Natural Treatment for Severe Childhood Eczema

When my daughter Jasmine was 18 months old, eczema covered half of her little body.  Doctors had told me that it was a benign childhood condition, but she scratched sometimes until blood and tissue were under her fingernails. At night she couldn't sleep unless she was 'sedated' with Benadryl and Tylenol.

An allergist had told us her condition was not caused by food or environmental factors.   I was beside myself with frustration and deep, deep sadness that my baby was so miserable and I was powerless to help her.

Her eczema had begun at just 6 weeks old with red spots on her cheeks.  By 3 months old, she had oozing red patches bigger than the palm of her hand.  She was given antibiotics and a huge assortment of prescription creams.  Absolutely no medical intervention helped.

We sought help from a naturopathic doctor (Dr. Peter Klassen in Waterloo) who ordered an IgG test which examines food sensitivities for over 100 different foods using only 3 tiny drops of blood. While we waited for the results he put both me and Jasmine on a G-I cleanse: no red meat, no dairy, no acids or citrus.

 The IgG test results revealed that Jasmine had an extreme sensitivity to eggs and a high sensitivity to dairy, gluten, soy, peanuts, sesame and citrus. Immediately those foods were eliminated from her diet and mine, along with preservatives, yeast and sugar. It was essential that I follow the restricted diet strictly, since at that time Jasmine was still nursing up to 20 times/ day. She began a regimen of homeopathic treatments and other supplements including vitamins C and D, calcium/magnesium, acidophilus, fish oil and flax oil.

Within a month Jasmine's eczema was completely gone. GONE. She began to eat and eat and eat and to nurse less. She slept through the night. I recovered my sanity. I fell in love with Dr. Peter....no, no, no, not really. But I sure was impressed!

Now Jasmine is 4 years old.  We control her eczema by avoiding most of the foods that trigger the bright red popcorn-looking spots that erupt behind her knees, on her ankles, inside her elbows and sometimes on her cheek bones that itch like crazy.

To take away the itch I apply Melaleuca, commonly called Tea Tree Oil.  But not all tea tree oil is created equal!  I once purchased a bottle of tea tree oil at a health food store that was so strong I could only use it in the laundry because just the scent of it stung my eyes.

Melaleuca as a Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil is the perfect topical treatment for the horrible burning and itching of eczema.  When I apply it directly to Jasmine's skin it is instantly soothed and moisturized and she doesn't scratch at all.  The MDs all told me to put cortisone cream on her, but knowing the harmful side effects made me seek a safe alternative.

If your child has eczema, I strongly recommend getting an IgG test.  I paid $220 for it and it has been worth every dime.  If you learn how to control your child's eczema through diet, then when an outbreak occurs, you can treat it with Melaleuca Essential Oil to take away the itch.

Jasmine, age 3.5 years, virtually eczema-free

I'm not a doctor, just a mom who's been through the frustration of childhood eczema.  If you have any questions, please contact me.

Why Giving up a Career Matters

The other night Julian (15 months) woke up at 5am.  He thrashed around a little until he was fully awake and needing attention.  I tried to nurse him, I tried sitting up and rocking him, I tried rubbing his little belly in case he had gas:  nothing settled him down and after about 30 minutes he was crying.

I carried him out to the living room where he sat on my lap quietly for a while.  Then he seemed to want to lay down so we went back to the bedroom.  But he wouldn't lay down.  We repeated this little routine for the next hour.  Bedroom, living room.  Bedroom, living room.  Then we sat on the edge of the bed for a while and finally, close to 7am, he fell asleep in my arms.  Carefully, I laid him down and crept into bed beside him, desperate to fall asleep again.

And I did!  I fell asleep instantly.  (I have a lot of experience with interruptions to my sleep.)  When Julian and I simultaneously opened our eyes, it was 9:20am.  We had had a full night's sleep in spite of the 2 hour interruption.

But imagine if I had gone back to work this September when my maternity ended.  I would have had to get out of bed at 7am, just as Julian was going back to sleep.  I would have had to get my 3 daughters up and fed, then wake up Julian and get all the children out the door by 8am.  I'd have to drop off the two older children at a daycare for before and after school care, and then make a second stop for the younger children for full-day care.

I'd arrive at work already exhausted.  Since my career was as an elementary school teacher, I'd spend the day in a facility designed to turn every sniffle and cough into an epidemic.  Then I'd get to bring those germs home to my tired baby.  I'd be likely to get sick.  At least one of my children would get sick.  I'd have to work while I was sick since I'd need to save my paid sick days for when my children would be sick.  Chances are, I'd be in a state of semi-sickness all the time.

And that's not to mention the stress!  Feeling crazy-tired, I can't even imagine how hard it would be to save my best self for my children at the end of the work day.  And Partner-Guy gets stressed at his job, too.  Would I have anything left of myself to listen to him and offer support?

There's lots and lots of research available to support how important it is to small children to be home with their mothers.  And there's lots of research to tell you that it is fine to balance family and career and that your children will not suffer.

But I'm not even talking about the children here.  I'm talking about me.  If I had to go to work everyday, I'd lose my mind.  I did go back to work at a school for 4 months when I was pregnant with my 3rd daughter.  Partner-Guy stayed home with the oldest girls, but it was still really, really hard.  I had tremendous guilt for a long time when I was on maternity leave and I had to work very hard to heal the chasms I had created in my relationships with my daughters.

And I know how lucky I am.  It is only because we are coming from a place of privilege that I can even BE a stay-at-home-mom.  I know how fortunate we are to be able to live comfortably on one income.  Not all women have the luxury of choice when it comes to working or staying home with their children.

Some women can find the family/work balance.  Both my sister and Partner-Guy's sister are mothers who have full-time professional careers.  My brother's wife is able to work from home with her son by her side.  Several of my friends were able to work part-time or in temporary positions in between their babies' births.  And I know other moms who work at full-time careers and who are clearly miserable and stressed all the time.

I don't have any answers about finding the balance between being a mother and having a career.  But I know that I place less value on my career than on my health and sanity.  I'm not capable of being the kind of mom that I aspire to be AND working full-time at my career.  I only want to find my Freedom and Joy.

For me, waking up at 9:20am beside my joyful son is as good as it gets.

Tomorrow:  Why Picking the Right Guy Matters

Breastfeeding, Fertility, Conception and Contraception

Note to Some Readers:  This post contains details about me that may make you uncomfortable.

Have I ever mentioned that I am completely over-the-top crazy about pregnancy, birth and newborn babes?  Especially my own?  But I even love babies when they aren't mine!  When I see a woman in her 3rd trimester I start to have heart palpitations.  When I read a really good birth story I weep because I am jealous.  When I am close to a newborn I want to breastfeed it myself!

Yes, it's an addiction.  I probably need professional help.

But actually, until now, I've been able to satisfy my addiction by continually having babies.  Four kids in 84 months is a pretty good way to fill up my yearning for pregnancy, birth and newborns.  Which brings me to a very significant problem:  I've just become fertile again.  We aren't ready for another baby for at least 3.5 years.  And we have no idea what to do about it.

Let me explain.

My first daughter, Anna, was conceived just 9 days after I stopped taking the birth-control pill.  After she was born I was pretty grossed out by how heavy I was, so I went on a serious diet and ended up getting my first period when she was just 4 months old.  Fortunately I was able to achieve amennorhea again (for 6 months) by increasing breastfeeding.  My daughter Holly was conceived the first time I ovulated when Anna was 11 months old.  When Holly was 12 months old I conceived again (without having a period first), but I had a very early miscarriage.  When the bleeding stopped I conceived my daughter Jasmine. 

Jasmine was an amazing nurser and she had some serious food sensitivities so breastmilk was her primary source of nutrition until she was around 18 months old.  At 20 months we got help for her condition and she began to eat more food.  My son Julian was conceived when Jasmine was 21 months.

So as you can see, we are not having any fertility issues.  Actually, we do believe in using birth control:  I obtained a diaphragm from my doctor after Anna was born.  However, I've found from experience that it is not a very good choice for us....mostly because it has lived sight-unseen in the medicine cabinet for the last 7 years.

So now it appears that our Ultra-Fertility is actually a problem.  (I swear I can conceive just by looking at Partner-Guy from across a crowded room.)  We simply can't have another baby right away and my plan to use breastfeeding to prevent conception is apparently not going to work.

And there is actually a really good reason why we can't have another baby right away:  In 3 years Partner-Guy will have a 14-month paid leave-of-absence from his job and we intend to sell our house and spend the year travelling across Canada.  We feel it just wouldn't be fair to our other children if we bring a baby on the trip because the baby will occupy most of my attention.  So we intend to wait until we come back. 

Which brings me to the million-dollar question:
How are we going to prevent conception for the next 3+ years?

Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

Gluten-Free Egg-Free Dairy-Free Banana-Cherry Muffins

Did you know that there are HUNDREDS of blogs out there about cooking to accommodate specific dietary restrictions?  Really.  There are probably thousands.

And every time I accidentally stumble upon one of them I think I know a lot about that.  Jasmine (my 3-year-old) and I had to go gluten-free, egg-free and dairy-free a couple of years ago when she had severe eczema.  So I have a lot of recipes under my belt but since this not a blog about cooking I have never bothered to mention them.  I do try to stay focussed on unschooling and authentic parenting, with just a little bit of Green Living thrown in once in a while.

BUT....

I made some totally amazing muffins this week and since I am going to be away for a while (and I write all my posts well in advance of when they are published) I thought I would throw in this one little recipe this one time and see if I get any positive feedback.....or just a lot of silence.  Or static.  I'm not sure which is worse....

Gluten-Free Egg-Free Dairy-Free Banana-Cherry Muffins

1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour mix*
1/2 cup medium coconut
1/4 cup chopped maraschino cherries

*Gluten-Free flour mix:  Thoroughly blend 3 cups rice flour, 1 cup potato starch and 1 cup tapioca starch.

Using your food processor, blend the banana, honey and oil until smooth and liquid.
With the processor turned OFF, dump in the G-F flour mix.  Add the baking soda, baking powder and salt.  Process until smooth. 
Add the coconut and cherries and blend slowly and gently.
Put in muffin tins and bake at 350F for 20 minutes.
(If you are making these for someone else and you are not familiar with using G-F flour, you may be unaware that rice flour is a little bit gritty in baking.  You might think that the coconut is an optional ingredient, but it actually helps to hide the gritty-ness of the flour.  It also makes the muffins a little bit sweeter.)

Enjoy your muffins!

Update: Treating Breastfeeding Problems at 10 Months

A couple of weeks ago Julian and I were having some breastfeeding problems.

1. He seemed disinterested in nursing.
2. My milk supply was dropping.
3. His little teeth seemed to be grinding on my like sandpaper.

I made an appointment at the Newman Breastfeeding Clinic & Institute.  It is run by Dr. Jack Newman, one of the world's greatest authorities on breastfeeding, consultant to La Leche League and author of many breastfeeding books.  Dr. Newman wasn't at the clinic that day but I was seen by two lactation consultants on his staff, the clinic director Edith Kernerman and a pediatrician, Dr. E. Weinberg.

Regarding the first problem--Julian's lack of interest in nursing--they recommended that I offer to nurse as often as I can and that I make it fun, easy and comfortable.  I was pretty much doing that already and that problem has taken care of itself.  In fact, Julian is asking to nurse now as often as he was a month ago, much to my relief.  Indeed, I am thrilled that he no longer appears to be trying to wean at all.

Regarding the second problem--dwindling milk supply--they recommended that I continue to drink the Nursing Tea and that I add some herbs:  Fenugreek and Blessed Thistle, 3 capsules of each, 3 times a day.  They also talked about my diet--which is already so healthy that they were pretty impressed!--and they suggested that my recent loss of milk may have been caused by simply not eating enough.  So I'll be upping the calories, I guess.

Regarding the third problem--unbelievably sore, torn nipples--they diagnosed yeast as the culprit. They recommended probiotics for Julian-- 2 times a day for 7 days, and for me--2 capsules 3 times a day for a month.  They also prescribed the Dr. Newman All Purpose Nipple Ointment (APNO) which has to be made a compounding pharmacy and contains an antifungal and an antibiotic.  It can also be used on Julian if I see signs of a yeast infection on his little bum.  Finally, they suggested drinking Grapefruit Seed Extract in water.

I was pretty surprised that they diagnosed yeast as the cause of my pain because I was so sure that the problem was Julian's latch.  On the other hand, I've had problems with yeast since I was in my early 20s (sigh--was that really 15 years ago?).  I asked the clinic director if it would be OK for me to work with my naturopath to do a detox and she said that a slow and gentle cleanse under the direction of my naturopath would be completely safe for both me and Julian.  This was very good news to me, since I've been eager to do a total body cleanse since I first started seeing Dr. Peter Klassen 2 years ago.

So I'm doing almost everything they recommended and I am seeing some improvement.  I still have to pick up the special ointment from the compounding pharmacy and I am getting a little impatient to get started using it.   Hopefully the pain and irritation are cleared up in a few more days.

Thankyou for the kind words of support from many of you who wrote comments or sent me an email of encouragement.  If you have a breastfeeding problem at any stage or age or nursing, please contact an expert and get help.

P.S.  To give probiotics to a baby, simply open the capsule and pour approximately 1/4 of the powder into the baby's mouth OR wet your finger and dip it into a little powder on the palm of your hand then let your baby suck it off.

Breastfeeding Problems at 10 Months

Something is going on with my little Julian.

Last week he developed a fever and started vomiting.  The vomiting lasted for only 12 hours but the fever dipped and spiked for 4 days.  He was not at all interested in solid food while he was sick and he nursed on demand, staying hydrated and sleeping fairly well.

As the fever passed he became interested in food again and in the last few days he seems to have lost interest in nursing.  Completely.

I am confused and scared about this new development.

When I offer to nurse him--usually when he is ready to nap--he will latch on, but only for a couple of swallows and then he throws back his head and starts to cry.  After I settle him he will try to nurse again, but it lasts for only a few (sad) seconds and then he sucks his thumb to fall asleep.

In the night he will seek me and want to nurse, but usually he is latched on for only a few swallows before choosing his thumb to fall asleep with again.

He also seems to have changed his latch:  He is not effectively using his tongue to cover his bottom teeth and make a good, deep latch.  The result is extraordinary pain for me as his top and bottom teeth grind and tear as he nurses.

And the final problem is that practically overnight I have totally lost my milk supply.  I'm stunned that in just a few days of nursing less my body has nearly turned off milk production.  Maybe my body is just telling me that it is worn out from producing milk for 80 of the past 85 months?

So there are actually 3 problems:

1. Julian doesn't seem interested in nursing.
2. When he does nurse, his latch is terrible.
3. My milk supply has dramatically decreased.

Not one to sit around in confusion, I am trying to work out some possible solutions.

Lack of Interest  I am continuing to nurse on demand for as long (or short) as Julian wants.  But whereas I used to be content to let him sooth himself with thumb first, I will now offer to nurse first in the hopes that he might want it.  And when he nurses for only a few swallow, I will smile my encouragement and make sure that he knows how much I enjoy nursing him and cuddling him.  In short, I will make nursing a more mindful activity and I will include more affection.

Pain due to Poor Latch  I have been primarily nursing in the side-lying position since Julian was born.  Since we don't go out much, this is pretty easy.  It also means that there are few distractions for him while nursing because I have usually taken him into the bedroom (away from his sisters).  Now, I am trying to nurse him every position:  cradle hold, football hold, sitting upright with him straddling my lap, and with him on his back and me above him.  By changing positions with every feeding I am not letting his little teeth gnaw on the same spot over and over and thus my body is able to heal a little bit between feedings.  Already, this has helped A LOT.

I have also considered that perhaps his poor latch is due to teething pain.  He already has 8 teeth, but he might be working on his 1-year molars so I am giving him Camilia, a homeopathic remedy for teething.  Not sure yet if this is working.

Sudden Reduced Milk Supply  When your baby is a newborn, the key to getting a good milk supply is to let the baby suckle at the breast often and long.  When the baby is 10 months old and seems to be loosing interest in breastfeeding, there are two solutions:  stimulate the breast by pumping or use an artificial augmentation.  Since I don't own a breast pump, I chose to start drinking Fenugreek Tea which I have used in the past to increase my milk supply.  So far, so good!  The Fenugreek Tea produces a more rapid letdown which gets Julian more interested in continuing to nurse. 

AND, as a final attempt to fix these problems, I have booked an appointment with Dr. Jack Newman.  Do you know of him?  He is a world-renowned breastfeeding expert and he has a clinic right here in Toronto just a few miles from my home.  I'll be sure to report back with his suggestions.

Are you asking yourself:  If her baby seems interested in weaning at 10 months, why is she trying so hard to keep him nursing?

1. Just as much as I believe in the value of child-led weaning, I believe in the value of extended breastfeeding.  I would like Julian to continue nursing for AT LEAST another year.  Not only will he benefit from the nutritional value of my milk, he will also benefit from the emotional closeness and soothing that comes from being a nursing toddler.
2. Round-the-clock nursing is the best and easiest way to delay the return of my fertility.  I'm not committing to no more babies, but I do feel a little bit saturated these days and I am not ready to add another baby to our family for a few years.
3. I've never nursed a toddler without also being pregnant, so I would love to have the opportunity to enjoy nursing Julian for as long as he wants without my brain thinking about a new little on the way. 
4. Breastfeeding is EASY.  For sleep, comfort, nutrition--it's all covered!  Liquid love!  The milk of my heart!  If Julian weans I will have to THINK so much more about how to meet his needs and show him my unconditional love.

When I talked to my mother about what is going on with Julian, I told her that if he weans right now I am going to need counselling because I will be SO SAD.  Let's hope it doesn't come to that! 

Maybe Julian and I are just going through a change.  And maybe I am strong enough to meet his needs and surround him with my love no matter what happens.

A Tale of Toilet-Users

My daughters each became diaper-free at different ages.  Anna was 26 months, Holly was 18 months and Jazzy was 22 months.

But what precipitated each daughter's learning to use the toilet for eliminating was that she was dry through the night.  Anna and Holly were each dry at around 16 months of age, and Jasmine was dry at night from 12 months old.  (Jasmine REFUSED to sleep wearing anything--even a diaper--and somehow she hardly ever wet the bed.  I can almost say that I don't understand it.)

It has become 'normal' in modern Western culture for children to continue to need a diaper at night at 4 years, 5 years, 6 years and even older.  Products are marketed that make it seem normal and some kids shows even talk about how wetting the bed is nothing for a school-age child to be embarrassed about.

Sometimes a medical condition exists that impedes a child from control his or her bladder, even when he or she is easily mature enough to understand and want to be free of diapers.  But sometimes there is not a physical abnormality and the child still can't stop passing urine before getting to a toilet. 

Now I'm not saying that there is something wrong with children who aren't toilet-users by the age of 3, but maybe there is something wrong with them.  Maybe parents have routinely been denied access to the information that would help their children gain bladder control more easily and at a younger age.

Let me say that I am NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL.  I can only go on my experience with my own children and on anecdotal evidence from people who I know quite well.  And from what I've learned, there is likely a simple, diagnosable reason why many children are still in a diaper beyond 30 months old.

FOOD SENSITIVITIES

Without much effort at all, I found multiple medical websites that suggest that food sensitivities can hinder a child's ability to sense a full bladder and hold it.  Most notably, the websites suggest both dairy and gluten as the most likely culprits.  (I'm not going to bother including all the links:  you can find them by Googling dairy and bedwetting).

 Now I KNOW you can't believe everything you read on the Internet.  And I KNOW that every child is different.  And I KNOW that cow's milk is highly recommended as an important food in the diet of children older than 12 months.  And I KNOW that Elimination Communication can play a role in early toilet use.  And I KNOW that there are probably lots of children out there who eat 6 servings of dairy products per day and who were diaper-free at a very early age. 

But I also know that my daughter Jasmine was dry throughout the night at 12 months old and that neither she nor I were consuming dairy products after her birth.  And my daughters Anna and Holly ate VERY LIMITED dairy products and they were diaper-free, day and night, at 26 months and 18 months respectively.

Obviously, every parent has to make the choices that are best for their own children.  But if your child seems to want to be diaper-free but is unable to control his or her bladder, will you consider that food sensitivities to dairy or wheat could be causing the problem?  Go to a naturopath and ask for help to eliminate dairy and wheat from your child's diet (and your own if you are still breastfeeding).  This does not have be a long-term diet change.  But just imagine if you could help your child become diaper-free just by making a simple, temporary adjustment.

It's just an idea.

And if you vehemently disagree, please don't flood my comment box with negative rebuttals. 

Feeding Your Baby without Buying Baby Food

WARNING:  This post contains graphic description of infant bowel movements.  Reader beware.

Julian is 10 months old this week and we haven't purchased a single jar or box of baby-associated food. 

We saw my family doctor when Julian was 6 months old and she gave me the standard lecture about how breastmilk is not enough for him and his body needs iron.  I told her that I wouldn't be feeding him any iron-enriched cereals so she said that he had to eat meat.  No problem.

After my experience with feeding my oldest daughter Heinz rice cereal fortified with iron, I knew that I would NEVER feed that crap to a child again.  My doctor had INSISTED that Anna eat it beginning at 6 months and as a new mother, I listened to her.  Anna hated it so I watered it down and tried to pour it into her mouth.  She swallowed some of it. 

Anna at 10 months old.

By the next day I realized that it had been 24 hours since she had pooped (she had been exclusively breastfed up to that point and always pooped twice a day).  Because I still had the doctor's lecture ringing in my ears I gave Anna more cereal the next morning.  Another 24 hours went by without a bowel movement.  The next day I didn't feed her the rice cereal.  She nursed and nursed and became more and more irritable.  On the fourth day after I had first fed her the cereal I was nursing her in the morning and I could tell by her body language that she was trying to poop.  Suddenly she held her breathe, pushed, and then screamed.  I whipped off her diaper and I could see that she was trying to push out a hard lump the size of a pingpong ball.  She was screaming and crying and shaking her entire little body in an effort to get it out. 

She cried for an hour and as I held her I was crying and shaking too.  I was so ANGRY that I had done something to my baby that hurt her so much.  I phoned my local La Leche League leader, got some good advice and never fed Anna (or any future baby) rice cereal again.

Anna was over a year old before she became very interested in food.  I would try to feed her pureed foods such as sweet potatoes and banana.  I was pretty mainstream about food back then, inspite of rejecting the rice cereal, so I gave her Arrowroot cookies to mash up, although I would NEVER give those to a baby now.  She continued to nurse 12-20 times per day until she started to walk at 14 months and I think the added activity made her more hungry and she started to eat a lot of fresh fruit.  She also got her molars at around the same time which likely helped her to chew and enjoy a greater variety of foods.

I've learned how to follow my baby's cues better and better with each baby.  Julian ate purees for only a few weeks and by 8 months I was giving him foods on his tray that he could pick up and eat successfully--cooked carrots and potatoes, small pieces of banana, even chunks of soft apple and pear that he could suck on and gnaw off little pieces and swallow.  At 10 months old he has 7 teeth and he very good at using them.  He especially loves to bite off pieces of watermelon if I hold it up for him.

He eats a lot of meat;  I used to grind it in a baby-food grinder but now I just mash it with a fork and let him pick it up.  I can tell by his poops that his food is fully digested and I am pleased to say that he has never been constipated on his diet of fruits, vegetables and meat.  I rarely offer him baked foods, although he has chewed on the occasional crust of homemade bread.  Cow's milk and eggs are not in his diet yet, but I doubt that he will have the same food intolerances as Jasmine.  We eat very little in the way of dairy products, so I doubt that it will ever become a significant part of his diet.

He's a healthy happy baby, that's for sure!

Julian with the baby-food grinder at 9 months.

Do you avoid commercial baby food? 

Candy Culture

Partner-Guy and I are fighting.

It's not disastrous.  He doesn't want to do something unthinkable like--gasp!--send the kids to school.

He wants the kids to eat candy.  Aaaargh.  And he talks about candy.  More than he talks about sex.  Seriously.

So we aren't fighting exactly, but we are definitely not on the same page when it comes to eating healthy food and giving our children healthy food options.  It's an ongoing annoyance.  Like a hang-nail.

HIS SIDE

If Partner-Guy were going to write a book of parenting philosophies, the title would be "Put a Smile on Your Child's Face".  He just loves to do the things that make his girls happy.  And if they squeal with delight and wrap their little arms around his neck, he wears a glow that lasts into the next week.

For him, the cheapest, easiest means to getting that big loving reward is with candy.  He says, "A little bit isn't going to hurt them.  It's only once in a while.  What's the big deal?"

MY SIDE

(You know this going to be longer, right?)

I work my patootie off trying to provide healthy food for my kids.  I bake bread twice a week.  I make muffins, loaves and low-sugar cookies every week.  I spend easily an hour a day washing and cutting up fresh raw fruits and vegetables.  EVERY dinner that we eat is made from scratch.  My windows are all filled with pots of seedlings for the vegetable garden.

That's in addition to eating so carefully during each of my pregnancies and succeeding with 4 natural births and breastfeeding exclusively for 6+ months and continuing to breastfeed on demand until each child naturally weaned.  And consider that one of my children is sensitive to wheat, dairy, eggs and soy and I have had to learn and create new recipes for everything we eat!

When there is candy in the house it is the ONLY thing the girls can think about and talk about.  I swear it calls to them from the cupboard.  And they won't eat anything else because they want to save their hunger for the candy.  I'm not joking.

CANDY CULTURE

I hate Candy Culture.  It is everywhere and it is insidious.

There is a song on a Barney video that goes If all the raindrops were lemonballs and gumdrops, Oh what a sight that would be!  Standing outside with my mouth open wide!  Ah, ahahah, ahahah, ahahah!  There is a Franklin episode where he has a fight with his friend Bear and then Bear tries to make up with Franklin by asking him to go to the candy store.  And that's just a start...children's literature is full of references to candy.  It drives me crazy.

For me, Candy Culture is worse than Barbie dolls and action figures.  Toys can be manipulated to portray a positive message.  For example, I've seen my daughters make their Barbies breastfeed each other.  But candy is just bad.  And the problem with candy is that it makes kids (and adults) want more candy.  It is addictive and it changes their brains and affects their behaviour.

Because Partner-Guy talks about candy in tones of heavenly adoration, our daughters think it is the most desirable food on Earth.  The problem is that it is not FOOD.  Mixing sugar and chemicals together and marketing it as food does not make it food.

I've relented about candy once in a while.  I even made Holly a huge gingerbread house for her last birthday.  But I couldn't wait for it all be eaten and I even invited the cousins over to help get rid of it faster.

For me, candy is just all about fighting with my kids.  Why would I allow something into my house that makes my kids fight with me all the time?  I can't do it.  Before Julian was born I told Partner-Guy "You aren't wrecking this one."

Oh, help.

What is your solution to the candy problem?  Do you think having candy in moderation is OK?

(And come back tomorrow when I reveal how we solve major issues at our house.  It's a tried-and-true solution that really works!)

My Baby Won't Stop Crying

Julian awoke screaming in the middle of the night.  It was sudden.  Primal.  Scary.

I sat up quickly and held his taut little body, rocking, while he cried himself back to sleep.  Unsure of what had just happened I gingerly lay him down beside me.  He awoke screaming again a few hours later, an instant replay.  There was no mistaking the pain in his cry, but what was causing it?  I was mystified.

It was early December and Julian was just coming up to 5 months old.  He was a happy, thriving baby but over  the past couple weeks he had become particularly irritable.  He arched and cried whenever I changed his diaper.  He freaked out about putting on his snowsuit.  He stopped cuddling into me when I rocked him to sleep.

The day after the screaming episodes he was pretty normal, but after he fell asleep in my arms in the evening I tried to lay him down in the bed and immediately he awoke screaming again.  This time he didn't stop.  At midnight I resigned myself to spending the night sitting up with him in my arms.  It was rough.  And I was still stymied by his crying.

The next day, tired but coping, I noticed a change in Julian's nursing.  Which is to say:  he stopped nursing.  He barely nursed enough to keep me from being engorged, which is pretty strange at 5 months postpartum.  I knew something was seriously wrong. 

I turned to my Breastfeeding Answer Book, a gigantic 700-page volume that I had purchased when I was a La Leche League Leader.  I looked up 'Fussy at the Breast' and I found an identical description of Julian's symptoms.

• choking or coughing
• back arching and head turning (away from the breast)
• intense crying and irritability
• feeding resistance and/or refusal

He had Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder.  The acids in his stomach we flowing back up the tender tissue of his esophagus, causing extreme pain.  The arching was actually to try to pull his esophagus away from his stomach to reduce the irritation.

Oh, my poor baby.

The book described two possible treatments:  keep the baby always upright until the symptoms disappear and offer short frequent feedings (for several weeks or months) or seek medical help and a prescription for Ranitidine which would reduce his production of stomach acids so that his little esophagus would heal.

I prefer not to give my exclusively breastfed babies ANYTHING but breastmilk (that's why we choose an alternate schedule for vaccinations).   But I also prefer to sleep laying down.  Partner-Guy and I decided that it would be best for all of us to try the drug.  So I hopped in a cab with Julian and headed to my Family Practice at Sunnybrook Hospital where a very kind doctor by the name of Purti Papneja listened to my concerns, took them seriously and prescribed the medication without further investigation.  She told me that either it would work in the next 36 hours or else Julian did not have Reflux and further (invasive) diagnostic procedures would be necessary.

The Ranitidine worked.  It is two months later and he is now taking 2mL/day, down from 6mL/day back in December.  I've tried weaning him off the drug, but we continue to need a maintenance dose almost daily.

I KNEW there was something wrong.  A baby doesn't just wake up screaming for no reason.  But I wonder how many mothers have taken crying babies to doctors who told them "Babies cry.  Just put him down.  He'll grow out of it."  Many, I suspect.

Mothers, you have to trust yourselves.  When your baby cries in a completely different way or at times when she's never cried before, something is wrong.  Trust your baby.  Trust yourself.

A Baby's Need for Iron

I took Julian to the doctor for his first appointment last week.  Ordinarily babies are seen by the family doctor at 2 months, 4 months and 6 months in order to follow the recommended vaccination schedule, but all of my babies have started their doctor visits around 6 months of age.

After the usual lecture about the dangers of delaying vaccinations, my doctor started her rehearsed speech about the baby's need for iron.  I had heard it 3 times before.  How breastmilk doesn't provide sufficient iron to meet the baby's need beyond 6 months and how I needed to get him on iron-fortified cereal.

Not gonna happen.

But I had a lot of questions.  How can all babies need the same amount of iron at 6 months?  Wouldn't the iron needs of a baby weighing 14lbs at 6 months be different from a baby weighing 20lbs?  Wouldn't it matter if the mother was iron deficient or not during pregnancy?  What about babies who are fed both formula and human milk?  What are the biological and developmental consequences of insufficient iron during months 6-12?

I think these are questions that need to be answered by the medical establishment.  Apparently even the medical establishment thinks so.  (Click here to read more about that.)

So my doctor gave me a bunch of papers to help me learn about iron.  According to the Ministry of Health, babies approaching 1 year of age need approximately 7mg of iron per day.  Since breastmilk contains only about 0.5mg of iron per liter, a mother should assume that her exclusively breastfed baby is getting less than 1mg of iron per day. 

 Dr. Peter Klassen, our very trusted naturopath, informed me that the need for iron (for a healthy, thriving, exclusiviely breastfed baby) does not increase until around 9 months of age.  That makes me less concerned about trying to get Julian to eat food, since he is not very interested in it yet.  Dr. Peter suggested introducing a variety of foods to Julian but to keep nursing on demand.

Alternative sources of iron (in baby-sized portions) include

• Tofu, 20g (approximately one heaping tablespoon), 2.1mg
• White beans, 1 tablespoon, 0.5mg
• Kidney beans, 1 tablespoon, 0.35mg
• Lentils, 1 tablespoon, 0.45mg
• Cream of Wheat, 1/4 cup, 0.6mg
• Oatmeal, 1/3 cup, 0.35mg
• Prunes, 2 chopped or stewed, 0.5mg
• Dried apricots, approx. 3, 1mg
• Blackstrap Molasses, 1 tablespoon, 3.6mg

These are foods I would be willing to feed my baby.  They are available from most retailers of organic foods and they are easily prepared at home.  Of course, there is also iron in meat but since Julian's blood type is 'A', the same as mine, he is a natural vegetarian so I am not going to introduce meat to his diet until he has successfully assimilated and adapted to a wide variety of vegan foods.  More info on iron in other foods can be found here.

Of course I will watch Julian for signs of iron-deficiency.  But as long as he continues to thrive--like the poster boy for health and vitality!--I will not worry.

Treatment for Severe Childhood Eczema (My Daughter Jasmine)

This is our Jasmine.

When Jasmine was just 6 weeks old little red spots began to appear on her cheeks. By three months old she had oozing red areas bigger than the palms of her hands on each cheek. She was misdiagnosed by two different doctors at Sunnybrook as having impetigo and when I disagreed with the diagnosis I was yelled by a nurse: "If you don't give her antibiotics she could die!"

At 5 months old I took her to a paediatrician. Multiple creams were prescribed and finally I agreed to give her antibiotics. There was no improvement. The paediatrician was mean, rude and useless but at 16 months she eventually referred me to an allergist. A scratch test for the 8 major allergens turned up completely negative and the allergist told me to start feeding her everything. The next day I offered her some yogurt. She spat it out and wiped her mouth with her hands. Within minutes her lips and fingers began to swell up like popcorn. So much for the allergist.

At 18 months I felt that Jasmine's skin had reached a crisis point. Bright red patches of eczema covered more than half her body and she scratched sometimes until blood and tissue were under her fingernails. At night she couldn't sleep unless she was 'sedated' with Benadryl and Tylenol. I was beside myself with frustration and deep, deep sadness that my baby was so miserable and I was powerless to help her.

At that point we found Dr. Peter Klassen, a naturopath in Waterloo who had treated my sister's eldest son for eczema and allergies when he was a baby. Dr. Peter ordered an IgG test which examines food sensitivities for over 100 different foods using only 3 tiny drops of blood. While we waited for the results he put both me and Jasmine on a G-I cleanse: no red meat, no dairy, no acids or citrus. The IgG test results revealed that Jasmine had an extreme sensitivity to eggs and a high sensitivity to dairy, gluten, soy, peanuts, sesame and citrus. Immediately those foods were eliminated from her diet and mine, along with preservatives, yeast and sugar. It was essential that I follow the restricted diet strictly, since at that time Jasmine was still nursing up to 20 times/ day. She began a regimen of homeopathic treatments and other supplements including vitamins C and D, calcium/magnesium, acidophilus, fish oil and flax oil.

Within a month Jasmine's eczema was completely gone. GONE. She began to eat and eat and eat and to nurse less. She slept through the night. I recovered my sanity. I fell in love with Dr. Peter....no, no, no, not really. But I sure was impressed!

That was almost a year ago. I have continued to bring Jasmine to Waterloo to see Dr. Peter every 6-8 weeks, and he successfully treated me for severe nausea during my pregnancy too. Over the winter and in the spring I began to introduce soy and wheat back into her diet. She had no negative reaction so I gradually increased the amounts. By June her eczema had returned and I returned her to the restricted diet. I contacted Dr. Peter numerous times in June and July and finally in August we went to see him again (with little Julian along for the ride). He recommended that I restrict my diet again since Jasmine is still nursing 2-3 times/day and he changed her supplements. This time she didn't improve.

At the beginning of this month I spoke to Dr. Peter on the phone and he suggested that he had perhaps exhausted the treatments he could recommend. I choked down a sob as tears filled my eyes. Great, I thought, back to square one. But he had another treatment in mind that he couldn't offer at his office. It's called bioenergetic intolerance elimination. I looked online and found a place that offers the treatment and it's located just 10 minutes from our home.

From the website of D'Avignon Digestive Health Center:

BIE works by “clearing” the energetic pathways of the body. These
bioenergetic pathways, or meridians, whose existence has been confirmed through
electro-magnetic imaging technology, allow energetic signals to flow
continuously throughout the body via the nervous system. Any number of factors
can cause a disruption in the normal (healthy) flow of energy through the body’s
meridians. These disruptions interfere with the communication between the brain
and body, causing energetic abnormalities which can underlie a wide range of
symptoms and conditions, including allergies, sensitivities and
intolerances.
During the procedure, the client is exposed to the allergenic
substance (which is held in a glass vial), while a hand-held device is used to
transmit a low electronic frequency at various meridian sites on the body. As
the electronic frequency clears blocked meridians, the body’s cells interpret
the allergen’s energetic frequency as “non-threatening”, resulting in the
elimination of adverse reactions to the cleared allergen.

 We've attended two sessions so far. Jasmine has been SO cooperative and willing to participate in the treatments. The holistic allergist--we call her Dr. Jane although she is not a doctor--first treated Jasmine for any sensitivities in the foods she is currently eating a lot of: rice, vegetables, chicken. At the next appointment she worked on soy and gluten.

The eczema is not getting any worse and I am not going to start introducing new foods into Jasmine's diet until we've completed at least 4 treatments.  But I am confident that the treatments will be successful and that I won't have to keep Jasmine's diet so restricted for the long term. I am especially looking forward to being able to eat a greater variety of foods too!

I'd really like to know why all these alternative diagnostic tools and holistic treatments are not available through the Health Care System. Clearly the allergist we saw when Jasmine was 18 months old was WRONG, but why couldn't he have recommended the IgG test? And what about the people who can't afford any treatment from a practitioner who isn't an MD? I sure would like to hear the answer from someone like Dalton McGuinty. If his daughter had suffered the way Jasmine had suffered, wouldn't he have spent any amount of money to help her?

So far we estimate that Jasmine's treatment has cost almost $2000, including the cost of travel to Waterloo, visits with Dr. Peter, diagnostic tests, supplements, vitamins, special foods and the BIE treatments. It is money well spent. If it had cost $10,000 we would have still been happy to spend the money. The FREE health care available offered us absolutely nothing in terms of a solution.

We are forever grateful to Dr. Peter for the help he has given us and we highly recommend his services. He has incredible knowledge and his approach is kind and gentle. Just the fact that he would recommend the BIE  treatment for Jasmine is proof of his integrity and his dedication to the well-being of his patients. Although visiting his office is not at all convenient for us, we are committed to seeking his help to enable us to improve and maintain the health of all 6 of us.