Healthy Mum, Happy Baby

Warning: not about breastfeeding or nutrition, but instead about sex…

A friend, who shall remain nameless, expounded this theory today. It is her take of why most mums with young kids are having too much sex, while most dads of young kids aren’t having enough. She feels it’s the age-old story of using sex for power. “I’m worn out,” she said, “I’m exhausted and no one in my house is doing what I ask, and I’m not getting what I need from my husband, so I’m not giving him what he needs, well, probably what we need. It’s not something I do consciously  but I’d probably be into sex 24-hours-a-day if I felt like he was listening to me, or understood how I feel.” A caveat – she was having a terrible morning that started at 5:30 am and her marriage is quite possibly one of the strongest I know – but I got what she meant.

Okay other mothers? What’s your take on this, who’s getting it (or not!) at your house?

So I went to my local Chapters store this morning and signed all the copies of my book that they had in stock. A good friend came with me and not only bought two copies, but also suggested they put them on the table with the mother’s day books, which they’re going to do.

We also took some pix, but alas, I’m new to my camera and this was the only one that turned out. This is us “faking” the book already being on the table (aka – out for the whole word world to see and buy, which is only a little scary!) and I used the pink outline to highlight Healthy Mom, Happy Baby. And the blue sticker you can see on it says, “signed by author.”

When I was pregnant I became more cautious about what I cleaned my house with as I was more aware of what I was breathing in (my highly sensitive sense of smell probably helped) and since then I’ve gone greener with my cleaning. I found this great article on the CBC site about making your own household cleansers. But I’m guessing you may have enough on your plate what with making homemade baby food, or toddler food, or family food, so if you’re interested in buying green I used to get Dusting Divas products, but they seem to have moved to Cape Breton, so that’s sort of moot. There’s also Simple Green, which I’ve heard of but not used. Then there are Method products which are non-toxic and environmentally friendly and which I love, love, love. There are lots of great options at health food stores too.

So geeky that I called my local Chapters today to see if my book would be on the shelves and hot off the press tomorrow as promised…and I was lucky because a very charming associate answered the phone and has put all 16 copies that their location has behind the front counter so I can go in tomorrow and sign them before they put them out with little ’signed by the author’ stickers. I only feel slightly lame, but also VERY excited to see my book for sale in a real store for real people (ie. those that I’m not related to or friendly with) to buy. I think I will have to take pix and post them.

The more we learn about fish oil the more it seems we should be mainlining it or something…it’s so touted that it makes me wonder how people ever thrived in landlocked locations? A new study has just found that fish oil speeds maturing of infants’ immune systems – yet another reason to make sure you (and your baby) are getting enough of it!

I’ve found a couple of helpful links this morning while I’m battling my guilt about sending my not 100% preschooler back to daycare and adding an extra day of daycare to my toddler’s week. How am I justifying it? After almost a week of sicko preschooler and now a postop hubby I need some time to get caught up before the weekend with almost helpless hubby hits us.

All that aside, now that strawberries are coming into season did you know that they’re not just an excellent source of vitamin C and fibre but they’re also antioxidant-rich and thus can help promote heart health and protect against cancer and inflammatory diseases? They’re also an important fruit to eat organic if possible as per the Environmental Working Group’s list of most pesticide contaminated foods.
>> Strawberry source & >> EWG source

And channeling strawberries, Daily Candy recently posted a great do-it-yourself spring renewal facial with ingredients including yogurt and strawberries… >> Daily Candy 

And are you already a fan of Caring for Kids? It’s seaonally appropriate kids health info from the Canadian Pediatric Society and I find there’s almost always something worth reading in their montly newsletters.
>> Caring for Kids

Well I might have it, but Lucy doesn’t want it anymore, so I’m feeling a little sad. She’s been down to one nurse a day for ages now (first thing in the am) and it’s sort of our cuddle time and my time to sit for five whole minutes, but for the last week all she does is nurse for a few moments and then bite me. If I try again she bites me again. If I switch sides she bites me again. I love her and I enjoy nursing her but I am not willing to be bitten all morning long.

This morning I didn’t even try and she seemed fine with it. Since this is almost certainly our last baby this means I will never breastfeed again, ever. And that makes me sad, even if I sometimes found being a milk bar frustrating.

The upside? I may lose (some of) my blubby tummy that my body holds onto no matter what I do while I’m nursing (or at least that’s how it worked with Madeleine). Another plus? My “boo boos” (as M so charmingly calls them) may shrink, ’cause I don’t think I can live with an “F” cup for much longer!

We know folic acid (vitamin B9) is especially important for women of childbearing age as it helps prevent certain birth defects, but in general it also helps with nerve and brain functioning, may help prevent heart disease and stroke, and may protect against certain cancers. Where can you find folate in foods? Try:

• spinach
• green vegetables
• beans
• fortified products such as orange juice and cereals
• asparagus
• bananas
• melons
• lemons
• legumes
• yeast
• mushrooms

Source & more info

I love the mayo clinic website, it’s got tonnes of good health info, everything from what to do when you get a cancer diagnosis to the ten best foods to eat. Here’s their list of top ten foods & the criteria that make them so: Mayo Clinic’s Top Ten. If you’re into online newsletters theirs is just great.

Another great link with info on picky eaters: wondertime.go.com and also some good veggie recipes for kidlets and some sweet potato recipes (including muffins – which my kids love, though I haven’t tried this recipe in particular).