Category — Health and Nutrition

When my two children were still babies, I used to do Infant Massage with them. I would tear up every time because it was such a special bonding experience. Those squishy little cuties would just lay there and stare into my eyes and I would get overwhelmed with feelings. It probably didn’t help that I was an emotional basketcase for at least a year after I had given birth. But it really is a special time when you can focus solely on your little one, and I think it’s something that every parent should experience.

Dads, if you’re looking for a way to bond with your new baby, this is it! It doesn’t take a lot of time but it provides many benefits for both you and baby. You can learn more about it in our new article:

Infant Massage – A bonding experience full of health benefits for you and your baby.

If you use infant massage on your baby or have in the past, please share your experiences in the comments!

I mentioned in my last post that wraps were great to pack for lunch, and since Mondays will now be Recipe Mondays, I thought I’d kick it off with a delicious wrap recipe.

Enjoy!

Healthy Chicken Salad Wrap

Ingredients:
2 – 3 medium flour tortillas
2 cooked chicken breasts, diced
¼ cup red and yellow bell peppers, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp plain yogurt
¼ cup cheddar cheese cubed or shredded
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:
Add chicken, cheese, mayonnaise, yogurt, bell peppers and celery into a bowl and mix well. Add salt and pepper. Warm tortilla slightly to make it easier to fill. Place ½ – 1 cup of chicken filling on top of the tortilla and wrap.

A wrap is a nice break from boring sandwiches and there are lots of great flavors for tortillas like spinach, sundried tomatoes, pesto, etc. that you can choose from.

My daughter just started Kindergarten so packing lunches has been added to my list of things to do. That list is quite long already so I’ve been keeping my eye out for quick and easy lunch ideas to help make sure that particular task doesn’t take up too much of my time.

There are no microwaves or fridges at the school for student use so everything has to be made ready-to-eat. Here are some ideas that you can use for your own child if they’re heading to school, or they make great lunches at home when you’re busy with other things and don’t have time for a long lunch.

Fruit – My kids are fruit fanatics so sending any kind of fruit along with lunch always gets a little 5-yr old thumbs up. You can cut a kiwi in half and pack it in a container with a spoon. Bananas, apples and grapes are oldies but goodies. Watermelon, strawberries, raspberries pears, nectarines and peaches are easy to pack too.

Veggies – Baby carrots and snap peas are quick and easy to send for lunch. You can buy them pre-washed so all you need to do is throw them in a baggie and you’re set. You can cut up other veggies like celery, cucumber, cauliflower, or even broccoli if your kids like them like mine do. You can send a small container of ranch dressing if they like to have a dip with their veggies. If your child isn’t a huge fan of vegetables, here are some ideas to get them to eat more.

Cheese – After you buy a block of cheese, cut half of it into slices and keep it stored in the fridge in a container. You can throw a few slices in a baggie each morning.

Buns – Sandwiches are always a good option for lunch but they take up a lot of space in a small lunchbox so I like to make buns instead. A whole wheat bun with some cheese and ham is what I send. My mom used to make me peanut butter and jam sandwiches when I was in school but since allergies seem to have increased, schools now ask parents not to send anything that contains nuts. (Not to mention a PB&J sandwich isn’t the most nutritious choice.)

Pizza – We like to make pizza from scratch since it’s cost efficient and a lot healthier than delivery. My kids love to eat cold leftover pizza the next day so a slice of pizza once in awhile would be a nice change from buns or sandwiches every day.

Wraps – A tortilla wrap can be rolled around just about anything to make a tasty lunch. If you have some leftover chicken or turkey, add some lettuce and a bit of cheese in. If you don’t have leftover meat, some canned tuna or salmon also works.

Beverage – My kids don’t drink juice very often so I have a reusable drink container that I send with filtered water. The school also has a milk program and I think most other schools do as well.

Dessert – Around here, fruit is dessert, not cake and ice cream. I have some fruit cups, apple sauce, etc. that I send with my daughter. Homemade pudding is a nice treat occasionally. When we’re running low on fruit, I pack a little bag of crackers like Wheat Thins or Triscuits.

You know when your child comes home with an empty lunchbox that you packed a winner. Either that or they traded someone else’s lunch for their lunch.

If your toddler loves to eat anything hot like oatmeal or soup, then you know how time consuming it can be to cool it off so they can eat it safely.

If you have an ice cube tray, freeze milk in it and keep it in your freezer so you can throw a frozen milk cube in the oatmeal to cool it off quickly.

If you don’t have time to freeze milk for hot cereal, toss in some frozen berries if you have them. My kids love eating frozen blueberries in their oatmeal.

For soup, frozen vegetables works wonders. It cools it off fast plus you can sneak in some extra veggies.

If you’re trying to conceive your first baby, or you are working on baby #2, #3, etc., it helps to have some tips that can make you conceive sooner. I’ve got a few for you today:

Chillax. Stress is thought to be a factor in infertility. Trying to conceive can be extremely stressful. You can help relieve stress by exercising, getting enough sleep, and meditation. You can also relax with some regular yoga and massages.

Become a health nut. Cut out habits like smoking, alcohol and caffeine. Start eating a healthy diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables and lean meats. Get organize, natural food as much as possible. Foods that contain hormones and other chemicals can decrease your chances of conceiving.

Make sex fun. Don’t let it become an item to check off on your “to do list”. Add some variety, if ya know what I’m sayin’. There is no evidence to prove that one position is best, so try them all!

Roll out the welcome wagon. Douches, vaginal sprays, scented tampons, lubricants, etc. can all mess with your vagina’s environment and pH levels. Avoid them while you’re trying to conceive.

Monitor your cycle. Fertility monitors will take the guesswork out of knowing when you’re most likely to conceive. The window of opportunity is small, so it’s helpful to know your cycle as best as you can.

Wait a couple days in between “tries”. Having sex too often can lower a man’s sperm count. Waiting about two days will allow it to go back up so you can get a good dose the next time.

Start taking a prenatal vitamin. A regular multi-vitamin doesn’t contain the right combination for a woman trying to conceive or who is already pregnant.

Don’t let gravity do it’s job. Stay horizontal for as long as you can after having sex. Give those little guys a chance to reach their destination. You don’t need to stand on your head, but laying down with a pillow under your hips for at least 20 minutes will help.

Talk with your doctor. They can offer you advice tailored specifically for you, your body, and your lifestyle. They can also test both you and your partner to see how fertile you each are.

I recently received this question from a reader and I know a lot of parents wonder the same thing so I thought I’d share my answer with you.

Question: How do you get your baby to drink cow’s milk. Or can you give them chocolate milk?

My Answer: Pediatricians don’t recommend cow’s milk for babies until they’re at least 12 months old, so if your baby is older than a year, my best advice would be to gradually introduce milk in a sippy cup or a regular plastic cup a little bit each day.

It sometimes takes quite a few tries for them to develop a taste for it since it tastes so different than breastmilk and formula. Start with whole milk so baby can still benefit from the extra fat.

If that doesn’t work you can try mixing half cow’s milk and half formula or breastmilk together so the taste isn’t such a drastic change.

I would avoid giving baby any chocolate milk. Not only is the added sugar unnecessary but problems can develop in the future. It could be very difficult to get baby to drink regular milk after having a taste of chocolate milk. If you really want to, I’d only use it as a treat once in awhile.

In my previous post I mentioned a few of the benefits of breastfeeding your baby. In today’s post I wanted to talk about the not-so-pleasant side of breastfeeding, specifically – clogged milk ducts which is something I experienced when I breastfed my daughter a couple months after she was born.

What is a clogged milk duct?

Your breastmilk flows through “ducts” in your breast which can sometimes get plugged for various reasons. You’ll probably notice a hard lump in your breast which can be very sore or downright painful.

If the sore area is warm to the touch and you start to feel feverish or achy, it has most likely become infected. This can lead to mastitis so it’s important to deal with a clogged milk duct as soon as you can.

What causes plugged milk ducts?

In my case, I think the fact that I didn’t vary nursing positions often enough was the cause. Clogged ducts will occur when your breastmilk isn’t drained completely. This can also be caused by:

• an improperly fitted or poor quality nursing bra
• breastfeeding infrequently
• using a crappy quality breast pump
• sickness or stress

Not everyone will experience this but even if you do, there are a few ways to get that puppy unplugged.

How to treat a clogged milk duct

The best way to unclog a plugged up milk duct is to breastfeed as often as possible even though it can be extremely uncomfortable.

Try a different nursing position each time. For example, I held my daughter on my lap during one feeding, then I’d lay down and breastfeed her while laying down the next time.

The football hold was my favorite breastfeeding position at that time because her chin was pointed toward the clogged duct.

Something else I did to relieve the pain in between feedings was to keep applying a warm compress to my chest. Massaging the sore area with a warm cloth really helped.

I also stopped pumping since the first pump I used was a cheap, poor quality pump and I’m still not sure if that might have played a part in the clogged milk duct. (I recommend a good breast pump here.) If you already have a good quality pump, you may want to try pumping more often until the duct becomes unclogged.

I tried to hand-express milk while sitting in a warm bath which was suggested to me by a nurse, but it didn’t seem to make any difference.

When my milk duct finally came unclogged, I could actually feel it happen. Hopefully this won’t gross you out, but during a feeding (and it’s useful to note that I was using a breastfeeding position that I had never tried before), I could feel a little “pop” in my breast and I instantly felt 100% better. I asked the nurse how that plugged up, hardened milk would affect my baby and she said it doesn’t affect them at all.

How to avoid getting clogged ducts

With my second baby, I was more careful to vary my breastfeeding positions to prevent uneven pressure.

I also made sure to dish out on a set of good quality nursing bras. My favorite was actually the Playtex nursing bra because it was easy to use with one hand. So comfortable, I even wore it for a year after I stopped breastfeeding.

My favorite position to sleep is on my stomach, but I tried to stay on my back as much as possible because the added pressure to your breasts can cause clogged ducts.

I didn’t experience a clogged duct with my second child so I’ll be sure to follow the same steps the next time as well.

During pregnancy, you may have decided to breastfeed your baby because of all the benefits for both you and baby that breastfeeding provides. However, the closer your due date gets, the more anxious you may feel.

Chances are, other well-meaning but possibly irritating mothers might have told you all their breastfeeding horror stories and now you’re starting to get the jitters. I know I did.

My mother in law told me numerous times about the yeast infection she got in her breast while she was breastfeeding and it scared the you-know-what out of me!

Even though there can be complications that arise when it comes to breastfeeding, all the benefits make it all worth it. I managed to get a clogged milk duct but it didn’t last long and it was easy to remedy. It wasn’t terrifying like so many moms made it out to be.

Here are just some of the reasons why more and more moms are “braving it” and choosing to breastfeed:

• Babies require fewer hospitalizations
• They develop fewer respiratory, urinary tract, and ear infections among others
• Babies are at a lesser risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
• They suffer from fewer bouts of allergies and asthma as they age
• They’ll have higher I.Q. scores
• Obesity and cancer risk will drop in later years

Moms are benefiting from breastfeeding too. Here are a few reasons why:

• Less bleeding and quicker recovery after childbirth
• Menstrual cycle is suppressed so you may experience lighter or fewer periods, or none at all for months
• Chances of developing ovarian and breast cancer are reduced
• It’s free
• Weight loss is significantly more efficient during breastfeeding

With all these benefits, it’s easy to overlook any of the cons of breastfeeding. In my next post, I’ll be talking about some of the complications you can experience during breastfeeding and how to avoid them. Make sure to subscribe to my RSS feed so you don’t miss it.

You can read more about breastfeeding during the first few days as well as how to deal with engorgement after your milk comes in.

I posted recently about a sneaky way I get my kids to eat spinach. Now, I have 9 more ways for you to get your kids eating more veggies.

9 Simple Ways to Get Your Kids to Eat More Veggies

It seems like a never-ending battle with the kids. Although you and I know veggies are delicious and they’re also good for you, they act like vegetables are a plague they want to avoid at all costs.

If you need creative ways to get your kids to eat more vegetables, here are 9 ideas to incorporate into your daily meals right away:

1. Make healthy choices readily available and put the sugary and greasy snacks away. This doesn’t mean totally deprive yourselves of these delightful treats, but making healthy eating a normal part of your day goes a long way to helping kids develop better eating habits.

2. Add veggies like carrots or even asparagus to smoothies. Kids love fruit smoothies and they’ll never know you put in a little of those dreaded vegetables in.

3. Sneak vegetables into other foods. For example: Add grated carrots into spaghetti sauce or make a zucchini chocolate cake.

4. Try dip. You know kids love to dip everything. Just make sure they know they have to eat the dip stick and not just lick it!

5. Take your kids shopping with you. Let your child pick out a new vegetable in the grocery store that they’ve never tried. Then prepare the vegetable together.

6. Be patient and consistent. Avoid having a tantrum yourself when your child has a tantrum about vegetables on their plate. Sometimes it will take several times of serving the same food before your child is even willing to try it.

7. Make it artistic and fun. Place veggies into a smiley face on your child’s plate or decorate a pizza with them.

8. Let them choose: raw or cooked. Some children may have a definite preference as to whether their veggies are cooked or raw.

9. Plan your meals. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the veggies when you don’t have a plan…allowing your kids to get into the habit of veggie-free meals. Plan your meals and grocery lists in advance, so you won’t come up short on the greenery.

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I’ve been having trouble getting my kids to eat spinach so I thought I’d try something different today. Normally I add baby spinach to sandwiches (like egg salad or salmon sandwiches) but they always pick it out. Today, I made spaghetti and threw in a bag of baby spinach while boiling the spaghetti.

After it was cooked, I tossed it with some pasta sauce and served it to my little unsuspecting kidlets.

They both ate every last morsel, spinach and all!

When they were finished, I told them they just ate a bunch of spinach. I made sure to mention that spinach makes you “big and strong like daddy” so they were perfectly happy with that.

So if you’re looking for a way to slip some spinach into your kid’s diet, try boiling it with some pasta next time.