Pregnancy and Diabetes

Parenting.com has some good information about having diabetes and getting pregnant. Check out the details at the CNN website.

Millions of women with diabetes have gone through healthy pregnancies and delivered healthy babies. There's no reason why you shouldn't also -- providing you take some precautions.

1. Get your diabetes under good control
2. Eat the right carbs
3. Stay away from the wrong carbs
4. Have smaller, more frequent meals
5. Eat more protein
6. Fill up with fiber
7. Change your oils
8. Control your weight

Picky Eater Advice

I was watching Rachael Ray for the 1st time yesterday, and to my surprise she had some rather interesting advice for parents. Of course I can't exactly remember the meal she was preparing but it involved fish sticks and she claimed the kids would love it. What I do remember is what she said about picking eaters, have them help in the kitchen! Give them an age-appropriate task, whether it be helping stir, measure, add or say, grate cheese and let them feel as though they really helped. Ray says that this helps them take ownership in the meal and then are much more likely to try it (perhaps even eat it) if they've invested themselves in it.


She also had another interesting story later on in the show, paraphrasing here,

"I used to do 30 minute meals at a grocery store. Kids would walk by and say 'Wow. That smells good, can I try it' and the parents would look into the pot and say 'oh thats... you don't like that'. Kids are braver than you think!"

She was insisting that sometimes parents get in the habit of holding picky eaters back because they have been so picky in the past. Sure they hated seafood last week, but if it smells good to them this week, let them try it.

the Daily Green's Mom Blog

If you have never been to The Daily Green, its a pretty cute informative website. Think- Real Simple meets GreenBlog. Not that websites should be graded on layout and presentation- but with a lot of the content being available via many sources, why not go for the one that is the easiest on the eyes?

I just found the Daily Green has a section called Ask An Organic Mom. It is written by the co-authors of The Complete Organic Pregnancy. Posts include topics like

Feeding Baby Organic (Even Vegan) On the Road

Finding Organic Food from Local Farms - Even in Winter

Pregnant? Breast Feeding? Best Avoid Nail Polish

Enjoy! It's a great resource!

Kate Winslet: Smart Mama

I read a quote from Kate Winselt today, not sure how old/new it is but I found in refreshing either way. In reference to teaching her daughter positive body image:

"I’ve just started subtly telling Mia, ‘I love my belly. You and Joe came out of there. I’m proud of my belly and I’m proud of my hips. I love my body.’ “I want to give something to her that is empowering so when she comes into her teenage years she feels confident in herself."

Cold Medicine Conundrum

This month the FDA Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee will meet to discuss the safety and effectiveness of cough and cold medicines for children. FDA has warned that children's cold medicines can be harmful if more than the recommended amount is used and are investigating whether the benefits of the medications outweigh the potential risks. In a 356 page review that was published Sept 28th, experts asked the FDA to consider a full ban on all over-the-counter, multisymptom cough and cold medicines for children under the age of 6. Whether or not any policy action will occur will be announced on October 18th. Until then Doctors Ian Paul of Penn State and Danny Benjamin of Duke University give suggestions on treating colds without medicine.

As reported by NPR:

-Always encourage a child by telling him or her that colds are usually short-lived, and that they will feel better in a few days.

- Products containing acetaminophen, such as Tylenol; or products containing ibuprofen, such as Motrin or Advil, can make a sick child more comfortable, when given in the proper dose.

- Saline nose drops or warm steam from a shower can help ease decongestion. Of decongestants and cough medicines on the market, Benjamin says, "There is not anything out there that is effective."

- Ensure the child drinks plenty of fluids.

- If the child is not getting better or is getting worse, reevaluate his or her condition.

- Both doctors emphasize the importance of reassuring the child by providing affection, comfort, and understanding. Benjamin says, "In our household we use a lot of tender loving care."

Halloween Weakness Anyone?

Halloween is indeed a favorite for many, and kids in particular, generally love it. Free candy, fun costumes, what is not to love? But what is a Mom to do during this month when chocolate and candy corn seem to be all over the grocery store and there is nowhere to hide? Don't buy it! Just not yet. I can't tell you how many times I have bought Halloween candy in advance only to see it all eaten before the day actually arrives. If you are trying to be healthier this year, try waiting until the last possible moment (the day of perhaps) to buy candy. That way its not sitting around tempting you. And on Halloween, make sure to give it all out. The kids are going to come home with bags full anyway, don't keep any extra laying around that you don't need.

US Public Schools Vs. Everyone Else

A co-worker recently pulled her two boys out of US public schools to send them to boarding school in India. A native of India, who has been in the US for almost 20 years now, she worries that US schools aren't strong enough in math and science. While her boys were born in the US and have lived here their whole lives, she feels that they will be more prepared for college, anywhere in the world, if they finish up their schooling in India. In 7th and 5th grade, the boys are still really young, and will grow up very far away from their parents- and parents at home can have a big effect on schooling.

Are there statistics to back up her feelings? What do you think about the US public school system? And, if the public school system is not up to par, what about private schools in the US? Are they on track with school systems outside the US?

Russians Get Holiday To Baby-make

A Russian governor of a central province urged employers to give people the day off so workers could stay home and help boost Russia's low birth-rate. Why did he pick September 12th for procreation day? Well, that's easy. Because it is 9 months before Russia's national holiday, June 12. Need more incentive to skip work and stay home with your spouse? The governor is offering a prize to be awarded to a woman who gives birth on June 12, 2008.

Why all the fus? Russia wants to bolster against it's shrinking population (quiet the opposite view of the VHEMT). The population rate has been decreasing by about 700,000 people a year. Births are no longer keeping up with the death rate, which has been elevated because of AIDS, alcoholism, smoking, drug abuse, heart disease, tuberculosis, pollution, and suicide.

This is the 3rd year that the Ulyanovsk region has set aside a day for this cause. Last year a family won a Jeep for having a baby on June 12th.

VHEMT? Green Gone Bad

An article in Slate today, who's link was titled "Babies Are the New SUVs: A case for radical depopulation", explores the notion of trying to decrease the human population on Earth. Similar in thought to what China has tried to do. However while China's policy has helped keep population down, there were inherently unfortunate consequences.

The seemingly rational explanation was given as following,

"Let's cut the birth rate to one child per couple, for a few generations at least. The population would dwindle by about 5 billion people over the next century... ensuring the habitability of the Earth for the 1.6 billion who remained."

While it doesn't sound so bad when put that way, it still rubs me the wrong way. I would argue that most people enjoy growing up with siblings. Many children get to an age where they even ask their parents for siblings, seeing friends who have them, they want one of their own to play with. Why don't these people suggest that couples have two children a piece, so that the population would basically stay the same, not increase or decrease? And to address the environmental issue, if we educate our children to be environmentally conscious and to be good engineers and scientists, hopefully they will help us achieve a way to live on Earth in a sustainable manner. Don't take away their chance to change the world by not having them. Give them a wonderful opportunity- life itself- and then give them the tools to keep the planet going.

The Voluntary Human Extinction Movement, which the article sites, gives me the chills. Did they not see the movie Children of Men? How depressed and violent the human population became when everyone was sterile and no hope for the continuation of mankind? The VHEMT motto, "May We Live Long and Die Out" sounds rather awful itself. I have faith that the people alive today will progress towards a healthier Earth, and that the youth and future youth will continue in that vein and keep this planet habitable for centuries to come.

Births By the Numbers

I thought September was the most common month to deliver a baby, but when I looked it up to confirm I found out it is actually July. Here are some other interesting stats on delivery in the US.

4 Million- the number of babies born in the US each year

40% Percentage of births that are the mother’s first. Another 32 percent are the second-born; 17 percent, third; and 11 percent, fourth or more.

5.6 million- Number of stay-at-home moms in 2006

10 million- The number of single mothers living with children under 18 years old

25.2 - Average age of women when they give birth for the first time — a record high (2006)

2.0- Average number of children that women today can expect to have in their lifetime in the US

2.5- Average number of children that women in Utah can expect to have in their lifetime. This state tops the nation in average number of births per woman.

7.5- Average number of children that women in Niger, can expect to have in their lifetime

1-in-31 The odds of a woman delivering twins. Her odds of delivering multiple births of three or more babies is approximately 1-in-565.

July- The most popular month in which to have a baby, with 359,426 births taking place that month in 2004 (the most recent statistic from the US Census)

Tuesday- The most popular day of the week to have a baby, with an average of 13,045 births taking place on Tuesdays during 2004 (the most recent statistic from the US Census)

Do You Cradle to the Left or Right?

A recent study published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry reports that mothers who cradled their babies in the right arm showed signs of stress and could be at higher risk of depression than those who tended to cradle their baby in their left arm.

The study was small and only looked at 79 mothers, but the results showed a significant trend. The new mothers were asked to pick up and cradle their babies and then complete a survey which asked them about their mental state.

Of the mothers who showed no signs of stress or depression, 86 percent held their babies to the left. Among stressed mothers with 32 percent cradled to right.

Nadja Reissland, a developmental psychologist at Durham University, who lead the study said that that there was no connection between side preference and whether a person was right- or left-handed.

Potty Training Your Infant

In case you are looking for underwear for your 3 month old- be warned, it may be hard to find. But that is not stopping a growing number of parents who are skipping diapers and attempt to potty train their babies from birth. The real question is not where to find 3-6 month size underwear, but rather how in the world do you potty train an infant?

The answer is "elimination communication" a.k.a. EC, or my favorite "potty whispering". The infant doesn't really get trained- the parents do- in figuring out exactly when the baby is about to go. Yes, that is correct. Instead of wrapping your baby up in a diaper, you stare at his face and little body and when you think he is ready to go, you carry him to the bathroom and hold him over the toilet. Glamorous, right?



Adults figuring out when babies have to go really isn't all that new, parents can often tell anyways. The difference with EC, is that you whisper a watery sound such as "sssss", "psssss" or "tssss" to the the baby at potty time. This way the child can learn to associate that sound to the sensation of going to the bathroom. The idea is that if it is nearly time to go, they will then release on cue. Ready, set, tssssssss. Right over the toilet.

When the child is slightly older, they can use sign language to tell when they are ready to go. Erinn Klatt who was interviewed by MSNBC said of her experience with EC, “I don’t have to wake up at night and change diapers or have wet sheets anywhere. That’s really nice. And being able to travel without a big, bloated diaper bag is terrific”. The other major reason you hear parents excited about EC is the environmental factor- no throwing away of diapers at all.

Many doctors remain skeptical about the practice, saying children under 12 months have no control over bladder or bowel movements and only little control for the 6 months after that.

Dr. Mark Wolraich, professor of pediatrics and editor of the American Academy of Pediatric' book on toilet training insists that, “to be truly toilet-trained, the child has to be able to have the sensation that they need to go, be able to interpret that sensation and be able to then tell the parent and take some action... And that’s different from reading the subtle signs that the child is making when they have to go to the bathroom.”

If you are intrigued, check out DiaperFreeBaby.org a nonprofit that supports infant toilet training. They call it "a natural approach to responding to babies' elimination needs". BornPottyTrained.com also has information about EC and a store that sells those tiny undies. At PottyWhisperer.com you will find DVDs, books and other resources.

Other good reads onEC: an Op-Ed in the NYTimes by Meredith Small.
Slate.com conventional wisdom column by Emily Bazelon

Back to Packing Lunches

Have a tough time packing healthy lunches in a hurry and getting the kids to eat them? Perhaps remembering what actually goes in a Lunchable (mainly sodium, fat and sugar) will inspire you to try some of these healthy tips.

Make Fruit Fun! Apples are easy and if you use a nontoxic dry-erase marker to draw a face on, maybe your little ones will be more likely to eat 'em. The marks are safe to eat and flavorless. Think variety too! If you little one hates bananas but digs apples, switch it up with Granny Smiths one day, Golden Delicious another and McIntosh the day after that.

Fruits not the only thing that is easy to pack and isn't packaged. Hard boiled eggs, almonds (they have calcium!), baby carrots, raisins, craisins- any dried fruit really, edamame, are all easy to pack, tasty and healthy. Keep some small (think 1 cup size) Tupperware around for quick as a snap packing.

'Divinely D'lish' Granola Bars. These bars come in lots of great flavors and are packed with essential fatty acids and dietary fiber. Served in a recyclable wrapper you will happily find them without refined sugar, trans fat, or wheat and low in sodium.

Kettle Valley 100% Real Fruit Snacks are made only from 100% real fruit and contain one whole apple in every bar. They are flavored from natural purees and juices and certified kosher. They contain no preservatives or added sugar, artificial colors or flavors and are available in 7 flavors.

O.N.E Coconut Water. 100% natural and with five essential electrolytes, more potassium than a banana, no added sugars, no fat, no cholesterol and no preservatives. Packaged in a juice box, but really this drink was the water inside a young green coconut just the other day. Doesn't that sound refreshing?

A little treat never hurt anyone. Small portions of graham crackers, baked chips or bite-size candy bars are perfectly fine. It keeps them happy and is still better than squeeze cheese on salty mystery meat.

If you are tempted to buy something prepackaged, check out Slate writer Dan Kois' review before purchasing. He tasted and had a nutritionist review a bunch of store bought varieties.

Parents Talking About P-o-t

Talking to children about drugs is definitively not an easy or fun thing to do, but being armed with facts always helps. A study published this July is offering new reasons for abstaining from marijuana.

Medical Research Institute of New Zealand found smoking one cannabis joint is as harmful to the lungs as smoking five cigarettes. The researchers found that smoking cannabis "damaged both the lungs’ small fine airways, used for transporting oxygen, and the large airways, which blocked air flow".

For other resources on talking to your children about drugs, check out:

The anti-drug PSA campaign
The Partnership for a Drug Free America
www.talkingwithkids.org
D.A.R.E
www.kidshealth.org

I'll Call You During Recess!

When the movie Clueless came out in 1995 the idea of teenage girls having cell phones in high school was far out. Something only rich California girls did. Flash forward to 2007. I was standing in the aisle of an airplane waiting for the hordes of people to start moving the other week when I couldn't help but over hear a young boy and his mom, it went a little something like this:

"But Kyle got his phone when he was in 8th grade! And Sean got his phone in 8th grade too! And David's getting one soon! Mooooooooooooooom pleeeeeaase!"

8th grade? Yowza. Some parents are springing even earlier- and there is market waiting for them. Disney announced just last month a deal with Sprint to offer wireless service targeted at 8- to 12-year-olds.

Kajeet is a cell phone company especially designed for youngsters. It is a pay as you go plan that has special parent control features like Time Manager, that allows you to control when the phone can and cannot be used.

What is often considered the original, Firefly is designed for the elementary age as it only has 5 buttons total, no number pad or text messaging here. Kids can call up to 22 preprogrammed numbers, and the phone accept calls from only numbers you approve.

The decision to get a child a cell phone is a big one, for many reasons. As NYTimes reporter Lisa Foderard wrote earlier this year, "For parents, the decision of when, or whether, to buy children cellphones — paralleling the age-old debate over the appropriate age for ear piercing — is emotionally charged and value-laden, raising ticklish questions about safety and status, maturity and materialism."

Advantages?
1. Busy parents, separated parents, families with complex child care situations - they can all have ease of mind. Dad forgets to pick up Annie at soccer practice? She can call Aunt Maud and the coach isn't stuck waiting around.
2. Medical reasons. Bobby very often forgets to take his insulin, you have to call and remind him when he's playing down the street at Joey's house.
3. Many phones have GPS just for tracking kids. In the rare instance that your child is missing, you can figure out where his phone is and hopefully he'll be there too. Or on the other hand, if you just want to know if he's really studying in the library, you can find out.

Disadvantages?
1. They can be hard to monitor. You have enough to worry about with raising children- why give them another outlet?
2. Too much freedom too early. High schools and middle schools are now feeling the burden of kids using phones at inappropriate times- namely during class. Cheating is also much easier with available cell phones. If they don't really need them, then why tempt them with unlimited access to gossiping?
3. Cost. It's not a one time purchase like a PlayStation or bike, it is the initial cost of the phone plus all minutes used and text messages sent. And if they loose the phone, do you buy them another?

Quoted in the NYTimes article, Phyllis Schneble, a marketing executive in Fairfield, Conn., summed up my opinion very well, “Generations survived with a dime tucked in their shoe... Ninety percent of the calls made on cellphones are not critical or even substantive — mostly pure fluff and nonsense. Where are the casual conversations on the street, in the halls, when everyone is plugged into their own world?”

Water Safety is Serious Stuff

A co-worker lost his 18 month old grandson this weekend in an accidental drowning. The boy wandered away for a few moments as the family was loading the car up for a camping trip, and when they went to look for him it was too late. I cannot stress it enough- water safety is serious stuff.

Drowning is the 2nd leading cause of unintentional death for children aged 1 and 14. It is the number one cause of death among young children in California and Florida.

Just being submerged in water without breathing is dangerous. The CDC reports, "For every child 14 years and younger who dies from drowning, 5 receive emergency department care for nonfatal submersion injuries."

"Non fatal drownings can cause brain damage that result in long-term disabilities, ranging from memory problems to learning disabilities to permanent loss of basic functioning"

The American Academy of Pediatrics insists that swimming classes are not to be "the primary means of drowning prevention for children younger than 4 years of age. Constant vigilant supervision and barriers such as pool fencing are still necessary even when children have completed classes".

They are making a very strong point. Even if young children are learning to swim they must be supervised. 88% of children who drown were under some sort of supervision according to Safe Kids USA.

Always, always remember:

Never leave a child alone in the bathtub, swimming pool or other body of water deeper than 2 inches.

Install fences and safety latches around pools. Pool covers and special pool alarms add more protection.

Whenever out on the water, be it in a kayak, canoe, boat or other water vehicle always have children wear life jackets at all times. Water wings or toy floats are not proper equipment in this case. Water wings can slip off, devices can deflate or slip out from the child's reach. If you are looking for a good place to buy children's life jackets try Wholesale Marine, good quality and price.

Enroll children in swim classes as soon as they are personally ready. But remember, even if they can swim they still need to be watched carefully! Kids can panic and forget what they learned.

Teach children pool safety pools. Never dive into shallow water (less than 9 ft), serious neck and spinal injuries can occur. Always look before jumping, kids sometimes get overly excited and will jump right on top of another child in the pool.

If you have not had CPR training, and have a pool in your backyard, you may want to consider a refresher. It is a good thing to know how to do and you will feel more confident doing it.

Katie Holmes Cruise with daughter Suri, properly wearing life jackets.

CDC's New Recommendations

A new campaign launched today encourages parents to get their preteens vaccinated for meningitis, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough, and HPV.

A tetanus shot lasts about 10 years, so if they haven't had one in a while it will need to be received again. Whooping cough and diphtheria vaccinations also wear off after some time so it too will need to be revisited, as they are both highly contagious and can be spread simply by close contact.

Meningitis, infection of the coverings around the brain and spinal cord, is highly recommended for kids going off to college, as close dorm living is an easy place for it to spread. Bacterial meningitis, the very serious kind that needs to be treated immediately, can be spread through coughing, sneezing or close contact. The vaccine is said to last three years.

The newly released HPV vaccine is a tad controversial. It is often referred to as the "cervical cancer vaccine", which is technically incorrect. HPV can cause cervical cancer and preventing HPV can therefore prevent cervical cancer via that route, but not all other routes (i.e. genetics). The reason some are against vaccinating all young girls is, as far as I can tell, because it involves sex. Some parents think if their daughters steer away from premarital sex, there is no reason for them to get vaccinated against an STD. That's a nice rosy picture to paint, but who knows what your daughter will or won't engage in for the next decade or so. Forget that sex is involved and get a vaccine that can't hurt, and may help in the long run.

For Your Birthday, We're Going to Give to Charity

The NYTimes today had an interesting article about a children's birthday party trend. It seems that in the New Jersey and New York area that the authors were looking at, parents are setting up collection boxes instead of stacking up the presents by the cake. They are doing this,

"In part to teach philanthropy and altruism, and in part as a defense against swarms of random plastic objects destined to clutter every square foot of their living space"

Both of which are very good reasons. It seems all too quickly that children have more toys than they know what to do with. I have a friend who hid toys after her kids got sick of them, only to bring them out 4 months later as "new toys". Clever idea, that works two-fold keep the stuff they don't play with out of way so there is less clutter, and cycle toys so that they have something fresh and aren't begging for more.

Overall I think donations for a cause over plastic battery powered toys is a smart move, and one I might have to try in the future. Although the key question is what age is it appropriate for? What age can children really understand philanthropy and altruism? When they are 1, they have no idea what birthdays are and mean, but they they are 4 they certainly do. Maturity of the child may also play a role in whether or not it would be a good idea. If they aren't quite old enough to understand, they may think they aren't getting presents because they don't deserve them- similar to the Christmas-Santa deal, bad kids get coal, good kids get presents. The message may be confusing to them if sprung on them to early.

Barbie: Less Imagination, More "Technology"

Sales of regular dolls (dolls that have arms and legs that move and don't require a power source) are down. Sales in electronics are up. What is a toy maker to do? Make a Barbie that isn't a Barbie at all.

NYTimes yesterday covered the new BarbieGirls. They basically look like a iPod shuffle or flash drive in the shape of a cartoon girl, a cartoon girl that doesn't even look like Barbie. She has a USB dock and syncs with your computer to be a MP3 player and a gateway to online games. Ahh, but the online games have a catch. As William Saletan at Slate.com so neatly breaks down:

"Business model: 1) Use the offer of site access to sell the first doll. 2) Add new, restricted-access areas to the site that require kids to buy new dolls. 3) Keep the kids interested by letting use the site to win play money to get additional outfits."

The way I see it, future generations aren't going to be able to escape the computer, just as we adults today are learning. Everything is online: online banking, online bill paying, email, dictionaries, encyclopedias, news, recipes, maps, a plethora of information and alas, very often, work. If our children are going to be sitting at a computer from 9-5 for a big chunk of their adult life, why let them waste their childhood doing the same?

Let Them Wear Wings

I love this picture of Heidi Klum and her son, Henry. I know a lot of parents who don't want their boys to play with dolls, but I don't see what the big deal is. I used to have a neighbor who's son liked to paint his fingernails. His two younger sisters were painting their fingernails, so he wanted to too. No one got hurt. Let kids be kids, sometimes they ask for things we don't really understand but trust them to like it for 5 minutes and move on, as they do with most things.