Wednesday, February 27, 2008

what's in a diaper wipe anyways?

i used diaper wipes with india. then when kalden came along my awareness about chemicals and toxins was heightened and i took a look at what i was using to clean my kids butt. needless to say, after reading this i switched to a plain old cloth with warm water. kalden's bum has never looked better. :)


Cleansing ingredients

Water is the main ingredient and serves as a carrier and
diluent for the other ingredients. Baby wipes also contain mild detergents mixed with moisturizing agents, fragrance, and preservatives. The detergents most commonly used are known as amphoteric surfactants, similar to those found in baby shampoos. Sodium diamphoacetate and coco phosphatidyl PG-dimonium chloride are primary
surfactants used in wipes. These chemicals don't strip the skin of natural oils and also decrease skin
irritation potential. Mildness is a prime consideration given that the wipe solution may be in contact with delicate skin around the anus and genitals.
Humectants such as
propylene glycol and glycerine are added to prevent premature drying of the solution and contribute to skin moisturization. In addition, some formulas incorporate oils such as mineral oil, lanolin, or silicones that help to soften skin. Thickeners, such as cellulose derivatives like hydroxymethyl cellulose, control the viscosity of the finished product and keep it the right consistency.
Other ingredients include preservatives, such as
methyl and propyl paraben, to ensure the solution does not support microbial growth. Fragrance is usually added to increase consumer appeal and to help over-come body odors, but fragrance-free products are also offered. Featured ingredients may also be added to increase consumer appeal. These include natural ingredients that are known to be kind to the skin such as aloe vera or oatmeal extract.





do anti-depressants work as well as we think?



this article touches on something that i feel pretty strongly about. researchers found that most people do as well on sugar pills as they do on actual depression med's. therefore the placebo effect is largely responsible for mood improvement among anti-depressant users.

it is downright frightening how many people have taken, or currently take mood altering medications (myself included!). are we, as a society, not concerned about this? do we really think the "happy pills" are the answer?

on a discussion board that i'm part of, this topic became quite heated as people became defensive and somewhat aggressive. scientists (and eastern philosophers) know that the mind/body connection is much more powerful than we give it credit. we CAN control our moods without drugs, we just don't know how.

of course, it also has to be pointed out that there is little money to be made is just living healthier, doing yoga and eating your veggies. but there is a hell of a lot of money to be made selling little pink pills to everyone who feels down.
and why do we all feel so down anyways? is it because we're all self absorbed, caught up in our consumer culture, sitting in our SUV's going to the drive thru window at mcdonald's and then home to watch american idol and big brother 79? we are isolated in our society. we don't support one another. hell we don't even give up our seat on the bus for a pregnant lady. we don't talk. we IM, PM, text, email and maybe call. but do we take the time to sit with our friends and talk? more importantly do we take the time to listen?

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

i've been gone gone gone, been gone so long

i lost my mind.

it's true.

it's funny now but it wasn't funny about 3 weeks ago.

several months ago kalden began to wake up at night every single hour. before that there had been stretches of a few hours, maybe but then one day it became EVERY SINGLE HOUR. and on a really bad night he woke up every 45 minutes.

people didn't believe me. people told me he must be sick. people thought it was funny. (those people are dead now). i honestly started to become sick. i think my body thought that i was dying. i gained weight, cried all the time and yelled at my husband every day. there is a real reason that sleep deprivation is used as torture.

and kalden was miserable. he was cranky every second of the day and rightfully so - he was TIRED!

it got to the point where i took kalden to the doctor and just by my appearance, the doctor took me seriously. he said "this is NOT normal." i could have kissed him. he referred me to a pediatrician that he said could help me. but he said he could see no physical reason causing the lack of sleep. he could aslo see that even though kalden had just woken up from his nap, that he was tired.

so that night out of sheer frustration, i nursed kalden, patted his bum and then put him in his pack and play and i left the room. let me say this. i do not believe in "cry it out" methods. i think that babies cry for a reason and as a parent it's our job to respond.

however, after 11 months of no sleep and on the verge of a complete nervous breakdown i honestly had no choice. in his whole life, kalden has never slept on his own, never played by himself, never self soothed. and after 11 months it was time.

so he cried. it was more like protesting than crying and it last about 20 minutes. then 45 minutes later he woke up and cried again for a few minutes. then he SLEPT. for HOURS. he woke up at 2 and made some noise and then slept until morning.

since then, he has gone to bed at 8:00pm every night without a peep and he has slept until morning. it's like i've been reborn. i love sleep.

i think we timed it very well because during all this kalden was learning to walk and i've heard and read from a few sources that babies start sleeping better once they learn to walk. maybe that helped. all i know is that my son is like a new child. he's happy and playful and EVERYONE has noticed the difference.

and i have started excercising and wearing makeup and buying new clothes... i have a lot on my plate but i now i think i can actually handle it.

so i'm back.