Don't Worry About Gang Violence or Drugs...The New Menace is Hugs!

Article in the New York Times For Teenagers, Hellow Means 'How About A Hug?'

And schools from Hillsdale, N.J., to Bend, Ore., wary in a litigious era about sexual harassment or improper touching — or citing hallway clogging and late arrivals to class — have banned hugging or imposed a three-second rule...Touching and physical contact is very dangerous territory,” said Noreen Hajinlian, the principal of George G. White School, a junior high school in Hillsdale, N.J., who banned hugging two years ago. “It was needless hugging — they are in the hallways before they go to class. It wasn’t a greeting. It was happening all day.”

I'm disheartened that touch, a basic human need IMO, is so taboo in our culture. We aren't talking romantic hugs here but friend hugs - even straight boys which I find to be a nice movement away from homophobia. How do we define public displays of affection?

I come from a touchy family. I kiss all my relatives on the lips and hug as hello and goodbye. Is this 'pda'? I'm of the thought that I want people to touch my baby! Touch is basic human connection and when we lose it we are opened up to treating people as things. I love this article about why normally kind people get road rage.

I am thrilled the next generation are hugging! Maybe we can learn from them!

Babies and Food: Not Your Mother's Baby Food

A friend of mine recently had her mother-in-law (MIL) give her 3 1/2 month old a taste of ice cream!  Her MIL said "no big deal it was just a taste."

Now, I and my other mommy friends gasped!  She's only three months old!  All that sugar (or worse yet HFCS)!  Cow's milk!  Artificial colors and flavors!  I can honestly say if it had been Aellyn I would have been in tears and hopping mad!

According to my mom, she says even she is tempted to give Aellyn tastes of things.  When I was a baby she was advised to give me cereal at two weeks old!!!  I think our parents' generation may have an ingrained impulse to give our babies "real" food.  I don't think this is particularly anti-breastfeeding but just a way we share love.  Imagine grandma telling you to "eat up, there is plenty more!"  We, as new parents, have to inform our loved ones what the baby can and can't have.  If they think you're crazy tell them this:

1. An infant who is breastfed has a lower pH in their gut than formula-fed babies or adults.  This inhibits growth of certain pathogens.
   
   
2. Mother's milk, particularly colostrum, protects the baby by creating an anti-inflammatory barrier blocking bad germs from entering the blood stream (don't forget all those immune factors ).
   
   
3. The digestive tract is immature and not able to produce the needed quantity of enzymes to process the proteins, carbohydrates, or fats in foods.  This can lead to gas, diarrhea, constipation, and other gastrointestinal distress.
   
   
4. This immaturity also means that the intestines are "open" or non-selective in the proteins that it allows to pass through the intestinal wall.  Mother's milk coats the intestines with IgA, a substance that blocks the absorption certain allergenic proteins.
   
   
5. These same IgA are antigen specific, meaning if the mother (and thus the baby) are exposed to a certain type of virus or bacteria, the mother's body produces IgA that blocks that pathogen in the baby's intestinal tract.
   
   

Basically a breastfed baby has a 'virgin' gut.  All the good bacteria nature intends and protection against the worst pathogens and allergens during this delicate time in their lives.  Introducing foods too early upsets this delicate balance.  Additionally it can predispose a child to other illnesses:

Decreased Iron Absorption:

 Introducing foods with iron (or supplemented with iron, such as formula) decreases the efficiency of the baby's iron absorption.  At 1 year of age, breastfed babies with no iron supplmentation had higher levels of hemoglobin than babies supplemented with iron (Pisacane A, et al. Iron status in breast-fed infants. J Pediatr 1995 Sep;127(3):429-31).

Increased Risk of Type I Diabetes:

 When cow's milk is given before the infant's gut is closed the body can become sensitized by the immune response to the proteins.  This sensitization is the initial step in the development of insulin dependent diabetes (Kostraba JN, Cruickshanks KJ, Lawler-Heavner J, et al. Early exposure to cow’s milk and solid foods in infancy, genetic predisposition, and risk of IDDM. Diabetes 1993; 42:288-295 and
American Academy of Pediatrics, Work Group on Cow’s Milk Protein and Diabetes Mellitus. Infant feeding practices and their possible relationship to the etiology of diabetes mellitus.  Pediatrics 1994; 94:752-754).)

For more information I really recommend reading The Case for the Virgin Gut.  Our babies' grandparents clearly don't have iron deficiency, irritable bowel syndrome, or diabetes on their minds when they see your little cherub!  Just remind them to show their love without food until you give them the green light!

Pouty Face

I couldn't wait until Wednesday to post something this cute!

Everything is a Miracle: My 300th Post

300 posts! I can't believe the journey I've been on and the blog friends I've made a long the way. Beth and FlyGirl, the first IFers that got pregnant. All the Cycle Sistas that cycled with me. All the girls at Stirrup Queen's mega blog list. Family. Friends. All the blogger mamas I've met since I got pregnant. All the bloggers I've me through Mothering and GCM. Tears come to my eyes at what this blog has done for me. You are all a blessing to me. Thank you.

I wanted to post something poignant for my 300th post and I decided on my favorite essay by my favorite modern thinker. I think he saw the world differently than we do - from relativity to peace to Kindness, Beauty, and Truth.

Albert Einstein: The World As I see it

"How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving...

"I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. The ideals that have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully, have been Kindness, Beauty, and Truth. Without the sense of kinship with men of like mind, without the occupation with the objective world, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific endeavors, life would have seemed empty to me. The trite objects of human efforts -- possessions, outward success, luxury -- have always seemed to me contemptible.

"My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities. I am truly a 'lone traveler' and have never belonged to my country, my home, my friends, or even my immediate family, with my whole heart; in the face of all these ties, I have never lost a sense of distance and a need for solitude..."

"My political ideal is democracy. Let every man be respected as an individual and no man idolized. It is an irony of fate that I myself have been the recipient of excessive admiration and reverence from my fellow-beings, through no fault, and no merit, of my own. The cause of this may well be the desire, unattainable for many, to understand the few ideas to which I have with my feeble powers attained through ceaseless struggle. I am quite aware that for any organization to reach its goals, one man must do the thinking and directing and generally bear the responsibility. But the led must not be coerced, they must be able to choose their leader. In my opinion, an autocratic system of coercion soon degenerates; force attracts men of low morality... The really valuable thing in the pageant of human life seems to me not the political state, but the creative, sentient individual, the personality; it alone creates the noble and the sublime, while the herd as such remains dull in thought and dull in feeling.

"This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of herd life, the military system, which I abhor... This plague-spot of civilization ought to be abolished with all possible speed. Heroism on command, senseless violence, and all the loathsome nonsense that goes by the name of patriotism -- how passionately I hate them!

"The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, no longer marvel, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed. It was the experience of mystery -- even if mixed with fear -- that engendered religion. A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, our perceptions of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty, which only in their most primitive forms are accessible to our minds: it is this knowledge and this emotion that constitute true religiosity. In this sense, and only this sense, I am a deeply religious man... I am satisfied with the mystery of life's eternity and with a knowledge, a sense, of the marvelous structure of existence -- as well as the humble attempt to understand even a tiny portion of the Reason that manifests itself in nature."

You can read more of this essay here .  Thank you for being part of the miracle of everything.

Take the Quiz! How Crunchy a Parent are You?

I created a just for fun quiz called the Crunchy Parent-O-Meter .  Take the quiz and see how crunchy you are.

Bradley Reunion and Visit to the Snowflakes

Our Bradley childbirth class had a reunion today. We actually meet and talk to the new class of expectant parents about our birth experiences. The other babies from our class are all 6 months old now - Aellyn was the baby by about 3 months. It was neat to get a sneak preview of Aellyn's development. The other kids are sitting and babbling away! So cute.

The Bradley classes meet at the Cleveland Clinic in the same building as our Fertility Clinic so we took Aellyn to say hi to her 3 "snowflake" brother and/or sister embryos at the embryology lab.  Behind that glass door is where Aellyn was conceived and spent her first 3 days before returning to mommy's belly!  This is also the home of those wonderful people at the Partnership for Families.

Wordless Wednesday: Bath Time!

Embarrassment of Riches

If you are currently in the midst of infertility struggles, you may want to skip this post.  As the title indicates, what I'm about to say is a shameful blessing in IF land.

My arms are full of my beautiful 3 month old IVF miracle baby.  If you are new to my blog...long story short:  January of 08 we went to the dr. to inquire about donor sperm after NINE YEARS of trying to get pregnant with insemination.  IVF was our best bet but completely out of our price range. Well, the dr. offered us a grant from a foundation called Partnership for Families - they paid for EVERYTHING for our IVF and basically gave us our daughter.


I called on Thursday to talk about our 3 frozen embryos and how much it would cost to transfer them - we wanted to know so we could spend the next two years scraping the funds together...

The Partnership is paying for the FET (Frozen Embyro Transfer)!!!!


I can't even describe how I feel. This miracle, grace, charity, blessing just brings me to my knees. These kind (rich) people gave me a baby and they will help us attempt to bring her brothers/sisters home.  I'm so humbled.  How can I ever pay back or pay forward a gift like this?

A friend on a message board had a great answer to this last question: "I think you can pay it forward by raising great kids... kids who will become the kind of people who will make a positive contributions to this world. Because your loved and respected kids will grow up to bring joy to others and will also raise great kids, the forward paying continues." 

Conscious Friday: Michelle Obama's Elitist Organic Garden

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Little Crop of Horrors
thedailyshow.com
This post uses humor but think about what this is saying? Organic is the cause for obesity? cancer? starvation? Crazy! Also, "limousine liberal?" What? The inspiration for Conscious Friday comes from Se'Lah at Necessary Room.
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

Lessons from Kayleigh

I have been missing in action from blogging this week because I was overwhelmed with emotion when I heard that Kayleigh Anne Freeman is finally at peace.  Born at 1 pound her whole life was lived attached to tubes for 10 months and now she is no longer in pain.

I'm a very emotionally person and I always have been but something has changed in me since Aellyn was born.  I am an empath and I feel strongly the emotions of others.  I stopped watching the news September 12, 2001 because I couldn't stand to feel the pain of the people as the plane slammed into the World Trade Center.  The news played it over and over and I think people become desensitized to the real humans in the story.  I remember when the Israelis had to evacuate the Gaza Strip.  It wasn't about what was right or wrong - I cried my eyes out on the way to work hearing the stories from both sides on NPR.  I stopped listening to the news that day too. 

But this was different.  I wasn't just sad that Kayleigh passed away - although I was.  The emotion was so much larger than that and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it all week.  This is what I've come up with.  I'm sad of course for her parents.  Her mother will never bake cookies with her on a summer afternoon and her dad will never get to walk her down the aisle and I ache for their loss.  I'm sad for the doctors and nurses who gave so much of themeselves to save her and must be empty now that she's gone.  The difference is I don't find myself sad for Kayleigh.  When I look at the pictures of her beautiful face gazing into the eyes of her parents I had a strange epiphany.  Kayleigh lived her whole short life surrounded by perfect love.  She never knew hatred or war or racism.  Her parents never had a bad day and snapped at her.  She had hundreds of people around the world praying for her; pouring out their love for this little girl they never met.  Kayleigh experienced the best of humanity.  Pure and unaffected.

I think we sometimes see love as a feeling we have when someone does something we like.  We wait around for this emotion to overtake us as if we were helpless to make it happen for ourselves.  If someone is not in a "relationship" then they don't know love, we assume.  I think we have it all wrong.  Love is something in us all.  Something invisible and yet tangible.  I could give Aellyn food, clothing, and make sure she had a clean diaper and she would shrivel up and fade away (this actually happens).  Love is the currency of the human soul and it can not live without it.  The best part, and the part we often don't realize, is that we have an unlimited supply of love to give.  You can't ever run out.  You don't have to cover it up or dim the light.  You don't have to portion it out or wait for someone to love you first - you can let it shine everywhere.  Shine on the least deserving to the most.  And as it nurtures the recepient it also nurtures the giver twofold.

This is what Kayleigh teaches us.  It is easy when looking at a helpless baby who is sick and fighting for life to know that we have infinite love to give.  You don't have to know her personally or her family, ethnicity, political affiliation, or social class.  You just love her.  She moves you - it feels like sadness but I think it is the unadultrated outpouring of love we feel.  It strips us raw to the core of our souls.  We see ourselves vulnerable and divine.  As Victor Hugo said, "Love partakes of the soul itself. It is of the same nature. Like the soul, it is a divine spark; it is incorruptible, indivisible, imperishable. It is a point of fire within us, which is immortal and infinite, which nothing can limit and nothing can extinguish. We feel it burning even in the marrow of our bones, and we see it radiate even to the depths of the sky."

What if we woke up tomorrow and decided to love without reservation?  To pour out to everyone we meet the same feeling we have for Kayleigh?  What could that kind of love do?  What could it heal?  How much would we accomplish?

I say, let's find out.

My First Mother's Day

I spent my first Mother's Day gettin our first set of professional portraits done for Aellyn, who will be 3 months old tomorrow.  We went way overboard and ordered tons of photos!  Here are some of the pictures we got of our little angel!  Happy Mother's Day everyone!

To My Daughter

Daughter, 


Be strong. Be intelligent. Smile.

Know that beauty has everything to do with how you feel about yourself and nothing to do with looks or other people's opinions.
Never do anything just because everyone else is if you believe it's wrong.
Always be true to yourself.

Expect the best from life and that's what you'll get.
Learn from your mistakes and failures.
Believe in magic and wish on stars.
Love and trust and be compassionate.

Make faces. Play in mud puddles. Take bubble baths.
Turn off all the lights and watch lightening storms.
Dance, laugh, cry, and sing when you want to.
Read everything you can get your hands on.
Stand up for what is right especially if you stand alone.
Don't allow yourself or people around you to tolerate prejudices of any kind.

Don't be afraid to try something new.
Do something daring at least once a week.
Run through snow drifts.
Spin in circles and roll down hills.

Pet puppies, hold kittens, and talk to babies.
Take afternoon naps. Stay up to watch the sunrise.
Never apologize for being a woman or for being yourself.
Never forget that I love you more than any other person in the world, no matter how far apart we are you will always be my daughter.


author Anonymous.  Artwork: Mother and Child by Klimt

Mmm Mom, Give Me Some More of that Ganglioside and Lactoferrin: Breastmilk Does a Body Good

Breast is Best!  It is the common theme of the breastfeeding advocacy.  But why is Breast Best?  Besides the bonding experience and the benefits to the infant from head to toe , breastmilk is nature's miracle liquid providing important protection to an infant with an immature ability to fight off illness on their own.

I feel like sometimes breastfeeding as seen as a rite of passage or a badge of uber-motherness.  A litmus of how much of a crunchy, hippie mama you are.  We pay just lip service to "breast is best" because it is the more "natural" choice and because of the attachment benefits to the infant (physical closeness, feed on demand, etc.).  Although these are important, it might be missing the biggest point about breastfeeding - that breastmilk is biologically designed to optimize the health of human babies.

LaTrobe University Department of Microbiology has studied Human Milk to find out exactly what goodies lurk inside that liquid gold (I highlighted some I found interesting).

Antiviral components of Human Milk and the viruses they work against

Factor	Shown in vitro to be active against
Secretory IgA	Polio types, 1,2,3. Coxsackie types A9, B3, B5, echo types 6,9, Semliki Forest virus, Ross River virus, rotavirus, cytomegalovirus, reovirus type 3, rubella varicella-zoster virus, rhinovirus, herpes simplex virus, mumps virus, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, human immunodeficiency virus, hepatitis C virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis E, measles, sin nombre hantavirus, SARS virus, Norwark and noroviruses.
IgE	Parvovirus B19
IgG	Rubella, cytomegalovirus, respiratory syncytial virus. rotavirus, human immunodeficiency virus, Epstein-Barr virus, sin nombre hantavirus, West Nile virus.
IgM	Rubella, cytomegalovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, human immunodeficiency virus, sin nombre hantavirus, West Nile virus.
Bifidobacterium bifidum	Rotavirus (by increasing mucin)
Chondroitin sulphate (-like)	Human immunodeficiency virus
α defensins (1-3)	Herpes simplex virus, vesticular stomatitis virus, cytomegalovirus, influenza, human immunodefiency virus
ß-defensin 1 or α-defensin-5	Adenovirus
Haemagglutinin inhibitors	Influenza, mumps.
Lactadherin (mucin-associated glycoprotein)	Rotavirus
Histo-blood group carbohydrates	Norwalk virus
Lactoferrin	Cytomegalovirus, human immunodeficiency virus and reverse transcriptase, respiratory syncytial virus, herpes simplex virus type 1, herpes simplex virus type 2, hepatitis C, hepatitis B, poliovirus type 1, adenovirus 2 and Friend retrovirus. Also binds to the virus receptors, low density lipoprotein receptor, and heparin sulphate proteoglycans. Hepatitis G, rotavirus and Seoul hantavirus
Lipid (unsaturated fatty acids and monoglycerides)	Herpes simplex virus, Semliki Forest virus, influenza, dengue, Ross River virus, Japanese B encephalitis virus, sindbis, West Nile, Sendai, Newcastle disease virus, human immunodeficiency virus, respiratory syncytial virus, Junin virus, vesticular stomatitis virus, cytomegalovirus, mumps, measles, rubella, parainfluenza viruses 1-4, coronavirus, bovine enterovirus (C12), poliovirus (C18), African swine fever virus.
Lysozyme	Human immunodeficiency virus, ectromelia
alpha2-macroglobulin (like)	Influenza haemagglutinin, parainfluenza haemagglutinin.
Milk cells	Induced gamma-interferon: virus, PHA, or PMA and ionomycin Induced cytokine: herpes simplex virus, respiratory syncytial virus. Lymphocyte stimulation: rubella, cytomegalovirus, herpes, measles, mumps, respiratory syncytial virus, human immunodeficiency virus.
Mucin (muc-1; milk fat globulin membrane)	Human immunodeficiency virus, pox virus
Non-immunoglobulin macromolecules	Herpes simplex virus, vesicular stomatitis virus, Coxsackie B4, Semliki Forest virus, reovirus 3, poliotype 2, cytomegalovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, rotavirus.
Neutrophil-derived α-defensin-1 (HNP-1)	Herpes simplex virus 1
Ribonuclease	Murine leukaemia, human immunodeficiency virus
Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor	Human immunodeficiency virus, sendai, influenza
Sialic acid-glycoproteins	Adenovirus 37
slgA + trypsin inhibitor	Rotavirus
Soluble intracellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1)	Rhinoviruses (major-group) 3, 14, 54; Coxsackie A13
Soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 (VCAM-1)	Encephalomyocarditis virus
Sulphatide (sulphogalactosylceramide)	Human immunodeficiency virus
Vitamin A	Herpes simplex virus 2, simian virus 40, cytomegalovirus
Factors found at very low levels in human milk	Shown in vitro to be active against
Prostaglandins E2, F2 alpha	Parainfluenza 3, measles
Prostaglandins E1	Poliovirus, encephalomyocarditis virus, measles
Gangliosides GM1-3	Rotavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus 37
Gangliosides GD1a, GT1b, GQ1b	Sendai virus
Glycolipid Gb4	Human B19 parvovirus
Heparin	Cytomegalovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, dengue, adenovirus 2 and 5, human herpesvirus 7 and 8, adeno-associated virus 2, hepatitis C

Antibacterial components of Human Milk and the bacterium they fight against

Factor	Shown in vitro to be active against
Secretory IgA	E. coli (also pili, capsular antigens, CFA1) including enteropathogenic strains, C. tetani, C. diphtheriae, K. pneumoniae, S. pyogenes, S. mutans, S. sanguins, S. mitis, S. agalactiae(group B streptococci), S. salvarius, S. pneumoniae (also capsular polysaccharides), C. burnetti, H. influenzae. H. pylori, S. flexneri, S. boydii, S. sonnei, C. jejuni, N. meningitidis, B. pertussis, S. dysenteriae, C. trachomatis, Salmonella (6 groups), S. minnesota, P. aeruginosa, L. innocua, Campylobacter flagelin, Y. enterocolitica, S. flexneri virulence plasmid antigen, C. diphtheriae toxin,E. coli enterotoxin, V. choleraeenterotoxin, C. difficile toxins, H. influenzae capsule, S. aureusenterotoxin F, Candida albicans*,Mycoplasma pneumoniae
IgG	E. coli, B. pertussis, H. influenzae type b, S. pneumoniae, S. agalactiae, N. meningitidis, 14 pneumoccoccal capsular polysaccharides, V. choleraelipopolysaccharide, S. flexneri invasion plasmid-coded antigens, major opsonin for S. aureus
IgM	V. cholerae lipopolysaccharide, E. coli, S. flexneri
IgD	E. coli
Analogues of epithelial cell receptors (oligosaccharides and sialylated oligosaccharides)	S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae
Bifidobacterium bifidum growth factors (oligosaccharides, glycopeptides) Other Bifidobacteria growth factors (alpha-lactoglobulin, lactoferrin, sialyllactose)	Enteric bacteria. Two infantBifidobacteria species provide a lipophilic molecule which killsS. typhimurium. B. bifidum produces Bifidocin B which kills Listeria.B. longum produces protein BIF, which stops E. coli.
Carbohydrate	E. coli enterotoxin, E. coli, C. difficiletoxin A
Cathelicidin (LL-37 peptide)	S. aureus, group A streptococcus, E. coli
Casein	H. influenzae
kappa-Casein	H. pylori, S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae
Complement C1-C9 (mainly C3 and C4)	Killing of S. aureus in macrophages,E. coli (serum-sensitive)
�-defensin-1 or -2 or neutrophil-α-defensin-1 or α-defensin-5 or -6	E. coli, P. aeruginosa, (some Candida albicans )
Factor binding proteins (zinc, vitamin B12, folate)	Dependent E. coli
Free secretory component	E. coli colonization factor antigen 1 (CFA I) and CFA II, C. difficile toxin A, H. pylori, E. coli
Fucosylated oligosaccharides	E. coli heat stable enterotoxin,C. jejuni, E. coli
Ganglioside GM1	E. coli enterotoxin, V. cholerae toxin,C. jejuni enterotoxin, E. coli
Ganglioside GM3	E. coli
Glycolipid Gb3	S. dysenterae toxin, shigatoxin of shigella and E. coli
Glycoproteins (mannosylated)	E. coli, E. coli CFA11, fimbrae
Glycoproteins (receptor- like)+ oligosaccharides	V. cholerae
Glycoproteins (sialic acid -containing or terminal galactose)	E. coli (S-fimbrinated)
alpha-Lactalbumin (variant)	S. pneumoniae
Lactoferrin	E. coli, E. coli/CFA1 or S-fimbriae,Candida albicans , Candida krusei,Rhodotorula rubra, H. influenzae, S. flexneri, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans
Lactoperoxidase	Streptococcus, Pseudomonas, E. coli, S. typhimurium
Lewis antigens	S. aureus, C. perfringens
Lipids	S. aureus, E. coli, S. epidermis, H. influenzae, S. agalactiae, L. monocytogenes, N. gonorrhoeae, C. trachomatis, B. parapertusis heat-labile toxin, binds Shigella-like toxin-1
Lysozyme	E. coli, Salmonella, M. lysodeikticus, S. aureus, P. fragi, growing Candida albicans and Aspergillus fumigatus
Milk cells (80% macrophages, 15% neutrophils, 0.3% B and 4% T lymphocytes)	By phagocytosis and killing: E. coli, S. aureus, S. enteritidis By sensitised lymphocytes: E. coli By phagocytosis: Candida albicans,E. coli Lymphocyte stimulation: E. coli K antigen, tuberculin Spontaneous monokines: simulated by lipopolysaccaride Induced cytokines: PHA, PMA + ionomycin Fibronectin helps in uptake by phagocytic cells.
Mucin (muc-1; milk fat globulin membrane)	E. coli (S-fimbrinated)
Nonimmunoglobulin (milk fat, proteins)	C. trachomatis, Y. enterocolitica
Phosphatidylethanolamine	H. pylori
(Tri to penta) phosphorylated beta-casein	H. influenzae
Sialyllactose	V. cholerae toxin, H. pylori
Sialyloligosaccharides on sIgA(Fc)	E. coli (S-fimbrinated) adhesion
Soluble bacterial pattern recognition receptor CD14	Bacteria (or LPS) activate this to induce immune response molecules from intestinal cells
Sulphatide (sulphogalactosylceramide)	S. typhimurium
Unidentified factors	S. aureus, B. pertussis, C. jejuni, E. coli, S. typhimurium, S. flexneri, S. sonnei, V. cholerae, L. pomona, L. hyos, L. icterohaemorrhagiae, C. difficile toxin B, H. pylori, C. trachomatis
Xanthine oxidase (with added hypoxanthine)	E. coli, S. enteritidis
Factors found at low level in human milk	Shown in vitro to be active against
CCL28 (CC-chemokine)	Candida albicans, P. aeruginosa, S. mutans, S. pyogenes, S. aureus, K. pneumonidae
Heparin	Chlamydia pneumoniae
RANTES (CC-chemokine)	E. coli, S. aureus, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans
Secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (antileukocyte protease; SLPI)	E. coli, S. aureus, growing C. albicans and A. fumigatus

Antiparasitic components of Human Milk and the parasites they protect against

Factor	Shown in vitro to be active against
Secretory IgA	Giardia lamblia (protozoa) Entamoeba histolytica (protozoa) Schistosoma mansoni (blood fluke) Cryptosporidium (protozoa) Strongyloides stercoralis (threadworm) Toxoplasma gondii Plasmodium falciparum (malaria)
IgG	Plasmodium falciparum Strongyloides stercoralis (threadworm)
Gangliosides	Giardia lamblia, Giardia muris
Lipid (free fatty acids and monoglycerides)	Giardia lamblia Entamoeba histolytica Trichomonas vaginalis (protozoa) Eimeria tenella (animal coccidiosis)
Lactoferrin (or pepsin-generated lactoferricin)	Giardia lamblia, Plasmodium falciparum
Unidentified	Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense
Macrophages	Entamoeba histolytica

So bring on those macrophages and Xanthine Oxidase Mom!

Third Hand Smoke

The concept of second hand smoke is widely accepted at this point.  Second hand smoke meaning inhaling the smoke of a cigarette that is being smoked near you.  Third hand smoke is the lingering particulate matter that clings to clothes, curtains, carpets, furniture...everything.  Research is showing it is just as harmful as second hand smoke, particularly for infants.

We know the smoke is bad but here are some of the things that are solid particles that you can pass to your children:

• Hydrogen cyanide (used in chemical weapons).
• Carbon monoxide.
• Butane.
• Ammonia.
• Toluene (found in paint thinners).
• Arsenic.
• Lead.
• Chromium (used to make steel).
• Cadmium (used to make batteries).
• Polonium-210 (a highly radioactive carcinogen).

These are all carcinogens (cancer-causers).

So let's summarize.  Cracking a window is not good enough.  Blowing the smoke out the car window is not good enough.  Smoking on the porch is not good enough.  Smoking in your bedroom only is not good enough.  Smoking only away from home is not good enough (unless you shower and change your clothes before returning home).

I understand that nicotine is addictive and I can't imagine how hard it is to stop smoking but do it for your children.  My dad did it and he smoked 2+ packs for 30+ years.  If he can do it anyone can.  There are tons of resources .

In the meantime, let's have some visual coercion motivation.

Smoking kills your lungs

Smoking ruins your circulation

Ewwww.

Please don't poison me!

Thanks for quitting dad - you are a great example!  Love you.

Remembering Childless Mothers

This day last year was the first day of my IVF cycle and thus my pregnancy with Aellyn.  Of course I wouldn't have my eggs harvested until the 23rd and my 2 beautiful embryos wouldn't come back home with me until the 25th.  I wouldn't even know I was pregnant until June 1st.  But, the way these things are calculated, May 7th, 2008 was Day One of my pregnancy.  A pregnancy 9 years in the making.

I still can't believe what a daily miracle the last year of my life has been.  In memory of this day I went back to see what I was thinking/feeling this time last year.

Finally, CD 1 has arrived we can finally get the show on the road.

You would think that this would be a happy day since I finally got what I wanted but I had a really bad IF day.  Two of my good friends are pregnant.  One kept it from me so as not to hurt me, which always hurts 10x as bad.  I'm just so frustrated at the injustice of it all.  Why do some people get to be surrounded by children and I have to suffer with this pain that is just beyond explanation.  It is like someone is squeezing my heart and I can't breath.  I feel like I will die.  It is such a simple thing I crave - a child to love.  Is that too much to ask?

/cry

I don't want to be morose.  I've been doing so good - thinking positive thoughts and doing my meditation.  The day finally comes when I can start this miracle month of IVF brought on by God's grace and the kind heart of some very rich people and I'm bawling like an IF newbie.  You would think 9 years would give me more backbone than this.

So I"m off to meditate so I can find my happy and hopeful center again.  I pray to God that my ovaries shine this month with perfect eggs and that we could finally be blessed with the baby we yearn for.  May I savor each day of the journey so that the prize is that much more appreciated.

I can still feel that pain.  There is just nothing like it.  Of course, it makes the joy of Aellyn all that more sweet as pain often amplifies pleasure.  My heart still aches for the babies I lost and for all the wonderful, strong women out there still waiting for their miracle.

>

This Mother's Day, my first, I will say a silent prayer for all those women staying in bed all day - away from church, family, and the deluge of reminders that you are different, that you are childless another year.  To all those women I want to say you are a mother in your heart if not yet in your arms.

Do you know someone struggling with Infertility?  You probably do, 1 in 6 US couples is.  This Mother's Day take a moment to let them know you are thinking about them.  It will make all the difference.

Prémio Dardos

Sunnydaytodaymama awarded me the Prémio Dardos award for "bloggers who distinguish themselves for showing cultural values, ethics, great and fun writing skills, as well as individual values, through their creative writing."  What an honor!  Thanks!  Head over to Sunny's blog for inspiration and beautiful pictures.

As with many of these awards I get to pay it forward to 15 other bloggers.  I would like to do that over the next few weeks as I read and inspirational post!

Movie Dad: Princess Aellyn the Happy

My DH talks about the first few months of Fatherhood:

Movie Dad: Princess Aellyn the Happy

Body After Baby: Week 1

Mama Notes is hosting a Body After Baby Challenge.  I think this is a great idea - having fellow bloggers to comiserate with as we work towards our goals.  As Mama Notes...ummm...notes;

"more than just losing weight. It's about being healthy for you and your family, feeling good about yourself, being who you want to be, and whatever else you see fit in your personal life. So, no matter what you're goals are, you can join in. "

I am not currently focused on losing weight (especially since I lost weight while pregnant) but I do have lots of changes I want to make to develop a healthier lifestyle.  I want my lifestyle to reflect now what I want to teach my daughter.  So here are my 4-6 month goals:

1. Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables everyday.
2. Cut out caffeine
3. Cut out (drastically reduce - as in occasional treats only) sugar
4. Exercise 4 days a week
5. Get 8 hours of sleep (not including nursing) a night
6. Cut out pop (that's soda if you aren't from the midwest)
7. Eat 25g of fiber a day (ongoing goal - we have went all whole grain already)
8. Daily vitamins/supplements: multi, DHA, probiotic, Vit C, Vit D
9. Read more fiction (I'm a non-fiction glutton)
10. Go to church (back in the habit after bed rest/post baby laziness!)

Ok, for week 1 my goals are:

1. Eat a fruit or veggie with each meal (I mostly only eat raw veggies, hence the weird specifics below)
1. Raw veggies for lunch instead of chips (ok, or maybe with some chips?)
2. Salad/veggies before dinner
2. Take Aellyn on a walk 3 or more times
3. Slowly reduce caffeine/pop addiction (sweet, sweet Dr. Pepper how I will miss thee)
4. Take Vitamins

I think 4 goals a week is good!  Visit Body After Baby Challenge to see other participants and their progress.  Since I don't Tweet much and I want to do so more I'm going to tweet my progress and update here once a week.

Other Challenge participants:

• http://peanutbutterandgrassclippings.blogspot.com/2009/05/challenge-to-fear.html 
• http://ponderingsinsa.blogspot.com/2009/05/body-after-baby.html
  
• http://stevensclan.blogspot.com/2009/05/body-after-baby-challenge.html