Recommended Reading

Lesson 12: Working Moms vs. Stay-at-Home Moms -- Worst Cage Match Ever - In response to yet another recently published study which examines why children of moms who work outside the home will grow up to hate life, this blogger humorously examines the pros and cons of both walks of life.  I definitely gigglesnorted when I got to, "Your partner wants to rest after a long day of work and they don’t understand that you need to rest too and they say something like, “Why? What did you do all day? This house is a wreck” and then you have to go to jail for stabbing them in the shoulder".

Vitamin D & Preeclampsia Connection - This post talks about a study which has found a link between the levels of vitamin D in a mother's bloodstream and the likelihood of developing early onset Preeclampsia.  It links to a really interesting study and I hope with some more research doctors will have found a way to lessen a women's chance of developing this somewhat common complication.
When Food Dyes Color Our Child's Behavior - Yet another reason to avoid processed foods.  This article talks about the negative impact that manufactured food dyes have on our health, and of course on the health of still developing bodies.

AAP: Toddlers in Rear-Facing Seat Until 2 - The American Academy of Pediatrics has finally changed their wording to be more beneficial.  They have always recommended that children remain rear-facing as long as their car seat allows, but previously they had advised parents that the minimum to consider turning their child's car seat was 1 year and 20 lbs.  Thankfully, they have revised the wording to set the minimum recommendation at 2 years, but again, parents should still defer to their individual car seat manufacturer's recommendation.  I'm so glad that they have changed the wording.  I've previously talked about my feelings on this topic here.  We have always planned on keeping Jack rear-facing until at least age 2.

Monsters Inc. How to thwart the $17 billion marketing effort to steal your kids' dreams, infiltrate their friendships, plaster their PJs with logos, hijack their imaginations, fragment their attention spans, make them obese, and drive a wedge into their relationship with you. - Scary article on advertising to children.  I read a book about this called Consuming Kids: The Hostile Takeover of Childhood.  If you like the article and want more information I would recommend reading it.  It's terrifying as a parent to feel like you're up against this giant, multi-million dollar industry because even with the best of efforts there's pretty much no way to shield your child completely from marketing.  Beginning at a terribly young, impressionable age, they methodically infiltrate everything, including schools, to teach children who to admire, what foods to eat, and how to dress, among other things and there are serious ramifications.  It's terrible that there's little to no restrictions on this type of thing in the U.S., but of course some other European countries have it figured out. 

Recommended Reading

Wal-mart Bypasses Federal Regulators To Ban Controversial Flame Retardant - Wal-mart has plans to ban PBDEs, flame retardants found in many consumer goods that have been linked to problems with liver, thyroid, reproductive systems, and brain development in laboratory studies.  I think this is a wonderful step and I hope that other retailers follow suit.  On the other hand, I think it's really sad that a retailer is forced to listen to their consumers before the government takes action.

Zapping Sugar Cravings - An article by The Weston A. Price Foundation on sugar.  I think most people don't realize how much sugar they're consuming and why it's bad for your body.  It's in EVERYTHING these days either in the form of refined white sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or even worse: artificial sweeteners.  It's not just about avoiding the obvious things like cookies or candy or even soda.  100% juices, store bought bread, condiments, dry cereal, flavored yogurts all contain sugar/HFCS and it adds up quickly to something that becomes detrimental to your health.

The Thoughtful Parent's Guide to Thinking Through Vaccinations: Pro-Vaccine and Cautionary Resources - A great list of recommended reading material from both sides of the vaccine debate.

Are You a Professional Mother? - Point of view about embracing motherhood as a profession with desirable and real skills.

Why Mothers Kiss Their Babies - Obviously we kiss our babies because we love them.  Because they're cute.  And squishy.  And just... wonderfully kissable!  But this is an interesting article that delves into the biological reasons why we're hardwired to smooch on our beautiful babies.

Antibacterials and Disinfectants: Are They Necessary? - An enlightening article about germs.  A must read for everyone!

Recommended Reading

Kitchen Tip: The Many Uses of Baking Soda - This post has some great ideas for using baking soda, but there are also some helpful tips from readers in the comment section! 

The Wonders of Coconut Oil - Like baking soda, coconut oil has multiple uses outside of the kitchen!

Urban Prep Academy Gets 100% Black Male College Attendance... Again - In a city where 6 out of every 10 African-American males don't even graduate high school, one charter school has found the key to effective education.  Kudos to these educators and students.

You Know You're A Book Lover When... - The Picky Apple compiled a list of bibliophile characteristics and I can definitely identify with the majority of that list!  I sparkly pink puffy heart books!  Anyone else a book lover?

My Son, the Domestic Goddess? - One mama's take on genderization of toys.

If This is What We're Playing For, I'm All In - Some days I really want to ignore all of the knowledge I've gained over the last year with regards to the toxins in our lives, but then I read something like this and it reminds me why these things are important to consider.

What's a "GMO" and Why Should You Care? - A crash course on genetically modified foods.

Meet the Experts: Robin O'Brien - An interview with Robin O'Brien, the author of The Unhealthy Truth

Recommended Reading

Jack and I are both dealing with colds right now and I can't seem to put coherent thoughts together unless you want to read a bunch of whining.  In the meantime, here are some interesting reads I came across this week! 


'Big Baby' a Surprise for First Time Parents - This new momma pushed out a 13lb 2oz baby boy after only 4 hours of labor and 10 minutes of pushing.  Definitely makes you think about the wonders of the human body and what's really "too big" for a vaginal delivery!


Thank You For Menstruating. Keep It Up. - An AWESOME post by a MAN about hormonal birth control and those seemingly glorious commericals telling women "there's no medical reason to have a monthly period".  Oh.  If only...


The 7 Foods Experts Won't Eat - The simple question, "what foods do you avoid?" was posed to people at the forefront of food safety and a list of the top 7 answers have been compiled in this article.  I always wonder what real people in the know choose to eat and feed (or not) their families.  This article gave me a peek into their world.


Considering Evolution and C-Sections - An OB discusses his take on how c-sections have and will contribute to the overall evolutionary picture of the human race.  I don't know if I necessarily agree with his take or not, but it's an interesting perspective.  I love anything that gives a unique view on something.


Let's Make Something Together - Lined Canvas Bins (From Diaper Boxes!) - Super cute upcycled project using a cardboard box.  I don't know about anyone else, but I can never use enough crap catchers... I mean, baskets and boxes : ) around my house.

Recommended Reading

I love seeing what other people read and I often find really great articles and information through random link sharing so I thought I'd start posting a bit of what I've been reading lately. 

This week, I've been reading:

10 Surprising Foods that Contain Trans-Fat - They're talking about manufactured trans-fat here and I learned that (not surprisingly) manufacturers are allowed by FDA guidelines to advertise that they have "0 Trans-Fat" even if they do actually contain trans-fat.  ::scratches head::  Read the article to find out more. 

Changing the Education Paradigm - Thought provoking and entertaining video on our education systems.  The speaker makes some great points and the drawing that goes along with the lecture are pretty cool.

Beauty is More Than Skin Deep: Choosing Safer Personal Care Products - I learned that the beauty and skin care industry is totally self-regulated meaning pretty much anything goes as far as ingredients and what they actually have to disclose to consumers.  Pretty scary considering our skin is the largest organ we have and anything applied topically is absorbed into our bloodstream within 28-seconds of application. 

Lifetime TV Shows Us There's One (Unnecessary Intervention) Born Every Minute - Great recap and commentary on Lifetime's new documentary show "One Born Every Minute".  Did anyone else see this show?  It's filmed at Riverside Methodist in Columbus, OH and a Certified Nurse Midwife from the OB/GYN practice I go to was on the show, but overall I was very disappointed in the content.

New Research Shows Link Between MMR and Autism - Very in depth article about new studies which also found the MMR vaccine strain of measles virus in autistic children's gastrointestinal tract.  This is consistent with Dr. Wakefield's findings, which have been repeatedly discredited by the media.  Neither study has proven that the MMR vaccine causes autism, just that a link exists.