Vaccine Update

We got Emma's blood work back. We had them test her titers (immunity) for the MMR, Tetanus and Diptheria. Emma has been vaccinated up to date until she was 2 yrs old. At all her other check ups, there wasn't an offer for other ones (although, I'm sure, most 4 yr olds get shots at their appts). So, before she goes to kindergarten this year, I knew she was supposed to get a MMR booster, an IPV booster and a DTaP booster. I didn't want to go into it blindly.

So, on to the test results... She came back with immunity to Measles, Mumps and Ruebella. She also came back immune to Diptheria. The Tetanus one came back indeterminate. So, she wasn't in the category of "unprotected," but she also wasn't in the "protected" category. I think I was relieved to see that she is already immune to those and in my opinion, does not need the boosters. But then I was sad to think that she walks around with that gross stuff in her. I can't win. :) And I can't be pleased. :)

So, now I can take the test results to her new pediatrician and refuse the shots, with a little more to back me up. I'll have to sign a religious exemption paper for her school, but that's fine with me. As for the tetanus, I'm pretty sure it's hard to get just the tetanus shot, so I think I'll wait on that. Of course, if she gets hurt, we can always do the shot then. And for the IPV, I think I'd like to wait on that as well. She's had all of the initial shots and I'm sure she has immunity towards it as well. Maybe in the future, we can get that tested too. But for now, no shots for Emma. :)

Now, let's hope the pediatrician is willing to work with us and doesn't think we are total freaks. :) I wouldn't be surprised if they do, but it'd be nice to have one that is on our side in our town.

Personal Care Products

People often ask me what products I use or what products are safe. So, I thought I'd blog about that today. I'll start with the first thing I use in the morning and the last thing I use at night.

When I shower, I use Usana's Sense line for my hair and face (http://nedlifeshop.usana.com). I use their shampoo/conditioner and their 3-step face wash, which is the wash, the toner and the lotion. These are fabulous products - seriously. And I have tried a lot of different things. The lotion has a sunscreen in it (the good kind) and it never feels greasy to me (and I have very oily skin). The body wash we are currently using is Jason's Naturals, which is great stuff as well (and safe for my gluten-free husband). And to shave, I use Kiss My Face shaving cream, which is awesome stuff! Seriously! I was a faithful lady's Gillette fan for a long time. But got so tired of the smell and the fact that it was blue or purple! Why did it need to be a color?

When I'm out of the shower, I continue with the Sense line for the toner and the lotion. And then I use Bare Minerals makeup, which is my favorite makeup. I cannot believe how easily it goes on and how long it stays on and how well it covers up. Seriously. I have lots of red blotches and blemishes and this stuff really works. Not to mention that it actually has the right kind of sunscreen in it, which protects my face. With both the Sense lotion and the makeup, I don't even need to put the greasy sunscreen on when I'm out in the sun at the pool Seriously. And I do not get sun on my face. I cannot get over it.

For my hair, I use Finesse mousse. I'd much rather find a more natural mousse, but have been unsuccessful. They have lots of gels out there, but that's too heavy for my hair. And after doing research on Skin Deep's website, I found that the Finesse brand was one of the safer ones. If you haven't ever used this tool, I highly recommend it. You can search for some of your products by name, for others, you might have to type in the ingredients. But it will tell you what the most dangerous chemicals are and how the product rates overall. Very helpful! You're never going to find a product that is perfect (or you might be paying a ton of money), but you really want to try to find one that is as safe as possible.

For deodorant, I found a natural roll-on aluminum-free deodorant at Target, for like $2.99 or something. Very cheap and works very well!

Don't forget to do the same thing for your kids' products! Especially that baby wash. That stuff is actually some of the most toxic - most of them contain a formaldehyde releaser. :( So be sure to check all of their products. (My kids use nothing but California Baby and we love all of their products.)

Oh, and I do brush my teeth. :) I use the Sense toothpaste, which is flouride-free and contains no artificial ingredients or harmful ingredients (especially those gross colors). There are lots of great brands of healthy toothpastes. You can check out the Kiss My Face brand, I've used that as well.

Okay - so that's it for personal care products, that I can think of off the top of my head. I'll also do cleaning products soon and my favorite foods! :)

Digestion

Just wanted to give an update on how my stomach has been feeling after seeing the doctor a month ago. It's feeling great! Seriously! I can't get over my new lease on life. :) I can eat so many more things now and I think I've gone 2 weeks now straight without any problems or pains or gas.

I switched from the Digestin to the straight HCL just before we moved and boy has it made a difference. I usually take one with lunch and dinner and my afternoon snack. If I'm going to be eating something I don't usually eat, then I'll take 2 to help digest things. And I've been able to take my vitamins again, which is huge and very important. :) I usually take one set at lunch and one set at dinner (totalling 4). I'll work back up to all 6 again in a little bit.

I'm just so happy about it and relieved that I can't get over it! For so many months, I was in such pain or was so frustrated about it and it's just so great to have it behind me now. I'm glad that I was diagnosed by a doctor and that he said it was safe for me to take the HCL while being pregnant. And my new midwife supports it as well, while my old midwives didn't really. So, for any of you with stomach problems, look into taking the HCL supplement (Hydrochloric acid). Feel free to ask me any questions.

Baby Positioning

Did you know there is an entire website and company dedicated to helping moms position their babies in the womb for optimal delivery? And they aren't just talking about babies that are breech or transverse. "When the baby's back is on the left and the baby's chin is tucked, the birth process is the smoothest and most straightforward." (www.spinningbabies.com). They think the very top of the head should be the part that crowns and will allow for the smoothest delivery.

They believe that many women have trouble with stalled or slow labors or are labeled "failure to progress" because the baby is simply in the wrong position. And that has become an increasing problem these days as c-section rates and deliveries by vacuum or forceps rise. Unfortunately, many doctors will tell women that their baby is simply too big or that their is something wrong with their pelvis - that it's too small. I don't believe this to be true. I believe that women's bodies are created for birth and that you are not going to create a baby that is too big for your body to birth. If that was the case, then how do women vaginally birth 12 lb babies?? Of course, there are exceptions, such as injuries, etc. But for most women, your body is more than capable.

Then why do we hear of so many of these "failure to progress" stories? One of the probelms (and there are others) is that the baby is not positioned correctly before labor even starts and then the mother is in a poor position in labor and the pushing stage which prevents the baby from turning correctly, making for a very hard labor and a very hard pushing stage.

Spinning babies recommends many things while you are pregnant to help baby into the correct position. THey blame many of the reclining chairs with these incorrectly positioned babies. The babies head and back are the heaviest parts of the baby. So, if you are in a constant reclined state, the baby's back will automatically turn to the back (so it's spine is resting on your spine). This causes the baby to become posterior and causes that dreaded back labor.

They recommend sitting with your knees lower than your hips and allowing your belly to go below your hips as well. So, sitting backwards in a kitchen chair is an excellent way to accomplish this. Or sitting on an exercise ball is wonderful as well (and very comfy). While you're sitting on it, make sure you do some hoola-hooping big circles. :)

So, if you are pregnant, avoid that recliner and those overstuffed comfy chairs and choose a chair that allows you to sit up straight and even lean forward. In fact, the best place is probably on the floor, sitting cross-legged. The website mentions many other options (emotional, chiropractic and even spiritual) to help the baby into the correct position.

How does this to relate to a Healthy Pregnancy? Well, I'm a big believer in natural birth (if you haven't already surmised) and believe that there can be long-lasting and short-term effects on both mother and baby for births that are medicated or surgical. So, I'm sure there is not one doctor or person who would disagree that the best way for a baby to come out is head-first, vaginally. And why not do everything in your power to make sure that happens?

Who would've thought pregnancy could be so complex?

Update on Vaccines

A quick update. We decided to go ahead and get Emma's blood taken for the Titer test to be done. I have been dreading it for several months now and was even going to just avoid it altogether just so I wouldn't have to put her through the trauma. But, I decided to go ahead and suck it up and go for it.

So, off we went this morning to LabCorp with a very unhappy 5 year old. Yikes. She was so scared about it! I tried to keep her mind off of it, by watching a movie on the way there and keeping her busy before we even left. And I had Grandma promise an Ariel toy to her for going through with it. :)

Thankfully, we were in and out in about 20 minutes, probably. I couldn't believe it. Emma was definitely scared (more like terrified) and crying through it. But the lab tech was so quick about it and did such a good job that Emma barely noticed, probably because she was crying too hard. Seriously, it was no big deal - it was one little vial of blood and she was in and out in 30 seconds, probably.

What a relief! Seriously! So, hopefully we'll get the results by the end of the week and find out what her titers looks like so we can make an informed decision about her vaccines. I doubt I want to vaccinate her further, but at least we'll be more informed.

For those of you interested in reading more about vaccines and their risks, Dr. Megson recommended a book called What Your Doctor May Not Tell You about Children's Vaccinations. It's a bit out of date now, but man is it informative. There are other ones I noticed on Amazon.com, that might be worth looking into. I'm not opposed to vaccinating for most people, I'm just opposed to the way they are doing it to our kids. Ask the questions, do the research. You will not regret the time you spend learning more about them and what is right for your child. Seriously. It could mean life or death...

Vaccines

Ugh. I'm at such a point of frustration with vaccines and my girls... I'm really struggling with what to do. Emma just turned 5 and is heading off to kindergarten in the fall (although we don't know where since we haven't moved yet). And she's due for another round of vaccines (most likely MMR and possibly DTaP)... But here's the dilemna. Tailyn had a nasty reaction to her 12 month vaccines - super high fever and very lethargic for days after and within a month had totally changed from a sweet kid to a nightmare). So, I'm REALLY nervous about giving Emma and this baby any more vaccines. Tailyn hasn't been vaccinated any further since those 12 month shots and Emma hasn't had any since she turned 2, I think.

So, when we went to see Tailyn's DAN doctor (Dr. Megson) this spring, we spoke at length about vaccines. Her opinion is that for kids 6 month and older, the only important ones are Polio and Tetanus. All the other ones are treatable with either antibiotics or just riding them out... And I definitely agree with the Polio one, my mom had Polio when she was 5. Thankfully, she recovered from it, but she's adamant about her grandkids being vaccinated from it. I don't blame her.

So, Dr. Megson suggested that we have Emma's blood drawn and get an ANA Titer test to see if she already has the antibodies to MMR and Tetanus. If she does, then she doesn't need any more vaccines for those (at least for now). If she doesn't, then she isn't immune to them. So, then the question would be whether or not we feel comfortable vaccinating her again, after Tailyn's reaction. Unfortunately, I just read an article by Dr. Megson (http://www.westonaprice.org/moderndiseases/autism.html) where she had several patients that regressed into autism after receiving the MMR at 4 yrs old! So, it is possible. I don't really think it would happen to Emma, but who wants to risk it?

So, if we do decide to vaccinate her, I'd want the vaccines split up and given one at a time, several weeks apart. But I think the only reason we'd vaccinate her is just to avoid any problems at school. I believe Dr. Megson will write a note for her file saying that she needs to be exempt from the vaccine requirement. So, should we just skip the blood test and forget the vaccine, or should we get the blood test and then decide what to do about the vaccine... Ugh, it's so hard! Poor Emma is terrified of getting any blood work. So, that's not easy either!

The other pressing dilemna will need to be decided upon this fall after the baby is born. Under 6 months of age, the Pertusis virus (or Whooping Cough) is apparently very serious for babies and not really treatable. Over 6 months of age, it is treatable with antibiotics and is not very serious. But it is a virus that is in our community (or state) and could be picked up by the baby. The problem with the vaccine is that it is very toxic for kids and very hard on them. So, it's really hard for me to want to vaccinate the baby (especially since we think Tailyn had the biggest problem with it). But, if we don't vaccinate the baby from it, then she is at risk during the winter months and that is scary. Dr. Megson suggested that we just don't take her out for the first 6 months! What?!? How is that possible, being the 3rd child? Yikes. So, that is our other dilemna.

Emma's is the most pressing for sure as that needs to be decided upon soon. It would also be helpful if we had a pediatrician! :) Stay tuned, hopefully, we'll have some more decisions made soon...

Homebirth!!

Yes, you read that right! We are going to have a homebirth! Just before we moved, I found a homebirth midwife that actually legally practices in Virginia and lives near me! Unbelievable! And she accepts our insurance! It's my dream come true, for sure. And I'm sure, for many of you, you can't imagine anything worse or scary. But for me, ever since I became pregnant the first time, I have always been intrigued with homebirth, but the option was never open to me because the one place I could find didn't accept our insurance and it was pretty far away for all of my prenatals. So, my first 2 girls have been born in the hospital with midwives. When I found out I was pregnant again, I declared that I wanted a homebirth. I figured that this is my last baby (most likely) and this was my only shot. But again, I was presented with the same problem, I couldn't find a homebirth midwife!

So, literally days before we moved, I received an e-mail from some Virginia midwife assocation that sent me a list of midwives that I had requested months ago. And I saw one that actually lived near me! So, I called her, thinking that there was no way she would be available or something. But it turned out she was available and accepted our insurance and seemed really nice!

So, after we got settled in here, I gave her a call to set up a consultation for us to meet her and discuss switching my prenatal care to her. She (Peggy) came HERE last night. How great is that? So, she got to meet the whole family, including the dog. :) Brian and I both really liked her and felt very at ease with her. We were shocked to hear that she has 8 children! I guess she really likes birth! LOL

I was actually supposed to have an appointment yesterday at my other midwives for a prenatal, but I had cancelled it in the hopes of switching to Peggy. So, we decided to go ahead and do a prenatal right here! It was so cool! She gave me a cup to pee in and then we measured me and listened to the baby's heartbeat, right here in my living room, with my dog licking my face. :) It was very cool!

So, I have my next appointmenton the 25th and I'm already on 2 week appointments! Where did the time go? I'll go to her house (which is right near my mom's) for the rest of my prenatals, because for some reason, my insurance requires that.

I think my favorite part was how excited Emma got at meeting the midwife and seeing her "tools" and helping her hold the tools while we took my blood pressure, etc. She really liked her (followed her to the door when she left). It was so cute. We told Peggy that Emma really wanted to cut the umbilical cord when the baby was born and Peggy said she would write that down so we wouldn't forget.

For me, homebirth makes complete sense. I tend to have very quick labors and have never had any medication or IVs during labor or after, so it seems silly to go all the way to a hospital. Plus, both times, I ended up leaving the next day because I hate being in there. So, it just makes sense to be in the comfort of my own home so I don't have to endure that dreaded car ride when I'm in labor and don't have to wonder if I'm going to get sent home.

We probably aren't going to rent a birthing tub as it's a kind of expensive for us and since I tend to go so quickly, it doesn't seem all that necessary. I don't have any specific dreams toward having a water birth, so I'm probably just fine having the baby in bed or wherever the heck I feel like it! I'm so excited, I can't even describe it. :)

So, there's our exciting news. Maybe in the next few days, I'll post the girls birth stories for you all to read. I love reading birth stories. :)

Luna Bars

Just a quick blog on my favorite snack. :) I discovered Luna Bars last fall and after trying many of them, settled on the Peanut Butter Cookie flavor. Being pregnant, I always need to have a snack in the diaper bag or my purse and need something that can be quick and easy. I never remember to feed myself, with worrying about 2 kids. And that just isn't acceptable when you're 26 weeks pregnant! So, I buy Luna Bars in the big box from the grocery store (if they have them), Target or Drugstore.com and always have a box in the pantry.

They are made by Clif Bars, a company that NEDlife thoroughly endorses. They use all natural sweeteners and have lots of vitamins and minerals in them. But Luna Bars are made for women and have more of the nutrients that we need. And what I love most about them is that they have lots of Soy protein in them. And for us "low-estrogen" women, I need all of the Soy I can get, since soy mimics estrogen in our bodies. And especially being pregnant, I need lots of estrogen to help protect this little baby and make sure that she is developing properly.

My word of caution: if you are a woman who is more estrogen-dominant, than you don't want to have to much soy, so these might not be the snack for you - certainly not on a daily basis. How do you know if you are estrogen-dominant? Usually you got your period earlier, you have a nice curvy body and clear skin. And if you are taking birth control pills, you have all of the estrogen that you need, so you really should avoid soy as much as you can. You already get plenty of it in your make-ups, lotions and foods without realizing it.

But for those of you who are lower-estrogen (you got your period a bit later, you breakout around your period, you have a heavy, crampy period, and tend to not have as many curves, or you've had several girls!), Luna Bars are a wonderful protein snack - perfect for us moms who are always "on-the-go!" :)

A Successful Healthy Birthday Party for a 5 Year Old!

My oldest had her 5th birthday party on Saturday and it was a huge success and it was very healthy and dairy-free! She had a Little Mermaid-themed party, minus the huge sugary cake and candy favors. :) We had about 6 little girls here (one that is gluten-free/casein-free) and all of their parents and every ate to their heart's content.
For appetizers we had yummy salsa and corn chips that were all gobbled up. For lunch we had hamburgers and hot dogs (Hebrew National) with whole wheat buns, B&M baked beans and potato salad from Costco. All dairy-free and gluten-free (minus the buns). :)
And for cake, we made a yellow cake from http://www.cherrybrookkitchen.com/ and a chocolate cake from Goodbaker purchased from NEDlife. We actually put them both in a 13x9 pan (using tin foil to divide them while we poured them in). Then I frosted it with Goodbaker frosting. So yummy! We did use store-bought green and pink frosting to write Happy Birthday on it. But I didn't give the little girls any of the pink frosting, since Red Dye #40 can be so harmful to little girls. The girls ate the cake up without complaints. :) And I have to admit it was very yummy! And the girls had a choice between chocolate or vanilla cake! :)

And for the adults and the gluten-free folks, I made an Angel Food cake from Gluten-Free Pantry topped with strawberries. :) That cake does have refined sugar in it, but it's a crowd-pleaser when you have GF folks and folks who aren't GF and a great alternative. It's what we used for my 2 year old's b'day cake as well. :)

And of course we had to have a Little Mermaid pinata. But I refused to fill it with "gross candy" (that's what my 5 yr old calls it!). :) So, we bought lots of little sticker sheets, glow in the dark bugs, little rings, tracing things, etc. And the girls loved it. They didn't care that candy wasn't falling out - it's all about just getting the loot! :) I was pleasantly surprised to see what a success it was and I was afraid that the birthday girl would miss the big sugary cake we had last year and all of the candy in the pinata. But, when I asked her, she loved the cake and the goodies in the pinata.

It just goes to show that kids are flexible and just want guidance. I think parents cave in way too easily and assume their kids won't change their diets or won't cooperate on new things or things being taken away. They will and they do! Include them in your decisions and explain why you are changing things. They want to know and you'd be suprised how willing they are!

We moved!

No real health revelations here or anything. But, our family finally sold our house and have moved to temporary housing, while we look for a house to buy. We're staying at my parents' lake house. We moved in on Sunday afternoon and are finally feeling settled. Fortunately, they had all of the furniture here already, as well as dishes, etc. So, we only had to move clothes, toys, NEDlife stuff, etc. But it sure seemed like a lot still!

And it feels so good to just be here and already enjoying our family time together. It seems that I already have a ton of free time on my hands, for some reason. It might be the lack of cleaning that I have to do (having had our house on the market since October). Or maybe because every time I'm at the lake house, I'm on vacation and it's just a mindset. But I actually read a book and took a nap yesterday. :) Very nice for a pregnant woman! :) Especially after the week that we had. Geez, I know I overdid it quite a bit. But, what can you do, when you are moving and have to move things around. I already made my poor husband stay up all night almost for several days in a row. It was so brutal on him.

But, here is my wonderful news of the week. I went to Ukrop's this week with my girls for grocery shopping. I've only been there a couple of times and I know it's a southern grocery store. But I also knew that they had a wonderful healthy foods section. And I was shocked to find lots of new snacks for my GF/CF 2 year old! I was practically jumping up and down. We found Envirokids Animal Cookies and Perky O's cheerios-type cereal. She has been loving life this week. And it makes me sooo happy to see her enjoying snacks just like her big sister. So, you can have a really normal diet even if you are GF/CF (gluten-free/casein-free). :)