Totville: Toddler Activities

First, I want to say I am not a medical professional. You should ask your doctor for medical advice. This post only shares what I did to treat my childhood eczema.

It took me a long time to learn all of this, and I share this information only so that I can prevent these painful rashes in your little one.

As I said in my previous post, I most likely developed these rashes because I was fed formula and was allergic to the formula.

After many years and much trial and error (and avoidance of certain foods) I discovered the following:

• Steroidal creams temporarily help the problem and the rash comes back WORSE when the cream is stopped. Since you can’t use the cream forever, you’ll have to uncover another solution if you want a permanent change.
• Adding probiotics to the diet is important. I really like Primal Defense; it works well for me. Since we’re all different chemical beings, another brand might work better for you or your baby.
• Adding raw cultured vegetables to the diet helps. I buy them them from Rejuvenative Foods in my local health food store.
• Using a protective cream such as calendula (mmmm, smells good!) or Aquaphor helps seal in the moisture and relieve pain and redness.
• When the itching is really bad, a little hydrocortisone cream can help. This isn’t my favorite option since it’s not natural, but it’s better than going crazy due to the itching.
• I eliminated dairy, wheat, tomatoes, bananas, eggs, sugar, and gluten from my diet for several weeks. I experienced ENORMOUS improvement.
• Foods that can be used instead of the above include: quinoa, amaranth, millet, brown rice, jasmine rice and any number of fruits and vegetables.

I ate macrobiotically for a while, too. That really helped me a great deal, and it was hard to continue it since so much socializing happens over food. However, I did keep some of the healthy recipes in my file for the kitchen. Miso soup has a lot of enzymes that are good for the digestion. Grated daikon is delicious and helps with skin problems. I felt lucky that my skin woes led me to such a delicious way of eating!

What I’ve written above is not a comprehensive program. It’s simply an outline of where this health adventure took me and what worked for me personally.

Good luck!

Today, I enjoyed reading this blog post about Play-doh.

The way it was written took me off on my own tangent. I remembered yesterday afternoon and how the Nugget, having missed part of a nap, came home and fell asleep in my arms. My cell phone rang in the other room. I could have put her down, I supposed, and answered it or called the person back. Instead, I continued to sit in the chair with her.

The land line rang, and I knew it was DH calling to say when he’d be home. I didn’t want to risk waking her by putting her down in the crib. I kept holding her. I studied her face and noticed how much it looked like the 3-D ultrasound photograph, which was the first time I saw what she might look like. I am still stunned at how well that technology captured her features.

Briefly, I regretted not having a book. However, I was practicing.

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Every time I hear about a baby getting eczema, my heart breaks in two.

Many years ago, I was a baby like that.

I chalk up my painful, agonizing eczema to an allergy to my formula and to not being breastfed. Rashes covered my entire body. I itched constantly. My parents, who rarely used A/C, used it during the summer so I would not scratch as much.

I cried.

Visiting the dermatologist, for me, was a regular event.

I got steroids and creams (even prednisone in my later years!) and the rashes always came back. Prednisone made me hyper but it didn’t help my skin for the long term.

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When a woman refused to place a blanket over her baby while nursing on a Delta flight, the woman was kicked off the plane. I’ve nursed on multiple flights and never had a problem. Since several U.S. agencies confirm how good nursing is for children, I find it hard to believe nursing in public is not protected.

If you’ve ever been around a nursing baby, you know that you have two choices when they are hungry. You can nurse them and have a happy and calm baby. Or you can refuse them and have a screaming baby. Which would you prefer on your flight?

You can read about Delta airlines and breastfeeding in this article.

Below is a part of a statement from Moms Rising along with a link to a petition.

SIGN THE PETITION TO DELTA AIRLINES AND CONGRESS: Tell Delta Airlines to get a clue and be supportive of breastfeeding mothers. And tell Congress it’s time to pass the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, which amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding mothers. Clearly this law is needed now!

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By accident (are most inventions by accident?), I discovered an easy and quick recipe using my crockpot.

This recipe is so easy to make that I can prepare it while the baby eats breakfast. It’s also a flexible recipe. If you are missing a vegetable ingredient, you can go ahead and make this without it.

Quick and Easy Crockpot Chicken

6-7 chicken breasts

2 cans crushed tomatoes (or 1.5 jars of spaghetti sauce)

1 onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped (use 3 carrots for extra sweetness)

dash of garlic powder

dash of pepper

Add all the ingredients into the crockpot, give them a stir, and turn it to low. Cook all day on low while you’re at work (10-12 hours) and come home to a delicious (and warm!) dinner.

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Getting a baby to sleep through the night is one of the biggest subjects new parents talk about. I went nearly a year with no more than 3 hours in a row of sleep. These books helped everyone in my family sleep more, and they also restored my sanity. Enjoy the book reviews!

Good Night, Sleep Tight: The Sleep Lady’s Gentle Guide to Helping Your Child Go to Sleep , Stay Asleep, And Wake Up Happy: This book, in conjunction with No-Cry Sleep Solution (see below for review), solved our sleepless nights. I knew that I’d not be able to let my baby cry alone, so I was intrigued when I learned of a sleep system that would not involve crying! We used her techniques. Although we had some sleepless nights at the start of this program, our baby now sleeps 12 hours! She wakes up happy and energetic and there’s no more fussing or whining at night because she’s exhausted. One of my friends told me that (after doing this program) her daughter was a whole new child, because she was finally getting the sleep she needed.

The No-Cry Sleep Solution: Gentle Ways to Help Your Baby Sleep Through the Night: Again and again, I hear from desperate parents who can’t get their children to sleep through the night. Author Elizabeth Pantley offers a gentle way to help your child sleep longer. The most useful part was selecting and establishing a routine. Once we choose a routine and stuck to it, our daughter transformed into knowing that night is for sleeping. We’ve been using these techniques for several months and sometimes the baby is snoring even before we can put her in bed. One possible drawback is how well the “Pantley Pull Off” technique works. Often, mothers nurse their baby to sleep. Pantley suggests that when a baby goes to sleep nursing, they will want to nurse during their brief awakenings at night. If they can’t nurse because they mother isn’t there, they will then wake up. Pantley suggests allowing the baby to get right to the edge of sleep and then remove the breast so that the baby sleeps on her own. I’ve heard rave (and a few mediocre) reviews of Pantley Pull Off, which is just one small part of her otherwise great (and proven) sleep program.

The Happiest Baby on the Block: The New Way to Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer The author shares his technique of using 5 special techniques to soothe and calm your baby to sleep. When our baby cried and we couldn’t figure out what to do (her diaper was dry, she’d just eaten) we’d turn to these gentle and soothing techniques, and they worked like a charm! These techniques restored calm to our baby — and to us!

You can also read about how I got my baby to sleep through the night.

Tags: Sleeping Through the Night Mothering Toddlers Motherhood Parenting Mommy Blog Mommy Blogging Baby Toddler

It was odd to be in a place where people think I’m going to hell when I die.

My niece was blessed this past weekend in a Mormon church, and I attended the service.

My first experience with this religion was in high school when the one Mormon boy claimed he had to go to church every day or once a week and be late to school. All of us were slightly envious and slightly suspicious that he was just sleeping in.

This boy had hair that didn’t move an inch, a J. Crew wardrobe, and a shiny, clean face at all times. That was my impression of Mormons. It was the only impression I had besides the gigantic Mormon temple, which no one but Mormons are allowed to enter. One time, someone wrote “Surrender Dorothy” on an overpass you see from the highway just as the temple comes into view.

“Surrender Dorothy” was voted best graffiti for several years in a row.

I also knew that Marriot (as in the hotel) was Mormon, yet he sold alcohol in his hotels.

But, I digress.

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This mom from down under must contend with a large scary spider.

Have I mentioned that I’m terrified of bugs. We used to have ants in my house as a child, and I’d have nightmares. In one respect, I find them completely fascinating. Ants, especially, are intriguing in how hard they work and how far they travel for food. But, if I see one unexpectedly, the shrieks will be heard for miles.

I am hoping that the Nugget does not ‘catch’ my fear. I’m not sure if I should try and hide it so she can make her own assessments or not. I don’t think it would be wrong to hide how I feel about it since these creatures are not harmful.

So, Sarah at Sarah and the Goon Squad got me thinking about leaves…

And then…

My neighbor shocked me…

I took the Nugget outside to play. She has one of those Little Tykes cars with the yellow roof and orange body, and she’s nuts about it. First, I pushed her all around and then SHE wanted to push it all around. It has a busted left front tire, becauase we got it used, so it sticks sometimes and then I feel a little bad.

My neighbor waved to Nugget and then we said hello to each other. I overheard him ask one of our city employees if today was leaf day.

Of course, it was.

Had we raked any leaves up? No.

I raked as fast as I could while keeping one eye on the roving toddler. At one point, I turned my back for one very small second and found her climbing the cement stairs. And then I was surprised to see how good she was at getting up them without knocking herself in the head or otherwise damaging herself or letting out howls of outrage.

The leaf machine truck entered the street, and I still had half the yard to do. At the same time, Nugget decided that the truck was loud and scary and she had to hug my legs. I picked her up and kept raking with one arm, which is NOT easy to do.

As an experiment to see if I could stop holding her and get the raking done faster, I put her down and told her all about the truck in a happy voice.

Behind me, a voice asked, “Do you want some help?”

My neighbor had walked over with his rake, and he started raking my leaves with me.

I was stunned at the kindness. Maybe I’m a cynnical city girl, but I’ve never lived in a neighborhood (since I was little) where the people were this nice.

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Shutterfly
Last Reviewed	November 2006
Category(ies)	Photo Services
Site Highlights	Convenient on-line photo services with lots of gift options.
What Works Great:	This site is useful to share photos with friends (upload your photos and send out a link) and to find great gifts (last year I bought calendars personalized with photos of my baby for the grandmothers, and they loved them). The directions on how to upload are easy to follow. When you sign up, Shutterfly gives you a number of free prints. The last time I checked, they were giving away 15 free prints of your choice just so you can test out the service. I appreciated that, becuase it meant I could check the photo quality and speed of service. Both were excellent.
Drawbacks:	Depending on your internet connection, it can sometimes take a while to upload the photos. What I do to solve this issue is to upload a bunch and then work on something else. When I come back to my computer, the photos are online!

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