Tuesday, September 27, 2016

Something Smells... Good?

So far this whole food plant based diet has been much easier than I anticipated.  With the help of Pinterest, and some amazing food bloggers, we have really been enjoying our meals.  Overall I've noticed my brain fog has been getting better. However, I have had some refined sugar, and I notice the brain fog really amps up afterwards.

My husband has been very busy in the kitchen.  He is getting used to the new diet and getting into a rhythm.  Without him I'm sure this transition would be so much more difficult.  He really has been amazing.

Today I noticed a very unexpected side effect.  First, I should let you know that I sweat a lot.  It started in my mid-20s, where even on a cool day if I was just using regular antiperspirant I would get very big (and embarrassingly obvious) wet marks under my armpits.  With deodorant it fortunately didn't smell very bad.  Eventually I started using clinical strength and it would usually be enough to prevent the pit stains.

When trying to detox my life, I knew I had to get away from aluminum containing deodorants.  So I switched to a more natural brand and was more wet and stinky because of it. I thought it may take me going through a few brands to find the right one for me.  I'm willing to compromise on the wetness, but not the smell.  I can wear clothes that hide the pit stains, but no clothes hide the unmistakable smell of body odor.

Today was a rough day.  It wasn't hot, but it was a bit stressful.  I went to the doctor and took the baby.  She had a HUGE blow out, and I forgot to pack extra clothes for her just in case.  I always wear a tank top so I can lift the top shirt and pull the tank top down to breast feed.  This way I don't have to show more skin than I'm comfortable with.  So I used the tank top to wrap up the little one.

When I got home I realized my armpits were wet, but I hadn't noticed any bad smells.  I stuck my nose in there and barely got a whiff of BO.  What the heck?  I haven't changed my deodorant, so what gives?  Well it turns out there have actually been studies that show that non-meat eaters smell better!  I'm so relieved that I can get sweaty and not have to resort back to aluminum containing deodorants, and not offend anyone with my stench.

http://chemse.oxfordjournals.org/content/31/8/747.full

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

No Discipline ≠ Spoiling

I hear other parents often talk about how their child is so strong-willed as if it's abnormal.  When a child doesn't want to leave the park, she is strong-willed and stubborn.  A child takes his time getting to the car, he is strong-willed.  A child asks for a toy and throws a fit when she doesn't get it.

It's natural for a child to be strong-willed.  They are still learning that their needs and wants aren't the only needs and wants in the world.  I feel it's my job as a parent to teach my children empathy without breaking their will.  When I impose discipline, such as a time out, several negative things happen: I am no longer my child's ally, I am ignoring her feelings, I am leaving her alone without any coping mechanisms, I am teaching her that her feelings are bad or wrong somehow.

People often confuse the no discipline approach with spoiling.  Just because I don't put my child in time-out doesn't mean I give into all her tantrums and give her everything she asks for.

So how do I handle tantrums?  First off, I try to prevent them.  I know if my daughter is playing and having fun at the park and I grab her off the slide and say it's time to go, she's going to have trouble with the sudden transition.  So I give her a countdown, and then when it's time to leave I help her with the transition.  We say bye to the swings, bye to the slides and by to the park.  Is she happy to leave?  No, but she's not screaming and crying.

If she wants something that she can't have, I don't just say no, I acknowledge how my "no" will make her feel.  I say, "I know it's disappointing, but you can't have that right now."  This has about a 50% success rate in preventing a tantrum.  When the tantrum happens I continue to acknowledge her feelings and let her know I'm there for her when she's ready.

What I notice is when we start to lose our connection with our toddler is when she starts acting out more.  That is when I make it a point to spend time reestablishing our attachment. When she once again feeling securely attached to me she is 90% angel.

I believe having a mentor type relationship, instead of a dictator type relationship will help my girls develop into strong, confident adults.  And after all, we're not raising children, we're raising adults.

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Day 1

It's day one of my new healthy lifestyle.  Yesterday the family went to Fresh Thyme and loaded up on fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as dry beans.  This week we will be having black beans, kidney beans, chickpeas and lentils.  The only real challenge we had was finding ripe enough avocados.  Hopefully they soften for later in the week.  And of course, we did forget something (as usual), almond milk!  Evelyn, our 2 year old, has a dairy intolerance, as do I, and we've always used almond milk instead of cow's milk.

Breakfast wasn't too different.  For me it used to consist of oatmeal with honey and strawberries, and two scrambled eggs with cheese.  Instead of honey, I used agave nectar, and for protein I added some chia seeds to my oatmeal.  It was delicious!

Being a breastfeeding mom, it wasn't long until I was hungry again.  So I threw together some almond milk, kale and banana and made a green smoothie.  Evelyn insisted on trying it and she raved about it.  Right now I can only make one smoothie at a time because the lid to my Ninja blender is broken.  (Side note: The release button stopped working and I had to break it to open it up. If you need to replace a BL660 pitcher/lid, don't go directly through Ninja.  They charge over $60 while Bed Bath & Beyond charge $35).  Once my replacement arrives I'll experiment with more ingredients.  It's just too hard to fit much into those single serving cups.

I was very excited about lunch.  Ever since I made the time-depleting Pinterest discovery I have almost completely relied on it for recipes.  So I used this site as a guide for my first vegan lunch: http://hurrythefoodup.com/how-to-make-a-buddha-bowl/

I enjoyed cilantro lime rice (white, because I don't know how anyone can choke down brown rice), lentils and spinach topped with spicy-orange vinaigrette.  Look at how pretty it was!

It was amazing.  Especially with the cilantro, which is one of my favorite flavors.  The sriracha had a nice kick, but it wasn't overpowering, and the slight tang from the orange perfectly balanced out the spiciness.

I'm very much looking forward to dinner, which will be a Mexican chop salad with avocado dressing.  It has black beans, corn, tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, green onions, avocado and a delicious sounding creamy avocado dressing.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Dags Jabs

Dagny got her two month shots today.  If she were on the CDC schedule that would mean HepB, DTaP, Hib, Prevnar, Polio and Rotavirus.  Because we selectively vaccinate and use an alternative schedule she only got DTaP and Hib.  Following the CDC schedule, Dagny could have been exposed to 1000 mcg of aluminum.  A safe amount of aluminum exposure for infants, according to the FDA, is 4-5 mcg/kg/day.  Dagny weighed 12lb 9oz a week ago, which is a little less than 6kg.  So her maximum safe exposure is a little less than 30mcg.  But the CDC says that it's safe to inject 1000mcg of aluminum in her in one day.

The DTaP shot Dagny received had 330mcg of aluminum.  Unfortunately we couldn't get the Tripedia shot, which only has 170mcg.  Limiting aluminum exposure is one of the main reasons we follow a modified vaccine schedule.  Another big reason is that all the vaccines aren't really necessary.

HepB - Hepatitis B is a sexually transmitted disease.  Most US born babies receive this vaccine the day they are born, when they have no risk of contracting HepB.  The only babies at risk are babies born to mothers with HepB.  So why are we injecting aluminum filled vaccines into babies just a few hours old?  I understand going for herd immunity, but there is no evidence that shows the CDC's HepB schedule is effective.  In fact, teenagers who got the full course of the vaccines are susceptible to HepB because vaccines don't last forever. So because Dagny is not an IV drug user and not sexually active, we are skipping HepB.

Polio - Did you know that the majority of people who get polio never show any symptoms?  But for those that do, it can be devastating.  Since polio has been mostly eradicated in the US and we are not travelling to any foreign countries any time soon, Dagny's risk of exposure is very low.

Rotavirus - Rotavirus is pretty common, but is typically diarrhea and/or vomiting for a week.  It is completely treatable.  In fact, we believe our 2.5 year old had it, even though she was vaccinated against it as a baby.  We made sure to give her plenty of fluids, and it resolved itself within a week.

DTaP - Diphtheria, Tetanus and Pertussis.  Some countries have approved pertussis only vaccines, but the US does not.  Dagny is not likely to contract diphtheria or tetanus, but pertussis is very common.  It can also be very bad so we feel the risk of the disease is greater than the risk of the vaccine.  It can contain anywhere from 170 to 625 mcg of aluminum.

Hib - Hib is pretty nasty, and the vaccine doesn't contain heavy metals, so we felt this one was low risk compared to the disease.

Prevnar - Prevnar protects against a type of pneumonia.  This disease can be dangerous to infants, but is less common than pertussis, so Dagny will be getting this shot at 3 months old.  We spaced DTaP and Prevnar out because they both contain aluminum.

I believe every family needs to decide their own best course.  We determined our vaccine plan based on our situation and discussion with our pediatrician.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Going Vegan

I met my husband at a Halloween party in 2004 when I was an exuberant 24 year old.  I remember our first date very well.  We met for drinks and played darts at a local pool hall, then went back to his house and watched election coverage.  He had voted for Kerry, and I would have voted for Bush if I bothered registering.  I was a rare-steak-eating-plastic-bag-toting-hardcore-partying Libertarian.  Well, here I am, 12 years later, still a Libertarian.

If you told 24 year old me that I was going to be working towards going plastic-free, turning vegan, buying organic and a mother of two (one of which was born at home) in 12 years, I would have laughed in your face.  I probably would have thought the having children part would be the most far-fetched.  But it's those two beautiful girls that have motivated me to become more informed in order to lead a healthier life.

People may say that the studies linking vaccines to autism have been debunked, but when they don't know what is actually causing autism it is scary as hell to watch your infant be injected with heavy metals.  The most terrifying thing to a parent is SIDS, and there is some evidence that too many vaccines in the first year increases SIDS risk.  So my research on a healthy life for my children started with vaccines.

Looking into vaccines led me to environmental toxins, like the pesticides that are sprayed on genetically modified foods.  I have no beef with the genetically modified part, it's the fact that they genetically modify the plants to be resistant to pesticides.  But you know what?  I'm not genetically modified to be resistant to pesticides.

Yesterday I stepped on the scale and weighed 300 pounds.  I've been told I don't look like I weigh that much, but that's little comfort when you're worried about having a heart attack and leaving your 2 year old and 2 month old without a mother.  So I researched what to eat to be healthy.  My goal isn't to look good in a bikini.  I really want to be healthy, which does involve losing weight.  

After discussing the research with my husband, we are switching to a whole foods, plant based diet  We aren't going to eat anything with a face, and we are completely eliminating dairy.  I'm so glad to have my husband on board.  I want to feed our girls nutritious foods to give them a healthy start in life.

My intention for this blog is to document the daily life of a busy somewhat crunchy family, through both struggles and victories.  For any changes I make in the future I will discuss the information that led me to make that change.  I'll try to summarize our current crunchy lifestyle below.  If you have questions on why we do any of these things, please let me know and I can explain.  I will delve into some of these more on future blog posts.
  • Went to a midwife for baby #2 and had an all natural home birth.
  • Buy organic for the "dirty dozen" (peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, grapes, spinach, lettuce, potatoes)
  • Use deodorant without aluminum
  • Avoid aspartame and acetominaphin completely
  • Use gentle parenting without discipline (we use time-ins instead of time outs)
  • Babywear (I recently got the Trig Tula, a crunchy engineer's dream!)
  • No tummy time, no bumbo seats, no walkers
  • Drink filtered water
  • Research products we buy on EWG.org
  • Follow Dr. Paul's vaccine schedule (in the book The Vaccine Friendly Plan)
  • Avoid pre-packaged food and snacks
  • Use baby-led weaning for introduction of solids
  • Breastfeeding until at least 2
  • Making our own bread
  • Co-sleeping
  • Extended rear-facing
  • Using fruit (like dates) instead of sugar for cooking