Majestic Maternity

During pregnancy it can be a harrowing experience to dress your new lovely lady lumps. So while I was pregnant I took to online inspiration(as I do for most things, and should probably read:The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our Brains by Nicholas Carr, as there as probably a section on this phenomenon in there).
Here were some of my favorites to try as "go-to" outifts during the times in my life when I swelled (sometimes with pride, but mostly just with water retention):

When in doubt, look to the supermodels for pregnancy fashion. Or don't. You are also absolutely allowed to lay around in sweats all 9 months, but I found I felt less whale-ish if I at least put a little effort into it.

Love and baby-making,
Kerry the Momster

I got skillz. (Essential skills for new mommies)

Before you begin the journey into motherhood, let me give you a few words of wisdom. Being three weeks into the new life of my second child, I have been recently reminded of a few skills that every mom should master prior to the child's arrival. Yes there are the basic staples: diapering, bathing baby, swaddling, etc etc. But there are also the ones that people fail to tell you are essential. Lucky for you all I am here to impart them:

• One handed eating... in fact one handed everything: Everyone always asks me how I lost the baby weight from my first baby so quickly. It's easy : babies do not let you eat. They are able to sense with their infinite baby ESP when mom is about to sit down with a knife and fork, and they begin to wail. They've been fed, cleaned and well rested, and just want to be held, and thus mom must resort to one-handed eating. I got so hungry that I resorted to stocking my feeding chair with granola bars and water bottles, because it seemed the only time I  got to eat was when I was feeding my lil' one. I know one mom who would only order items from restaurants that she could eat with one hand for the first year "just in case". So hone in on using one hand to spread peanut butter on toast, prepare a bottle, or wrap a gift. Maybe you and your partner could have a "single-hand-off" where you tie one hand behind your back for a day and see who can do the most tasks.
• Up all night, sleep all day (With a completely new meaning). Yes, we all know babies rob you of precious snoozing, but for those of you thinking "Whatever, I was a party animal in college, I can handle some sleepless nights", think again! The difference here is that you don't have a weekend to sleep in after a few sleepless nights, so just when you think you are reaching the end of your wit's, baby decides to sleep even LESS! And this is what many-a-fight is made of. Sleepy dad's and even sleepier moms, who no matter how tired they are must still open the all night buffet every 2-3 hours, for weeks and weeks on end. The only way to prepare for this is to get lots of sleep now!! And of course sleep all day whenever the baby does. I have found that mine sleeps best at the ice-rink with loud blaring music, but unfortunately I might look a little odd grabbing a little nap in the stands. Hopefully your child sleeps in a more comfortable environment.
• 10 second make up application. High maintenance ladies beware! When you have a baby you have 2 hours between feedings, so if you plan on running an errand it typically looks like this:  you will need to make sure baby is fed, then dressed, than diaper changed, and then you may try to jump in the shower, getting out quickly because baby is crying, you then get dressed while baby is in swing, in an outfit that takes absolutely no thought, just in time to rechange baby's diaper and  clothes too because pee has leaked onto previous baby outfit, then you run to bathroom while baby wriggles in crib with mobile playing, and apply a quick foundation onto skin and maybe some mascara, till you hear baby crying and pick him up, you hold him as you slip into some shoes, grab your keys and diaper bag ready to head out the door, until throw up is spewn across your shirt, by the time you change again baby is crying and is possibly hungry again, feed him one more time and if no diaper changes or leaks wrestle him into his car seat and be on your way. Whew. (This is not a fictional scenario!)
• The big stretch. Invest in some prenatal yoga classes, because the law-required rear facing baby seats in cars require some serious stretching. Too many time I have been caught in traffic and must become elasto-woman and twist my upper torso, and stretch my arm over and around little car seat contraptions to feel for my baby's pacifier and then search around for his mouth to place it into. The more flexible you are, the fewer muscles you pull.
  

Here are some "one-hand-eating" recipes. 

Please tell me  your essential mommy skills!
Love and little ones,
Kerry the Momster.

The Safety (or lack thereof) of the MMR Vaccine

As previously stated, in an earlier post, I am on the quest for the most accurate information on the vaccines administered to our babies and children. I am taking each of them, and breaking them down, gathering information from various sources, to help me decide which (if any) of the vaccines I find truly necessary.

This post I will be examining the MMR or Measles, Mumps and Rubella.

First,what is it?
According to http://www.nlm.nih.gov  it is a vaccine where "one MMR will protect most individuals from contracting measles, mumps, or rubella throughout their lives. The second MMR is recommended to cover those individuals who may not have received adequate protection from the first MMR. " (15% of vaccinated children, do not develop antibodies to the diseases, and this is the reason why ALL children are given a second dose of the vaccine. The British Medical Journal (Jan 13, 2001) showed a survey noting that 80% of UK doctors do not recommend this booster.)

The MMR is one of the recommended childhood immunizations. Generally, proof of MMR vaccination is required for school entry. (Unless you get a waiver, which constitutionally you may)

• The first shot is recommended when the child is 12 to 15 months old. The timing of vaccination is important to make sure the child is properly protected. It must not be given too early.
• A second MMR is recommended before entering school at 4 - 6 years, but may be given at any time thereafter. Some states require a second MMR at kindergarten entry. (Babies are immune up to a year old, due to their mothers immune systems- according to the CDC)

This is the vaccine that has been the most closely linked to autism, even though the Wakefield  study has been proven an inefficient study, it was not the only study or observation citing a correlation between autism and the MMR.

If you look at these diagrams, you can note the accute correlation between when the number of autism cases spiked and the introduction of the compulsory MMR vaccine (1987),

From Vaccines, Autism and Childhood Disorders by Neil Z.Miller

According to nvic.org, the chances of your child catching and having a serious complication from the measles, is much lower than the chances of him/her having an adverse reaction or negative consequence from the MMR vaccine. According, Dr. Robert Mendelsohn ( a renowned pediatrician and vaccine researcher), only about 1/10,0000-1/100,000 depending on their living conditions and vitamin A intake, will contract encephalitis ( a serious complication of the measles) versus 1/3,000 who will have seizures from the vaccine.

Even the Government Site "Medline Plus"posts the following risks of vaccinating your child with the MMR (whether you acknowledge the autism statistics or not):

Potential mild to moderate adverse effects include:

• Fever (1 in 6 children)
• Rash (1 in 20)
• Swollen glands (rare)
• Seizure (1 in 3,000)
• Joint pain/stiffness (1 in 4, usually young women)
• Low platelet count/bleeding (1 in 30,000)

Severe adverse effects may include:

• Allergic reaction (less than 1 per million)
• Long-term seizure, brain damage, or deafness (so rare that the association with the vaccine is questionable

 The chances of a child contracting measles, and having
A great book on the MMR vaccine is Vaccines, Autism and Childhood Disorders, written by Neil Z. Miller (2003). There is documentation of statistics, reports from various doctors that were presented to congress, where even congree members spoke of the autism risks from this vaccine. The author presents various facts, past and present such as facts of the measles disease decreasing even before vaccines were initiated, and other serious complications which are still being researched such us crohns disease links, blood disorders and of course autism.

Even if one vaccinates their children, it does not mean they are in the clear, in 1989 89% of all children who contracted measles in the US were adequately vaccinated, in 1995 56% of them were. So with all these risks involved, and the protection still insufficient my husband and I have decided against this vaccine.

Please don't take anything I say as the end-all, but rather use the links and statistics as a jumping board for your own research. I am not, or ever was, a doctor! Thank you.

More information:

http://www.nvic.org The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC, a grassroots organization founded by parents of vaccine injured
and killed children)
Vaccines, Autism and Childhood Disorders, written by Neil Z. Miller (2003) (A must read!!!!)
http://thinktwice.com/mmr.htm

Love and knowledge,
Kerry, the Momster

Hep B for newborns, the norm?

This is the next part in my ongoing research into newborn procedures and vaccinations.
Along with a Vitamin K injection right when your baby is born, silver nitrate is syringed into his/her eyes and then administered a Hepititus B shot.

Logically, if a mother has an STD, the infection can be spread to the infant through the eyes when passing through the birth canal, and thus the silver nitrate is an antibiotic to counteract this. But what if the mother doesn't have any STD's, why then is it necessary to burn a newborns retina and blind them for the first few hours of their life when they are at no risk? It doesn't! But it is a little something extra to add to your extrenuous hospital bill.

Then we come to Hep B, again, this makes sense if the mother has tested positive for the virus, but if not why vaccinate a child at birth and 3 more times over the next few years for a disease that is spread through blood and sex? The risks involved in this vaccine (or any vaccine) completely outweigh the tiny percentage of babies that might contract this disease from their mothers. If we were even in a country where the percentage of people with Hep B were higher than the meager 1% the current US statistics show, like in Asia and other developing areas, where the percentages are much higher.

According to the World Health Organization, the following are the ways in which Hep B is contracted:

Hepatitis B virus is transmitted between people by contact with the blood or other body fluids (i.e. semen and vaginal fluid) of an infected person.
Common modes of transmission in developing countries are:

• perinatal (from mother to baby at birth)
• early childhood infections (inapparent infection through close interpersonal contact with infected household contacts)
• unsafe injections practices
• blood transfusions
• sexual contact

In many developed countries (e.g. those in western Europe and North America), patterns of transmission are different than those mentioned above. Today, the majority of infections in these countries are transmitted during young adulthood by sexual activity and injecting drug use. HBV is a major infectious occupational hazard of health workers. 

I don't intend on allowing my newborn to engage in sex or intravenous drug use, although maybe by the time he is 4 he may be experimenting...  and thus I will not be injecting this live virus into my infant just because it's what is "done" at medical facilities. 

To be exempt from these procedures, you need to create a letter that is signed by the hospital/birthing center. Here are some samples you may use.

Further reading:

A Doctor's opinion

Thinktwice


Hep B Vaccine may be linked to MS

Love and Knowledge,
Kerry, the Momster 

12 weeks

I am finally in my last trimester!
Ever-increasingly uncomfortable and becoming more anxious by the day. (The unknown and uncontrollable ellicits terrible fear in me!!)

Previously in a blog named "Pregnancy Pleasures" I listed some items that I wanted to partake in to keep my spirits up during pregnancy. Whilst I have not been accomplishing one a week as I had hoped, I have done a few off the list, and have a few more to add to help lighten the heavy load of pregnant bellies.

Previous list:
1. Prenatal massage
2. Family vacation ( we are thinking of taking a little cruise to have some special memories with our little girl before baby arrives) We went on a mini vacation to the Rapids water Park which we all thoroughly enjoyed! I will definitely be going there again.
3. Get a manicure
4. Get a haircut
5. Have a candle light dinner with my hubby
6. Go see a movie with a friend (not a kiddy one!)
7. Buy a new accessory Bought some lovely new wedge heels from Avon.
8. Take a pilates class I am taking a weekly yoga/pilates prenatal class. I love how relaxed and pain free I feel after a session.
9. Schedule lunch with a friend.
10. Make a kit for labor.

New items: 

11. Have a pajama day- movies and reading in pjs ALL day.

12. Hire a cleaner for after baby is here. 

13. Plan a mini babymoon with hubby.

14. Have some friends over for a mini pre-baby party

15. Go on a date. I'm thinking something fun...like boomers, but maybe a beach picnic will work wonders too.

If you have any suggestions of other pampering/ fun things to do that I may not be able to do for a while, drop me a line!

Love and lounging,

Kerry the Momster.

It's about time!

Finally we are going to have affordable, fashionable maternity clothes. Of course it comes as I enter my third trimester of my last pregnancy, but for those of you still in baby making world, here it is. Forever 21 has a new line of maternity wear. Right now its just the basics but you can get skinny jeans for $13!!!!

Enjoy!

Love and loveliness,
Kerry the Momster