The Pure Baby

The Dangers of Baby Orajel

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 22:29:00 +0000

The FDA recently made an official warning regarding Baby Orajel. The FDA has found that the use of Orajel, which contains benzocaine, can result in a blood disorder known as methemoglobinemia - especially in children under two. You can read more here at The Mom: Informed .

Instead of Orajel, a great option that I've repeated heard praised is amber teething necklaces!

Imagine how adorable little ones are in amber teething necklaces!

Babywearing in Morocco

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:10:00 +0000

During our visit to Whole Foods Market yesterday, The Pure Baby (PB) and I met a lovely cashier. She noticed that PB was on my back in our Kanga XT, and this sweet woman could not say enough great things about how wonderful that was :) Our new acquaintance shared that she was from Morocco - and that when her children were young in Morocco, she wore them on her back all.of.the.time! To her, the greatest gifts of babywearing were: (1) having a safe place for her young children - where she was always with them; (2) being able to get everything done at home - cooking, cleaning, playing with other children, etc.; and (3) the biggest one of all - bonding and building a close mother/child relationship.

Happy Birthday to The Pure Baby's brother!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Sun, 15 May 2011 20:56:00 +0000

The Pure Baby (PB)'s older brother celebrated another Happy Birthday! With that came another GFCF and Feingold Diet birthday cake. PB's brother wanted a beagle cake, in honor of our 14-year-old beagle :)

I used another Wilton cake pan, along with (again) King Arthur Flour gluten-free chocolate cake mix and quite a lot of cocoa powder (for the frosting colors).

The dog cake pan was used for the groom's cake at our wedding, back in the beagle's tiny puppy days :) I did not make the cake then, though, and it definitely was not GFCF or Feingold!

Preventing Lyme Disease

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:56:00 +0000

Fox News today put out an informative article regarding Lyme Disease, focusing on prevention. While I definitely do not agree with their recommendation to apply DEET to body and/or clothing, I think it is overall a good article.

The University of Rhode Island's Tick Encounter has always been my favorite resource for Lyme Disease prevention as well as tick identification, etc.

Happy Birthday to The Pure Baby!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Fri, 13 May 2011 17:42:00 +0000

The Pure Baby (PB) celebrated another super birthday and enjoyed his GFCF/ Feingold Diet Elmo cake :)

Inspired by my expert-cake-decorating mother, I made the Elmo cake using the Elmo Wilton cake pan, King Arthur Flour gluten-free chocolate cake mix, and India Tree natural decorating colors.

I completely adore King Arthur Flour gluten-free mixes - and buy them online by the case. Its much cheaper than in the stores, and I love having a good supply in my pantry.

I've been using India Tree natural decorating colors for my oldest son's past eight years on The Feingold Diet. While the colors may be a little more challenging to work with, they are safe and healthy - containing no petroleum or other nasty chemicals.

Jumping up and down with JOY: The happiness of finding a pediatrician :)

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Tue, 03 May 2011 21:21:00 +0000

The Pure Baby (PB) finally has a pediatrician!!! I am so super happy :)

PB's new pediatrician is actually a pediatrician that our older boys used to see, back when we lived in this state four years ago. He was a truly wonderful guy. He helped our oldest son (who is on the autism spectrum) with so much. He did all kinds of testing required by our DAN! doctor. He wrote a bunch of notes to the school - lunchtime supplements, diet, clothing issues, and more. He was always available to me for whatever concerns/issues came up. I was so very thankful for him :)

When PB recently saw his new pediatrician for the first time, he happily remembered our family. I was a little nervous about asking if he was still on board with taking non-vax patients (especially PB who is 100% non-vax), but I was completely overjoyed at his response of *yes*. And not only has he taken PB as a patient, he also seemingly made no notation regarding PB's non-vax status. To top this all off, our pediatrician is homebirth-friendly and actually seems pro-homebirth! He even recommended homebirth midwives for my future homebirth :) And as an extra bonus, he even pronouned PB's ethnic name correctly - which lately seems to be a minor miracle

Unbelievably, this is PB's first real pediatrician. Previously, there have been no pediatricians who will accept PB as a patient. Really bizarre. The pediatricians in our former states have required either (1) vaccinations per their schedule or (2) me signing off on a form stating that I was endangering the life of my child as well as the lives of everyone else by not vaccinating. Crazy.

When PB was one week old, the front desk women at a supposed non-vax pediatrician's office attempted to bully me into signing the form - by refusing to let me leave the office! After all we've been through, I'm a tough mama - and not to be bullied :) I made my way out of the office (while babywearing my one week old baby!), only to start getting phone calls from the county health department. Due to the wonderful gift of Caller ID, I was able to let the bullying end there.

I'm so very appreciative of our new (and old) pediatrician :) While I am very much not a fan of where we live, finding him (again) makes living here almost tolerable. I'm so glad to have a pediatrician for PB, especially since he is actually ill for the first time right now. Adding in the fact that homebirth is actually legal here - and with a CNM midwife - maybe I'll be finding some peace in living in this not-so-favorite state of mine.

Babywearing: "Available-now" options, when you can't wait for a custom carrier

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Sun, 01 May 2011 20:21:00 +0000

Recently, quite a few moms and grandmas have asked me about my Kanga XT. While I LOVE my Kanga XT, I've been thinking that I should post a bit of information about how to get a Kanga XT of your own as well as thoughts about possible alternative carriers that are easier to obtain.

Kanga XT is made by one work-at-home-mom named Kirsten. She produces custom carriers, using a custom wait list. Lately, it seems that the custom wait lists take about 6 months to complete. The custom list is open for a very short amount of time (as in a couple of minutes). If you are interested in getting on the custom list, you should join her yahoo group. There, she makes announcements regarding the custom lists. She also occasionally posts in-stock carriers for sale: Kanga XT, Kanga X2, and Kanga J.

My Kanga XTs are the only buckle carriers that I have owned. Therefore, I truly have no expertise on other ABCs, and I can only recommend based on friends' experiences. (Buckle baby carriers are known as "All Buckle Carriers" or "ABCs" and "Soft Structured Carriers" or "SSCs".)

For petite moms, the following carriers are supposed to work quite well. Please keep in mind, though, that fit varies person-to person. Additionally, these carriers often work well for non-petite moms.

1- Pikkolo by cat bird baby

2- Oh SNAP! by BabyHawk

3- Angelpack LX

4- Action Baby Carrier

5- Calyx (I am unsure if this company is currently in production.)

In addition to the above carriers, the following carriers are supposed to work very well for non-petite moms:

1- ERGO baby carrier

2- bECO baby carrier

Another option to find a great carrier is For Sale or Trade at TheBabywearer.com. This is place to buy and sell previously-loved carriers. I bought my first Kanga XT here, as well as other carriers :)

Please note that the above listing is definitely not exhaustive and is based on second-hand experience :)

Our New Kanga XT!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:08:00 +0000

Our new Kanga XT went to the zoo! The Pure Baby (PB) fed a giraffe, from the safety of his Kanga XT :) He was a bit apprehensive, but the option of safely being behind mom brought suffficient bravery to allow PB to participate in this fun privilege.

After months on the Bloo Kangeroo custom wait list, I was extremely thrilled to receive my new Kanga XT in the mail. I absolutely love the Marimekko Unikko fabric that a very sweet babywearing friend shared with me! Thank you so much :) And Kirsten at Bloo-Kangeroo did a marvelous job and created perfect matching strap canvas! I love love love my new Kanga XT!!!

Our new Kanga XT has a petite waist, extra-petite straps, and has a 1/2 inch wider base on each side. The 1/2 inch wider base allows for the knee to knee support that you can see above, even in an older baby/toddler. At the same time, Kirsten says that our Kanga XT should be fine for a younger baby around 12 months or so (and up).

The Children's Museum of New Hampshire ~ amazing and wonderful fun for children on the autism spectrum!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 22:07:00 +0000

This past weekend, our family happily visited The Children's Museum of New Hampshire for the first time! I've been wanting to check it out, and we had an amazing opportunity to attend the special autism-only hours. On the second Sunday of each month, The Children's Museum of New Hampshire opens early and offers free admission to children on the autism spectrum along with their entire families. And not only that... Additionally, the Museum seeks to offer networking and socialization opportunities for the families. And, the families are invited to spend the entire day at the Museum - not just the special autism-only hours. Plus, on top of that, the Museum gave us free tickets for our entire family to come back any time! Pretty incredible, I think. We've lived lots of places - and have had memberships at several children's museums - yet, we've never found a children's museum who has this loving heart for children with autism.

So, if you live in New England, I greatly encourage you to pay a visit to The Children's Museum of New Hampshire! With or without autism, its a super fun place to play :)

A Recipe for Holiday Fudge - GFCF and Feingold-approved

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 22:01:00 +0000

Holiday Fudge

2 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine
5 ounces canned coconut milk
1 container (7 ounces) Tiny Trapeze Confections marshmallow creme (available at Whole Foods Market)
3/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon vanilla
12 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips (made with real vanilla - available at Whole Foods Markets as well as some supermarkets)

1- Combine first five ingredients. Stir over low heat until blended.

2- Bring to a boil over moderate heat. Boil slowly, stirring constantly for five minutes.

3- Remove from heat. Stir in chocolate chips and vanilla unil chocolate is melted. Pour into a greased 9 inch x 13 inch glass baking dish. Cool.

I've made two batches of this yummy fudge recipe so far this season, and it truly tastes like "the real thing" - even to the unaware :)

First Snow!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 03:49:00 +0000

Yesterday morning, we awoke to winter's first snow!

Playing in the Snow!

Eggs: Why Organic?

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:59:00 +0000

Last week, The Pure Baby (PB) had a fun - though quite cold! - day at a nearby Audobon nature center and farm! Among other things, the farm raises chickens and actually sells "free-range" eggs for $4.50/dozen. The eggs, though, are not "USDA organic" - so we did not take any eggs home with us.

I think that there is probably lots of confusion regarding "free-range" or "cage-free" versus "USDA organic" and possibly some people may be confused into thinking that "free-range" or "cage-free" is "USDA organic". The labels of "free-range and "cage-free" are basically unverified claims that any egg producer can claim. Essentially - and very sadly -, that means that "free-range" and "cage-free" are worthless when one is seeking the healthiest eggs to take home to his or her family.

For our family, buying "USDA organic" eggs is extremely important for the following reasons:
1- "USDA organic" eggs are free of antibiotics - and -
2- USDA organic" eggs are free of arsenic.

Sadly non-organic eggs are contaminated very much in the same way as non-organic chicken. Lots of antibiotics and lots of arsenic. Not what you want to serve your family.

The Pure Baby Explores The Freedom Trail !

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 21:45:00 +0000

In keeping with the Thanksgiving spirit of being thankful for our American freedom, here are some pictures of our visit to The Freedom Trail a few weeks ago!

BOSTON COMMON

PARK STREET CHURCH

GRANARY BURYING GROUND

KING'S CHAPEL

THE FREEDOM TRAIL SEAL

SITE OF THE FIRST PUBLIC SCHOOL

BEN FRANKLIN'S STATUE

OLD SOUTH MEETING HOUSE

FANEUIL HALL

PAUL REVERE HOUSE

Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 20:55:00 +0000

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! Have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends :)

Our family will be having a gluten free / casein free (GFCF) plus Feingold Diet Thanksgiving! This is our first GFCF holiday in a few years, and I am overjoyed at the great improvement in GFCF foods and recipes :) GFCF food actually tastes yummy!

Here is our pumpkin pie recipe, for the delicious GFCF (and Feingold Diet) pumpkin pie we will be enjoying tomorrow on Thanksgiving. Our sample pie was amazingly *just like the real thing*! So, tomorrow we will proudly share our pie with our extended family.

Pumpkin Pie
2 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin (I used organic canned pumpkin from Whole Foods).
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup coconut milk (I used organic canned coconut milk from Whole Foods, but the refrigerated So Delicious coconut milk is a likely excellent choice as well).
1 pie crust (See below).

Preheat oven to 425. Beat eggs. Add all ingredients, except for coconut milk. When fully blended, add coconut milk and mix. Pour into unbaked deep dish pie crust. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until set.

Pie Crust
1/2 cup garfava flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/2 cup potato starch
2 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons egg replacer powder
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/3-1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 450. Mix dry ingredients. Mix in oil. Mix in 1/3 cup water. If too crumbly, add 1 tablespoon water at a time, until less crumbly. Press dough into a greased pie dish. Bake 1 minute.

The Pure Baby is Back!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 21:59:00 +0000

After a bit of a moving-related hiatus, The Pure Baby is happy to be back!

We've been greatly enjoying our babywearing coat, on our fun outdoor hikes :)

Our older boys have been having great outdoor fun as well!

We explored a very cool beaver pond, where the beavers have built amazing dams as well as provided impressive evidence of beaver tree-cutting skills.

Fun on top of a big rock!

Balancing on a long walk across a fallen tree!

A Homemade Babywearing Coat for The Pure Baby

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 21:43:00 +0000

The Pure Baby (PB) and I have a new winter coat - to share! Following some great instructions on TheBabyWearer, I was able to alter an Eddie Bauer parka into a babywearing winter coat!

My Eddie Bauer parka, prior to alterations:

The parka is a size "small". I usually wear "extra-small". The pictures show the parka's fit on me pre-babywearing coat.

After measuring/marking with a fabric marker and after attaching layers together with zig-zag stitching:

After cutting out the back panel, leaving the bottom attached:

The side panels:

The side panels were my most difficult part of the project. The original German instructions are no longer available, and I completely had no clue what the TheBabyWearer instructions meant regarding a "curve". In the end, my curve below was very inadequate. I was able to design a curve, with the side panels sewn to the coat flap, by holding out the coat flap and making it into sort of a box (as you will see in my final result, further down).

The side panels attached to the back flap of the parka:

With both top and side panels attached to the back flap of the parka:

The inner top flap with the fleece attached:

The inner top flap fleece sewn into place:

The finished exterior:

The pouch opening:

The finished interior:

The Pure Baby (PB) in our new babyweaing coat:

PB is being worn in our Kanga XT.

We're looking forward to a winter of wintry cold weather and lots of snow!

The Pure Baby Loves His Homemade Play Dough!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 21:49:00 +0000

The Pure Baby (PB) has become a big fan of homemade play dough! Play dough has become a fun part of PB's mornings, while his brothers do their homeschool work :)

Our Recipe for Homemade Cooked Play Dough:

1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
Vegetable-based food coloring, such as India Tree Natural Decorating Colors

1- Mix dry ingredients in a sauce pan.
2- Add wet ingredients (except food coloring) and combine.
3- Cook over medium heat.
4- Stir continuously, until a ball forms.
5- Cool at room temperature.
6- Knead until smooth.
7- After deciding on food colorings, divide play dough into the necessary number of parts. Put play dough into bowls. Add chosen food colorings to play dough. Knead until food coloring is evenly spread.
8- Have fun!

For PB, we divided the play dough into 3 parts, making 3 different fun colors of play dough: yellow, red, and purple!
With his brothers' old Play Doh tools, PB is having lots of fun with his safe and healthy play dough!

Going GF/CF!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:34:00 +0000

I'm going GF/CF. I'm finally giving the diet a try - for me :)

GF/CF = Gluten Free / Casein Free. Basically, that means avoiding all dairy products as well as certain grains: wheat, barley, rye, kamut, spelt, and possibly oats. Thankfully, the oats avoidance is easily remedied by the use of gluten-free oats.

Given that a large majority of autism moms have their own health (often auto-immune) problems, I should really expect to benefit from the GF/CF diet. And I do see that I am benefiting! Since starting on Monday, I am already seeing a great improvement in my nasal allergy condition :)

I have FOUGHT hard against doing this diet - for years! Our oldest son has spent a good number of years on the GF/CF diet. I've done so much special diet cooking, yet I have really, REALLY not wanted to be on a special diet for *me*.

Our son's first DAN! (Defeat Autism Now!) doc said, based on my testing, I needed to go gluten-free. At that time, I was way too wound up in being overwhelmed with major behavior problems of a 4-year-old on the autism spectrum. I just could not and would not address my own health problems. Since then, I've been to other practitioners who have repeated the same advice - go gluten-free. So, I just decided to finally do it. And why not make it more fun by going CF as well, you know?

So far, it really isn't too bad. Since I am not on the Feingold Diet as well, GF/CF is easier for me than for our oldest son. I've not delved into lots of baking yet, but I've found the Pamela's GF/CF baking mixes to be quite excellent as well as the Van's GF/CF frozen waffles. For dairy substitutes, I've used Almond Breeze milk and Earth Balance margarine. I bought all of this at our local Whole Foods Market, but many large supermakets also have an impressive GF/CF inventory.

Knitting a Wool Soaker for The Pure Baby!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Sat, 14 Aug 2010 02:10:00 +0000

Thanks to an online tutorial from Tiny Bird Organics, I am knitting a wool soaker for The Pure Baby (PB). A wool soaker is a water-resistant/water-proof wool cover for prefold cloth diapers.

Since before PB was born, I've heard great reviews of wool soakers. But, since I did not knit and did not want to pay the hefty price that wool soakers go for, we've not owned any.

A while back, I got a super deal on a basic learning-to-knit kit. So, a couple weeks ago, I pulled it out and decided to learn to knit! Through the kit book, as well as a few videos online, I was able to master enough knitting skill to get started on my first knitting project - PB's wool soaker. I picked up a cute 90% wool yarn at my local chain craft store and got started!

What you see in the picture will be the front, with the ribbed part at the bottom being the front waist. I'm about halfway through the project, and wow, I'm amazed that I could do this :)

Homeschool Music Class

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 19:14:00 +0000

The Pure Baby (PB) and his big brother had lots of fun at homeschool music class today!

The Pure Baby Loves SMOOTHIES!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 18:42:00 +0000

The Pure Baby (PB) greatly enjoys eating and has a new favorite! PB absolutely adores smoothies! I have a lunch-time smoothie each day, and PB's sampling of my smoothie led to his smoothie love :)

The Pure Baby Smoothie

Ingredients:
2 bananas
3/4 cup frozen peaches
3/4 cup frozen berries
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 Tablespoons rice protein powder
3/4 cup milk

Instructions:
Place all ingredients in blender, in order listed - and then blend. Recipe will yield 1 larger mom-sized smoothie and 1 smaller baby/child-sized smoothie :)

First Day of School!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 18:31:00 +0000

Today was our first day of homeschool! We're getting an early start, in an attempt to have a year-round school schedule - which will allow us to take time off throughout the year. We're not big hot weather/summer fans, so we will much more enjoy travel and trips during the cool and crisp seasons :)

Vaccines, Brain Changes, and Autism

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:01:00 +0000

Researchers from both the University of Pittsburgh and Texas' Thoughtful House Center for Children have found that infant monkeys who receive the vaccine schedule used in the 1990s have amazingly similar brain changes to those seen in children with autism.

Through use of scanning techniques that evaluated brain growth and function, the researchers were able to observe distinct differences in the brain development of vaccinated versus non-vaccinated animals.

Through the entire study, vaccinated animals were found to have an increase in total brain volume. Interestingly, this is also a common attribute of children with autism. After the 12 month vaccines, two notable findings were made: (1) the amygdala, the area of the brain associated with emotional response, began to show abnormalities, and (2) extraordinary differences were seen in the brain scans of the vaccinated versus the non-vaccinated animals.

Additionally, the study found that animals vaccinated with hepatitis B on their first day of life had delayed acquisition of vital brain stem reflexes, when compared to non-vaccinated animals.

The findings were recently published in the journal Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis.

Barbecued Ribs, Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 19:18:00 +0000

For the Fourth of July, my husband cooked another dinner of barbecued ribs! Another messy, yet fun, meal :) Here is a recipe for another Feingold Diet-acceptable barbecue sauce:

Maple Syrup BBQ Sauce

Ingredients:

1 cup beef stock
1 Tablespoon flour
1 cup onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coriander (optional)

Preparation:

In a saucepan, bring stock to a boil. Slowly add flour, stirring constantly until blended. Add all additional ingredients and stir. Reduce heat. Simmer for 15-20 minutes, uncovered. Cool. Store, covered in refrigerator, for up to one month. Makes about 4 cups.

Happy Fourth of July!

noreply@blogger.com (The Pure Mom) — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:12:00 +0000

Happy Fourth of July! We had a fun day, filled with our local patriotic parade as well as beautiful driveway fireworks :) The Pure Baby's (PB's) brothers and dad were part of the parade, while PB and I sat in the shade and watched.

PB's brother at the parade:

Our Fireworks: