healthy ideas, product info and comments about babies, tots and little ones
Yikes! My daughter might have Parvovirus 19 / Fifths Disease!
Its not as bad as it sounds though, mostly a rash and some discomfort. I’m a little confused though, she’s been sneezing and has a runny nose but those aren’t listed as symptoms. Its hard to know what babies are going through when they are sick. 
I’ve been thinking about it for a while now- does using vinegar really disinfect and kill germs? I use mostly all natural or green cleaning products around the house but still have been using things like Clorox wipes and toilet cleansers in areas that I am just too suspicious of: ie kitchen countertops, bathrooms, sink handles, door handles. Can I really trust vinegar to kill flu viruses and e. coli? (Can you tell I have swine flu on my mind? Can you blame me I am pregnant and have a toddler!)
So I am getting down to the bottom of it. Honestly, I would rather use nothing but natural cleaners, safer for my family, safer for the world I share with everyone, but I am a germaphobe and want to know that I am wiping out flu viruses, e. coli and salmonella. I am searching out some info- does vinegar kill germs and viruses?
Here’s what I have found: vinegar kills 99% of bacteria, 82% of mold and 80% of viruses. For something like salmonella on a cutting board, hit it with boiling water or the sanitize cycle in the dishwasher. So, it looks like we can trust the bacteria killing power of vinegar, lemon and hydrogen peroxide. But I think during flu season I still may use some rubbing alcohol on door knobs, remotes, sink handles, etc. But I am happy to know for sure that I can really let go of the bleach.
Also, I read you should use 1 part vinegar, 3 parts water to clean your produce, too.
Sources to check out:
DIY-cleaners, the green kind
Why chemical disinfectants are overkill
CBS 48 hours on old time cleaning remedies
Natural Remedies for disenfecting
My daughter is 3, so it was time to have her first check-up at the dentist. I decided to bring her to her to my dentist, as opposed to a pediatric dentist. I like and trust them, the staff is nice and friendly. I was worried though, I have heard of little ones being totally freaked out by the whole experience. I did what I could to try to prepare her for what would go on. She kept saying that she didn’t want to go but had no real reasons for why. We looked at the dentist pages in Richard Scarry
So the next morning we headed off and I held my breath. We got there and were in the waiting room a few minutes and we talked about her being able to pick a special prize at the end of the appointment which made her pleased and we headed in to the examination room.
The hygienist was great, she showed my daughter everything and explained what she was going to do with it. My daughter can be pretty reserved with people who she doesn’t know but was made to feel comfortable right away. She was relaxed and chatty through the whole exam. The hygienist was able to count, check and polish her teeth. (I was told that if things aren’t going well they would stop after getting a tooth count) Despite the fact that my daughter is sadly a juice junky- she had no cavities- which I was really fretting. The hygienist said we should use straws instead of sippy cups for juice and the sippy cups can have water only. The juice goes right onto the front teeth through a sippy cup spout. We were told if she can make sure she swished and rinses well, we should do a tiny bit of fluoride paste. I haven’t gone there yet but we are practicing with the “safe to swallow” stuff still. I really want to make sure she is definitely not swallowing the toothpaste. For now we are going to brush 2 times a day and use the little easy flossers.
Overall it went great, my daughter learned there was nothing to be afraid of and she was happy with her new toothbrush, toothpaste and little toys they gave her. I am so happy it wasn’t a traumatizing first trip the the dentist.
Every winter my daughter starts scratching, dry winter skin is back. Her skin gets so dry, especially on her back. At 3 she’ll ask me to scratch her back for her, “a little up, a little to the edge”. I hate to do it because, while I know it feels good for a moment its is making it more sore in the end. While I don’t use much on her throughout the year, every winter I have turned to my two favorites to help combat the itching- California Baby Calendula Cream
The first winter it happened, she was a newborn, and her cheeks were chapped and her back had little spots of dry skin. I asked her doctor and he said just use Aquaphor. That got us thru the first winter but I wasn’t so sure about putting a petroleum product all over her skin. The next year I bought Weleda Calendula Cream, and it seemed to help quite a bit but it was a little greasy. I went back to Whole Foods and tried California Baby Calendula Cream. (I had been using a calendula gel for years for cuts, sunburns and scrapes on myself, found it worked really well in healing, so I was attracted to the products with that in it). It was great, I applied it before bed and there was a huge difference overnight and on two days it was gone.
While I use California Baby all over her back, I put the Weleda cream on really bad spots, elbows and knees. I find a little every other day keeps her skin without any dry spots. Both products unfortunately register with some low to moderate hazard at Skin Deep, but they work well and until there is a safer one that works just as well or better, I’ll have to stick with them.
You might have always had a picky eater on your hands, or maybe its a new thing for your normally eat-everything toddler. Either way it can be frustrating to ask what your little one what she wants to eat and the response is same thing they had for breakfast and lunch or turn their nose at everything you suggest or worse- you make. A few months ago we started to see this, my daughter had been a very diverse eater- from a great array of veggies and fruits right down to a big variety of ethnic foods. But we are witnessing a pull back- an apprehension to try new foods as well as a rejection of some old favorites. So we’ve been employing some new tricks and recipes, mostly good old fashion smoke and mirrors, to hopefully keep variety in her diet. I think back to the kids I baby-sat for in high school that ate hot dogs every night and am going to fight that kind of scenario all the way.
One good book I found a help is The Toddler Café
Prior to finding this book we were using some of these fun-type approaches that worked great. Cutting sandwiches in triangles or with cookie cutters, presenting a smorgasbord of dipping foods with hummus (toddlers love to dip), fruit dipped in yogurt, arranging food in different and unexpected ways. Think basic but fun. But if you’re stumped like many others, you and your toddler might find Jennifer Carden’s creative ideas inspiring enough to eat!
See a sample of what’s inside the book!
