New Obsession

This actually does relate to healthy living and I'll tell you why later. :) My new obsession is selling things on eBay and Amazon.com. I can't stop! It's so fun! I'm constantly looking around the house trying to find things that I can sell!

I started last week when we were finally emptying all of our boxes in the storage area. Boxes that had been packed up for a year now! I found a ton of books that I no longer read - most of them being books about pregnancy and birth. So, I decided to list them on Amazon.com as used books. I figured that they probably wouldn't sell, but what the heck, it didn't cost anything to list them. Not an hour after I listed them, did the first one sell! And all of the sudden I had money to spend on Amazon.com! I could have had them deposit them in the checking account, but since I spend so much money on Amazon.com, I figured that my Amazon dollars would be spent! And within 2 days, I had all of my books sold - 6 of them! Then I found another book last night and listed it and within an hour, it had sold! I have over $56 in my Amazon.com account!

Then I went after my maternity clothes! That was much more of a pain because I had to take pictures of everything and then create listings on eBay. Then I waited 5 days watching the listings. 11 of my 28 didn't sell, but I still made $114! And that doesn't include shipping, which I was able to make a little money off of.

It's a little easier for me because I have all of the stuff that is needed for shipping and I've been shippping orders for 5 years now.

So, how does it relate to Healthy Living? Simple, now I have more money to spend on the foods that I want for my family! Healthy Living costs a little bit more money than junk food. So, if I have to spend the time to sell books and clothes that I don't need anymore, then it is well worth the effort, knowing that my family is healthier for it.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition

This is one of our favorite shows, still. No matter how long it's on, I still am amazed at their hearts and what they are able to do for families in need. I will shop at Sears as much as I can to support this amazing show and what they do.

Brian and I watched Sunday's show together and he was kind of afraid to watch it with me for fear of my yelling at the television. It was a show about a family with 6 children. 5 of them have some form of Autism, from severe Autism to PDD to Aspberger's. It was heartbreaking to watch this mom struggle to keep an eye on all of her children, ranging from 5 yrs old to 14, I believe. Despite the husband working 2 jobs to help pay their mortgage, the bank was about to foreclose on their home. Brian was heartbroken for them and their situation.

But I couldn't even get sad about their financial situation, because I was too heartbroken over their 5 children with Autism. It broke my heart to think that those children could have had a chance at a normal life, if only the doctors and parents had been informed about diet and nutritional supplements that can combat the progression of Autism. And it reminded me where Tailyn could be, had we not intervened when we did.

I don't know their situation and the treatments they have tried with their children, but I would venture to guess that they hadn't tried the Gluten-free/Casein-free diet. I started crying when I saw the mom serve up a huge plate of grilled cheese sandwiches. If only people knew what food can do to these kids - the danger that it is to them. Eating a grilled cheese sandwich is just about as bad as taking some kind of drugs for them.

And that's why we, at NEDlife, do what we do. We will tirelessly work to inform parents of the impact of food and how nutritional supplements can help children on the Autistic spectrum. If you know anyone that has been diagnosed with Autism or looks like they should be, please send them our way (www.nedlife.com). I don't want to see any more children sink deeper into this disorder when they don't have to. We are in the process of writing a handbook about Autism, which will outline symptoms to look out for and how to combat the progression (with much more). Please stay tuned for that.

We're Done!

I can't believe it, but we're actually done with the remodeling of our house. After 5 months, the process is actually done. Our contractor left tonight for the last time. My 5 yr old almost started crying! It was so cute. He's been such a big part of our life, it'll be weird to not have him here. Even my dog who is scared of men, grew to love Fred (who is a towering 6'5 guy).

So, the only thing remaining is to finish painting all of the trim around the windows and then we are completely done. Seems hard to believe!

Now we can finally finish unpacking and organizing everything. No more excuses. :)

Baby Formula

So, I've been researching some baby formula, just in case I need some. And I was absolutely appalled at the first ingredient in many of the formulas. Can you guess what it was? You'd think it'd be some kind of vitamin or healthy ingredient, at the very least a form of milk or soy. Nope. It is corn syrup solids! Why on earth would they use some kind of horrible artificial sweetener in an infant formula - their only source of nutrition? It's no wonder that our kids are addicted to sodas by age 5 or even younger. It's no wonder most of our country is overweight. I found this article by Dr. Sears called Corn Syrup in Formula.

I'm worried about giving Addie a milk-based formula because of all of our milk problems in our family (my oldest daughter seems to have a milk intolerance, my 2nd daughter has antibodies to milk and I have a hard time digesting it as well). I'm also slightly concerned with a soy-based formula too because soy mimics estrogen in the body and it is dangerous to play around with hormones.

So as I started looking at labels on the formulas, I obviously wanted to find one that didn't have any artifical sweetener in it. So I looked at the organic ones, but those were all milk-based. So, I began to look on the internet and finally found an organic soy formula. It's called Baby's Only. They have milk-based and soy-based formula. It has DHA and ARA added (which is really important). And believe it or not, it's actually very similar in price to Similac and other major brands. When I was at Wegman's today, it was actually cheaper than the cans of Similac and certainly cheaper than the other organic formulas. It uses Brown Rice Syrup as the sweetener, which is a wonderful sweetener.

Just wanted to share my findings. If you are currently using a formula that uses corn syrup as a sweetener, I strongly encourage you to think about changing your formula to one that uses a natural sweetener.

The cheapest I found was at the Doctor's Trust website.

For those that can't breastfeed, or just need a good supplement for breast milk, it appears that this is a wonderful brand with ingredients you can trust.

Mom's Day Out

What a great day I had today. For my birthday, my husband promised me a day out, all by myself doing whatever I wanted. So, my best friend and I met up this morning and did some shopping. Then we went to Wegman's and shopped for less than an hour. Then we took the groceries out to the car and came back in for some lunch. We sat there for almost 3 hours talking and eating. It was wonderful. No kids, no interruptions, just friends talking about whatever we wanted.

We did a lot of business planning for NEDlife, which was wonderful and very productive. It was a wonderful day for me. Just hanging out with a friend, no kids, no timelines, no naps, etc. It was just so great!

So, we've decided that we must do that once a month. :) We'll see if that happens. But it's nice to dream about it.

Then my husband made a wonderful dinner for me, but of course, it was cold by the time I got to eat it because of a fussy baby, and 2 whiny kids. Welcome home Mom. :)

Nursing Woes

Why do I have so many issues with nursing? My first daughter was super easy (although we struggled with soreness and a little oversupply). But we nursed successfully for 13 months.

Then my 2nd came along and she was very difficult in the beginning. So painful. Put it this way, there was blood when I pumped one time (I didn't pump again any time soon). I was so incredibly sore. And it took a long time for it to get better. I finally called the lactation consultant at 2 months and she gave me some great tips which really helped. At 4 months, I got mastitis and my supply dropped and I struggled with it from them on. And every couple of weeks, she would hurt me again. Plus, I could never get her to nurse for more than just a couple of minutes on each side, which was always disturbing for me. I finally gave up at 7 months and pumped for 2.5 months more. I put her on the Kirkland formula from Costco.

When my third one started having problems, I talked to the LC right away and got some great tips. We've been fairly successful for 3 months now. The biggest problem is that I have a super fast let-down and I drown my kids. It forces them to pull away and squirm all over the place, leaving me sore and frustrated. And it doesn't just last for the initial let down, Addie continues to squirm and pull on me (and pinch me with her fingers) throughout the feeding.

By last Sunday, I was fed up. I has little red marks all over me from her scratching and pinching me. So, on Monday, I switched to only pumping and did that for 4 days straight. It was a welcome relief from having to nurse her and I really enjoyed just giving her bottles and having the kids and dh help with her feeding so much.

But pumping enough milk is a huge pain as well. Ugh. Plus, I got sore from the pump. My life tends to be overly complicated at times. :) Today, I nursed her twice and gave her 3 bottles and did okay. Tomorrow, I'm going out with my best friend for several hours all by myself! So, she'll get lots of bottles tomorrow.

Part of me just really does not enjoy nursing and then I feel horribly guilty for not enjoying it. But she is so much happier with bottles, the flow doesn't drown her and she doesn't squirm as much. I just don't know if I can switch to pumping only, as it's a big pain to be able to pump enough for her. But I don't know how much longer I can keep nursing her. And I can't imagine switching to formula now, let alone finding one that meets my high standards without breaking the bank.

So much to think about...

Baby Bottles

Recently, I started looking into plastics and how they are used in our foods. And I stumbled upon an article called "Smart Plastics Guide." In it they describe all of the different kinds of plastics and their uses. It's incredibly resourceful. I plan to take a good look at all of the plastics that we use for our food.

But I started with the bottles that we use for Addie. I've always been an Avent user. I have all of the bottle nippes (all of them!). And I have a ton of different bottles for them. Avent bottles are made out of Polycarbonate. Bisphenol A is found in Polycarbonate. Here is what the article says about it:

Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that mimics the
action of the human hormone estrogen, can leach
from polycarbonate plastic.3 Human exposure to BPA
is widespread. A Centers for Disease Control study detected
BPA in the urine of 95 percent of adults sampled.4
Scientists have measured BPA in the blood of pregnant
women, in umbilical cord blood and in the placenta, all at
levels demonstrated in animals to alter development.5,6

Hormones stimulate certain cancers. Bisphenol A has
been found to stimulate prostate cancer cells7 and causes
breast tissue changes in mice that resemble early stages
of breast cancer in both mice and humans.8,9 One study
found an association between ovarian dysfunction and
higher levels of BPA in urine.10

So, I read on in the article and they said this:

Use alternatives to polycarbonate plastic baby bottles and “sippy” cups. Knowing what we do about BPA leaching and the real risks to children’s health, you might be surprised to learn that most plastic baby bottles and many “training” or “sippy” cup sare made of polycarbonate. Fortunately there are alternatives, including baby bottles made of glass, polyethylene or polypropylene. Those made of pliable, milky-colored plastic contain no polycarbonates. Usually baby bottles are not labeled, so if you have questions about the type of plastic used, call the company’s toll-free number listed on the package.

And to apply this to our lives:

More on baby bottles and “sippy” cups
Avoid: Polycarbonate product examples

• Bottles: Avent; Dr. Brown’s; Evenfl o (clear); First Years; Gerber (clear); Playtex Vent Aire; Sassy; TupperCare
• “Sippy” cups: Gerber Suzy’s Zoo & Sippy Snacker, Playtex First Sipster & Sparkling Sipster
  

Safer alternatives: Non- polycarbonate product examples

• Bottles: Evenflo glass or pastel polyethylene plastic; Gerber polypropylene opaque plastic; Medela breastmilk polypropylene storage bottles and polyethylene milk storage bags; disposable bottle systems with polyethylene plastic inserts (e.g., Playtex Nurser, Playtex Drop-Ins)
• “Sippy” cups made of polypropylene or polyethylene: Avent Magic Cup; Evenflo cups (inner lining); First Years Take & Toss; Gerber Color Change, Sport Fun Grip and Soft Starter; Playtex Sipster, Big Sipster & Quick Straw
  

Baby bottle nipples are usually made of silicone or latex
rubber. Silicone nipples are lighter in color and are safer, as latex
rubber nipples may leach carcinogenic nitrosamines.22

So, I've decided to stop using my Avent bottles and other clear plastic ones. And now I'm using the disposable drop-in liners. I'm using the Playtex bottles, and Avent disposable bottles. Apparently, Avent just came out with a new drop-in system called the Tempo and it uses the polyethylene liners. So, those are the bottles that I'll be using. If this was my first, I might consider switching to glass bottles, but I just can't afford the expense of replacing all of our bottles and nipples with a whole new system.



And thankfully, we've been using the First Years Take & Toss cups a lot recently, so those are safer ones as well.





If I had a ton of money, I would use Kleen Kanteen stainless steel cups with the Avent adapter. It allows you to use Avent sippy tops or Avent nipples with their cups - a very safe alternative.


I do have to say that Avent does have a disclaimer on their website which discusses Bisphenol-A and it's safety. So, it's up to you who to believe. Just letting you know what I've decided to do for my family.

Another Floor Update

So, here I am, back at my parents' house, just 2 weeks after we spent 3 days here. We'll be here until Sunday morning. This is just getting comical! Seriously - what a joke.

At 10:30 am, a whole crew (4 guys) showed up at my house and told me that we had to leave, so they could get started on the floors. :) I had just a few minutes to take everything out of the fridge that we'd need and the cabinets, etc. Then I had to pack all of our clothes and everything we'd need for the next few days as quick as I could.

Of course right in the middle of packing, I get a call from Emma's school clinic telling me that she had a tummy ache and I needed to come get her. Lovely. So I had to go get her in the middle of all of that.

The floor crew told me that we need to give the floors 24 hours to dry between coats, so they won't be dry until Sunday morning. Funny that they other guy (the one that vanished) said they just need about 4 hours between coats. I have no idea what he was talking about.

So, I'm really hoping that this is it. That on Sunday, we'll be all done and can move all of our stuff out of the family room and might even be able to unpack our stuff into the sunroom! What a concept! :) Keep your fingers crossed!