My house is full of flu. I don’t have it, strangely enough. But the rest of the family has been wiped out. I don’t know if it is H1N1. Either way, it’s the flu. Either way, we went to the doctor to make sure Sy’s lungs were hanging in there (they are), and other than that, we’re all locked up at home looking out the window at summer. All that and washing hands a LOT.
But YUCK, swine or no swine, it’s one gnarly flu. My poor little 10 month old was so bummed out when his temperature hit 104.5, that’s for sure. The house has been so sick I’m TWO WEEKS BEHIND on the Bachelorette. That’s saying something.
Be healthy!
I just can’t begin to describe how depressing this article is to me. Nothing like serving up your child a nice bottle of rocket fuel-laced formula. And no, this is not meant to spark a discussion about why “breast is best.” Not every mom breastfeeds their kid. Big deal. To each her own. But rocket fuel in formula? You gotta be kidding me. Let’s hope the EPA considers infant health as important as we do.
“Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have reported that 15 brands of powdered infant formula are contaminated with perchlorate, a rocket fuel component detected in drinking water in 28 states and territories. The two most contaminated brands, made from cow’s milk, accounted for 87 percent of the U.S. powdered formula market in 2000, the scientists said. The CDC scientists did not identify the formula brands they tested.”
More reading here.
A new study by the American Society of Sociologists was released today, and it addresses a favorite topic of playgrounds everywhere. “Many mothers suspect their own child is highly intelligent,” Dr. Christina Gallagher states, “while at the same time being suspicious that their neighbor’s child is of sub par intelligence. The truth is, they are correct.” She goes on to state that if you think your own child is a genius, then it is most likely true. And Johnny next door who puts pencils up his nose? Moron.
The Society has released some guidelines to determine if your own child is highly intelligent:
I went to the dermatologist the other day because I felt sure I had sun damage all over my face from almost four decades of Not Enough Sunscreen. Turns out I was right. My doc whipped out her handy can of Freeze the Crap Out of Your Face and burned those pesky pre-cancerous cells right off. Now I look like I have giant blisters on my forehead and nose, because oh yeah, I DO. Not without discomfort, freezing your skin off.
My doc recommended I get some SPF 60 sunscreen that they had there. I looked at the ingredients and couldn’t pronounce any of it but saw lots of nasty lurkers like PEG blech and oxybenzone yuck. I told her I wanted to stick with the all natural stuff I use for my kids. She said as long as it had at least 5% zinc in it, it had her blessing. I was very happy to see that my all time favorite stuff, the illustrious TruKid line, has just that in the Sunny Days sunscreen stick.
Woohoo! My nose will be safe from skin cancer and the rest of my body will appreciate keeping all the yucky toxins out.
Side Note: I see that TruKid now offers a lot of their products in a fairly inexpensive travel size, which I think is an excellent way to see if you actually like a product.
Roger sent me this article the other day - a very small study was done with children where after receiving daily doses of peanuts under medical supervision, some were able to build a tolerance. That would be exciting. I just think it’s downright cruel that Sy has never had a Reese’s peanut butter cup.
We’re all sick or teething around here. It’s so much fun! What kind of five month old cuts teeth?? Sy is so snotty, yet she refuses to blow her nose; it’s apparently too messy and too painful.
Any good tips, mamas and papas?? We tried the sinus rinse. That went over well. Naught.
We’ll be back tomorrow with more of Jenny’s post holiday round-up!
Sy has a nasty, nasty cold. She’s had it for two weeks, so therefore all of her cousins were lucky enough to receive it in all of its nastiness for Christmas. Merry Christmas! The gift that keeps on giving…SNOT!
Today the cold decided to play dirty and gave her a cough. I’ve never found a cough medicine that actually works and besides that, I’m usually a bit leery of over-medicating my kid. (Check out Dr. Sears’ October newsletter. Dr. Bob discusses how drug manufacturers are going to change their labels, not recommending the meds for kids under four).
I’m all for hippie solutions; we use Chestal, but that didn’t help this cough one bit. Her throat hurt, her cough was insane and she was miserable (as were her parents). I happened to be talking to AJ, mother of three, this afternoon and complaining about Sy’s cough. She reminded me of one of her favorite homeopathic remedies - slice up an onion and leave it by the bedside. OK, will do. So we set Sy up with the humidifier, the HEPA filter (allergies from hell on this kid), and a finely sliced onion next to her bed.
Guess what? SHE STOPPED COUGHING! Thank you, AJ. Brilliant advice. I know you are all waiting with bated breath, so I’ll give you an update in the morning.
Uh, but you know, my house does smell a bit like a salad.
This one is mainly for our Canadian readers -
The latest melamine snafu: chocolate. Just in time for Halloween.
With Halloween fast approaching comes a warning to parents and kids regarding Sherwood brand Pirate’s Gold milk chocolate coins imported from China. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning the public not to eat, distribute or sell the candy. It is sold across Canada by Costco and may also have been sold in bulk packages or as individual pieces at various dollar and bulk stores. The chocolate contains melamine which is the same chemical responsible for killing several babies in China, and sickening thousands more.
Read more about the recall over at Snopes.
Excuse me while I go get the fan. Read the article here.
Reader Annie sent me this article: The FDA Disovers Lead in Women’s, Children’s Vitamins (via TreeHugger). It’s a good read.
“99 percent of vitamins tested contain lead
In the course of its investigation, the FDA examined 325 multivitamin products. Only four of them—NF Formulas Liquid Pediatric, Natrol Liquid Kids Companion Liquid, Twinlab Infant Care, and After Baby Boost 2—contained zero traces of lead.” Guess we’ll be going old school and hitting the Flintstone aisle.
Top 10 children’s vitamins with the least lead (0-6 years)
1. Twinlab Infant Care
2. Natrol Liquid Kids Companion
3. NF Formulas Liquid Pediatric
4. Windmill Bite-A-Mins
5. Kids Liquid Dolphin Pals
6. My First Flintstones
7. Natural Wealth Children’s Chewable Multivitamins Plus Extra C
8. Uno Diario Ninos
9. Flintstones Plus Immunity Support
10. Natural Wealth Children’s Chewable Multivitamins
Top 10 children’s vitamins with the most lead (0-6 years)
1. Nature’s Plus Animal Parade Shake
2. Superior Multi Age
3. Nutraceutical Pedia Power
4. Physio Kids Multilogics Chewable
5. Ola Loa Kids
6. Nature’s Plus Animal Parade
7. Vita-Big-Kids
8. Wonder Laboratories Formula Nineteen
9. Clinicians Choice Chewable Daily Multivitamins
10. Dynamic Health Multi for Children
We had Sy tested for about a mile’s worth of allergies a few weeks ago. She had to have blood drawn and everything. Six vials of blood and Much drama later, we got the results. Not only is she allergic to eggs, but she’s also allergic to peanuts, walnuts, dust mites, the list goes on. And on.
Dude. Turns out getting rid of dust is, um, not easy. My girl’s preschool is nut-free, but I like these little reminder patches from Jeeto to put on her bag or school jacket.
Jeeto sells patches, clothing and stickers to help alert the world about your kiddo’s special culinary needs. Too bad they don’t make dust mite repellent.
Every year around Sy’s birthday my mom emails her some notes out of my baby book. It’s so fun to see what I was doing in comparison to Sy. My baby height and weight stats almost always line up with hers. Genetics are a funny thing, aren’t they?
Check out my 1970’s pediatrician’s suggested 3 year old meal plan:
Breakfast: 7:00 to 8:00
3 to 4 T fruit of those allowed
3 T cereal with warm milk or 1 soft cooked egg and 1 or 2 strips of
bacon.
1/2 slice toast, buttered
Lunch: at 12:00
3 to 4 T of meat or fish as allowed
3 to 4 T mealy potato with butter
3 to 4 T other well-cooked vegetables
1/2 slice dry bread or toast - buttered
Dinner at 5 to 6 P.M.
1/2 Cupful canned or fresh soup without fat or 3 to 4 T. mashed
cottage cheese
3 to 4 T well cooked vegetables
1/2 slice dry toast or buttered
3 to 4 T cooked fruit for dessert
4 to 6 oz. warm milk at end of meal.
At least 4 glassfuls of water should be offered daily - between meals
rather that at mealtime.
Can you only imagine making that for your kid every day? Sy would riot. Her favorite foods are pesto pasta with chicken and broccoli mixed in with a huge side of garlic bread. Give her a chocolate chip at the end and she’s in three year old heaven. My mother assures me that she did not stick to the diet, she knew that I, too, would have died of boredom.
My friend Micky makes this totally rad quinoa dish as a potluck staple. The great thing about quinoa is it takes on every flavor, fills you up and stretches a loooong way. Micky adds fresh corn and avocado to the Epicurious recipe, which makes it even better. I just made it for dinner and felt very smug at my health conscious behavior. But then I had a cookie. Does it even count after all those vegetables and grains?
My friend Maureen makes quinoa for her boys (3 and 5) and adds pesto to aid in the gobbling up factor. My niece’s ultimate comfort food dish is quinoa and carrots. She’s six and when she’s really tired and hungry, that’s what she requests. For real.
Does anyone else have a quinoa fave?
The 2008 test results for cars and car seats have arrived over at Healthy Car.
Definitely worth checking it out if you are in the market for a new car seat, or car for that matter.
You could also stop by to read Z Recs piece on the new Britax Frontier car seat, a 25-to-80-pound car seat that converts from a five-point-harness seat to a belt-positioning booster. Looks pretty groovy and oh, so safe.
You know when you can’t sleep and you start wondering just how much toxic stuff is lurking in your house? Well, OK, it’s not how I spend a lot of my time, but I was just sitting here drinking a glass of water and started to wonder about the safety of our Brita water filter pitcher. The Soft Landing had an answer and it looks like Brita pitchers are fairly safe.
