No closer to answers

Well, apparently the gods are playing tricks on me. They think its funny I have been to our pediatrician 5 times in the last month, so they gave Chase a teething fever, threw in a tummy virus for good measure, and sent us on trip #6 of the last few weeks to the pedi. It was Friday, the day I had been expecting some results on the little guy's allergy tests. Come to find out, the ELISA 96 panel from Alletess was never completed because they couldn't get enough blood from Mr. Bad Veins, so only the CBC, celiac panel, and food specific RASTS were ordered. Drumroll please....he ain't allergic to a G-D- THING! Ok, let me rephrase that. He's not going to go into anaphalactic shock, get hives, or have his throat close if he eats eggs, milk, soy, corn, almonds, peanuts, salmon, scallop, shrimp, or corn. Well GOOD! But.....here's the catch.....he still may be "sensitive" to any and all these foods, and I have to watch for signs as we keep expanding his palate for any reactions. Well, doc, how do I know what's affecting him if the G-D reflux still isn't under control?!?!?!?!?!?

After trying the suggestion of dropping to 15mg of prevacid, we had two horrid, sleepless nights here, with a little boy who was obviously in a lot of pain. Screw the suggestion, back on the regular dosage of 15mg twice a day, plus Mylanta before nursing. We've now switched out the mylanta for tums so he isn't getting all that alluminum. It was working "ok" up until this tummy bug and fever, but "ok" still means waking 4 or 5 times a night. After seeing the doc, him not really having anything more to suggest, me scouring the internet, and speaking with the ever knowledgable LC Teri @ Hopkinton Drug, here is our new protocol:

Beastfeed
15mg prevacid in the AM
probiotic & cod liver oil mixed in breakfast
water at breakfast
Bottle
ground flax mixed in at lunch
water at lunch
Bottle
Prevacid before 1st evening bottle/boob
Dinner
aloe vera juice with/after dinner
2 crushed tums before nursing down for the evening
Breastfeed

We'll see how this goes once this fever/teeth crap passes (you have 6 teeth already, do you really need more right now?!?!?) and then re-evaluate. If it does nothing, at the suggestion of another reflux/allergy momma who was kind enough to read my blog, I may introduce Prilosec.

You know, when you go to Children's Hospital, you eat a big slice of humble pie, and thank your lucky stars your kid isn't one of the ones that knows that place as their home, and I know of all the things that could be wrong with Chase, reflux and allergies are minimal, but still.......I just want my little guy to not feel pain and be ok.

What are Traditional Foods? a guest blogger explains

Today, I am happy to present you an introduction to Traditional Foods. Mothering mom Sarah from Food & Stuff, has been kind enough to write a great piece about TF. Here's what Sarah has to say.....

Here are two basic premises behind Traditional Foods. First is the idea that you want the most nutritional bang-for-buck out of your food - that is, a very high nutrient density. We're not talking caloric density but rather the most vitamins, minerals, antioxidants etc. Much of the TF movement references the work of dentist Weston Price, who in the early part of the 20th century went on several epic journeys around the globe looking at various ethnic groups in order to figure out how people managed to survive before modern dentistry, since his brain kept boggling at the sheer numbers of people in his practice who had all their teeth falling out - it was the norm back then. Price figured the human race wouldn't have survived very long with no teeth, so he went checking on the folks who were eating what they'd eaten since the dawn of time - what we now refer to as "traditional cultures". Sure enough, they had all their teeth, and were darned healthy besides. So Price, being the little science-dude he was, took samples of their foods back to his lab and analyzed them and found waaaaaay higher levels of all vitamins and minerals than are/were found in the typical foods of his patients. He concluded that the food products of industrialized nations lacked the necessary vitamins and minerals for human health. Price also found that all the groups he studied ate as much animal protein as was available to them, and especially prized animal fats. He found that many groups utilized fermenting processes to unlock more vitamins within plant material (and some animal materials too) and to make vegetables more digestible; likewise, he found that of the few groups who ate grains, most sprouted, soaked or fermented them in some form - again, increasing the bioavailability of the nutrients.

Traditional Foods advocates stress that eating animal protein is important for human health. The rationale behind eating all the animal products, particularly fatty meat and organs, is that meat is one of the most nutrient-dense foods you can eat. (Seafood too) It's got loads of minerals AND (this is key) they are in highly absorbable forms. Many of the key vitamins (A, E and D) are fat-soluble - and animal meat is not only a good source of these, but essential for adequate uptake. Moreover, the cardiopulmonary issues the medical community frequently associates with moderate to heavy meat intake are a relic of Ancel Key's lipid hypothesis, which has been pretty soundly disproven by epidemiological and experimental data (see Gary Taubes). Also, for children especially, saturated fat is extremely important for brain development and maintenance of neuron health. It's also important for the immune system and digestion. BUT it's critical to understand that all meat is not created equal, and a lot of the health problems people have today started rising right along with factory farming. Fat can carry a lot of good stuff, but it can also carry a lot of bad stuff too - hormones, antibiotic residue, pesticides, etc. So most TF proponents stress that meat must be organic and pasture-raised, since pasture provides the optimal diet for the animals themselves, and increases the nutrient density of their meat while decreasing the amount of bad stuff. (The same goes for plant foods - organic is best because of the reduced pesticide load AND the fact that they contain more nutrients.)

The second main idea behind Traditional Foods is the logical premise that if people have been eating these foods (as prepared traditionally - a loaf of bread is not necessarily a loaf of bread) for thousands if not millions of years without any problems (and, as Price found, with better results than a modern diet), they're probably not going to do you any harm. Meat and veg for sure are exactly what human bodies evolved to run on, so they are definitely healthy foods for everyone. Dairy and grains are newer additions, but most people do just fine with them provided that they're prepared in the ways our ancestors figured out were the safest and most nutritious. (In the case of dairy, this means no pasteurization - it kills the beneficial enzymes that help you digest dairy and get the benefit of the calcium and other minerals.)

The other argument for Traditional Foods is ecological. Traditional Foods are, by their nature, sustainable. Have a look at Polyface Farm as a model of how food should be produced - it's a highly productive farm, more so than most monocrop operations, yet its impact on the environment is actually beneficial. Rotational grazing, which is how meat SHOULD be produced, actually results in a net sequestration of carbon rather than an increase. True diversified organic agriculture that incorporates animals such as chickens enhances the soil and prevents toxic run-off. Moreover, a traditional diet dovetails beautifully with the notion of local eating, further reducing the ecological footprint of your diet.

Are traditional foods more expensive? Sometimes, yes. It depends on where you live, how accessible non-industrial foods are, and what your food budget looked like beforehand. However, because eating a Traditional Foods diet means preparing a lot more from scratch, careful planning, often buying in bulk, and the need to eat less (because the food is more satisfying and more nourishing), the cost difference is not as significant as you might think.

If this strikes you as a sensible way to eat, but you're unsure of what it looks like as far as day-to-day eating goes, here is a quick list of do's and don'ts to get you started:

Do:
- eat grassfed beef, pastured chicken, naturally raised pork - local if you can get it
- eat organic vegetables, the fresher, the better!
- learn how to make your own lactofermented vegetables (the book "Wild Fermentation" is a fantastic resource)
- make your own sourdough bread and pancakes
- find a good source for pastured eggs
- eat seasonally
- enjoy all the fat that comes on your meat
- find a good raw milk source
- eat seafood when you can it get wild-caught and sustainably harvested

Don't
- eat anything out of a package
- buy industrially produced meat products
- eat refined starches or sugars
- eat artificial sweeteners, flavours, colours or additives
- rely on synthetic vitamins to keep you healthy
- eat even natural sweeteners frequently

If you're still unsure, there's one more argument for Traditional Foods: they taste better! Once you've had fresh milk from a grass-fed, healthy cow, you will never want pasteurized industrial milk from a carton again. Likewise, a softboiled fresh real egg with a bright orange yolk, served with a slice of toasted whole-grain sourdough bread, is a breakfast that makes an Egg McMuffin crawl under a dumpster in shame. Moreover, reducing your sugar intake makes mildly sweet things taste sweeter, which means vegetables and fruits taste better than they did before you gave up the Jolly Ranchers.

Traditional Foods connect you to your food, the people who produce it, and the earth that provides it. They keep you healthy, happy, and satisfied. What more could you ask from your food?

Wacky Food Wednesday: Soaked Almonds

Ok, so nuts aren't wacky at all. Docs praise almonds for their good fats, and high calcium, magnesium and vitamin E content. A one-ounce, 160-calorie serving of almonds, or about a handful, is an excellent source of vitamin E and magnesium, and a good source of fiber and phosphorous. Almonds also have monounsaturated fat, protein (6g), potassium (200 mg), calcium (75mg) and iron (1.0mg). 20-25 almonds (approximately one ounce) contain as much calcium as 1/4 cup of milk, and almonds are a great source of folic acid.¹

So if nuts are so good, what's wrong with them? Well, for as nutritious a nut can be, it also contains the anti-nutrient phytic acid, which impedes the absorption of all the good stuff in the nut. I took an e-course on Phytase, and how it can help the mind and mood by allowing the body to absorb more of the minerals and nutrients in the food we eat. According to Amanda, author of the e-course

In humans, phytic acid is a strong chelator of iron,
calcium, zinc, magnesium, and phosphorous. What this means is
that the phytate generally stays undigested in our digestive tract
and it clings to other minerals in our food and escorts them out of
our bowels.

Because of phytates, you are missing out on about half of the
minerals your food could be providing if you prepared it a bit
differently.

So what can we do to get the phytates out of the nuts? You SOAK them! You simply soak the nuts overnight in salted water, then roast them in the oven for a while until dry, spicing to suit and ta da. YUMMY ALMONDS! Kimi over at The Nourishing Gourmet has great instructions for each type of nut, how long to soak, how long to cook, and at what temperature. Here is her recipe for almonds, though I tweaked it for the flavor. Also, I should note, I have a new fangled oven that doesn't go below 170* but the 170* has worked ok for pepitas and almonds.

4 cups almonds, preferably skinless- SF notes “Skinless almonds will still sprout, indicating that the process of removing their skins has not destroyed the enzymes….[they] are easier to digest and more satisfactory in many recipes. However, you may also use almonds with the skins on. “
1 tablespoon sea salt
filtered water

Soaking time: At least 7 hours, or overnight
Dehydrating Time:12 -24 hours, until completely dry and crisp

Put the nuts, water and salt in a mason jar overnight to soak. Rinse them off in the morning and strain them. Set the oven to 170*, put parchment paper over a baking sheet, and spread the nuts. Sprinkle with sea salt and spices (garlic powder, cayenne pepper, cacao powder). Let them bake until they are dry and can be snapped in your fingers.

This is what the end result is. In the words of RR, YUMMO!

So what the heck are we eating?

After yesterday's post, you probably think we are eating like bunnies. Nope, not really. Just really different than your average American. I am taking the best from each diet and trying to meld it into the best for all three of us.

With all the reading I have done, the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), the Body Ecology Diet(BED), Gluten & Casein Free (GFCF), and Traditional Foods (TF) all seem to have a few things in common; mainly the need for probiotics, fermented foods, and decreased sugar intake, be it natural or manufactured. SCD allows for only carbohydrates as monosacchariedes, which limits you to fruit, honey, homemade yogurt, nuts and veggies. BED limits fruits to lemons, limes and black currants initially as you "detox", but allows carbs from seed grains like Quinoa, millett, and amaranth, though they need to be soaked and prepared for adequate absorbtion and decreasing phytic acid. This essentially holds true for TF as well, though there is greater focus on meats and fats, with the rejection of potatoes and beans. GFCF stays away from wheat and dairy, but mom's using the diet to treat yeast in their kids often have to curtail fruits and add supplements, specifically probiotics, to achieve the results they want.

Throughout these four diets, their goal is to restore intestinal health and balance by feeding it the appropriate foods, and starving off the bad bacteria and yeast (Candida) that may be interfering with your health. I've read that slow weight loss and carb cravings are symptomatic of Candida. I've also read that probiotics can help refluxing infants. This is why I am thinking food and going this route may not only be better health wise, but also "heal" what's wrong with each of us.

The big guy's diet is essentially BED, so no fruits, no rice, no pasta, no potatoes. I am trying to do the food combinations correctly, but I am so used to having our big protein at night with a veggie and a starch, so this needs more attention. I can't do BED full on because the yeast die-off could negatively affect my breastmilk, so I still eat fruits, just not in abundance. I just avoid unnatural and processed sugars, save the occasional dark chocolate craving (which inevitably gives me a headache later). We have yet to tackle the fermented vegetables. Its only been a few weeks so give it some time and we will get there.

Our plates for dinner are usually 1/2 salad, 1/4 veggie or veggie/starch combo, and 1/4 protein. I am using recipies I find on WHFoods.com so I can get nutrient packed meals every time we eat. The 15min stir-fry chicken and Mustard Chicken(at right) are really good, though I tweak the recipies a bit so they fit within BED. The salads are dark, usually made with herb greens or spinach, topped with peppers, carrots, cukes, red currants, and pine nuts. We've tried to switch to grass fed beef, fresh caught fish, and vegetarian & humane chicken and eggs. I've even tried bison, and its yummy! The baby likes it too.

I am trying to use some different yet palatable vegetables, and expand beyond the staples of broccoli, carrots brussel sprouts, asparagus and sweet potatoe. I've added beets, bok choy, turnips, kale, and parsnips to the rotation, all of which the little guy loves to eat, the big guy though, thinks they taste like dirt. I really love the beets, and they are on that NYT list of 11 foods we should be eating. I coat them with avocado oil, sprinkle with fresh rosemary, and roast in the over for an hour. I love the sweet, earthy flavor and peeing pink for days is just hilarious. The baby loves beets, though I do suggest if you are feeding a baby beets, it should be a naked dinner! The bok choy is a water packed celery-like veg, just yummy and sweet to snack on, and great in stir fry.

The biggest staple we have expanded is Quinoa. I have been eating this for over a year but never forcing it on the hubster. Now, I am figuring out creative ways to make it a little more flavorful, and yes, forcing it on him. I use it for an oatmeal substitute for breakfast, by cooking it with cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, and Stevia, then adding a little hemp milk to finish it. I made our starch side dish with it, and add onion, peas, carrots, celery, edemame and scallion. I've also purchased Quinoa pasta, and made an attempt at shells'alfredo, making my sauce from coconut cream, garlic and onion. The pasta does have a weird texture, but its ok. Next, I'd like to try the Quinoa stuffed peppers. I have never soaked it before now, but I intened on using this TF method of preparation going forward for this, and millet.

Like the grains, nuts are soaked and I am finding people really like how these are coming out. I've tried almonds with just a tad of salt. They have a calmer, meatier flavor after being soaked and then roasted. By far my favorite have been the raw pumpkin seeds, soaked overnight in saltwater, then roasted with garlic powder. Even hubby was asking for more! I have almonds with garlic powder in the oven as we speak, hoping those turn out just as good.

Because I am almost positive that our son, still nursing, has an allergy to casein, I've had to find a replacement for milk. I tried soy, too beany. Rice bindsme and the little guy so I didn't bother with rice milk. What I did find though, and LOVE, is hemp milk. Its creamy, somewhat nutty, and sweet, with tons of calcium. We use it in our breakfast quinoa as I mentioned above, in our scramby eggs, and I drink it straight. In additon to milk, there are hemp seeds, which are absolutely delish and taste similar to pine nuts. I use them in our stir fry, coating fish or chicken, and sprinkled on salads. I've been known to spoon it right out of the bag too. Ok, shovel.

BED suggests using sea vegetabls (aka seaweed), as its a great source of iron, magnesium, B6, B12, and iodine. I have tried both the Kelp and Laver from Maine Coast Sea Vegetables, available at Whole Foods. I haven't really tried making much with these, as I am happy to eat (ok chew on) them straight out of the bag, and the one Kelp & Kale salad I attempted to cook failed miserably. I will try the recipie for making "sea chips" soon, and will let you know how they turn out.

We've also upped the coconut in the house, using coconut oil for cooking, using the cream for deserts, and soon, I am going to try my own homemade coconut kefir.

And then there's LIVER!!!! Though not a lot, I have started to use liver in my and Chase's cooking. I made a TF bone broth and added cooked, crumbled liver to it. The baby really likes the crumbles and broth taste. Doing the crumbles makes it seem more like ground beef than liver, somehow in my head that makes it more apetizing. I have also frozen tiny pieces of raw liver in the freezer, and pop them like vitamins once a day. Its a strange feeling 20min later, and a bit of a head rush, but I do feel good after all those vitamins.

In regards to supplements, we've both added a probiotic, and he takes a digestive enzyme before dinner. I am taking 1 tbsp of Cod Liver Oil in the morning and drink a green goo slime drink in the afternoon. I don't dare ask the big guy to try these yet, he's not ready to "go there". I wonder if I can sneak the CLO in his eggs on the weekends though. Hmmmm....

So thats it. That's what we are eating. I guess it really is easier to say what we aren't eating, which is milk, cheese, potatoes, rice, wheat, bread and ice cream.

Feed with Love and Respect

I am going to be starting a new series of posts regarding food. Food obviously plays a huge role in anyone's life, especially as Americans, we have nightly love affairs with food, and most warm and fuzzy family holiday's are centered around it. For us, food is a struggle. We were raised very differently, thus shaping palates and tastebuds that sit in direct opposition to each other. It is now my goal to come to some happy and healthy medium.

I've been doing LOTS and LOTS of reading lately, on everything from Traditional Foods, to Paleolithic Eating, to the Body Ecology diet, to gut flora and probiotics, to GFCF, to Vegan living and Bento lunchboxes, to the over-dairy-fication of America, the 11 best foods you likely aren't eating, the importance of Cod Liver Oil, kefirs and kombuchas, to methylation pathways (still totally confused on that one), to phytic acid, the health benefits of liver and most importantly, being a loca-vore, the relationship between food and health, and really just how important the quality and type of food you eat impacts your body. I am spending a lot of time learning from the Mothering Mamas on the Nutrition & Healthy Eating board and I am trying to find the right balance of how to incorporate all that I have learned. Food is especially difficult for our family as we try to balance our health, our sanity, and a refluxy baby. I could eat grass every day and be content, whereas it might drive the big guy absolutely bonkers. I am striving for yummy (ok, edible) meals that help the big guy on his quest to drop a few pounds, excellent nutrition and varied tastes for the little guy, and enough calories to keep this nursing momma from starving, without us going broke at Whole Foods.

I'll be honest, its been really hard. And you wouldn't think that food could be such a big deal right? Its just food. Well, when you tell a tiger to eat like a rabbit, the tiger gets angry. When you work hard to do the best for your family but nobody is happy, its hard. But like any habit that needs to be broken, the breaking point is the low before the healing and acceptance can begin.

What I want to focus on today is why I am doing this. It's not just about following a tenant of AP, its my goal of always doing better and more for my family. I am not a complacent individual, I see room for improvement in almost all aspects of our life. Not that I don't appreciate the good stuff, I just always see where we could treat ourselves, our bodies, each other, better.

So, this stems from my interpretation of Dr. Sears' 2nd Principal of Attachment Parenting, which is to "Feed with love and respect". When I first got into AP, this statement always stood out to me; it conjures up lots of feelings regarding todays parents and the growing obesity rate in our kids. It's a pretty simple statement in of itself, but can have varied meaning depending on the individual. First and foremost, I see the love and respect as it relates to breastfeeding, acknowledging that is the best possible start in life for my child, and I respect the ability and design of my body to do so. I also see this related to breastfeeding as respecting my child's wishes on when this phase of his life will be over. All that being said, I am a happily breastfeeding momma with no intention of stopping at any predetermined mark.

As it relates to solid foods, the "respect" part, for me, relates to a child's natural abilities and motor skills made for self feeding, which is why we went down the "Baby Led Weaning" path, and had Chase choose his foods and learn to feed himself. In addition, I see "respect" as guiding what I choose to make as options for meals. I respect his body, the little infantile temple, that hasn't yet been ravaged by processed, dyed, manufactured, or genetically modified foods. So for our little guy, he almost always has organic food, and its always fresh, save for his 1/2 jar of Earth's Best prunes that help his constipation. As you have seen in our BLW posts, lots of fresh fruits and veggies, and just recently starting to add protein with eggs, chicken, steak, white fish and salmon. And maybe, just maybe, I am a little too strict, but I don't do Gerber puffs b/c I can't pronounce all the ingredients, so we have happily held out for the release of HappyBaby organic puffs.

Looking to the future, how do I interpret this "Feed with love and respect" thing? Well, for the baby, I think that laying the foundation for healthy eating habits is on track. I really don't think that limiting foods, or what is in the house, will make a rebellious eater later in life. Rather, taste preferences for the healthy stuff will be established early, and he won't gravitate towards the bad stuff. I don't understand "picky eaters" and I really don't understand, as I have been told that "kids will go through a mac-n-cheese phase, everyone does." I just can't comprehend not having an array of food to choose from and eating mostly healthy stuff, temper tantrum throwing toddler or not. Sometimes love and respect, for me, may mean going to bed hungry or a tad peeved you didn't get your way. Health is #1 in my book, and we don't get a do-over.

I also apply it to my husband; love means I can't sit back anymore and let his old habits rule and ruin his health. Its making dinner at home a time to reconnect, getting the same warm and fuzzies out of our nightly ritual, while mawing down on the good stuff, not just chew and screw, or chew and boob tube. Its helping the entire family transition to a new lifestyle, a new thought process, and a new beginning. Out with the old dogmas of "Milk does a body good" and the Food Pyramid. We will find our way, together, and we'll come out on the other side a happier and healthier family!

my next post will be about what we actually ARE eating, so look for that in the coming days.....

Toxic Tubby Time

Its 7pm, your little one is in the tubby, do you know what is being absorbed into their skin?

Most people never think twice about the safety of their cosmetics, lotions and washes, thinking that they the consumer is somehow protected by the oversight of our wonderful Food & Drug Administration. Companies wouldn't knowingly put harmful chemicals in their products, would they? The government would stop that, wouldn't they? aaaahhh.....NOPE! Guess what, the FDA has ZERO, repeat ZERO control over what is sold to us the consumer. We are at the mercy of the goodness of the manufacturer. And we all know how good someone will be when they are trying to make a buck.

According to a new report out by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetic Use, covered by US News, the Washington Post, and WebMD, the boogers, spit up, dirt and gosh knows what else you are trying to wash off in the tub are probably the least of your worries. After testing many name brand cosmetics, such staples as J&J Body Wash and Lotion, among other brands, the CSCU has found that manufacturers are including two potentially harmful and carcinogenic chemicals in their products, formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane. This is in addition to mineral oil, parabens and sodium laurel sufates, found in almost every mainstream cosmetic.

A copy of the official report from CSCU is available here. According to the report, a whopping 61% of the items tested contain BOTH formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, and all were mainstream brands such as J&J, Aveeno, Huggies and Pampers. It isn't fully understood how skin absorbtion of chemicals relates to the cancer risk, but regarless, we shouldn't be playing a guessing game and just assuming that small doses of this junk is ok. What does assume mean? It makes an ASS of U and ME!

I never used these types of products on our son, I made the decision early on in my pregnancy that both he and I would only be exposed to natural, if not organic, bath and body products. I happen to love California Baby, available at Whole Foods and Target, but I also love just using natural nut oils from the grocery for moisturizers. I think its important in cases like this to play it safe and watch out for your family's best interest, because it's pretty obvious the government is not.

Book Review: The No-Cry Sleep Solution

NCSS as its known in mommyville is the sleep bible for Attachment Parenting families, who as the title says, prefer to go the "no-cry" route. What I think is that this book should be the first sleep book everyone chooses, and if it doesn't solve your problems, then move on to others if you must.

Elizabeth Plantley, author and mother of 4, dedicates the first chapter to safety, a must considering that many may choose cosleeping as part of their repertoire for a good night's rest.

The 2nd chapter dives into the why's and how's of infant sleep, the cycles, the multiple wakings, and the biological drivers. This is really important stuff for new parents to understand - 100 years of industrialization doesn't change the hard wiring of a human infant, they are meant to wake up often for their own safety and survival. The end of the 2nd chapter gets into why the "cry" sleep solutions, known as "Cry it out" or CIO, can be detrimental to infant development and attachment. What the author is setting up here is preparing the reader for the long term commitment to her plan, by emphasizing that the short term rewards of CIO, if they really even exist, are not worth the long term physical and emotional detriments it can bring upon an infant.

The book takes a break in the 3rd chapter to talk about sleep logs. I will be honest. Because we cosleep and I usually don't have to get out of bed (or if I do its only a minute), and I never fully wake up, I have a hard time filling out the logs because I can never remember the times and frequency of the wake ups. I think the sleep logs can be a good thing, but if you are a tad OCD like myself, you may just obsess over them. You know if you (and the baby) are getting a good night's sleep. I would personally skip the logs and just go on feelings

Chapter 4 gets to the meat of Plantley's plan. She gives solutions for newborns - 4mo, and 4mo - 2yrs and beyond. She talks about learning your baby's nighttime cry, and ensuring that you differentiate between "I need a cuddle" and "Ma, I'm hungry, gimme that boob now!" By getting to know the child's cry, she says you can help avoid always using the breast/binkie to soothe and thus, not create the suck-to-sleep association, which is much harder to break as the baby gets older. She also gives recommendations on creating a cozy sleep environment, with soft sounds that mimic the womb, and favorite smells like a t-shirt mom has slept in. Her best piece of advice is to lower the bar and expect that newborns are going to wake up a lot, and accepting that will help ease the frustration tremendously. From personal experience, I completely 100% agree with this. Once I threw out the expectations, I was a much happier momma.

She then goes into her advice on 4mo - 2 year olds. Again, she talks about expectations, what is reasonable for the age of your baby, and what is the driving force behind you wanting to change your child's sleep habits. Simply put, she's asking for a little self examination to make sure you aren't just being selfish, and that these changes are really in the best interest of BOTH mommy and baby. Her suggestions start with getting more of the total caloric intake during the day, which can be hard once little one's become active and distractable. She drives home the need for a calm bedtime routine, thus the baby expects that after a series of events, sleep is the next step and the transition to sleep is easier. Since starting NCSS in January, this has been the backbone of our attack on sleep, and it has worked incredibly well. Our routine starts about 45min before bedtime and now looks like this

Tubby with Daddy
fresh Pjs and Diap
Lights down low, white noise on
meds
story time
Momma comes in, twilight turtle on
"Lovie" in hand
lights off, "night daddy, love you"
in the rocking chair
nurse to sleep

Plantley stresses the importance of regular days and regular naps to help your baby set its biorhythms and maximize the potential for nighttime sleep. If introducing the baby to a crib, make sure they know its a friendly place by letting them play in there during the day. The author also suggests introducing a "lovie", some sort of soft (and SAFE) toy that can be snuggled with. For me, this was a great opportunity for me to make something for our little guy, a crocheted little blankie made of bamboo yarn. Its soft, open stitching, and really cute. Now 2 months later, its integral in our bedtime routine and I kind of freak out if I can't find it because he loves holding it in his hand and rubbing (ok smacking) his face with it while he nurses. Some mom's question the idea of a lovie, thinking of it as a mother replacement, but unless you force the "lovie" to be the only source of soothing, I don't think there is any cause for concern.

Plantley talks about the importance of a sleep cue, a word or set of words used to help babe to bed. Like with the bedtime routine, sleep cues set up the expectation that sleep is the next thing to come, and its ok to go there. For us, its the Canadian National Anthem. Yup, you heard me right. I hum the Canadian National Anthem over and over until he is about to drift off, and then I do the Shhhhshshshshshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. It works for us :)

Because she is now addressing the bedtime and sleep associations of older babes, Plantely talks about changing the suck-to-sleep association if it has already been established, and suggests her "Plantley Pull Off" (PPO) plan to help stop the baby from needing something in the mouth to sleep. For me, honestly, I love those sweet nighttime moments, nursing him to sleep, and look forward to it. I also don't have the issue, unless reflux is acting up, that my son NEEDS a boob in his mouth, and if he did maybe I would change my tune, but I don't think nursing a baby to sleep is a horrible association to have, rather the contrary. I'll probably be eating crow in 6months with a walking a talking babe trying to nurse to sleep. Regardless, she gives tips on how to stop this if you want to, though the little I tried of it was fruitless (before deciding that I LIKED the nursing to sleep too much to bother with the PPO).

Her biggest suggestions in this chapter relate to the night wakings, and how to decrease them by changing the association. If you feed every wake, the suck-to-sleep association will stick further, and you may encourage wakings. She suggests alternative soothing, and getting to the frequent waker as quickly as possible so you can soothe them back without them waking up fully. We implemented this starting in January and saw a really great improvement in this department. We have gone from wake and need 10-20min to get back down, with boob, before NCSS, to I hear a squeak at 45min in (a usual wake up time for all infants) and when I check him, he has adjusted his position and gone back to sleep on his own. I no doubt believe that this is due to us intervening and showing him its ok to sleep longer, by getting to him immediately. I know picking up a baby quickly may seem counter intuitive, but it works!

As the reader progresses with her plan, Plantley moves into transitioning the baby to falling asleep and being comforted without being picked up or nursed. For us, I have only been able to "in crib soothe" maybe a handful of times, but it is getting more frequent. This is the slowest development for us in the plan, and I can understand why, its nice to get a snuggle when you are having trouble sleeping!

Chapter 5 has the reader develop their own personal sleep plan, which she has forms you can fill out. I found it similar to the sleep logs - a bit unnecessary and potentially obsessive. You know what you want, you don't need to write a thesis on it :)

Chapter 6 - follow your plan for 10 days. We did. We didn't see an improvement in 10 days. I say follow your plan for a few weeks. At 10 days I was frustrated and mad that I had seen little to no improvement and really started to question my parenting abilities. Give yourself ample time to see improvement.

Chapter 7 - Do a 10 day log. Again, unnecessary. I am pretty sure if your sleep has improved, you are going to know it.

Chapter 8 - Analyze your success. Again, if you are paying any attention, you will know what parts of your plan are working and which ones aren't that need changing.

Chapter 9 - follow your plan for 10 more days. How about 9 weeks?

The rest of the book just talks about analyzing your success, being flexible to changes in your plan, going with the flow, and knowing that change will eventually happen and your baby will STTN before college.

All in all, this book is a great reference for ALL PARENTS, not just AP minded ones, and really should be the first step in trying to address any perceived sleep issues. The solutions are easily to implement, and should only be tweaks in your daily routine to set up successful night times. Whether your baby wants to cooperate is another story. This is a long term investment. The changes she claims to have seen in her own son after 10 days have the potential of making a mom who sees ZERO change after 10 days like a failure. If you are considering NCSS, be prepared that it could take a while to see results. Don't get down on yourself or your baby if things move at a slower (or snail's) pace. As I said to my hubby the other day, I am really glad we went this route and stuck with it. Never once did we resort to tactics we don't want as a part of our parenting arsenal, and we have seen major improvements in many different aspects of his nighttime sleep. Mind you, during this time we did have a reflux flare up, so the wakings became more frequent again before we resolved that, but still the ability to go back down to bed quickly and not need boob was greatly improved. Here is a list of our NCSS successes

Time needing to be held after falling asleep - 10min minimum down to 1-2 min
Time needed to soothe back to sleep - 10 min down to 1-2 min
Tool used to soothe back - was always Boob, now it can be shhhh, pat on the back, in crib soothe, or in arms, only the boob if hungry

If you are interested in getting your own copy of the book, see my amazon widget on the right side of the page, and click the link to purchase the book. Happy reading mommas!

Know when to walk away....or out of the doctor's office

These days, you need to be your own advocate when it comes to your health. When you see a doctor, if you don't have confidence in their advice, if you think something is off, if you don't get the warm & fuzzy, its not written in stone that you need to follow that doctor's advice or even see them again. Mommy-sense is the 6th sense, and if its telling you to walk out of a doctor's office - DO IT! and don't look back. Always trust your mommy senses.

I say this all in light of our GI appt yesterday. A day I had high hopes for, with potential answers, medication alterations, and a full allergy panel so we could have some idea how in heck to make Chase's poor belly better. As I mentioned in a recent post, the little guy's reflux is out of control again. Note to self - lower expectations. What ended up was me walking out, bewildered, disgusted, and without any answers. FANTASTIC!

The appt started with the usual height and weight check - 28 1/2 in, 18lbs 14.5oz nakey nakey on their scale. A tad lower than I expected, but ok. The NP came in to talk to us about symptoms, reactions, and both of our diets. I explained how Mylanta was working while the Prevacid had lost its effectiveness. I shared with her our diets of veggies and fruits, with egg & meat for me, and minimal exposure to those items for the Bubs. I explained the constipation issues, and how he once screamed in pain while I helped him poop with a suppository. I explained the bloody poo from the early days, and the corn nightmare of late. She scribbled furiously on her notepad, keeping up with the rollercoaster of reflux that has been our life since July.

What happened next floored me. The NP said our diet lacked dairy (because he seemed allergic early on with bloody stool, dumbass) and guessed this was the cause of his weight issues, and that he should be eating things, now I am quoting verbatim here, MAC AND CHEESE. She also suggested we see a nutritionist, and made a somewhat snide comment about my post partum weight loss, implying, at least to the now frazzled me, that I have an eating disorder (Um, lady, I eat 4 meals a day, FU.) They wanted to decrease his Prevacid dosage, despite his condition getting worse and had no alternatives to Mylanta. In addition, there was no good answer for the chronic constipation other than "Just give him Mirilax for that." And to top it all off, they had a very hard time finding a vein to take blood for the allergy tests I literally had to beg for, so writhing and screaming in pain C$ was invetiably rescued from the horrid experience, no blood taken, no answers, nothing accomplished.

Stepping in when doc's are treating your child, or trying fruitlessly to draw blood, may seem like an overbearing act, and cause for some embarrassment or looks from said staff. Guess what? at that point, I couldn't give a flying you know what what anyone in that office thought of me - it wasn't the place for us to get answers from. So I scooped up my son in my arms, held him tight, tucked my momma bear claws away, and told him tomorrow would be a better day. Don't be afraid to do the same if you ever feel like your child's healthcare is being compromised or short changed. You da momma, you da boss, nuff said.

minimum the maximum

do we, as American's, usually consider the recommended minimum as the maximum? do a minimum of 30min of cardio 3x a week, says the doc. What do you think the patient does....only 30 min. get a minimum of 5 fruits and veggies a day, what's on your plate? doubt 6

i ask because a conversation caught me off guard the other day....i was speaking to a fellow mommy about our upcoming GI appt, and the allergies i fear our little guy may have (corn, wheat, dairy, so potentially soy too). the first question out of her mouth was "what will you do when you switch to formula at 1 year?"......ummmmm.......(quick quick, say something) ....ummmmm........(still processing, not realizing that this is a normal question in our country)...."he'll still have breastmilk in his sippy cup" i respond sheepishly to the what appears to be the other mommie's surprise.

the AAP recommends exclusive breast feeding for at minimum the first 6 months of life, but goes on to say that

Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child

there's the key word "At least". I feel like so many in our society see the first birthday as a trigger point to quit BF-ing, as if the AAP saying that its a minimum, that BM suddenly is useless or not a superior nutrition to formula at 366 days old. ah, no - it still rocks at 366 days old and way way way beyond. still keeps their gut flora perfect, passes antibodies, keeps them from getting certain diseases, provides optimum nutrient balance, yada yada yada, would you like me to go on?

i guess i just found it funny, how much i have changed in respect to how i think and feel about all things mommy. a simple question like that made me stumble because i have changed so much. wow. i haven't even thought of alternative liquids for him, even thinking beyond a year besides my momma jug juice and water. like seriously, didn't even cross my mind. i just never envision there being a need - i produce what he needs, end of story (in my head)

well, here is my official, thought out answer because we may indeed be facing this issue.

i'll keep pumping and bf-ing as long as we still both love it as much as we both do. as we introduce new foods and liquids, if he is allergic to the aforementioned types of milk, there is always hemp or coconut milk. how great would that be to tell my super straight and narrow parents their grandson is drinking hippie pot smoker milk. priceless

Wordless Wednesday........*melt*

Reflux, Pain, and the whole crazy thing

Infant reflux is one of the hardest things for new mommies to deal with. Often misdiagnosed as colic, and/or resulting from an allergen consumed by the breastfeeding mother, mommies with newborns will do elimination diets and have multiple pedi visits before a being given a proper diagnosis. And sometimes, it isn't even the proper diagnosis, its an allergy versus true reflux. Any mom dealing with a baby who they think has reflux should see a GI to ensure the proper diagnosis is given.

The struggle doesn't stop once diagnosed. There are 4 different types of meds given to combat reflux, given in order of severity: Antacids, H2 blockers, PPI's, and Pro-Motility drugs. Click here for the Marci-Kids description of each type of drug. What is one of the hardest aspects of having a refluxing infant is that the body builds resistance to the meds as the infant grows, and because infant growth is initially very fast, keeping on top of the reflux via medication requires frequent adjustment and increased dosages. Then, sometimes, they stop working all together, and you need to try something more aggressive.

Chase was diagnosed with reflux at 6 weeks old. He really had been experiencing bad symptoms for 3+ weeks, but I, like many others, attributed most of his crankiness and inability to calm or sleep to just being a cranky baby. I felt like I was doing everything correct for him to be healthy and happy, and yet, he (and yes, we) were miserable. The blood curdling scream-cry from that time is something I hope to never hear again, because I now know how much pain he was in. Luckily, my husband kept saying, "something is not right" and we did eventually figure out that yes, this poor little guy has reflux. We actually found out as a result of last resort. Chase had been crying for 5 hours straight one night, I was about to loose my mind, and I just was willing to try anything to help the poor kid. I found something online about reflux and Mylanta, so I gave him a little and it was the most amazing sight: Chase looked at me, in still silence, relieved, and immediately fell asleep. So my baby has reflux....

Chase was initially put on Zantac, an H2 inhibitor. It worked for a while, but we needed to keep upping the dose frequently to keep up with him. Finally, we reached the peak dosage and it stopped working. We then switched to Prevacid, a PPI, it was working ok for a while and then stopped. After checking the dosing calculator on Marci, the NP at my pedi's office DOUBLED his dose to 30mg a day. That worked up until a few weeks, maybe a month ago, when he started waking up more at night not as a result of teeth (he has 6 already!) and wanted to nurse frequently. Figuring that the high dose of Prevacid he was already on was taking care of the reflux, I assumed his troubles were Milestone and Growth Spurt related, or even another Sleep Regression. I never expected that it could be reflux again, as docs tend to say kids start outgrowing reflux at 6mo. I started cutting out gluten and casein, just in case he had allergies and cut out corn and all corn products because he definitely had a reaction to his cheerios. Nope, not a big change. So two weeks of nearly hourly wakings, horrible supply as a result of all night nursing, sore nipples, frustrated mommy, I started googling again. Google: Arching back, throwing head back, frequent waking, 8mo old, only sleeps when held, crying while asleep.

Why it didn't don on me that all the symptoms I was googling were reflux related were beyond me. Maybe the sleep deprived brain really is useless! But every article I came up with, including the responses to my post on Mothering, pointed back to reflux. DUH! Sometimes when I have these Duh-lightbulb moments, I feel guilty for not being in-tune enough with my child, like I should have known all along it was reflux, but then I step back and remind myself that 1, I am not a doctor, I only play one in my house, and 2, easing reflux is like trying to play pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey, drunk, and in a zero gravity tank.

So, the plan for now is to survive this week by doling out the Mylanta as needed, on top of the Prevacid. Its not a suggested course of action because it weakens the Prevacid, but for now, short term, the benefits of a good night's sleep for all seem to be outweighing the risk. We have our first GI (Gastrointerologist) appointment next Monday, when we will see what he has to say about the current course of medication, and also get an IGG allergy panel, to see if there is anything Chase is reacting to. Maybe one day we will have it all figured out......