Category: Feeding Baby

Struggling with breastfeeding? Not sure if your baby is ready for solids? Is your little one not gaining weight? You’ve come to the right place. I’m here to help you nourish your baby with feeding challenges. You’re in the right place to overcome any obstacle feeding baby.

My own kids struggled with feeding from birth – tongue ties, oral sensory processing disorder, short feeds, long feeds, all of it. But I did not give up! And I don’t want you to either.

Nourishing your baby from day one is so important. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy. I don’t want others to suffer like I did. So I share all of my best tips and tricks and my experience with feeding baby well.

Don ‘t give up on breastfeeding. Don’t let doctors tell you your struggles are “normal.” You can do this! Check the blog for lots of advice for feeding little ones. Or email me with any questions.

February 17, 2019

Teething, Tongue Ties, Flat Spots and Growing Pains: How Mineral Imbalance Impacts Bones and Tissues

What do teething, tongue ties, flat spots and growing pains all have in common? They are all related to proper bone and tissue development…and mineral imbalance.

My kids are horrible teethers. Horrible. My oldest went on a nursing strike at nine months old because of teething. We managed to work through it. But then at eleven months old, while working on molars, she daytime weaned.

I tried and tried and tried. But nursing was just too painful.

Fast forward ten years to my youngest. He has basically been teething since birth. The non-stop drool and fist eating started around six weeks. I could see two teeth under the gums already at two months. At nine months old he already has eight teeth. And they hurt! Even in the middle of writing this post I had to stop because he woke up screaming in pain from teething.

Coincidentally my mom says I stopped breastfeeding at nine months old too. I just refused. My guess is that it was teething pain.

Thankfully I’m a bit wiser now and know some natural remedies like homeopathy (this is what we use) and essential oils. So we can get through without too much trouble. Plus I’m too stubborn to quit breastfeeding because of teeth. I wish I had known this stuff ten years ago!

But having teething remedies doesn’t change the fact that my kids have had a lot of pain from teething. And I know I’m not alone.

Why is Teething Painful?

Let’s just get the obvious out of the way here. It hurts when your teeth are poking through your gums. That’s a given. So teething is going to be at least somewhat bothersome for all kids.

But there is more to it. Mineral imbalance may get in the way of proper tooth development.This includes the teeth as well as the rest of the mouth.

Anybody else have kids with a narrow mouth and high palate? Does it make sense that if your mouth is misshapen and your teeth are not developing properly that it would be harder for them to come in easily? Which would then make the process more painful? I’d say so!

This is also likely the cause of mouth breathing. I wrote about how I helped my oldest overcome mouth breathing. She has had a high palate since birth, and it impacted her eating and breathing. The constant open mouth then made the narrow palate even worse.

What is a Tongue Tie?

Tongue ties, lip ties and cleft palates are all referred to as mid-line defects. Basically something went wrong in the womb with structural development form the center of the body (brain, mouth, spine, etc.).

I’m specifically addressing tongue and lip ties. All four of my kids have had them. But I didn’t know anything about them until my third was struggling with feeding. So my third and fourth have had theirs revised. My oldest also had her lip tie revised at age seven.

A tongue tie is when the mucous membrane attaching the tongue to the bottom of the mouth is too large or connected in the wrong place. In some children it is very obvious as their tongue is completely restricted. At the other end of the spectrum is a posterior tongue tie where the membrane is only visible when the tongue is lifted and the tissue pulled back. It is harder to diagnose. All of my kids have had posterior tongue ties.

We now see more and more babies being diagnosed with tongue and lip ties. Some say it is genetic or related to the MTHFR genetic mutation.

As I was researching tongue ties I also came across a post about one mom’s story where her tongue tied son was a thumb sucker. It was a light bulb moment for me. Both of my daughters have been thumb suckers. They both have had the hardest time with nursing. I was also a thumb sucker! Until age five. My oldest went on a nursing strike at nine months. My third had her tongue tie revised a second time at nine months. And I self-weaned at nine months. I see a pattern here. Not a coincidence.

Last year when we started seeing our new chiropractor he immediately commented on my four year old’s thumb sucking. He told me kids don’t just do that. There is a reason behind it. At the time I wasn’t sure why. But now I get it. Nursing was HARD for them due to their ties. So their thumbs became comforting instead of me. So if you have a thumb/finger sucker you may also have a tongue-tied child.

What Causes a Flat Head?

Let’s stick with the head for a bit longer here. There is another infant development issue that has risen in recent years – flat head, or plagiocephaly. This is another case where there is improper development on one side of the body.

But in addition to an imbalance in the neck and spine we get into the bone formation of babies.

Overdoing on vitamin D can cause high tissue calcium, which robs the bones of calcium. Use caution when considering Vitmain D supplements. Vitamin D is actually a hormone.

Does “Back is Best” Cause Flat Head?

I believe it is a myth that the recent increase in flat head syndrome is caused by babies sleeping on their backs. I have four kids. Two had flat heads – my oldest and youngest.

My oldest was often in a car seat, swing, etc. I didn’t know that it wasn’t good for her. After we noticed the flat spot we tried to take measures to fix it by positioning her certain ways when she slept, nursing in different positions, etc. It did improve some over time. But not fully.

My youngest was the total opposite. From birth he was so rarely laying with his head against anything (I’ve been overly paranoid since my experience with my oldest). We don’t have a removable car seat, so he was only in his seat for a few minutes here and there (we don’t go away often). He was never in a swing or other contraption. I held him or wore him in a carrier, even while napping. And yet he had a flat spot (and has painful teething, and a tongue tie,…).

Contrary to my oldest, however, his flat spot is now almost completely gone. I don’t think anybody besides myself would even notice the slight imbalance that is left. By releasing his tongue tie and working with a craniosacral therapist to release his body, his bones were able to shift.

What Are Growing Pains?

Let’s take a trip all the way down the body to the legs. Has your child ever woken in the night with leg pain? We just chock it up to “growing pains.”

But if you ask a doctor what growing pains are…they don’t actually know! A basic Web MD search shows that doctors think they “might” be just muscle soreness. And they “might” not be related to growth.

Growing pains are more likely due to a mineral imbalance. Read about how we use magnesium for growing pains!

I have experienced this first hand with my third child. Since she was very little she would wake in the night crying in pain. All she could say was that her legs hurt. She still does it now after being active. Her bones are so weak that it doesn’t take much for them to hurt. Even just gently grabbing on to her arm to pull her away from a sibling argument causes her to cry in pain.

If your child complains of leg pains, you may want to consider his diet. Need help in this department? I can help with nutritional therapy!

Have your kids struggled with difficult teething, tongue ties, flat spots or bone pain?

January 20, 2019

Is Gluten Really the Problem? How Glyphosate Impacts Vitamin A Toxicity

I have good news for my gluten free readers…you probably are not actually gluten intolerant! Even if you have celiac disease there is hope. Is gluten really the problem? Nope! Glyphosate impacts Vitamin A Toxicity significantly, causing the gluten-related problems.

NOTE: I no longer support the Vitamin A as poison theory. All information in this article is purely to help you understand what it is based on. It is possible to get too much Vitamin A by overdosing supplements or liver. But that doesn’t happen often and can be quickly remedied if it does. Vitamin A from animal sources is an essential part of the diet. Beta Carotene can cause carotenemia (as my son had) but will not overload the body with Vitamin A. I encourage you to research and make your own decisions. You can read our update/why we turned and ran from the Vitamin A Detox Diet HERE.

What if I told you gluten was not a problem…for anyone? Would you think I’m crazy? Probably.

Gluten is somewhat of an evil word these days. It gets blamed for just about every health problem and disease.

There are lots of scientific studies that link gluten to specific conditions and to the health of the gut. Some say that all grains are evil and that it’s more than just the gluten.

I don’t believe them.

I know. A bold statement. Remember, it’s coming from someone that has been on a gluten free diet for six years. All of my kids are gluten free as well. I even wrote a whole post about why we are eating gluten-free. So I’ve been on the gluten free bandwagon for a long time. And I’m not jumping off just yet.

But that could change. I’m hoping to get back to making traditional sourdough bread (with gluten-containing grains) soon. For my whole family.

Turns out the scientists could be looking at the wrong details.

Whether mistakenly or on purpose I’m not sure.

When they study the impact of gluten on the gut and autoimmune disease they see a correlation. And for good reason. But it’s not the gluten itself.

So what is the problem?

Glyphosate. And Vitamin A.

What is Glyphosate?

According to the EPA: “Glyphosate is a widely used herbicide that controls broadleaf weeds and grasses.”

It has been used as a pesticide since the 1970’s in products such as Roundup®. It is sprayed on many crops such as fruits, vegetables and almost all non-organic grains.

Although the EPA claims that it “has a low toxicity for humans,” recent events have proven otherwise. In August, 2018 a school groundskeeper was awarded $289 million in a court case against Monsanto (the maker of Roundup®) because the herbicide caused him terminal cancer. [source]

He’s not the only one. There are actually thousands of people suing Monsanto, claiming the herbicide gave them cancer.

In March of 2015 the WHO declared glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” [source] The EWG agreed with this claim.

Glyphosate is classified as likely carcinogenic (and many would argue that it most certainly is). And yet it is sprayed on a large portion of the world’s food supply. Anybody else see a problem with that?

How Glyphosate and Gluten are Related

A lot of commercially grown wheat is currently sprayed with glyphosate just before harvest. The glyphosate does not help in growing the wheat. It simply speeds the drying process before harvest, desiccation. A toxin is sprayed on your food to get it to the supermarket a few days sooner. Sounds like a good idea, right?

Glyphosate is also widely used on oats. Although oats are gluten free, many people with some type of gluten intolerance have trouble with oats. Many have speculated cross-contamination from wheat since they are often grown in nearby fields. But it could actually be the glyphosate.

I want to briefly add in here that the use of glyphosate generally implies a food is genetically modified (learn more about GMOs here). The modification is made so the plant can tolerate the glyphosate. So the two go hand-in-hand. They are NOT the same thing. But they often go together. I am not a supporter of genetically modified crops either. I don’t think God intended for us to mix DNA between plants and even between species.

Glyphosate and Celiac

Here is an entire interview with Dr. Stephanie Seneff about the relationship between glyphosate and celiac disease. And here is some great information from the interview:

The use of glyphosate on wheat crops has risen in tandem with the rise in Celiac disease. In fact, it correlates to a greater degree than glyphosate usage on corn and soy. According to Dr. Seneff, desiccating non-organic wheat crops with glyphosate just before harvest came in vogue about 15 years ago. Interestingly enough, when you expose wheat to a toxic chemical like glyphosate, it actually releases more seeds. “It ‘goes to seed’ as it dies,” Dr. Seneff explains. “At its last gasp, it releases the seed.”This results in slightly greater yield, and the glyphosate also kills rye grass, a major weed problem for wheat growers that is resistant to many other herbicides. What they’re not taking into consideration is the fact that rye grass helps rebalance the soil, and from that perspective is a beneficial plant.So, most of the non-organic wheat supply is now contaminated with glyphosate. A large percentage of processed foods are made from wheat, and this helps explain the explosion of Celiac Disease and other gut dysfunction.What happens is that the villi in your gut get destroyed by the glyphosate, which reduces your ability to absorb vitamins and minerals. Also, wheat contains gliadin, which is difficult to break down. Normally, a reaction takes place that builds connections between different proteins in the wheat.But glyphosate gets right in the middle of that process too, resulting in wheat that is highly indigestible. Dr. Seneff and her co-researcher Dr. Anthony Samsel believe the glyphosate may attach to the gliadin as a consequence of a chemical reaction. The end result is that your body develops an immune reaction.

According to this study, “Fish exposed to glyphosate develop digestive problems that are reminiscent of celiac disease. Celiac disease is associated with imbalances in gut bacteria that can be fully explained by the known effects of glyphosate on gut bacteria. Characteristics of celiac disease point to impairment in many cytochrome P450 enzymes, which are involved with detoxifying environmental toxins, activating vitamin D3, catabolizing vitamin A, and maintaining bile acid production and sulfate supplies to the gut. Glyphosate is known to inhibit cytochrome P450 enzymes. Deficiencies in iron, cobalt, molybdenum, copper and other rare metals associated with celiac disease can be attributed to glyphosate’s strong ability to chelate these elements. Deficiencies in tryptophan, tyrosine, methionine and selenomethionine associated with celiac disease match glyphosate’s known depletion of these amino acids.”

How Glyphosate Impacts Vitamin A Toxicity

So what does this have to do with hypervitaminosis A? I want you to really listen here. Because this is one of the biggest factors in your health problems and your ability to detox Vitamin A.

Glyphosate slows/stops the natural breakdown of Poison/”Vitamin A.

Let’s put the puzzle pieces together here. Glyphosate is on wheat. Glyphosate stops your body from detoxing Vitamin A. Eating wheat causes worse Vitamin A toxicity and then prevents your body from getting rid of Vitamin A.

So eating wheat is actually giving you symptoms of Vitamin A Toxicity. What appears to be a reaction to gluten is actually poisoning from Vitamin A.

The fun doesn’t stop there. “Glyphosate chelates…minerals. It forms a cage around them, such that the bacteria can’t get at them even, so the gut bacteria become deficient, and then they die because they can’t get these critical nutrients. Because glyphosate is caged.” [source]

Glyphosate also impacts methylation. This topic has been popular in the natural health world in the last few years. Knowing if you are an over or under methylator can tell you a lot about your health. It also closely related to genetic expression. But your health problems are not the fault of your genes. Glyphosate actually can increase and decrease methylation in different areas of the body in different people.

Some say glyphosate is the main culprit in our autism epidemic. Since glyphosate is so prevalent in our food and water supply and it is even in vaccines, this is very plausible. Which would mean that detoxing from glyphosate could reverse autism. This could also be why a gluten free diet seems to help many kids both on the spectrum and with other neurological disorders like ADD/AHDH. You can read more about the glyphosate-autism connection here.

Sadly glyphosate and it’s relation to Vitamin A toxicity is even linked to birth defects. I’ll dig deeper into this issue in a future post.

Is There A Solution?

It’s pretty obvious that the prevalence of glyphosate in our food supply and our environment is a problem. So is there a solution? Yes and no.

One way to try to avoid glyphosate is by buying organic wheat (and all other grains). Unfortunately glyphosate has been so widely used that it is now unavoidable. The wind carries it from the wheat fields to other fields (even organic ones). Glyphosate is in our water supply. Even rain water now tests positive for glyphosate. So it rains glyphosate on organic crops. You really can’t get completely away from it.

As a probable carcinogen, even small amounts in your food can have a big impact on your health. And we all get at least small amounts.

Some people that are gluten intolerant switch to einkorn, an ancient variety of wheat. While this may help remove the glyphosate factor, it is not a great solution. Einkorn actually is higher in Vitamin A than other varieties of wheat. Most grains do not have any Vitamin A. So if you are already toxic, einkorn will just compound the problem. If you are not dealing with hypervitaminosis A, then einkorn may be a suitable solution.

Almost everyone dealing with Vitamin A toxicity and gluten problems should take Vitamin C. This is protective against retinoic acid and helps the liver detox. It also decreases glyphosate toxicity.

Activated charcoal help detox the body by absorbing toxins.

Only drink filtered water. Especially if you have well water. If it is not filtered it will be full of glyphosate. You can have your water tested to check the levels. A whole house water filter is ideal. But at the very least filter all drinking water. Some good options are Berkey water systems (find them here) and reverse osmosis.

Finally, eating all organic food will go a long way in limiting your exposure to glyphosate. This is especially true for grains. And this may be the real reason that many people feel better on a grain free diet. It’s not the grains, it’s the glyphosate!

Do Other Substances Impact Vitamin A Detox?

Glyphosate is not the only culprit hindering your body’s ability to handle Vitamin A. Many commonly used drugs have a similar impact.

Birth control pills actually raise Vitamin A levels in the body.

I know this holds true for me (and many other women I’ve talked to) that some of my biggest health problems started when I took birth control. There have been a lot of factors in my health journey over the years (lots of antibiotics as a child, processed food, vaccines, etc.). But if I could go back and just change one thing I would tell myself not to take birth control. It led to infertility, weight gain, OCD, anxiety to the point of panic attacks, thyroid problems…the list goes on. And guess what? Those are all complications from Vitamin A Toxicity.

Even everyday pain medications like Tylenol and Ibuprofen can have a significant impact on your health if you are dealing with hypervitaminosis A. Pain medications can damage the liver. And if Vitamin A Toxicity is rooted in the liver, then any extra damage will just compound the problem.

I have witnessed the pain medication reaction first-hand in my two youngest children. Both when my 4 year old was an infant and just last week with my 8 month old – the use of Ibuprofen had a huge impact. I am not a fan of OTC medications. I use them only when absolutely necessary. My son’s fever got VERY high one night. So I gave him Ibuprofen. For the next few days his nervous system was on high alert. He couldn’t eat well or sleep well. He wouldn’t let me set him down. He got spots on his belly. Every time he tried to nurse his whole body would jerk, like he was having spasms. Even just my hand on his spine would cause him to jerk.

It reminded me of his big sister as a child. Then I remembered it happened to her after her tongue tie revision…and giving her pain medication. Not surprisingly they are my two most Vitamin A toxic kids. So every little thing that compounds the problem is obvious.

The Glyphosate-Gluten-Vitamin A Conclusion

I know that was a lot to take in. Vitamin A Toxicity is not a stand-alone issue. It is impacted by many other factors in our modern society – how we eat, live and medicate. Glyphosate interferes with the detoxification of Vitamin A, leading to gluten intolerance symptoms (Vitamin A Toxicity). Some say glyphosate is actually THE foundational problem. Vitamin A toxicity then piggybacks on that. This is a very complex issue. But one that NEEDS to be addressed.

Again I feel like I am just barely scratching the surface of a monumental issue. But that is my intent. I want to create awareness. Then your job is to keep digging. I have some great links in the post. I strongly encourage you to read each one.

I also want to encourage you to start taking steps TODAY to protect you and your family (see the section on solutions). We speak with our dollars. Do not support GMO products that use Glyphosate. Buy organic and local whenever possible. Or grow your own! Talk to your government officials. Tell your friends.

My next step is to talk to the farmers that plant wheat, corn, soybeans and oats right next to our yard! We are already dealing with Vitamin A Toxicity. I don’t want an abundance of glyphosate in our water supply to compound the issue.

Once we are through the Vitamin A detox I plan to add traditional sourdough back into our diets (using organic wheat of course!). My kids and I are very excited!

Do your kids struggle with gluten intolerance or celiac disease? How will you try to eliminate exposure to glyphosate and Vitamin A?

Want to read more? Here are some other posts linking glyphosate to gluten intolerance:

Your Gluten Problem May Actually be a Glyphosate Problem

Glyphosate and Gluten Sensitivity Series

Is Roundup the Cause of ‘Gluten Intolerance’?.

Does the chemical glyphosate (Roundup) mimic gluten sensitivity?

You are not gluten intolerant, you are glyphosate intolerant

January 13, 2019

What Does Vitamin A Do in the Body?

Have you ever wondered what all of the vitamins and minerals do you in your body? Or if they are really that important? Or that maybe we’re getting too much? What does Vitamin A do in the body? I’m sharing the details today.

Last week I presented the theory that Vitamin A is not really a vitamin at all. It is a toxin/poison.

Whether you are warming up to that idea or not, today I’m digging into the role of “Vitamin” A in the body. What does Vitamin A do in the body? What happens after you ingest it? And where does it go wrong?

I’ll admit, some of this stuff is a bit technical for me. It kind of makes my head hurt to read the details. But I’m going to do my best to break it down for you so you have a basic understanding. If you like the nitty gritty details make sure you read Grant Generuex’s books that I linked to in my previous post on Vitamin A. Most of the information in today’s post is what I learned from Grant’s book. But I tried to summarize it and break it down for you.

How Vitamin A is Supposed to be Handled

In a healthy (not toxic) person there is a simple cycle that the body uses to maintain balance when it comes to Vitamin A.

Vitamin A is ingested.
That Vitamin A is quickly transported to and stored in the liver.
The stored Vitamin A is periodically called for by cells in the body when it is needed.
The Vitamin A is delivered to its destination via Retinol Binding Protein (RBP).

RBP is like an envelope to deliver the retinol safely to its destination (this is a critical point). The body does not want to be exposed to retinol without RBP. Plain retinol is toxic. Also, the cells calling for retinol have receptors specifically for RBP. So the retinol goes directly where it’s needed in a nice protected package. A wonderful design.

Pretty straight forward. And harmless.

How Vitamin A is Handled in Toxic Individuals

But this simple cycle is messed up if the liver is saturated from excess Vitamin A. Now the tissue of the body is exposed to plain retinol without RBP because it is sitting around, not able to enter the liver. Instead excessive Vitamin A levels are now found in the blood serum, giving it time to combine with fat (remember it is fat-soluble). Other systems and organs try to deal with the excess vitamin A by storing it in the only safe wrapper it knows – fat. So that’s where it sits. And there is speculation that this is the cause of obesity! The body stores fat to handle excess Vitamin A.(you can read more about the connection of Vitamin A with obesity here).

So now the simple cycle above looks more like this:

Vitamin A is ingested.
That vitamin A is stored in adipose tissue (fat) because the liver can’t hold any more.
Some of the retinol is converted to retinoic acid.
Specific gene expressions (all my epigenetics fans – this is where it comes in) and immune response of the individual dictates how the body responds.
This causes inflammation.
Serum pH drops.
Calcium is drawn from bones and teeth to compensate.

Not so simple now. The liver is swollen from excess Vitamin A (fatty liver). Organs and tissues are being exposed to retionic acid. And the body gradually breaks down little by little completely inflamed. In other words, you now have health problems like autoimmune disease. And you develop weak bones.

That is the big picture. Did you follow me?

Vitamin A at the Cell Level

There are two inflammatory responses in the body.

One helps heal. It is the body’s natural response to infection and injury. The immune system uses inflammation to protect against pathogens. In this case the inflammation is healing. You get sick…the body heats up and fights back. Wonderful.

The other is the body’s response to cell injury, damage or incorrect mutations. In this case inflammation is destroying. A damaged cell must be killed before it creates problems.

We all know that inflammation produces heat. This helps kill the pathogens/intruders. It is why you get a fever when you are sick. Your body is doing what it is supposed to do to fight and heal. And this is great when it really is a temporary invader (like infection or injury) or random cell damage. The body calls in the troops, heats up in battle and then settles down.

Inflammation and Autoimmune Disease

But that is not how it works with autoimmune disease. In this case the inflammation is chronic. But here is where current understanding goes wrong.

The inflammation itself is NOT the cause of the disease.

The inflammation is the body trying to do its job like always…but not succeeding because it is searching for phantom pathogens. So it is never-ending since it can’t actually find a pathogen. But there is no off switch. It is a search and destroy mission. And the heat applied to the retinol-containing lipids (fats) is like setting off a bunch of bombs!

The body is attacking a damage-associated molecule instead of a pathogen – your own tissue cells with the molecule. And all that heat it generates is what you know as an autoimmune flare-up.

The human body has quite a defense mechanism. It uses a lot of proteins and acids as weapons – one of which is retinoic acid. As the body produces more and more retinoic acid it creates more inflammation. As the retinoic acid destroys tissue (like skin, intestines and joints), it makes them very thin and weak (think eczema, Crohn’s and even leaky gut!). Ever heard of chemical peels for the skin? It’s retinoic acid!

After the acid attacks, the body quickly tries to make more tissue to compensate. But this time around the tissue is much thicker (sclerosis). This is how conditions like arthritis and psoriasis come about.

Where Does Retionic Acid Come From?

Obviously we don’t consume retinoic acid. So where is it coming from?

The Vitamin A we eat is retinol, retinal or its precursors carotenoids (like beta carotene). The conversion from Vitamin A to retinoic acid happens at both the cellular and molecular level. It is converted in the intestines and in other cells. Not damaged cells either. Retinol is metabolized to retinoic acid in normal cells.

I mentioned that the body knows how to transport retinol properly via RBP. Once it reaches its destination it is unwrapped and converted to retinoic acid (RA). The RA goes to the nucleus of the cell to be used for gene expression and protein generation. The gene expression can produce cytokines. Which in turn can produce an immune response. This is all well and good when the cell actually requested some retinol. It needs the retinoic acid for a specific purpose. And the liver is able to supply sufficient retinol for all the body’s needs.

Now here is where the real problem arises. When there is unbound retinol (excess retinol just floating around not packaged by RBP) it can still enter the cell. But the cell did not request it. The extra retinol has now bypassed the cell’s regulatory system. But it still produces cytokines and potentially more inflammation.

This is what we know as autoimmune disease. But it is not “auto.” There is a reason for it. Excess Vitamin A. The body does not just randomly produce inflammation. It is responding to something. And now we know what that is!

This conversion of retinol to retinoic acid will happen much more frequently in people with an over-saturated liver.

Too Much Vitamin A

Once your liver reaches saturation, the Vitamin A will be stored in other tissues – skin, fat and intestines. And disease begins. The body’s primary defense mechanism (liver) is out of commission. So any amount of Vitamin A you consume after that will cause problems (like a bathtub overflowing with water).

A little extra keeps the inflammation going. A lot extra makes a full blow autoimmune flare, burning holes in your skin, tissues and organs.

All Autoimmune Disease is the Same

Here’s where it all comes together. All autoimmune diseases are actually the same condition – Vitamin A Toxicity. Where the inflammation happens is unique to each individual based on genetics and lifestyle/diet. When the inflammation starts and how severe it gets just depends on how long it takes your liver to become saturated. It could happen at age two or age fifty.

I hope you followed all that! You may have to re-read it a few times for it to make sense. I know I did! That is the basic idea of what happens in the body when you consume Vitamin A. In small amounts it is totally fine. And probably necessary. God didn’t create it for no reason. But we have gone WAY beyond small amounts. And now we have so many sick individuals, including young children. It should not be common for kids to have diabetes, cancer, autoimmune disease and autism. But that is the reality of our world now. It has to stop!

The numerous conditions Vitamin A Toxicity can influence is beyond the scope of this post. Again, I refer you to Grant’s books (Poisoning for Profits and Extinguishing the Fires of Hell).

I am just scratching the surface of the Vitamin A Toxicity details in this post. But hopefully it’s enough to help you understand how Vitamin A can go wrong and make you curious enough to read more.

I hope you’ll stick around for next week’s post. The one I know everyone is waiting for…how to detox the Vitamin A and get help for your health problems! This is the key to getting your child to eat!!

Do you think Vitamin A can be the root of all disease? Does it just sound impossible?

January 6, 2019

Is Vitamin A Really a Vitamin?

NOTE: I no longer support the Vitamin A as poison theory. I do not recommend it to anyone, especially children. All information in this article is purely to help you understand what it is based on. It is possible to get too much Vitamin A by overdosing supplements or liver. But that doesn’t happen often and can be quickly remedied if it does by stopping the supplements. Vitamin A from animal sources (retinol) is an essential part of a nourishing diet. Beta Carotene can cause carotenemia (as my son had) but will not overload the body with Vitamin A. Retinol is required for regulating both copper and iron. I encourage you to research and make your own decisions. You can read our update/why we turned and ran from the Vitamin A Detox Diet HERE.

Are There Vitamin Impostors?

I will preface this by saying that you need to have an open mind. Forget what you know about nutrition for just a moment and listen.

We’ve all been taught since grade school that we need vitamins. They are important for our health. There are water-soluble and fat-soluble vitamins (A, B, C, D, E, K, etc.). There are lots of important minerals as well (calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, etc.). We get these vitamins and minerals from our food. Our bodies use them to function well. Pretty straight forward.

But what if I told you there were a couple impostors in that list?

It is well-documented that Vitamin D is actually not a vitamin. It is a hormone. [source] Yet, people are supplementing with “Vitamin” D left and right. Somehow we’ve been told that everyone is Vitamin D deficient. Here’s a little secret…you’re not! And if your Vitamin D truly is low (you can find out with a blood test), supplementing is not the solution. A low level of Vitamin D (low is below 25 ng/dL. Ideal is 25-40 ng/dL…don’t think you need sky high Vitamin D levels) is an indicator that something is not working properly in your body (often times a Vitamin C deficiency). So you need to figure out what that is and fix it. Supplementing is like putting on a band aid. It might change your symptoms, but it’s not actually fixing anything. Here is what is actually happening.

Supplementing with Vitamin D is like taking hormone replacement therapy. And people are doing it to their children!! Even infants. Vitamin D drops, cod liver oil, multi-vitamins. You don’t need it. The excess fills your liver and then gets stored in your tissues (joints, digestive tract, kidneys, skin, etc.). You wouldn’t give your baby estrogen or testosterone drops. So why give hormone D drops?

Think about DHEA. Most people consider it good for health…but that doesn’t mean we call it a vitamin!

Isn’t Vitamin D Good For Your Bones?

Wrong again. Actually quite the opposite. One of the roles of Vitamin D is to maintain calcium levels in the blood…not the bones [source]. So it does whatever it takes to maintain that balance, including drawing calcium from your bones. All that extra Vitamin D you’re taking displaces the calcium in your bones. So if you want to guarantee that you have weak bones and teeth and that you will develop osteoporosis, keep taking Vitamin D supplements. Or keep drinking tons of Vitamin D fortified milk…and see if you develop arthritis or kidney stones.

Ok, that was kind pf a tangent. I just wanted to give you an example of a common health claim that is totally bogus. This post is really not about Vitamin D. It does relate to the rest of the post, though. If you want to learn more here are some great articles.

Is Vitamin A Really a Vitamin?

Now for the real heart of the matter. Vitamin A. Is it really a vitamin?

Let me start at the beginning.

After my fourth was born I started having some odd symptoms. I was already experimenting with my diet to help my nursling feel better and nurse better. So I was very observant of how I felt and how he felt in relation to what I ate.

I started noticing the symptoms appeared when I ate desiccated liver. That was odd. I’ve always thought liver was a super food loaded with nutrients (like Vitamin A and D). Knowing that it is one of the highest sources of Vitamin A I started to wonder if you could get too much Vitamin A.

I stopped eating liver and felt a little better. Ok. Maybe I didn’t need it or I wasn’t tolerating it. No big deal.

Then I happened to see this post from Matt Stone…all about Vitamin A. Good timing I thought. It was interesting. And helped me decide to stop the desiccated liver completely. Back to my crazy life trying to figure out why my kids won’t eat.

Then I saw Dr. Garrett Smith, ND post on Facebook about how Vitamin A is toxic. I started following him a few years ago at the suggestion of my Nutritional Therapy Practicioner (NTP), but hadn’t seen any posts from him in well over a year (and you know how picky Facebook is…why would I happen to see this one?).

I watched one of his videos and thought it was interesting, but a little out there. Carrots and spinach are bad for you? Avoid egg yolks? I don’t know about that. Those are super nutritious!

I was elbow deep researching histamine intolerance and methylation. So I focused on that and figured I’d ignore the Vitamin A stuff. It just sounded a little too strange for me.

Breastfeeding Challenges

At the same time my son continued to struggle with breastfeeding. My four-year old was not doing well either. She had an eye infection, followed by a month of full body hives and then stomach aches and poor appetite. She was back to hardly eating. It was getting so bad we had her pediatrician order a bunch of blood work.

I was praying daily for wisdom. I was on a low histamine diet since many of my symptoms match histamine intolerance. But I knew that was just a temporary fix. Not a true solution.

God Gives Wisdom if You Ask!

Over the next few weeks I saw daily posts about Vitamin A toxicity. I tried to ignore it. But God wouldn’t let me. It was on the top of my feed every time I got on Facebook. Ok, ok. I’ll listen to the information.

And that started our new journey of healing. The more I read and listened, the more it made sense.

And it explained all of my symptoms, all of my son’s symptoms and every other feeding challenge we have faced over the last ten years. Every. Single. One.

What is Vitamin A Toxicity?

So this is where I’m starting (hopefully you made it this far to get to the heart of the post!). Today I’m telling you a little bit about Vitamin A Toxicity (Hypervitaminosis A) and giving you some resources in case you want to dig in for yourself. If you want to hang back and just watch how it goes for us, that’s fine too. I’m not trying to tell you what to do. I’m just giving you the information.

And I will forewarn you…once you read about it you can’t unread it. And it could change your views on health and nutrition forever.

A quick Dr. Google search will tell you that hypervitaminosis A is a real condition[source]. You can have hypervitaminosis of any vitamin (true vitamin or substance called a vitamin) really. Yes, hypervitaminosis D is very real too! The list of symptoms hypervitamimosis A is lengthy. It includes:

Drowsiness
Irritability
Abdominal pain
Nausea
Vomiting
Increased pressure on the brain/headaches
Blurry vision or other vision changes
Swelling of the bones
Bone pain
Poor appetite
Dizziness
Sensitivity to sunlight
Dry, rough skin
Itchy or peeling skin
Cracked fingernails
Skin cracks at the corners of the mouth
Mouth ulcers
Yellowed skin (jaundice)
Orange skin (carotenemia)
Hair loss
Respiratory infection
Confusion
Softening of the skull bone
Bulging of the soft spot on the top of an infant’s skull
Double vision
Bulging eyeballs
Inability to gain weight
Coma
Fluid-filled cysts
Autoimmune disease
Autism
ADD/ADHD
Picky eater/refusal to eat
Oily skin and hair
Osteoporosis
Eczema
Food intolerance/food allergy
Cradle cap
Asthma

Did you catch all that? Crazy, huh? And those aren’t even all of them.

Another search will tell you that pregnant women should not get too much Vitamin A because it can cause birth defects. I wish I had known that! Sadly I listened to the WAPF pregnancy guidelines that claims you shouldn’t worry about too much Vitamin A. Just one example of something they got SO wrong.

Where Does Vitamin A Come From?

Vitamin A is found in many common “healthy” foods today:

sweet potatoes
carrots
liver
egg yolks
dairy
brightly colored vegetables
pork and lard
avocado

Really most foods have at least a little Vitamin A. Meat and grains are probably the lowest in Vitamin A. And the body can handle a little.

The problem arises when the liver gets saturated. Which, you can see, won’t take long if you eat a healthy diet by today’s standards or from a traditional diet. The WAPF dietary guidelines for pregnancy would give a woman an overabundance of Vitamin A! Truly excessive amounts.

Initial symptoms usually impact the skin (dry skin, eczema), hair (thinning, graying), eyes (dry, red, itchy, poor vision) and bones (osteoporosis, weak bones and teeth, joint pain). But as the toxicity continues it will gradually break down other systems. The inflammation reaches the intestines (think Crohn’s, Colitis, IBS, leaky gut, food allergies), the brain (cranial pressure/migraines, ADHD, Autism, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s) and other important organs (thyroid, kidneys and heart).

Does that sound like you or anyone you know? Or everyone?

Where “Healing” Diets Fail

And what is the solution these days? A “healing” diet like GAPS, AIP, Keto, Nemecheck. Where you load up on brightly colored fruits and veggies, bacon, lard, egg yolks, liver, sweet potatoes, unrefined coconut oil. Are you seeing the irony here?

What if our “Eat the Rainbow” mentality was actually doing more harm than good? In the plant and animal world bright colors are a sign of poison (called aposematism). Plants are brightly colored to keep animals from eating them (should we be doing the same?). Animals that are poisonous are often brightly colored (think snakes and frogs). It is a warning sign. Yet we have come to see them as the holy grail of nutrition!

You may be thinking, “But we have soil nutrient depletion and other factors now.” True. But they aren’t enough to cause such a drastic increase in health problems and autoimmune diseases and conditions like autism in recent years.

Is a Standard American Diet Less Toxic?

And what about people that don’t eat healthy? What about people on the Standard American Diet?

Well, they don’t have it much better. Somehow the government has thought they know better than we do what our bodies need. For the past fifty plus years now our foods have been fortified. All pasteurized milk must be fortified with Vitamin A and D. Most grains/flours, cereals, milk alternatives, yogurts and snack foods are fortified. We’re all told to take multi-vitamins and random supplements without any kind of testing.

Everyone worries about not getting enough vitamins and minerals. But we are bombarded with them…certain ones at least. And it’s causing so much overload and imbalance. Excessive supplementation will not fix anything. It will just make problems worse. God designed our bodies to get nutrition from food and to maintain balance. Our bodies now have to compensate for all of the over-supplementing and it is causing big problems (you can read more about the dangers of supplements HERE).

Unless you and your children somehow fall in the middle (no processed/fortified foods AND no abundance of veggies and traditional foods) you probably have Vitamin A Toxicity. That’s right. Just about everyone has it.

What About Vitamin A Deficiency?

But wait. Isn’t Vitamin A deficiency really serious? That depends on your view. IF Vitamin A is actually a vitamin and IF the established symptoms are truly from a deficiency, then yes. The problem is those could both be false assumptions.

Are you still with me? Do you think I’ve lost my mind yet?

In the 1930’s when Vitamin A, the first vitamin, was discovered, the experiments were done incorrectly. The scientists were actually loading the rats with Vitamin A instead of depriving them! They were poisoning the rats instead of inducing a deficiency.

If you look at the symptoms of Vitamin A deficiency and the symptoms of Hypervitamonosis A (listed above) you’ll notice something odd…they are the same! Whether or not that’s possible I’m not sure. Whether Vitamin A deficiency is actually a condition I don’t know. I’m not sure there have ever been any true studies to prove it. Would you actually go blind without Vitamin A? I don’t know. It would take a long time to actually get it all out of your system (could be 5+ years!). How did everyone not go blind hundreds of years ago without supplements and without orange veggies?

It turns out that Vitamin A may actually not be a vitamin at all.

Our bodies can handle some. But too much is toxic. Where that threshold lies is different for everyone and depends on the health of your liver (this is key!).

That rainbow we’ve been told to eat…could be acting more like poison if you are overloaded. (side note – the “five a day” and “eat the rainbow” campaigns were completely arbitrary recommendations).

Now What?

I don’t like to leave you hanging. I just told you that you could be poisoning your family after all! But I also don’t want to overwhelm you with information. And this could take a while to digest.

Plus I’ve got homework for you.

I’ve got more posts coming on other factors that contribute to Vitamin A Toxicity, what happens to Vitamin A in your body and what you can do about it. That’s really what we all want, right? A solution!

There is one. And I have a new book that will help guide you through it. This could be the definitive guide to solving all of your feeding challenges. I know that is a bold statement. But I truly believe it.

I also want you to do some reading and research of your own. And you may know just about as much as I do if you actually do all the reading. So if you just can’t wait, get started!

Engineers Are the Best Problem Solvers

All of this information started with some personal experimenting from an engineer named Grant Genereux (I truly believe engineers make some of the best doctors since our passion is finding root problems and coming up with a solution. Yes, I am an engineer too). He was diagnosed with eczema, an autoimmune condition, and told he would have it for the rest of his life and there was nothing he could do for it.

Not an acceptable answer for an engineer.

He healed his own autoimmune condition and wrote two very detailed books about his research on Vitamin A.

They are totally free and totally worth reading every word. I could not pull myself away. If you really want to understand Vitamin A Toxicity I suggest you read his books. At the very least his second book, Poisoning For Profits. It will blow your mind.

To be fair, I also wanted to point out that often times engineers are Analytical Eaters (see my Eating Styles for more details), myself included. Analytical Eaters tend to get in food ruts and cause excesses and deficiencies. So whether or not Grant had created a severe Vitamin A Toxicity in himself I don’t know. Just an observation on my part. So he may just be one more extreme case, not the norm.

Here are his FREE books:

Poisoning For Profits

Extinguishing the Fires of Hell

I know, not everyone has the time or interest to read 400-page books on vitamins.

Here is another great blog post from Butter Nutrition about the symptoms of Vitamin A Toxicity.

So, Is Vitamin A a Toxin?

I applaud you if you made it to the end of the post. And even if you do now think I’ve gone completely mad I hope this at least got you thinking. Let it sit a while and come back to it if you need to. That’s what I had to do. And lots of praying for wisdom. But I feel this is truly where God is leading me.

Big changes are always hard. Changing your perspective on health and nutrition is very hard. But change can also be good.

As I said at the start of the post, I’m always researching, learning, and experimenting. After a year on the Vitamin A Detox Diet I’m still not fully clear on my views on Vitamin A.

I truly believe that it is toxic in certain doses (and probably lower than people think) and that a state of toxicity is quite easy to reach these days with fortification, supplements, superfoods, glyphosate, and other toxins.

I also think the health of your liver and your body’s ability to detox is of utmost importance and a key factor in the whole equation. But whether or not Vitamin A is a toxin I’m not sure.

Unfortunately most scientific studies are done in the extremes. They are either trying to prove the impacts of toxicity or deficiency. But we are supposed to live in balance. There are no studies in the balance zone. What that balance is, I’m not sure. Do we need certain amounts of Vitamin A to balance other things? Does eliminating all high Vitamin A foods create other imbalances? There is a LOT we still don’t know. Just because there are studies that show the seriousness of Vitamin A Toxicity does not mean there can’t also be a deficiency? I’m not sure a true Vitamin A Deficiency study has ever been conducted!

Bio-individuality and listening to your own body is also critical. Regardless of any scientific study or prescribed diet, you have to do what works for you and makes you feel your best.

After a year on the Vitamin A Detox Diet we are learning that we have developed some serious vitamin and mineral deficiencies and most symptoms have returned. We are adding in foods that we tolerate and finding a new balance.

Have you ever heard of Vitamin A Toxicity? Have you ever wondered about over-supplementing?

January 2, 2019

The Best Way to Keep Your Family Healthy This Year

No matter what feeding challenges you face there is one key strategy to keeping your family healthy and well-fed this year. I’m sharing my number one tip…meal planning!

When my son was two he was diagnosed with a myriad of food allergies. Feeding him became my new challenge.

Then when my youngest daughter was an infant she reacted to just about every single food I ate. Even harder.

Before I even had kids I went through my own journey of different diets to help my digestive issues.

Over the last fifteen years I’ve had so many different dietary restrictions to figure out and work around. In spite of that I’ve always had healthy, homemade food on the table for my family.

It never really mattered what foods we could and couldn’t eat. I can work around any food restriction. I like the challenge!

How to Keep Your Family Healthy

But there was one common solution to keeping my family healthy: meal planning.

That’s right. The best way to keep your family healthy this year is by meal planning.

As long as you plan ahead you can make good food choices. You can work around busy schedules and restricted diets. Even if it’s homemade chicken lunch meat sandwiches in the car between sports or a simple split pea soup you put in the crockpot at 6 am so dinner is ready when you get home from a busy day. Real food can take on many forms. But if you don’t plan ahead the packaged food and takeout meals will win.

How to Meal Plan

There are varied strategies for meal planning. Some people plan a month at a time. Some do a week. Maybe you normally just figure out meals the night before. Some like variety while others rotate through a handful of family favorite meals. There are online meal planners and apps so you don’t have to do the work.

You can copy someone else’s meal plans too! I’ve got about five years of weekly menus on the blog.

It doesn’t really matter what meal planning method you use, as long as you actually use it!

My Meal Planning

Before I had kids I would plan meals one day ahead. And I hated it. The meal planning never ended! I had to do it every day.

As life got busier and we added in food allergies and special diets that method went out the window.

I now meal plan one week at a time, typically on Saturday. I base my meals on our schedules (when we might need a prep ahead meal or a quick clean up meal) and what food we have on hand. I find that if I try to plan farther ahead schedules change and I have to make adjustments anyway. So one week at a time works well for me.

My kids like to help too. They give input and I try to make it fit. I also try to plan meals they can help make.

Friday we always have breakfast for dinner. It’s good to do a fun night every week. My kids always look forward to Friday!

No matter how you do it, meal planning will help keep your family well-nourished. Plan a day ahead, a week ahead or even a month ahead. Cook daily or batch cook and stock the freezer. Make 30-minute meals or use your crockpot or Instant Pot. Find what works for you and stick with it!

September 30, 2018

The Parental Stress of a Child With Feeding Challenges

As parents, especially moms, we are wired with the desire to nourish and care for our children. But when your child has feeding challenges it can create a lot of parental stress that is hard to handle.

I spend a lot of time on the couch nursing baby number four these days. And I can only look at my phone or stare at the wall for so long. Which means I’ve gotten back into reading! It’s been great to actually have time to read again. Even if it’s usually short intervals because I get sleepy or lose focus. Postpartum sleep deprivation will do that.

Recently my husband suggested a book he bought called “Boys Should Be Boys” by Meg Meeker, MD. Sure, I thought. I’ll give it a look. After all, we do have two sons! And a pediatrician should have some good advice.

I felt encouraged that a lot of it was right in line with how we raise our children – don’t overschedule, let them have plenty of free time, let them explore outside, give them attention. Great.

All About Mom

Then I got to the chapter specifically for moms. I found a few areas to work on and more encouragement that I’m doing an ok job at this parenting thing.

And then I read one line that made me pause for a moment.

“In my medical practice, the most stressed-out mothers I have encountered are often the mothers whose sons have growth issues. If a child fails to eat well and fails to grow, a mother subconsciously feels that she has failed.”

It wasn’t until about thirty minutes later that the weight of that statement really hit me and the tears started flowing.

After four years of watching my youngest daughter struggle with eating and being undernourished and now having another baby that struggles to eat, it was the first time I didn’t feel alone.

I’m not just the crazy mom that worries too much about her kids. If a pediatrician sees the parents of children with feeding challenges as the most stressed out, then it’s not just me!

And it’s Not Just You, Either!

To the mom who couldn’t breastfeed despite her best efforts – you are not alone.

To the parents of a child with an undiagnosed tongue tie resulting in undernourishment – you are not alone.

To the mother of a kid going through feeding therapy – you are not alone.

To the parent of a child whose diet is limited to ten foods – you are not alone.

To the parents of kids who throw tantrums at every meal – you are not alone.

To the mom who gets anxious before every checkup, fearing that your child is still not growing – you are not alone.

To the mom of a kid with food allergies – you are not alone.

To the mom that puts her life on hold to make feeding her children well a priority – you are not alone.

And to the mom whose baby screams at every feed, whose day is consumed with feeding attempts and you can hardly leave the house – YOU are not alone. I am not alone.

In her book “Cold Tangerines” Shauna Niequist describes feeding others like this:

“[F]eeding the people I love is a hands-on way of loving them. When you nourish and sustain someone, essentially, you’re saying that you want them to thrive, to be happy and healthy and able to live well.”

That is exactly how I feel about feeding my children. And it’s a challenge when there is a road block in the way.

I see other moms of little ones going out on dates or out with friends, while I’m over here wondering if I can manage a trip to the grocery store between feeding attempts. I see other families going to the beach or the zoo for the day, and I can’t go anywhere for more than an hour without a private place to breastfeed. There is no such thing as being discrete with all the bouncing, back arching and screaming going on.

The parental stress of a child with feeding challenges is very real, but hard to understand if you’ve never been through it. If you know a mom struggling with feeding issues give her some encouragement and maybe a helping hand. She is doing such important and demanding work!

Parental Stress

I focus a lot on health and nutrition for kids. But also for parents. It’s important for mom and dad to be healthy not only to set a good example, but also to be able to properly care for your kids.

I’ve been working on my own health for many years. And it’s always a challenge during pregnancy and breastfeeding when I am sharing nutrients and often on a limited diet for baby’s food intolerances.

But one of the biggest factors in health problems is not the food you eat but instead the amount of stress in your life.

Ask any doctor and they will tell you to reduce stress.

You can declutter your house, free up time in your schedule, simplify meals and try to get to bed earlier…but you can’t get rid of your child! The parental stress of a child with feeding challenges is a permanent fixture as long as the feeding troubles remain.

I often joke with my big kids that baby brother only wants to eat as soon as I sit down to eat. So I have to rush through every meal with a fussy baby. Eating too quickly, not chewing thoroughly and eating while stressed is a recipe for disastrous digestion. Yep, that’s me. You too? I pretty much have a constant stomach ache from the tension.

The stress impacts how I interact with my other children and my husband. If my little guy is having a bad day I am having a bad day and patience goes out the window. If my four year old refuses to eat my anxiety builds and it shows.

Help for Feeding Challenges

I can’t make your stress go away, but I can offer assurance that you are not alone. And encouragement that you will get through this. As kids get older the feeding gets easier. And there are things you can do right now to at least ease the problems. I outline the details in my book “Why Won’t My Child Eat?!” I have tips for breastfeeding struggles here and feeding a child with sensory processing disorder here.

I’ll leave you with this quote from Dr. Meeker.

“Mothers love through sacrifice. They act. They will surrender whatever is necessary to keep their son alive. Whether it’s intuitive or not, that is what love does.”

Caring for a child with feeding challenges is stressful. It’s hard work. And it shows your deep, deep love for your child. Some days are more challenging than others. And some days you just need a good cry. But don’t give up. You’re doing a great job. Keep it up!

I wrote this post to encourage others. But also to encourage myself as I’m right there with you dealing with multiple children with feeding challenges at the same time. It is stressful. And it’s OK to admit it. Just know you are NOT a failure!

I hope that ten years from now when I’m not struggling with very young children this post can still offer encouragement to those in the midst of the challenge. And I will still be here to help you along the journey!

What has been the most stressful part of having a child with feeding challenges for you?

May 14, 2018

Letting go of Fear: A 33 Year Journey Comes to an End

Life isn’t always what it seems. Today I’m sharing my 33 year journey through fear and infertility. Through it all God is good!

If you don’t know much about my story you may think my life looks well planned. I am happily married. I have four kids, two boys and two girls, all about three years apart. And almost ten years to the day between my oldest and youngest. Picture perfect, right?

Yes, it’s true that I am a major planner, But I can assure you that God did all the planning when it came to building my family.

As I approached Simon’s birth I realized just how monumental it was. His birth carried with it 33 years of dreams, desires and hopes…and struggles, doubts and fear. And in that one moment when he arrived a weight I’ve carried with me for so long was lifted.

Today I want to share the journey with you. Though I admit I debated about whether or not to. Do I want to relive it? Or just forget it and move on? These thoughts and emotions have been swirling around in my head for the last couple months. Hopefully I can get them written and fully let go. And maybe it will give hope to someone else. So here we go!

When it All Began.

It started on my fifth birthday. The only thing I wanted was a Cabbage Patch Doll. But they were sold out everywhere. Finally my mom heard a store near us had just gotten ten more. We rushed over. By the time we got there only five were left. It took me all of two seconds to pick the one I wanted. A girl with a tuft of blonde hair and a paci. I named her Caroline Rebecca.

And from that moment I knew that more than anything I wanted to be a mom.

But more specifically I knew deep down I wanted four kids – two boys, two girls. How I knew this at such a young age, I don’t know. I think it was a seed God planted in me. A seed of hope that has kept me going through a lot of struggles. No matter how hard I tried over the years to shake it (and believe me, I tried! I prayed and prayed for God to take it away.), I knew my life would not feel complete without four children.

I spent a large portion of my childhood playing with dolls. Not Barbies. Babies. I pretended to nurse them, dress them, feed them. They went wherever I went. I was playing dolls well into junior high!

The teenage Years.

Fast forward to puberty. When the fear first set in. From my first menstrual cycle at age 14 I knew something wasn’t “normal” about me. I only had a period once or twice a year. I was too scared to talk to anyone about it. I lied about it at doctor visits. I thought my body was broken…for good. And the fear that I would never have the family I dreamed of set in.

I started an obsession with health (which sort of led me to where I am now). It was an unhealthy obsession then (and would be for many years to come). I actually knew nothing about health. In my mind there was only one factor. Skinny meant healthy. So I became fat phobic – the popular dietary misinformation of the day. I could live on fruity candy and fat free ice cream and call it healthy.

This is also when my obsessive compulsive disorder began (though I wouldn’t understand it/identify it for another 15 years). My eating became so restricted. My weight dropped like crazy. I was less “normal” than ever. But I didn’t care because I was skinny.

This continued all through high school. I was underweight, scared of food and so undernourished.

Coming to a Head in College.

Then I went off to college. All of my obsessive behaviors combined with my extreme shyness created a lot of anxiety. And it was hard to make friends or let anyone get to know me.

I was playing soccer and taking honors classes. My days were so busy I hardly had time to make friends even if I wanted to.

By the grace of God there was some positive change by my junior year. My soccer career came to an end…which made it possible for me to start a relationship with the man that would one day become my husband. We were both electrical engineering majors, which allowed us to spend a lot of time together.

I had no idea at the time, but I was gradually re-feeding my body (you can read more about that in this book). My weight had gone up enough to be in a healthy range. And I was eating more nutrients (though still low fat and plenty of processed food). For the first time in my life I started having regular cycles! I finally felt normal. I got excited every month when it showed up. My body was working!!

On the flip side my OCD and digestive problems were progressively getting worse (I didn’t understand how food impacted mood at the time). And getting harder to hide.

A BIG Mistake.

One year after graduation Justin and I got married. A few months before the wedding I made a bad decision that would impact my health for many years to come…I started birth control pills. It was just what you do when you get married. I never thought twice about it, I never questioned what negative effects they could have. Or that it might not be how God wanted me to live. Trying to be in control instead of giving that to Him.

I now understand how harmful birth control is. And will teach my daughters so they don’t make the same mistake.

At first it was great. Having everything work like clockwork. I had no idea they messed up your hormones and that the period was just a withdrawl bleed, not an actual period.

Gradually I started to feel the impact. At the start of each new pack I would get so sick I would vomit, My anxiety and OCD were out of control. I was having panic attacks.

My digestive problems continued to get worse as well. I had constant painful colon spasms, I was constantly searching for solutions, I tried all sorts of dietary changes. None of them worked. They just made my anxiety about food worse.

I finally got to the point I couldn’t handle things and started working with a psychologist, I spent the next ten years working with her,

Time For our Family.

In early 2006 my husband and I started talking about having kids. The thing I had been waiting for since I was five. I stopped taking birth control…and the long journey through infertility began. I waited six months with no sign of my cycles returning naturally. Those three years on birth control had destroyed my health both physically and mentally.

During those three years I also underwent a host of tests to help my digestive problems, But every time the doctor would tell me everything was normal. After years of searching for answers I finally self-diagnosed my problem. At 26 years old I had a rectal prolapse. I met with a colon surgeon who confirmed it and ran more tests, In September 2006 I had surgery to correct it.

I was out of work for two months. It was a long, slow recovery. Something I don’t care to ever repeat.

Treatment Begins.

My first day back at work post surgery was also the day of my first visit with the endocrinologist. We started with three rounds of clomid – which my body did not respond to. Next we moved on to IUI. It was during this process that we learned we had both male and female infertility, As each month came and went with no luck my fear of not having the family I dreamed of really surfaced. I wondered if I’d ever be a mom at all.

The endo told us our only option was IVF. He didn’t give any health suggestions, No dietary advice, Just medical procedures. So began our journey through the lonely, painful, expensive world of IVF.

Of course my body never likes to follow the norm. The doctor diagnosed me with polyfollicular ovaries – not PCOS. But I could never find any information about it. He said he rarely had patients like me.

I didn’t respond as well as hoped to the procedure because of my condition. I produced tons of eggs…but most of them were not mature enough to be useful. So after the egg retrieval I hyperstimulated, In other words all of the empty egg sacs filled with fluid, which then filled my abdominal cavity. It’s painful. It makes you feel sick. It can damage your ovaries, And it makes you unable to transfer any fertilized eggs back. We had to freeze everything and give my body time to recover.

What hyperstimulation looks like – a belly full of fluid.

We waited another month to move on. Just when it was getting too hard to hope we received great news – our first IVF transfer worked! I was pregnant. I gave birth to our first child, a daughter, in 2008.

Let’s Try Again.

In the fall of 2009 we decided to start trying for another baby. I weaned my daughter just weeks before returning to the endocrinologist to start the next round of treatment. In other words I didn’t give my body any time to recover or restore nutrients. We did another IVF transfer. Unfortunately it didn’t work. And it used up what fertilized eggs we had frozen.

So back to square one. We started right up with a new round of IVF stimulation. It was around this time that I first learned about real food and started making dietary changes.

As before I hyperstimulated and had to recover before doing transfers. We went on to use up all of our fertilized eggs with three frozen transfers…all of which were unsuccessful. The third one was dragged out a bit, but ended up being a chemical pregnancy. I felt so broken and alone (I wrote about it here). Those fears were taking over. Would I ever have more children?

After a couple months off we started yet another round of IVF. Again I hyperstimulated. The worst it had ever been. I was so sick and had to do transfusions to help my fluids balance. But finally we got to our sixth frozen transfer. Praise the Lord it worked! I gave birth to our first son in 2011. During that pregnancy I started the GAPS diet to try to help with my digestive problems. Unfortunately it made my OCD go out of control. It also made my food sensitivities worse in the long run.

Baby #3??

In May of 2013 we headed back to the doctor, hopeful we would at least have one more child. We still had fertilized eggs in the freezer. Just as I was starting the hormone meds we got a letter that my endo was retiring immediately due to health problems. Panic. I’m already starting a round of treatment…now what?

Thankfully we have another great endo in town that was taking on all of my old doctor’s patients. And he was able to squeeze us in yet for this cycle. This was it. We had to use up all of our freezer supply for this transfer. The two week wait was eternal. I felt all of the usual symptoms. But the hormone shots do that to you.

Finally I got the pregnancy test results – positive!!! I was so beyond happy. It worked. We would have three kids. I would have to settle for that. And we would be done with fertility treatments.

But a week later I started to bleed. I went to the doctor for an ultrasound – inconclusive. No heart beat. But it could be too early. I had my hormone levels checked – they weren’t rising. I went for a final ultrasound to confirm it was a blighted ovum.

Dreams shattered. Fears in control.

Letting God Take Control.

Now what? Justin and I both knew we couldn’t do another round of IVF. My body couldn’t handle any more. And we had already spent so much money on it.

But this was when God really changed my life. Through this heartbreak he brought so much healing. You can read all the details HERE and HERE. When I tell people our first two children were conceived via IVF and our second two were natural I always get the same comment – “Your body just started working again! It figured out how to do it.” No. NOT AT ALL. There was a LOT of work that went into the healing process. And it was HARD work. So hard. But in December of 2013 I found out I was pregnant. Our second daughter was born in 2014.

You would think that would put an end to my fears. But it didn’t. Her first two years of life were riddled with fear. From vaccine reactions to tongue ties to so many allergies I was worried she’d starve to death. She didn’t gain any weight for a year. We could hardly leave the house. It consumed me. By God’s grace we made it through. She is now thriving.

Yet through those years of struggles with her I thought daily about having another baby. It weighed heavily on me. I didn’t know if my husband would be willing to try again. I didn’t know if my body would work again. A lot of unknowns. A lot of giving it over to God on a daily basis.

Baby #4??

I weaned my daughter in early 2017 in order to start working on my health. To my complete amazement my body started cycling on its own about six weeks later. That alone gave me hope. That had never happened before. My body was working!! Nothing was regular. But I charted my cycles. On August 14, 2107 I found out I was pregnant with our final miracle baby.

I had a deep rooted fear in the back of my mind the whole pregnancy. All of the “what-ifs” played out over and over. I had experienced enough heartbreak and witnessed others go through heartbreak. What made me think I would get a happy ending? I had waited 33 long years for this. I was so close, but not there yet.

And I felt like I didn’t deserve it. That somehow it would all be whisked away just before I got there. I was so caught up in Satan’s lies that I couldn’t see God’s love.

I could hardly even enjoy my pregnancy during the last six weeks. Satan was working hard to make sure my fears were front and center everywhere I looked. Every song I heard. Every picture I saw. It all seemed to point to something bad happening.

But over the past couple years my focus has been “Be Fearless.” God brought me this phrase. It’s hanging in my kitchen. I see it daily. And I have to give my fears over to God daily, sometimes hourly. Living fearlessly isn’t always easy. But it is living according to God’s Word.

On April 23, 2018 we welcomed our fourth miracle baby to the family. Precious little Simon Arie. He has completed our family and once again shown me just how real God’s love is. Everything went smoothly. He is healthy and growing well. All those fears were for nothing. There is a song on the radio often these days called “Fear is a Liar.” I love listening to it. But I often replace the word fear with Satan. They are the same. I’m done listening to Satan’s lies. I will continue to Be Fearless.

Moving On.

It’s actually been hard to write this post because at just a few weeks postpartum I’ve already left it behind. I should have started writing it while I was still pregnant! This will always be my story. But I’m so ready to move forward without this 33 year fear controlling me.

There are still challenges ahead. We’re working through nursing/food reaction issues with this little guy (of course – that’s just the way things are for us). I’m a mom. I will always be concerned about about my kids’ health and safety. There are still traces of the OCD that I’m working through and hope to get rid of through God’s power.

But I won’t have to carry the daily burden of whether or not we’ll have more children. A weight has been lifted that I can’t even describe. It was a part of me for so long. It almost feels like I’m leaving a piece of me behind.

I still have one more big milestone ahead. When I eventually wean our youngest. I will close the chapter of my life where I share my body with another person. When that time comes I’ll be ready to focus on fully nourishing myself and restoring my health. But thankfully I’ve got a while. I’m not quite ready for that yet. Breastfeeding is one of my favorite things about having babies. I’m going to enjoy it as much as I can.

I never for one second take for granted these precious miracles God has entrusted to me. And although the journey was long and difficult I am thankful for all I have learned along the way. Each child has brought me so much healing. They have already given me more than I could ask for. I pray that I can be the mom they need and teach them well as they grow. Teach them how to love, how to take care of their bodies and how to live in God’s love without fear.

I am anxious to see what God has planned for the next chapter of my life as this one comes to an end. One thing I know is that I don’t have to be afraid of it.

April 9, 2018

How to Prevent Picky Eaters from the Start

In our culture kids are bombarded with brightly colored food and overly sweet treats on a daily basis. It’s no wonder their taste buds are skewed! I’m going to share how to prevent picky eaters from the start.

Picky Eaters.

It’s something all parents struggle with at some point. But did you know that shouldn’t be the norm? Really. Picky eating is a symptom. Not a condition. It’s the whole purpose of my blog – to help deal with picky eaters and get kids to just take a bite!

How to Handle Picky Eaters

Trust me. I’ve dealt with every kind of eating struggle you can imagine…and come out on the other side. I dealt with the root cause. Which got rid of the picky eating symptom. But it wasn’t easy!

I have ways of dealing with picky eaters in my book “Why Won’t My Child Eat?!” But today I’m sharing a little secret with you. The best way to prevent picky eaters is right from the start. From the first taste of solid food. Actually even from the time baby is in your womb and breastfeeding!

If you are pregnant, make sure you eat a wide variety of nutrient dense whole foods. Baby does taste what you’re eating! Then when baby is breastfeeding continue a nutritious diet. Your milk will change flavor based on what you eat and give your little one a taste for real food.

Prevent Picky Eaters from the First Bite

Then comes the really important step – introducing solids. You can’t wait for it with your first child. You kind of get annoyed with it by your second child. But eventually you get to or you have to (however you look at it). And what you feed your baby can create or prevent picky eaters.

I’m a huge fan of letting baby lead when it comes to solids. But that doesn’t mean a food free-for-all. It just means I offer a variety of nutrient dense food and let baby decide what and how much to eat. In general I offer baby what the rest of the family is eating. Here are my basic guidelines.

No added sweeteners
No food coloring or artificial ingredients
Lots of healthy fats
Let baby chew
Offer variety – a mix of fruits, veggies, proteins and fats
Stick to a gluten free or grain free diet for at least the first year

Some of my favorite first foods include:

avocado chunks or lightly mashed
banana chunks or lightly mashed
ripe pear chunks
egg yolk lightly fried in butter, coconut oil, tallow or lard or hard boiled egg yolk
whole milk yogurt
ripe mango chunks
beef or chicken liver
peas
sardines
roasted chicken
ground beef

Keep in mind baby is not born with an affinity towards sugar and brightly colored foods. If you skip those baby will not feel dissatisfied. On the contrary, you will be giving baby one of the best gifts ever! The gift of a taste for real, whole foods.

If you do need a few tricks to get the healthy habits going check out Think Baby.

Help With Feeding Baby Made Simple

I’m thankful there are good companies like Stonyfield Yogurt and Once Upon a Farm that have the same philosophy on feeding little ones. Companies that combine the need for simple, yet nourishing foods.

Stonyfield’s YoBaby banana mango yogurt is made with whole milk and has NO added sweeteners! As a mom of soon-to-be four kids (in less than two weeks!!) I’ve been waiting a while for this. An infant does not need sugar added to their yogurt. Honestly. They will eat it plain. Or you can mix in some fruit if you like.

We recently tried the banana mango YoBaby yogurt. Even my 10 year old loved it! I’ve even been eating it. Here is some other cool info straight from Stonyfield.

Yobaby is the #1 pediatrician recommended yogurt for babies and kids 6 months to 2 years.
Stonyfield YoBaby was the first yogurt made especially for babies.
Yobaby now contains the probiotic culture BB12. In addition to live active cultures, Stretococcus Thermophilus, Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidus, Lactobacillus Casei, and Lactobacillus Rhamnosus, YoBaby® yogurt now contains the probiotic Bifidobacterium animalis lactis BB-12® that has been shown to have a digestive health benefit when consumed regularly as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. BB-12® is a registered trademark of Chr. Hansen.
Our texture is thick and creamy. It is thicker and isn’t as runny as other organic baby yogurts. This helps with less mess for moms while feeding AND especially for babies/toddlers that are starting to self-feed.
We use PLA cups (meaning, made from plants!) because we heard from moms that they were concerned with polystyrene packaging – PLUS plant-based packaging has a lower carbon footprint.

Don’t Forget the Fat!

We have been eating Stonyfield yogurt for many years. But Once Upon a Farm is new to us. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality and flavor of the ingredients!

Just real, whole foods. A variety of fruits, veggies, seeds and healthy fats. Exactly what little brains and bodies need. And as a mom of kids with a variety of allergies I was happy to see there are flavors each of my kids can enjoy.

According to Once Upon a Farm, “We use High Pressure Processing (HPP) to keep our food as close to the farm as it gets. HPP is a revolutionary technology in food, the kind that those unrefrigerated brands don’t use. It allows us to keep the flavors, aromas, colors, textures and nutrients of the food intact, leading to optimal taste and palate development in infants.”

One of my favorite qualities of Once Upon a Farm pouches is how the ingredients are combined.

“We synergistically combine ingredients to create optimal absorption and bioavailability of nutrients. Most baby foods are devoid of fats, especially high quality ones. At Once Upon a Farm, each recipe contains a healthy fat for stable energy levels, nutrient absorption and optimal brain development.”

That is so important to me! Kids need plenty of healthy fats for absorption and brain development!!

I know these are for little ones, but I’d happily serve them to kids of any age…or eat them myself! My kids wanted to eat them all in one day.

Skip the Sugar!

If you skip the sugar from the start your kids will not crave it and be dependent on it as they get older. They will enjoy foods in their natural state. My kids describe their vegetables as sweet! Yes, with a palate free of sugar they can enjoy sugar snap peas and carrots fresh from the garden and consider them a treat.

We do have the occasional sweet here, like homemade graham crackers or homemade ice cream. But those are not part of our daily diet. And they are not given to the little ones. Plus when I make them at home I can keep the sugar content down even in my baked goods!

You can start this process at any age. You are never too old to learn to enjoy real food.

But the best strategy is to teach your kids about whole foods from birth. Skip the sugar in first foods to teach kids how to enjoy foods in their natural state and prevent picky eaters.

I am working with Stonyfield Yogurt and Once Upon a Farm for this post. All opinions are my own.I have not been paid to post a positive review.

February 19, 2018

My Essential Baby Items for a Natural Home

When you are preparing for a baby there are so many gizmos and gadgets to choose from! You don’t need most of them. Here are my essential baby items for a natural home.

As a mom of three kids plus one on the way I can say I’ve gone through a lot of baby gear. With our first we had everything (who doesn’t, right?). Swing, exersaucer, bouncy seat, Bumbo, jogging stroller, play mat,…the list goes on and on. Our house was loaded with baby items.

By the time my second was born I realized I didn’t need so much. I knew holding him was much better than setting him in some contraption all the time. They aren’t good for the spine and development anyway. Plus he hated being strapped into ANYTHING. So all of those toys were pointless. All I needed was a blanket for the floor and a carrier so he could be with me the rest of the time.

With my third I used even less. And now that I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of number four I know that there is very little you actually need for a baby. And it helps keep your house from getting so cluttered! So I’ve come up with a list of my essential baby items for a natural-minded mama. Yes, every baby needs a place to sleep (whether that’s by your side or in a crib) and clothes. But beyond that these are my favorites (and some are on my current wish list!!).

My Essential Baby Items

Soft Structured Carrier

I have used a carrier with all of my kids. It is probably my most used baby item. I carry them from birth until at least 2 1/2. But it has taken me until baby four to figure out which one I really like! With my first child there weren’t too many options. I just went with what was in the store – Baby Bjorn. Now I know they aren’t designed that well and put baby in a poor position.

Thankfully when she was around one I got a new soft structured carrier – a BabyHawk. I have used it with all three kids! And I really do love it. It’s been my favorite up to this point. It keeps baby’s legs in the M position, which is best for the spine.

With my son I also got a Moby (wrap style carrier). It worked very well for him because he loved being really close to me at all times. Though my daughters did not like it. It was not roomy enough.

After years of carrying my kids I’m actually deciding to get a new one this time! I love the comfort of my BabyHawk. BUT I hate the long straps. I’m so sick of tying my BabyHawk and my Moby. I feel like I’m always dragging long strings when putting them on.

So my final choice and top pick is a soft structured carrier with buckles. I also want a hood for when baby naps or to be able to nurse discretely while out and about.

There are quite a few great brands of SSCs out there. You just have to try some on and see what fits you best. Some great examples are Ergo, Boba, Tula, and Lillebaby. I have my eye on the Boba this time around. And can’t wait to start using it!! No more annoying straps. Just a quick clip and done.

Cloth Diapers

We did not start using cloth diapers until my second child was born. I wish we had done it with my first! We have saved so much money by using cloth diapers. Plus it’s just so much better for baby’s skin.

There is an up front investment and a learning curve. Do you want all-in-one, pocket or covers? Growing up there was only one way to cloth diaper. But now there are so many choices! And they are so cute too. But once you have a good stock you don’t have to worry about running out of diapers. No weekly purchases.

We chose to use pocket diapers and have been very happy with them. The brands we use are Fuzzibunz and Bum Genius. Though there are so many others! Cleaning is easy with a diaper sprayer attached to the toilet. And we have accumulated enough diapers that we only have to wash them every three to four days.

I love that we are doing our part to help the environment by not filling landfills with so many disposable diapers.

I know cloth diapering doesn’t work for everyone. But I truly think it’s far easier than most people realize.

Now that we are expecting baby four a few of our original diapers are wearing out. The elastic in the legs is not so stretchy. So we’ve had to replace a few. But it’s still a very, very small cost in comparison to disposables.

Nursing Tanks and Tops

If you are planning to breastfeed nursing tanks are a MUST. I live in them when my babies are little. They make nursing so much easier.

With my first I went super cheap and just got a few from Target. They worked. But they weren’t the best fitting.

With my second I wised up and got some quality nursing tanks (I used Bravado). They are so nice and fit so well I can actually wear them alone as a tank top when I’m out and about (which is great with spring/summer babies!). After using them with two kids they are getting a bit stretched out. So I need to buy replacements. But almost daily wear of them for about four years combined is pretty good.

On top of nursing tanks there are now many options for nursing apparel. This was not a thing when I first had kids. I’m excited this time around to buy shirts that allow easy access for nursing…while still looking cute (here is an example of one I like)! I love that more and more efforts are being made to encourage breastfeeding and make it easier to do so in public.

Muslin Swaddle

When my third child was born my sister-in-law gave me a nice, muslin swaddle blanket. My first thought was, “look, another blanket to add to the pile.” But it quickly became a favorite! At three years old my daughter still sleeps with it!

I love how light and breathable these blankets are. They make awesome nursing covers because they are large and lightweight. Plus they are so soft. You can use it to cover a car seat or protect baby from the sun in a stroller. They are great for toddlers that want to snuggle too.

It would seem that I don’t need another muslin swaddle this time since we have one. But I don’t think my toddler is willing to give it up. So it’s one more item on my wish list for this baby. This is the one I want!

Car Seat

It may seem pretty obvious that you need a car seat for a baby. Unless you don’t plan to ever drive anywhere. I add this here as something to consider. We used the same infant car seat for our first three children. I have sort of a love-hate relationship with infant seats.

Yes, you need one. Yes, it’s handy to be able to strap baby in while you are in the house and carry them into your destination.

BUT – it disturbs me seeing people leave their baby in a car seat for so long! I’m not judging. I did it too with my first. But now I can’t stand it. My kids are only in their car seat when in the car. Other than that there is no reason to keep them in. Why keep my baby strapped in a seat when I can take them out?

My oldest had a somewhat flat head as an infant. And keeping her in a car seat (and other things like a baby swing) too long and too often contributed.

For this baby we had to make a choice. Buy a new infant seat (our old one is very expired) and then buy a new booster after that. Or go for an all-in-one? We decided to get a Graco 4-in-1 seat. It will last from birth until ten years of age. And I don’t have to worry about breaking my back carrying an infant seat. Something to consider when you are expecting a baby.

Non-toxic Toys

When it comes to toys you really don’t need many…at all. A baby can be overstimulated very easily. Instead of buying all the toys with flashing lights and music, stick to a handful of simple, non-toxic toys.

Something to chew and something to shake. Maybe a mirror. Baby really wants to see your face and your surroundings. Wearing baby, talking to him or her and spending some time working on motor skills is sufficient.

The great thing about only having a handful of baby toys is that you can spend a little extra to get high quality and they won’t overtake your house. As your baby gets older look into Montessori style toys to encourage creativity and learning.

Books

It’s no secret that reading to your child is one of the best things you can do for them. One item we have an abundance of in our house is books! We read a lot. I always say you can never have too many books. It is one of the best tools for learning. It also encourages lots of time together and good communication.

Even at just a few months old my oldest would sit and listen to book after book after book. She ended up teaching herself to read at the age of four and is still our bookworm.

My son was a child that had to move. It took longer for him to be able to sit through books and to pick up reading. But it was still well worth the effort.

All of my children were pretty early talkers. I truly believe that all of our time reading together was a huge factor.

They all ask me to read to them the instant I sit down these days. And we go to the library every couple weeks to restock our book supply. It’s rare that we come home with fewer than thirty books.

Non-Toxic Bedding

This is one that a lot of parents don’t really think about. But your baby’s bed and bedding is so important. Babies sleep…a lot. Which means they spend a lot of time on a mattress of some kind. Which kind you use can have an impact on your child’s health. Many are made with chemicals that are dangerous to inhale. And some people even say it could be the cause of some cases of SIDS (which is why back sleeping helps…less direct contact with/inhalation of the mattress).

We are in the process of replacing all of our mattresses. We just started with our toddler. She got a new mattress from My Green Mattress. They aren’t cheap…but they are worth the investment!

In our family we are also very conscious of environmental allergies (since my husband and all of my kids have them!). Everyone in our house has a dust mite cover on their mattress and pillow. The baby should be no exception.

EMF-Blocking Blanket

The final thing on my essential baby item list is an EMF-blocking blanket. Yes, another blanket. This one is unique.

EMF (electromagnetic frequency) may be something new to you. It’s a topic I have researched some, but not nearly enough. But definitely enough to know that we don’t know the full impact they have on us. This post from Wellness Mama is a great read if you want to learn more.

Sadly EMFs are all around us these days with the use of cell phones, laptops, wireless devices, smart meters and just about anything that uses electricity.

I am very intentional about not allowing wireless devices like phones and tablets to touch my children (or myself!) aside from our hands. The effect of EMFs is proportionate to distance. The farther away you are the less impact they have. I don’t put my cell phone in my pants pocket, in a stroller or in a pocket of my carrier. I turn off the WiFi on my phone when I don’t need it.

We limit anything electronic in the bedrooms. I do still use a monitor, but try my best to keep it across the room from baby and not right by my head.

That being said, there are EMF-blocking blankets to use over baby when you are sitting at your computer with them or using your cell phone by them. It’s just one more step to protect that precious little baby of yours. This is not something I’ve used in the past, but it is another item on my wish list!

Is That All?

As you can see my list of essential baby items is quite small. I wish I had been able to read this list before my first was born. It would have saved a lot of money and countless hours dealing with an overabundance of toys. Who knows, maybe it would have helped my oldest with her sensory processing disorder! She sure had more than enough stimulation.

A baby needs sleep, nourishment and to be close to mom and dad (both physically and in communication). That’s really it.

If you are expecting a baby (be it your first or fifth) or know someone who is, use this list as a guide to what is really essential and worthwhile buying for baby.

What would be on your natural baby essential items list?

November 28, 2017

What is Herd Immunity…and Does it Exist?

Many people use the Theory of Herd Immunity as a reason to mandate vaccines. So exactly what is herd immunity? And does it really exist? Let’s find out!

Before I begin I want to state that this post does not deal with vaccine safety. It is not pro or anti vaccines. It is simply discussing vaccine efficacy and the theory of herd immunity.

Vaccinating vs. not vaccinating is a very personal choice – a choice every parent should have.

Vaccination is a medical procedure and the government should never be allowed to make that decision for us. If our freedom to choose whether or not to vaccinate is taken away or prohibits us from education or a career, then we no longer live in a democracy, in the land of the free. We live in a dictatorship.

I am passionate about children’s health. And parents should be able to make decisions in the best interest of their children’s health. Always. This includes making decisions about vaccines.

People have different beliefs on safety, religion, morality, etc. The right to choose must be maintained.

But some people feel it’s ok to take away that individual right “for the good of the group.” The theory used to back up this claim is called the Herd Immunity Theory.

Note the word theory.

The theory of Herd Immunity is not a proven fact. And it’s NOT a valid reason to mandate vaccination.

So just what is a theory?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a theory is: “an ideal or hypothetical set of facts, principles, or circumstances” or “a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or body of principles offered to explain phenomena.”

A theory is not proven. It is hypothetical. It is a possible solution given to explain things.

What is the Herd Immunity Theory?

According to vaccines.gov:

When a critical portion of a community is immunized against a contagious disease, most members of the community are protected against that disease because there is little opportunity for an outbreak. Even those who are not eligible for certain vaccines—such as infants, pregnant women, or immunocompromised individuals—get some protection because the spread of contagious disease is contained. This is known as “community immunity.”The principle of community immunity applies to control of a variety of contagious diseases, including influenza, measles, mumps, rotavirus, and pneumococcal disease.

In simpler terms – if enough people are vaccinated, the disease can no longer spread.

The theory of Herd Immunity seems like it makes sense. It is a “plausible general principle.” But let’s take a closer look.

Join me over at Kitchen Stewardship where I’m digging in deep to find out more about the this idea of herd immunity. Check it out HERE.

NOTE: Please read the full article before making any comments.