3 posts from January 2009

A few days ago, I was doing some last minute shopping online from U.S sites for our next baby, no, it's not actually splurge-type of shopping (i already did that last Nov-December, hehe),  I was comparing prices of BPA-free Avent bottles from the mall against getting it directly from the states, I figured, i can ship items from the US plus get other hard-to-find kikay items plus save some money! (apparently the kikay-subject was the deciding factor!)  So online shopping i went  ;)

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Sad to say (or rather happy to say?)  we almost have practically nothing to buy anymore for our third baby (since we already bought so much for Cheenee and Jethro). Except for a few pieces of receiving blankets, mittens, feeding bottles, several pieces of clothings etc most of which we will be buying locally, we cannot think of anything else. (For a kid,admittedly it is sometimesa a curse having sibs before you, you get hands-me-down most of the time *wink*)

Anyways, as i was online shopping. I came across BPA-free feeding bottles. There was this BPA-free issue just latter part of last year. Henry and I have been "paranoids" even a year before this scandal was brought to the attention of the public!

An excerpt from this site

What is Bisphenol A?
Bisphenol A is a hormone-mimicking chemical used in polycarbonate plastics (PC or identified as #7 recycling code) and resins commonly used for items such as shatterproof baby bottles. Bisphenol has estrogenic properties which, in animal tests has shown to cause a bevy of health problems such as an increase in prostate and breast cancer, uro-genital abnormalities in male babies, a decline in semen quality in men, early onset of puberty in girls, metabolic disorders including insulin-resistant (Type 2) diabetes and obesity and neurobehavioral problems such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Research is showing that when plastic containers, mostly those used to hold liquids and foods, are leeching Bisphenol into the foods and liquids they are holding. Heating food and liquids with these plastics is shown to increase the leeching of this contaminate.

Many companies use this chemical in their packaging including cans, soda cans, and plastic food containers. There is a risk of absorbing this chemical through the use of containing foods and liquids but can also leech into our water systems through landfills.

Many leading experts and the FDA argue that the use of Bisphenol-a is safe to the human public but independent research HAS proven otherwise.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

“Bisphenol A has been known to leach from the plastic lining of canned foods and, to a lesser degree, polycarbonate plastics that are cleaned with harsh detergents or used to contain acidic or high-temperature liquids.[16] Infants fed with liquid infant formula have among the highest exposures of anyone eating canned foods. Infants fed canned formula with polycarbonate bottles can consume quantities of Bisphenol A up to 13 µg/kg/day.”

Just recently, i was horrified to read in one of the US forums i chanced upon how a mom's daughter got her first period at 6 years old, is it the normal menarche age these days?!! (Henry and I  used to think that the human race is evolving. But thinking again, OMG it's not mere human evolution, maybe more apt to say, human mutation! it's actually what we are eating! It is actually what we do to the environment. A simple case of payback time!!)

Our first-born (Jethro) has a very compromised immune system: He has toxins in his body, lots of allergies and sensitivities. Simply put he has tons of other health issues. He is on a very special diet, no food coloring, no additives, no sweeteners, no casein, no yeast.. to name a few of his diet restrictions! But it's okay, we are already accustomed to his healthy diet. He has much shinier hair than mine, robust body following the built of his dad, not as sickly as before. In a nutshell, we are moving heaven and earth for him adhering to his diet (at this point we are still fixing him.)

Even before Cheenee was born, i remember how Henry and I considered buying glass bottles for Cheenee wayback. Although the inconvenience is there (glass bottles breaking,  they're much heavier to hold, very high maintenance, etc), we honestly wanted to buy BPA-free bottles. I don't actually remember how we decided (with a heavy heart)  to settle for regular Pigeon/ Ai-non bottles. Our first Avent that time was leaking and we never bothered using them again. I just read recently that Avent bottles are not supposed to be closed too tight, otherwise it will leak. Another thing, how are we supposed to endure using Dr Brown's glass-bottles, Born Free, Be Free, or BPA-free Avent, some removable parts aren't available locally at that time!). I think we didn't bother running an extra mile to source these hard-to-find bottles which aren't available locally at that time, it was kind of daunting for us.

I breastfed Jethro for 6 weeks. Cheenee for 8 months. Ideally i wanted to breastfeed her for over a year, that time, i had

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to go out-of-the country for another mission that's why i was forced to stop breastfeeding her.  It wasn't easy to breastfeed a baby. But i honestly did all my best to endure it for as long as i can. Nevermind the losyang-mode: Henry was more than happy with my efforts for the welfare of the kids. Medela that time was enough to spell success in breastfeeding for us. (Henry, like a breastfeeding pro, even enthusiastically endorsed medela to his kumpare, military man Art Lomibao, hehe) 

Cheenee grew up on semi-organic foods.Up to 12 months, she is on purely organic stuff: organic earth's best food, organic chicken (courtesy of our very own security guard, hehe), organic vegetables (market!market or tiende- sourced), chlorine-free and fluoride-free products, she drinks only freshly juiced fruits via matston's. Henry and I use healthy personal care stuff from Healthy options: aluminum chlorohydrate-free anti-perspirant, paraben-free  skin care SLS-free shampoo and conditioner.. the products are usually from healthy options: jason, avalon organics, Alba Botanica Nature's gate, TN Dickinson for skin care, 7th Generation, PERLA, Victoria soap for laundry,  etc.

To digress a bit, did you know that Healthy Options only carry all-imported brands - basically the big chunk of their goods are sourced from the US? They will never carry locally made personal care products. Why? Because in the US, they have USDA organic certification. In our country, anyone can easily claim that they have organic products. Natural is different from organic.  Some unscrupulous business owners even in the US label their products organic, when, let's say, only 97% oil was used only and the rest was regular oil for the whole soap. (i think just recently, Avalon organics was sued over some product mislabeling. That's how stringent their food and drugs department in implementing rules. Sad to say, in our country, some would label their products organic and natural, when in fact it's honestly hard to source organic raw materials locally, plus you will notice how "affordable" these organic goods are! Well, i still may be wrong *wink*)

It's not easy to try to have a healthy lifestyle, it is admittedly expensive

 specially in  Philippines where choices are limited. We are Gold membership cardholders at Healthy Options (thank goodness for member discounts!) As a pregnant lady, i drink organic soya in place of regular cow's milk, i take healthy diet supplements. No, i am not a picture perfect health nut, but It honestly pays to be health-conscious. Between my husband and i, i pale in comparison as how healthy-conscious Henry actually is. But i have to admit, we still eat junks. It's been a long time since we have drank some zero-calorie softdrinks, we drink the regular ones if we have to.  Non-pregnant and trying-to-diet days, i would sarcastically tell henry, "can i have coke light? Minsan minsan lang naman magka alzheimers." Or during the rare times we will have tocino or noodles, i will tell him "Minsan lang naman magka-cancer." I may be sarcastic as i may sound,  but we are not taking these issues in a laughing manner. It is indeed scary, but it is true: we are surrounded by life-hazardous chemicals, we use  them, we eat them. It's been almost 7 years since we had a jar of Aji-nomoto (ajisho, knorr, maggie or any similar form) in the house. We do not use instant sinigang sampalok mix: we make them from scratch: from fresh, real sampalok. As they say, eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants. Only eat food with ingredienst that you can easily pronounce.  (Admittedly, the following words i have learned to pronounce easily being a paranoid health nut that i am, just familiarize yourself with these carcinogenic stuffs: monosodium glutamate, acesulfame potassium, aspartame, phenylketonurics phenylalanine)  

Cancer was a rare disease just 30 years ago, now it's almost always that you know someone with cancer or who had cancer (breast and prostate cancer being the most rampant). It's never too early nor too late to start taking our health seriously.

Cheenee, at 29 months could still be missing an incisor tooth (yes, her front teeth aren't complete yet! incisor tooth not yet fully peaking out) but i can guarantee that she is intellectually and emotionally waaaay ahead her peers. I just recently read a note from her teacher that "Cheenee knows the answers most of the time" and that She actually "leads" the class during recitations, and that Cheenee is a very verbal and spontenous kid (in the vernacular, she is  bibang biba at matalino, no need for prompts, no need to coach, can banter with adults spontaneously. Her angkong would always mutter "Tali-talino talaga, iba sya). Aside from that, Cheenee is starting to read words already (i repeat, read WORDS, not just identify alphabet and numbers). She talks incessantly, reads product prices at S and R grocery. These are signs of intellectually gifted or extremely bright child (whichever you may call it). That's simply how we knew we were doing the right thing. I think the reason why she still hasn't grown that last front tooth is because she doesn't ingest (much) genetically modified foods (remember, she's on organic diet. If you eat chicken injected with growth hormones, if you use BPA, -laced utensils, you reach puberty early, if you eat toxins, a young child's brain will apparently get affected . i know you get the picture). We strongly think that among the factors why she is a very very bright toddler is because she had a good jumpstart with healthy lifestyle. Don't get me wrong, we are not denying some good ol' childhood memories from her- life's simple pleasures-  like eating chocolates, jellybellies, nerds, chicharon, ice cream and munching snacks from fast foods. In fact she likes willy wonka nerds and  gummi bears a lot. She started with Let's Do Organic Vegan

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Gummi Bears  with no coloring, no artificial sweeteners.. just pure natural fruit goodness! Imagine, They use natural fruit colors to to their gummies!  Apple, Apricot, Aronia, Carrot, Cranberry, Elderberry, Lemon or Red Beet Spinach Powder,  naturally rich in color fruits!!

Right now, she has steady supply of Trolli gummi bear and Yummy earth Organic lollipops and Willy Wonka nerds at home. Who says we are depriving them of classic childhood goodies? ;)

Before age two, we already weaned Cheenee from disposable diapers, up to this age, she's the ONLY toddler in her class who's not wearing diaper (mother earth can never be happier! that's a few pieces less non-biodegradable trash for our planet!). It is also good to note that the four of us, Cheenee, Henry and Jethro are already sleeping in one room saving airconditioning electricity. Henry and I can never be more proud because Cheenee is a very mature and low-maintenance toddler (uh, low-maintenance in that self-care-and-independence department, i'm not talking about the organic supplies issue, hehe). 

I sometimes feel torn feeding "healthy food" to my kids and on some other times, giving them some slack in eating junks (jelly bellies have artificial coloring, high in sugar and all those classic empty-calorie junk yumminess, hehe). Well, as husband would always tell me "They are still kids! We cannot stop them from eating what other kids eat! If things like these are very inevitable, we just choose the lesser evil. For burgers, no cheesemelts because there's lead in melting cheeses that make them melt in the process. We usually give imported goodies (with locally manufactured goodies, melamine could get in my child's tummy). As much as i'd rather choose to eat healthily, it is honestly expensive to maintain a true-blue healthy lifestyle.

It's okay if Cheenee still hasn't fully grown her incisor tooth. At least it is somewhat reassuring to know that someday i wouldn't be horrified on the possibility that she can have her first menstrual period at 6 years old.

Random quote from Dayna

I think that all this technology has made people forget the human side- that there is someone else on the other end that has feelings. Those people are just cowards that need to put others down to feel good about themselves.

I got this from an email group. And i cannot agree more on these recipes :)

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God
about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement,

My purpose is to__________ today. I am thankful
for_________ _____'

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food
that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat kangkong, broccoli , almonds & walnuts. Use recyclable materials.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip (like literally stooping down on maid and squatter's level with nothing to do all day but prioritize gossip over work), issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control.
Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a
college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10.  Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument.
Agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their
journey is all about. (cannot argue on this)

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you. (cannot argue on this)

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five
years, what will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything. Forgive but do not forget.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business. (cannot argue on this)

19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your family and friends
will. Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. (cannot argue on this)

23 Each night before you go to bed complete the following
statements:
I am thankful for_________ _. Today I accomplished_ ________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed. We honestly think we are blessed :)

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings.
You'll be smiling before you know it.

26. You have choices: Do what you love or love what you do. If you are forced doing the latter, make no excuses and envy other people who love what they do or who excel in doing what they love  ;)

27. Spend quality time with your family each day.