Baby Bottles

Hi,
Below is some really good information on baby bottles and the materials they are made off. Having your child use conventional polycarbonate bottles will not cause immediate harm in them but you do not know what the exposure to all those toxins will cause in the future. I think we live in a world where we are exposed to toxins every day but we should definitely do what it takes to keep this exposure low.
I am going for a BPA free bottles and glass bottles!!

Hope it is helpful

PA - Also known as Bisphenol-A
is an estrogen-like chemical in plastic could be harming the development of children's brains and reproductive organs. It is found in #7 POLYCARBONATE plastics that are bottles, microwave ovenware, eating utencils and the plastic coatings used inside metal cans. BPA interferes with hormones by simulating the action of estrogen.

"An ingredient of polycarbonate plastic, BPA is one of the most widely used synthetic chemicals in industry today. It can seep from hard plastic beverage containers such as baby bottles, as well as from liners in cans containing food and infant formula." - LA Times article. Read more below.

Phthalates
"plasticizers" that soften PVC plastic (#3) into it's flexible form.
Most cling wraps are made of PVC and traces of phthalates and another chemical called adipates can leak out of PVC when in contact with food, especially heated, fatty food. Phthalates are suspected of interefering with hormones and the reproductive development of baby boys.

So what is a mom to do with this information?
First thing - ditch all your polycarbonate bottles! These are the #7 PC or PLA (polycarbonate/polylactide) bottles, also avoid #3 PVC (polyvinyl chloride), #6 Polystyrene (better known as styrofoam).

When using plastics look for these safer plastics: #2 HDPE (High Density Polyethylene), #4 LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene), and #5 PP (Polypropylene).

Avoid using the #7 plycarbonate bottles that are the very clear plastic bottles like Avent, Dr. Brown's, Gerber, and Evenflo.

So, what bottles are safe to use?
BPA-Free Baby bottles like Born-Free and Think Baby (Medela bottles have always been BPA-free!) are #5 Polypropolyne. They tend to have a cloudy or yellowish tint to them. Also a great sippy cup option is stainless steel - like the Safe Sippy from Kid Basix

31W – The work has started

Well, I guess we have been kind of procrastinating for past few months in regards on getting the house ready for our little girl. We started last weekend and we still have a lot of work to do specially on her room. At least we got the living room figured out. We got a new bookcase, which made us realize that we have been accumulating quite a collection of all kinds of books. Cooking books, exercise books, religion, self help, business, leadership and quite a collection of pregnancy related books, form part of our new found library. We are planning on going through them and maybe donating some of them to the local library here in the key. We also got a new TV stand and we are so happy about it since the old one was just out of place on our living room; now our house is starting to get rid of its hodge-podge look and turn more into a grown up looking house. It has been a lot of work though; yesterday it was a 9 to 6 day; with a 1 hour break I got for a prenatal massage which was awesome. Today we had friends over for breakfast / brunch and we started working at around 2pm and just got done a few minutes ago (it is 11pm).

The problem is that as of now all the old furniture that we need to get rid of is at Corina’s room; so we need to get rid of it in order to start cleaning up that room and making room for her furniture. I am also realizing that I might have to hire a professional cleaning service, at least to clean the carpet and the window screens that get filled with dust. I tried to clean those screens with a hand vacuum, a lint brush and tape, and after 30 minutes of hard work they looked as dirty as before.

Regarding my pregnancy everything is going great, well I am loosing a bit of flexibility of movement; I mean that I can’t be bending down much because I can feel my little girl getting uncomfortable and throwing some kicks to make me move or stretch, but besides that I feel great. The appointment I had with Dr. Serious a few weeks ago was good; although he did have a smart ass comment about me picking a pediatrician whose office is 20 minutes away from home. But oh well, I took his advice and told him I will think about it; I didn’t feel comfortable telling him that the reason that I wasn’t choosing the pediatricians next o my house was because I want to selectively vaccinate and delay the shots for at least 6 to 9 months. I know that the Drs close to my house are very traditional and pro-vaccines; and Dr. Serious seems that way too.

This coming weekend we are going to Birmingham for a Baby Shower Dave’s family is putting together for us. We are super excited about the trip and about seeing all the family. It will be a short trip (leaving Friday and driving back Sunday), but it will be worth it. After that we are going to have to spend almost every weekend until Corina’s birthday getting her room all set up. I don’t want my little girl to feel rejected because we do not yet have her room ready; although, as our breastfeeding teacher said it, a newborn just needs love, milk and a place to sleep; and they can literally sleep in a drawer; but we’ll get everything ready for our little one before she gets here; so that she feels welcome into our home.

We took a breastfeeding class this week and it was amazing; we learned so much about the benefits of breastfeeding for as long as possible (12 months is the recommendation of the American Association of Pediatrics). We also learned how to properly hold the baby while breastfeeding, it seems easy but it was quite a challenge.

We found out about some products that are sold as essentials for babies and are actually completely useless such as sterilizers, wiper warmers and diaper genies among others. It was very encouraging to hear that every woman should be able to nurse and should produce enough milk for her child if that is what she wants to do; it is not easy and takes work but it is how it is supposed to be. I get a bit annoyed sometimes at work when I said I plan to breastfeed for 1 year and they tell me “What if you have no milk”, "It has no effect after 6 months", "my friend didn't breastfed and her kid is super healthy", etc. I am thinking if all the other mammals in this world do not have that problem why would I? Aren’t we the highest level creatures in this universe? plus all the long term benefits for mother and child that breastfeeding has? wouldn't that be enough reasons to do it as long as possible?...

I will update you all in a week or 2, as we are getting closer to the date and busier getting ready for the baby it is becoming harder to keep this updated but my goal is to have at lease 2 updates per month.

Thanks for visiting.

29W , Quito, leg cramps, my orchid

I am now 29W!!. It seems unreal that I am already in the 3th and last trimester of my pregnancy. At the beginning it seemed that it was going to slow and that 9 months were going to seem forever; now on the other hand, I feel it was yesterday when I first took the pregnancy test. I am getting very excited about having my little girl in my arms; a bit nervous about being a mother and a bit nostalgic about my pregnancy coming to an end. I have truly enjoyed these past 7 months especially my 2nd trimester. I didn't follow the Dr.'s advice on getting the nursery and everything ready before the 3th trimester; everything is still on the works; we need to buy the furniture, set up the computer on the living room and set up the nursery/guest room; and of course get rid of a lot of stuff. I want to get most of it done before the end of the month when we are planning a trip to Birmingham to visit Dave's family.
Regarding my pregnancy I am still feeling great. Yes I get tired at night and on Saturday mornings I can take up to a 1hr nap after my yoga class; but I do have the same energy I had before getting pregnant. I feel great at my swim class and at my morning walks. The only strange thing that has happened to me is that for the first time in my life I felt a cramp on my leg. I honestly never expected it. I have run marathons, triathlons and century rides and never ever had cramps; but the other night a cramp on my calf woke me up. My left calf felt like a rock and it hurt really bad; I was able to get it loose after 30 seconds or so and it felt better. I started doing more calf stretches and some exercises that I learned in my prenatal yoga class and I haven't had other cramps since then so hopefully I won't have another one in the next 2.5 months; but apparently leg cramps are very normal and common during pregnancy; and I have had such a great pregnancy that I shouldn't complain.
Last weekend I went to Quito for my cousin's wedding. I had a great time although the trip was only 2 days. The wedding was so beautiful and I was so happy to see how happy my little cousin was. It was also good to see my grandma who was not doing too well a few months ago and is much better now. My little niece, nephew and little cousin (I have 50 first cousins) walked in the wedding and they looked so precious. My niece felt she was truly living a princess story and wanted to follow the bride (Main Princess) everywhere.
I was afraid of getting altitude sickness since Quito is over 9,000 ft above sea level; however, I did great and did not even felt tired throughout the weekend. I think that exercising throughout the pregnancy and having been raised at high altitude really helped.
This week I want to make an appointment with the pediatrician. My yoga teacher says he is very holistic in the way he treats his patients and very open to selective and alternative vaccination schedules; so I am nervous and excited to see what he has to say and what he will recommend. I have also heard really good things about him from a good friend of mine who takes her kid there, so I am hoping that this will be the right Dr. for my little one.
I have my 29th week appointment this week as well; and I will have to see the very serious Dr. this time. I do not know if he has already seen my birth plan and talked to my other Dr. about my natural birth philosophy; we'll see how it goes. The first time I saw this serious Dr. I almost change practices.

My orchid
I got an orchid a year ago. Usually I would have thrown away the plant once the flowers fell off; however, this time the lady who sold me the orchid told me that orchids are very strong plants and that eventually they will bloom again. Surprisingly the flowers didn't fall for 6 months which is unreal for orchids and I was super excited. Once they felt I kept the plant; it looked kind of weird in my living room but I just watered it once a week or so. I am very happy to announce that this week my orchid bloomed again. Don't ask me why but I am very excited about it. I heard once that if you are able to keep a plant alive for a year or so and then a pet you are ready to have kids. I have been successful with the plant so far and I will skip the pet part since I am not a fan of indoor pets and my building doesn't allow them; but I do feel ready for my little baby.

I will keep updating everyone on my progress on a weekly or biweekly basis. So keep visiting us!