A couple months ago, I decided to try McDonald's new specialty coffees. I took a sip and threw it away. The espresso tasted like it had been making cups of joe all morning. Well, other people have talked about it being good and sales of their coffee are reportedly high, so I figured I just got a bad cup. I bravely decided to try it again this morning. It was just as gross.
Now, I'm hardly a coffee snob. I like just about any cup I get at any cafe. Yeah, I refuse to drink 12 month old coffee in a tin, like Folgers, but really I'm not that picky. Seriously, does my local McDonald's really just screw coffee up that much or do the people who buy it have no taste buds?
It might be at bargain prices, but its not worth $3 for a sip. Watch out Starbucks, here I come.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Post Partum Period and Placenta Consumption
I think that this past pregnancy has officially pushed me over the edge from oatmeal to granola.
After my first pregnancy, my post partum days were filled with anxiety and the baby blues. Pretty typical of a first time mom. However, around the five month mark, post partum, I found myself undeniably in the throes of post partum depression. During this past pregnancy with my second, I was determined to try some more natural approaches to have a mentally healthy post partum period and to do what I could to minimize my risk of post partum depression (re-occurrence is high).
My research led me to placenta consumption. I'll let you take a sip of water, in case you accidentally gagged. I decided to go for it. I put in my birth plan that I wanted the placenta and that I would not consent to it leaving my eye sight. I got my obstetrician on board (note: if you have a home birth or a birth center birth, you are less likely to have any issues). When I went to the hospital, I told them I was taking it and whatever department "has" to look at it can either hall their butt out of the basement, or I'd sign a release. Fortunately, I had no issues.
The day after I got home, I washed, blotted dry, and cut the placenta into thin strips. I'll be honest it was gross cutting away the remnants of the amniotic sack (or what I assume is the amniotic sac) and the umbilical cord. I then put in the dehydrator and let it go over night. There are other ways to prepare it. For instance, traditional Chinese medicine first has the preparer boil the placenta with a pepper.
At any rate, after it dried, I ground up a few pieces of my placenta "jerky" and put it into gelatin capsules that I got from my local health food store. And I started to take it. I was lazy one day and decided to put a small piece of "jerky" into a fruit smoothie. I won't be doing that again. It doesn't taste very appetizing. However, adding a banana did make the smoothie drinkable.
There are a variety of options for placenta consumption. Mothering has several recipes to cook it (I'll post a link at the bottom). There are services available where people will prepare it for you. Some midwives and doulas will do it. Or you can do it yourself. The most labor intensive part of it is the grinding.
In addition to the placenta therapy, which does help an awful lot, I have also started taking St. John's Wort and if I feel anxious, I take one skull cap supplement. These interventions seem to be helping me make this post partum period a bit easier to handle. I'll be honest that I still have the baby blues, but no where near to the extent I had with my first pregnancy.
If you're interested in hearing more, check out these links:
http://placentabenefits.info/encapsulation.asp
http://www.geocities.com/virtualbirth/placenta.html
http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/honoring-the-placenta.html
http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/amazing_placenta_side.html
After my first pregnancy, my post partum days were filled with anxiety and the baby blues. Pretty typical of a first time mom. However, around the five month mark, post partum, I found myself undeniably in the throes of post partum depression. During this past pregnancy with my second, I was determined to try some more natural approaches to have a mentally healthy post partum period and to do what I could to minimize my risk of post partum depression (re-occurrence is high).
My research led me to placenta consumption. I'll let you take a sip of water, in case you accidentally gagged. I decided to go for it. I put in my birth plan that I wanted the placenta and that I would not consent to it leaving my eye sight. I got my obstetrician on board (note: if you have a home birth or a birth center birth, you are less likely to have any issues). When I went to the hospital, I told them I was taking it and whatever department "has" to look at it can either hall their butt out of the basement, or I'd sign a release. Fortunately, I had no issues.
The day after I got home, I washed, blotted dry, and cut the placenta into thin strips. I'll be honest it was gross cutting away the remnants of the amniotic sack (or what I assume is the amniotic sac) and the umbilical cord. I then put in the dehydrator and let it go over night. There are other ways to prepare it. For instance, traditional Chinese medicine first has the preparer boil the placenta with a pepper.
At any rate, after it dried, I ground up a few pieces of my placenta "jerky" and put it into gelatin capsules that I got from my local health food store. And I started to take it. I was lazy one day and decided to put a small piece of "jerky" into a fruit smoothie. I won't be doing that again. It doesn't taste very appetizing. However, adding a banana did make the smoothie drinkable.
There are a variety of options for placenta consumption. Mothering has several recipes to cook it (I'll post a link at the bottom). There are services available where people will prepare it for you. Some midwives and doulas will do it. Or you can do it yourself. The most labor intensive part of it is the grinding.
In addition to the placenta therapy, which does help an awful lot, I have also started taking St. John's Wort and if I feel anxious, I take one skull cap supplement. These interventions seem to be helping me make this post partum period a bit easier to handle. I'll be honest that I still have the baby blues, but no where near to the extent I had with my first pregnancy.
If you're interested in hearing more, check out these links:
http://placentabenefits.info/encapsulation.asp
http://www.geocities.com/virtualbirth/placenta.html
http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/honoring-the-placenta.html
http://www.mothering.com/articles/pregnancy_birth/birth_preparation/amazing_placenta_side.html
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Babywearing makes me look like an official mom
Phew! I'm so glad that Motrin thinks that baby wearing makes me look "official". I guess the question is what makes a mom look "unofficial".
Motrin has a new ad on their website ( http://motrin.com/ ) and if I had rolled my eyes any harder they would have fallen out of my head. In essence, it boils baby wearing down to a passing fad, all about "looks" and fashion. M-kay. Never mind that other cultures have been doing it for thousands of years. And I hate to break it to Motrin, but baby wearing isn't a pain at all. If it is, then its being done wrong.
Motrin, your ad sucks. Surely there was a way to reach out to moms who need pain relief without trivializing a parenting method.
Motrin has a new ad on their website ( http://motrin.com/ ) and if I had rolled my eyes any harder they would have fallen out of my head. In essence, it boils baby wearing down to a passing fad, all about "looks" and fashion. M-kay. Never mind that other cultures have been doing it for thousands of years. And I hate to break it to Motrin, but baby wearing isn't a pain at all. If it is, then its being done wrong.
Motrin, your ad sucks. Surely there was a way to reach out to moms who need pain relief without trivializing a parenting method.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Awesome Allergy Product
Well, now that I ordered mine, I can spread the word. This weekend I decided that part of our Advent celebrations needed to include a chocolate Advent calendar. Evidently its a tall order to find an allergy friendly Advent calendar in the US. If you're in the UK, you have lots of options, here..... not so much.
I posted a thread at www.kidswithfoodallergies.com and someone told me to check out Amanda's Own Advent Calendar. Well, I just ordered it and can't wait to get it in the mail.
If you're seeking a allergy friendly Advent calendar, you should check it out: http://www.amandasown.com/christmas.html
Yay for Amanda's Own!
I posted a thread at www.kidswithfoodallergies.com and someone told me to check out Amanda's Own Advent Calendar. Well, I just ordered it and can't wait to get it in the mail.
If you're seeking a allergy friendly Advent calendar, you should check it out: http://www.amandasown.com/christmas.html
Yay for Amanda's Own!
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Yearly Allergy Visit
Oh my! What an allergy visit that was! I asked the allergist to test Caden for mustard, since we suspected he was allergic, after a reaction to Bush's Baked Beans this past summer. It's the only thing he ever has eaten with mustard. Well, that came back positive.... with a host of other new allergies!
His dairy reaction was so big it ran into his egg allergy. I think it was about 3 inches long and an inch wide. The allergist said he couldn't believe how bad it was. He wants to do some blood tests for allergies to check his levels this summer. He tested positive for molds, dust, pets, and pollens on the environmental and seasonal tests. He tested positive for the first time to fish, shellfish and tree nuts, despite having NONE of those things in the last year (fish) or ever (shellfish and tree nuts).
He also tested positive to wheat and corn and beans, but he eats those things safely (well not beans, which he won't eat at all). Fortunately that means we will not have to eliminate those things from his diet. He also finally tested positive to soy on the skin test, despite reacting to it for over a year.
He did however outgrow his tomato allergy! We haven't trialed yet, but we will sometime this week. We offered him ketchup earlier this week, and he had no interest whatsoever. This kid will dip his french fries in apple sauce but not ketchup!
We go back for our six month follow up in May, and we'll likely do the blood work then too. I was really hoping he'd outgrow his egg allergy, but the allergist thinks that one got worse too.
His dairy reaction was so big it ran into his egg allergy. I think it was about 3 inches long and an inch wide. The allergist said he couldn't believe how bad it was. He wants to do some blood tests for allergies to check his levels this summer. He tested positive for molds, dust, pets, and pollens on the environmental and seasonal tests. He tested positive for the first time to fish, shellfish and tree nuts, despite having NONE of those things in the last year (fish) or ever (shellfish and tree nuts).
He also tested positive to wheat and corn and beans, but he eats those things safely (well not beans, which he won't eat at all). Fortunately that means we will not have to eliminate those things from his diet. He also finally tested positive to soy on the skin test, despite reacting to it for over a year.
He did however outgrow his tomato allergy! We haven't trialed yet, but we will sometime this week. We offered him ketchup earlier this week, and he had no interest whatsoever. This kid will dip his french fries in apple sauce but not ketchup!
We go back for our six month follow up in May, and we'll likely do the blood work then too. I was really hoping he'd outgrow his egg allergy, but the allergist thinks that one got worse too.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
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