Kristie McNealy, MD

SPIN Program Decreases NEC and Ups Human Milk Feedings in Preemies – Medical Monday

Kristie — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:35:10 +0000

A special research and feeding program has simultaneously increased the rate of human milk feeding and decreased the rate of a serious medical complication in premature babies at UC San Diego Medical Center. Since the implementation of the Supporting Premature Infant Nutrition program (SPIN) at UCSD, the rate of human milk feeding has gone up [...]

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Being Thankful for My Healthy Kids

Kristie — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 12:46:00 +0000

It’s easy to take health for granted until something goes wrong. Today, all of my kids are healthy, and for that I am thankful. I know what I have to be thankful for because we haven’t always been so lucky. Four years ago this December, I was admitted to the hospital in preterm labor. I was [...]

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Can We Find 500 Bloggers to Fight for Preemies?

Kristie — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 02:59:44 +0000

Tuesday is Prematurity Awareness Day, and as I type this, 379 bloggers are registered to Fight For Preemies. That’s great, but it would be really awesome if we could get 500 people registered and blogging in time for the big day. In the US, 1 in 8 babies are born premature, but prematurity is a global [...]

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Disney on Ice: Worlds of Fantasy Denver Ticket Giveaway!

Kristie — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:33:20 +0000

Disney on Ice is coming to Denver again, and I have discount codes and a ticket giveaway for my local readers! Disney on Ice: Worlds of Fantasy will be performing at the Pepsi Center from December 4th through the 6th, and then at the Denver Coliseum from December 11th through the 13th. The show truly has [...]

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Give Thanks for #HealthyKids

Kristie — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:52:07 +0000

Too often, we take our health, and the health of our kids for granted. It doesn’t even cross our minds until something goes wrong. The Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition (CCIC) would like to change that, by encouraging people to give thanks for the healthy kids in their lives during “Healthy Kids Thank-A-Thon 2009”. The CCIC works [...]

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Winter Sun Safety and Ski Banz Giveaway! – What’s New Wednesday

Kristie — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:15:31 +0000

Ski Banz Giveaway runs from November 11-17th – enter below! If the foot of snow we had on the ground before Halloween is any indication, summer is definitely over, and ski season is on its way. But, just because beach weather has drawn to a close, doesn’t mean we can forget about sun safety when we’re [...]

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Fetal Fibronectin Test Helps Predict Preterm Birth – Medical Monday

Kristie — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:35:28 +0000

As I mentioned last week, I’ll be focusing on prematurity related Medical Monday topics all November long for Prematurity Awareness Month. Don’t forget to register for Fight for Preemies on November 17th! ********** Doctors have a number of ways to predict which women will deliver their babies too soon, but did you know that the presence of [...]

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Parents Charged After Preemie Baby is Starved to Death

Kristie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:48:34 +0000

A Lakeland, Florida couple were arrested on murder and felony child abuse charges after their 5-month-old daughter died in their home on November 1st. The baby, a preemie named Chauntasia Gardner, weighed only 6 pounds when she died of starvation. The story is disturbing on so many levels. I couldn’t possibly have time to type them [...]

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Kangaroo Care Saves Preemie Baby on Primetime

Kristie — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:27:54 +0000

Tonight, Grey’s Anatomy (Hello, my name is Kristie, and I’m a Grey’s Anatomy addict…) opened with a baby being delivered 10 weeks premature by emergency c-section. Mom had been in an auto accident, and both mom and baby had bleeding on their brains. When the baby is failing, and her death seems imminent, Karev picks [...]

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Human Body Detectives Makes Learning About Health Fun – What’s New Wednesday

Kristie — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:00:59 +0000

It seems as though my love of medicine has rubbed off on my oldest daughter. Maybe it was those 6 months she spent sitting in the back of the lecture hall with me before she turned one, or maybe it’s genetic. I guess we’ll never know for sure. Either way, as a homeschooling mom with [...]

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Hospitals To Crack Down on Inductions – Medical Monday

Kristie — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:41:17 +0000

It’s Prematurity Awareness Month, so my Medical Mondays posts all month will focus on preventing preterm birth. Late preterm babies face considerable health risks, such as breathing and feeding difficulties and prolonged hospitals stays. Despite this knowledge, a significant number of deliveries in the US are elective inductions before 39 weeks gestation. This spring, the Joint [...]

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24 Week Baby Update and Announcements

Kristie — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:52:37 +0000

By the time you read this, I’ll be 24 weeks pregnant. 24 weeks marks the threshold of viability. Back when our 31 weeker was born, there were no options for babies born before that point at our hospital. That has changed some, but the outcomes for most babies born so early still aren’t very good. A [...]

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Busy Breathers Oxygen Backpack Makes Life on the Go Easier – What’s New Wednesday

Kristie — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:47:14 +0000

A few months ago, I had the good fortune of meeting Michelle Staley, founder of Busy Breathers LLC on Twitter. Michelle is a fellow preemie mom as well as inventor of the Busy Breather backpack. Her product is something I really wish I could have gotten my hands on during the 17 months our daughter [...]

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Enjoy Chef’s Requested Steaks in Heart Healthy Portions

Kristie — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:45:59 +0000

Maintaining a heart healthy diet can be difficult, especially if you love a good steak. Portion control can be hard, and figuring out how much fat is in a random cut of meat from your grocery store is even worse. Thanks to Chef’s Requested, you can now enjoy a steak without all the guilt. The new [...]

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Trick-or-Treat Food Allergy Safety – Medical Monday

Kristie — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:47:00 +0000

If you’ve got a child with food allergies, holidays provide special challenges. Treats are abundant, and everyone and their uncle is handing them out to your child everywhere you go around Halloween. So, how do you keep your child with food allergies safe and happy for trick-or-treating? Review the Rules If they are old enough to understand, [...]

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Free Spook-tacular Halloween Event at Pump it Up Littleton – What’s New Wednesday

Kristie — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:18:01 +0000

Update - Details have changed. Instead of a canned food item, participants are being asked to bring a gently used coat to donate to Coats for Colorado. If you’re looking for a fun and free way to entertain your little ghosts and goblins this month, be sure to check out a Spook-tacular event taking place a [...]

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Free or Discounted IVF With Clinical Trials – Medical Monday

Kristie — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:37:14 +0000

Fertility treatments are expensive. Even with insurance coverage, many couples are forced to give up before they have a child of their own. The single post that seems to generate the most questions and emails through my contact form is one I wrote over a year ago about a clinical trial that provided free in [...]

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Advantages of Cloth with Convenience of Disposables

Kristie — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:50:47 +0000

I’ve been cloth diapering for about 10 months now, and I thought we pretty much had our system down to a science. Then we found out we were expecting baby #4, and I started my diaper hunt all over again. I’ve been trying to find both smaller diapers, and diapers that might make my life [...]

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Ultrasound Update

Kristie — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 03:35:08 +0000

The past two weeks pretty much crept by, while we worried and waited for something to happen. But finally, Wednesday arrived and I had my follow-up ultrasound. Thankfully, we found out that things actually look better! My cervix measured 2mm longer than last time, and there isn’t any change when they put pressure on my belly [...]

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Coloring Book Helps Big Brothers and Sisters of NICU Babies – What’s New Wednesday

Kristie — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:02:19 +0000

Helping siblings cope with having a baby brother or sister in the NICU is an issue that has been near and dear to me ever since our second daughter was born 9 weeks early. Her 46 day NICU stay was hard on all of us, but one of the worst things was trying to figure [...]

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Preemies Still Dying Despite More Aggressive Care – Medical Monday

Kristie — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:23:10 +0000

Despite medical advances and more aggressive care, a recent study has yielded disappointing results about the survival of preemies at the edge of viability. The study, out of Johns Hopkins, compared the mortality rate and interventions provided to preemies born between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy between 1993 and 1995 to preemies born at [...]

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Bedrest 2009 – Still Here On The Couch

Kristie — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:54:12 +0000

Well, it’s been a week, and I’m still here hanging out on the couch, which is a very good thing. I’m 21 weeks pregnant today, which leaves 6 days until my follow up ultrasound, and 3 more weeks until we reach the point where the baby would be considered viable. I’ve spent the week blogging, stressing [...]

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Save on Holiday Shopping and Get Rewarded with iPerks – What’s New Wednesday

Kristie — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:41:55 +0000

As part of my effort to reorganize around here, I’ll be sharing my posts about products and upcoming events in a weekly post I’ve dubbed “What’s New Wednesday”. If you’ve got a product or event you’d like me to share with my readers (preferably health or family oriented), please contact me. For the rest of [...]

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New Synagis Guidelines for RSV Prevention: Medical Monday

Kristie — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 12:26:19 +0000

First – a bit of housekeeping . . . Since returning from Type-A Mom, I’ve been trying to figure out a better way to organize my blog to cope with the increasing number of local events and products I’m getting involved with, without getting all the medical information lost in the shuffle. For the time being, [...]

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Universal Bilirubin Screening Reduces Serious Newborn Jaundice

Kristie — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:00:48 +0000

A retrospective study of over 350,000 infants has shown that universal screening for high bilirubin significantly decreases the incidence of dangerously high bilirubin levels. The study compared over 38,000 infants who were born in hospitals with universal bilirubin screening policies to over 300,00 infants born in hospitals without a universal screening policy. Researchers found that hospitals [...]

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Oh Baby – Here We Go Again

Kristie — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:24:04 +0000

I’ve written a lot about my other pregnancies, but for some reason, I just haven’t had a lot to say about baby #4. It’s probably a combination of morning sickness and the sheer chaos of taking care of 3 kids, a dog and 2 businesses, but I just haven’t had the energy to put this [...]

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Type-A Mom Conference Wrap Up – Better Late than Never!

Kristie — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:41:03 +0000

I’ve only been home for three days, but somehow I still feel like it’s taken me absolutely FOREVER to write this post! I left for Type-A Mom Conference in Asheville last week feeling more than a little apprehensive about the whole thing. It was my first ever blogger conference, and on top of going, I was [...]

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Fight for Preemies: Bloggers Unite

Kristie — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 14:43:22 +0000

November is fast approaching (crazy, right??), and I wanted to remind everyone that November is Prematurity Awareness Month. 1 in 8 babies in the United States are born premature, a fate that puts them at risk for lifelong physical and developmental complications. On top of this, prematurity is the number one cause of [...]

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Type-A Mom Blogging Conference

Kristie — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:01:43 +0000

I’m typing from Asheville this morning, where I’m excited to be attending the first ever Type-A Mom Conference. If you’re here, please say hi. I’ll be speaking twice on Friday. First Renee Ross and I will have a session on turning your pre-kid career into a blogging niche. Later in the [...]

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See Zing Zang Zoom in Denver!

Kristie — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:35:04 +0000

I wanted to give a heads up to all of my Denver area readers that the circus is coming to town Zing Zang Zoom, by Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, will be arriving in Denver on September 30th, and the show will be running until October 11th. I can’t remember the [...]

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Eat at Chili’s and Other Ways to Raise Childhood Cancer Awareness

Kristie — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 16:24:12 +0000

Earlier this month, I reminded you that September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness month. Now I want to share a few ways that you can help. One of the easiest things you can do to help raise awareness and money for childhood cancer is eat at Chili’s. On Monday, September 28th, all Chili’s restaurants will be [...]

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Cirque du Soleil Adds More Shows in Denver

Kristie — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:18:35 +0000

This is a little off topic, but since it is good family fun, I’d thought I’d pass the information along to all of you. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to meet some moms who travel with Cirque du Soleil KOOZA, and learn about what their life on the road is like. It [...]

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Coconut Oil as an Alternative to Butter or Shortening

Kristie — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:47:18 +0000

I’ve written several different posts about the ways our diet has evolved since our son was diagnosed with food allergies. As we all became more conscious about reading labels and being aware of what was in our food for his sake, we began to think more about the way different ingredients were impacting our overall [...]

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Car Seat Safety and National Seat Check Saturday

Kristie — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 14:24:31 +0000

In honor of National Child Passenger Safety Week, I had the opportunity to learn about some excellent car seat safety resources from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Auto accidents are the leading cause of death in children ages 2 to 14, and 3 in 4 kids is less safe than they could be, because [...]

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Hooray Colorado Parents! Nearly 80% of Colorado’s Children Are Fully Immunized

Kristie — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 00:17:26 +0000

Today, I wanted to share this guest post on childhood immunizations, and recent results of the National Immunization Survey. Thanks to Melanie for sharing this piece! By Melanie Marin a full-time mom of a kindergartener and a toddler, and part time coordinator working on immunization issues for a local public health agency in Larimer County It [...]

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September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Kristie — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:45:02 +0000

It’s getting a little crazy around here again, but I couldn’t let September 1st pass without reminding you all that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Cancer is the number 1 disease killer of children, and despite the improving survival rates for most childhood cancers, 1/4 of all kids who are diagnosed with cancer still [...]

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CDC Considers Promoting Routine Circumcision to Reduce HIV Risk

Kristie — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:34:22 +0000

In the wake of their analysis of research out of Africa showing that male circumcision may reduce the likelihood of HIV infection in men, the CDC is considering making a recommendation for routine infant circumcision in the US. CDC officials cite the high rate of HIV infection in the US, and a need to do [...]

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Induction of Labor Could Actually Reduce C-Section Rates In Some Cases

Kristie — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 17:24:44 +0000

I can’t tell you the number of times that I’ve heard that inducing labor increases a woman’s risk of having a c-section. Having never been faced with the possibility of induction (my kids come early, and no one needs to coax them out), I’d honestly never really looked into the truth of this claim. That is [...]

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Mom Pregnant with 12 Babies is a Hoax

Kristie — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:02:09 +0000

Just a day after I crossed my fingers and hoped that the story about the Tunisian woman carrying 12 babies was a hoax, news reports reveal the mom has psychological problems, and probably isn’t pregnant at all. Apparently, what we didn’t hear from the initial news reports, is that when this woman first surfaced, she was [...]

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Is Organic Food Healthier, or is this Some Kind of Cult?

Kristie — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:43:13 +0000

Over the past couple of months, I’ve been running across some chatter on the internet over whether or not organic foods are “healthier” than other types of food. Many of the bloggers who are opting out of the organic food trend have a pretty harsh view of the organic food industry and those consumers who [...]

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Tunisian Woman Said to be Carrying 12 Babies – Will the Madness Never End?

Kristie — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 15:13:46 +0000

Note – You can check out an important update to this post here. Earlier this year, octomom Nadia Suleman made a sensation when she gave birth to octuplets, but now a mom in Tunisia is heading straight for the record books by reportedly attempting to carry 12 babies. Yes, you read that right – I said [...]

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Ethical Issues in Extreme Prematurity Brought to Light by This Lovely Life

Kristie — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 03:50:48 +0000

Recently, my post about the HR 3200 healthcare reform bill sparked a little debate in the comments about neonatal resuscitation in extremely premature babies. I, like many parents of preemies, have strong opinions about how I would want my own child cared for if they were born very premature (before 25 weeks). However, aside from [...]

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Study on Preemies and Cord Clamping to Begin

Kristie — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 01:04:24 +0000

A little over a year ago, I wrote about a small study by Dr. Judith Mercer, which showed that delayed umbilical cord clamping might reduce the risk of intraventricular hemorrhage and sepsis in preemies. Today I read that Mercer, a nurse midwife, has begun a much larger trial of cord clamp timing in premature babies. In [...]

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ObamaCare: A Physician’s Point of View On The Negative Ramifications of America’s Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009

Kristie — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 04:40:19 +0000

Healthcare reform is obviously the hot button topic of the day, and unfortunately, as a good (and well educated) friend of mine admitted today, the sum of the average American’s knowledge about the current healthcare bill comes from the nightly news. From their perspective, ObamaCare sounds pretty good. I’d like to share my take on this [...]

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Saliva Progesterone Levels Could Predict Preterm Labor

Kristie — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 19:27:17 +0000

A small study from University College London and King’s College London has shown that low levels of progesterone in saliva may predict preterm birth. The study followed 92 women who had risk factors for preterm delivery. A sample of saliva was collected from each woman from 24 weeks gestation until 34 weeks gestation [...]

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Unique Book Helps Parents Talk to Young Kids About Cancer

Kristie — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 15:43:24 +0000

[ad#250x250]A few weeks ago, I found out about a unique tool to use when talking with very young children about their parent or grandparent who has cancer. Someone I Love is Sick is a book that is geared towards children between the ages of two and six. It’s unique because the book is designed as [...]

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UK Midwife Says Epidurals Bad for Bonding

Kristie — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:31:00 +0000

[ad#250x250]According to one of the Britain’s most influential midwives, pain during labor and childbirth is a good thing, and more women should be experiencing it. In a quote in the Observer, Dr. Denis Walsh states: Pain in labour is a purposeful, useful thing, which has quite a number of benefits, such as preparing a mother for [...]

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SofLens Daily Disposables Lenses For Sensitive Eyes

Kristie — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:59:33 +0000

I have extremely sensitive eyes, and when I wore contact lenses, I bounced from one disposable contact lens to another in search of a pair of contacts I could wear comfortably all day long. Of course, this was more than a couple of years ago, so their were fewer options for people who had trouble [...]

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Do ADHD Drugs up Risk for Cardiac Deaths in Kids?

Kristie — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:56:59 +0000

[ad#250x250]In short, we don’t know. Yesterday, a study was released online in the American Journal of Psychiatry which demonstrated an association between stimulant medications used to treat ADHD, and sudden death in kids. The headlines generated by the release of this study are downright scary, but as parents, the question is, how worried do we need [...]

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Qubits Building Toys

Kristie — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:59:41 +0000

[ad#250x250]As a homeschooling mom, I’m always looking for fun, quiet toys that exercise my kids’ minds and creativity. When we received a set of Qubits Construction Toys, I was anxious to see what my kids thought of them. Qubits are a soft, flexible building toy that is CPSIA certified. They don’t contain any magnets, motors, or [...]

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Gardening Has it’s Ups and Downs

Kristie — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 18:49:57 +0000

Last month, I blogged about my garden, and I’ve decided it would be fun to share updates all season long. Since I last wrote about it, the garden in both our back and front yard has been flourishing, with the exception of our cucumbers. I’m not really sure what’s going on with them aside from [...]

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Be The Match: Join the Marrow Registry

Kristie — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:48:53 +0000

Thousands of people hope to find their perfect match for a bone marrow transplant that could save their life. Right now, Be The Match RegistrySM (previously known as the National Marrow Donor Program) is running a Marrowthon until June 22, 2009. The goal of the Marrowthon is to add 46,000 new donors to the registry, [...]

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Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition on Importance of Vaccines

Kristie — Thu, 28 May 2009 21:46:05 +0000

Earlier this week, I wrote about a recent study out of Colorado which showed that when vaccines are refused the risk of contracting whooping cough increases nearly 23-fold. The same day, I happened to connect with the Colorado Children’s Immunization Coalition on Twitter. Considering the importance I place on these findings, I asked if they’d [...]

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Pertussis Study Highlights Risks of Vaccine Refusal

Kristie — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:12:58 +0000

A new study out of Colorado has shown that parents can’t depend on “herd immunity” to protect their children from vaccine preventable diseases. The study, which was a collaborative effort between the University of Colorado, Kaiser Permanente Colorado, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Community Health Services, Denver, was published in the journal [...]

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How Does Your Garden Grow?

Kristie — Thu, 21 May 2009 20:34:10 +0000

While I’ve dabbled in gardening in the past, mostly in containers on my back patio, I’ve never considered myself gardener. This winter however, with grocery prices rising, and our focus on eating whole, organic foods increasing, I really began to wish that I had put some effort into gardening and storing veggies last summer. We began [...]

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Speak Out for Child Healthcare Reform at Speak Now for Kids

Kristie — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:46:51 +0000

I learned a lot about medicine, insurance and healthcare delivery that they don’t teach in medical school while our daughter spent the first 46 days of her life hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit. My own experiences, and the stories I’ve heard from fellow preemie parents have continued to highlight many of the problems [...]

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Elderberry Extract Sambucol Fights Flu

Kristie — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 02:23:42 +0000

If you’re looking for natural flu remedies in the wake of the recent swine flu outbreaks, the black elderberry extract Sambucol is a choice that rises to the top of many lists. A small study published in the ’90s showed that 93% of flu patients given Sambucol were completely symptom-free within two days, while those [...]

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Swine Flu Symptoms and Prevention: What to Do

Kristie — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:54:23 +0000

Swine flu is all over the media today, and I just finished watching the latest CDC press briefing live on the CBS website. According to the individual who spoke at the briefing, their are currently 40 confirmed swine flu cases in the US, in 5 states. The median age of infection is 16 years, with [...]

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Swine Flu Hits Mexico and US

Kristie — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 18:01:19 +0000

**Updates at bottom of post** Mexico City has shut down schools and large public gatherings in hopes pof containing a serious strain of swine flu that has been identified throughout Mexico and in two US states. While numbers vary between sources, it is estimated that more than 1,000 people throughout Mexico are sick with symptoms that [...]

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It’s Not Easy Being Green – Or is it?

Kristie — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:41:52 +0000

This morning, my oldest daughter enthusiastically greeted everyone by shouting “Happy Earth Day!.” Her enthusiasm for the “holiday” waned a little bit when she realized there weren’t any presents or fancy meals involved. I, on the other hand, began enjoying it a little more when I was able to claim saving energy as my excuse [...]

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Growing a Little Green for Earth Day – Pinto Beans

Kristie — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:36:05 +0000

For whatever reason, growing lima beans is the kindergarten project that I most remember from way back when. There’s just something magical about watching a little bean on a damp paper towel sprouting into a real live plant. So, when my oldest daughter asked if we grow some beans like project she saw in Highlights [...]

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Dramatic Decrease in VBACs and Increase in C-Sections in US

Kristie — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 04:13:38 +0000

Statistics from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project show that fewer than 10% of women who had a previous c-section achieved a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) in 2006. Between 1997 and 2006, there was a 40% rise in repeat c-sections, which we already know come with increased risk of childbirth complications*, particularly if a [...]

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Estrogen Levels May Allow Docs to Predict and Prevent Preterm Labor

Kristie — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 21:33:52 +0000

The trigger for the start of labor has been a mystery, but new research which will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM) has yielded very important information about the interaction of hormones and the onset of labor. Researchers in Australia have found that the relative levels [...]

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Breastmilk – Real Food for Babies

Kristie — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 20:58:10 +0000

Before I get started today, let me state this clearly: there are many reasons, both medical and social, why women might need to use formula to feed their babies. The rest of what I write here is not intended for families in these situations. That is, after all, why formula was invented in the [...]

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Contact Form, other Issues and New Look

Kristie — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:55:40 +0000

I just wanted to say hello and apologize for a few problems that have been plaguing this site lately. Yesterday, while I was trying to resolve a problem with a different RSS feed, I discovered that someone was copying their email subscription to the RSS feed for KristieMcNealy.com and republishing all of it on [...]

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Disney on Ice Disneyland Adventure: Fun with Mickey and the Incredibles

Kristie — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 05:38:22 +0000

This morning, the first thing our of my 3 year old’s mouth was, “Can I see the show again?” Last night, I got the chance to see Disney on Ice Disneyland Adventure with my family, as part of the Feld Family Activator program through Mom Central. I can honestly say that Disneyland Adventure is one [...]

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Making Your Own Frozen Convenience Foods

Kristie — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:02:58 +0000

One of the most difficult thing about avoiding packaged foods is figuring out what to feed yourself or your family when you need to get a meal or snack on the table fast. Thankfully, many of the frozen and boxed convenience food items that we take fro granted can be made from scratch, and stored [...]

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Giving Leftovers New Life – Garbage Bread

Kristie — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 01:57:26 +0000

When I was a kid, one of my younger brother’s all time favorite meals was something my mom called garbage bread. I honestly don’t know where the recipe came from beyond that, but despite the kind of unappealing name, garbage bread is a delicious combination of fresh baked bread, and your favorite meats, cheeses and [...]

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Real Food eBook Cookbooks

Kristie — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:15:24 +0000

I don’t own a lot of cookbooks, but as I’ve worked at teaching myself to cook new foods from scratch, I’ve found myself hunting down recipes more and more often. This especially true when I need to cook something that my egg and dairy allergic son will be able to enjoy. Cooking from [...]

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Disney Ticket Winner

Kristie — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 17:21:33 +0000

Just a quick announcement. The winner of the Disney on Ice tickets is comment #1 – Chris Walker! Congratulations Chris – I’ll be sending you an email in a minute with details.Similar Posts: Win Disney on Ice Tickets! Disney on Ice: Worlds of Fantasy Denver Ticket Giveaway! Disney on Ice Disneyland Adventure: Fun with Mickey and the Incredibles $10 [...]

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Depression Era Cooking Highlights Benefits of Real Food

Kristie — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:56:56 +0000

Eating healthier is just one of the reasons why I’ve spent so much time over the past year learning to cook real food, from real ingredients. While allergies and other issues were the driving force in many of the early changes we made in our diet, a desire to live a self sufficient, more sustainable [...]

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Eat REAL Food Month!

Kristie — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:20:46 +0000

Did you know that March is National Frozen food Month in the US? No? Nether did I, at least until yesterday, when I discovered a National Frozen Food Month emblem in my local Safeway ad. While I know that there are many ways to eat healthy utilizing frozen fruits and veggies, grocery stores are placing most [...]

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Texas Hospital Reduces Preterm Birth Rate by Half

Kristie — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:11:48 +0000

In a time when the preterm birth rate in the rest of the United states is steadily climbing, a carefully coordinated prenatal care program at UT Southwestern Medical Center’s Parkland Memorial Hospital has cut it’s number of preterm deliveries by more than half! In 1988, 10.4% of babies were born premature, which is close to the [...]

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Crunchy Granola Bars – Cooking from Scratch

Kristie — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 03:45:03 +0000

A while back, we were stocking up on some pantry staples at Sam’s Club, and in a moment of weakness sheer brilliance, I ended up with 9 POUNDS of Quaker oats. Now, my girls can each eat 2 or 3 bowls of oatmeal in a sitting at breakfast, but I’m not sure that even they [...]

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Win Disney on Ice Tickets!

Kristie — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 19:35:56 +0000

I’m so excited to announce that I have a family four pack of tickets to give away for Disney on Ice: Disneyland Adventure at the Denver Coliseum! These tickets are good for either the March 12th or 13th performance at 7:30pm. If you’d rather not wait for my drawing (or you’re not in Denver), you can [...]

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Organic Skin Care from Nurture My Body

Kristie — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 07:10:21 +0000

In my continuing quest to reduce the number of potentially harmful chemicals in both the food and bath and body products in my home, I have been testing a variety of new products lately. So, when I was given the chance to try out a facial cleanser from Nurture My Body, I gladly agreed. Nurture My [...]

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Free Valentine Printables

Kristie — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:44:05 +0000

As some of you may already know, we are homeschoolers. While the decision to start homeschooling was pretty straight forward to us, there are a few things that I kind of felt like my kids were missing out on by not going to school, like having a big party and exchanging Valentines with their classmates. Thankfully, [...]

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Octuplet Birth Raises Ethical Questions and Public Outrage

Kristie — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 19:48:37 +0000

On January 26th, 2009, a 33-year-old woman named Nadya Suleman gave birth to octuplets, 9 weeks premature. The fact that this pregnancy was carried all the way to 30+ weeks is a miracle, but beyond that it looks like more of a nightmare. According to statements made by Suleman’s mother, Angela Suleman, the woman chose [...]

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More Evidence Preemies Face Increased Risk of Autism

Kristie — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:15:39 +0000

We already know that researchers are finding an increased incidence of autistic traits in preemie toddlers, and now a much larger study has found a high rate of positive autism screening tests in preemies at the age of two. The new study, carried out at 14 hospitals in 5 states, studied babies born more than [...]

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Natural Body Products Customized for you by SALUS

Kristie — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:03:05 +0000

As a part of our family’s efforts towards improving both our overall health, and our impact on the environment, we began to look more closely at the products we put both in and on our bodies. We spent a long time searching on the web for body care products that we could feel good about [...]

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Basic Yet Tasty Homemade Bread Recipe

Kristie — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 18:34:42 +0000

Once we settled on a few foods that our son was definitely allergic too, I started trying to find foods in the grocery store, and a local natural grocer that he could eat. I quickly discovered that finding a bread without any corn (think high fructose corn syrup and corn meal), egg or soy ingredients [...]

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Cooking from Scratch for Health: Chicken Pot Pie

Kristie — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 22:08:25 +0000

In the process of reaching our family goals of becoming healthier, and becoming less dependent on convenience items like packaged or frozen foods, one of the biggest changes we’ve made in our lives is learning to cook more foods from scratch. One of the biggest motivators for this change came when we came to [...]

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Preemies Exposed to Toxic Chemicals in Medications

Kristie — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 23:50:08 +0000

A study recently published in the Fetal & Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood reveals that premature infants are being exposed to surprisingly high levels of non-drug ingredients found in liquid medications. These ingredients, known as excipients, are chemicals added to medicines to improve their taste, absorption and to prolong their shelf-life. Excipients [...]

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Healthy Green Parenting on a Budget

Kristie — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:12:45 +0000

Having a baby and raising a child can be an expensive prospect. With the economy in a recession, many families are tightening their belts. Yet concerns about health and the environment have many parents wondering how to go green, keep their kids healthy and still not break the bank. Fortunately, there are at least a few [...]

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King Soopers Trashes Home Cooking

Kristie — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 18:13:43 +0000

Are you a prisoner in your kitchen?? Apparently King Soopers thinks you are if you bother to cook when you entertain instead of buying party trays from the King Soopers’ (our local Kroger brand store in Colorado) deli counter. Last night, while I was watching Saturday Night Live, a commercial came on that was seriously [...]

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Soothe That Cough or Cold Naturally

Kristie — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 21:18:12 +0000

With continuing concerns over the safety of over the counter cough and cold medications for young kids, and the ever changing guidelines from the FDA about the lower age limit for giving OTC cold medicines, I thought I’d revisit some safe and natural remedies for cold and flu season. For everyone looking to ease their children’s [...]

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Teava: Skin Care Products that Harness the Powers of Tea

Kristie — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 17:47:13 +0000

Teava Skincare uses the power of tea to solve common skin problems while also providing anti-aging benefits. Each Teava product is specially formulated with tea extracts which naturally beautify dull, dry or acne prone skin. I know tea is an amazing substance, full of vitamins and powerful antioxidants, so when I got the chance to [...]

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Private Practice Highlights Vaccine Dilemma

Kristie — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:31:11 +0000

Vaccinations have been a hotly debated topic over the past year, with most arguements centered around both the safety of the measels, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) as well as the general safety of thimerasol and other preservatives in vaccines. Fear of autism and growing uncertainty about who is telling the truth, has caused many [...]

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Medical Marketing for Physicians

Kristie — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:49:45 +0000

While most of my readers are moms and dads, I know there are a fair number of physicians lurking out there as well, so I wanted to share a resource with Medical articles on doctor advertising. Hippocrates Publishing is devoted to teaching physicians about the business of medicine – information that is often lacking in [...]

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Cloth Diapering: Getting Started

Kristie — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 20:42:24 +0000

If you would have told me a year, or even a month ago, that I would start off 2009 as a cloth diapering mommy, I would have laughed at you. Of all the household chores I can think of, I hate laundry the most, and I just couldn’t stand the thought of adding 3 or [...]

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Ringing in the New Year

Kristie — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:00:00 +0000

I wanted to write a quick post tonight to wish you all Happy New Year and apologize for my absence over the last month. I know my daily posts for Blogging for Prematurity Awareness Month ended rather abruptly, and I figure I owe any one who’s still reading a bit of an explanation. Near the end [...]

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$10 Kids Tix to Denver High School Musical: The Ice Tour

Kristie — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:05:57 +0000

I know this is a little off topic, but since many of my readers are parents, and a fair number of you are from Colorado like me, I thought I’d pass on this great deal. For the next two weekends, you can score tickets for kids 12 and under to Disney’s High School Musical: The [...]

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One Dollar Give Spreads Holiday Spirit to 31 Charities

Kristie — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 20:11:44 +0000

You’re probably all wondering why I disappeared so abruptly last month, and I can assure you it wasn’t because of too much holiday cheer. I’ll explain what happened tomorrow, because today, I need to give a belated introduction to The One Dollar Give! The One Dollar Give is a 31 day event which will be [...]

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She’s Traveled a Long Road – Blogging for Prematurity Awareness Month

Kristie — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:19:16 +0000

Tonight, I was inspired by an old post by Darcy at Life With My 3 Boybarians, where she discussed some of the struggles her son “Trouble” has endured since coming home from the NICU. While our daughter’s story isn’t any where near as long or dramatic as Trouble’s, it still irks me when people take [...]

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NICU Memories – Blogging for Prematurity Awareness Month

Kristie — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 20:01:30 +0000

Yesterday, Debbie at Premature Grandmother (and founder of Elliot’s Preemie Tees) wrote a post about the NICU memories she will never forget. I once again found myself tearing up as I related to so many of the items on her list. I thought her post was such a great idea, so today, I’m going to [...]

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Chemical Found that Primes Uterus to Contract – Prematurity Awareness Month

Kristie — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 04:12:48 +0000

Despite our best efforts, doctors and scientists know relatively little about what causes the uterus to contract and a woman to go into labor. However, recent research on uterine muscle tissue samples removed after scheduled c-sections has now brought us a step closer to understanding this complicated process. When uterine tissue was exposed to certain chemicals [...]

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Preemies at Risk for Kidney Disease – Prematurity Awareness

Kristie — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:02:39 +0000

A recent study which is set to be published in the January 2009 issue of Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology has shown that low birth weight babies (those born weighing less than 5.5 pounds) have an increased risk for a type of chronic kidney disease called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. This condition causes [...]

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Weights and Measures – Blogging for Prematurity Awareness

Kristie — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:32:15 +0000

1780g* – that’s how much our little girl weighed when she was born. She was 41cm long. Why do I know this? Well it isn’t because I have an odd infatuation with the metric system. It’s because she spent her first 46 days in the NICU, where weights come in grams, length in centimeters and [...]

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Prematurity Awareness Month Link Love

Kristie — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 04:46:33 +0000

Every day throughout November, I have dedicated myself to publishing a post in honor of Prematurity Awareness Month. I haven’t been working alone though. All over the web, parents and relatives of preemies have been doing their part to raise awareness by sharing their own thoughts and experiences of prematurity. Today, I’m [...]

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Depressed Moms More Likely to Have Preemies – Prematurity Awareness Month

Kristie — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:33:32 +0000

A study of 800 pregnant women published in the journal Human Reproduction found that pregnant moms who were severely depressed had twice the risk of having a preemie, while women with less severe symptoms of depression had a 60% higher risk for preterm delivery. The study was carried out by the research arm of Kaiser Permanente. [...]

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