On my soapbox

Okay, I'm going to take a few minutes to get on one of my soapboxes here. I figure if I can't do it here, where can I? I've recently seen a couple of editorials written in online newspapers about breast feeding in public. These were written by women who claimed to have breastfed their own children--although one said for only a couple of weeks. Both of these women were vehemently against nursing in public. One even started her column with how much she absolutely "hated" when women breastfed their children in public. She stated how it made everyone around them feel self-conscience and not know what else to do besides stare. Really? When you don't know what to do, you stare? One lady agreed with the manager of a furniture store who tried to throw a lady and her three children out of his store for nursing there. Thankfully, she knew her rights to be able to do this and stated them as so. But the writer of the article thought it would have been better for her to take her three small children out to the car (up north where it was freezing cold) and nurse her baby there, then come back to the store to finish her shopping--all so that it wouldn't make others feel uncomfortable. I'm sorry, but I just have to say that it's their problem if they feel uncomfortable. The baby is hungry. He needs to eat. Would you like to eat your lunch in the bathroom or in the freezing cold? I didn't think so. Not every outing can be scheduled around babies' feeding times--especially when you have more than one child.

I think this is the mindset that causes women to stop nursing earlier than they or their baby would like. It's inconvenient. When women are made to feel uncomfortable about nursing in public, they often stop before they would if it were "easier" to do. Not all women are as confident about it and willing to stand up for their rights as someone like say.... me. I've never had anyone confront me about it. Oh, I've wanted them to. I've waited for someone to ask me to leave or make a snide remark so that I could make a quick comeback. And that was a wrong attitude of me!! I have since mellowed some. Maybe I'm getting older. Maybe God's working on my heart a little more. Maybe both. I'm still very confident to nurse in public and would defy anyone who tried to take the right to eat away from my baby. But I would do it in a much nicer way these days. I also try to find an out of the way spot if I can, but that's not always possible with five other kids around.

In actuality, all I've ever gotten were nice comments when I've nursed my babies. I've had several older women tell me that they were so glad to see that women had the right to nurse in public these days. They always were made to feel like they had to hide--they could never have a social life when their babies were young because they had to be home to nurse. Wow! What commitment those women made to their babies. Talk about sacrifice! I even had a man in his 80's at church when Cedar was very young tell me that he never took a medication in his life until last year, and he knew that was because his mother breastfed him! :) I don't know if that's true, but that's what he believed. He said, "You know, it went out of style there for awhile, and I'm so glad to see you young moms doing it again. It's the best thing you can do for your babies." I loved it! He was so encouraging and supportive. I was sitting right there in the back of the church in the narthex nursing my baby. He could have been embarrassed or outraged that I was doing that AT CHURCH!! But he thought it was wonderful.

So I would encourage anyone who is feeling nervous or scared about nursing in public to do what you need to do for your baby! Make sure you feel comfortable with nursing at all first. Sometimes that relationship is hard to establish, and you need to work on that at home. But once you feel like the two of you have got it--go for it! Make sure you are confident in your decision and know your rights just in case you are confronted. Every state has laws that allow for breast feeding your baby in public. If you feel more comfortable covering up, there are great nursing cover-ups made specifically for that. I have many friends who use them. I cover up sometimes, depending on where I am. I used to never--but that goes back to my mellowing as well!! When I don't cover up, it has nothing to do with "wanting to expose myself" in order to make a point (which is what so many seem to think.) I can promise you, you see nothing when I nurse, and more than one person has thought that I was only holding my sleeping baby.


So now I'll step down off my soapbox.... and go nurse my baby!

Praying for my family

My heart is heavy this morning. I'm thinking about and praying for a cousin that I haven't seen in a very long time. In fact, when I saw I his picture on my aunt's facebook page the other day, I wouldn't have recognized him if she hadn't had his name on there! Crazy how time gets away from us. I'm praying for him today because his 18 year old son, Zach, died during the day on Saturday. I cannot fathom this. I pray that I never have to be able to. Zach's funeral is today.

What makes this even harder (if anything can) is that my cousin has been a single dad for the past 16 years. He has truly dedicated his life to being Zach's dad. He has put everything on hold in his own life for his son.... and now he's gone. I can't imagine the emptiness he's feeling. What must that feel like to pour every part of yourself into a child--molding them, shaping them, disciplining them, and loving them with every fiber of your being--only to have them abruptly vanish from your life right as they were really beginning theirs. It's an unimaginable thought. It's every parent's nightmare--and he's living it.

Zach and his dad lived with my uncle and aunt until Zach was about twelve. So they were like a second set of parents. He was their pride and joy. They are suffering immensely through this as they are trying to be strong and a support for their son while their own hearts are being ripped apart as well. My uncle is my mother's brother, and she is having a most difficult time figuring out how to be what he and my aunt need right now.

These are the hardest of human times. These times when there are no answers. There are no words. For those closest to Zach--especially his dad--there may seem to even be no reason to keep going right now. How is it possible that such tragedies occur? Nothing else matters in life when things like this happens. The economy, politics, unemployment rates, taxes, etc..... none of it matters. These are the times when families pull together and, for awhile, make a silent agreement to forget any other differences. These are the times when brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, husbands and wives (even ex-wives), and best friends are the most important people in the world, and they are irreplaceable. Somehow these people bring a little bit of divinity to our fallen humanity.

There are no answers for "why?" There never really will be until eternity. There is nothing to ease the hurt or stop the pain--for awhile at least. One day my cousin will have a life again. One day, with time, he will laugh again. He will pick up the pieces and go on. I hope he will even get married again and maybe even have more children. They will never replace Zach. Nothing could ever replace the hours, days and years he spent doing his best, doing what he thought was right for his son.

Our only hope is Jesus. My greatest desire above all else is to see my children come to Jesus--to see them place their lives and hearts in His hands. I desire this even above their own life. Because this life is fleeting. It may last 70 or 80 years or longer. Or it may only last 18 or less. But in any situation it is short in comparison to eternity. I want to make sure that I am spending eternity with my children, and that their eternity is with Jesus. I pray this for all of my family, friends and even the world. What the world needs is Jesus.

Pan Seared Grouper with Mango Salsa

I made a yummy dish tonight. My oldest loves fish and has been very disappointed lately with his lack of choices of food so I decided to get him some fish. I don't cook fish too often. That's not because I don't like it or don't know how. It's because I know that I should buy "wild caught" fish instead of "farmed" fish--which means waaaaay more money that I want to pay for it!! But I figured he was worth it so I got some today. Anyway, thought I would share the recipe because it was very good--and very easy!!

1 mango diced
1 papaya diced
3/4 - 1 C pineapple diced
1/2 red pepper diced (and sauteed)
2 tsp. diced jalepeno
fresh cilantro (I didn't put too much b/c my husband doesn't like it)
juice of two limes

Grouper filets
olive oil

Mix the first ingredients for the salsa and set aside.

Pour olive oil in cast iron pan. Sear filets about 3 -4 minutes on each side. Top with salsa and serve.

So yummy and good for you too!!

New Tricks

It wasn't a big surprise to me when the baby started crawling right at six months old. My last one crawled at five months--before she could really sit up!! I've had others crawl right at six months as well so the crawling was expected. But this weekend, Cedar started pulling up to a standing position on his own!! I've never had one do that this early. The sad thing is that once he's up, he cannot get down. He doesn't just fall down in a sitting position on his rear end. He completely topples over sideways every time! Sometimes he does it cleanly so no tears. Other times he pulls whatever he pulled up on over with him. It usually lands on top of him, and then there are lots of tears!! This is a very entertaining sight for my other children--my competitive children who can't wait for him to do his next "trick." Thankfully, hubby moved the mattress in his crib down today. Tonight when I put him to bed, he didn't want to go and started screaming within a few minutes. When I went back in, he was standing in bed. So glad his mattress was down, and he didn't topple out. But here we go with this!! Drives me crazy at this stage when they know they can stand up so they do in their bed, and then they scream because they can't get down. So fun!! :)

In other news, I felt the first bit of a bottom tooth poking through his gum tonight as well. My others have never had any trouble with teething so I'm praying this one follows suit! I'm guessing since it already popped through a little, we should be in the clear. Never even knew it was coming except that he has been chewing on everything in sight, but he's been doing that for two months so you never know!!

Here are a couple of pictures of his new trick!

Food allergy update

Well, the baby's food allergies seem to be subsiding. I've added back other grains (besides wheat, spelt, oats or anything that has gluten) and most other things, but I haven't added dairy yet. Partly because of the sugars in dairy--and I'm still not doing sugars because of the yeast issue--and partly because I wonder if he is going to react to the dairy itself since it's such a high allergen. I haven't been eating yeast either because of the yeast issue. So as of now, his bottom is pretty clear.

I do have to confess, though, that I failed the other day!! I hadn't eaten sugar since Christmas. I have put my boys on the no gluten diet (and my oldest on no gluten, dairy, or yeast--and very limited sugar.) But my seven year old is just doing no gluten because he is always having some skin issue or another. Anyway, he has a sweet tooth so I made him some "Muddy Buddies" out of Rice Chex, chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar!! Let me tell you--those are my absolute FAVORITE!! So I decided one isolated time would be okay. I ate some. It wasn't nearly as much as I normally would have, but I ate some. Oh my word--within 45 minutes I completely crashed!! I could not keep from going to sleep. It was the craziest thing I've ever felt because as I was sooooo tired, I was also on a huge sugar buzz. So in my drowsy, sleep state I was flying high!! Crazy! So thankful that the baby decided to take a long nap that day. I felt really guilty when Jon came home and I was sacked out in the bed!! Needless to say, Baby's bottom showed it for a couple of days. That yeast popped right back out there. But it's gone now!!

I have been taking some stuff called Yeast Assassin (Lite) from Beeyoutiful.com. There is a whole regimen that they recommend doing--about 5 or 6 different supplements with it. I'm taking most of them but already had a good probiotic so I'm not taking that from them. I think it's really helping to get the yeast out of my system (and baby's in turn.)

My chiropractor tested him the other day for a couple of things that I eat a lot of to see if he was reacting to that because the spots wouldn't seem to go away. Turns out, he's allergic to APPLES and SPINACH!! So after taking those out of my diet, he is really doing well. After a month or so of the Yeast Assassin I plan to start the dairy slowly and see what happens.

I'll let you know!! (And I'll post later about my older boys diets as well. They aren't too excited about the whole experience!!)

Fevers--Friend or Foe??

We've all been there. Child wakes up in the middle of the night, crying, whining, you sit down beside them, pull them into your lap, and--FEVER! They feel like they are burning up. You take their temp, and it's 102.2. What do you do? Do you run to get the Tylenol or Advil or Motrin? Or do you bed them down in your room and let them ride it out? If you are like most moms in America, you grab the fever reducing medicine, get it down them and wait for the fever to go down. After all, isn't that what you are supposed to do? Isn't that what your doctor says to do?

We need to start thinking about fevers a little differently. Instead of thinking of them as enemies, we need to think of them as our allies--fighting a battle for us! Try this. Next time one of your children (or you) develops a fever, imagine that it's saying this, "Slow down!! Rest a while! There's something in this body that's not quite right, and I need to get rid of it so I'm going to raise your body temp, keep you from feeling like normal so you'll lie down. Then I can focus all my energy on getting rid of that little microscopic invader!!" Do you see how much harm we can do then by taking a fever reducer?? Our goal as moms (and doctors as well, it seems) is to get our children (or ourselves) back to normal as soon as possible. We think that by seeing them bouncing off the walls again, we've done them a great service. Nothing could be further from the truth. You see, that fever is telling us that there is a foreign "germ"--whether viral or bacterial-- that doesn't need to be there. Our body temperatures rise so that we become an inhospitable host to that "germ." We (or our children) also feel like crap because of that rise in temp so we take it easy, sleep, and give our immune systems time to focus on those foreign invaders and do the job it was created to do! Sometimes this takes a few hours. Sometimes it takes a few days. That depends on how well our immune system is working and how much we've suppressed it. It also depends on the nature of the "germ" as well, obviously. If it's a viral infection--like chicken pox, hand, foot and mouth, Fifths disease, cold, or flu; we have to just let it run it's course. If it's bacterial--like ear infection, strep throat or other, it will sometimes need a little help to get rid of it. Most of the time these things are easily treated with homeopathics and herbal remedies. But I'm not saying that I haven't used the occasional antibiotic as well!! Garlic is a wonderful tool to draw out infections--by making a garlic poultice. When I use one, I place it on the chest for 60 seconds, the back for 60 seconds and the bottom of each foot for the same. The feet readily absorb anything!

But as far as the fever goes, we should consider them friends. They are our first line of attack--the first clue that something isn't right in there! Let's let our fevers fight for us, do their jobs. If you become uncomfortable with a rise in temp (like say, in the 103-104 range--even up to 105 for some kids who just always get high fevers) there are some other things you can do.

• Make a ginger bath with tepid water. Boil some water on the stove and slice some fresh ginger root into it. Let it steep at least 10 minutes then pour it into a tepid bath. Let child play in the bath for as long as he/she can stand it.
• Make a chamomile tea bath using same method.
• Peppermint tea cools a fever and chamomile calms and relaxes so you can make a combination tea for your child.
• There are several homeopathics for fever, but the two I have handy are aconite and belladona. Aconite--This is for the sudden onset of fever or at the very beginning of a fever--usually in winter. It's for a very restless child who is tossing and turning and difficult to calm down.  Belladona--This is for a feverish child who has chills or has a flushed or red face or body. His pupils are typically dilated. I have different children who always need the same fever remedy for them.

These remedies will not bring the temp down to 98.6, but remember that's not the goal! The goal of these fever reducers is to get the fever to a temp that you can feel comfortable with as a mother (usually around 100-102.5) and still allow the fever to do it's job. I usually try to put off using any reducer for a few hours and then use one of these for a little relief for the child. I hardly ever use anything for myself with a fever.

*There are a few things to remember: If any child  6 weeks old or under has ANY sort of fever (above 99) he needs immediate medical attention. If any child 7 weeks to 3 months has a fever above 101, he needs immediate medical attention. If your child has a stiff neck or any symptoms of meningitis, seek immediate medical attention. If you ever just have a "gut feeling" that something is wrong, take your child in! You are the mom, and no one knows your child better than you!

Dr. Sears has some really good tips and recommendations as well for fevers! He's always good when in doubt!

Yay for cousins!!

January 1 we headed off to my parents for ten days. The kids had a wonderful time playing with cousins and friends in GA. The day after we got back, my SIL (husband's sister) came into town here, and my kids got another week of cousin play!! How lucky can you get?? Of course, it kept me in vacation mode for WAY too long--and my house is the worse for it! But I wouldn't change a thing!

Shepley (right) and her cousin Lucy at their birthday party!

All the girls! We painted pottery!

Cedar and Mimi

The kids and me with my grandparents. My aunt kept Cedar that night, and I regret that he wasn't in the picture. But it was nice to have a night without him there! :)

Once we got back home. Yes, this was just this week (Wed. night) for those of you in the cold!! These are the grandkids on my husband's side. Hopefully my BIL and his wife will get busy and give us a couple more soon! :)

Three of the girls. They had so much fun together!

Omi and Cedar!

 Shepley and cousin John Caleb

Breck and cousin Lydia

A Sittin' and Rockin' Day

That's what today should have been! It should've been a "Sittin' and Rockin' Day" for #6. He's started a croupy cough again at night, and today his nose was kind of runny. He was totally enjoying just rocking this morning in the early hours--for all of five minutes--before I had to put him down so that I could get ready and get to Classical Conversations!! I felt so badly for him. If he had been #1 or even #2, he would have just been rocked and loved on all day. But instead, he was dressed, strapped in a car seat and carted off once again. He did get to spend the day in his Moby Wrap which he loves, but then I made him go to the mall for lunch in a stroller so that I could have lunch with a friend who needed some friend time! (Not that we got much of it with 9 children with us!!)

So poor thing. Now it's rainy and windy and cold outside--even more of a reason for a "Sittin' and Rockin' Day" and I really need to clean up this house!! After being gone for 10 days, we came home to my SIL coming into town with her two kids so we had more cousin time. So nothing's been done here in a while!! I still haven't unpacked from my trip. Those of you who know me well (especially college friends) know that that is NOT unusual for my old self!! :) But in the last few years I usually do better than that! :)

So this is how life gets too busy. This is how there's no time left to do the important stuff like make our babies feel better when they are sick. So now I'm going to pick him up, sit in the rocking chair and rock him until he goes to sleep--then I'll probably keep rocking him even more and get in all the kisses that I can. Because these days will soon be gone, and according to my husband, we will NEVER see them again (with anymore babies!)

*And just a side: Today is also a REALLY good day for coffee and a little something sweet that I am dying to have, and I can't have either. These food allergies are really getting to be a big pain!!

Starting the Journey--Food Allergies

I haven't posted in a while because I was out of town at my parents' house for 10 days. We had a great time and even left one child there for another week! What a blessing to be able to do that with home schooling!! While I was there, I met with a DO (Doctor of Osteopathy) that my mama goes to. He was great to talk to!! He is so knowledgeable, and I felt like I could have sat and talked for hours with him. I did stay almost two hours for the appointment!! Someone cancelled behind me so we just talked! Anyway, #6 has been having some issues, and I am now embarking on the new world of food allergies!

I've known since October that he was allergic to gluten. He developed some eczema on his legs, and I knew that gluten was usually the culprit. I stopped eating gluten (since the only food he was getting was breastmilk) and the eczema went away. Problem solved, right? Not exactly. Initially, it worked. But then more problems developed.

He had a yeast infection in his diaper area that was getting worse and worse. By December it was bad no matter what I put on it. I tried mixing breastmilk and probiotics, oregano and olive oil with probiotics, and even nystatin!! Nothing worked so I knew I needed to cut out sugar as well. The prospect of no sugar or gluten was not a fun one so I waited until after Christmas. I know that I upped my sugar intake when I started gluten free because it was the easiest stuff to grab on the run. Sugar feeds yeast. So I knew I needed to cut it out.

After four or five days of no sugar (including most fruit) the yeast started looking better. By the time I got to see the DO at mama's, the yeast was mostly gone, but it looked like there was more eczema underneath! I couldn't believe it, and didn't want to!! But the doctor confirmed it.

So now I've been on the "Elimination Diet" since Jan. 6. I've taken everything out of my diet that could be allergy producing--gluten (wheat), any other grains, sugar, dairy, nuts, soy, mushrooms, corn, bananas or other high sugar fruit, etc. So basically I'm eating meat, some veggies, and some fruit.

The doctor muscle tested #6 and me and found yeast in both of our GI tracts. I believe this came as a by product of pregnancy and then antibiotics that I had to take during labor because I was GBS+. I always have yeast infections when I'm pregnant (they are very common and easily attainable during pregnancy when your pH balance is off) and this time it was worse than usual. Antibiotics can cause yeast because they throw off the flora in your gut. They get rid of all bacteria--which means the good along with the bad! I tried to take probiotics, but I probably wasn't as diligent as I should have been. All that to say that the baby developed it as well, and now it was showing!!

Some articles that I've read have shown that yeast can cause eczema as well so maybe that's our answer. Maybe the initial reaction of the eczema disappearing after I stopped gluten was because all those products also have yeast. But then when I ate more sugar, it came back. I don't know! I'm still trying to figure it all out. But for now, I'm still on the elimination diet. Another idea is dairy. I know that can cause it as well. These are the main culprits for most food allergies--gluten, dairy and yeast.

The eczema is getting better. It's completely gone from his stomach and only a little on the backs of his legs and buttocks. It should be!! I'm not eating anything!! :)

I've always been thankful for no food allergies in my kids (or so I thought--I think my other boys have them now as well.) My SIL and other good friends have had to deal with them, and I've always admired their tenaciousness when it comes to following through. So I'm following in their footsteps and will be asking a lot of questions along the way. Now, just one more thing my life that I have to spend tons of time researching and educating myself about. *Sigh*

So I'll be posting about my journey periodically--interesting finds, successes, and failures--as well as good recipes. I'm so thankful for my SIL and friend from college that send me recipes from time to time. They have both been on this journey for longer than me, and I am grateful for their help in answering my questions and helping me think things through.

If anyone is interested, here is a great website about food intolerances. Most of us have them (75%) and they show up in all different ways--things that you may have been dealing with for years and didn't think anything about. (Itchy skin, chronic runny nose, dandruff, asthma, headaches, stomach issues, etc.) Check it out and see if you can live an easier life!! :)