Cod liver oil

I know that at this point I am a blogging failure but I figured since I am regularly stuck under a sleeping infant (as is the case now) I should start to do something productive with that time.

A few days ago we dressed up for Halloween. I was a tree. I know what you're thinking, "Kelin, your creative costume-making skills set the bar too high for the rest of us" but let me tell you how you can make a tree costume like mine: 1. Collect leaves. 2. Glue onto headband you find in your closet and place on head. 3. Wear green shirt. Hopefully I didn't lose you. Eloise's monkey costume was creatively made by me ordering it on Ebay.

It's the time of year again that makes me ask myself, "why do I live in northern Scotland?". It's been raining all day and the sun went down at 5pm so needless to say, my family has been little hermits in our apartment.

Since the weather is becoming worse and worse, in addition to the cod liver oil Loic and I take I've started giving some to Eloise as well. Cod liver oil is so important for neurological development (plenty of DHA and EPA), retinol (an animal form of vitamin A that is so important), and vitamin D for those people like us who are sun-deprived, among other benefits. Anyway, we chose probably the most disgusting one we could find but it's also the highest-quality one out there, Green Pasture Blue Ice. The fact that they called something from a cod "green pasture" is highly suspect but just trust me that I did a lot of research and it is as good as it gets...it is fermented rather than being treated with heat or chemicals to preserve it so it retains the natural vitamin A and D rather than having them added back in (or destroyed and replaced with synthetic ones, gasp)! 

The cod liver oil comes with a syringe and I think I have given Eloise a lifelong fear of syringes from putting that stuff in the poor thing's mouth. The first time she coughed a lot afterward and then cried and I freaked out and called my doctor because I thought maybe she breathed it in. He told me in more or less words, "she didn't breathe it in or she would have turned blue, she reacted like that because cod liver oil tastes like crap." I gave it to Loic to see what he thought (ours is in capsules) and he had pretty much the same reaction she did. So now my quest is to find creative ways to inject Oil of Nastiness into her mouth without her rejecting it because she tries to escape every time she sees that syringe coming. Poor baby! I just want what's best for her. I can't wait until she's got some good eating habits established and I can give it to her with a bit of juice. 

So that's my exciting life, rain and darkness and cod liver oil. I have some amazing life-changing recipes I will post next time I'm stuck under a sleeping bug.

I'm not a vegan (*gasp*)

I have been so lazy about updating this thing that I'm sure anyone who would have potentially followed me has given up on me. Don't give up yet! I'll be better for you, I promise! I think the problem is I have a million things to write about but then I think, "no, that isn't relevant to the theme of your blog, Kelin. You can't do that". But you know what? It's my blog so I CAN do that.

So I was thinking before I post a blog one day with a picture of me eating bacon-wrapped pork rinds (that sounds disgusting, I don't really eat that) and cause one of my vegan friends to pass out, I should probably just let the cat out of the bag: I'm not vegan, and I haven't  been for a long time (about a year and a half, now). I have nothing but respect for those who are, and I still believe if it's done right (no grains or legumes) it's a wonderful thing for the body. So what made me change? 

The beginning of the end was when I read Denise Minger's blog tearing apart the holy grail of veganism, The China Study. Once I read her posts (they are long but fascinating) I realized veganism didn't really have much ground to stand on, nutritionally, because all the purported nutritional benefits are based on that study (and the nutritional side was probably the biggest factor for me). On top of that, working offshore forced me to eat a very, very non-ideal vegan diet. I was eating loads of grains, legumes, and vegetables cooked in oils so I think it goes without saying I was not my healthiest...my complexion was dull and usually breaking out, my hair was so unhealthy it actually lost its vibrancy and started turning strawberry blonde, and 8 hours sleep was never enough to refresh me. So when I read about the fallacies in The China Study it was definitely time to make a change. At first I just started re-introducing free-range farm eggs because I couldn't get over the ethical dilemma of eating animal products and I figured that was as ethical as it gets. Once I started reading more, I accepted that so long as an animal has been treated ethically its entire life (either by living in the wild, or being allowed to roam freely to its heart's content foraging for its natural diet) and dies as humanely and with as much dignity as we would want for a beloved pet being put down, it doesn't have to be unethical to eat animal products. 

Little by little, I started eating more animal products. After sourcing the eggs, I began eating wild salmon and tuna, then wild game from local hunters I had interrogated and trusted, and finally free-range meats from a farm in the north of England. In this farm, the animals all forage for their natural diets outdoors on ample land without pesticides or herbicides, are not given routine doses of antibiotics (they don't need it when they're living in those conditions, anyway!), and are slaughtered by the same family. These days, Loic and I eat loads and loads of organic veggies from local farmers, a bit of fruit and nuts, lots of happy chicken eggs, wild seafood and free-range meats (including organs). I feel good about how I am feeding my family and the decisions I've made, as hard as they were at first. And physically, I feel amazing.

Now if you'll excuse me...I am going to go cook some grass-fed beef liver, nature's multivitamin!

Best Green Smoothie Ever!

If there were a fire and I could only take one (non-living) thing, it would be my Vitamix. It's so powerful that you can make a smoothie in about 5 seconds, and unlike other blenders, it breaks down the cell walls so you get all the nutrients as if you were juicing but without losing the fiber! I can't say enough good things. And I can't say enough good things about green smoothies! This green smoothie recipe is beautiful, delicious, and full of nutrition for anyone, but especially for new mothers.

Benefits for moms:
-The types and ratios of fats in a mother's diet is reflected in her milk. Half an avocado has 7 grams of monounsaturated fat (lowering baby and mom's risk for several diseases, as well as improving blood cholesterol!)
-Pregnant and breastfeeding women are the highest-risk group for iron-deficiency anemia, which can impact milk quality and supply in addition to making moms feel tired (as if having a newborn wasn't bad enough)! The vitamin C from the orange in this recipe increases absorption of the iron in the spinach.
-Nursing moms need more potassium, and this recipe is rich in it!

Basic Green Smoothie:

-2 very ripe bananas (the riper the sweeter!)

-one orange

-3 handfuls of organic baby spinach

-half a ripe avocado

-1-2 cups filtered water

Blend until smooth. That's it! Sometimes I like to add berries, mango, or protein powder but the color is not nearly as pretty.

Newborn Baby Sanity Savers

Babies don't require many accessories in the beginning, but there are some things that will help keep you sane (or at least close to it...sanity is a lofty goal in the first month, especially if your baby comes out nocturnal and extra needy like mine). This blog is based on a "crunchy" style of parenting (natural, healthy, minimalist) so the list is not too long...that's good, right?

Moby Wrap

I cannot say enough good things about the Moby wrap. We don't need a stroller because of this (we have one for when she's older and too heavy for the wrap; who knows if it will ever be necessary). My daughter is a little monkey that needs to be held ALL the time (or she screams bloody murder) so I stick her in the wrap and she stays there all day and I can actually be a functional human being because I can use my hands. She is instantly calmed when she is in there and she spends her time observing what I'm doing or my face (I'm sure it's how she learned to smile), or goes to sleep. I can even breastfeed her while I'm walking when I wear it! Here is a wonderful article that discusses the benefits for baby of being worn: http://www.bobafamily.com/research/strollers-baby-carriers-and-infant-stress/. See how cozy she is snuggled up next to her mama's heart?

Feeding Pillow

This is not for the baby's comfort; it is for yours. I could literally lower Eloise upside-down by her legs onto my boob and she would latch on and be happy. Unless your baby is difficult to feed it is entirely unnecessary to get a fancy pillow; I bought a £5 blow-up travel pillow with a soft cover from MotherCare and it does the job, and it saves my back. 

Medela Breastshells

Despite what some sources may tell you, breastfeeding DOES hurt in the beginning for most women. I haven't met anyone who didn't experience some pain in the first week and you are going to want those puppies airing out and not touching your bra, trust me (by the way, if you have cracking issues a little expressed breastmilk works wonders more than any commercial creams and you don't have to worry about removing it before baby eats). An added bonus of these is that if you have any leakage, it will collect in the bottom of the cup instead of making two sexy wet circles on your shirt!

BumGenius and TotsBots Cloth Diapers

I rented newborn diapers since they grow out of them so fast, and we own adjustable BumGenius Freetime Snaps as well as TotsBots diapers with wraps. The BumGenius are adorable, easy-to-use, and grow with the babies. The TotsBots are great for nighttime (you don't need many) as they are basically really thick super-absorbent towel-like material, but you'll need to put a wrap around them as they will soak through if baby pees enough.

Cloth diapering accessories: Liners, cloth wipes, diaper and wipe pails with lids, mesh diaper pail liner and wipe pail liner, essential oils, clothesline.

I'll do a video of my cloth diapering setup in a future blog to make these items a bit more clear, but you will save yourself a lot of trouble if you have disposable liners for the diapers, mesh pail liners (so you can throw the whole thing in the laundry), essential oils to keep your pail from stinking, and a clothesline to dry the diapers (ours is in our guest bathroom...thanks for that, mom!).

Cute Diaper Bag

You're going to have it with you all the time, so it had better be cute. And big. Mine is a beautiful Coach bag that was a gift from my mommy.

A LOT of blankies

You can't have too many blankies. Babies get cold and blankies get pooped/peed/thrown up on. We had some wonderful soft blankies given as gifts that we love, and I also love the Aden and Anais swaddle blankies for nighttime even thought we didn't swaddle her (she wants to be freeee), because I'm not afraid of messing them up in the laundry. I also use them to tie around my neck and cover her when I am nursing her in public!

Blackout blinds

When Eloise was born she was completely nocturnal so the blackout curtains helped me establish a clear difference between day and night. Once it's bedtime, we black out the windows so that the room is pitch dark. It helps me sleep, too!

Medela Breast Pump

I haven't started storing my milk yet but I did have to express milk to cup-feed Eloise in the beginning when she needed to gain weight quickly (definitely NOT a problem anymore). I had to stay in the hospital and express milk using their expensive super-pump, but once I transferred home and used my own pump it worked just as well as the hospital's! Everyone I know who uses Medela has nothing but great things to say about it...it's not the cheapest pump out there, but if you're going to express milk, it's worth investing in a good pump.

Lululemon tops

There are not a lot of cute nursing tops out there, and after waiting ages to be able to wear normal clothes again, who wants to wear those? I love Lululemon tops because they are cute, flattering, comfy, easy to throw on in a hurry, and you can easily slip a boob out of most of their styles so you don't need to always be wearing nursing bras! They also fit me throughout most of my pregnancy because of the four-way stretch...all of my favourite clothes are from Lululemon.

Books: 

The No-Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley

I read this during many of the sleepless nights in the beginning and it was full of gentle solutions to help your baby sleep more at night (you won't find any "cry it out" nonsense here!). Eventually, partially from using tips in this book and partially from using what I know about my baby, I managed to get her to sleep a decent amount of the night!

The Attachment Parenting Book by Dr. William Sears

I have read this book several times and I don't know what I would do without it. My best friend recommended it to me long before I was even planning to get pregnant and I think it's one of my favourite books. It helps establish a beautiful, trusting relationship between parents and children. Eventually I will read all of Dr. Sears' books...maybe before Eloise is out of the house!

I hope this helps some future moms out there. Remember, the stores will still be open after you give birth...the only things you REALLY need in the beginning are the diapers and a car seat if you drive!