Definitely swim! My (almost 2 year old) son has only really ever played with bottles and his ‘colourful’ cup collection in the tub. They kept him very happy and he never seemed to grow tired of them. I recently ordered the Boon Water Bugs for him, thinking that it was time to change things up a bit. Mama thought right! The day they arrived I couldn’t get them opened fast enough…to this day I still can’t find the green bug. My son has stashed it away somewhere for safe keeping. So, the white bug and the blue bug made it safely to the bathtub, lucky bugs. The first bath they took was very entertaining. I wasn’t allowed to touch them! The two bugs sat (guarded) in the soap dish and the net was used for a very long game of peakaboo. Over a couple of days and many trials of bugs in and out of the net my son now thinks it’s much fun to catch the little critters and let them go……..I think Bob the duck will have to join the ranks! All joking aside, great bath toy!

In April 2003, The American Academy of Pediatrics announced that breastfed infants should get a Vitamin D supplement to prevent rickets, a bone-softening disease linked with inadequate intake. Weakened bones in small children result in bowed legs, soft skulls, and delays in crawling and walking and doctors were seeing a resurgence of cases. Infants and children get all the Vitamin D they need to prevent rickets by getting ten to twenty minutes of sunshine every day.

The problem for Canadians, especially on the West Coast, is twofold – we can go days without sunshine during our winters and the increased use of sunscreens blocks the natural synthesis of Vitamin D. But there is more to this incredibly complex fat-soluable vitamin. Recent studies have stated that Vitamin D is vital in activating our immune systems, one of the reasons why kids are more sick with flus and colds in the winter. Researchers have found that our T-cells (“killer cells”) require Vitamin D to attack the bugs that we catch – without enough of this vitamin, our T-cells stay asleep. So to not only keep our children’s bones strong and healthy but to boost their developing immune systems and kick the T-cells into action, make sure you are supplementing with adequate Vitamin D along with daily sun exposure (but pass on the sunscreen for the first 20 minutes – in the heat of the summer, take your kids for a walk before 10am or after 2pm to prevent burns).

For food sources, you’ll find Vitamin D in salmon and eggs, both very nourishing for the whole family.

As for how much to supplement, experts are still trying to determine the optimal dose but are presently recommending 25-50 micrograms/1000-2000IU for adults and at least 400IU for infants and children.

So enjoy that sun peaking out behind the clouds, especially while we have it!

Thanks to Dr. Stephanie Bonn for this article!

This is the latest newsletter from one of our diaper suppliers, Broody Chick. Broody Chick diapers are the first FULLY compostable disposable diaper on the market. They are totally plastic free!

BROODY CHICK products are the ongoing results of a mother’s love for her children and her desire to produce the absolute best in natural and chemical free baby products. The skincare products she created are 100% natural, chemical free and colorant free. Soon followed our diapers and wipes, which are also 100% natural and the best she could find, not only for our children but also

With the knowledge of what a mother wants for her child, we have sourced the absolute best in diapers and wipes, not only in style and comfort but also to be fully compostable, environmentally friendly, chemical free and most important, proven ultra safe for baby.

BROODY CHICK, working with Natureworks llc, looked at many textile manufacturers around the world. We searched North America, Europe, Middle East and Asia and found that the establishment in Asia was the only location that offered the quality that we required. Therefore, with Natureworks llc and their master manufacturer in textiles and using their world leading bio-polymer, Ingeo, we have been able to introduce to North America a range of fully compostable diapers and wipes with the full accreditation (ASTM-D 6400) (EN 13432).

All of us at BROODY CHICK continue to look for ways to help parents make informed choices about the products they use and the textiles that are close to and placed on their babies skin.

We are extremely proud and pleased to announce that our diapers,wipes and associated textile products have just been certified to carry the Oeko-Tex standard 100 Logo!

In the field of manufactured textiles products of all types, this certification is an internationally accepted standard and only awarded to manufactures of textiles that are ecologically harmless to humans and pose no risk whatsoever to health.

Furthermore, to ensure continued excellence in the manufacturing, Oeko-Tex reserves the right to spot check any manufacturer that carries the logo at any time and has informed all Logo users that 15% of us will be visited per annum. This will guarantee the highest level of manufacturing quality that is required to attain the certification.

We will always keep looking for ways to help you make informed choices for you, your children and our planet …because we care.

It was not to be….

Our first peanut encounter was at the Beluga tank when the girls were watching the whales beside the tank. A little boy toddled up to our empty wagon and promptly dropped his peanut butter sandwich into it. I couldn’t believe it. What made it worse is that he then smeared the peanut butter all over the wagon while he tried to retrieve it. I politely asked the mother if it was indeed peanut butter and if she had any wipes to help me clean it. She grudgingly helped me.

Then, as we headed through the “tropical zone”, we ended up walking beside a family that had 4 kids all eating… you guessed it… peanut butter sandwiches. I could smell the peanut butter before I saw the sandwiches. It was pretty overwhelming for the senses in fact. I told my brother we needed to get away from this family as I watched their kids put their fingers all over the glass of every display tank and then lick their fingers and then touch the glass again.

It was shortly after this that Alicia’s reaction began. She wasn’t even touching the same glass. She was sitting in her wagon eating her lunch and suddenly said, “Mommy, my eyes hurt.” It was dark where we were but I could see her rubbing her eyes and they looked swollen. I told my brother we need to move it to where there was better light so I could see her. We ran to the main area where there was good light and indeed Alicia’s eyes were swelling. I pulled out our epi pack and promptly gave her a good dose of Benedryl. I also gave Madelyn some since she shares the same allergy though she was not complaining (she is not as severe).

I was shaking like a leaf. After seeing her first reaction, which I described in my last post about this, I was worried it was happening again. Fortunately, the Benedryl did the trick and there was no need for the epi pen. My guess is just being around that much peanut butter set her off. It took an hour for my heart rate come down. We left the aquarium.

I sobbed in the car to my brother after the kids all fell asleep in the back. I was devastated. My already small and scary world just became even smaller. We were just starting to get comfortable with living with this allergy and once again I don’t want to leave the house with the girls. How can I send them to school? How can we visit anyone’s house? Clearly Alicia is very sensitive.

My question is whether it is reasonable to request that the Vancouver Aquarium, and places like it, consider being a peanut free zone? I know that a number of schools and churches have adopted such policies. This is, after all, a matter of life or death. Today I felt like going up to the peanut butter eating families and letting them know about our situation and ask them to reconsider their food choice when coming to such an environment where the experience for kids is tactile in nature. Is that reasonable? I know that I don’t have a right to tell people what they can and cannot feed their kids but what if they were in our shoes? Would they feel the same way? Wouldn’t they want to help us keep our kids and others with this life-threatening allergy safe?

I’ll sign this one off with a deflated sigh… why has this happened to us?

“North Korea, with a population of about 23 million, has suffered acute food shortages for more than a decade.  United Nations and World Food Programme reports show that between two and three million North Korean children (infants to age five) consistently fail to receive the nutrients vital to their physical and mental development.  The result has seen the emergence of almost an entire generation of youngsters whose growth is stunted.

First Steps’ founding director Susan Ritchie was deeply moved by the plight of the children she saw as the interpreter for a Canadian government delegation that travelled to North Korea in 2000.  She was particularly affected at a home where a nursing mother didn’t have supplemental nutrition to feed her malnourished twins.  Susan vowed to herself to do something, and on her return to Vancouver she and other volunteers set about launching First Steps.  Susan’s fluency in Korean and understanding of Korean culture has been vital to gaining local trust and co-operation in First Steps’ mission”.

After sending over a container of Pablum in late 2001, which supplied nutrition to babies at an orphanage and paediatric hospital in Kangdong county, there sphere of influence continues to grow.  They have since provided 27 VitaCows and 36 VitaGoats

children receiving nutritious soy milk in North Korea

throughout North Korea.  Each of these highly efficient machines works in essence as a large pressure cooker to process raw soybeans into highly nutritious and protein-rich soy milk.  75 000 children are now the recipients of this liquid gold EVERY DAY!

While we realize that our contribution is merely a drop in the bucket, Better Baby Bums has recently donated 81 BPA-free baby bottles to help feed children in North Korea.  We are reminded of the story of the man who is walking along the beach during an ebbing tide.  He observes a young boy who was one by one throwing sea stars that had been left on the scorching rocks back into the cool waters of the ocean.  ”Young lad,” he says, “don’t you see that there are hundreds of sea stars all along this beach?  What difference can you possibly make?”  The young boy, wise for his years, replies, “but sir, I am making a difference for that one”.

If you would like to help, or to learn more about First Steps, we would like to encourage you to check out their website.

This shop is a new concept in retail and we believe that they will be putting themselves on the map as a destination for young families from all over MetroVancouver.  They are definitely worth the drive and are just minutes off of the Patullo Bridge.  We will be checking in from time to time ourselves and would love the opportunity to meet some of our loyal Better Baby Bums families face to face!  Hope to see you there!

Kidzown Boutiques

I will start at the beginning. This past July, we were enjoying supper at Corina’s place, when Alicia, one of my 2 yo twins, left the “kiddie” table and came up to us at the “big” table with hives appearing around her mouth. Before our eyes, the hives were spreading like wildfire. Having seen an anaphylactic episode myself, it was clear to me we were in trouble. I don’t think anyone else in the house quite realized the seriousness of what we were witnessing.

I shouted instructions to everyone in the house. “Joel, get the Benedryl out of the car (that I God-willing brought with us).” “Chris, get in our car, you’re taking us to the hospital.” “Corina, get a popsicle.”

Chris, my brother-in-law, Alicia, and I jumped in the mini van and drove like crazy to the emergency room. By the time we reached the hospital, Alicia’s airway was becoming compromised as she was starting to weeze and turn colour. Like a scene in a movie, I ran into the ER with her in my arms and screamed, “My daughter is in anaphylaxis!” Suddenly a swarm of nurses and a doctor grabbed her and went running. The quickly administered epinephrine and benedryl. The first dose was not enough, 20 minutes later, she needed another. The poor kid was jumping out of her skin and screaming like you’ve never heard a kid scream. Poor Chris, who at the time was suffering from ear-related issues, was trying to hold onto her whilst having her scream in his ear.

The most frightening part of all of this is that we had no idea what she ate to cause this. For dinner she had salmon, which she had eaten quite frequently before this happened. She had her first bite of a California roll, so we didn’t know if she was allergic to imitation crab meat, shell fish (from cross-contamination), sesame seeds, or ?????

We were referred to a pediatric allergist and waited seven long months for the appointment. In complete fear. If I could sum this experience and state of living up in one word, it is fear.

After scratch allergy tests for both of our twin girls. Surprisingly, the culprit looked to be peanuts or other nuts. Alicia was positive for peanuts and other nuts, Madelyn just for peanuts and much less severe than her sister. Because we didn’t know how peanuts or nuts would be in what she ate, our doc had us take it to the next step, a food challenge, to challenge salmon to see if the scratch test was innaccurate.

I had to purchase the salmon and cook it to bring to the hospital for the “food challenge”. For those of you unfamiliar with this procedure, you take a suspected food allergen that is not coming up positive in the scratch test, and have the child eat it in the hospital. The child eats small bits of the food at regular intervals and you sit and wait to see if they react. Quite honestly, it is one of THE most frightening things I have ever been part of. When I purchased the salmon to bring to the hospital, I sobbed in the grocery store. I wondered if what I purchased was going to kill my child. Once we were there, the room we were in had equipment to intubate her if necessary. Very intimidating. I knew we were in the best possible place to have something happen, but if you have ever seen your child turn blue once, you never want to see it again. Thankfully, she passed the challenge. We confirmed that salmon is ok.

Our next step is another appointment in a few months to have blood tests done on the girls. We didn’t opt to do it right away as they were so traumatized by the scratch test. This will give us a clearer picture of just how sensitive the girls are, and cover more potential allergens than we scratched for. Our son is also going to have scratch testing done since there is a 60% chance a sibling will have the same life threatening allergy.

What have we learned from all this so far? That people aren’t very understanding. That people have no idea how serious this actually is. That life is scary for us. That our world became much smaller after we found out. That knowledge is power. That you are truly your child’s only and best advocate. That sending our children into the regular school system could be too dangerous. How to use an epi pen. That we do have true friends that support us. How to read labels. How to cook from scratch. That I am a pit bull when it comes to watching out for my kids.

This lifestyle has changed our lives considerably. Socially, health-wise, and financially. It has put strain on relationships, it has limited where we can visit, it has limited our childrens’ choice for education, it is expensive to purchase nut-free products, and we are probably healthier because I have to cook most things from scratch.

I have learned a lot about coping and thriving with this situation. I will share as much as I learn with you as I continue blogging about this nut-free journey.

My first words of wisdom are these, buy an epi-jr pen. Even if you don’t think your kid has an allergy, you still never know. Just because your child didn’t react after a first exposure, doesn’t mean they won’t react. It is actually subsequent exposures that cause reaction. Also, what if a child visiting your home has a reaction? Administering epinephrine early enough can save a life. Make an epi-jr pen part of your home first-aid kit.You do not need a presciption to get one.  Also keep jr Benedryl in that kit as well. Know the symptoms of an anaphylactic reaction as they can vary (I’ll do a post on this next). Finally, be understanding of children that have a life-threatening allergy. Their parents are not trying to be pains in the butt or take away your “right” to feed your kid a peanut butter sandwich. They are protecting their children. Put yourself in their shoes, what would you do if you knew your child could die from such an exposure?

In my old, pre-mom job as an Agrologist, I spent a considerable amount of time talking to farmers about reducing and eventually eliminating their use of pesticides because of the harm to the environment and to their animals. 3 years ago, 3 horses died from respiratory distress likely caused from pesticide exposure from a product used to kill broad leaf weeds in a neighbouring pasture. I always found in my lectures that the environmental argument never got me far but harm to their animals struck a chord. I find this story unfortunate in that it takes the deaths of children for us to understand the gravity of using these chemicals.

I would like to applaud the numerous cities that are adopting pesticide by laws to stop people from putting their lawns first before the lives of our children. The laisez-faire attitude to using these poisons needs to stop. Just because you can easily buy them in your local garden shop, doesn’t mean that they don’t have the potential to do serious damage to your health and the health of those most vulnerable.

Embrace the dandelions, moss and small critters. There are a number of great natural alternatives out there to help with all of these things. Many available at your local garden shop. My biggest piece of advice to avoid these lawn-related “problems” is that you need to approach lawn care from a preventative perspective, not a reactive one. If you have a healthy lawn, you will not have weeds taking over. A simple soil test will tell you whether the soil is too acidic, or needs more nitrogen. I will post more on this later.

Please pass this story onto everyone that you know, especially those with children.

My heart goes out to this family and I hope that the chemical company will be held accountable for this.

As an Agrologist by trade, it was funny to me that I never thought of this before. A number of studies have shown pesticide residues residing in the homes of both farm and non farm families.

Pesticides are everywhere. Many are used on farms, but a lot are used for cosmetic purposes in suburbia. Pesticides include, herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides. Our kids go out and play on many surfaces that contain trace amounts of these and if they don’t take off their shoes, pesticides come on in with them.

Pesticide residues in homes are most often found in the carpet dust. While most pesticides are designed to break down in the environment over a period of time, they don’t do this as quickly in our homes because there isn’t any rain, wind, or soil microbes to help the process occur. Studies have shown these residues to persist over a period of one year.

Children are at most risk when it comes to the harmful effects of exposure to these toxic chemicals because they tend to play on the floor and stick everything in their mouths. Health effects include: brain cancer, birth defects, Parkinson’s Disease, Leukemia, miscarriage, infertility, asthma, and sterility. Their little bodies are also less able to detoxify themselves against what is a relatively greater exposure as opposed to adults because they breathe more air and consume more water for their body weight.

Given all this, make sure your kids take their shoes off when they get in the house and help to keep their home environment a little safer.