By Allison Wolff, originally published on Eco Child’s Play on October 29,2009

I knew going into having a baby that the mountains of diapers would horrify me from both a personal hygiene and environmental perspective. I also knew that I wasn’t game for potty-training-at-birth philosophies. Sure enough, if I calculate how many diapers I’ve changed for my now 15 month old, I’m horrified.

Two months before I gave birth to my baby girl I did some research on which diapers would have the least amount of environmental impact. Traditional, “non-eco” disposables were never even an option…I was interested only in comparing “eco” choices.

I assumed that organic cloth diapers would be a clear win. In fact, before Emerson was born, I pretty much planned on using organic cloth diapers, washing them at home, despite the rather daunting and disgusting work that would require. I even put a bunch in our baby gift registry. In doing more research, however, that choice may not have been best, particularly because of where we live (more on that in a minute).

First, let me say how disappointed I was to find very little solid information on the environmental impacts of eco-friendly diapers, given that all of us have soiled our fair share of one kind of diaper or another in our early life. Most studies compared only traditional, non-eco disposables against non organic cloth diaper delivery services. In fact, I have yet to find a study that compares every kind of diaper. Let this be a call to action for the Powers That Be: We moms need a study that compares the eco and baby-butt- health-attributes of traditional disposables, “eco” non-chlorinated disposables (e.g. Seventh Generation), “super eco” biodegradable sustainably resourced non-chlorinated disposables (e.g. Nature Boy and Girl, Tushies), non-organic cloth washed at home, organic cloth washed at home,  non-organic cloth diaper service and organic cloth diaper service. Whew. I see why no one has done that study. The best comparison I found was done by National Geographic’s Green Guide.

So, piecing together bits of information, and thinking this through as best as my mommy brain can, here is my conclusion: eco disposables and organic cotton cloth diapers have about the same environmental impact, however, there is a slight difference depending on where you live. If you live in a water-rich area, go with cloth. If you live in a relatively dry area, choose eco disposables. A few supporting points and clarifications:

• I lump all eco disposables into one category because the majority of them end up in landfill and, once there, they won’t biodegrade even if they are marketed as biodegradable due to the lack of oxygen. Supposedly, you can compost wet biodegradable diapers/G-Diaper inserts (not poopie ones due to the pathogens), but I found varying opinions on whether it actually works or not.
• In a study conducted by Dr. Alan Greene for Seventh Generation, they found that water usage was at least two times greater for cloth diapers (vs disposables) depending on whether they were washed at home or by a service, taking into account the full lifecycle–raw resources to disposal–of both kinds of diapers. They also found that washing cloth diapers at home uses anywhere from 50 to 70 gallons of water every three days. Again, this is less of a big deal if you are in a water rich area, but, for the millions of us that live in dry places like CO, CA, AZ, NV, we should think twice about doing all that laundry. Given that water scarcity out-weighs landfill capacity in most areas, think about water before waste.
• In the same study, Dr Alan Greene mentions that Cloth diapers generally require the use of chlorine bleach for sanitizing purposes (particularly if sent to a diaper cleaning service where diapers are shared among many households). Once rinsed down a drain, chlorine can combine with organic material naturally present in ground and surface waters to create toxins like chloroform.
• Both eco disposables and organic cloth diapers are made from renewable resources (paper from sustainable forestry or corn; organic cotton), all positives compared to plastic (non-renewable petroleum based) disposables.

A few other tidbits:

• Landfill load. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, 80% of the diaperings in this nation are done with disposables. That comes to 18 billion diapers a year. Those 18 billion diapers add up to 82,000 tons of plastic a year and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp from over 250,000 trees. They’re the third most common item in the average landfill behind newspapers and food and beverage containers.
• Don’t buy traditional disposables! A well-known study conducted by Anderson Laboratories in 1999 found mice exposed to VOC chemicals emitted by conventional disposables had asthma-like reactions. Baby lungs aren’t as small as mice lungs, but they aren’t that big either. This is worrisome. Plus, their manufacture involves chlorine, one of man-kind’s worst pollutants.
• Even eco disposables contain SAP. SAP (asodium polyacrylate) is a super absorbant petroleum-based chemical used in most disposable diapers. Plastic disposables, and, unfortunately, Seventh Generation, Nature Boy & Girl, and G-Diapers, contain SAP to “lock in” moisture. In studies, SAP has shown to cause respiratory and skin irritations in occupational settings according to healthychild.org.Seventh Generation and other eco disposables are working hard to find an alternative that matches SAP’s performance. Tushies is the only disposable brand that does not include SAP and, user comments online say they are fine for short stretches during the day, but not at night.
• Eco diapers are not always more expensive. We order our diapers in bulk from either Amazon or Drugstore.com. For those of you who think that eco diapers are too expensive, you’re wrong. A case of Pamper’s “Cruiser” diapers at Drugstore.com costs $41.99 for 140 diapers. That’s $.32 per diaper. A case of Nature Boy and Girl diapers costs $44.99 for 136 diapers. That’s $.33 per diaper. When you consider all of the environmental costs of Pampers, would you rather save that penny or the planet your kid is going to live on for years to come? Seventh Generation is more expensive and they are the more widely available eco brand ($.41 per diaper on Drugstore.com). Buy Nature Boy and Girl online and save in multiple ways.

For what it’s worth, the Green Guide recommends Nature Boy and Girl disposables and they are what we use. They fit and absorb great. I will be happy when they find an alternative to SAP.

A few good resources:

1. National Geographic’s Green Guide: Diaper buying guide

Green Guide discusses the environmental impact of diapers, provides a “diapering 101″, product comparison, and Smart Shopper’s list, all VERY useful.

2. The Inside Poop on diapers

The above-mentioned study done by Dr. Alan Greene and Seventh Generation, along with a semi-entertaining video.

3. The Case for Disposable Diapers: How to Choose Green, Eco-Friendly Diapers, Part I

A great article on The Daily Green by Alexandra Zissou, author of The Complete Organic Pregnancy that goes into great detail on disposables.

4. Cloth Diaper Brands You Can Trust: How to Choose Green, Eco-Friendly Diapers, Part II

Another great article on The Daily Green by Alexandra Zissou, that provides numerous resources for buying and learning how to diaper with cloth.

Published by Allison Wolff for Eco Child’s Play on October 15, 2009

Halloween, like many other holidays, is a love-hate day for me. I love the tradition, the fun of dressing up as someone or something completely different from myself, the excitement of walking the streets in the dark, leaves blowing, trying to figure out who is hiding under each costume, and, of course, gorging on piles of candy just before bedtime (of course I only did that as a kid). As I’ve become a concerned “greenie” mother, however, I am growing to hate holidays that fuel the consumption of toxic materials and goodies that ain’t so good for the planet or our bodies.

That said, I am the mother of a 15-month-old girl and, in an effort to not be a complete crumudgeon, I thought I would do some research to find eco-acceptable costumes and planet- and body-better goodies. Here are a few good finds:

1. Eco-friendly, non-disposable costumes: Rather than buying a disposable plastic costume from the toy or drug store, get a high-quality costume that you or your kids can wear for years or pass on to siblings or friends. Check out these Silk Fairy Wings by Sarah’s Silks,  Silk costumes from Magic Cabin, Tom Arma’s adorable and durable baby costumes (though not made from eco-friendly materials), or make your own costume from eco-friendly silk, recycled paper, and non-toxic face paints. Also, don’t forget to cruise eBay, Craig’s List, or your local consignment/second hand store for great pre-owned costumes, or set up a costume swap with your community of friends. Lastly, send your kids out with an eco-friendly tote like these that you can reuse for many halloweens to come – or groceries.
2. Planet-friendly, Fair Trade decorations: Start by choosing an organic pumpkin to carve, and don’t throw any of it out…see this list of yummy pumpkin recipes including little known pumpkin cider, pumpkin milkshake, pumkin casserole, and more! Use Pipel Picado Mexican skeleton streamers in your haunted house. Use natural beeswax candles (vs. petroleum-based) in your pumpkins and to light the pathway to your door. Make a home-made ghost to hang from a tree or doorway out of an old sheet, newspaper (for the head) and a rubber band.
3. Organic, Fair Trade-even educational candy: Check out these Fair Trade, organic chocolate mini bars and Fair Trade gold coins from Global Exchange…just like the ones we had as kids only the chocolate is grown by a Fair Trade farm cooperative in Ghana. Consider handing out organic  Frutabu rollups (kids love them and their parents will thank you for giving out something semi healthy) or some of the many organic treats at The Natural Candy Store.

I’d love to hear from others what ideas they have for creating a more people and planet friendly halloween.

Last week, I participated in a community-based conversation about vaccinations at our local library that included two of our medical center’s nursing staff and a bunch of smart, well-researched, concerned moms. Though I’ve written two previous posts about vaccinations, I was compelled to write yet another to share the conclusion I and others came to at the end of this community discussion.

In my opinion, there are three vaccines that are clear examples of the government and the pharmaceutical industry pushing needless vaccines on the general public. These examples make me and other moms distrust the vaccination industry and the CDC, paralyzing us in our decision-making process about whether or not to vaccinate our kids and, if we do, for what diseases:

• The chickenpox vaccine: As Dr. Sears mentions in The Vaccine Book, chickenpox, though bothersome to go through, is almost never a life-threatening disease. Getting the virus, in most cases, provides lifelong immunity whereas the vaccine, if given according to the CDC’s recommended schedule, can wear off by the time a child reaches adulthood, when chickenpox can have more severe symptoms. Often vaccinated kids get chickenpox anyway because the vaccine is not completely effective. Further, the chickenpox vaccine is made with a number of controversial ingredients, including human and animal cells, cow fetus serum, and MSG. Lastly, severe cases of chicken pox are treatable with antivirals like acyclovir. Why give your kid a vaccine that is not very effective, wears off by adulthood putting the vaccinated individual at higher risk, and is full of controversial ingredients, when the disease is not deadly and getting it actually produces life-long immunity? I say bring on the chicken pox party!
• The Hep B Vaccine: Here’s a silly one…we’re giving a vaccine for a sexually and intravenously transmitted disease to all newborns just as they arrive (unless you tell the hospital you don’t want it which many parents don’t know they can do). Since it is unlikely that a newborn will contract an STD or shoot heroin, it doesn’t make sense to me that we would blanket newborns with a vaccine that has a much higher than normal frequency of severe side effects. What gives?
• Gardisil, the HPV vaccine: Gardisil, the Human Papillomavirus Virus vaccine, has had a great deal of news coverage of late. HPV causes genital warts and certain strains can cause cervical cancer. The vaccine is given to 11-12 year old girls in hopes of inoculating them before they become sexually active. Problem is, studies have shown that the vaccine wears off within 3-5 years, just as many girls actually start to become sexually active.  Further, this vaccine which, like the H1N1 vaccine, was fast-tracked through the FDA approval process, is causing  a high percentage of serious side effects.  Lastly, cervical cancer can be caught with regular pap smears, and usually successfully treated; warts can be removed. So, why give your daughter a vaccine that has proven ineffective, and is causing a much higher than normal percentage of severe side effects, for a disease that is preventable via other non-harmful methods?

These examples make me wonder about all vaccines, but particularly the  H1N1 vaccine.  I can’t help but put this one in my “suspicious” category as well, even though it hasn’t been around very long. Everything I read about this one smells like someone making money. The southern hemisphere has already gone through flu season and swine flu ran its course. So far the swine flu is no more deadly than the regular old flu that comes through year after year. The shot is full of controversial ingredients, including mercury or squalene as the adjuvant (squalene is the ingredient in the soldier-mandated anthrax vaccine from the first Gulf War and the cause of Gulf War Syndrome). The H1N1 vaccine is another fast-tracked vaccine which means it has undergone very few safety studies. They are finding that 2-4 shots must be given to ensure effectiveness. That can mean up to 48mcg of mercury, more than 3 times the “safe” amount for an adult that weighs 125lbs (if the shot you get uses Mercury as the adjuvant). Lastly, I think it’s interesting that one of the U.S.’s most famous doctor’s wife and children will not be getting the H1N1 vaccine. Check out this clip of Dr. Oz on CNN (sounds like his wife wears the pants in their family): Dr. Oz\’s Children Will NOT be Receiving H1N1 Vaccine

A nurse at our community meeting said it best: “Probably the best thing you can do this flu season is make sure you are prepared to hunker down at home for 2-4 weeks if the swine flu hits your home town hard. That means having enough food, tylenol, and anything else you need so that you don’t have to leave the house.” Personally, I’m more worried about the long-term effects of the vaccine than I am getting the virus. We plan to be prepared  to stay home vs risking putting a highly controversial vaccine into our or our baby’s bodies.

Here’s the problem with “suspicious” vaccines: mindful, research-oriented parents like me are beginning to distrust the entire vaccination industry and government recommendations because of the controversy surrounding vaccines that are pushed by the CDC yet have been proven ineffective (Gardisil, chickenpox), are inappropriate (Hep B), where the disease can be prevented by less risky means (Gardisil), or where the risks from getting the vaccine could be worse than getting the disease itself (all vaccines mentioned above).  Many of us parents have become paralyzed, only partially vaccinating or not vaccinating our kids at all.

Unfortunately, there are no clear answers, and, given the dynamics of big business and government pockets, it is hard to know who to trust. Dr. Mercola recently wrote an article pleading with parents to not give their children the H1N1 vaccine due its potential dangers and the unwarrented fear of the flu itself. In it, he mentions the size of government contracts for H1N1 producers. I know someone needs to produce (neccessary) vaccines and they should be paid for it, but, at what point, does greed come into play?

One of the main reasons I am generally tentative about vaccinations is that, in addition to my fears of short-term severe reactions, I am increasingly more concerned about the long-term effects of vaccines on our health, given the rise of unexplained autoimmune disease, autism, and neurological disorders that seem to have risen in parallel with the number of vaccinations we are administering to our children. Frankly, given these concerns plus the CDC push of seemingly unnecessary vaccines, I am having a hard time signing up to give my daughter any vaccines.  Yet I and many other mothers I talk to are concerned that, perhaps, some vaccines warrant being given. We wonder how stupid we will feel if our child contracts one of the actually deadly diseases because we chose not to vaccinate for it. We are on our own, as usual, taking our and our children’s health into our own hands.

Sigg CEO offers a free exchange program for new bottles without BPA-containing lining until October 31,2009.

I was hugely disappointed to hear last month that Sigg Water Bottles produced before August 2008 were made with a liner that includes bad, bad, bad BPA. Many people, including me, bought Sigg bottles to replace other BPA/nasty chemical leaching bottles in our possession.

Sigg’s CEO issued a statement on the company’s website that, until October 31, 2009, the company will replace all pre-August 2008 bottles with new BPA-free ones. I urge you to take advantage of this offer. Below is the CEO’s statement.

Dear SIGG Customer,

(STAMFORD CT) – Last month, I wrote a letter to try and provide you with as much factual and historical information as I could in regards to the evolution of the SIGG bottle liner. I also suggested that people could email me if they had any questions and comments.

After reading and responding to hundreds of emails and viewing nearly as many blog & Twitter posts, I realize that my first letter may have missed the mark. What I should have said simply and loudly to all of our loyal SIGG fans is: I am sorry that we did not make our communications on the original SIGG liner more clear from the very beginning.

I have learned much over the past 2 weeks. I learned that many of you purchased SIGG bottles – not just because they were free from leaching and safe – but because you believed that SIGGs contained no BPA. I learned that, although SIGG never marketed the former liner as “BPA Free” we should have done a better job of both clearly communicating about our liner as well as policing others who may have misunderstood the SIGG message.

For over 100 years, SIGG has earned a reputation for quality products and service – and we do not take that for granted. From the day we made our announcement last month, we made a commitment consistent with SIGG values that we would offer anyone who is concerned about BPA an opportunity to swap their old SIGGs for new SIGGs with the new EcoCare liner. Today, I am announcing that this voluntary Exchange Program will be in place until October 31, 2009 to ensure that our customers have ample time to send their former liner bottles back to us should they choose to do so.

Once again, I truly apologize for the lack of clarity in our previous communications. All of us at SIGG hope that we will have an opportunity to regain your confidence and trust.

Sincerely,

Steve Wasik
CEO, SIGG Switzerland

Though many are now dubious of the Sigg brand because it took them quite some time to come out with their liner ingredients, I commend Steve Wasik and the Sigg brand for being honest about his mistake in holding back the truth and doing the right thing to serve his customers.

I’m dying to write a light-hearted post, but I keep coming across new news on the potential risks involved with Gardisil, the teen vaccine intended to stave off cervical cancer, and the swine flu vaccine and I feel that I must continue to get the word out on vaccines. The more I read and listen, the more suspicious I am becoming that our national vaccination policy is a well-meaning government program that, like so many others, is caught up in nasty politics and big business.

As a side note, it is difficult to write about these matters without sounding alarmist. My goal here is to encourage parents to educate themselves about vaccines. Like any medical issue, citizens need to take responsibility for their own health. It is too easy to just do what the doctor says. See my last post about vaccinating baby for more resources that can help educate you about the potential hazards of vaccinations.

In studying the National Vaccine Information Center’s (NVIC) website, I found several sources that are worth telling the world about. The NVIC is a well-regarded “not-for-profit organization founded in 1982 to prevent vaccine injuries and deaths through public education and defend the informed consent ethic.” One of the founders, Barbara Loe Fisher, lost a child to the DPT vaccine in 1980, and has since become a well-researched expert on the business and politics surrounding the vaccine industry. On August 24th, she posted a video-based statement about the risks of the Gardisil Vaccine and the potential politics involved in the government’s push for citizens to get the Swine Flu vaccine. I encourage every parent to take a look.

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In the video, Fisher mentions some disturbing facts about Gardisil. 1 in 1855 girls have a “bad health outcome” from the vaccine. Compared to other vaccine vs. disease risk statistics, these are not good odds. Common bad health outcomes include:

• Passing out within 24 hours of receiving the shot. Several teens have passed out while driving and died. Others have received head injuries. Fisher is calling for a warning from doctors that sudden collapse is possible within 24 hours after the vaccine is administered.
• Seizures
• Blod clots which can travel to the lungs or brain
• Autoimmune disorders such as Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis

You should know that cervical cancer can be easily prevented with regular pap smears.

Fisher also discusses the fact that doctors are notoriously bad about submitting “bad health outcome” reports to the CDC, greatly hampering the public’s ability to understand the real risks involved with some of the more controversial vaccines as many incidents go unreported. Further, the medical world often writes off bad health outcomes as coincidences, never reporting vaccine-related incidents at all. Another disturbing point she makes is that there is no public access to the “bad health outcome report” databases which means they cannot be reviewed or publicly scrutinized, a process that is critical to evolving standards.

Fisher, in the video, also discusses the swine flu “epidemic”. In declaring a national health emergency around swine flu, the government has called into effect some new, post 9-11 laws that allow vaccines to be fast-tracked to market with limited testing. The Swine flu vaccine has some worrisome components that are the same or similar to components in the swine flu vaccine of the 70’s which killed and debilitated more people than did the disease itself and in the anthrax vaccine given to Gulf War troops who ended up with debilitating auto immune issues as a result. What’s ridiculous is that the swine flu has proven to be no more deadly than the regular old flu which comes around every year and doesn’t kill anyone who is in good health. Fisher suspects some fishy business and bad politics behind this vaccine push–or mandate, depending on what state you live in. See NVIC’s facts about Swine Flu for more.

You might also be interested to see this report from August 12, 2009 on CBS News where Fisher, along with Dr. Jennifer Ashton, a CBS News Medical Correspondent, discuss the possible dangers of the swine flu versus the H1N1 vaccine.

Dr. Mercola’s website also has some great commentary on the swine flu vaccine and also features the CBS News story mentioned above. I found this information regarding the most controversial component of the swine flu vaccine, squalene, particularly interesting:

“Your immune system recognizes squalene as an oil molecule native to your body. It is found throughout your nervous system and brain. In fact, you can consume squalene in olive oil and not only will your immune system recognize it, you will also reap the benefits of its antioxidant properties.

The difference between “good” and “bad” squalene is the route by which it enters your body. Injection is an abnormal route of entry which incites your immune system to attack all the squalene in your body, not just the vaccine adjuvant.

Your immune system will attempt to destroy the molecule wherever it finds it, including in places where it occurs naturally, and where it is vital to the health of your nervous system.

Gulf War veterans with Gulf War Syndrome (GWS) received anthrax vaccines which contained squalene. MF59 (the Novartis squalene adjuvant) was an unapproved ingredient in experimental antrhax vaccines and has since been linked to the devastating autoimmune diseases suffered by countless Gulf War vets.”

Having gone to high school with a few Gulf War vets who have Gulf War Syndrome, I can tell you that the effects of squalene are horrible.

Again, I encourage you to take the time to understand the risks and benefits of vaccinations. Like with any other health issue you face, don’t be afraid to arm yourself with the information you need to have an intelligent conversation with your doctor.

I have to be honest. While I try to abide by the allegorical “healthy kids handbook” as much as possible (don’t know if there really is one, although there must be) because I worry about so many things in today’s environment and strive to do the best I can for my little one, I do veer sometimes. It’s hard, especially living in a remote Colorado mountain town, to always have the right stuff (I pay through the roof for products sold locally, and rely heavily on internet shopping). And so, when a friend unloaded all her Pampers that were too small on her daughter, I happily took them, because they were (a) free, and (b) better to be used than thrown away (for the record, I have been known to buy Pampers and Target Brand diapers myself); I don’t freak out when daddy and daughter are sharing Tostitos on the couch during a football game (yes, TV is on in our house more than I’d care to admit); and I’m not one of those mothers who BYOs kid meals when going to someone’s house for fear their peanut butter and bread may not be organic (although I wasn’t pleased when I had to give my baby non-organic milk at a friend’s parent’s house).

With all that, however, I have to say that if there is one area I try never to skimp on, it’s household cleaning products.

I always knew surfaces were a big deal with kids around, but I never realized quite how much. They sit on the floor; eat anything off of it; lick the coffee table; roll around on and rub their faces into the carpet (0ftentimes naked); and touch, in a word, EVERYTHING (be it the refrigerator, cabinets, baseboards, bathroom tile, TV screens, mirrors) with their grubby little mitts. And so while I used to not pay much attention when it was just my husband and me at home, I now research and am very selective upon entering the cleaning aisle. (Add laundry detergent to the mix, considering clothes are the surface against one’s skin more than any other.) Fortunately, it’s gotten easier to buy safer cleaning products, as more people are becoming tuned into environmental consciousness, sustainability, and healthful, non-toxic living.

All-Purpose Cleaners

Even big names, that one used to equate with hazardous, poisonous, carcinogenic, burn-your-skin yuckiness, have come out with natural biodegradable lines, like Green Works from Clorox. Personally, I like the stuff; it smells nice and the all-purpose cleaner is actually pretty good, as is the window cleaner and toilet bowl cleaner. And, as far as I can tell, the products really are 99% natural, as opposed to countless other companies where the flippant use of “natural” might as well mean “hand-made by the tooth fairy.” (The website www.treehugger.com has a nice review of the Green Works products for those interested.) I also like the all-purpose cleaners made by Mrs. Meyer’s, Method, and Seventh Generation, but there are lots more out there (visit www.goodguide.com for a list on household cleaners).

Naturalternatives

There are the uber-wholesome, simple alternatives that don’t even live in the cleaning aisle, like lemon, vinegar, and baking soda. Believe it or not, they do the trick quite effectively (I like cleaning my sink out with fresh lemon, and fresh lemon shines stainless steel appliances really well, too). The website care2.com has a useful piece called the 5 Basics for Non-Toxic Cleaning, and the Washington Toxics Coalition created a guide to safer household cleaners back in 2006 that is still very informative.

Pet Cleansing

I’m also careful about pet stain and odor remover for carpets (we have an older dog who sometimes “pees in her pants”) and found that the enzyme-based Nature’s Miracle and the biodegradable, non-hazardous, Holy Cow All-Purpose Cleaner are very suitable options (Holy Cow also offers a Glass Cleaner, Degreaser and Concentrated Cleaner).

Laundry

As for laundry detergents, being “greener” is, again, more mainstream with many companies offering products made from only plant-based materials and without petroleum-based chemicals. According goodguide.com, the free and clear versions from age-old companies like Wisk and All aren’t rated too far behind brands like Seventh Generation and ECOs (7.5 for both Wisk and All, 8.2 for Seventh Generation, and 7.9 for ECOs). (All Small & Mighty Free Clear is what I typically opt for).

I don’t have the personality to be a total control freak about everything in my life, and I also know that shit happens (a lot of times beyond one’s control), but I find that picking one thing that I won’t stray from makes me feel better as a mother and a person. For me, it’s the household products. In this department, they either seem to be good or extremely bad. And so I’ve rid the extremely bad from my family’s repertoire. There are enough times in the day when I have to wipe those grubby little mitts; I don’t want it to be after crawling around on my own kitchen floor, or grabbing a clean hoodie out of the laundry basket.

]]> http://www.raisingemerson.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=92 0 http://www.raisingemerson.com/blog/?p=77 http://www.raisingemerson.com/blog/?p=77#comments Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:54:33 +0000 admin http://www.raisingemerson.com/blog/?p=77 By Allison Wolff

Published 7.30.09 for www.ecochildsplay.com

Does every mom struggle as much as I do with signing up to have the doctor stick their baby with a needle full of potentially harmful ingredients that makes baby scream with teary eyes that say “why are you doing this to me” followed by two days of fever?

OK, maybe I’m a wimp, but, when I read books like Dr. Sears’s The Vaccine Book and articles like “Vaccine Debate” in Mothering Magazine this month, I feel rather vindicated for being very cautious about vaccinating my little one year old girl, Emerson.

Luckily, my husband is equally wimpy and cautious about vaccinating so it’s one less child-raising subject we have to argue about. We struggle with wanting to do what’s right for the broader community-feeling we should vaccinate our baby so that we’re not relying on other, less wimpy, parents to vaccinate their kids so that our kid has less chance of getting sick (though the above-mentioned “Vaccine Debate” article makes some good arguments against this line of thinking).

We struggle with whether we want to, by not vaccinating, knowingly put our child at risk of catching a potentially deadly disease versus believing in the natural process of the immune system of our thriving child. We struggle with the fact that vaccines, some of which include controversial ingredients, are for diseases that are non-existent or extremely rare in the US. Why expose our daughter’s immature immune system to potentially harmful substances for a virtually no-risk disease?

After reading Sears’ The Vaccine Book, and doing our own research online, we have acquired some knowledge about the ingredients in and risks of each vaccine the CDC recommends versus the risk of each disease itself. We learned from Sears and many other sources that, the truth is, we don’t know the real short- and long-term impact of vaccines on our children because it is impossible to do a bona fide study on them due to the ethical impossibility of creating a vaccine-free control group to compare with vaccinated youngsters.

We’ve learned that some diseases, like diphtheria, are so rare in the U.S. that most doctors trained within the last 20 years wouldn’t recognize their symptoms. We’ve also learned that parents of children with autoimmune disease might want to think twice before giving their babies controversial shots like MMR that have been linked to autoimmune disorders (as someone who suffers from a number of autoimmune disorders, I can’t help but wonder whether shots I had as a child might have played a role in starting all my troubles).

Lastly, and most concerning to me, is what we’ve learned about the amount of aluminum going into babies’ bodies with each CDC-recommended shot series. Dr. Sears wrote a great article on his concerns about aluminum titled “Is Aluminum the new Thermisal?” (Thermisal being now-banned mercury) that is worth a read. In it, Sears mentions, after piecing together several rather dismal studies on aluminum intake, that babies are receiving amounts of aluminum in the recommended CDC shot schedule that far exceed what we believe is safe for humans, to the tune of up to 62 times what the FDA recommends. The problem is that, once again, no one seems to be studying the effects of aluminum on our babies bodies over time and the various government agencies, who you would think look out for citizens’ interests, don’t seem to be asking the right questions or talking to one another.

Further, the article “Vaccine Debate” in Mothering Magazine addresses some of my concerns about putting other kids at risk by not fully vaccinating my own by the CDC’s schedule. The article discusses the fact that “good” vaccines have a rate of effectiveness of 90-98 percent and, therefore, the very small percentage of vaccinated children who might contract a disease if exposed to it would have only a mild case of the disease, assuming they had some immune response to the vaccine.

As a mother of a precious little being, I’m not willing to blindly do what the CDC or any doctor says without solid information that what they are recommending has been proven safe and effective. I would argue, based on what I’ve read, that the CDC’s recommended vaccination schedule-and the vaccines themselves-do not fall into the “proven safe and effective” category. I was happy to learn today reading Dr. Sear’s blog, that, finally, the government and CDC are planning to do research on the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. I will anxiously await the information they provide.

Vaccination is a precarious subject to blog about given the heated opinions on either side of the fence (I look forward to the comments I might get on this post). For what it’s worth, here is how my husband and I, after all of our research and hours of conversation with our open-minded pediatrician (who recommended The Vaccine Book to us), have decided to approach our baby’s vaccinations:

1. We decided on criteria that helped us decide what shots made sense to move forward with in our baby’s first year.

The Vaccine Book has an extremely helpful summary chart (pg 248) that lays out for each vaccine whether the disease is common or severe, whether the shot contains aluminum, whether the chemical content of the shot is high, whether it uses human or animal tissues (controversial ingredients), whether it has a long list of side effects, has a higher risk of severe side effects, and whether world travel is a higher risk than exposure in the U.S. Our criteria, partly based on this chart was, if the disease is common, severe/deadly, and if the shot’s ingredients were relatively benign, and the higher risk of severe side effects from the shot low, giving our daughter the shot was a no-brainer. The shots that met this criteria were DTaP, HIB, and PC. Unfortunately, our daughter had a severe reaction to DTaP, so we are now postponing DTaP indefinitely and sticking just with HIB and PC in the short term.

2. We are having our pediatrician give our baby shots on a slower schedule than the CDC recommends to allow her body to process less aluminum and other nasty ingredients each time, and to enable us to more easily differentiate which shot might be causing a reaction.

It doesn’t make sense to my husband and I to give our baby potentially dangerous amounts of aluminum every two months. It also doesn’t make sense to pummel her little body with a cocktail of various shots all at once so that, if she has a reaction, we can’t tell which shot is causing it. Therefore, we are following Dr. Sears’s alternative vaccination schedule (essentially one shot per month), sans a few shots we’re postponing beyond his alternative schedule or eliminating altogether.

3. We will not give our daughter shots for diseases that are relatively benign or where the risk of having a severe reaction to the shot could be higher than the risks of having the disease itself.

We plan to skip chickenpox because we don’t fear the disease, and, from what we’ve learned, getting chicken pox gives a person better immunity for life than getting the chickenpox shot which apparently wears off by adulthood, leaving the person at greater risk of catching a severe case of the disease as an adult (chickenpox can be much worse as an adult than as a child). Further, pre-teens can get a test to see if they’ve been exposed to the disease and, if they haven’t, parents can choose to give them the shot then to avoid a more severe case of chicken pox as an adolescent/adult. So, bring on the chickenpox party! We are contemplating skipping MMR because our daughter may have some inherited autoimmune disorders and some experts recommend that parents of children with autoimmune issues think twice about this shot. MMR is also full of controversial ingredients, has a relatively high likelihood of causing a severe reaction (compared to other shots), and the diseases are usually not severe, therefore, we’re not overly concerned about our daughter catching them. Several studies show that getting measles, like chickenpox, not only strengthens the overall immune system, it provides life-long immunity to the disease. We may choose to simply postpone MMR until our daughter’s immune system is a little more mature. With further research, we’ll decide.

4. We are postponing shots for diseases that exist only in other countries for when we travel to those countries-or until we start to see a rise in incidences of that disease in the U.S.

Given that we don’t plan to travel internationally anytime soon, we’d prefer to wait on certain vaccines (e.g Polio) until we do have plans to travel to countries in which the disease is still an issue (just like getting a yellow fever vaccine to go to Africa) and our daughter’s immune system is more mature. Similarly, if a disease we are concerned about begins to propulgate in the U.S. we’ll have Emerson get the shot.

These decisions have not come to us lightly. We are well aware of the good vaccines have done in this country and around the world. We know that parents in some countries would give anything to be able to vaccinate their child against a disease like Polio. That said, we are choosing to understand as best we can the risk our daughter faces today, in our community, in this country (for now) and making what we think are a series of educated decisions regarding vaccinations.

I would like to hear from others what their approach is to vaccinating their children. I think with open dialogue, we can all learn from one another and, perhaps put some collective pressure on the government and CDC to do thorough research on the many unknowns of vaccinations to ensure that what we’re giving our children is safe and effective.

Published 8.25.09 for www.ecochildsplay.com

A flurry of emails has been flying around the web warning that cell phone use could be risky business for you and, if you have one, your baby. As an avid multitasker who has mastered talking on the cell phone while doing ten other things, baby in hand, I decided to do a little research to see, well, what the research says.

After poking around on this issue, I can tell you that I’m worried. I’ve passed a few of the articles I’ve found to my husband and he’s so worried that he is planning to deactivate our wireless router and hard-wire both of our computers this week-and he’s constantly turning my Blackberry off. This causes a bit of bickering given how dependent I’ve become on that damn little device. It’s the number I use for my consulting business, I use it for email and texting when I un-tether myself from my computer, and, like most people, my friends and family try me there first. Now, friends think I’ve forgotten them and clients think I’m a flake because I don’t answer their calls and don’t return messages for days until I’ve discovered them (my mommy brain can’t seem to remember to check messages if my phone isn’t on to tell me that I have them). The bickering stops as soon as my husband says “Would you rather scramble little Emerson’s brain?”

So, turning off, or, God forbid, getting rid of my Blackberry, is a rather daunting proposition. It is part of what makes me a functioning member of society. I feel at one with Obama every time I see a picture of him squinting at his little screen, typing like a mad man. I can’t remember what life was like without it, just like I can’t imagine life without the Internet (are they going to tell us that we have to go back to type writers and faxing too)?

Behavior change is hard, but, by golly, after what I’ve read, I’m going to do it for my baby.

If you want to dig deeper on this issue, here are a few resources:

1.  How to Raise Chemical-Free Kids: Non-Toxic solutions from Dierdre Imus, The Daily Green

Imus, the author of the popular Green This! book series and founder of the Hackensack Children’s Oncology Center, suggests using the Precautionary Principle as an approach to cell phone use. She mentions that cell phone use tied to increased cancer rates is still highly debated but that studies have, in fact, found nerve cell damage and albumen leakage in mammalian brains from cell phones’ microwave frequencies.

2.  10 Ways to Limit Health Risk from Cell Phones, from Alexandre Zissu, The Daily Green

Zissu, author of The Complete Organic Pregnancy, mentions in her article that the country of France has banned cell phone use in elementary schools. She also provides a list of precautionary practices to help parents keep cell phone radiation at a minimum for you and your child.

3.  Your Cell Phone and Brain Tumors, from Dr. Mercola, mercola.com

Mercola features a TV news story that recently ran in Australia that mentions a new study in Australia just released on a clear link between cell phone use and malignant brain tumors. In fact, they estimate that cell phone use doubles the rate of brain cancer. This raises huge concerns about the world’s childrens’ and teens’ rampant use of cell phones. Mercola also provides links to additional studies here in the U.S. and abroad that have shown other health risks linked to cell phone use. In his article, he likens the use of cell phones to doctor- and government-sanctioned use of cigarettes in the first half of the 20th century, attempting an answer to the question “If cell phones are so bad, how could they possibly be legal?”

4. CNET’s Quick Guide lists the 20 highest-radiation cell phones and the 20 lowest

Unfortunately my Blackberry Curve from Verizon is number 6. Huh.

5. Cell Phones and Brain Tumors: 15 Reasons for Concern.  Science, Spin and the Truth Behind Interphone, from the Electro Magnetic Radiation Research Trust

This one is a doozy. This report, hot off the press today, provides up-to-date research on the link between cell phones and brain cancer and comes down hard on a global telecommunications industry’s study on the health risks of cell phone usage (as you would imagine, the Interphone study is quite soft on the issue, and, apparently, they’ve been slow to release what they’ve found). Here is an opening quote from one of the EMRT report’s endorsers:

“In a world where a drug cannot be launched without proof that it is safe, where the use of herbs and natural compounds available to all since Egyptian times are now questioned, their safety subjected to the deepest scrutiny, where a new food cannot be launched without prior approval, the idea that we can use mobile telephony, including masts, and introduce WiFi and mobile phones without restrictions around our 5 year olds is double-standards gone mad. I speak, not just as an editor and scientist that has looked in depth at all the research, but as a father that lost his beloved daughter to a brain tumour.” Chris Woollams, Editor, Integrated Cancer and Oncology News, Icon Magazine

Let’s hope that the concerns being raised today about cell phone use linked to health risks are exaggerated. In the meantime, the Precautionary Principle sounds good to me. Friends, call me on the land line.

By Gabby Anstey McDonald

I try not to take it personally. I really do. I mean how can you get offended when your 19-month-old doesn’t like the dinner you prepared for her? But I can’t help getting a tad aggravated…just a little! I love to cook so I like when people I cook for like what I make, even if they are still in diapers and sit in a highchair. Needless to say, I put love and energy into my toddler meals, but oftentimes to no avail.

I put the disclaimer out there that overall, my daughter is a pretty good eater. She’s not one of those kids who won’t touch anything unless it’s Veggie Booty (although she would choose it over most meals if given half the chance). But she is particular and isn’t always into trying new things. And she’s famous for loving something one day and not touching it the next. I read the books (Ruth Yaron’s Super Baby Food and Annabel Karmel’s First Meals, in particular) and while I think they are terrific, I must admit that I only pool from them in a general sense because really, who has the time to cut out grilled cheese sandwiches into clowns decorated with spinach bow ties, shredded carrot hair and sweet pea eyes. I wish I did, but I don’t. Then there is my sister who cooks up lavish stews and casseroles for her two boys and they shovel it in. I find myself having kid-eating-habit envy as I steam some veggies, dust some chicken with olive oil and serve them up (in separate piles, of course). To her credit, my meticulous little darling, is probably the neatest eater I’ve ever seen (she puts many adults I’ve seen to shame), but with that comes the fact that she doesn’t like her foods to mix, or barely even touch, for that matter.

So what’s a busy, working mom to do? Here’s what I’ve found that works.

1. Go at it when they’re strong!

My pediatrician recently told me at my daughter’s 18-month check-up that most kids her age really only eat two solid meals a day and basically graze for the third (if you’re lucky). For us, breakfast and lunch are definitely the strong suits with dinner trailing behind. I attribute this to it being the end of the day, she’s tired, and usually, daddy has just come home and she’s pre-occupied. So, I pack all that yummy goodness into breakfast and lunch and chalk dinner time up to a bonus, trying not to let myself get frustrated. I get the protein in early, as well as the fruits and veggies, so we’re good to go. My little one will always eat yogurt so sometimes that becomes a fall-back dinner instead of the more typical breakfast or lunch food one would peg it as.

2. Morph it into something palatable (disguise it behind what they like)

• My kid will eat most things wrapped in a tortilla. She’s absolutely mad about tortillas and I’ve found that just about anything can be turned into a taco…we wrap fish, chicken, pork, beef. I typically tear the tortilla into little pieces and have the meat in little pieces so she can eat them herself.

• She won’t eat eggs, but loves pretty much anything carb, so I use an entire egg for one piece of French Toast and she thinks it’s the greatest. (I use this trick for a savory starch, too, melting a little cheese on top for lunch or dinner).

• Fish wasn’t high on the list (even as taco) so I started sautéing it with some honey (salt, pepper, fresh lime, sometimes some soy) and now she loves it. This was actually my husband’s idea and I sauté the fish until it’s borderline crispy (i.e. void of all slime).

3. Don’t make too big of a deal

When we started the whole eating thing, I tried to remain relaxed by giving my daughter what she liked and not forcing things she didn’t. Now that she’s a little older, I can reason with her so I do try negotiating at times (“you can have applesauce if you eat your steak,” or even better, “you can have carrots if you eat your chicken”…I particularly love when the bartering tool is something I wouldn’t mind if she ate buckets of). But I still try not to make things too much of a big deal. Sometimes the more I try to coax, the more she protests. And, if she liked something last week, I know she still probably still likes it, but is either playing, or just being stubborn (she is definitely the latter). In that case, I usually let it go without making a federal case. Also along those lines are leftovers. Maybe she takes after my husband on this one, but my little one is not big into next-day leftovers (unless it’s mac and cheese), so I’ve found it helps to skip a day and to try and somehow make it look new.

4. Get em hungry

I’m a big fan of the snacks, but I try to keep them to a minimum in the afternoons. My daughter usually wakes up from her nap around 4 and dinner is at 6 or 6:30. I know she’s probably a bit hungry after sleeping, but I try to keep the snacks light and on the early side so that she’s hungrier for dinner.

5. Give things fun names

I get excited about meals to try to get her riled up as well. More specifically, I’m a big proponent of giving dishes fun names. I frequently find that the more pumped I get about something, the more she does as well.

• “mini burgers”: mini hamburgers or turkey burgers

• “baby tacos”: see #2

• “honey cod” or “honey salmon”: see #2

• “big girl hot dog”: exactly as it sounds…the whole hot dog (all natural, nitrate-free like Applegate Farms) in a whole bun that she can hold herself

6. Make it a routine

Of course we’re sometimes out and about for meals; especially now that it’s summer lunch-on-the-go happens frequently (picnics at the pool or the park). I do make an effort, however, to have two of three meals at home in the highchair. I’m definitely not completely psycho about this and there are certainly days where we are out more than others, but I think it helps to try to make organized meals at home customary. Kids respond to routine.

7. Buy healthy and organic when possible

Visit things like The Daily Green’s, The Dirty Dozen: Top 12 Foods to Eat Organic, and The Clean 15: Foods You Don’t Have to Buy Organic, to see what you should buy that’s organic and what you don’t need to worry about as much. This way, you know they’re eating good stuff, and you can feel good about it, even if actual meals can be make-shift or half-assed at times.

8. Straight from the horse’s mouth

With new things in particular, I let my picky little eater try things directly from the pot cooking on the stove, from my plate, or from her dad’s. When it’s not in front of her on her plate, it’s more intriguing. That way she tries it, likes it, and is more inclined to eat her own portion. Everything is always better when it’s someone else’s…come on, we all know that!

9. If it’s a meal in a box, make it a good box

I’m definitely not afraid to do the quick and easy prefab meal, because, well, they love them and I’m not always feeling that creative!!! I’m just careful about what I buy and try to limit them to once a week. There are some really good products out there these days, if you’re willing to look and usually spend a little more. Our favorites include: Annie’s Mac & Cheese, Natural Sea Premium Cod Fish Sticks, Applegate Farms Natural Chicken Nuggets, and Applegate Farms Natural Beef and Natural Turkey Hot Dogs.

10. Patience!!

Tastes change…rapidly. I didn’t start solid food until my baby was eight months old. I had so many people think I was crazy, but I just wasn’t ready, and since she wasn’t one of those kids who was reaching for my fork across the table, I felt it safe to assume she wasn’t ready either. She started out strong in the food department, but has proven to be somewhat particular. She flat-out protested cow’s milk for about six weeks, isn’t big into rice or pasta (unless it’s mac and cheese), won’t eat potatoes… Of course, I initially thought it was because I waited too long to introduce food, but because I was happy with my decision for both of us, and because I know several other moms who face similar issues with their kids (and started solids at five or six months), I wasn’t willing to let that be the culprit. Instead I’ve found that having as much patience as possible and continuing to try new things (and revisit old ones) is key. It seems that kids usually come around, but they sure are fickle little beings, aren’t they?

By Allison Wolff

As of yesterday, I am the mother of a happy, healthy one year old girl named Emerson. In my year of motherhood, I have figured out a few things including what products I absolutely love and want every other mommy to have. We haven’t had to buy much thanks to our generous community of hand-me-downers. When we do buy, we do as much research as possible on function, toxins, and quality (so that we can hand them down someday). The following products are items that meet some eco criteria. All have made life easier, look great in our small space, or are loved by Emerson.

1. Born Free glass bottles

My husband and I are completely freaked out by plastic-even BPA-free plastic, particularly when heating it. We used only BornFree Glass Bottles for those middle-of-the-night expressed milk daddy feedings (thank goodness we’re not up at night anymore). We heated them in the First Years Bottle Warmer or in a pan of hot water (we’re freaked out by microwaves too) and had no issues with cracking. As an avid breast feeder, Emerson loved the stern sucking required from the flow-controlled nipple too.

2. The Svan high chair

This product is expensive ($250), but well worth the price given its look, quality, functionality, and long life. The Svan’s flexible design works as baby’s highchair and continuously morphs to fit “baby” through toddlerhood, childhood, and teenage hood. We live in a small space so it is nice to have a compact, nice looking piece of furniture in our kitchen and it’s easy to clean to boot.

3. Sophie the Giraffe

The word is out that Sophie the Giraffe is one of the most loved squeaky, fun teething toys ever. This classic French toy, made in the Alps with non-toxic materials is a happy distraction from shoes, electrical cords, and everything else nasty that baby tends to chew on when teething.

4. Natursutten All-Natural Rubber Orthodontic Pacifier

Luckily Emerson found her thumb early, but every now and then she loved to suck or chew on a pacifier. Again, due to our fears of toxic plastics, phalates, and BPA-full products, we found these fantastic natural rubber pacifiers, and Emerson loved them!

5. The Orbit toddler car seat and stroller combination

We were given a handed down infant car seat. Given that our baby is huge, and now one year old, we started researching toddler car seat options. The first place we went is healthycar.org to see what the lowest toxin car seats were (toxic off-gassing in a small car compartment is a big problem). The Orbit was one of two seats with a green rating, meaning it is made with the lowest amount of toxins. Next, we looked at a variety of consumer product ratings around the web and the Orbit was a five star product from a user perspective on every site. In addition to being comfortable, convertible (it can go backward or forward and lasts up to 50lbs), it is the only toddler car seat I’ve found that fits to a stroller. We’ve always worn Emerson in the Bjorn or Ergo, but the girl is getting heavy and having an easy car seat stroller combo started to make sense. This is another pricey product, but, because of its many qualities, we’re going for it (well, OK. Grammy’s getting it for Emerson’s first birthday).

As a conscious consumer, I am thrilled to find more and more products that combine great design, quality, and eco-characteristics. I’d love to hear from readers what their favorite products are too.