Keeping your family well during flu season

Of course the easiest way to keep our families well is to wash our hands frequently.  This isn't always as easy as it sounds, but try to make sure you wash both your own hands and your child's hands before food preparation and eating.

There are a few ways to help boost the immune system to help keep them well too.

First, avoid things that can suppress the immune system.  Excess sugar (8 Tbsp or two cans of soda) can reduce the ability of white blood cells to kill germs by a whopping 40%.  In addition, 

obesity can slow the immune system.  Be sure to keep you and your family at a healthy weight.

Secondly, boost your child's immune system.  Serve lots of fruits and vegetables and foods rich with Omega 3.  

Try starting the day with a smoothie filled with fresh fruit, yogurt, flax seeds or hemp seeds, and you can even add a serving of vegetables.  Cauliflower is easy to hide in smoothies; just cook it and put it in the refrigerator.  Then when you're making your smoothies, add a little cauliflower.  You won't be able to see it or taste it.

For dinner, make a tortilla soup with lots of vegetables.  You can put almost anything in it; just start with tomatoes (canned or fresh), carrots, onion, garlic and jalapenos (optional).   Then you can add zucchini, celery, whatever you like.  Cook all the veggies together until they're cooked through, then puree.  Serve with cheese, sour cream and tortilla strips (plain or fried).  This will be an antioxidant-packed day for your family.

You can also add flax or hemp seeds to muffins for extra Omega 3s.

Keeping the immune system healthy will help keep your family healthy.

Car wash

Good news!

It is actually much better for the environment to take your car to get it washed rather than doing it yourself.  By washing your car in a commercial car wash, you can save up to 100 gallons of water.  Many car wash businesses recycle rinse water and use significantly less water per wash.

So save yourself the work.  Take your car to be washed and use the extra time you saved for something fun.

Safety tips for Memorial Day weekend

A 3-day weekend - yeah!  It's the unofficial beginning of summer, so many of us will spend the weekend outdoors.  Just remember to be safe while enjoying.

Wear sunscreen all day, but follow the "Shadow Rule" -- if your shadow is shorter than you are, the sun's damaging rays are at their strongest and you are likely to burn.

Supervise young kids in the pool - ideally you should have one adult for every two children in the pool watching at all times.

Keep cold food cold, hot food hot, and refrigerate any leftovers within 2 hours.

Let's also remember what this holiday is about.  Send the troups a virtual thank you card at www.ourmilitary.mil/index.aspx.

Have a great weekend!!

Sleep training

We all wonder about the people who say, "Oh, my baby slept through the night at four months."  Well, some of us are actually lucky enough to get a child who sleeps through the night at a young age and continues (I am not included in these lucky ones.)

So what is sleep training, when do you start, what are the different methods, and will I ever get some rest?  Here are some suggestions that might help some of us get on the road to a better night's sleep.

There are certainly many different methods and each one may or may not work for you.   Each method strongly suggests that you start with a bedtime routine.  Whatever your routine is, try to follow it each evening.  This could be bath, books, bed or whatever works for you.  Here is a brief description of a few sleep training methods.

1.  Ferber - Developed by a pediatrician, this method is sometimes known as the "cry it out" method.  This method says you can teach your child to soothe themselves to sleep somewhere between 4 and 6 months old.  They suggest you put your baby to sleep awake.  Then go back at a predetermined time and soothe the baby, but don't take them out of their crib.  These periods of time gradually increase until your baby starts to be able to put themselves to sleep.  He also discourages babies sleeping with their parents.

Many people believe this method suggests you let your baby cry until they fall asleep.  The truth is, it encourages you to soothe the baby, just not to take them out of the crib.

2.  Sears - Dr. Sears says to follow your heart when it comes to baby's sleep.  Wherever baby and family are most comfortable is best.  He says there are disadvantages of letting your baby cry it out even for a few minutes, especially in the first 6 months of life, when night waking could be from a variety of reasons.

Dr. Sears suggests having a predictable and calming daytime routine as well (regular schedule for meals and naps, comforting days that aren't too busy.)  He also suggests "tanking up" your baby during the day to teach her that daytime is for eating and nighttime is for sleeping.

3. Weissbluth - Dr. Weissbluth has five components of his sleep method; duration, consolidation (interrupted sleep), naps, timing and regularity.  This plan requires you to look for baby's natural sleep cycles and follow them.  Putting your baby to bed awake is fine, but if he falls asleep while you're soothing him, don't wake him up.

In this method, you don't run to your baby as soon as he wakes or cries.  This way, you give your baby an opportunity to put himself back to sleep, but you're still there if he can't soothe himself.

4. Four S approach - This method begins with setting the stage.  Take your baby out of any stimulating environment; draw the curtains, put on soft music or have it quiet.  Then swaddle your baby.  The nice thing about swaddling is that young babies can't flail their arms and legs and wake themselves up.  After you get her swaddled, sit with her until you feel her relax (usually five to ten minutes).  Once she is swaddled and calm, she will likely be able to sleep.  If she gets fussy when you lay her down, she probably needs physical contact from you to soothe her to sleep.  This is when you try the "shush-pat."  Whisper shhh, shhh, shhh in her ear and pat her back at the same time.  Sometimes you will have to make the shh louder.  If she's crying, your shhh will have to be louder than the cry so she can hear you.  Don't jiggle or jostle her, just pat her back and shhh, shhh, shhh until she falls asleep.

Some other things you can try to get your baby down are nursing down (nurse the baby until they fall asleep), walking down, rocking down (hold your baby and rock or walk), and fathering down (hold your baby chest-to-chest with her head just under your chin.  Then you humm softly while you hold the baby tight.  Sometimes this works better with a man's low voice.

Remember that you know your baby the best, so do what's right for you and your baby.  Also take comfort in the fact that eventually, they will learn to sleep.  

Conserve in the bathroom

In America we use twice as much energy and water per person daily as anyone in the rest of the world.  Here are some ways we can all cut down on energy and water usage and save money too.

Turn off the tap while you brush your teeth or wash your hands.  Doing this will save 5 or more gallons of water each day.

When giving the kids a bath, put the plug in the tub when you turn on the water instead of waiting for it to get warm.  Just let the water run and once it gets hot, it will warm up the cold water.  Since the average bathtub faucet flows between 3 and 5 gallons per minute, the water savings can add up fast. (If you really want to save water, put a collection container in your shower to collect the water while it warms up, then water your yard or house plants.)

Make sure your light bulbs are energy efficient, they use only a third as much electricity.

Install water saving shower heads.

Try to flush the toilet less.  If you save just one flush a day, you'll save approximately 4.5 gallons of water (the amount of water the average person in Africa uses in a day).  Think about it the next time you blow your nose and put the tissue in the toilet.

By using these simple techniques, you'll also see the savings in your water and electric bills.

Help your kids get 5 a day

We all know that we should be getting five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.  However, that is not the easiest thing to do with kids.  Sure they like berries and bananas, but what can you do to ensure they're getting their share of produce each day?

First of all, keep trying new foods.  Especially if your kids are young, it can take up to 15 times trying a food to actually get them to like it (or even eat it).  Try putting things on their plate that they like, but also put a couple of new things on the plate too.   Make meal times fun, not stressful.

Make meals look fun (try shapes or patterns with fruits and vegetables).

Make smoothies or popsicles.  You can add cooked vegetables like cauliflower or beets into a smoothie without changing the consistency or color.  Fresh fruit popsicles are just as delicious as store bought.

Cook and puree spinach and spread it in sandwiches (even PB&J).

Add sweet potato or apple into baked goods.

Cook and puree carrots and add them to pizza (over the sauce, under the cheese).

Always remember to set a good example.  Kids that see you eating healthy foods are more likely to eat well themselves.

May is Melanoma Awareness Month

Melanoma causes most skin cancer-related deaths.  Protect yourself and your family by conducting a self skin exam to check for changes in moles and other blemishes on the skin.  Detection is the best way to catch skin cancer early and getting prompt treatment.

In addition, the American Association of Dermatologists recommends that everyone follow these sun protection guidelines:

• Avoid outdoor activities between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. when the sun's rays are the strongest; 
• Seek shade whenever possible; 
• Wear a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or higher; 
• Wear sun-protective clothing and accessories, such as wide-brimmed hats and sunglasses; and 
• Follow the "Shadow Rule" -- if your shadow is shorter than you are, the sun's damaging rays are at their strongest and you are likely to burn.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you great mommies out there and your families.

Five easy ways to develop some green habits

It seems all of us want to do what's good for our families, our communities, and the environment.  With so many things going on a one time, moms can easily get overwhelmed.  

Here are five quick and easy suggestions for developing some green habits.

1.  Plant a garden.  It can be as small as a couple of recycled cans with herbs on your kitchen counter.  This also can help with picky eaters.  When they have to tend to their gardens, it's much more fun to try vegetables or herbs.  

2.  Choose paper bags when you go to the store.  They're a renewable and recyclable.   Even better, take your own cloth bags each time you shop.

3.  Buy local.  Try your local farmers market for produce and you might find some hidden goodies like baked goods, jams, maybe even a birthday gift.  This cuts down on emissions since your products don't have to travel as far to get to your home.  It also helps stimulate your local economy.

4.  Recycle.  Most neighborhoods provide a free recycling bin for their customers.  You can start small.  Try recycling just your water bottles for example.  This helps reduce waste and plastic bottles can be turned into a number of things including bark or new play structures for your local playground.

5.  Buy a reusable water bottle.  Speaking of water bottles, each year Americans buy millions of dollars of bottled water.  86% of these bottles end up in the trash.  What's more, the plastic used has BPA which can leach out and has been linked to certain types of cancer.  Using your own bottle saves money, your health  and the environment.

Welcome

Welcome to our blog.  Here you'll find useful information regarding babies, children, and making a difference in our world.  From environmental issues that affect the globe to issues that affect your home and family, you'll find it here.