For the Love of Sucking

My children love to suck. Aidan started sucking his finger when he was 12 months. We were in Florida and thought it was the funniest thing and once he discovered how to do it there was no turning back. (He has since released the middle finger from his nose.)
We talk about it daily and I would have thought that nearing 5 he would diminish this act but there seems to be no end in sight. So, when Bella came along I gave her a soother. Not sure if that was the right thing to do but 2 finger suckers seemed unimaginable. Now she is quite attached to the soother. If she really wants it and I don't give it to her she just begins to suck her finger as her brother does. She does not discriminate the suck. Smart girl.

I began researching sucking in children. I found an interesting article involving tribal cultures and how no finger sucking exists in these cultures. As long as the babies and children can suck at the nipple as freely as they wish, which they usually do until 7 yrs. old, then there is no need to finger suck. Well, being self employed my nipples had to come with me to work (even if it was only 2 half days per week) when my children were 4 months old. Yet, my children were fed on demand, nursed through the night and co-slept in their infancy.

Dr. Spock says " the main reason that young babies suck their thumbs seems to be that they haven't had enough sucking at the breast or bottle to satisfy their sucking needs". I do not agree with this statement for my kids as Aidan nursed for 18 months and I nursed him whenever he wanted during the day and in the night to help get back to sleep. Bella still nurses and she is 2.5 yrs.

There is a lot of information on sucking and its self soothing abilties as well as how emotional children need to suck to reduce anxiety levels. I can see this for Aidan but not as much for Bella. Let us remember that sucking is a natural instinct, a survival technique that babies are born with so they feed and survive. We seem to think that this primal instinct should disappear when our babies are 6 months old. In western culture we think at 6 months these tiny beings have reached a new milestone and that they should lose that need to suck, when in fact they are still very much babies.

Lastly, there is information about intelligence and the need to suck. How the sucking reflex stimulates brain development and thus raises the babies IQ's. I'll go with that theory!
Well for now, they love to suck (and they love each other!) and no matter how much we discuss it they are going to suck until they decide they are done with sucking. The bottom line is it is something I have no control over as I can't cut their fingers off.

The Sting

Aidan was walking in the park and stepped on a wasp and got stung! For those who know Aidan, you know how sensitive he is and one thing he can not deal with is, pain. Poor guy was screaming and could not be consoled. We quickly went home and got some Apis. This remedy is indicated for any stinging or burning sensation which he obviously had. After a single dose (!) and a spiderman sock to shield his foot the screaming stopped and we were able to resume our morning in the park.

I am putting together homeopathic first aid kits.....contact me if interested.

What Me?? A UTI?

I was suprised when at the beginning of the week I was exhibiting signs of a Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). I was having urgency and after a few trips to the bathroom with not much volume I finally clued in. I pulled out my dipsticks and low and behold within seconds white blood cells and blood were obviously and quite potently present.

And so it began.....Every 20 minuted I cycled my remedies and after 1.5 hours the relief had kicked in. I kept with my plan for the next few days and I would say 3 days later my symptoms were gone and my dipsticks were clear! Antibiotics did not even crosss my mind and they were not needed.

My Plan:
1. Water, Water and more Water. I normally only drink water and tea (herbal but occassionally I do love Chai). However in the past few months I have not been drinking or been too busy to drink so my intake has been less.
2. Homemade Cranberry Juice. I boil some frozen berries in water, blend and strain. So Easy and affordable. I drank about 8 oz of puree/day.
3. UNDA # 2, 7, 44. These are homeopathic liquid remedies geared for the kidney and urinary system. They are safe in pregnancy, children and those on medication but always check with your ND before using.
4.D-Mannose- this powder is amazing as it kills the bacteria (mainly E.Coli) by washing them away from the urinary wall. Tastes great too! I took a few tsp per day. This is what I give Bella every morning to ensure a clean bladder due to her history of frequent UTI's.
5. Acidophilus- 2 caps per day to put those good guys back!!
6. Citricidal- 2 tab per day to kill those bad guys!
7. Botanical Tincture- I have a botancial dispensery in my home office, so convenient when I need to make something quickly! I whipped up a urinary cleanse tincture at 11 pm!
8. Cantharis- a major remedy for UTI. Took a few doses on the first day.

A cavity or 3.....

Little baby Bell got her first tooth just shy of her 1st birthday. She had 2 bottom teeth for months and nothing else seemed to happen. She then developed molars. She had her molars before front teeth! Her front teeth came in towards the end of last summer she was probably 20 months. I remember how cute they were, little gap between the front teeth, cutely shaped and pearly white. I then noticed a little marking on her right front tooth and thought it was a bit of discolouration. When I went with Aidan to the dentist in the spring they looked at Bella's front teeth and she had not one but 3 little cavities!!

We are not sure why? After all she had only had those teeth for 7-8 months and all her other teeth were fine? We were told the common things; bottles, she never took one, sugar-we do our best to limit (not always so easy!), juice- she gets water or milk (or milk alternative), brushing teeth- I scrutinize every tooth when I brush and I even floss!

So, perhaps born with some weak enamel? Maybe a congenital malformation with those teeth? A kidney essence deficiency? http://forhealthyroots.blogspot.com/2010/02/to-grey-or-not-to-grey.html

I recently started her on Calcium Fluoride Tissue Salts and give her 3 little tablets per day. It helps make up your bones, teeth enamel, skin fibers and muscle tissue. A deficiency can be seen with poor enamel of teeth, brittle nails or cracked skin. I am hoping these will help strengthen her teeth so we can avoid any further drilling.

a great find with a twist

I love thriftng. It's always nice to get a great deal but even better is a really good find. That something special that I can re-use. I love antique items. We are mass producing so much in our culture and most of our items are made overseas for mere pennies with chemically based un-natural materials and are not made to last. Re-using items is a great environmental movement by using less resources and producing less stuff when we already have enough stuff. (My plan is to start sewing some kiddie clothes from some of our old adult clothes....I love that idea and how cute will bella look in a dress made out of ewan's old t-shirt!) Summer is such a great time to find those special finds as there are yard sales everywhere. Today driving back from the market I came upon these 2 special items.

not sure where these will go....bella's room or kiddie's bathroom?

look how beautiful this old window pane is!

Fresh Summer Salads

I love going to the farmer's market and am really excited for our new house to be steps from this weekly affair!! I love seeing what looks good and then coming home and making some delicious food. This is what I picked up today.

Kale, Basil, Carrots and Beets

I decided to make a beet salad using the beets and the beet greens. Beets are a great source of fiber, lower LDL cholesterol, is a known cancer fighting food and is rich in B-vitmains, specifically folic acid (great for those pregnant women!).
I cleaned the beets and roasted them in a covered pan for about an hour.
I then cleaned and trimmed the stalks off the beet greens and steamed them for about 2 minutes.
I needed a dressing so I cut up an orange, added a couple cloves of fresh garlic, a little red wine vinegar, olive oil and orange zest.
Orange zest is a great source of vitamin C, enhances your immune system and is a great digestive aid.
I mixed it all together and topped with some fresh basil. A great success!

For the second salad I used the kale.
I steamed the kale for about 5 minutes and while this was doing it's thing I quickly sauteed about 4 cloves of garlic in olive oil. I then drained the kale, squeezed out the excess water and sauteed it with the garlic. Voila! Kale is rich in vitamin K, A and C and because it is part of the Brassica family it is a powerful fighter of cancer cells, including breast cancer.
I met a women at the market when buying the carrots who said she made pesto from the tops. I usually feed them to my dog, but thought I might give that a try next.

A Simple Dip of a Stick

I love getting urine from my patients. I know that sounds crazy (and gross) but as an ND with the simple dip of a urine sample I can quickly assess the internal aspect of a patient. The dipstick tells me how hydrated or dehydrated a person is, if they are acidic or alkaline. It also checks for white blood cells (also known as leukocytes), blood or protein to tell me if there is a urinary tract infection (UTI) or glucose if diabetic. All this with a simple dip of a stick. Baby Bell has had her share of UTI's (my next post will discuss this) and getting a urine sample used to be quite challenging. Now that she pees in a potty I can check her urine so easily! Today she was well hydrated and alkaline.