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Posted by cassie on Monday, 17 March, 2008 @ 8:19 pm

Please remember, when feeding new foods to children, especially those that are on the questionable list, to do so sparingly and at least a week apart when introducing new foods. If you have a history of allergies in your family I suggest you err on the side of caution and discuss introducing allergy-prone foods with your pediatrician or family doctor.

Below is a list of symptoms that can appear as quickly as a few minutes after eating a food that causes allergic reactions in your child.

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Itching (throat, mouth, eyes, skin and/or ears)
• Lip swelling
• Rash (hives or a flare-up of eczema)
• Throat tightness (trouble swallowing or breathing)
• Tongue swelling that obstructs the mouth
• Chest pain
• Dizziness
• Sudden paleness or blueness, unconsciousness and/or a faint pulse

If the symptoms are non-life threatening such as an upset stomach or rash, watch your child carefully and call your doctor at the first opportunity. Remember they do have on-call services/paging for a reason. You can administer a weight-appropriate dose of an antihistamine such as Benadryl.

If your child has a severe reaction call 911 immediately. Afterwards, don’t forget to discuss this with your child’s doctor.

Posted by cassie on Friday, 7 March, 2008 @ 9:11 pm

“Simply pour into cold water and enjoy the great tasting, all-natural antioxidant power of 6 servings of fruit and vegetables in just 1 serving of Go Greens. Just rip, pour and go!” is the claim made by the company, ToGo Brands. They are billing this as a perfect way to incorporate more fruits and veges into our diets and *perfect* for busy moms.

I have to admit I am intrigued and would try it if a free sample were available and conveniently there is. I recognize that I don’t eat all the fruits and veges I should in my life, especially while pregnant, but it is hard to do with an active toddler running around so this would be a fantastic alternative. Not to mention we are all picky about the fruits/veges on our likes/dislikes list and my family in particular, seems to be at odds over it more often than in agreement.

I visited the manufacturer’s website and the cost is $34.95 for a box of 24 (so $1.46 per packet) and I didn’t see anything mentioning shipping. I tried adding a box to my cart to see but there was still no mention [of s/h]. You can also get it at GNC for $34.95 but if you are a Gold card member the price is $27.96. Not a bad savings at all!

“100% Natural & made with organic ingredients! 1 serving of delicious fruit flavored Go Greens™ has greater antioxidant power than one serving of 6 fruits and vegetables (Banana, Broccoli, Cantaloupe, Tomato, Lettuce, Carrot) combined!”

Let me know if you’ve tried it and what you think!

Posted by cassie on Friday, 7 March, 2008 @ 8:23 pm

I’ve recently had the delight of Anthony learning that his pee-pee is something altogether fun to play with. I understand self-exploration comes with the age but it is rather embarrassing, in a funny sort of way, to have him walking around with his hand in his pants ala Al Bundy. I’m trying to teach him if he wants to further his knowledge to do it in his room and not out where everyone else has to see. But so far that seems to not be working. Instead he gets mad at me when I tell him to “get his hand out of his pants”. LOL

It’s also led to some leaky diapers overnight since the diaper is no longer in the perfect positioning anymore to do it’s job. Which ok fine - call me anal or whatever but changing his sheets and pjs every day because they smell like pee isn’t all that fun. I’m trying a onesie on him tonight with his pj bottoms to see if that solves that particular problem.

I did a quick search on Google to see what is suggested for parents to do or not do and this article (an excerpt is below) came up. After reading it, I find it reassuring that my thoughts on Anthony’s “toddler self-exploration” are on par with at least the Drs.

I did wonder if, perhaps, he does have a yeast infection since he is not circumcised and will keep an eye on it; I’ll call the ped’s office next week just to reassure myself. In the meantime I guess I’ll do a search for that online too

“Most children begin to explore their genitals at about the same time they begin to look more like little boys and girls than like babies. Just when we are beginning to adjust to their not being babies anymore, we are confronted with the sight of our little boy fondling his erection or our little girl moving her hips up and down on top of her pillow with a glazed look in her eyes. How jarring!

…If we take a step back, though, we can see that it makes sense that kids would want to explore their own bodies. When toilet learning becomes a focus of interest, we might anticipate that kids would also be curious about those parts of the body that have in the past been largely hidden under the diapers. Boys will play with their penises. Girls will finger their vaginas, and even insert objects. Many kids will reach down every chance they get. This exploration produces pleasurable feelings, as we are well aware.”

Posted by cassie on Tuesday, 4 March, 2008 @ 8:15 pm

This is completely way off topic but I got this offer in the mail today and as a person that wears contacts and suffers from allergies - I’ll give it a shot. The only thing I’m unsure of is whether I can use it since I am pregnant. I’ll be asking my doc on the next visit

Anyway - here’s the deal - you get a free sample of alaway 1ml plus a $3 off coupon on your next purchase. Visit www.tryalaway.com to get your sample and for more information. Basically the eye drops help relieve your itchy eyes for up to 12 hours. No idea if it works, so if you try it first let us know!

Posted by cassie on Sunday, 2 March, 2008 @ 8:43 pm

This was sent to me by my Grandma (thanks Grandma!!). I don’t know how recent it is but it begs the question of what really is in and on the foods we eat. Amazingly enough MSG is still in some of the things we use today. Amazingly I say because of the huge backlash it had several years ago. It concerns me as a person with borderline diabetes, as a mother to a toddler and one on the way and someone that just wants their family to be healthy.

I thought I would do my part in getting the message out there that MSG or Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein is still in our foods by posting the article below.

Click this link for related published articles after reading: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez

MSG The food additive MSG (Mono-Sodium Glutamate) is a slow poison. MSG hides behind 25 or more names, such as “Natural Flavoring.”

MSG is even in your favorite coffee from Tim Horton’s and other brand-name coffee shops!

I wondered if there could be an actual chemical causing the massive obesity epidemic, and so did a friend of mine, John Erb. He was a research assistant at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, and spent years working for the government. He made an amazing discovery while going through scientific journals for a book he was writing called The Slow Poisoning of America.

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted by cassie on Sunday, 2 March, 2008 @ 1:24 pm

A Swedish man, feeling he was not ready to be a father, put 3 ground up abortion pills in his girlfriend, of eight years, yogurt. Fearing that the pills had harmed the baby in some way the ultimate result was her having an abortion. How could you do something of this nature to someone you supposidly love and respect, especially after being with them for eight years!

Read the full story here.

Posted by cassie on Friday, 22 February, 2008 @ 9:21 am

We went for Anthony’s 18 mo old well visit yesterday, and everything is progressing wonderfully. He is only in the 25% percentile for height but the doctor seemed unconcerned, and really so am I. We really aren’t all that tall so I didn’t expect him to be. Granted there is always the off chance he gets my grandpa’s height (6′) in addition to those baby blues, but I think it would have already shown itself if it were going to happen.

Since his 15 mo appt he has gained a little over a pound to reach a whopping 24 lb 9 oz and is 31″ tall. I’m supposed to take him over to the health department to get his shots but have been procrastinating doing it but I suppose I’ll need to do it soon. I also asked the Doc about his herniated bellybutton and his constant picking at it and he said it was nothing to worry about. The hole is small and will continue healing (fusing?) and just do my best to keep his fingers out of there. Of course, that is easier said than done! I’ve taken to putting onesies on him to give his belly button a break since he drills at it nonstop some days.

Posted by cassie on Thursday, 21 February, 2008 @ 8:49 pm

I wrote a post about a week ago discussing stretch marks and their cause. I started in the cures section but my droopy eyes got to me and I never managed to finish it. Well now I have a HUGE incentive to do so. You see, my beloved Palmer’s Tummy Butter has turned against me: ( I guess it’s my changing chemistry or whatever but I put it on this morning and by mid-morning had a horrible, itchy rash all over my tummy. And well, we all know, being pregnant, your tummy is itchy already so imagine my misery!

It’s jump started me to finish my article and to also get off my tush and order from Mama Mio like I’ve been wanting to do. I’ve seen them mentioned in several parenting magazines as well as on other blogs so they at least have a leg up on the competition since I’ve heard of them. They’ve also been used by a lot of celebrities so if it’s good enough for them then it’s gotta be good enough for me, right? BONUS: They even offer a solution to existing stretch marks.

And I found a 15% off coupon so it makes it worth a shot! Enter coupon code “mamamio” to get the discount.

Read my first stretch mark post here.

Posted by cassie on Tuesday, 12 February, 2008 @ 11:25 pm

Oooo there is that dreaded word phrase that every pregnant woman through-out time has cringed over. I know you don’t have to be pregnant to get them and some women even think of them as badges of honor. To them, I say “bah!” I received my fair share from adolescence and don’t want to get any more thank you very much. Especially on my tummy - the one place I have hopes of bearing again in a bikini, one year far into the future when I have stomach muscles again anyway. Hey, let a pregnant woman have her dreams people!

Yes, yes the marks fade. Yes, yes, yes. O whatever! We all know that we will buy every item ever marketed towards removing/reducing/stopping them from being in our worlds. I know I bought out the Palmer’s cocoa butter stretch mark lotion and Tummy Butter section out with my first pregnancy and am still using it faithfully with my second. (Works really well for me by the way and I didn’t get any marks through my first and none so far with #2.) Another trick I do is using shea butter body wash in the shower, I found using regular soap to be too drying and I get a good loofah-ing too

But you see, I want to get rid of the ones from years ago still. And I’ve had renewed hope after talking to the girls at Babybootcamp. Some of them are cosmetic junkies like me and want to reverse the entire aging process so I can’t say their advice would be wrong. They would know since they used it and a face-to-face testimonial is pretty darn high on the trustworthy scale if you ask me.

But I get ahead of myself, if you are wondering what on earth I am rambling on about then let me explain what a stretch mark is. When your skin has stretched beyond the breaking point (think rubber band snapping when pulled too far) that is a stretch mark. The marks are usually a result of pregnancy, excessive weight gain or loss and loss of elasticity. The marks literally appear because the skin tears apart in the middle epidermis (layer). Technically they are considered scars but there are still treatment options available. The newer the mark the easier it will be to treat but there is still hope for the old ones, just don’t expect miracles.

According to several articles that I’ve read, Dermatologists say the key to treatment is supporting and repairing the collagen located in the area of the marks and are similar, in concept, to the products marketed towards anti-aging. Also, look for treatments that offer the ability to repair and strengthen the elastin fibers (otherwise known as skin flexibility) in the skin.

After doing my informal poll within the exercise class, talking to pregnant and non-pregnant girlfriends, my own experiences and surfing the web I’m going to list the pros and cons of several stretch mark treatments below. If you know of any that work well for you, please email me and I’ll do my best to add them!

The list will have to wait for tomorrow night though since it is now pushing midnight and I’m exhausted. Anthony is teething molars (yes, still!) and has been a real joy all day. Hopefully after a good night’s rest for both of us, tomorrow will be a better day.

Stay tuned for part 2!

Posted by cassie on Sunday, 30 December, 2007 @ 7:07 am

Well it was time for my cerclage last week and as usual, it was a pain in the butt. Add in a toddler and a daddy that doesn’t normally spend just *alone* time with him with me no where around and it became rather exciting. The surgery was scheduled for last Tuesday and the time moved around 4 times. Grr!!!! It went from 9am to 11am to 3pm then finally to 4pm. I sat prepped in OR for 2 hrs until the Doc showed at 5 pm to tell me that he won’t be able to do the surgery after all.

WHAT! Apparently I had a bladder infection that made him nervous doing the surgery in case of infection. Ok, I can understand that. REALLY I can. BUT um….why couldn’t you figure that out before I sat in OR prepped, freezing and starving. You see, you have to fast for the surgery so that means nothing to eat or drink for 8 hrs before hand. Well, since it kept getting changed on me I didn’t get to eat or drink since the night before at about 7pm. On the plus side, Nick and Anthony did really well together so that relieved my mind.

I went in to see the Dr on the 26th and had to do another pee test to make sure the infection was gone. Woo hoo! I’m getting to be known on site at the lab. How sad The surgery coordinator told me she’d call me late Wed to let me know about the surgery but the stupid b*tch (yea, she apparently doesn’t like me for whatever reason and now the feeling is mutual) called me after hours on Thursday!!!! to say the surgery was rescheduled for guess what? - Friday and oh be at the hospital by 6am! Yeah no biggie you cow! You wake up a toddler 2 hours before he normally gets up to stuff him in a car and go to the hospital. Not fun!

I’ll save you all the boring details and just say the surgery actually was completed on time and went great! I was out of there by around 1pm and am actually doing ok with recovery. I’ve been put on bed rest until the doc can see me on the 2nd to make sure I don’t develop an infection. A pain in the butt but I’m trying my best to adhere to it. Thank god it’s all over!