Marcy is breastfeeding with Eloise and I just did a little research on the subject and found this page helpful:
Breastfeeding a newborn
We were mainly curious about how long the baby should feed for. We’re shooting for 20 minutes per breast but Eloise seems to get sleepy about 10 minutes into the process.
She’s been feeding on demand, and now we’re going to take an anticipatory approach to make sure we’re noticing right away when she’s hungry.
UPDATE - April 6, 2008 - We also ran into an issue where milk was coming out of Eloise’s nose, so a quick search for “breastfeeding nose” returned this helpful page:
While breastfeeding milk comes out nose
I was talking to a friend the other day about what we were giving our toddlers to eat these days and she mentioned that she was having a tough time getting hers to eat meats. He happily eats yogurt, cheese and eggs, but she needs a little more diversity for his diet. Meat pickiness in toddlers is very common and sometimes a little frustrating. I’ve started brainstorming and researching ideas that might help her sneak it in. As a former vegetarian (and missing it), my first suggestion was tofu, which has protein, calcium and a much softer texture than meat and it can be marinated and given all kinds of flavors. There are all kinds of vegetarian meat products that have softer textures (they try to make them as close to meat as possible, but don’t always get it). For instance, Whole Foods makes vegan meatballs that have a very smooth texture and a nice seasoned flavor, and they cook up quickly in the toaster.
But I also found some good suggestions online that might work: meat filled raviolis, muffins made with protein powder (try to find the ones that are simple, straight protein without lots of additives), hummus on bread, fage- high protein greek yogurt, steamed soy beans (they are a little harder than regular beans and you’re worried about choking, you might want to smash them), quinoa- protein rich grain that you might be able to pass off as couscous.
And dipping, toddlers love to dip. Try giving them strips of chicken or vegan meatballs with some hummus or low-fat Italian dressing to dip in. The activity might be so fun it may make them forget they are eating!
Most kidos are doing just fine for their protein intake even if they’re picky about meat, but as a guide, average 1 to 3 year-olds need about 16 grams of protein a day, but it might be a little higher or lower based on your child’s weight.
Here are a few places to find menu ideas for your little ones:
Whole Foods Kids Recipes
Wholesome Toddler Food recipes
High Protein Icelandic Yogurt
Since my last post about BPA there has been another report out about phthalates, another potentially dangerous chemical compound found in plastics. The reason why this is important is it has been found that phthalates cause problems with male reproductive organs. This is scary and I feel it is just what they have found at this point- what else will they find?
Phthalates are used as a compound that makes plastic more flexible as well as found in the ingredients of personal care products that are just listed as “fragrance”. Here is a short list of some common items it can be found in: cosmetics, lotion, toys, teethers, flooring, adhesives, wallpaper, furniture, raincoats and shower curtains*. Aside from it being a possible ingredient, many products that we use are housed in phthalate plastic containers and it has been found that the chemicals again can leach into the products we use. What makes this tricky is phthalates are not specifically listed on most products out there.
So I am venturing again to find products that are phthalate free. A number of stores such as Walmart, Sears and Toys ‘R Us are vowing to phase out products that have phthalates in them. A number of toy and baby product companies are volunteering to discontinue using them in their items such as teethers and pacifiers. For baby shampoos and soaps Burt’s Bees, Aubrey Organics and California Baby come up pretty high on most lists I looked at on the “buying guide”, as well as Dr. Bronner’s (my family has been loving it for years- just laugh when you read the bottle). Some products from the “buying guide” will be a little harder to find and a little more expensive. Whole Foods, natural grocer’s and the internet will be the best places to look for these products.
Skin Deep Parent’s Buying Guide a great guide to finding products without harmful chemicals.
Skin Deep’s ingredient list to avoid.
Stolen Furniture’s article on phthalates
handmade, phthalate free baby soaps from Wildly Lucky Soap/Serendipity Soap Dish
Natural Rubber Pacifiers
**You can find PVC-free, EVA shower curtains at Ikea and Target.
We are hearing it more and more- plastic bottles are bad. It seems that a chemical, BPA (bisphenol A) found in polycarbonate plastic bottles, is not too good for you. It looks like some of the chemical can actually leach into the liquid. BPA has been shown to cause cancer in rats, as for the human effect, this is still up for debate at this point. From where I stand, the whole rat bit doesn’t look too good. The companies that use BPA-plastic claim it is harmless (of course) but scientists are throwing up warning signs all over about BPA. I am going to err on the side of caution as I have always been a little unsettled when I take a sip of water and there is a smell or taste of plastic- it not only tastes bad but I have wondered if it was bad for me. It also seems that even more of the chemical can get into the liquid if it is hot or boiling. That brings to mind baby bottles- most are made from polycarbonate plastic, and we put pretty warm milk or formula in them- scary.
So we have some options to help reduce our exposure to BPA. I found some companies that make BPA free baby bottles and sippies, Born Free
, Mam and Medela. Each of these companies use safer plastic alternatives such as polyamide and polypropylene.
For the mamas and da’s, there is Sigg (they’re expensive but worth it) and Thermos- both have versions for toddlers and younglings, and use BPA free linings.
Furthermore, it is a good idea to try to phase out plastic storage (esp. with recycle code #7 on the bottom) and opt for glass storage containers.
For more information on BPA: thegreenguide.com
ZRecs review on BPA free bottles and sippies
Safe Mama Cheat Sheet
The Soft Landing - a guide to non-toxic baby products
BPA Free Bottles
We get too much for the holidays- too many things. Our house is overflowing with everyone’s generosity, and we appreciate it tons. But some of the nicest gifts we received are the homemade ones.
Case in point, one of my coworkers gave me a bag with some delicious fire and spice nuts (a great combo of cashews, pecans, walnuts and crystalized ginger) and some ginger tea (a mixture of honey and fresh grated ginger). The whole thing was sweetly wrapped in a paper bag (which I love the idea of recyclable paper wrap- see the picture). This is a nice idea to do with your kids as they can help you make gifts like this.
Here’s the link to the Fire and Spice Nuts recipe~ enjoy!
