Mobile Baby!

9 months 7 days old - Aellyn crawled!  What a big girl.

Aellyn's first cold

Poor baby was up all night.  Her nose is stuffed and running like a faucet.  She's coughing.  I'm so happy she didn't have even a sniffle for the first 9 months but I would still take this away instantly if I could.

We are treating with Camomilla 30x 2 tablets every 2 hours.  I'm dropping breast milk in her nose and using the bulb syringe.  We're rocking the humidifier and hoping it passes quickly and without infection.

Just as a PSA - no vicks, no cold medicines.  These are dangerous for babies and even kids.
Cold medicine can be life-threatening for babies
Avoid applying Vicks VapoRub to babies, pediatricians say

Spanking leads to increased aggression and lowered cognitive abilities

Another study has recently come out showing the negative effects of spanking in toddlers.  The study published in Child Development found that,

"The study found that children who were spanked at age 1 had more aggressive behaviors at age 2 and performed worse on measures of thinking abilities at age 3."

The also negated several excuses often used to support spanking.  1.  That some kids are more aggressive and thus more likely to get spanked e.g. the spanking did not lead to the aggression.  and 2.  cultures that support spanking remove the negative impacts since it is normative.  The found the opposite was true: "The implication or the suggestion in past arguments is that some kids who are more aggressive or difficult to control might elicit more spanking, but that's not what we found"  and "Even in a sample of low-income people where presumably it's more normative to spank your kids, we found negative effects."  The study author, Berlin, said.

Fellow researcher, Gershoff said, "Almost all the studies point to negative effects of spanking,  It makes kids more aggressive, more likely to be delinquent and to have mental health problems. The more kids are spanked, the more they are likely to be physically abused by their parents. This does not mean everyone who spanks physically abuses, but that risk is there." 

Spanking is counterproductive, ineffective, and dangerous.  Yes, even those "light slaps" on the hand.  For more information about the effects of spanking and alternatives, see the Stop Hitting campaign and Project NoSpank.


Why are spankings, slaps, and even apparently harmless blows like pats on the hand dangerous for a baby?

1. They teach it (the baby) violence
2. They destroy the infallible certainty of being loved that the baby needs
3. They cause anxiety; the expectancy of the next break
4. They convey a lie: they pretend to be educational, but parents actually use them to vent their anger; when they strike, it’s because, as children, they were struck themselves
5. They provoke anger and a desire for revenge, which remain repressed only to be expressed much later
6. They program the child to accept illogical arguments (I’m hurting you for your own good) that stay stored up in their body
7. They destroy sensitivity and compassion for others and for oneself, and hence limit the capacity to gain insight

What long-term lessons does the baby retain from spankings and other blows?
The baby learns:

1. That a child does not deserve respect
2. That good can be learned through punishment (which is usually wrong, since punishment merely teaches the children to want to punish on their own turn)
3. That suffering mustn’t be felt, it must be ignored (which is dangerous to the immune system)
4. That violence is a manifestation of love (fostering perversion)
5. That denial of feeling is healthy (but the body pays the price of this error, often much later)

 Finally, I just can't recommend enough that all parents read Positive Discipline: What it is and How to do it.  Just a great resource on alternatives to spanking that will get better results today and produce a better individual in your child tomorrow.

Vaccines are Like Seat Belts

“We have seat belt rules,” [Offit] says. “Seat belts save lives. There was never a question about that. The data was absolutely clear. But people didn’t use them until they were required to use them (http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/10/ff_waronscience/all/1).”

Vaccines are like seat belts if seat belts were made of arsenic that *may* or *may not* seep into your skin and kill you.

Vaccines are like seat belts if seat belts sometimes randomly caused your car to drive into oncoming traffic. But this wouldn't be called a car accident because everyone knows seat belts CAN'T cause car accidents.

Vaccines are like seat belts if seat belts had not one, but two government organizations that exist specifically to "market" and "recommend" their use.

Vaccines are like seat belts if not wearing a seat belt and getting in a small fender bender caused ER staff to "assume" you have a worst case scenario and insisting on a spinal tap, MRI, tracheotomy, and a mandatory stay in the ICU.

Vaccines are like seat belts if not wearing one caused people to accuse you of causing other people's cars to lose control and thus killing innocent children.

For the record, I try not to be one of those people who hate Paul Offit (or anyone for that matter).  I've read his story and know he has good reasons for being a vaccine advocate.  He is clearly not an evil man out to harm children.  I respect his right to vaccinate.  Where I strongly disagree with him is that he does not believe in vaccine exemption.  He thinks it should be mandated and forced.  He does not believe in informed consent or parental choice.  That sickens me way more than his belief in vaccines.


I feel the same about parents who vaccinate.  I'm not anti-vax in the sense that I think everyone should not vax.  It is a difficult decision.  It is balancing the risks of now vs. the risks of what if and that is a soul searching experience.  I don't, however, have a shred of respect for someone that thinks their choice is the only one and I (or my baby) should be forcibly vaccinated and/or quarantined.  When I hear people call exemptions "so called" as in "the so called religious exemption" that is truly insulting.  It implies that I'm hiding behind a shield to excuse my choice.  My choice doesn't need an excuse.


So, I really didn't want to talk about the Swine Flu vax because it is a no-brainer for me.  I certainly won't be getting it for me or my family.  This decision isn't driven by fear of the vaccine or the belief that the swine flu is some type of government conspiracy.  I'm not getting the vaccine for the same reason I don't wear a helmet (or bubble wrap) everywhere I go.  A helmet could save me in an accident or slip and fall, right?  I choose to live out from under the cloud of what could happen and live with what is happening.

Right now?  There is a particularly virulent flu going around.  I'm living in the now by washing my hands (but not too much), coughing in my elbow, eating right, getting enough sleep, taking my vitamins (including a healthy dose of D), etc.  I'm not worried enough to make extreme choices like never leaving the house, wearing a face mask, not letting my kids eat their Halloween candy*, and injecting pathogens int my body.


*obviously, my 8 month old isn't getting any candy anyways.

Infertility Decision Making Survey

My wonderful friend, Wishing 4 One recently posted this and I wanted to pass it on.  This survey is for anyone experiencing infertility even if you have successfully had children through treatment or adoption. It took me about 15 minutes to complete.

Here's the fine print: This study is being conducted by Cardiff Fertility Studies at Cardiff University [Cardiff is the capital of Wales].  
The survey was developed by Dr. Jacky Boivin (lead researcher at Cardiff Fertility Studies) in collaboration with Merck Serono S.A.
The project is sponsored by Merck Serono S.A.

Fertility Decision Making Survey