sure are organic whenever possible.

Best to buy Organic:

• Apples
• Potatoes
• Lettuce
• Cherries
• Bell Peppers
• Spinach
• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Carrots
• Celery
• Strawberries

Contain trace amounts of pesticides (less crucial to buy organic):

• Pinepples
• Eggplant
• Asparagus
• Onions
• Broccoli
• Mangoes
• Kiwifruit
• Bananas
• Avocados
• Cabbage

One thing I also keep in mind is the size of the person consuming the food. If I am buying for a bunch of young adult guys who will consume most of the food in front of the, I probably will buy conventional if its not on the worst foods lists. If I am buying for my little baby it will probably be organic because her system is smaller.

The Ultimate Evil Plastic Resource

This is really amazing. I am just starting to look around at the different options, but I am always really excited to find a pretty thorough listing of products and what to use and what to avoid. Go check it out at ZRecs Guide. I especially like the confidence rating. As with all things, do your own thinking, but so far, I have appreciated their insight and agreed with what I have found.

Health Tips

When I was growing up, my dad was very careful and meticulous about wound care. It came as a surprise to me that this was not standard in every home. However, the more I learn about exactly what types of germs are available on the playground, the more thankful I am for my dad's careful care of our boo-boo's.

I found this in the February 2009 issue of Parenting-looked helpful and practical, so I thought I would pass it along.

Infection Prevention

the standard advice: Scrub up.
toddler twist: For cuts on his hands, fill up the sink with soapy water put some toys in there, and have him search for them under the bubbles.
the standard advice: Apply antibiotic ointment.
toddler twist: Put the ointment on and then immediately distract him with something he loves. This way, he'll have something else to think about besides wiping off the gooey stuff before you have a chance to put on a bandage.
the standard advice: Keep it covered.
toddler twist: Those character bandages are kid-friendly for a reason: "Some kids like to wear them like a badge," Dr. Yan says. Stuck with a plain one? Put a sticker on top of it. He's still peeling it off? Try to be extra diligent with the ointment.



(Beware the character band-aids-they can be overly loved. We now have a rule that you only get a band-aid if you are gushing blood. It turns out the kids and I have different definitions of gushing blood.

Organic Cheat Sheet

I often stumble across priority lists, like this one, and find them useful. This one comes from Greg Horn's book Living Green: A Practical Guide to Simple Sustainability. This is a cool little book becuase, well, it is little. Pretty much every chapter is a nice short list like this one. He lists the short version, and the chapter is him going into further detail. This list is from chapter two: Sustaining Health from the Inside:

The Top Ten Foods to Buy Organic

1. Meats: Theser are high on the food cahin, and thus can concentrate chemicals from the animal's diets in their fatty tissues.
2. Dairy products: Also high on the food chain and ric in fats, which is where harmful chemicals become stored.
3. Fish: While not strictly organic, it is critical to buy wild fish and avoid all farmed fish, which can contain high levels of contaminants.
4. Berries: Strawberries, raspberries and other berries including grapes have a thin, absorbent skin that you eat. These fruits are heavily sprayed and tend to absorb more of the chemicals that they come in contact with during produciton.
5. Salad crops: Lettuce, spinach and celery are highly sprayed and have no outer shell to protect the part you eat--the leaf.
6. Mushrooms: Mushrooms are highly absorbent, and conventional growing uses powerful fungicides between crops to keep stray species from invading the intended crop.
7. Root crops: Conventional potatoes, yams, carrots, onions and other root crops can be sprayed with fungicides as well as pesticides, and the parts you eat grow in direct contact with the chimicals.
8. Bananas: Banana plantations use up to 20 times more pesticides per acre than crops grown in industrialized countries. Conventional bananas are often grown iwht a blue plastic bag of pesticides placed over the soft, absorbant skin of the fruit. Enough said?
9. Waxed Fruit: That shiny apple has a wax coating that locks in the pesticides and makes them very difficult to wash off.
10. Coffee and Tea: Technically not "foods," but hot-water brewing can concentrate the residual pesticides used in the growing process while it is extracting the "good stuff." Remember to use an unbleached filter and to avoid the Styrofoam cup like the plague!


It is a very handy little book for a basic intro into sustainability. If you are looking for some basic, non-overwhelming guidelines, it is worth taking a look at.

Glass Baby Bottles

Ooooooo-new glass baby bottles. The secret materialistic person inside of me is drooling. . . . and the practical person inside me is remembering my avent nipple and E's Klean Kanteen in a drawer downstairs.

Amazing Avent: Avent Nipple in a Klean Kanteen

In between our second and third children, I began reading. Not that I was not reading before. But apparently, I was not reading all of the required mommy reading. Say, for example, the things that tell me every single thing to not let near my children. Having babysat for the 13 years before I became a parent, I thought I was in a pretty good place. When I was pregnant, I learned why breastfeeding is important. Okay, well, it makes sense why would not have necessarily known that one. Anyway, after hearing mutterings of evil plastic I looked into it. And I have blogged about this before. Overwhelming and potentially expensive, this is not my favorite topic. But if I am going to be concerned about soy, I should be concerned and aware of at least bpa.

Okay, so I will start with the smallest person. Lucy. Well, her pacifier is her most used. That is pretty easy to find a bpa free option. We did get her a really nice one, and some more basic ones for when we leave the house. I also got her a really cool bottle that I was so excited about. The Adiri Natural Nurser, well, honestly, looks like a breast. My son refused to take a bottle, so I thought this would be the perfect, devious solution should my next child feel a similar elite snobbery. Well, Lucy loved to cuddle it like she does mommy, but since I got the newborn one, she got frustrated with the flow. So, rather than invest in a new one, which I considered, I put my poor tired brain to work.

Avent makes their peices interchangeable. Which is kind of amazing. You can take a nipple from the bottle and put in the sippy. You can take either sippy spout stage and put it on the bottle. You can put the handle bars and lid on the bottle, and so on and so forth. But, their bottles have bpa. (Although, I am pretty sure the sippies do not.) So, if Klean Kanteen uses an avent sippy spout, maybe I could use an Avent nipple with a Klean Kanteen. In an endeavor to avoid as much plastic as possible, I gave it a try with Emily's Klean Kanteen. I pulled out a 3 nipple from our attempts to get Joe to take a bottle, and YES!! You can use an Avent nipple with a Kleen Kanteen sippy.

So what? You still have to have the Klean Kanteen sippy you say? Well, yes. But if you are worried about these things, you were probably going to end up there anyway, right? Or maybe you are like me, and you can just borrow big sisters for now. Its not like my baby is using a bottle all the time, or it would be a different issue. I would go ahead and invest in some glass bottles.

Tea For Kiddos

I love when my mom visits! She gets my sweeties eating things I would never think of trying to feed them. Like coconut oil just on a spoon. And tea. She got my kids hooked on tea the last time she was here. It turns out to be an economical and healthier option to juice. Yes, sometimes I add honey, but sometimes I add coconut oil, too. Anyway, it is really easy to make up a pitcher and keep it in the fridge. When someone is sick, it is pretty easy to sneak in a cold tea, or echinacea tea. Or, I found this yummy yummy Raspberry Infusion Tea at Trader Joe's. (Yes, I know the picture is backwards, but that's the way it came through photo booth and I think its pretty funny. :) It makes a delicious treat for both mommies and kiddos.

Plastics 101

Hey-just saw this article on The Soft Landing and thought it was worth pointing out-its a great 101 for those not sure what all the fuss is about, or where to start. Plastics can be a little overwhelming (I'm still figuring all the details out.) Anyway, its a good basic intro-check it out.

Wheat Allergy

Josiah cannot eat wheat. Hopefully, he'll be able to eat it when he's two. Until then, I've been getting creative in the kitchen so the rest of us can keep eating things like pizza and sandwiches! Trader Joe's is wonderful with reasonably priced brown rice bread, pasta, and tortillas (although, its possible to find tortillas with mostly corn and no wheat.) Here's some of my favorite shortcuts:

• pizza: put sauce, toppings and cheese on top of a piece of brown rice bread-microwave or broil in oven. :) = very happy Josiah
• macaroni and cheese: we make our own with brown rice pasta and we all enjoy it. Plus, you can sneak in cauliflower or broccoli and it tastes really yummy! it does assume that you can have dairy products. . .
• quesadillas with brown rice tortillas
  
• waffles made with kamut and oats (Sue Gregg's blender waffle recipe-yum!) (Oats have gluten in them, and the Doctor just told me to take him off gluten, so I might try rice or quinoa flour.)

I have to say, if he had to have an allergy I am glad it is wheat and not dairy. At least he can still have cheese sticks :)