Thanks but no thanks, to formula gifts

"Breastfeeding's number one, mom!"

Did your pediatrician or OB/GYN give you a "gift" from a formula company?  Did this affect your decision to breastfeed/bottle feed?  
With my first child, it did.  When our son was born, my heart was set on breastfeeding and only using a bottle for pumped milk.  When my milk supply dropped, I leaned on those free samples, thinking that I didn't have to pay for it so it wasn't THAT bad.  This free gift cost us around $100.00 a month to buy formula until he could drink cow's milk.  The few uses of formula were enough that my son rejected nursing all together.  The bottle was easier and more filling.  He refused to breastfeed any more.


Strides have been made in the effort to stop these marketing tactics, to lessen the pressure on mothers to feed their newborns with formula.  "The American Academy of Pediatrics has passed a resolution advising pediatricians 'not to provide formula company gift bags, coupons, and industry-authored handouts to the parents of newborns and infants in office and clinic settings',"


With my second child, I've had no pressure to use formula as she will not take a bottle, at all.  We are breastfeeding exclusively, and it's encouraging that my freezer is full of mommy's milk and my home is free of formula.  Come to think of it, there are samples sitting somewhere on my kitchen counter... I couldn't bring myself to throw them away because purchasing it would be so expensive.  It seems silly, even moms would are successfully breastfeeding may hold on to those samples "just in case."  I think I'll be tossing those today.




Learn more about the ban of formula "gifts":
article


resolution

Lunch and Munch - English Muffin Pizzas

English Muffins aren’t just for breakfast, anymore.  Today’s “what’s in the pantry” lunch is pizza assembled on top of an english muffin.  

I went searching through the pantry for supplies.  I didn’t have everything I needed for enchilada casserole (my original meal plan), I had no ground beef for the assortment of dishes I could make with that, I did have sausage but no grand ideas of what to make with that... and I couldn’t bare another evening of hot dogs on the grill.  To my child-like delight, I had exactly what I needed for english muffin pizzas!  Pepperoni and mozzarella cheese were in the freezer from a bulk pizza-making adventure we had a while ago, there were two english muffins left in the package, and I found a bottle of red pasta sauce in the pantry.


Moms with tots and bigger kiddos, let the kids help assemble the muffin pizzas.  This is a fun cooking activity for little ones, and it may help picky eaters participate in meal time. 

Step 1

preheat oven to 300 degrees

Step 2

cut the english muffin in half and place on a cookie sheet or baking sheet

Step 3

put sauce on the muffins

(I used more on mine, and less on my son’s because he’s not sure if he likes tomatoes or not...)

Step 4

put cheese on muffins

Step 5

put additional toppings on muffins

(pepperoni for mine, but you can use any thing that a normal pizza would have, be creative)

Step 6

bake for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted

YUM! 

Lunch and Munch - BBQ Chicken

Craving foods, it’s something we all do.  So when the BBQ chicken craving took hold, I got busy in the kitchen.  Last night, we had BBQ Chicken “Du Jour”.  Here’s how I did it:

“BBQ Chicken Du Jour”

Sauce ingredients:  I added these ingredients to the BBQ sauce I had to stretch it

1 Cup your choice of BBQ Sauce (I used Kraft Honey Barbecue Sauce) 

1/4 Cup 7UP (or Sprite, or Sierra Mist... a lemon-lime soda)

2 TBLS Brown Sugar

2 TBLS Maple Syrup

1/2 Cup Tomato Ketchup 

you can change these ingredients to taste

Step 1

Clean and dry chicken thighs and/or legs and preheat oven to 375 degrees

Step 2

In a skillet, warm 1 table spoon of vegetable oil, then add chicken to the skillet to brown the skin

Step 3

While skin is browning, mix your BBQ sauce in the bottom of a 9 by 13 glass baking pan

Step 4

Once skin is lightly browned, remove from skillet and cover chicken in BBQ sauce, then place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes

Step 5

After 30 minutes, use a spoon or brush to cover your chicken in sauce, keeping it moist and flavorful, then bake for another 10 minutes

Step 6

Check your chicken - is it done? no more pink, and to temperature of at least 165 degrees?  If not, bake for another 5 minutes and check again.

Setting the Table -

While your chicken bakes, you can create some yummy side dishes for the meal.  I chose a fresh spinach and arugula salad, garnished with raspberries and blueberries fresh from a local fruit stand.  I chose brown rice as our carbohydrate which was a nice, light choice for this HOT day (Nearly 90 degrees today, the hottest we’ve had this summer).  

Here’s my Grandma Maxine’s mouth-watering BBQ chicken recipe: 

“Meem’s Oven BBQ Chicken”  

Sauce ingredients:  

2T butter

2T ketchup

2T brown sugar

1T lemon juice

¼ - ½ tsp liquid smoke

1 ½ tsp Worcestershire sauce

Cooking Directions:

Bring ingredients to a boil in a saucepan

Pour over skinned chicken in a glass baking pan

Bake 350  35-45 min or until done

Feed your cravings.  It’s my philosophy that our bodies crave foods for a reason, when pregnant, and we should follow what we want.  It can be so satisfying to fill those cravings.  Just keep in mind that the food you put into a pregnant body is giving nutrition to the baby, not just you.  It’s best to make healthy choices when following those cravings so that your body gets what it needs.

And the paint goes on...

After months of on-again-off-again work on my son's new big boy room, we’re nearing the finish line.  With both rooms we’ve decorated for the kids, it’s been my goal for them to be the nicest in the house.  If we can’t have a million dollar home, I still want their rooms to feel like they live in luxury.  Being able to design and work on their rooms has been a source of control for me in a life that can, at times, feel chaotic.  It’s been a blessing to have so much help to make their rooms look nice and I wanted to share a little about these projects. 

When painting my son’s nursery I was VERY pregnant, eight months along, and probably should not have been painting... Because of this, we took precautions.  I was able to sit for most of the parts I painted, letting me rest and not exhaust myself into labor.  We also made sure the room and house were well ventilated with open windows and a Fresh Air machine running.

When we painted my son’s big boy room, my newborn daughter was already here.  I still worried about the fumes in our house with a new baby and because I am nursing.  

Here's some information I dug up about painting while pregnant or breastfeeding:

The first rule to painting while pregnant or breastfeeding is to never use lead paint.  Don’t risk it.  

Painting while pregnant - from what I’ve read on the internet, safety depends on the type of paint you use.  Some say that a low VOC (volatile organic compounds), zero VOC, or zero odor paint makes painting safest for mommy and baby in her belly.  

Some chemicals and fumes have been linked to birth defects, so ask questions before you use a new product.  Ask your midwife, ask your doctor, ask the salesperson, check the internet to see what it says about that product. Knowledge is power, so get some good answers.

Painting and breastfeeding - I’m not seeing much information on the internet that indicates danger in relation to painting a room in your home while breastfeeding.  Assuming that you are not feeding your baby with a paintbrush in your hand, the best way to minimize possible dangers is to keep your home well ventilated and limit exposure.

Here are my suggestions for painting while pregnant, if you can’t resist the urge to nest:

Ventilation - open windows and turn on fans 

Protect skin - wear protective clothing - long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and gloves

Limit exposure - give yourself breaks, let others help or do the work for you

Do not eat or drink in the project room because paint doesn’t taste good and you don’t want to accidentally consume any.

Why low-voc paint makes a difference:

what are VOCs?  volatile organic compounds.  Here's a link to the EPA info. on VOC  http://www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html

Big Boy Room

Nursery

Pinterest inspiration - After scanning through Pinterest.com for hours, I fell in love with the stripes in the room at this link.  I changed the colors to fit the color scheme I wanted and stenciled out the stripes to fit our space.  I had about eight feet to work with from carpet to ceiling.  The measurements I created were:  33'' dark green, 20'' light green, 3'' blue, 6'' light green, 6'' dark green, 12'' yellow, 3'' blue, 9'' light green.


My son had a "forest friends" themed nursery.  That will become my daughter's nursery when she moves out of the bassinet and into her own room.  Jon, my partner in life and fiance, is set on "brightening up" the nursery with some yellow once we've finished the big boy room (I'm not sure if this will happen.)  I had planned to keep the forest theme for the big boy room, but after walking though Babies-R-Us, Jon decided that our son loved the monkeys soooo much that we got him some new decals.  He'll be dreaming in his new jungle soon.


Carter's Forest Friends - used to decorate the nursery
Ikea Leaf - will use to decorate the big boy room
Behr Paint - the brand we used to paint both rooms

Colors used: 
Big Boy Room
Darker Green:  Geranium Leaf    430D-5
Lighter Green:  Garden Spot    430D-4
Yellow:  Yellow Corn    330B-5
Blue:  Voyage    UL220-2


Nursery
Darker Blue:  Voyage    UL220-2
Lighter Blue:  Tahoe Blue    UL220-3
Brown:  Basketry    UL140-9 

The nursery with furniture

The nursery with furniture

Nursery

Dresser from GoodWill after painting and decoration

Big Boy Room

Back wall meets west wall

Big Boy Room

Front wall meets east wall

Big Boy Room

East wall meets back wall

***  I am not an expert, a doctor, or anyone who is qualified to give "advice" so please check with your health care provider before using any products you are uncertain of, especially if you are pregnant.  ***

Lunch and Munch - Fried Rice

The other day we had theme lunch: Mulan and Fried Rice.  It was quite by accident, I wish I could take credit for this lunch-movie combo.  

For lunch, I took the “easy fixin’ route” and used Uncle Ben’s 90 Second Ready Rice (Brown Rice) and frozen mixed vegetables.  Right now, some of you are thinking, “who qualified this lady to write a mom blog when she doesn’t even cook meals from scratch?!”  That’s fair, I have not yet shared any of the delicious, made-from-scratch, fresh and healthy meals we have here on a regular basis.  
I’m just a busy mom with a two-year old and a two-month old, no further explanation is needed if you have kids of your own.  Sometimes it's more important to get food on the table than to cook a culinary masterpiece.  Overall, my goal is to share easy, survival-mode meals that moms can put on the table quickly, fill their kid’s belly with, and feel good about serving because although it’s the easy version, it’s still full of good nutrition for our kiddos.  

Today’s Lunch and Munch is “fried rice.” Uncle Ben’s 90 Second Ready Rice cooks in the microwave. The hardest part is waiting for it to cool because it’s REALLY hot and could burn your little one’s mouth.  It also only took 90 seconds in the microwave to warm the frozen mixed vegetables I mixed into the rice.  Once those are warm and ready, stir in a little butter and a touch of soy sauce and it’s ready for the table.  This makes about 2 servings for under $2.50.

For mom’s more sophisticated pallet, here are some fried rice recipes that will make your mouth water: 

Fried Rice

House Fried Rice

Salt and Pepper Shrimp with Fried Rice

Asian Edamame Fried Rice

and check out this book:

Deceptively Delicious, a cook book that has “simple secrets to get your kids eating good food”  Do It Delicious

Happy Munching!  

Mommy Du Jour


SWAP NEWS:  I'm able to use the facility that I wanted for the swap! (I'll announce the location later).  I'm working on a date for the event and on the rental rate to cut down the costs of the event.   I still don't have any donations and I'm working on ways to reach out to the community to see if moms are willing to help by donating the maternity clothing they no longer need.  If you are a mom or know a mom who no longer needs maternity clothes, I'd be over the moon if you'd like to help this cause by donating some of it to help other moms cut down on maternity costs.  Think about how much it would have helped you.  Let's pay it forward and help other moms fit their bellies into comfortable clothing during their pregnancy.   Thanks!