health

Study: More U.S. girls starting puberty early – CNN.com

Posted by Michelle on Aug 9, 2010 in health, Linky Love, Media | 0 comments

Study: More U.S. girls starting puberty early – CNN.com.

The study just confirms what anyone with eyes can see: kids are growing up too fast. Literally. This has always worried me, especially in regards to when The Little Empress will start puberty. I hit puberty around 11 years old and got my period at 12. The idea of a child hitting puberty at 7… I can’t even fathom how a child of that age can even begin to process the changes.

Even though her pre-teen years are still far, far away, they’ll be here before we know it. I just hope that she’ll be able to enjoy being a little girl for as long as possible.

Rethinking my love of McD’s

Posted by Michelle on Jun 22, 2010 in food, health | 0 comments

I not-so-secretly adore McDonald’s hamburgers. I mean, logically, I know that they are junk food and it is healthier/cheaper for me to make my own burgers at home for a fraction of the cost at home. Taste better too. But McD’s burgers must have some sort of crack in them because I still adore them. I associate the burgers with happy, childhood memories, a treat for having behaved in the pews at Mass.

A friend of mine just linked an article about a McD’s hamburger: 1996 McDonalds Hamburger

The post was originally published in 2008 but honestly, the message speaks for itself. That just ain’t natural.

On that bill that got signed into law today….

Posted by Michelle on Mar 23, 2010 in health, Life, Observations, Reaction | 0 comments

The health care debate has been a heated one, each side raging at one another. It makes my head ache.

It also makes my heart hurt that in America, there are thousands, if not millions of Americans, who have had to decide between being able to keep food on their tables or buy the medicine that will allow them to live.

We went for years without health insurance. Why? Because our jobs neither offered it nor could we afford what it would take from our checks if it could. Fresh out of college, struggling to make ends meet, every penny meant the difference between a roof over our head or none. At that point in our lives, health insurance was a luxury that we simply couldn’t afford. Heaven forbid that we go to the doctor when sick. A doctor’s office visit without insurance? Close to $100. That doesn’t include non-insurance covered prescriptions, even a generic could cost more than $20. Follow up visit? Another $100. And no insurance meant that everything was due at time of service.  And that doesn’t include any lost wages from missing a day of work.

And surgery without insurance? Oh dear god. Before we were married, The Hubs had to have surgery. This simple outpatient surgery would have cost us everything we had and then some. Only due to an extremely generous family contribution were we able to pay for the surgery and even then, I had to nearly empty my 401k to pay the remainder.

There are so many Americans out there who have been denied health care because of pre-existing conditions.  Maybe I’m thinking too logically here but folks with pre-existing conditions may need that insurance most of all to help them with their health care costs.

And how can we call ourselves a civilized country when you can survive cancer but lose your home because your medical bills have bankrupt you?

So yeah, for the record — I am glad health care reform passed. It may not be a perfect bill but it is a step in the right direction. I fail to see how universal health care is anything but a boon to our society.

NPR: Home Births Rise, Mostly By Choice

Posted by Michelle on Mar 4, 2010 in health, Media, Reaction | 0 comments

Home Births Rise, Mostly By Choice – Shots – Health News Blog : NPR.

Children were born at home for thousands of years before modern obstetrics so a return to this makes sense to me. While I personally would not consider homebirth for myself — I labored for 24+ hours at home, without pain relief and by the time I got to the hospital, I was literally crying for some relief at 5cm. I <3′ed my epidural, yes I did. — I would gladly defend any other woman’s right to do so.

Toddler Sampler Plate

Posted by Michelle on Feb 22, 2010 in food, health, Parenting | 0 comments

Toddler Sampler Platter

At nearly two years old,  I’m rather lucky that The Little Empress isn’t actually picky about what she eats. She loves all types of fruits, veggies, cheese and the like. She’s never met a noodle she didn’t like. Like her Daddy, she loves pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) so much that she’ll happily slurp the last of his noodles from his bowl, no matter how red with Sriracha it is. Honestly, she has a better palate than some adults I know!

Despite her adventurous palate, she’s not much of an eater. On good days, we can encourage her to eat more than a few bites of her meal before she’s off to explore again. On bad days, I swear she survives off of nursing and air. I know, I know — toddlers don’t require nearly as many calories as adults but she’s such a delicate little thing that I can’t help but worry that she’s getting enough food. At her last well child check, she tipped the scales (fully clothed) at just under 22lbs which was at the tail end of growth curve. The doctor wasn’t really worried since she hadn’t actually slipped down where she normally is on the curve but still encouraged us to let her eat as much as she wants. He even gave us the green light to let her have things like milkshakes and hamburgers which could help her gain some much needed weight.

For better or worse, TLE isn’t overly interested in fast food or other “calorie dense” foods though she does like things like milkshakes and soda. Instead of encouraging her to prefer foods she shouldn’t like, we’ve opted to just allow her to graze throughout the day on healthier options. I try to set out a sampler plate full of fun foods that I know she likes, with a few healthier “calorie dense” options.

On the plate above, I’ve got two cut up strawberries, half a clementine, a stick of cheese and whole grain mini-sandwiches filled with Nutella. I refill the plate as needed, letting her pick and choose what she’ll eat for any given amount of time. This system seems to work out well for us. She loves having a choice for finger foods and it helps give me peace of mind that she’s eating a (fairly) balanced diet.

What tricks do you use to get your picky little one to eat? Tell me in the comments!

The H1N1 *headesk* post

Posted by Michelle on Oct 16, 2009 in health, Observations, Parenting | 3 comments

Well, it looks like the current Big Issue ™ is whether or not to get your child vaccinated against the H1N1 flu. I’m honestly really surprised at the number of parents who are so vehemently against their child getting the H1N1 vaccine, even if they’re not staunchly anti-vaccination. And then I’m more confused when reading discussions about it that it seems like the same parents who are anti-H1N1 vaccination are also the same folks who are paranoid about their child getting sick with H1N1.

“I don’t want my kid catching H1N1 yet I refuse to get them the very vaccination that my prevent it.” Does that line of thinking make sense to you? It doesn’t to me.

For what it’s worth, I think it is in every parents’ nature to be wary of anything that is being put into their child. It is a parents’ job to advocate for their children when they are too small to do so for themselves.

That being said, will The Little Empress receive the H1N1 vaccine? I don’t know — I’ll be asking her doctor what he thinks and then making a judgment call. At the moment, I’m leaning towards yes because while I don’t think that H1N1 is the Killer Flu that everyone seems to be afraid it is (THANKS MEDIA HYPE), it does sound pretty nasty and if I can spare TLE the misery of being sick, why not?

And another thing that just doesn’t make sense to me — parents that carry around anti-bacterials everywhere to “guard against the cold and the flu.” Buh? Hello — the cold and flu are caused by VIRUSES. Anti-bacterial gel won’t stop a virus. Just saying.