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Thursday, May 14, 2009
Homemade Baby Food...is it really worth it?
by Catherine Milliken
I decided to be domestic and make baby food. My son Luke likes sweet potatoes, so I started with that. Now, I know that making homemade baby food has its advantages: you know what's going into it, it's cheaper, better for the environment...But after trying it myself, I'm not sure it's worth it.
It can be pretty time consuming. I boiled the sweet potatoes in water and let simmer for twenty minutes. Then I let cool for another twenty minutes and plopped in the blender. I pureed, but that didn't really work too well, so I ended up just taking them out and trying my best to puree them in a bowl with a spoon. Then I used an ice cream scoop to transfer to storage trays. It wasn't hard, but it left a mess that took another ten minutes or so to clean up. So all in all, about an hour of work for 20 servings of sweet potatoes.
In a nutshell, homemade baby food: $5 for 5 organic sweet potatoes equals 20 servings, one hour of work, and carbon footprint? Hard to say how much water used in cleaning up.
Store bought baby food? $10 for 20 servings, one minute of work, 20 plastic containers to recycle.
Luke didn't seem to prefer one over the other.
I suppose it's kind of like cooking...there is something satisfying in creating something from scratch. It's likely I'll make Luke his food when the mood strikes. But when time is short, and energy is low, I'll stick to the old stand-by, Gerber.
I decided to be domestic and make baby food. My son Luke likes sweet potatoes, so I started with that. Now, I know that making homemade baby food has its advantages: you know what's going into it, it's cheaper, better for the environment...But after trying it myself, I'm not sure it's worth it.
It can be pretty time consuming. I boiled the sweet potatoes in water and let simmer for twenty minutes. Then I let cool for another twenty minutes and plopped in the blender. I pureed, but that didn't really work too well, so I ended up just taking them out and trying my best to puree them in a bowl with a spoon. Then I used an ice cream scoop to transfer to storage trays. It wasn't hard, but it left a mess that took another ten minutes or so to clean up. So all in all, about an hour of work for 20 servings of sweet potatoes.
In a nutshell, homemade baby food: $5 for 5 organic sweet potatoes equals 20 servings, one hour of work, and carbon footprint? Hard to say how much water used in cleaning up.
Store bought baby food? $10 for 20 servings, one minute of work, 20 plastic containers to recycle.
Luke didn't seem to prefer one over the other.
I suppose it's kind of like cooking...there is something satisfying in creating something from scratch. It's likely I'll make Luke his food when the mood strikes. But when time is short, and energy is low, I'll stick to the old stand-by, Gerber.
Why Natural Birth?
by Cheryl DeLancey
My desire for a natural childbirth comes partially from my philosophy that being pregnant and birthing aren't medical events in most cases. In fact, in many countries with similar infant mortality rates as the US, there are far fewer medical interventions. This tells me that there's either something wrong with American women that makes us ill-adapted for childbearing, or we're doing an awful lot of unnecessary interventions. Plus, genetically speaking, women tend to follow their maternal line, which bodes very well for my ability to have a vaginal, unmedicated birth.
I'll summarize what I've learned from research studies and books on birthing. And keep in mind that this is for information, I'm not judging anyone's past, present, or future choices in these areas. I'm simply sharing what is playing a role in our decision to go for it naturally.
Anaesthesia - both IV and epidural anesthesia (opiate and narcotic types) do reach the baby and can lead to fetal distress, a need for oxygen or intubation at birth, and can impede the normal progression of the baby through the birth canal, affecting how the baby's head and shoulders present (they don't do the normal twist in some cases). Also, these drugs can slow labor and reduce the effectiveness of the mother's ability to push, which lead to greater rates of cesearean and forceps or vacuum delivery due to failure to progress. AND a lot of the drugs that MD's choose for laboring women are drugs that have warnings AGAINST use in pregnancy, breastfeeding, and childbirth (Nubain and Demerole are examples of drugs with this warning). So we're dedicated to avoiding the drugs because there's no such thing as a completely safe one and I want to embrace the experience of childbirth, no matter how much pain is involved - after all - it's pain with a purpose.
Episiotomies - can actually lead to women tearing clear through to the anus, which occurs almost never in women without episiotomies. Plus they lead to longer recovery times and rarely lead to getting a baby out any faster (which is a justification sometimes given for slicing and dicing the woman's perineum).
Also, interventions like pitocin induction and forceps/vacuum delivery and c-sections are often the tools of an impatient provider. Failure to progress is a subjective call which due to the natural variations in time from early labor to birth, is nearly impossible to diagnose as a problem, and thus is rarely a reason in itself to use intervention. Basically, unless the mother or baby are in distress, there is absolutely no medical reason to use any of these. I don't think that these tools are useless - some babies and mothers are saved by them. However, there is research suggesting that they're overused and that many practitioners jump the gun on using them when a less invasive option can resolve issues that typically lead to them. For example, fetal distress often resolves with a simple change of position, which can resolve the issue quicker and with less risk than a c-section.
So we're choosing to go with a natural approach, and our CNM is in agreement that natural interventions be tried prior to medical interventions, as long as there is ample time, should a complication arise. We've based that decision on the research and on the philosophy that in a low-risk situation, nature knows best.
I guess we'll all have to wait and see how it goes, but right now, we're all-systems-go on Natural Childbirth.
My desire for a natural childbirth comes partially from my philosophy that being pregnant and birthing aren't medical events in most cases. In fact, in many countries with similar infant mortality rates as the US, there are far fewer medical interventions. This tells me that there's either something wrong with American women that makes us ill-adapted for childbearing, or we're doing an awful lot of unnecessary interventions. Plus, genetically speaking, women tend to follow their maternal line, which bodes very well for my ability to have a vaginal, unmedicated birth.
I'll summarize what I've learned from research studies and books on birthing. And keep in mind that this is for information, I'm not judging anyone's past, present, or future choices in these areas. I'm simply sharing what is playing a role in our decision to go for it naturally.
Anaesthesia - both IV and epidural anesthesia (opiate and narcotic types) do reach the baby and can lead to fetal distress, a need for oxygen or intubation at birth, and can impede the normal progression of the baby through the birth canal, affecting how the baby's head and shoulders present (they don't do the normal twist in some cases). Also, these drugs can slow labor and reduce the effectiveness of the mother's ability to push, which lead to greater rates of cesearean and forceps or vacuum delivery due to failure to progress. AND a lot of the drugs that MD's choose for laboring women are drugs that have warnings AGAINST use in pregnancy, breastfeeding, and childbirth (Nubain and Demerole are examples of drugs with this warning). So we're dedicated to avoiding the drugs because there's no such thing as a completely safe one and I want to embrace the experience of childbirth, no matter how much pain is involved - after all - it's pain with a purpose.
Episiotomies - can actually lead to women tearing clear through to the anus, which occurs almost never in women without episiotomies. Plus they lead to longer recovery times and rarely lead to getting a baby out any faster (which is a justification sometimes given for slicing and dicing the woman's perineum).
Also, interventions like pitocin induction and forceps/vacuum delivery and c-sections are often the tools of an impatient provider. Failure to progress is a subjective call which due to the natural variations in time from early labor to birth, is nearly impossible to diagnose as a problem, and thus is rarely a reason in itself to use intervention. Basically, unless the mother or baby are in distress, there is absolutely no medical reason to use any of these. I don't think that these tools are useless - some babies and mothers are saved by them. However, there is research suggesting that they're overused and that many practitioners jump the gun on using them when a less invasive option can resolve issues that typically lead to them. For example, fetal distress often resolves with a simple change of position, which can resolve the issue quicker and with less risk than a c-section.
So we're choosing to go with a natural approach, and our CNM is in agreement that natural interventions be tried prior to medical interventions, as long as there is ample time, should a complication arise. We've based that decision on the research and on the philosophy that in a low-risk situation, nature knows best.
I guess we'll all have to wait and see how it goes, but right now, we're all-systems-go on Natural Childbirth.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
How do we protect our money from the government?
by Michael Hehir
Sunday morning, my daughter Anna turned on the TV to watch Curious George, but instead found Ed Slott. The program was called Stay Rich Forever & Ever, and was basically an infomercial for his upcoming book. After watching this guy go on about pensions and 401(k)s for about twenty minutes, Anna turned to her mother and asked, "How do we protect our money from the government?"
Now, this is not the first time she has expressed concern about paying taxes. A few weeks ago, I was grumbling about paying $93.50 to register our two cars. (I didn't realize it yet, but Anna was about to have a major breakdown.) She said that I should "send them to jail for trying to take our money." After I told her that it doesn't work that way, she burst into tears, sobbing that we wouldn't be able to buy her any more toys or clothes for Kindergarten. She was genuinely frantic about it.
Somehow, I managed to calm her down while giving what I hope was an age-appropriate dissertation on two tricky concepts: money and government.
Having successfully weathered that storm — but not desiring a repeat performance — when the school tax bill arrived yesterday, I decided not to mention it to Anna.
Sunday morning, my daughter Anna turned on the TV to watch Curious George, but instead found Ed Slott. The program was called Stay Rich Forever & Ever, and was basically an infomercial for his upcoming book. After watching this guy go on about pensions and 401(k)s for about twenty minutes, Anna turned to her mother and asked, "How do we protect our money from the government?"
Now, this is not the first time she has expressed concern about paying taxes. A few weeks ago, I was grumbling about paying $93.50 to register our two cars. (I didn't realize it yet, but Anna was about to have a major breakdown.) She said that I should "send them to jail for trying to take our money." After I told her that it doesn't work that way, she burst into tears, sobbing that we wouldn't be able to buy her any more toys or clothes for Kindergarten. She was genuinely frantic about it.
Somehow, I managed to calm her down while giving what I hope was an age-appropriate dissertation on two tricky concepts: money and government.
Having successfully weathered that storm — but not desiring a repeat performance — when the school tax bill arrived yesterday, I decided not to mention it to Anna.
Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child
by Marcus Howell
Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child
Dr. Marc Weissbluth
1999
Daddy Rating: 0/5
First of all, I want you all to know that I tried really, really hard to like this book. My boss, Jeff, recommended it to me, and then my sister-in-law Fran said she was reading it and finding it useful. But this book is the worst written piece of garbage I've ever laid eyes on, and it bothers me so much that the remainder of my analysis of the book will be cribbed entirely from low-rated Amazon reviews so that I don't waste another second on this junk.
First off, "[a] parent who is sleep deprived needs a book with exact techniques, solutions and action plans written clearly and easily found within the text. This book lacks all of these requirements. It is 503 pages long and I would venture to say that only about 90 of those pages are relevant to the parent looking for answers to a sleepless child."
Additionally, "Weissbluth's definition of a sleep problem is when the child not sleeping becomes a problem for the parent. His solution is that up to four months, parents should meet the babies' needs for cuddles, feeding, etc. After four months, he advocates letting the baby cry it out for however long it takes until the baby stops crying and goes to sleep. The parents are not to check on the baby or pat it's back or talk. When asked 'How long should I let my baby cry?', he replies, 'to establish regular naps, and consolidated sleep overnight, there is no time limit.'" [Note: this reviewer actually manages to give the advice of the book clearly and concisely, which is the exact opposite of the actual book, which, get this, NEVER COMES OUT AND DIRECTLY SAYS TO LET THE BABY CRY IT OUT. Instead, the author implies that this is his advice through anecdotes.]
I give up. Kid is going to sleep or not sleep. There's nothing we could do about it now, anyway. And anything would be better than reading yet another crappy book about how we're bad parents for (i) caring too much, or (ii) caring too little. The next baby book I read will be about something different.
Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child
Dr. Marc Weissbluth
1999
Daddy Rating: 0/5
First of all, I want you all to know that I tried really, really hard to like this book. My boss, Jeff, recommended it to me, and then my sister-in-law Fran said she was reading it and finding it useful. But this book is the worst written piece of garbage I've ever laid eyes on, and it bothers me so much that the remainder of my analysis of the book will be cribbed entirely from low-rated Amazon reviews so that I don't waste another second on this junk.
First off, "[a] parent who is sleep deprived needs a book with exact techniques, solutions and action plans written clearly and easily found within the text. This book lacks all of these requirements. It is 503 pages long and I would venture to say that only about 90 of those pages are relevant to the parent looking for answers to a sleepless child."
Additionally, "Weissbluth's definition of a sleep problem is when the child not sleeping becomes a problem for the parent. His solution is that up to four months, parents should meet the babies' needs for cuddles, feeding, etc. After four months, he advocates letting the baby cry it out for however long it takes until the baby stops crying and goes to sleep. The parents are not to check on the baby or pat it's back or talk. When asked 'How long should I let my baby cry?', he replies, 'to establish regular naps, and consolidated sleep overnight, there is no time limit.'" [Note: this reviewer actually manages to give the advice of the book clearly and concisely, which is the exact opposite of the actual book, which, get this, NEVER COMES OUT AND DIRECTLY SAYS TO LET THE BABY CRY IT OUT. Instead, the author implies that this is his advice through anecdotes.]
I give up. Kid is going to sleep or not sleep. There's nothing we could do about it now, anyway. And anything would be better than reading yet another crappy book about how we're bad parents for (i) caring too much, or (ii) caring too little. The next baby book I read will be about something different.
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