Congrats Susan, and e-mail should be on it’s way to you!

The Survey

So I prepared a very short survey and would love for you all to give me some input. Because this blog is nothing without you all and I want to make sure whatever I offer is based on what you like! The survey is anonymous as well.

Thanks guys – you’re the best!!

The answer is……..(drumroll please)

Ritz Crackers!!

Congrats to our 2 winners! E-mails will be on the way soon!!

Here are your random numbers:

2	 Tessa

Timestamp: 2009-10-07 12:01:52 UTC

Here are your random numbers:

3	Abby

Timestamp: 2009-10-07 12:03:00 UTC

And if you just can’t figure out why those ingredients are bad for you, here you go

• enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine, mononitrate,{vitamin B1} riboflavin {vitamin B2} folic acid) – refined flours are a large contributor to insulin spikes as well as causing our bodies to lose nutrients we need in order to digest them.
• soybean oil – soy has been linked to hormone disruption due to the levels of phytoestrogens in it.
• sugar – robs our body of nutrients while we try to digest it as well as causes insulin spikes.
• partially hydrogenated cottonseed oil -can suppress the activity in cell receptors that are involved in inflammation, glucose metabolism, and insulin sensitivity.
• salt
• leavening (baking soda and/or calcium phosphate)
• high fructose corn syrup – the fructose travels to the liver almost completely intact, not broken down at all. The liver must then work even harder to digest and get rid of it. And our livers, which also expel old hormones that helps our entire hormonal system to function better, are then overworked and not able to function as well as they could.
• soy lecithin (emulsifier) – again with the soy!
• natural flavor – Hmmm, wonder what’s in this?
• cornstarch

Thanks for playing along and you’ll get another chance to guess this Friday!!

#2 was Dana from Control Freak in Chaos. Congrats and thanks for participating!

And speaking of his birthday, a couple of weeks ago I found some Melissa and Doug puzzles on Craislist for a few dollars a piece and Todd found a bunch of Cars movie cars at another garage sale. These will be put aside for his birthday as well. No need to go out and buy brand new toys when we have so many almost new toys that we’ve found!

And now with our new little babe, we’re using it just as much! She sleeps in it during the day and also at night when she’s not curled up next to me on the couch. Ours has this great feature that reclines it back so it makes this great little pocket that she curls up into. Almost like being held! So far I think it’s helped her sleep longer and helps me so that I can get things done. (you know, like shower!) While not a necessity by any means, I sure love it and am so glad we have it!

*I’ll also take a moment here to jot down a quick disclaimer and say that yes, I know “they” say to put baby flat on their backs to sleep. I feel that we can do this safely. This is what we do, not what everyone should do. Always do only what you think is best for your own family.

And let me tell you, she’s been an easy baby! Her laid back attitude has been wonderful and it makes it so much easier that we’ve done this before. While I was constantly told I wasn’t the normal first time mom since I was so laid back about things, there is just so much to learn with the first baby. I’m sure she’ll be teaching us as well, or giving us a refresher course, but it sure beats the crash course we had with our son!

She also went in for her 2 week newborn check yesterday and all is well. Although I did have to go through an annoying visit with the nurse. I seriously don’t think she could have asked me dumber questions. Of course she was just going through a questionnaire, but still. She asked if we had a car seat.

While baby girl was still in the seat.

She asked if I was making sure my son wasn’t hitting her or throwing toys at her.

Then she got all concerned when I said she hadn’t had her Hep B shot.

Then we weighed her.

And she only came up to 7lbs 13 oz. Boy did she get concerned! (that’s a 7oz drop since she was born) We had a big discussion about my nutrition and how often she nursed. To be honest, I think their scale was wrong. I mean, she’s already growing out of her newborn outfit. To get her more riled up I almost told her that “Yup, I drink plenty of fresh Raw milk!”.

But I didn’t want another discussion.

The doctor though is great! He actually likes the idea of spacing out vaccines and is totally ok with it. He’s super laid back and a big supporter of breastfeeding too. So I’ll put up with the crabby nurses as long as we get to see him.

My son is doing great as well, actually better than I thought. We’ve had our share of meltdowns and behavior issues, but all in all he’s adjusting quite well. He even asked for daddy to put him to bed last night for the first time ever! (normally, it’s been a “world is coming to an end if mommy doesn’t put me to bed!” sort of thing)