Sleep training is one of my favorite baby topics and I can’t believe I haven’t blogged about it yet! When I was pregnant with Evan, I read "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child,” and vowed to get him on a good sleep schedule at 3 months with an early bedtime, 3 naps during the day and being in tune with his signs of tiredness.

The book gives you options for how you want to put your baby to sleep. At first I used tried no-cry method, by nursing him until he was asleep and then putting him down. That was exhausting. Then I used the graduated-extinction method, where you let them cry, but go in every few minutes to soothe them back to sleep. That was also exhausting and time-consuming. Finally I skimmed Ferber’s “Solve your child’s sleep problems” and tried the cry-it-out method. Evan wasn’t a quick learner—he cried himself to sleep almost every night for a while—sometimes for 30 seconds, sometimes for 10 minutes. But boy am I glad I survived the hard part because now he is such a good sleeper. One of my proudest moments was after his first day of preschool when his teacher told me he was the only new kid who slept at naptime. That made it all worth it.  

I don't strictly subscribe to any one sleep training philosophy--I think you kinda have to go with your instincts and do what's best for your child—everyone is different. And I’m definitely learning from my mistakes and doing things differently the 2nd time around.

#1 - With Cole, I decided early on that I would put him down drowsy, but awake. I seriously think that is the KEY to an easier time sleep training. He’s so good—many nights he just rolls to the side and looks at the crib bumper or plays with his blankie until he falls asleep. Some nights he has a harder time and I have to go up to put his pacifier back in 1-3 times.

#2 - The other KEY is not to always nurse them before sleep. So this is where the Babywise book came in handy. The author recommends an SLEEP-EAT-PLAY sequence—when they wake up they eat, then play, then sleep. It’s optimal for their natural body rhythm. So eating never comes right before sleeping. I don’t follow the sleep-eat-play thing strictly, but since Cole is on a 3 hour feeding schedule and I try to have him nap after no more than 2 hours of wakefulness, it just works out that way a lot of the time. The main thing is that I don’t nurse him before sleep unless the eating and sleeping schedules happen to coincide.

#3 – And lastly, I’d highly recommend not having a long drawn-out bedtime or naptime routine. With Evan I had to read him 3 books, sing a bunch of songs, pray, rub his back and say the same things every time I put him down for a nap or at night. Every time! That kid didn’t know how good he had it. With Cole I am older and wiser. And I don’t have that kind of time on my hands. His routine is simple: put him in the crib on his back, give him his blankie and a pacifier, and walk out. If he wakes up in the night, the soothing back to sleep routine is even easier: say “sshhhhhh,” put his pacifier in, and walk out. I wanted to make it where anyone can do it, not only me, so “ssshhh” is good because everyone basically sounds the same.

Nowadays Evan’s much too complicated bedtime routine each night is: bath at 7:30 pm, shishi on the potty, put on PJs and pull-ups, brush teeth, read a book, climb into bed (in bed before 8 pm), pray to Jesus, sing a few songs, say goodnight, and walk out. He still has it good. Since Cole was born, Daddy has been in charge of putting Evan to bed every night and he does a fabulous job of it. Evan’s more well-behaved with Dave and doesn’t put up a fight to go to sleep like he does with me. Naptimes are good, too: in school he naps from 11:30 am-2 pm and the teacher says they always have to wake him up. On weekends he can nap for up to 3-1/2 hours!

And recently Cole has developed a pretty regular sleep pattern. He'll go down at 6:30 pm, wake up to feed once in the night and wake up for the day at about 7 am. During the day he takes 2 naps--a short one at about 9 am and then a long one at around 12 noon. Sometimes he’ll take another catnap at 4:30-ish. Every day is different, though, and I don’t follow the clock so much as his tiredness signs and the 2 hours of wakefulness rule.

I love that Cole is already learning to soothe himself to sleep, that I can always count on being free from kids after 7:30 pm, and that I know they are getting the growing, rejuvenating sleep time they need. Speaking of which, I better get to bed for mine.

     

Click here to download:

Its_all_about_sleep_training.zip (38 KB)

I’ve been meaning to write this article for a long time—ever since I started this blog, actually. I’ve put it off just because the answer is so overwhelming and threatening to our convenient lifestyles. What’s wrong with microwaving? Basically EVERYTHING. You might want to stop reading here if you don’t want to make any changes in your quick cooking methods.

It all started when one night my friend Ivy was over and I was about to heat up something for her to eat. “In the microwave?” she asked. I looked at her like, of course—how else would I heat something up? She said she’d rather heat it over the stove herself. And she did. “Why? What’s wrong with microwaving?” I asked her as she stood over the stove. My ignorance surprised her (considering my adamant stand on other health topics) and she encouraged me to do my own research. The minute I started looking into it, I was at once overwhelmed and alarmed. But then if you know me, what’s new. Haha.

What I found out is that microwaving food is far more dangerous to the human body than I ever thought. Actually I hadn’t given it much thought. Because microwave oven manufacturers, Washington City politics, and plain old human nature suppress the facts and evidence against microwaves and people like me continue to use their microwaves in blissful ignorance.

It’s not just about standing far away from the micro when it’s on. It’s not just about not microwaving stuff in plastic. Those two things are the very least you can do.

In a nutshell, every microwave oven leaks electro-magnetic radiation, harms food, and converts substances cooked in it to dangerous organ-toxic and carcinogenic products. (Health Effects of Microwave Radiation - Microwave Ovens, by Dr. Lita Lee)

So again, why is microwaving food dangerous? Let’s start with how the microwaving process works. Microwave radiation interacts with the molecules in food. Food molecules - especially the molecules of water - have a positive and negative end in the same way a magnet has a north and a south polarity. All wave energy changes polarity from positive to negative with each cycle of the wave. Artificially produced microwaves in ovens are produced from alternating current and force a billion or more polarity reversals per second in every food molecule they hit. As these microwaves bombard the food, they cause the polar molecules to rotate at the same frequency. All this agitation creates molecular friction, which heats up the food. The friction causes substantial damage to the surrounding molecules, often tearing them apart or forcefully deforming them. Production of unnatural molecules is inevitable. Naturally occurring amino acids have been observed to undergo isomeric changes (changes in shape morphing) as well as transformation into toxic forms, under the impact of microwaves produced in ovens.

Also, and this is very important for all parents, NEVER EVER EVER MICROWAVE YOUR BABY’S FORMULA OR BREASTMILK even for a few seconds to warm it up. Microwaved formula has been found to be poisonous to the nervous system and to the kidneys! Just turn the tap water on hot and put the bottle of milk in the hot water until it’s a good temp (don’t waste your $ on those bottle warmers).

Read on if you’re still interested and want more info (how could you not?).

Below are the findings of Russian studies done on microwaved foods. Carcinogens were formed in virtually all foods tested. No test food was subjected to more microwaving than necessary.

• Microwaving prepared meats sufficiently to insure sanitary ingestion caused formation of d-Nitrosodienthanolamines, a well-known carcinogen.
• Microwaving milk and cereal grains converted some of their amino acids into carcinogens.
• Thawing frozen fruits converted their glucoside and galactoside containing fractions into carcinogenic substances.
• Extremely short exposure of raw, cooked or frozen vegetables converted their plant alkaloids into carcinogens.
• Carcinogenic free radicals were formed in microwaved plants, especially root vegetables.
• Decrease in nutritional value
• Russian researchers also reported a marked acceleration of structural degradation leading to a decreased food value of 60 to 90%
• in all foods tested. Among the changes observed were:
• Deceased bio-availability of vitamin B complex, vitamin C, vitamin E, essential minerals and lipotropics factors in all food tested.
• Various kinds of damaged to many plant substances, such as alkaloids, glucosides, galactosides and nitrilosides.
• The degradation of nucleo-proteins in meats.

The anti-microwave group (a.k.a. microwave militia) have skeptics who call them crazy, but really, it makes more sense to me that long-term exposure to man-made microwaves are harmful to the human body than that it’s not. The skeptics are probably also doubtful that McDonald’s, processed foods, canned goods and plastics are harmful to their bodies, too. It comes down to what you’re wiling to believe and let affect how you live. 

Do your own research. It’s totally your decision to choose to throw out your micro, eat food heated by a micro or even purchase one in the first place. For me, when I initially read all this, I put a sign on my micro that said “If possible, DO NOT USE MICROWAVE.” I tried to heat everything on the stove or in the toaster oven. But that became inconvenient and over time I’ve become lax about it. Sadly I microwave food several times a day now, though I make sure to use only ceramic or glass (NO plastic, saran, not even those “microwavable” splatter covers!!). But after rehashing the details of my research, I just might put up the sign again and give my anti-microwave campaign another go.

1. the Miracle Blanket – I hear this is very difficult for even the wriggliest baby to get out of http://www.miracleblanket.com/
2. a white noise CD – they sell one on the Happiest Baby website, but I got this other one that had good reviews. Unfortunately I haven’t used it yet so I can’t honestly review it myself. http://www.amazon.com/Babys-First-White-Noise-CD/dp/B000RV5HC8
   

   

Click here to download:

Miracle_blanket_and_white_nois.zip (33 KB)

1. Salt-water pools are NOT chlorine free pools. A salt-water pool is simply one that utilizes a chlorine generator. Chlorine generators have been around for decades. In a salt-water pool (with a chlorine generator) the water feels smooth, your skin feels smooth and many people feel more refreshed.
2. There are credible researchers saying that chlorine has some very serious health consequences when used as a sanitizer in swimming pools. Chlorine byproducts found in swimming pools are linked to higher incidences of asthma, lung damage, stillbirths, miscarriages and bladder cancer. One researcher noted that 10-year-old children spending an average of 1.8 hours per week in an indoor swimming pool environment suffered lung damage she would expect to see in an adult smoker. The most obvious and instant signs of high exposure to these chemicals is red eyes, rashes and other skin irritations or problems.
3. When any type of chlorine is added to water it ALL makes the SAME thing: Hypochlorous acid. Hypochlorous acid is the active sanitizer; this is what kills algae and other harmful stuff in the water. In North America, chemicals were adopted wholeheartedly around the turn of the century as the answer to the larger, more expensive European models of water treatment. Engineers here found they could build water treatment plants and swimming pools at greatly reduced capital costs if they used what was then considered miraculous chemicals to treat water. And, for the most part, the systems did what they were designed to do and that was to kill micro-organisms that could lead to sickness and death. What they didn't anticipate was that chemicals like chlorine would have very serious byproducts that become health hazards themselves.
4. There viable alternatives to chlorine (i.e. ozone and ultraviolet technologies), but why hasn't the swimming pool industry adopted alternative technologies on a much more industry-wide basis? Of course there’s a higher initial capital cost to the swimming pool compared to chlorine. Also the engineers, architects, pool builders and designers are not familiar with the technology.
   

1. Standing with his feet on the lower bar, holding onto the handles.
2. Sitting between Cole’s legs on the infant car seat.
3. Facing me with his butt on the handlebar console.
   

In thinking about Evan’s Christmas wishlist this year, there’s no doubt he would want more Spiderman paraphernalia. But the relationship is love-hate. He loves his Spiderman books, costume, poster, movies, cartoons, underwear, PJs, lunchbox, etc. and he’s scared to death of them. Recently he’s been having nightmares and begging me to take every Spiderman thing out of his bedroom before he goes to sleep. He makes me promise to give them to Josiah (a fellow-Spiderman fan). So I’m putting my foot down and not allowing him to watch anything remotely scary from now on. No more Star Wars, Superman, Batman, Spiderman...even Thumb Wars and Bat Thumb (spoofs where all the actors are thumbs—watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJ06RKGcPBI—it’s hysterical).

I really want him to have more enriching, wholesome, educational toys (ones without monsters and villains). In my search for such toys, I discovered my new favorite website: http://www.giggle.com/ I really like their products, the way it’s organized, and their “giggle product criteria.”

Evan’s Wishlist
Playful Chef Cooking Kit: http://www.giggle.com/p/24078/c/565/cl/611/Playful-Chef-Cooking-Kit.aspx
Musical Band (a drum set): http://www.giggle.com/p/21142/c/565/cl/611/Musical-Band.aspx
Spelling Blocks: http://www.giggle.com/p/15768/c/565/cl/618/Spelling-Blocks.aspx
Doodle Sticks: http://www.giggle.com/p/20762/c/565/cl/611/Doodle-Sticks.aspx
Imagination Mat: http://www.giggle.com/p/20794/Dot-Dog-Imagination-Mat.aspx