Tag Archives: breastmilk

Nutrition is Key: Are You Limiting Your Kids’ Potential?

Childhood nutrition, and nutrition in general, is an all too often overlooked aspect of raising kids. I’m no expert on the topic, but it shouldn’t take one to know how important the food you put in a child’s body affects not just their current health, but their health way into the future.

Take the type of water you give a plant as an example. Tap water from the city is typically treated with an abundance of chemicals and minerals. While plants can and do grow with just tap water, it’s not the optimal choice for them to thrive. Same goes for softened water which is hard water treated with sodium carbonate to make is soft. Excess sodium is unhealthy for plant growth and may even kill surrounding grass.

Rain and spring water, on the other hand, comes directly from nature, untouched by additives. Natural water sources like these provide the best “ingredients” to allow for optimal plant health and growth. Yes, I’m aware that the surrounding environment plays a big part here and smog from factories, along with a host of other factors, will affect natural water sources, but hopefully you see my point.

Packaged, processed food is similar to tap/treated water in that it is altered from its natural state to last longer, taste better, and travel well. Give this type of food to a kid (or anyone), and sure, they’ll grow, but most likely their growth will be limited in some or many ways. But natural, wholesome foods in their unaltered state is more bioavailable to the body and way more nutrient dense than that box of Cheerios.

Consider everything going on inside a child’s body; they are constantly growing, creating new brain cells, and developing their bones and muscles, as well as their entire endocrine system plus so much more. In order to grow and develop their entire body, it’s clear the quality of food (i.e. building materials) is VITAL! For infants, breastmilk is the best choice to feeding them the most nutrient dense food that can’t be replicated. I do, however, realize breastmilk is not always an option, but thankfully companies like The Honest Co. provide organic formula that’s modeled after breastmilk and created to support a healthy, growing baby.

When you feed a kid fast food, their hunger might be satisfied, but their entire body is being short-changed important nutrients it needs to build a strong, healthy body. It might seem like “just one meal”, but how many times do you say that? “Just one” usually turns out to be one hundred over the course of a year. That’s a lot of meals where whole food would’ve been able to provide more than just fulfilling a child’s hunger.

This topic gets under my skin more than anything else, and even more so now that we have Avery. I want to give her the best so that she has a bright and healthy future. I have zero tolerance for fast or over-processed food and refuse to allow it in our house or in our bodies. Yes, I buy packaged food, but not before scrutinizing the ingredients and where it comes from to ensure there’s nothing limiting to my wife, myself, or Avery.

When I hear people laugh it off saying things like “I know this is bad, but….” or “You wouldn’t want to see what I’m having.” a fire ignites inside of me. Same goes for those that consider it to be weird if you’re the healthy one. No wonder our population is obese when the weird one is the person who refuses to partake on those sugar-laden fried dough circles someone brings into the office, or when someone turns down going to any fast food restaurant where the food serve is borderline “real”.

C’mon! I choose to eat something that didn’t turn out of a factory’s manufacturing line and instead have fresh veggies with organic pasture-raised eggs and that’s weird? Dumb.

Please, to all parents and EVERYONE, think more about the food you feed your little ones and yourself. Our kids need optimum fuel for optimum growth. When it comes what we feed our children as well as ourselves, keep it real.

Keep It Real

I’d go on forever about this topic as I am obviously highly passionate about it’s importance. But, I’ll leave you with these paragraphs from the Children’s Heart Center website about the importance of nutrition for children.

Nutrition is very important for everyone, but it is especially important for children because it is directly linked to all aspects of their growth and development; factors which will have direct ties to their level of health as adults. For example, a child with the right balance of omega fatty acids in their daily diet has a much better chance at creating a more solid foundation for their brain activity and capabilities later on. Likewise, a child who practices a low fat and cholesterol diet on a daily basis significantly improves their chances of preventing a heart attack; even if heart disease tends to be hereditary within your family.

You will also help promote a better quality of life if you instill proper nutrition trends in your children. It will allow them to partake in more activities and with greater enjoyment. People with high levels of health also consistently report that they enjoy elevated feelings of wellness and wellbeing. As part of this, children are also able to fight off colds with improved efficiency with the support of proper nutrition. And this brings up a vital point in communication with your children: You should always be on the lookout for different ways to make solid connections for your children. You can picture it in your mind like a web diagram, connecting major points with a line for your children to better understand issues. If you actually explain to your child that they won’t have to suffer through those nasty colds nearly as much if they maintain healthy diet.

Another huge reason why nutrition is so important for children is because they simply don’t know enough on their own to naturally choose to eat well. Unfortunately, the foods and snacks that taste the best are usually the worst for our bodies, and a child left to their on whim will almost always choose junk food over fruits and vegetables. Provide them with the right nutrition now and they will learn at an early age what’s necessary for good health. This will also help to set them up for a life of proper eating and nutrition, almost certainly helping them to live longer. Countless studies show that what someone learns as a child is then perpetuated throughout their life. Teach them healthy eating habits now and you’ll perpetuate a healthy lifestyle for them and put them on autopilot on their way to lasting wellness.

It’s easy to make a million excuses as to why we can’t feed our kids or ourselves a healthy diet, but maybe stop finding reasons and start making real changes. If you make health top priority, you’ll find other aspects of life that just fit in and flow better.

Do you feel like you give your kids the best source of food to enable optimal growth?

What would you like to change about your current diet?

Recovery Mode From Boob Milk Magic

After two days of a roller coaster fever and lethargic toddler, Avery no longer has a fever and seems to be on her way to recovery. I attribute much of her recovery from her Mommy’s boob milk magic since it’s full of antibodies and nutrition that’s hard to find anywhere else.

Avery was refusing most solids, so Kelley nursed more in place of the food. Not only did this give Avery vital nutrients to fight of the sickness inside, but it acted as a the perfect way to provide soothing relief from her ailment.

If I wore a hat, I’d take it off for my wife for being so bad-ass when comes to breastfeeding and just being a great mother all around. Actually, maybe that’s why I never wear hats, because they’d always be off anyway since she’s just great all the time. Well, besides when…nevermind….. 🙂 I love you, Kelley!

We were supposed to go to a good friend’s house for their son’s 2 year birthday party, but felt it best not to bring Avery out quite yet. Despite the healing properties of nursing, Avery is still not eating well and has had a case of “the runs”. Here’s a pic I took 5 minutes after I gave her a small bite of something soft.

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Yeah, she simply refuses to chew and will end up spitting whatever it is right out on the floor after it sat in her mouth for 10 minutes. Damn teething, and poor little girl!!!!!

Yesterday morning was a slow start and Avery just wanted to be held most of the time, but she eventually became mobile and started playing with her toys. She even attempted to dance a little, always a good sign!

But right as I busted out the camera to capture our daughter feeling better, she went into a slump. At least her Catch-Me-Kitty was there to help comfort her in the box.

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Such a depressing photo, huh? She never lets me put the camera in her face and will just turn around or be too squirmy resulting in a blurry image, but this time she kept still with a blank stare.

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Double depressing! I kept thinking I was pushing my luck with the camera in her face, but she acted as if nothing was happening. Or maybe she simply did not care.

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Just as my broken heart broke further into tiny pieces, she gave a glimmer of hope with a halfsie-grin-like-thing.

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I must of scared whatever excitement she was working on away because the next shot had her back in slump mode.

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That was too much, so I put the camera away and just read several of her new Sandra Boynton books. It didn’t help to get her to smile, but she sat snug in my lap the entire time and will hold on to that sweet memory for life. Just as my wife has the same memory from cuddling with our sick baby in bed the night before.

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I wish we had our normal toddler back and we were celebrating at a 2 year old’s birthday party today, but Avery has a little more recovering to do first. The good news is that we’re going to find another time to go down and visit with our old friends and see how grown their kids are now.

Not much happening this weekend, just a trip to Costco and getting our little girl back to normal. By normal, I mean the crazy, rampant and overzealous toddler that she is!

Do you have any plans for the weekend?

Have you nursed or witnessed nursing that helped your kid recover from illness before?

Going Reviews: Medela Quick Clean Products

Can you think of something that has an up and a down side?

Recently, Avery hit a growth spurt and was going through bottles just like her diapers! This is the up side as I was worried she wasn’t eating enough to facilitate growth. But the down side was how quickly the dirty bottles collected in the sink.

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Luckily, Medela sent us their Quick Clean™ products for review at the same time.

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Each day, I have to clean all of the bottles and the breast pump parts Going Mom uses at work. This can be difficult at the end of the day when Avery is demanding attention while I’m preparing dinner, picking up around the house, and Going Mom is just trying to change out of work clothes.

Medela’s Quick Clean™ product line includes:

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Since I’m not the one pumping breastmilk at work, Going Mom made use of the wipes and micro-steam bags while I used the breastmilk removal soap to tackle the mounting bottles at home. With feedback from my wife, I’ll go over each item providing our pros and cons.

Quick Clean™ Breastmilk Removal Soap

Medela’s description:

Quick Clean breastmilk removal soap removes stubborn breastmilk residue up to 3 days old and is clinically tested under physician supervision not to cause skin irritation. No-scrub soap is safe and hypoallergenic with no added fragrance or taste that might discourage baby from breastfeeding.

I had trouble accepting the “no-scrub” part of this soap, but appreciate that it is fragrance free and didn’t irritate my skin. I followed the directions on the bottle and used 3 pumps of soap for every gallon of lukewarm water. I let Kelley’s breast pump parts and all of the components of the bottles soak for 5 minutes and rinsed with water.

Not using the bottle brush saved a lot of time and it felt too good to be true. Unfortunately, it was too good to be true; at least the no-scrub part. After letting everything air dry, the bottles had a haziness that we haven’t seen before and just didn’t seem thoroughly clean.

But don’t wave this off as ineffective, I tried it again along with using the scrubber and everything came out clean; no haze! So maybe the soap cleans without scrubbing, but I don’t like seeing a haze and scrubbing will fix that.

Pros:

  • Can be used for all breast pump parts, bottles, nipples, and even dishes
  • Safe and hypoallergenic
  • No fragrance to irritate skin or alter taste for baby

Cons:

  • “No-scrub” didn’t work (for me)

Quick Clean™ Breastpump & Accessory Wipes

Medela’s description:

Convenient portable cleaning, no need for soap and water cleaning after each pump session.  Hygienic wipes proven safe for cleaning of breastpumps and accessories as well as high chairs, tables, cribs and countertops.

Kelley used these at work after pumping and liked them for the most part, but they left a soapy residue that needed to be rinsed. Also, it is difficult to get into the small areas of some of the parts with the wipes alone. She still prefers to just have me clean everything with the Quick Clean™ Soap when she gets home and that’s fine with me; she’s busy enough as it is!

Since the wipes are good for more than just pump parts, we are having better luck using them at home. Now that we’re starting baby-led weaning with Avery, I have a feeling they will be quite handy for the highchair!

Pros:

  • Able to use anywhere when on the go
  • Good for cleaning more than just breast pump accessories like high chairs, countertops, toys, and more
  • Hygienic

Cons:

  • Leaves a soapy film that sometimes needs rinsing
  • Can’t get into the hard to reach places on small parts

Quick Clean™ Micro-Steam™ Bags

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Medela’s description:

Disinfect your breastpump breastshields, accessories, breastmilk bottles, nipples, pacifiers and more in about 3 minutes.

Of the three products, these are hands down our favorite! Going Mom uses the bags at work and home to clean and sanitize all breast pump accessories and bottle nipples. We love how quick and efficient the bags are and they are easily transportable.

Pros:

  • Kills 99.9% of germs and bacteria when used
  • Simple to use
  • Great for storing pump parts and keeps you from losing the small pieces
  • Each bag can be used up to 20 times and even includes checkboxes to make sure you keep an accurate count
  • Very sturdy and will not easily rip or get punctured

Cons:

  • None

Overall, we have been happy with Medela’s Quick Clean™ products but love the steam bags the most. The soap is working fine now that I scrub and I honestly feel better about scrubbing dirty accessories anyway. Although the wipes aren’t the best solution for Going Mom when at work, I’m finding they are helpful for quick cleaning around the house.

Have you tried any of Medela’s Quick Clean™ products? If not, do you want to?

Any favorite cleaning solutions that you use?

Thank you, Medela, for allowing me the opportunity to use and review your line of Quick Clean™ products!

Disclosure: Medela provided everything mentioned in this post free of charge but did not compensate me for this post in any way. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my (and my wife’s) own.