You may have heard that women can ovulate with the moon cycles, but is it really true? Some studies have actually been done on this topic, and they have, for the most part, been inconclusive. I am convinced that it is real though, because it happened to me!
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Natural Remedies for Illness
Ewan is 20 months now and has started attending a Montessori school's toddler class four mornings per week. I knew that hanging around with a dozen other toddlers would lead to his picking up some germs, but I figured that wasn't a reason to deprive him of the rich learning environment that the school provides. Now, he's home sick, and we can feel ourselves coming down with it too. Oh well. Time to put on the comfy nursing top and make chicken soup.
Here are some of my natural remedies when we are sick:
1) Breastfeeding (of course!)
Milk is naturally antimicrobial, so what better medicine could I possibly give Ewan than my own milk? Ewan seems to know that milk is what he needs, because whenever he gets sick all he wants to do is nurse. He will shun most food and just want to nurse all day. I let him nurse whenever he wants to, especially when he is sick. He will even begin to have newborn poop. Remember that yellow watery poop? I had almost forgotten about it until he had a stomach virus a few months ago and all he would take in was my milk. He had bright yellow poop for days!
2) Chicken Soup
Real homemade chicken soup, not the stuff in a can, has documented healing properties too. I use the recipe in Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that my mother gave me when I moved out of the house. It's a great recipe. My husband says it's the best chicken soup he's ever had.
Rough Chicken Soup Recipe:
It starts with a whole 3 to 4 pound chicken cut into quarters (use a large sharp knife), 1/2 cup of chopped onion, and 1 bay leaf put into a medium stock pot and covered in water. Use filtered water for best taste. Simmer covered for 2 hours. Remove chicken and bones. Then, the rest is up to you. Add whatever chopped veggies and herbs you like: parsley, carrots, parsnips, celery, kale, etc. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add whatever noodles you like and simmer until done. We like bowtie noodles or egg noodles. Return chicken pieces (removed from bone) to soup and heat through.
The great thing is, you can remove the bones and simmer them again for more nutrient-packed bone broth. Remove all useable meat from the bones and place the bones back into a stock pot. Fill with filtered water. Add 1 bay leaf. Add 1/2 cup chopped onion. Simmer on the stove for 12 hours or longer. Strain and keep in the fridge for about 1 week. Drink it warm or use it in any recipe calling for broth. If you don't like the idea of a pot simmering on your stove for 12 hours you can make this in a crockpot or slowcooker on a low setting.
3) Honey Lemon "Tea"
Ewan's throat has been really sore for the past few days, so I've been making him a warm "tea" of honey and lemon. Honey coats the throat and lemon helps too. I can't find any research to support this, but it's an old folk remedy, just like chicken soup. My husband's throat is sore now, and he says the tea worked for him.
Recipe:
Heat (not boil) about 8 oz of filtered water. In a mug, add 1 heaping teaspoon of honey and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Stir in hot water. I make 1/2 recipes for Ewan, since he will only drink about 4 oz.
4) Garlic and Orange Juice shots
Doctors are now realizing that we should not be taking chemical antibiotics for every sniffle. They knock out good bacteria in the body as well as bad, and may not even do anything for your cold! I've started using garlic instead. Raw garlic is a natural broad spectrum antibiotic with no side effects besides temporary bad breath and possibly mild heart burn. Take with food to reduce the chance of heart burn. I haven't given this to Ewan because he breastfeeds, and he doesn't really care for garlic anyway. My husband and I just took garlic and orange juice shots to boost our immune systems. Cooked garlic loses its antibiotic effects, so the garlic must be raw.
Recipe:
Finely chop 1 - 2 large garlic cloves. Allow to sit for a few minutes until pungent. That garlic smell is caused by allicin, the oil that is released when the inside of the clove touches air. This is what has the antibiotic properties. Place garlic in a small glass. Cover with 2 oz OJ. Shoot it!
Or, you could chop a few cloves up in a blender before adding frozen fruit, OJ, and yogurt for a smoothie. However you take it, it's best not to try to chew the garlic bits. The flavor of raw garlic is pretty intense. Just swallow them.
Here are some of my natural remedies when we are sick:
1) Breastfeeding (of course!)
Milk is naturally antimicrobial, so what better medicine could I possibly give Ewan than my own milk? Ewan seems to know that milk is what he needs, because whenever he gets sick all he wants to do is nurse. He will shun most food and just want to nurse all day. I let him nurse whenever he wants to, especially when he is sick. He will even begin to have newborn poop. Remember that yellow watery poop? I had almost forgotten about it until he had a stomach virus a few months ago and all he would take in was my milk. He had bright yellow poop for days!
2) Chicken Soup
Real homemade chicken soup, not the stuff in a can, has documented healing properties too. I use the recipe in Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that my mother gave me when I moved out of the house. It's a great recipe. My husband says it's the best chicken soup he's ever had.
Rough Chicken Soup Recipe:
It starts with a whole 3 to 4 pound chicken cut into quarters (use a large sharp knife), 1/2 cup of chopped onion, and 1 bay leaf put into a medium stock pot and covered in water. Use filtered water for best taste. Simmer covered for 2 hours. Remove chicken and bones. Then, the rest is up to you. Add whatever chopped veggies and herbs you like: parsley, carrots, parsnips, celery, kale, etc. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add whatever noodles you like and simmer until done. We like bowtie noodles or egg noodles. Return chicken pieces (removed from bone) to soup and heat through.
The great thing is, you can remove the bones and simmer them again for more nutrient-packed bone broth. Remove all useable meat from the bones and place the bones back into a stock pot. Fill with filtered water. Add 1 bay leaf. Add 1/2 cup chopped onion. Simmer on the stove for 12 hours or longer. Strain and keep in the fridge for about 1 week. Drink it warm or use it in any recipe calling for broth. If you don't like the idea of a pot simmering on your stove for 12 hours you can make this in a crockpot or slowcooker on a low setting.
3) Honey Lemon "Tea"
Ewan's throat has been really sore for the past few days, so I've been making him a warm "tea" of honey and lemon. Honey coats the throat and lemon helps too. I can't find any research to support this, but it's an old folk remedy, just like chicken soup. My husband's throat is sore now, and he says the tea worked for him.
Recipe:
Heat (not boil) about 8 oz of filtered water. In a mug, add 1 heaping teaspoon of honey and the juice of 1/2 a lemon. Stir in hot water. I make 1/2 recipes for Ewan, since he will only drink about 4 oz.
4) Garlic and Orange Juice shots
Doctors are now realizing that we should not be taking chemical antibiotics for every sniffle. They knock out good bacteria in the body as well as bad, and may not even do anything for your cold! I've started using garlic instead. Raw garlic is a natural broad spectrum antibiotic with no side effects besides temporary bad breath and possibly mild heart burn. Take with food to reduce the chance of heart burn. I haven't given this to Ewan because he breastfeeds, and he doesn't really care for garlic anyway. My husband and I just took garlic and orange juice shots to boost our immune systems. Cooked garlic loses its antibiotic effects, so the garlic must be raw.
Recipe:
Finely chop 1 - 2 large garlic cloves. Allow to sit for a few minutes until pungent. That garlic smell is caused by allicin, the oil that is released when the inside of the clove touches air. This is what has the antibiotic properties. Place garlic in a small glass. Cover with 2 oz OJ. Shoot it!
Or, you could chop a few cloves up in a blender before adding frozen fruit, OJ, and yogurt for a smoothie. However you take it, it's best not to try to chew the garlic bits. The flavor of raw garlic is pretty intense. Just swallow them.
Monday, February 27, 2012
The Best Cure for Stress
Though he still has 4 months to go, Ewan has entered the Terrible (yet, Terrific, I'm sure!) Twos. The other day when we had an especially difficult time at a store, I realized another reason why breastfeeding a toddler is so great. When he is being difficult and we both lose our cool, it brings us both back down to a relaxed state, so that the frustrations we feel with each other can be resolved positively.
The other day, DH, DS and I were at a big box store. (I have a love-hate relationship with big box stores. Sometimes one-stop shopping is so convenient.) Ewan was so excited to be at the store that he did not want to sit in the cart, so he wandered around with us as I did my best to minimize the trail of destruction behind him.
All of the sudden, an object of interest caught Ewan's eye: a double-deck display of balls held up in a frame with bungee cords. He bolted for the display and climbed in! He went right between the bungee cords of the bottom layer and sat down in the middle of all of the balls, saying, "Balls! Balls!"
"Ewan, please come out of there. Let's pick one ball to carry with us, ok?" I said, calmly.
Nope.
"It's dangerous to be in there, Ewan. Let's come out, ok?"
No way.
He was in heaven, but I was exasperated.
We sat there for at least 5 minutes.
He was naming the colors of the balls and noticing the different textures on the balls, which was really cute, and I (begrudgingly) reinforced his communication as positively as I could, but he was inside of a display with 5 feet of playground balls suspended above his head, held up by only a few bungee cords. This was not a safe or appropriate activity.
I finally had to remove him from the display. He was so mad. I did my best to keep the calmest voice possible and explain that we needed to say "bye-bye" to the balls. We were both stressed out. I was embarrassed and frustrated, and he was annoyed and frustrated. I carried him out of the store and out to the car while he was squirming out of my arms and yelling. It's at this point that I became very self conscious and wondered if other people think that I can't handle my own kid. Those thoughts only add to my frustration.
At the car, he happily climbed into my lap in the front passenger's seat and nursed. I figured he might be a little hungry for a snack, but even if he wasn't hungry, he was upset, and nursing almost always is the best way to calm him down. But he wasn't the only one who needed to calm down.
It did the trick for both of us. DH came back out the the car about 10 minutes later with our stuff and Ewan and I were fine. No more tears--his or mine. The oxytocin was flowing and it completely reset our moods. Ewan got into his car seat with no protest. DH handed him a ball that he'd picked up from the display as a present and we drove home.
I don't really want to imagine how that scene would have ended without the ability to nurse ourselves back to sanity. It certainly would have involved more tears, more kicking and screaming, and more frustration with each other.
Breastfeeding saves us from staying mad at each other and it helps strengthen our relationship during the times when we need it most.
The other day, DH, DS and I were at a big box store. (I have a love-hate relationship with big box stores. Sometimes one-stop shopping is so convenient.) Ewan was so excited to be at the store that he did not want to sit in the cart, so he wandered around with us as I did my best to minimize the trail of destruction behind him.
All of the sudden, an object of interest caught Ewan's eye: a double-deck display of balls held up in a frame with bungee cords. He bolted for the display and climbed in! He went right between the bungee cords of the bottom layer and sat down in the middle of all of the balls, saying, "Balls! Balls!"
 |
| The display was similar to this, except it had balls on the top and bottom. |
"Ewan, please come out of there. Let's pick one ball to carry with us, ok?" I said, calmly.
Nope.
"It's dangerous to be in there, Ewan. Let's come out, ok?"
No way.
He was in heaven, but I was exasperated.
We sat there for at least 5 minutes.
He was naming the colors of the balls and noticing the different textures on the balls, which was really cute, and I (begrudgingly) reinforced his communication as positively as I could, but he was inside of a display with 5 feet of playground balls suspended above his head, held up by only a few bungee cords. This was not a safe or appropriate activity.
I finally had to remove him from the display. He was so mad. I did my best to keep the calmest voice possible and explain that we needed to say "bye-bye" to the balls. We were both stressed out. I was embarrassed and frustrated, and he was annoyed and frustrated. I carried him out of the store and out to the car while he was squirming out of my arms and yelling. It's at this point that I became very self conscious and wondered if other people think that I can't handle my own kid. Those thoughts only add to my frustration.
At the car, he happily climbed into my lap in the front passenger's seat and nursed. I figured he might be a little hungry for a snack, but even if he wasn't hungry, he was upset, and nursing almost always is the best way to calm him down. But he wasn't the only one who needed to calm down.
It did the trick for both of us. DH came back out the the car about 10 minutes later with our stuff and Ewan and I were fine. No more tears--his or mine. The oxytocin was flowing and it completely reset our moods. Ewan got into his car seat with no protest. DH handed him a ball that he'd picked up from the display as a present and we drove home.
I don't really want to imagine how that scene would have ended without the ability to nurse ourselves back to sanity. It certainly would have involved more tears, more kicking and screaming, and more frustration with each other.
Breastfeeding saves us from staying mad at each other and it helps strengthen our relationship during the times when we need it most.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
February in Santa Barbara
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| California Live Oak leaves in the grass |
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| Ewan collecting flowers. Joe and a California Live Oak in the background. |
I'm loving the Santa Barbara winter!
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| Ewan's bouquet |
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
My Musical Toddler
It's very popular now to begin playing music for your child even while she is still in the womb, because researchers say that exposure to music as a young child helps develop the brain for math skills later in life. I don't know if that is true, but I grew up with a piano and loved music from infancy and I was always really good at algebra.
I've been playing music for Ewan since he was an infant. I have a Baby Einstein CD of songs for kids, 2 classical music CDs, and a Ziggy Marley CD that we play in the car for him. His recent favorite TV shows have been Yo Gabba Gabba and Wonder Pets, which are both full of music and singing. Recently he has started singing to himself while playing!
Listening to music with your child is easy, but what do you do for your toddler when he or she shows interest in playing music? He has some instruments: drums, rattles, bells, shakers, an electric keyboard, and even a small xylophone, but Ewan has shown an interest in guitars from about 9 months. At Christmas this year he was so excited to play guitar with his uncle Billy. Billy pressed the frets and Ewan strummed the strings. He was captivated for about 30 minutes! That's a long time for a toddler to do anything. Then, we had to put the guitar away because he wanted to carry it around the house, and I was afraid he would scratch it or throw it (his new favorite thing to do). He was so upset that we wouldn't let him keep it.
My husband and I wondered: how do we go about encouraging his interest and desire to learn to play music on his own, while keeping in mind his limitations as a toddler? We decided to buy him his own guitar.
We bought a Fender Starcaster, which is a nylon-stringed, child-sized guitar, and he loves it! We took him to a local shop to pick out a good guitar for him. He walked in and said, "Guitar!" And then he ran around wanting to try all of them. We tried out ukuleles, electric basses, and acoustics. Joe tried to get him interested in trying out the drums, but he seemed focused on the guitars. I steered his hands away from the more expensive ones.
I've been playing music for Ewan since he was an infant. I have a Baby Einstein CD of songs for kids, 2 classical music CDs, and a Ziggy Marley CD that we play in the car for him. His recent favorite TV shows have been Yo Gabba Gabba and Wonder Pets, which are both full of music and singing. Recently he has started singing to himself while playing!
 |
| Uncle Billy and Ewan (18 months) on Christmas Day 2011 |
My husband and I wondered: how do we go about encouraging his interest and desire to learn to play music on his own, while keeping in mind his limitations as a toddler? We decided to buy him his own guitar.
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| Ewan with his new guitar in January 2012. "Don't bug me! I'm concentrating!" |
I was grateful that the shop owner didn't get too annoyed with a toddler running around his shop wanting to touch everything. He seemed excited that Ewan was so into the instruments.
Right now he just likes to strum the strings, but I'm excited that he loves the guitar and that we got him something that he can grown into. I've heard that motivated kids can start lessons at about 5 years old. I hope he stays motivated!
Monday, November 28, 2011
More Crazy Toddler Nursing Habits
Before Ewan became a toddler, I had heard from others that nursing a toddler is much different than a young baby, but I had no idea of the strange nursing behavior that I would encounter from my own son.
Here are some highlights:
Tweaking my nipples
I'm not sure when he started reaching his hand into my shirt to tweak the nipple he isn't nursing on, but now he does it every time he nurses. It's not too annoying when we are at home, but when we are at grandma and grandpa's house it can get a little indecent.
High Speed Switch-Back nursing
Ewan will begin nursing on one side but then switch to the other side about 60 seconds after the milk lets down. Then he will switch back for about 60 seconds. And then switch again! He will keep switching until all the milk is gone. I guess he is trying to nurse on both sides at the same time! I've found that lying in the "Down Under" or "Australian" nursing position makes this behavior easier to accommodate.
All that matters is the mouth!
When Ewan wants to nurse, he will paw at my shirt and reach his hands in. If he succeeds in exposing a nipple, then he will position his mouth over it and latch on, without any regard to what the rest of his body is doing. This can result in some really hilarious positions! He will sprawl himself across the bed on his tummy. He will even stand on the couch and crouch down to me.
He won't let go!
Sometimes, while a mother is enjoying leisurely nursing her baby, the phone rings, or someone is at the door, or the dog wants outside. It is easy to just carry a nursing newborn with you as you tend to household business, but a toddler who is almost 3 feet tall and 27 pounds is harder to carry around. It is sometimes necessary to stop nursing for a minute. Ewan doesn't like this idea. He is not old enough to fully understand the idea that I will come right back in just a minute. I will calmly say, "Just a minute. Mommy needs to go do X." But he will grab on to my arms or clothes, hug himself to me, and suck more quickly. I would get really frustrated if he wasn't so cute when he does that.
Even through all of his nursing antics, I love nursing my toddler.
Here are some highlights:
Tweaking my nipples
I'm not sure when he started reaching his hand into my shirt to tweak the nipple he isn't nursing on, but now he does it every time he nurses. It's not too annoying when we are at home, but when we are at grandma and grandpa's house it can get a little indecent.
High Speed Switch-Back nursing
Ewan will begin nursing on one side but then switch to the other side about 60 seconds after the milk lets down. Then he will switch back for about 60 seconds. And then switch again! He will keep switching until all the milk is gone. I guess he is trying to nurse on both sides at the same time! I've found that lying in the "Down Under" or "Australian" nursing position makes this behavior easier to accommodate.
All that matters is the mouth!
When Ewan wants to nurse, he will paw at my shirt and reach his hands in. If he succeeds in exposing a nipple, then he will position his mouth over it and latch on, without any regard to what the rest of his body is doing. This can result in some really hilarious positions! He will sprawl himself across the bed on his tummy. He will even stand on the couch and crouch down to me.
He won't let go!
Sometimes, while a mother is enjoying leisurely nursing her baby, the phone rings, or someone is at the door, or the dog wants outside. It is easy to just carry a nursing newborn with you as you tend to household business, but a toddler who is almost 3 feet tall and 27 pounds is harder to carry around. It is sometimes necessary to stop nursing for a minute. Ewan doesn't like this idea. He is not old enough to fully understand the idea that I will come right back in just a minute. I will calmly say, "Just a minute. Mommy needs to go do X." But he will grab on to my arms or clothes, hug himself to me, and suck more quickly. I would get really frustrated if he wasn't so cute when he does that.
Even through all of his nursing antics, I love nursing my toddler.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sea Creature Themed Diaper Cake
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| Sea Creature themed diaper cake |
I made this "cake" the other day for my friend who loves octopi. It is made of Nature Babycare size 1 disposables wrapped in Bumkins cloth diapers. It's all held together with diaper pins and twine. The octpous topper is called Mrs. Sock T. Pus by Baby Aspen, and the other creatures are organic cotton bath toys by Green Sprouts.
Those links all go to Diapers.com. If you order anything there, enter code "MilkMaven" at check out for $10.00 off an order over $49.00!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Is Pseudoephedrine Safe for Pregnancy and Breastfeeding?
My sinuses hate me. I am prone to severe sinus headaches if I get the tiniest head cold. Before I had Ewan, I would just pop two Sudafed (pseudoephedrine) and two Tylenol (aceteminophen) and it would clear it up. Now, I have to use other methods.
Pseudoephedrine is known to decrease milk production by 24% with just one dose, according to Aljazaf et al, 2003. Wow!
The other day I woke up with a really bad sinus headache. I could barely open my eyes and I even felt a little nauseous when I got out of bed. It was so bad that my husband called him mom to come over and babysit while I stayed in bed a while. I am so grateful to have available grandparents nearby to allow me to sleep in when I need to.
I took two Tylenol, which are approved as safe, and a couple of spritzes of Afrin, also safe.
My doctor told me to try Afrin, or a similar over-the-counter nasal spray, when I told him I needed a reliable method of relief without risk. This works for me. I rarely have to take more than one dose.
(Note on Afrin: Follow the dosage directions carefully! Using it too frequently or for too long can cause even more congestion to occur.)
I was avoiding pseudoephedrine during pregnancy, too. We went to Park City, Utah for a week in January and stayed in a forced-air heated condo. My sinuses protested the dry air by giving me a headache. I tried hot tea. I tried a hot shower. I tried massaging my head. I even tried filling the sink with hot water and sanding over it with a towel over my head, breathing in the steam. I needed this website! I also needed Afrin. By the end of the day, the headache went away.
Although some doctors may say it is approved, not enough studies have been done to conclusively say that pseudoephedrine is safe for pregnancy. Tom Hale, the authority on medications and lactation (author of Medications and Mother's Milk) rates pseudoephedrine a "C" for pregnancy. This means "risk cannot be ruled out" because not enough studies have been done. Hale also rates it a L3 ("moderately safe") for occasional use but an L4 ("potentially hazardous") for chronic use.
The lactation ratings are probably based on it's known side effect of decreasing milk supply, not on its effect on the baby, but I'm not sure. The study by Aljazaf et al, 2003 previously mentioned says that less than 10% of the maternal dose gets to the breastfeeding baby, even if the mother takes the maximum amount allowed for a 24 hour period.
During pregnancy, the baby will receive significantly more of the dose taken by the mother, and some researchers believe there to be a risk of birth defects in multiple areas. Here's a midwife's discussion of the possible risks. And here is a listing from SafeFetus.com.
I am not taking an chances, so I will be avoiding pseudoephedrine for the foreseeable future.
Click here for a list of medications and their ratings on Kellymom.com.
Visit my Recommended Books page to buy Hale's book Medications and Mother's Milk through Amazon.
Pseudoephedrine is known to decrease milk production by 24% with just one dose, according to Aljazaf et al, 2003. Wow!
The other day I woke up with a really bad sinus headache. I could barely open my eyes and I even felt a little nauseous when I got out of bed. It was so bad that my husband called him mom to come over and babysit while I stayed in bed a while. I am so grateful to have available grandparents nearby to allow me to sleep in when I need to.
I took two Tylenol, which are approved as safe, and a couple of spritzes of Afrin, also safe.
My doctor told me to try Afrin, or a similar over-the-counter nasal spray, when I told him I needed a reliable method of relief without risk. This works for me. I rarely have to take more than one dose.
(Note on Afrin: Follow the dosage directions carefully! Using it too frequently or for too long can cause even more congestion to occur.)
I was avoiding pseudoephedrine during pregnancy, too. We went to Park City, Utah for a week in January and stayed in a forced-air heated condo. My sinuses protested the dry air by giving me a headache. I tried hot tea. I tried a hot shower. I tried massaging my head. I even tried filling the sink with hot water and sanding over it with a towel over my head, breathing in the steam. I needed this website! I also needed Afrin. By the end of the day, the headache went away.
Although some doctors may say it is approved, not enough studies have been done to conclusively say that pseudoephedrine is safe for pregnancy. Tom Hale, the authority on medications and lactation (author of Medications and Mother's Milk) rates pseudoephedrine a "C" for pregnancy. This means "risk cannot be ruled out" because not enough studies have been done. Hale also rates it a L3 ("moderately safe") for occasional use but an L4 ("potentially hazardous") for chronic use.
The lactation ratings are probably based on it's known side effect of decreasing milk supply, not on its effect on the baby, but I'm not sure. The study by Aljazaf et al, 2003 previously mentioned says that less than 10% of the maternal dose gets to the breastfeeding baby, even if the mother takes the maximum amount allowed for a 24 hour period.
During pregnancy, the baby will receive significantly more of the dose taken by the mother, and some researchers believe there to be a risk of birth defects in multiple areas. Here's a midwife's discussion of the possible risks. And here is a listing from SafeFetus.com.
I am not taking an chances, so I will be avoiding pseudoephedrine for the foreseeable future.
Click here for a list of medications and their ratings on Kellymom.com.
Visit my Recommended Books page to buy Hale's book Medications and Mother's Milk through Amazon.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Breastfeeding while Babywearing
I've been wearing Ewan since his birth. Today, we tried a new carry position, the hip carry, and 15-month-old-26-pound Ewan nursed in the carrier for the first time. Twice!
Thursday, September 15, 2011
On-Demand Feeding a Toddler
I have been on-demand feeding Ewan because experts have said that it helps a child learn good eating habits like recognizing hunger cues and not over-eating. I have become a believer because I can see these effects when watching Ewan eat his solid food now!
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| Ewan loves peas! |
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