Living the Mommy Life!

FUZZY CLIPS ARE HERE!

2010-12-09T22:38:00.003-05:00

My girl has very little hair and I wanted to find some barrettes that were super cute and would stay put. After searching high and low for something special, I realized I could make my own!

Introducing Fuzzy Clips for little fuzzy heads!

One of a kind barrettes with velvet to stay in all hair types.

Support a WAHM!

Only $5.00 each or 3 for $12.00

plus actual shipping

For more photos and ordering: info@myhealingsource.com

Our Eczema Solution!

2010-10-24T11:34:00.000-04:00

I keep forgeting to post this! Baby had some horrible eczema for a couple months. At one point she even broke out in blisters! We tried very hard to figure out the cause, but never did. I tried changing her diet and using many kinds of creams and natural remedies and finally resorted to Aquaphor which I used once. I really didn't feel comfortable using a chemical laden petroleum product on her, but the concept made sense. We needed something to create a barrier to keep moisture in. Then it occured to me that Lansinoh is very similar to Aquaphor! I applied it with a bandage covering for three days in a row and it completely cleared up! Since then (two months ago), I apply regular moisturizer every other day and it's never come back. I hope this helps someone!

P.S. Lansinoh is is pure lanolin ointment used for sore nipples and can be found in most pharmacies with the breastfeeding supplies.

My not-so-baby girl

2010-10-02T17:33:00.000-04:00

I'm sitting in the living room, listening to my daughter's favorite music and watching as she walks confidently across the room. She stops in front of the stereo and does a bouncy little dance before walking on. She's clutching one of her pink and white flowered shoes and she seems to be on a very deliberate mission. Sure enough she gets to the dvd cabinet, opens the door, puts the shoe on a shelf and closes it again. Then she turns around to check in with me, giving me a sweet grin and pointing at me, but then it's time to get back to her important work of opening and closing the cabinet door over and over.....

My baby girl will turn one year old in a few short days and I'm trying not feel sad! There's really nothing to be sad about, I'm really enjoying watching her grow up and I love the increasing interaction that we have. It's just that every moment is so precious and I'm so in love with her that I don't want to miss anything!

Eating Animals

2010-08-08T12:10:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading (most of) Eating Animals by Jonathan Foer. I grew up vegetarian, but have eaten meat for most of the last twenty years. I've heard and read about factory farming before, but as a busy new mom I've given myself permission to put it out of my mind in the name of convinence. Well, after reading that book I am thoroughly convinced that I don't want to eat meat from factory farms and I'm adopting a primarily vegetarian diet, this time with some committment! Eating Animals is a very uncomfortable book to read and some parts I skipped because they were just too much reality for me to take. I had no idea of the severity and extensiveness of damage that is caused by factory farming and industrial fishing. There are so many issues that I hadn't thought of: animal cruelty and corporate greed, of course, but I had never considered the extreme wastfulness, human rights abuses, environmental damage, increasing inefectiveness of antibiotics, flu pandemics and simply the overwhelming, disgusting absurdity of it all!

I am very impressed with the author who spent three years researching factory farming. I wouldn't have lasted nearly that long! To think that he started this project as a result of having a baby and wanting to know what was in the food he ate before he gave it to his son, inspires me to never again put these issues out of my mind when I make decisions about food for my family.

What Busy Days!

2010-07-24T10:23:00.000-04:00

Baby has a book called Oh What Busy Days! and that's a perfect description of my life! Things may have been more intense when she was a newborn, due to the newness of it all, but since she's become so mobile, I am more scattered than ever. I have to say that it has been improving lately because I'm getting used to running after her. When she first started crawling and cruising I was not expecting her to be able to go so fast! Now I have babyproofed most areas of the house and I can anticipate what she's going to do.

This is a very exciting time! Baby is nine and a half months and she's starting to stand on her own and take her first steps. I went out the other day to buy some soft sole shoes and ended up finding a pair of Stride Rites for less than half price. These are "walking shoes" and it really hit me when I put them on her and held her hands while she marched around, that my baby girl is growing up fast!

Overdue Update

2010-07-05T18:46:00.001-04:00

Too much time has passed since I wrote last! June was an extremely busy month, with birthdays, our wedding anniversary, Father's Day and a very mobile baby to keep up with. Baby is crawling and cruising like crazy and I'm barely one step ahead of her. I worked for one week in June for two hours a day while daddy stayed home with baby. It felt good to work and make a little money for us. Next week I'll be working with the same student again, this time for four hours a day for one month (I teach Aviation English to pilots- http://www.aviaenglish.com/). Daddy will be at home again with her, otherwise I don't think I'd be able do it!

With all the business, I haven't been exercising and it really has taken a toll. I get short of breath from going non-stop and getting stressed out. I'm determined to make time to do yoga or belly dance at home at least three times a week and my husband is encouraging me to commit to it. It makes such a difference! We've been having so much fun with baby, watching her learn and grow so fast! I'll post a video of her eighth month, I hope you enjoy it!

Baby Dishes

2010-06-07T12:01:00.000-04:00

We met some friends on Saturday and ended up going out for dinner. I was totally unprepared for a meal out with Baby because since she's started solids, we haven't eaten out. I brought no food, spoon, bib or water! So, yesterday I got on a roll and went to buy her some eating supplies: two baby food freezer trays, an insulated lunch bag, a couple more spoons, a divided plate, four little bowls and (I couldn't resist!) the cutest Hello Kitty water bottle with snack compartment in the bottom. Of course before she started eating solids and throwing things from her high chair, I swore I'd never buy plastic dishes! When I got home my mommy instinct started to kick in again and I was worried about the plastic so I searched for BPA info on the internet. What I found was that the dishes I bought weren't even regular plastic, but melamine, which has its own set of issues. I won't go into them here, but there are just too many unanswered questions about the safety of melamine and plastics (even BPA-free plastics), so I'll be returning them afterall!

What I did find is that there are inexpensive alternatives such as "plastic" dishes made of corn or rice husks. I'm very interested in these and I want to find out more. They seem better because they're not made of petroleum, but who knows what chemicals are used to make the dishes. If anyone knows more about this, please let me know! If money weren't a object I would probably buy beautiful urushi lacquer dishes for my girl, but I want to be practical. I'd love to hear what plastic alternative you've found!

EC Update

2010-05-28T19:15:00.000-04:00

Since offering her the potty last week, I've given it about every other day upon waking and she's peed twice and pooed once in it! I caught the poo today because she's eating more solids now and I can tell when she's trying to go. She seems to feel better after she goes in the potty, like she knows she's accomplished something!

Elimination Communication

2010-05-22T22:27:00.001-04:00

I had read about 'ECing" during pregnancy and I planned to start from birth. Well, that definitely didn't happen and I was surprised that baby doesn't seem to be very sensitive to dirty diapers. Of course I change them often, whether or not she complains, but she's not the kind of baby who cries or whines much. I'm starting to pay more attention to her subtle signs of eliminating and I have a little potty which I've started putting her on first thing in the morning. The first time I did it, three days ago, I made the psssst sound and to my surprise she did pee in the potty! I'll keep giving her the opportunity at least once a day. That's what it's all about, not me trying to make her go on cue. I try to understand where she is at development-wise and I really enjoy getting to know her more and more, it's a privilege!

A Tale of Two Teeth

2010-05-18T21:37:00.001-04:00

Baby has been extra needy the past ten days or so. It seemed like separation anxiety was setting in and that may very well be, but she also had bouts of nasal congestion or running and she was pulling on her ears. A friend brought her baby to visit today and asked if any teeth appeared, I said no and then half an hour later I saw a flash of white in baby's mouth! Two little teeth had poked through rather uneventfully-- no swelling, redness, fever or inconsolable crying. Who knows what it would have been like otherwise, but I do think the amber necklace had something to do with the lack of drama. We'll see what the future brings....

She's Amazing!

2010-05-16T14:52:00.000-04:00

I know I keep saying it.....but my girl really is amazing! She has gotten so much more active and mobile in the past few weeks. She now loves to stand and play for up to half an hour at a time. She can go from her tummy to sitting to crawling without doing a face plant! She even started dancing in the past couple days! Every day is a new discovery and I love watching this little person explore. She is quite the adventurer!

She also has a goofy sense of humor. Apparently mommy's feet are hilarious! So is the cat, who is thus far blissfully unaware of baby's powerful grip. He doesn't realize how many times I've saved his tail from those little pinchers!

Mother's Day Give Away! Win a Free Baltic Amber Necklace!

2010-04-28T12:08:00.000-04:00

I recently ordered a Baltic Amber Teething Necklace from Inspired by Finn. Teething necklaces are not meant to be chewed on! They are made for children to wear to relieve pain and inflammation due to teething. Adults have also found that it helps with headaches and indigestion. They have been sold in European pharmacies for quite some time, but I hadn't heard of them until recently.
I must admit I was skeptical, but after doing some research about the therapeutic benefits of succinic acid and reading other people's experiences, I thought I'd give it a try. Well, after the second day of wearing her necklace, my baby girl stopped the constant drooling and sucking on her hands!

In honor of Mother's Day I have partnered with Inspired by Finn to give away a Baltic Amber Teething Necklace so you can try it for yourself!

The winner can select anything 16 inches or SMALLER that is in stock. You may choose a child or adult necklace. Even if you don't win, you can use the discount code BLOG68 at checkout to receive a 20% discount on anything in the Inspired by Finn store.

TO ENTER THE DRAWING:

1. COMMENT ON THIS POST BELOW, TELLING ME WHY YOU WANT TO TRY A BALTIC AMBER TEETHING NECKLACE.

2. POST A LINK TO THIS BLOG ON TWITTER OR FACEBOOK (OR BOTH) AND RECEIVE ANOTHER ENTRY.

3. THE WINNER WILL BE RANDOMLY SELECTED FROM ALL THE ENTRIES ON MAY 9, 2010. THE WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON THIS BLOG.

4. IF YOU ARE THE ANNOUNCED WINNER, CONTACT ME WITH YOUR FULL NAME AND SHIPPING ADDRESS AND THE ITEM YOU WANT.

Solid Food Woes

2010-04-01T13:59:00.000-04:00

Baby started her solid food adventures with avocado at 5 months. She had showed so much interest in what we were eating, starting in her fourth month, so I felt that she was ready a month later. I figured it was safe to follow her lead on how much and how often to eat and boy was she voracious! Soon pears, bananas and yams were added to her diet (pureed and diluted with breast milk). She couldn't seem to get enough! Soon her poo turned the consistency of peanut butter, but then very quickly it turned into "adult" poo and then she was constipated. I continued feeding pears since they say it can help constipation and I gave her prune juice, but she remained constipated. This past Saturday she had 1/4 jar of pears and then I stopped all solids and continued with lots of nursing. Sunday morning in the fourth week of feeding her solids, she had a horrible, painful passing of stool. I was crying along with her, it was AWFUL! We tried to help it along with glycerin and again Tuesday she passed more hard stools. Thankfully this morning (Wed.) she had a good old-fashioned breast milk poo. I was so happy for her!

It was quite an ordeal and hopefully your little one won't go through this. We are waiting at least a week before giving solids again and we will go VERY slowly. One important thing I learned from this is that babies can go up to a year on breast milk alone, so there is no rush!

Vaccine Research Update

2010-03-10T21:10:00.000-05:00

I had no idea how complex the vaccine issue was! We haven't decided on every vaccine, but from the research that we've done, we want to wait at least a year before giving any. There are so many other factors that go into supporting a healthy immune system and vaccines seem like an extreme measure. Before looking into it, I was influenced by the argument that an unvaccinated child puts others at risk, but if you look at that logically, it's people who are sick with communicable diseases that potentially get other people sick, not a healthy child. In fact, people who have recently received some vaccines such as the nasal flu spray can shed the virus for weeks and infect others even if they don't show symptoms. (National Center for Infectious Diseases article)

I still have more research to do to answer all my questions, but something that has definitely hit home is the importance of washing hands, staying away from people that are sick (and crowded places in general) and supporting our family's immune systems with good nutrition. This helps prevent disease no matter what our vaccine decisions are.

Vaccine Research

2010-02-15T18:56:00.001-05:00

Here are some of the sites that I used to research vaccines. This isn't the entire list because I've done research on different occasions since I became pregnant last year. What I found confirmed my instinct that vaccines do not necessarily promote immunity, as they promise, and in some cases they compromise health.

How The Immune System Works http://www.vaccineriskawareness.com/Your-Immune-System-How-It-Works-And-How-Vaccines-Damage-It

Pertussis Study http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/272/1572/1617.full

Centers For Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vac-gen/side-effects.htm#dtap
FAQ http://www.know-vaccines.org/faq.html

VIDEO: Vaccine Primer http://www.mothering.com/health/video-a-vaccine-primer

Vaccines and Diseases http://www.nvic.org/Vaccines-and-Diseases.aspx

Naturally acquired chickenpox http://www.mothering.com/health/chickenpox-party-developing-natural-varicella-immunity

Autism & Vaccines http://www.generationrescue.org/

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny's dvds
Dr. Robert Sears' The Vaccine Book

Sign the KSCA Petition | Kid-Safe Chemicals Act Interactive Magazine | Environmental Working Group

2010-02-06T10:49:00.001-05:00

Sign the KSCA Petition | Kid-Safe Chemicals Act Interactive Magazine | Environmental Working Group

Posted using ShareThis

To Vaccinate Or Not

2010-02-03T21:58:00.000-05:00

We took baby for her 4 month check up today. Everything is going great! We go to one of the few "holistic" pediatricians in our area, but she was still pushing some of the vaccines. I've read articles and seen videos about the issue, but it's still very confusing. My gut feeling is not to give any vaccines, but to boost her immunity in other ways, maybe with homeopathic nosodes. Many of my friends are not giving any vaccines, including my midwife who I spoke with today. She has three kids; the first one had the regular schedule of vaccines and did fine, the next one had bad allergic reactions to three doses and then had no more and the third wasn't given any vaccines and was fine (he's now a teenager). During a recent pertussis outbreak, two children in her family who were fully vaccinated contracted it and apparently all of the other children in that outbreak were also vaccinated. I need to do more research and I'll report what I decide.

Like Sand Through the Hour Glass.....

2010-01-27T16:48:00.000-05:00

These days are passing so quickly! Next week my baby girl will be 4 months old and it feels at once like I've known her forever and that she just came out!

The day she was born. At 3.5 months.

She knows how to do so many things, like smile, giggle, roll, yell, put things in her mouth....
You can tell I'm a proud mommy!

We're about to go on a walk by a lake, which is something she really seems to enjoy. I love sharing nature with her! She is beginning to notice the leaves and birds. It's amazing to watch how these tiny people evolve so fast. I've had the pleasure to be around many other moms and babies and I see how unique each one looks, grows and behaves. Before having a child I thought most babies looked and acted the same, but now I see the intricacies of each little person. When you pay attention, it becomes obvious that we all come into this world with a personality and history. That reminds me that I have a book about the past lives of children that I'd like to start reading.

Fluoride, Chlorine and Plastic, Oh My!

2010-01-25T19:39:00.000-05:00

Why is healthy living so complicated?! We've been drinking filtered water that we get from the refill station at the grocery store, for years. Trying to be "green" I faithfully take my plastic gallon jugs to refill and I use a non-disposable hard plastic bottle when I go out. I even try to reuse the "one-time-use" bottles that I might get at a restaurant or friend's house. Life was fairly simple until my husband told me about an NPR show he was listening to last week.

Apparently the "safe" plastics, even the kind my non-disposable bottle is made of, have been found to be unsafe. I realized that the gallon jugs I'd been reusing were probably breaking down over time and leeching chemicals into our water! That's why they're meant to be used only once. So, I began a quest to find a better alternative that pretty much lead me full circle.

I bought a pitcher with a carbon filter at the grocery store, so that I could avoid refilling the plastic jugs. It wasn't until after I got home that I realized it was plastic too so that defeated it's purpose! Through internet research I also found that although the pitcher style filters have an impressive list of contaminants they filter out, most city water treatment facilities have already filtered those things out. I would end up buying filters on a monthly basis and wasting a lot of money. After hours of more research on filtering processes and the dangers of fluoride and chlorine (which I won't go into here) and hunting in vain for an affordable glass filter pitcher, we made the following changes:

Got rid of all plastic food and drink containers
Bought stainless steel personal water bottles
Bought a chlorine shower head filter
Bought 5 gallons of apple juice in glass bottles
Decided to continue refilling at the grocery store filter station with the juice bottles
Decided that when baby starts eating, she won't use plastic dishes, cups or utensils (glass, stainless steel and bamboo instead)
If we knew we were going to be in this house long term, we would install a whole house water filter

Hope this info helps someone!

Having a Baby Changes Everything!

2010-01-24T14:35:00.000-05:00

Having a baby changes everything. It's a cliche, but it's true! I am totally exhausted and disorganized, my couch smells like corn chips (read feet) and the milk is still out from breakfast, but I'm HAPPY and FULFILLED! This morning I was thrilled when I got out of the shower and rushed into the living room to find my baby still happily playing like she was five minutes earlier when I stepped into the tub. Later I ran out to the grocery store while baby stayed with daddy and I didn't get a frantic phone call while browsing the cookie aisle. Now baby is on my lap, happily drooling away while I write this. These small accomplishments give me great satisfaction!

Baby's Class

2010-01-23T22:06:00.000-05:00

We started a baby play class at Nova University. Today was our third class and it's really a lot of fun (for the babies too)! We talk about different developmental milestones and issues and sing to the babies. Baby is getting used to the parachute play, which was a little scary at first! Nova really has a great set up for children's classes. There's Art, Spanish, Cooking, even a wall for Rock Climbing! They have a "living room" where parents can chat while the little ones play safely. Check out the Parenting Place at Nova.

Trying to make tummy time fun.

Hangin' with the babies!

The babies' view.

Feeling Grateful

2010-01-20T21:02:00.000-05:00

Life is not exactly stress-free. With a brand new baby, an impending foreclosure and fluctuating income, our family has a lot to worry about, but overall I am very happy. I feel even more appreciative of the life that I live after this horrific earthquake in Haiti. Living in South Florida with a large Carribean community, we are very affected by what has happened.

It's so easy to take our relatively luxurious lives for granted while the poorest of the poor are neglected. I remember an incident several years ago when I volunteered for the Red Cross. There had been a tornado in Little Haiti (a section of Miami) and many homes had been destroyed. This area was already a run down ghetto so nothing was reported on the local news. As we drove around in the Red Cross truck handing out Wonder bread sandwiches, it really hit me how invisible these people were. We drove through the streets and I commented on the destruction, only to be told that we hadn't reached the destroyed area yet. I couldn't believe this was the United States! I have a group on Meetup.com and I would love to have some kind of get together where we collect supplies and possibly funds to send to Haiti. I just feel that I have to do something.

My Name is Hansa and I'm a Mommy.....

2010-01-14T12:57:00.000-05:00

True to my mommyness, I meant to write more on Monday and here it is Thursday already! I think I've made the transistion from "control-freak, always-on-time, always-does-what-she-says, can't-understand-when-you-don't me" to "uber-forgetful, start-a-million-things-and-never-finish me" fairly smoothly. It's like I'm a completely different person and I'm fine with it! It is such a relief to not be so uptight about things and I know that if I didn't "go with the flow," I could not have survived these first three months! But I do have one pet peeve and that is I wish people wouldn't say they'd do something if they're not sure of it. I'm trying hard to not do that! Recently I heard a mother say that she says "no" to everything that she's asked to do and then if she's able to do it, it's a pleasant surprise. With a baby or small child it's just too hard to plan things far in advance.

There, I've done it....

2010-01-11T17:03:00.000-05:00

There, I've done it-- joined the army of mommy bloggers swarming the net! I feel like I'm jumping on the bandwagon a little late, like when I joined myspace at the ripe old age of 33. Oh well, this is for me, my friends and my daughter to enjoy, so here we go!

It is 2010, a year that looks much more impressive on paper than it feels to me in this moment. As for most people, the speed at which time passes increases exponentialy the older I get! I remember watching 'Buck Rogers' ("In the year nineteen eighty seven......") and not being able to fathom what the year 2000 would look like.

Anyway, enough of that. This blog will concentrate on my life as a new mommy. First I'll tell you about myself and do a recap of my pregnancy and what's happened in the three months since my daughter was born. I hope you find it interesting at least and occasionally hilarious or thought-provoking at best!