Healthy Mum, Happy Baby

I saw this article on CBC.ca today about toxic pollutants:

Toxic pollutants kill up to 25,000 Canadians annually: B.C. study

This line in particular freaked me out, “There are many contaminants individuals simply can’t avoid. They’re invisible. We can’t see them. We can’t smell them. We can’t taste them.”

So does that mean I should just give up on feeding my kid’s organic food whenever possible and trying to weed out their more toxic looking toys? I think I’ll keep working from the every little bit helps point of view, but still, it’s kind of depressing.

Well, Health Canada has updated their recommendations for how much Vitamin D we should take. And their new recommendations is that until more research has been done, they will not be changing their recommendations…

Health Canada: Vitamin D & Health 

If you’re trying to be the kind of mum who treats yourself right, then maybe you should get more sleep. Rather than a luxury that can be scaled back to fit everything else in, sleep actually is needed to burn fat and maintain a healthy metabolism. Not getting enough can trigger weight gain, and who wants that?

Of course, if you’re not able to get enough sleep what with waking babies and early-rising toddlers etc. don’t stress too much, that also makes you gain weight around your waist, the place it’s most increases your risk of illnesses like diabetes, heart disease etc.

Sometimes it’s hard to know what a girl’s to do…

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?

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.

I was talking with another friend with a one-year-old and a three-year-old last night and she said, “Parenting is relentless!” And she’s right. She was talking about the bedtime routine, night after night, day in, day out. I was thinking washing the high-chair tray at least 3x a day, every day…I think it’s a cumulative thing too - with your first you have more energy (ie. less accumulated sleep deprivation) but by the time your second is into their second year, you’re worn down.

Hence my going on about The Balanced Mom and Breaking the Good Mom Myth. We can’t take care of our little ones if we don’t take care of ourselves! Another great book I was reminded about last night is the Three Martini Playdate - one of my favourite chapters is titled along the lines of Children’s Music, Why? Although I’d never have discovered Elizabeth Mitchell if it wasn’t for Madeleine. . .

…I am holding a real copy of my book! It’s the first time I’ve ever seen it live and in person in all its glory and it’s very exciting! It’s so weird to think that months (okay, years) of work have resulted in this slim little book that soon will out in the big wild world for feedback. I still can’t believe it’s real! It looks almost exactly like the cover in the right-hand margin except it has a great quote on the front:

As a family physician who has been delivering babies for twenty-five years, I have no hesitation in recommending this well-researched book to my patients - Healthy Mum, Happy Baby should attract an appreciative audience.
Dr. Janet Green

And on the the back is a quote from Ann Douglas (quite possibly my favourite pregnancy and parenting guru - and she’s Canadian!):

Baby’s getting fed thanks to your on-board milk factory, but what about you? It’s hard to come up with meal ideas let alone healthy meal ideas when you’re living in the new mum zone. Fortunately, you’ve got Annemarie Tempelman-Kluit on your side, ready to help you come up with menus that are easy to prepare with a baby on the breast. She’s got the recipe for breastfeeding success!

Ann Douglas, author of Mealtime Solutions for your Baby, Toddler and Preschooler

Thank you Janet & Ann!

Andrew’s thrilled because now he can start using the book as a cookbook instead of pulling 8×11″ unformatted print outs of the recipes out from a ratty old folder in amongst our cookbooks.

For those of us who are no longer pregnant (nor planning to be again) it’s too late for us to take advantage of new research finding that mums who eat fish give birth to brainier kids but the info about mercury found in tinned tuna is still useful. And here’s a link to a whole host of info on Omega-3’s in fish oil and their benefits to breastfeeding & pregnant women.

And if you’re trying to get more oily cold water fish into your diet, here are some links to some delicious sounding ways to prepare salmon:

• Roasted Salmon with Maple Glaze from the Mayo Clinic’s Healthy Recipe section
• Monte Cristo Salmon Sandwich from Dr. Weil’s Healthy Kitchen section
• Serving suggestions for Wild Salmon from Whole Foods

Hint: All these sites have heaps of great health information and Whole Foods has a great section on maternal health and feeding kids as well. Speaking of Whole Foods if anyone knows when the Cambie location will be opening up please let me know, my pocketbook will shrink but my tummy will be happy!