Results tagged “health” from Momtourage: Blogger Knows Best

Earthquakes, tsunamis, rising unemployment, (my husband is still unemployed 7 months later - so sexy) the economy, failing industries, the health care crisis, global warming, Detroit.  Have you heard enough?  Are you ready to just drive your hybrid car into a tree already?...wait a minute.  We need that tree.  Try driving into a Walmart...that would make us all feel a bit better...just avoid the greeter.  She's probably somebody's grandma and most likely the primary child care provider in her household.  As if all this isn't bad enough, we received some more troubling news yesterday:  Lily is receiving extra help in Math and Reading during school.  What?!  I thought she was doing so well in her new school? 

I try to keep it to a minimum, but I sure can feel sorry for myself at times. It doesn't help that there is next to no reason to do so and that I am mindful of this irritating tendency - sometimes I think that it is an innate quality that I can do little to damp down. (Sigh.) And to be frank, I did have a spell of irritating things happen all at once - my car was unusable for two weeks, the toilet broke, my sons and I discovered we had lice, and an unsavory relative began lurking around town.

And then my dad had a heart attack and my priorities immediately shifted. 

Why we shouldn't condemn the woman who gave birth at 66 via IVF and died this week at 69.

The death this past weekend of the woman who, for a time, held the Guinness Book of World Records title for oldest woman to give birth, surely incited a wave of judgmental head shaking. Some would argue that Maria del Carmen Bousada's pregnancy at age 66 went against the laws of nature. Others might even go so far as call her selfish. After all, her 2-year-old twin boys are now orphaned. How could she become a mother when she could not guarantee she'd remain healthy enough to raise her boys into adulthood?

I'm writing this because we had a troubling notice come home from our school yesterday:  apparently, there are several children in our school who have life threatening allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk and eggs.  The officials in our district are actually contemplating segregating these children from the rest of the children during lunch.  I don't remember hearing about all these allergies when I was growing up: the attitude in the 70's was basically - "Oh well, it sucks to be you."  However, that is not the case today.  We can all debate why these allergies exist (pollution, pesticides) but that does nothing to solve the issue of anaphylactic shock.  When a kid can't breathe because of peanut butter fumes the 'why' debate helps no one. 

Too many women are starting pregnancy carrying too many pounds and are gaining too much while they're pregnant, according to a new report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM).

To counter this trend, the IOM has changed its pregnancy weight gain guidelines, which advise obese women (who have a BMI over 30) to gain a minimum of 11 and no more than 20 pounds during pregnancy. Previously they were advised to gain 15 to 25 pounds.

The institute's recommendations, which are the gold standard used by OB/GYNs, remain unchanged for overweight, healthy and underweight women. Overweight women are classified as having a BMI of 25 to 30 and are allowed to gain 15 to 25 pounds. Women at a healthy weight are classified as having a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 and are allowed to gain 25 to 35 pounds. Underweight women are classified as having a BMI below 18.5, and should gain 28 to 40 pounds. (Weight categories are based on the World Health Organization's body mass index calculations.)

When I first heard about My Little Red Book, I was sort of grossed out. And intrigued. And, you know what? Grossed out. And intrigued!


And then I actually got the book.

For many months, we've been waiting patiently--or not so patiently--for the Omnibus ruling on the autism/vaccine relationship cases. These were the cases of three families who claimed that vaccines caused their childrens' autism. When the ruling came--insufficient evidence to support a link between autism and vaccines--there was a collective groan and mass outrage. This was definitely a backwards step in the struggle to gain recognition of the fact that as vaccines are becoming more mandated, more frequent, and plain old 'more,' more children are being diagnosed with autism than ever before. The bright side though? The court didn't dispel the possibility either.

by oneofhismoms




No.  Not fancy Sex-in-the-City heels.  I'm talking orthotics.  $400 insoles.  How far from sexy can one woman fall?

Firsthand smoke. You know what that is. Secondhand smoke? Got it. But thirdhand smoke?

You may not have heard the term until now--and it hardly existed until very recently--but so-called thirdhand smoke has made headlines this week, thanks to a new study that sheds light on a whole new set of dangers related to cigarette smoking. Thirdhand smoke refers to toxins that stick around on smokers' bodies--in their hair and on their clothes--even after the cigarette is extinguished. These toxins can also collect on furniture, floors and any other nearby surfaces--which means that the littlest members of the household come in direct contact with them.

Yikes. And... yuck.

Not like you needed reminding, but the researchers name a whole list of dangerous chemicals found in cigarette smoke, including things that you wouldn't feel safe putting in your car engine, never mind your (or your baby's) body. They include butane, ammonia, toluene (a chemical found in paint thinners), arsenic and lead. In short, cigarette smoke is toxic--no matter which hand you're talking about.

Learn more from MassGeneral Hospital for Children, whose researchers conducted the study. It appears in the January issue of Pediatrics.

Laura Motta
Producer, Momtourage

by Kris

Yes, I am typing this entry with one finger. So I estimate that it will take - oh, a good 30 minutes in order to give a simple piece of advice, something that I personally ignored and that got me into this difficult situation.

I know that it is hard for a busy mom to juggle everything. Certain things (laundry, picking up dry cleaning, visiting with friends) may get pushed to the back of the queue. But one thing I learned (again!) today is do not let your own personal health issues get shoved aside. When there is a problem, take care of it immediately.

My father-in-law has unfortunately become Lily's grumpa.  He just turned 70 but you'd think it was 90.  He's on medications for all sorts of ailments: high blood pressure; high cholesterol; some liver thing; and a mood disorder.  As a result of this pharmaceutical cocktail, he sleeps most of his life away.  He is a very sweet man....at least from what I remember.  The last time we actually had a real conversation was about three years ago.  Being in a permanent state of slumber and hard of hearing doesn't make participation in family activities nor communication easy for him.  Sadly, Lily now treats him like a piece of furniture.  She'll jump on him once in a while but otherwise she doesn't even notice. 

Lily starts school at 8:05am, eats lunch at 11:50am and has snack at 10:30am.  We, the parents, were advised at first grade orientation by her teachers that we are to send in only healthy snacks.  I've been sending in what I believe to be healthy snacks:  cut up fruit; pretzels; yogurt; organic oreos.  Only to find out, that her teachers have been withholding her snacks because they don't feel they're healthy enough and I quote, "are loaded with sugar."  Do teachers really have the right to tell your children what they can and can not eat?  Should teachers supercede your judgement when it comes to your childrens nutrition?

As I tend to do at the beginning of a new school year, I started off vowing to become supermom. So when I discovered that none of the children from my son Sam's pre-K class would be in his new Kindergarten class, (It's a huge, urban school.) I networked to find at least one child who would, then promptly arranged a playdate with him. And it was wonderful. They played for hours. The year was off to a great start.

And then two days later the little boy's mom told me that he had head lice.

I'm including the latest photo of my healing second degree burns not to shock (nor disgust) you but to serve as a warning to all you moms out there:  beware of citric acid!  We went on holiday last week to Mexico.  We were all having a fabulous time and being very fair, I was very vigilant about sunscreen.  I'm a redhead and my daughter is blonde so as a rule, we wear SPF 50 and higher on a daily basis in the summer....but no one warned me about the limes.  I was prepared for the water, heck I was looking forward to losing another three to four pounds but the limes are another story indeed.

My how times change. I grew up running barefoot through the woods, slogging through the neighboring cow field, (I dare you to touch the electric fence - ouch!) and skirting poison ivy wearing only a tank top and those awful, terrycloth short shorts so popular in the 1970s. As long as I made it home alive my parents could care less. Sure there were all those stories about the broken down trucker over in Erroll (or Upton, Rangeley Plantation, East B Township etc.) who was chased by coydogs on a cold winter's night. But that only made lone hiking just a little bit more exciting. Strap on those snowshoes. And then I became a mom.

i am so fortunate to have found wonderful yoga teachers here in austin. so a shout out is in order to mandy who teaches from the anusara lineage, she encourages me to open up to grace and to "loop" my kidneys of all things! she is an alignment fanatic, and thinks nothing of pulling up her yoga pants above her knees to illustrate what the thigh looks like in "outer spiral".angela is a flat-out goddess! a generous soul with abundance of information about yogic philosophy, anatomy, and how to apply them to our practice. her familial, un-intimidating manner results in packed classes that feel like private lessons. she focuses me to notice how postures feel from the inside out and keeps my ego in check by reminding me that my ability to get into parsva bakasana doesn't make me a good person.

Hey there ladies.  I have great news.  As of this week I lost 20 pounds on Weight Watchers!!!  I'm so pleased.  It's been tough but now I'm eating healthier most importantly eating less and I work out 3-4 times a week.  My cholesterol also went down to 180 so I'm really thrilled.

Today is July 4th one of my two favorite holidays....the other is Thanksgiving because for me it's all about getting together with family and friends and sharing a great meal.  However, today I'm really going to be mindful about what I eat as I tend to overload myself at barbecues with pasta and potato salads (and chips and booze).  This year, it's my turn to host and I'm only preparing healthy salads, no pasta or starchy ones, and lots of lean meat.  I've asked my guests to only bring fruit salads and fresh fruit dishes for desserts.  It's going to be a delicious day.  Freedom from fat is one of the best freedoms of all.

We've got another lice outbreak in our school in the Kindergarten wing.  Just thinking about it makes me itch.  I'm trying to keep our 5 year old lice free this school year so we're doing the whole 'up do', hair gel, mousse, hair spray thing.  We've also been advised to not wash her hair as often because the dirtier the scalp and hair the less the lice are able to adhere....for lack of a better term.  Does that really work?  Any suggestions?  Any home rememdies you know of that somehow keep these pesky varmints away??  HELP!!  Please share.