Tuesday, December 10, 2013

How to live a wheat-free-corn-free-milk-free-soya-free-organic-eco-friendly-superfood life as a poor renter in an urban location with minimal healthy selections

Alright, long title but is quite self explanatory as to what I'm about to write about today.

First, I need to complain. This part of town sucks! No organic produce. Gluten free flour mix is costly. Coconut water/young thai coconuts are tough to come about. No bulk deals on, well, anything. And we live on the ground floor which is 90% appealing, minus the ability to have pots with growing veggies as those will be stolen (our BBQ was stolen).

Ok. I feel better-ish.

Sometimes we are given challenges in life so we can problem solve unique ways to accomplish the former easy things in life. Hence me living here instead of the land of the free and everything wonderful..."O Canada, our home and native land...." I miss you my baby and look forward to living there again in a few years (eish!).

So here's what my past 3 years so far have taught me.

1. Wheat free, corn free, soya free (basically GMO free): easiest way is to avoid packaged foods. That's where that stuff lies. Learn to cook from scratch. Luckily, that was something I learned in grade 7 and have loved since. It just tastes better! The wheat free thing is the most challenging. Um hello, pizza anyone?! Heck, yes, who doesn't love Italian food. And toast for breakfast is so standard in the westernized civilations you really have to think outside the box. Let's start with breakfast

A. free range eggs to the rescue. you can simply scramble em, or make a fritatta, or an omelette. have a side of fruit or veggies and your done.
B. gluten free muffins. this is my standard recipe. 2 c "flour" (gluten free mix with rice/potato/tapioca/chickpea/xantham gum. I also stretch it out with 1/2 c ground golden flax to save some money), 1/3 c sugar, 1.5 tsp baking powder, pinch himalayan salt (from now on anytime I talk about salt, it's this pink gem I'm talking about cuz I don't wanna write it out in full everytime), 1/2 c blueberries (frozen are cheaper in this city), 1 c "milk", 1 free range egg, 1/4 c sunflower oil (never use or buy canola, it too is a bad boy), smack vanilla. bake about 20-30min depending on your oven and weather (totally affects my baking if it's wet or dry outside). Spread with cold pressed coconut oil and some raw honey if you like.
C. cold rice cereal with "milk" or hot millet/rice cereal with "milk" and dates and honey and seeds too if you want...I'm gonna get to the milk so don't worry
D. smoothie. take some "milk" and add some seasonal fruits along with a frozen banana to give it some thickness and chill factor

So who still wants toast??? I can testify that once you stop eating bread for a couple weeks, the smell of hubby toasting a slice on the rare occasion is enough to make you queezy (and that's not the pregnancy talking!)

As for pasta and pizza, there are wheat free options and recipes out there. Google em! I personally don't even eat either anymore as I have a rotation of the following lunch/dinners:
free range chicken n lentil breyani with cooling cuke n tomato salad
chickpea n millet greek inspired bowl
organic potato salad n roast free range chicken wings with beet salad
sweet curry lentils n rice
cauliflower/carrot/pepper/tomato/fish pot n rice.

That pretty much sums up my main roster of go tos. Every once in a while I mix it up with a thai coconut curry or quinoa risotto with fish or something interesting. These are all affordable too as we use chicken/fish more like a condiment and the veg are the main feature. As you know, free range meats are more expensive so luckily we are happy with just a small tasting of it as a part of our meal. You too can teach your taste buds the cheaper yet healthier ways of life :)

2. Milk free
Cooking and baking can be challenging without milk especially if you are used to it. So here are some things I do. I make nut milks. As nuts are costly, I use these tastey/healthy/pricey milks soley for pouring on my rice cereal. 1/2 c nuts (almonds or cashews are best), 1/2 c dates, 4 c water, pinch salt, smack vanilla. Blend. My blender comes from a second hand shop so you can imagine how much it is not like a Vitamix (one day, when I'm rich, I 'll own this gem!). So I get ground almonds to help my poor baby whip this into a milk. It does separate as it sits in the fridge but a good ole swirl gets in homogenous again. As for baking, I use a cheaper milk option. Currently I have rice milk powder in my pantry. It on its on is not tasty but works beautifully in my muffin recipe. I'm going to make some coconut milk this week as dried coconut are much cheaper than nuts and maybe that can be my milk for all recipe. 2 c coconut, 4 c water. Blend. Of course you can get ready made coconut milk in the can but have you ever read the ingredients. Surprisingly little coconut in it. Some brands only show coconut extract and a bunch of other crap. Yet still costly. Hmmm. But I'm looking into where the H I can get young thai coconuts on a regular basis. Then I can have lot's of fresh coconut water and then use the meat to whip up a real nice milk. Oh dreams.

3. Organic
I just can't get over how shops don't have organic produce. I went in to Checkers one time and asked if they have any organic produce. The woman looked at me like a parrot before eating a peanut. Then she sqawked "what?" Then she lead me to oregano. close honey but no. She asked her manager. Neither knew what organic was! What? I say, WHAT! There used to be an organic farm stall inside the waterfront market. But the last time I went there they were gone. Some other farmer who not only doesn't sell organic produce but looked at me like I was some kind of crazy woman to dare ask if he did! So, hubby brought home a flyer from Nature's Deli for an online organic order place. They're not bad. Each weds you can get a pre selected bag of 10-12 seasonal items. You can also add on real full cream organic yogurt and what not. I don't mind them. Some of their stuff is pricey. There pre selected bag is obviously the better deal but you dont have much control over what you get. One week week we got leeks. Don't know how to do much with leeks other than vichysoisse. Baby loved it. It was quite dang tasty. Sadly, we cant order every week due to our finances and it's more of a treat to get a bag from them. Once a month seems to be the ticket right now. If we were rich, ya, weekly for sure! So that leads to the clean 15 vs the dirty dozen list. I try to avoid getting produce from the dirty dozen list. I also am going to grow some greens on my kitchen window sill (best sunny spot and least likely to get stolen or visited by the neighbor cat). I did it a couple months ago. Just need some more soil. I also want to make a compost under our kitchen sink. We got a juicer for christmas present and it's sad to toss out all that pulp. I have made a batch of muffins from the pulp and some lentil pulp burgers (sounds gross but tastes decent). But really, can't keep up with the pulp to recipe ratio so vast majority goes in dump.

4. Eco friendly
I've just finished talking about the compost plan and indoor garden plan so we're done there. Now to move on to my exciting big eco friendly move taken last month. We invested in presewn pocket nappies! They are cotton/hemp/bamboo goodies in fun colors. I love them! There was only one night I didn't love them cuz I had a cold and had no desire to throw them in the machine and hang them out to dry but if I dont, I fall behind and then she'll just have to pee on the floor...no thanks. I actually want her little nappied bum to show as the colors are cute and I match her outfits to them. Plus in a couple months, we'll have another wee one in nappies so that'll just save us tens of thousands in cash to use these healthier nappies :) we also do them standard things-hot water tank off unless hour before showering, use stove with thought (bake, cook all at once so it doesn't have to go all day and re heat or whatever), re use, recycle...you know, that kind of earth friendly stuff. I also got some soapnuts. I made some soapnut liquid out of some of it. It washes the dishes nice however, you have to use it full strength. It does a decent job on clothes. I used it on the floor too. I haven't yet tried it on my hair. Thats next. However, the soapnuts aren't cheap and get used up faster than I anticipated. So they are not cost effective. I've gone back to using vinegar water to clean the house. I'm saving the soapnuts for the nappies only now as they are pretty particular on which cleansers to use to keep them lasting long and keep from detergent buildup.

Well, that's all I got for now. Little miss is gonna wake from her nap soon so I gotta get it together up in here. Toodles.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Why Organic? A simplified explanation

You may ask yourself, why on earth should I spend more money on ORGANIC when there are perfectly good foods in the grocery store at a cheaper cost?! A picture is worth a thousand words so, here is a start why:






You probably don't know that the foods you eat are bathed in chemicals. Chemicals that are toxic poisons. Chemicals that if you were to accidentally ingest them, you'd have to call poison control or have treatment done at the hospital or you may even die. So now why is it okay or safe to eat food that has been washed in these very chemicals? Doesn't make sense! The officials likes to brainwash us to believe that it's safe to eat these food exposed to these chemicals as a very small dose won't kill us. Ya, but it's not exactly going to keep us up and running strong for long! And ps, the officials doesn't have OUR best interest at heart.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Hmmm, that's funny cuz the apple is the dirtiest fruit/veg out there! After testing, it is found to contain over 200 different chemicals! No wonder my throat would swell and my gums would itch whenever I ate a conventional apple. I thought I was allergic. Then someone suggested organic and booyah baby I can enjoy apples again!

"Well, I wash my fruits and veggies before eating them and sometimes I peel them." Washing is good to remove surface debris but it does NOT completely remove the pesticides/fungicides/herbicides that the produce has been bathed in since day one. That stuff is in the soil. It is absorbed in the roots of the plant and throughout the entire fruit or veg. Peeling is the same as it only removes the surface junk, however the peel also contains the bulk of vitamins/minerals/fiber.

FYI: In one report, the CDC found that 100% of the people tested had 13 of the 23 pesticides they analyzed. Some short term and long term effects of repeated exposure to pesticides include- infertility, birth defects, childhood and adult cancers.

"I don't eat lot's of fruits and veggies to worry, I eat meat, maize and milk." First of all, that diet alone is screaming high blood pressure and other disease! Second of all, your meat and milk is WORSE as they too are regularly "treated" to hormones and antibiotics. Plus those animals are fed Genetically Modified foods which also get that chemical treatment and are in horrific conditions! They are in small crowded pens/cages, the birds are in total darkness their whole life, the cows are in ankle deep poop which is a breeding ground for E. Coli, they are very stressed out thus causing them to naturally secrete stress hormones, they are prone to diseases from this improper ill living and many other problematic things. Would you eat roadkill? Then why would you eat this?

A quick blurb on genetically modified foods: these are foods that have been genetically engineered/altered by man (since when has man ever known more or done better than God???) These foods are fairly new and long term health effects are not yet known but don't be fooled, there are problems from these foods! The environment is already seeing repercussions and the chronic diseases that are becoming more mainstream speak volumes. Avoid the following: corn/maize, soy, cotton (oil), wheat, canola. You may say you never eat tofu but I got news for you, soy is in almost EVERY packaged food as is some form of corn.




So then what does organic mean? Basically, it means produce that is grown naturally without chemicals. It means animals that are farm raised the way they were meant to by grazing in fields, eating natural foods that suit their systems without routine injections of drugs to either grow bigger/produce more milk or fight off recurring infections. Plus, organic foods does taste better and the meat doesn't shrink down in your pan like the other stuff (they also inject salt water to increase the volume and charge you more money on that non organic meat).




You will notice a difference in your health and you will feel better!! It is WAY HEALTHIER and worth the 15% or so mark up in price. And as the consumer, we speak volumes when we choose what we buy. If more and more of us demand and support the organic market, the prices will go down as supply is increased. Think about it this way, pay a little more now or hundreds of thousands for your future hospital bill when you need to receive treatment for diseases like cancer.

The above is really in a compact nutshell. It goes deeper but I know you don't have time to receive all the info now. Also, be wary of your sources when researching more for yourself. Not all official sites are 100% truthful. They have set certain "standards" that benefit themselves. And they like to publish on a need to know basis.

Use your logic: does it make sense that it's safe to eat chemicals, hormones and antibiotics on a daily basis? Is that the key to optimal health?

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Baby's First Nutrition

Let's look at milk, first foods and that push to vaccinate....
YES, BREAST IS BEST…BUT WHAT ABOUT US UNFORTUNATE FEW
In a perfect world a baby will latch on shortly after birth and momma will produce enough milk to nurse baby at least 6 months exclusively. Then until baby’s 1st birthday with some solids for fun (soft ripe fruits and non starchy veggies and healthy cold pressed oils).
But alas, some of us don’t live in that perfect world. Take me for example. As you know, baby did not latch despite my best efforts for 3.5 months and I didn’t make enough milk to give her exclusively pumped milk. The last month my supply was so low, I was only getting out 15-20ml A DAY! No matter what I took or did to increase that teeny supply. I am grateful that I was able to give her some milk for her first 4 months. As a result of that situation, I have learned much regarding baby’s nutrition for the first year.
For you momma’s out there who also had to supplement with or solely give formula, this is for you (or us). Have you ever read the ingredients of formula? Yes, there are important things in there like the vitamin, mineral, protein, carb, etc. There are also some questionable things in there. I don’t say this to make you feel bad as I know the emotional heartaches of not being able to provide mother’s milk and having to turn to the commercial stuff…I mean, baby’s gotta eat! I say this more as education purposes so you can choose carefully to meet your baby’s needs. Some babies do fine on any garden variety of cow based formula but many have struggles.
 *Did you know that if a calf was given the store bought version of milk, it would die in about 6 weeks! And cow milk was designed for a calf, so man has done something something to upset the original milk*
 And then when you turn to the fancy formula, the lactose free hypo allergenic brand, you think it’s a wise choice…until you read and understand the ingredients. I got to say I was rather shocked at the first ingredient in the lactose free choice- corn syrup solids! There is NOTHING nutritional about corn syrup solids, quite the opposite in fact. I don’t have the time or energy to go into details of just how bad, and I mean really bad, corn syrup is so read this Dr Mercola report on corn syrup . And then you have a look at a hypo allergenic type and it lists maltodextrin as the first ingredient. Folks, maltodextrin is also derived from genetically modified corn! Um, hell no, will I give that to my sweet little one. So you think maybe soy based, but that tends to give a host of problems (ps, soy is also a genetically modified food) so steer clear of that one. So, we were stuck with the cow variety which is milk powder, whey, lactose, oils, vitamins, minerals, probiotic. It seriously constipates her, no matter what fruit or flaxseed oil or whatever, she is chronically constipated. When you understand the make up of cow milk, you’ll understand why a human baby cannot digest it well. So now what?
Goat’s milk is the closest to human milk. I’m not sure why goat milk isn’t the mainstream ingredient for commercial formula but it probably has to do with profit for the companies. I have found a goat milk formula but it has maltodextrin as the second ingredient. That made me quite mad. Why? Why! You are a product in the health shop, using organic ingredients and goat’s milk but then you ruin the whole thing with maltodextrin! Shame on you. So I had to find a recipe for goat’s milk formula. When she was 7 months, I gave this Goat Milk Formula Recipe it a try. She had good naps that day and had an easy proper bowel movement. She also grew quickly. AT FIRST, I never switched her 100% over to this recipe as I was a bit nervous about the proper vitamin/mineral ratio for her needs. Particularly the B vitamins, namely B12.
*B12 is a neat water soluble vitamin. It is the only water soluble one that can be stored in the liver for later use when stores are low. The body doesn’t need much but a deficiency can have serious irreversible damage.*
Goat’s milk is lacking in B vitamins and you have to add nutritional yeast to the formulation (along with a couple other things). But nutritional yeast does not have B12 unless it is fortified. I have yet to find a brand here that is. But I’ve finally found a product for kids, 6 months and up, that contains B vitamins including B12. I’ve also learned through my credible reading sources and some other mothers’ personal experiences that at 10 months, baby can have fresh/previously frozen goat’s milk as her main source of nutrition (like breast milk) instead of a formulation of it. Along with the Floradix KinderVital (B vitamins etc), I finally feel comfortable to say goodbye to part time use of commercial formula.
FRUIT SHOULD BE BABY’S FIRST FOOD
Not cereal as it is pushed as first food. "Raising Healthy Kids" explains why. Babies digestive systems are very immature. Babies do not produce the enzyme ptyalin which is necessary to digest starches. Also, the breakdown process of starch begins in the mouth while chewing…with teeth, which babies do not have a full set of until about 2...and with the release of the enzyme in saliva. So if you really insist on cereal as babies first food, then you’d better pre chew it for him/her!
Solids under 1 are for fun and a learning experience, not a staple source of nutrition. Main nutrition should still be coming from their milk. That is why you give baby milk before feeding a sampling of fruit. If you really think about it, a baby can’t eat a large enough quantity of food anyways to get all the required vitamins, minerals, etc for their growing body hence why milk is the staple.
Fruit is the perfect first food. It is the easiest food for us to breakdown and assimilate the readily available nutrients. Please leave that nonsense of “fruit will cause a baby to love sugar” at the door, as that theory is incorrect. Babies are wired to prefer sweet from the word go as breast milk is naturally sweet. Have you tasted breast milk? It is sweet. And a sweet piece of fruit does not even slightly compare to a sweet piece of candy.
Personal experience, my baby doesn’t even like starches. Before I learned that babies can’t breakdown starches I did try to give her oatmeal a couple times and rice twice. She wasn’t having it and I did not push the subject…she knows what she likes and needs. I also delayed trying to give her some starch as my gut told me- fruit and non-starch veggies. Ladies, listen to your gut!
 VACCINATION IS NOT IMMUNIZATION
Now, this is a pretty dang heated topic. I’m not sure where or why it has become such a hot sore spot for people who enter into a discussion which rarely lasts for more than a sentence as a discussion before erupting into a hot debate. Why is that? Is it because it is regarding the health of children? Other things regarding kids’ health can be discussed without tempers flaring so I don’t know if that is truly it. Let's try to take a look at some points without getting upset :) 
The purpose of a vaccine is to introduce a dead (sometimes live) disease cell so the immune system can start to make antibodies against it so if the off chance you contract the true disease your body is immune to it. That’s fine and dandy.
I am not pro vaccine, not for babies at least. Babies are not even capable of creating antibodies until at least 6 months of age, yet they are heavily vaccinated well before that age! It is useless to give babies vaccines as they can’t even create antibodies. Also there are several questionable ingredients in vaccines. Mercury, aluminum, monkey DNA, aborted fetal tissue to name a few.
Dr Kurt Perkins does a lovely job of breaking down vaccines especially the diseases along with statistics to support his stance. Even if you are pro vaccine read his post. He informs readers of how vaccines are not tested on humans before release to market. He discusses each disease, the chance of contracting it and provides charts of each disease rate over several years. Vaccines typically come out once the disease has been well on the decline if not almost wiped out. And he shows that the true cause of disease is poor sanitation, poor hygiene and poor nutrition.
Bottom line- good sanitation, quality nutrition and good hygiene are key to health and wellness...this holds true for babies too :) All the best!

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

More Raw Foods... Take 3... Action!

Every since baby has been on solids, I've further cleaned up my eating habits. My habits are generally pretty good but lacking in some areas- never organic, little raw (fruit only with the odd salad) and can't say no to "treatsies" (chips? yes! brownies? um hello! chocolate bar? does a bear poo in the woods!!-that was an editted answer from a Friends episode for all you that didn't get that reference).

So because I am overly caring, hyper particular mother, my baby gets the best of the best. Organic, homemade, healthy happy foods. This has re focused my former good habits (pre pregnancy). Not sure why pregnancy opened a door to chips, brownies, cheesecake? Luckily, it was only a couple weeks in the 2nd trimester, but I digress. Also, how and why would baby be pro zucchini if papa and mama are eating Lay's Sweet Chili? Example! Before, I go on, I want to clarify that we aren't generally bad eaters. We don't do that fast food thing and we don't indulge in packaged crap which I haven't been a fan of for years. I just want to get our diet even more squeaky clean to match baby's needs too. More organic and raw in particular. Note- Baby won't be a raw baby cuz she does require iron, but it'll come from clean free range organic sources. My husband doesn't want to eat meat anymore though and I've never been a big fan. But we aren't announcing vegetarianism either. Meat will be rarely consumed by us parents.

Alright, I've tried to get heavy into raw foods twice now. The first time I was an eager beaver. My family had equipment too-blender, food processor, juicer and a cheapie food dehydrator. It was the summer before I moved to the other side of the world. I had quit my job 6 weeks in advance so I could just be with the family before leaving on a jet plane. I was in a city that had a bulk food store with cheap nuts and seeds and health food shops for any other need on the ingredient list. I went gung ho...for 4 days. Then I got tired of spending my day in the kitchen soaking, processing, blending, juicing, slicing, drying. It was a lot of work to prepare one meal which had to be done in advance.

My second attempt was somewhere around the end of 1st trimester (before I got crazy with cravings in 2nd trimester). My nausea was calming down and I had enough of it and figured raw foods would do it. I didn't have the equipment. I had a blender. So I combed through my raw foods book for recipes that were pretty much salads and blended drinks and soups. I did have a stove top oven which had a low setting so I tried one dehydrator recipe. It turned out mediocre at best. Well, that lasted maybe 2 days? My gag reflexes kicked in at the thought of another raw thing. I wanted a warm plate of saucy pasta. The cravings had arrived.

I had dabbled here and there inbetween those 2 attempts to go raw again but it's tough. And in that time, I had come up with excuses why raw is tough.

1. I don't have the equipment- vitamix, bosch, excalibur, cold press juicer, veg spiraler, mandolin
2. I like to have a warm plate of food- mmmm, lentils and rice
3. I don't have time- soaking, processing, blending, drying, slicing, juicing...I have a busy baby!
4. I like yogurt, eggs and salmon
5. Nuts and seeds are so expensive this side of Cape Town

So here we are again, take 3. But this time, I'm gonna be smart and I have a plan to attack those 5 excuses:

1. I don't need all the equipment. How hard is it to chop up some veg for a salad? Crush some walnuts, toss em with spices and soy sauce and add this "taco meat" on top. I'm gonna do simple stuff that doesn't require a counter full of gadgets. Salads, soups, drinks, desserts, snacks.

2. I'm not gonna commit to being 100% raw. We watched Food Matters the other day, loved it, and they said that eating just 51% raw foods diet will do the trick of raising your health up up up. So that is my goal. Take plate, and fill slightly more than half with raw organic produce. Easy.

3. I'm not doing the time consuming recipes. As for soaking nuts, how hard is it to pour some water over the almonds before I go to bed?

4. I will still eat yogurt, eggs and salmon. Natural organic yogurt that I flavor with stevia and fresh fruit. Free range eggs sunny side up (yolk still raw). And salmon sashimi...drool everywhere.

5. Not much I can about the price but I can cut down the amount that the recipe calls for. Still works.

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Happy Social Girl

It's unfortunate when parents don't realize that their babies are actually little people in the making. I don't like to see or hear when parents treat babies like "babies"-unknowing, uneducated creatures that just eat, sleep and cry. The way parents interact (or don't interact) with their little ones HAS an effect on their development.

People keep telling me that my baby is so happy and social. Let me tell, we interact with her to help develop her as such. I spend pretty much the whole day entertaining, playing or teaching my baby. I sing for her. I dance for her. We exercise together. She on her activity mat, I on my yoga mat beside her. I conversate with her which means I talk to her AND allow pauses for her to reply even though it may just be a squeal. I read to her everyday. We play games. She has soft blocks, one with letters and one with numbers. With the letter block we take turns rolling it and whatever letter it lands on I point/show her things in the room that start with that letter. And I repeat those things three times to help it stick. With the number block we just roll and whoever gets the higher number wins. I do a little cheer at each win. We get fresh air everyday. I allow her to have play time in the bath so as to prevent bath time from becoming this yucky thing one has to do to get clean. And I am constantly smiling and laughing with her. And other such things.

Now I say those things not to brag but to show that interaction does affect their development. I wish more parents could take some time to treat babies as equals and not dumb little things. I mean, ya, babies aren't born knowing all of the ways of life but it is parents responsibility to teach and protect and most of all love and enjoy each day with the little ones.

Monday, February 25, 2013

Notes for my memory, not yer entertainment

The day after I wrote the last blog, she stopped being constipated. Prunes are fantastic and she loves them. She's been regular and great since. So far she's tried butternut (2 stars in her book), cauliflower (1 star), carrots (1 star), prunes (3 stars), greek yogurt (3 stars), sweet potato (3 stars), avo (no star), plums (3 stars, my book too). I make all her food with a variety of styles and textures (spices will be next month). She chews so nicely with her mouth closed. So polite.

She discovered her feet a week or so ago. When she is sitting, she holds her feet. When she is laying on the changing mat, she's got her feet in her hand. She almost put them in her mouth today so that stage isn't too far off. And when she is sitting in her high chair eating a non 3 star food, she watches her feet moving back and forth. Soooo cute.

She has also discovered her tongue. She sticks it out and sometimes chews it a little bit.

We took her to the beach for her second time on Saturday. She really does love the beach. Mommy and daddy aren't interesting when she's on the beach. I walked over to the line where the waves wash ashore and she freaking loved it. She was screaming with joy at each wave that came in.

She's been laughing for a few weeks now, but it is big work to get her to laugh. She'll give her smiles away all day but a laugh costs big money. Daddy has only heard her laugh once this past weekend. The almost guarantee to get her to laugh is me doing sit ups. Yup, sit ups crack her up. Not sure why. So I did a lot more sit ups the other day than I cared to do. That's when daddy heard her laugh. She'll squeal with joy but to get her to laugh is work. I love her laugh. Kinda reminds me of Beavis and Butthead...well, Butthead really.


Today, when I was putting her down for her second nap of the day, I walked out of the room to get something. Then I heard this woman going lalalala in a real sing song style (made up of course). I couldn't believe it. Singing already! So cute.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Feeling Stressed

My baby hasn't grown in length in 3 months. She's been stuck at 62cm for a long time. She is also quite constipated now (with the switching to the 6 month old formula). I'm like sweating bullets that I'm not doing a good job here. She is gaining weight and has enough wet diapers (at least 6) but her pee is looking a bit yellow. She drinks about 525-750ml of formula a day and she is content with that amount. But I've read that she should have at least 710ml now but on the other hand many many tell me she is too fat and drinks too much formula (including a nurse).

The constipation is stressing me so I try to give her water/baby rooibos tea (40-100ml a day). I never gave her much water until her 4 month mark when the teen tiny BMilk of mine ran out (and then it was about 30ml water/tea in a day to help her poo). But now I'm reading a baby shouldn't have water cuz it interferes with their mineral/vitamin absorption. Is this why she hasn't grown in length? She doesn't really even accept the water anyways. I've read that a little prune juice for baby is ok for the constipation so I bought prunes and boiled it and used the liquid as prune juice (1 tbsp with enough water to make 40ml). I pureed/strained the prunes and am giving a few tsp for her 3rd food intro for this 24hr period. She really strains and cries a bit when trying to poo, which of course makes me cry a lot! I don't want my baby in pain. I also don't want her to be fat and suffer in life like I have. It really sucks to be a chunky woman!!! I want her to be happy and healthy and fit.

I am still traumatized by the whole BF fiacso. I tried for 4 months to get her to latch. Barely any milk came out with an electric pump too. The thought of it still brings me to tears. I don't think it'll stop hurting until I see her grown up healthy and happy. I know this whole BF failure is what is causing her to be overweight, underheight, and constipated. She is quite happy tho (unless we're getting close to nap time whether she wants to nap or not-again, I'm sure it's lack of BF related). I wanna go to the paed but it is really really expensive and our medical aid wont cover a specialist for a routine check up. So, trying to go to GP for her 6 month check up (difficult to find a day with hubby's busy job and we only have 1 remote for the complex gate and I really don't wanna hit the sketchy streets of Parklands where our GP is with my precious little one without a car/hubby). On another note, she is quite lazy physcially. She rarely ever rolls. She hates tummy time. I wonder if she'll ever crawl.

Any moms out there experience/ experienced any of this????


Prunes all over her cutie face. She is a smart, happy, curious, funny, strong baby, I'll say that!! And I love her more than anything. I miss her when she is sleeping. She gets a million cuddles a day.  I want the best for her

Monday, February 18, 2013

6 Months

Well, we're halfway to a year. Baby is 6 months old...YAY! This age group of 6-9months is an exciting time including crawling, giggling endlessly and intro to solids. She had her first bites of butternut today. She was so extremely cute in her high chair. We are doing the BLW way which in a nut shell is baby leads the way. No real hard and fast rules other than don't put food in the baby's mouth and ensure the food is soft and conveniently shaped so baby can grip with her palm. Here is a link that explains baby-led-weaning nicely.

She was reaching for the butternut straight away. I helped place it in her palm and she put it straight into her mouth. She was chewing it and having fun. Then she dropped that piece in her hand and quickly reached for another one. Unfortunately, I had steamed it to be a bit too soft so it mushed and broke up before it got to her mouth. We tried a couple sliced chunks at noon and then a couple more chunks at 5pm. As barely any made it into her mouth (due to the mushyness), I took a spoon and put teeny bits on it and she brought the spoon to her mouth and took it off herself.

The first round, she did gag a bit as she bit off more than she could chew but she quickly learned not to put too much in her mouth. I'd say about 99% of the butternut ended up on her bib, high chair or floor. But that's ok. She's just learning about food and how eating works. The mantra of BLW is food under one is for fun as babies nutrition comes from milk.

A friend of mine who has 7 kids discovered BLW with her last baby and she said she had wished she'd known about it way before. She says her last baby is the best eater (not picky, doesn't overeat) which is what many who do BLW say about their babies.

The beauty of BLW is baby learns to chew before swallowing, is a less picky eater, and less likely to overeat as they control how much they want. The downfall is BLW is messy, very messy. Also, much patience is required. I was tempted to just take the butternut and mush it and feed it to her but I'm trying to keep my patience as I think it will pay off well in the long run.

Bottom line, baby really enjoyed her first experience with food. She was so relaxed and very in to it. Words cannot describe how cute the experience was. Another baby first!

Ps, this has nothing to do with BLW but since last Sunday baby has really gotten into babbling words like blebleble, mamamama, lalalala, dadadada, nananana. So adorable.

Pps, she has become so anti nap I go a little crazy during the day. She is tired when I take her for her nap but yhoo, she has no desire to sleep and throws a fit. It's a big exhausting job to get her to nap.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Musings

I am loving motherhood! I spend 24/7 with this baby and it's so fun and doesn't get old. We have lot's of cuddle time, outside time, play time, exercise time, story time, song time. One of our fav things to do is play ball. I sit her on one end of the loveseat and I at the other. Then we roll this soft soccer ball back and forth (she got it for Christmas) and we are both all smiles and squeals of happiness. My baby loves to use her feet as weapons. She pushes them into my leg, pinches my skin with her toes and then twists and turns them. She loves to kick anything and everything near her feet. And she kicks hard! But that's not what I'm here to talk to you about today...

I'm actually not here to talk to you about anything specific. Just some random thoughts. Well, maybe random isn't the word I want.

I can't wait to have baby #2 then #3 (that is if I'm blessed to have more kids). If I were in my 20's, I'd probably try to get pregnant next month. But alas, I'm mid 30's so I feel I should wait until LO is 1 so my body has that time to rebuild calcium, iron and folic acid stores to give #2 a healthy start. Plus, I still have 4kg pregnancy weight I want to shed plus a little more. I want to be thinner at the start of this next pregnancy.

I lost 6kgs so far this month. In a nutshell, it's all about eating protein, veg, fats together and carbs, vegs together and fruit alone on empty stomach. Why? Protein requires a more acidic environment to digest whereas carbs (as in grains) require a more alkaline environment. If the two are eaten together you get indigestion. Fruits digest quickly thus they shouldn't be combined with other foods to avoid gas. And fats mixed with protein doesn't cause weight gain whereas carbs with fat equals weight gain. And I avoid sugars. I honestly don't feel deprived one teeny bit! I had loosened the "reins" to have a cheat meal today and I just don't need it. I had peanut butter on toast and popcorn. That was my cheat meal! I don't think I'll have a cheat day this coming week cuz like I said, I don't feel deprived.

FB is becoming so old news and quite boring. I want to leave but I have so many photos on there I don't want to lose them and I have no desire to download them all!! I've just decided to not really go on it anymore.

I'd love to go on a family vacation. DH and I haven't been anywhere except for our mini honeymoon a couple years ago. We went an hour away up the coast for 3 nights. We couldn't afford to do much. I'd be thrilled to just go camping! But DH has never gone camping and has a tainted idea of what camping is (sleeping in the bush with bugs and praying bad guys don't come and get us). He also thinks it's absolutely absurd to take a baby camping. Africans.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Things I Hate to Hear and Things I Can't Hear Enough

There are three things that people say to me as a mother that drive me bananas. Unfortunately, I hear these things often enough that now I have to blog vent about it.

1. "Watch that baby/look after that baby!" What the H.E.double hockey sticks is that suppose to mean?? Do people think I put my child in a pile of garbage while I run off to the spa for facials?! I WATCH MY CHILD thank you very much! That child is my life. I'm with her 24/7. She even comes with me when I go to the loo. She spends a lot of time in my arms or on my lap too. When we go somewhere, I sit in the backseat with her and we hold hands (unless she falls asleep). Her bed is beside mine and shall be until she is 1. When it's her bedtime, I check on her every few minutes to makes sure all is well. Now please, dont come and say I'm a crazy overprotective mother. She has her independent play time too on her activity mat and goes to sleep on her own in her own bed at bedtime. So the next person who says "look after that baby" is gonna get whipped with a car antennae.

2. "Your baby is so big! She eats too much." The ironic thing is the people who say this to me are fat women. Uh, look in the mirror honey! A. B. my baby is a few grams above average for the weight chart for her age. She's got some chub on her thighs and forearms but she's a baby. Babies aren't suppose to be skinny!! That cute little chub that I relish will go when she crawls and grows. C. she doesn't eat too much, especially based on the calculations of babies under 6months are to eat 120-150ml/kg a day. This point is starting to not bother me so much anymore cuz I've learned that people are dumb. They don't know what what and yet they flap their jaws. My baby is perfect and her needs are being met plus billions of loves and cuddles. The End.

3. "You must...." Everyone has two cents to contribute. Please stop with the advice. I've read the books and googled the information. I'm the mother, I know my child and I have instinct. Like every adult, each baby is a unique individual. I typically just smile and nod when people share their "knowledge" and then I go about my day.

The things that I can't hear enough are

1. "Your baby is sooo cute!" One time in the grocery store a lady and her young daughter were in awe over me babe. She then said she'd give me 4 million to adopt my baby (of course she wasn't totally serious) and of course I said no, she is priceless and mine!

2. "Your baby looks like you" Sometimes I wonder if it is meant to a compliment, but I take it as one cuz my baby is dang adorable in my opinion. Thank you :)

3. "Your baby smiles a lot" Yep, we try to have a happy little family and she does smile lots :)