Are you kidding me?

That's Talia's new favorite expression and she uses it in context. For example - Chuck (daddy) was in the shower. Talia went in to peek at him. He asked her if she wanted to get into the shower with him.

Talia's reply, "Are you kidding me? Are you seriously kidding me?"


Now that I type it it's not as funny as I thought it was. Here is a picture of Talia, now imagine this little Minnie Mouse voice screaming "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" all through my house.



Got it now?

Oh never mind I'm going to bed.

When Are You Going to Wean Her?

I hear this question at least once a week. Talia turned two February 15 and she is still nursing. It wasn't a conscious decision to nurse her this long, in fact I had planned on weaning her when she turned two. Talia had a different timeline.

She's just not ready. So the more she wants to nurse, the more research I've done. This is what I've found:

Each time you nurse your toddler, you are providing nutrition, boosting her immune system and reducing her risk of allergies, no matter how old she is.


Some doctors may feel that nursing will interfere with a child's appetite for other foods. Yet there has been no documentation that nursing children are more likely than weaned children to refuse supplementary foods.


Nursing toddlers between the ages of 16 and 30 months have been found to have fewer illnesses and illnesses of shorter duration than their non-nursing peers

"Antibodies are abundant in human milk throughout lactation" (Nutrition During Lactation 1991; p. 134). In fact, some of the immune factors in breastmilk increase in concentration during the second year and also during the weaning process. (Goldman 1983, Goldman & Goldblum 1983, Institute of Medicine 1991).

Extensive research on the relationship between cognitive achievement (IQ scores, grades in school) and breastfeeding has shown the greatest gains for those children breastfed the longest.


Meeting a child's dependency needs is the key to helping that child achieve independence. And children outgrow these needs according to their own unique timetable. Children who achieve independence at their own pace are more secure in that independence then children forced into independence prematurely.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that "Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child... Increased duration of breastfeeding confers significant health and developmental benefits for the child and the mother... There is no upper limit to the duration of breastfeeding and no evidence of psychologic or developmental harm from breastfeeding into the third year of life or longer." (AAP 2005)

According to Dr. Jack Newman:

Common concerns associated with nursing a toddler were also addressed. Some health care professionals comment, "There is no nutritional value of human milk beyond a certain age." Newman called this an unbelievable statement. He wondered aloud how human milk suddenly became white water after a certain age when, before that age, breastfeeding had all sorts of benefits to mother and baby. The concern that extended breastfeeding will prevent a child from developing his own immunity was discussed. In reality, breastfeeding provides passive protection via mother's immunities that come in human milk, but also stimulation to a child's immune system. A breastfed child has a more mature immune system.

Another concern Newman often hears is that breastfeeding a toddler will cause dependency. He pointed out that all three-year-olds tend to be pretty dependent on their mothers. Breastfeeding provides a sense of security and love that will help foster independence rather than create dependence. Newman stated that loving human contact does not cause harm to a child.

Armed with all this information on the benefits of extended breastfeeding it's puzzling why my family and friends are constantly trying to get me to wean her. I am going to nurse Talia for as long as she wants; it's not real fun for me and I catch a lot of slack for it but it's good for her and my job as a mom is to make the best choices for my child.

BestBabyOrganics.com: Guest Blogger Alison Manes "Cesareans; Once a Lifesaving Surgery Has Turned Into a Fad"

BestBabyOrganics.com: Guest Blogger Alison Manes "Cesareans; Once a Lifesaving Surgery Has Turned Into a Fad"

My Take on Octomom

I was up late last night and a special came on TV called Octomom; the unseen footage. Usually I stay clear of the news and subsequently didn't know much about her other then some woman who already had six kids had octuplets. *Interesting side note when I tried to run spell check on the word octuplets and I got sextuplets, quintuplets and couplets.

As I am watching the chaos of media I feel bad for the mom aka Nadya. She looks scared and shocked by how much attention she was getting. She said,

"I'm just a mom why are they so interested in me?"

I'm not going to pick apart this woman and her decisions, I don't know what I would do if I was in a position that I either had to implant my embryos or they would be destroyed. Especially if I believed as she does, that they were living children. I do want to point out two major things that she can do to save money, live conscientiously and keep her carbon footprint as low as possible.

1. Immediately switch to cloth diapers. The book Diapers: Environmental Impacts and Life cycle Analysis claims that over 300 pounds of wood, 50 pounds of petroleum feedstocks and 20 pounds of chlorine are used to produce disposable diapers for one baby EACH YEAR. Holy cow man, that woman has 10 children currently in diapers which means JUST THIS YEAR her family will have consumed 3000 pounds of wood, 500 pounds of petrolem and 200 pounds of chlorine. Not to mention that over one ton of *illegal* sold waste is dumped in our landfills by each child in cloth diapers.

I realize that she's probably too tired to eat let alone wash diapers but I noticed that she has a small army in her employ to help her. She even managed to sneak away and get a tattoo.

Cloth diapers, as well as being eco friendly will save her approximately $12445.20 if she uses prefolds and covers, $7261.20 if she uses fitted diapers with diaper covers, $9277.20 if she uses LolliDoo(TM) eco-pockets(TM) and $7261.20 if she uses a low cost pocket diaper. *calculations based on 96 total diapers or 12 per baby

At any rate, those are HUGE savings worth taking a look at.

2. Ditch the formula I know easier said then done. I realize that it's not possible for one woman to exclusively breastfeed 8 babies simultaneously however I have faith that the milk share community would happily provide her with breastmilk for a low cost. Mothers will reach out to those babies. I suggest asking yahoo milkshare and calling La Leche League.

The cost of formula feeding one baby for one year on average is $1643. Multiply that by 8 and you get $13,144. I am blown away how much it can cost to feed a baby formula.

The environmental impacts are also astounding. Peggy O'Mara explains,

"Manufacturing formula requires miles and miles of cows. Each grazing cow that produces milk for artificial baby milk needs about one hectare (10,000 square meters) of land. To create enough land for cows to graze on, forests are cut down, which leads to deforestation, which in turn contributes to soil erosion and water contamination; or land is used for cattle that was previously used to grow food for families. In addition, cow flatulence and excretion account for 20 percent of the world's total annual emissions of methane. While methane is second only to CO2 in contributing to greenhouse gases, it is much more destructive of ozone than is CO2. A similar equation could be used around soybeans, an alternative to milk, which use significant pesticides, water, and petroleum resources in their production and distribution.

O’Mara also asks us to consider the energy used in heating baby formula: “One study determined that producing one kilo of formula in Mexico costs 12.5 square meters of rain forest.” In the U.S., this cost is less noticeable, but there is still an energy cost to transporting and heating formula."

This is bad stuff folks, if you want to read more about the health risks of formula click here http://www.promom.org/101/


I don't believe in judging others and for that reason I don't want to trash the woman but I do wish she would be more responsible.

LolliDoo Eco Pockets win the PTPA Media Award!

We are allowed to announce that LolliDoo Eco Pockets have won the PTPA Media Award.

PTPA Media’s mission is to discover and appraise new products designed for children and families.We research new products and coordinate testing with parents. Award winning products are selected based on value, functionality, quality and appeal.


Woohoo!

This is why we don't use bamboo

We explored using bamboo for LolliDoo, but nixed it for this very reason. Once turned into textiles, bamboo is NOT antimicrobial, nor is it an eco-friendly fabric. Apparently, the FTC agrees with our decision to NOT use bamboo in our products. Ins...tead, LolliDoo is comprised only of recycled and certified organic fabrics, and we're soon to announce the further "greening" of our product with a revolutionary new...mmm, you'll just have to stay tuned to find out. :)

To read on go to http://www.cleanconsciencegoods.com/blog/ftc-charges-companies-bamboo-zling-consumers-false-product-claims

Obama Apologizes for the Declaration of Independence

Have you heard that President Obama issued a formal apology to Britain for the Declaration of Independence?

How about that the CDC has warned that Swine Flu is wiping out villiages in Asia and will kill 60% of the US population?

No?

I know you've gotten this one in an email:

Please look at this picture of missing 13 year old Ashley Flores, read what her mother says and pass it on.



I've gotten that one at least a dozen times this year.

The truth is folks, is that they are all hoaxes passed on by thousands among thousands of people via email and social networking websites.

Why do people continue sending their friends and families these put-ons? This is an example of a letter that's been going around. It's just plain weird.

Subject: Make A Wish Foundation (fwd)

A plea from a sick little girl

Little Kimberly Anne is dying of a horrible tropical disease. Her goal,
before she passes into the Great Beyond, is to collect as many free America
Online disks as she can, to make the Guiness Book of Records. Her project
is being sponsored by the Wish-Upon-a-Star Foundation, which specializes in
fulfilling the final wishes of such sick little girls.

So, next time you get an unwanted AOL disk in the mail, don't throw it away!
Think of the sparkle it will bring to the eye of a dying child. Write on
the package:

[Address deleted to prevent this hoax from continuing.]

Please copy this message and circulate it to your friends, neighbors, and
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
co-workers. Only you can child's wish reality! God bless you from the
Wish-Upon-a-Star Foundation!

I don't know who creates these hoaxes and why they are prepetuated but I what I can do is direct you to a tool; www.snopes.com snopes.com has a comprehensive list of what is true and what is false. Please, please go to snopes.com before passing along any more of those emails.