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Monday, June 30, 2008

Sleep

Since Alex was born, he has always needed me to nurse him to sleep, or my husband to rock him to sleep, or at least one of us to hold him....

Yesterday we were all watching Star Trek and Alex disappears into his bedroom to play with his toys... we usually don't think much of it, his room is kid proof and we moved all of his toys in there last week because he seemed to go in there often for some time alone. Well an hour goes by and I checked on him frequently and he was quietly playing with some toys, then all of a sudden he starts crying! I rushed in to find him sitting in his rocking chair shaking from head to toe as if he had been sleeping and was suddenly jolted awake, I scooped him up and he promptly fell back asleep before I made it back to the living room. I thought, "Wow, he must have been really tired and just fell asleep!"

Well about half an hour ago, we were all sitting in the living room watching a movie and Alex was nursing contentedly. Then he got down and went into his room to play. Then it got quiet, so I just now went in to see what he was up to and he is curled up on the floor sleeping!

Without us even realizing it, I think my baby has outgrown the need to have us help him go to sleep!

Maybe it is this heat we have been having lately.... he hasn't been wanting to be in the wrap, he has been refusing hot foods, when he nurses it is brief and he sometimes asks for water after nursing..... He has also been running around the house naked... we have the deck door open and his kiddie pool is filled to about his ankles and he frequently goes out to play in the water....

*sigh* I think he is growing up too fast....

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

More on the Vaccine Controversy

On my Parenting group, an article was posted concerning the AAP's action against parents who are not meeting their expectations for vaccinations, the article can be found at a blog called Vaccine Awakening. I would suggest that every parent read this article and many of the other articles on this blog. In this article, Barbara Loe Fisher says:

"Educated parents of America attempting to make informed, voluntary vaccination decisions for your children be warned: your pediatrician is out to change your mind about vaccination or teach you a lesson you will never forget.

Hang on to your child because the doctor you have trusted with your child's life might just try to make you out to be a bad parent and not only throw you out of the office but notify state officials to charge you with child medical abuse if you don't agree to give your child every one of those 69 doses of 16 vaccines that doctors working for the Centers for Disease Control say all children from birth to age 18 must get.

Be prepared that the doctor, who you pay to keep your child well, may dutifully obey recent orders given by the AAP leadership to implement one-size- fits-all government vaccine policies: no questions asked. The next time you visit your pediatrician and attempt to ask a question about vaccine reactions or suggest your child get fewer or no vaccines (especially if your child has already suffered serious vaccine reactions your doctor refuses to recognize) be prepared to be humiliated, harassed, threatened and thrown out of the office.

The message from the AAP leadership to vaccine-educated parents is: you WILL give your children every vaccine that industry produces even it brain damages or kills them. You DO NOT have the human right to protect your child from vaccine injury and death because you MUST sacrifice your child for what AAP and government officials have decided is the "greater good." Your child does NOT belong to you and if you don't agree to do exactly what we say, we will make sure your family is denied medical care."

This is the letter, referenced in the blog article above, written by All Star Pediatrics, a medical office in Lionville, PA. This letter is being disseminated by the American Academy of Pediatrics as a template form to fight the growing number of parents in this country who find that the vaccines are unsafe and are choosing not to vaccinate or choosing to alter the schedule of the CDC.


We firmly believe in the effectiveness of vaccines to prevent serious illness and to save lives.

We firmly believe in the safety of our vaccines.

We firmly believe that all children and young adults should receive all of the recommended vaccines according to the schedule published by the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

We firmly believe, based on all available literature, evidence and current studies, that vaccines do not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.

We firmly believe that thimerosal, a preservative
that has been in vaccines for decades and remains in some vaccines, does not cause autism or other developmental disabilities.

We firmly believe that vaccinating children and young adults may be the single most important health-promoting intervention we perform as health care providers, and that you can perform as parents/caregivers. The recommended vaccines and their schedule given are the results of years and years of scientific study and data-gathering on millions of children by thousands of our brightest scientists and physicians.

These things being said, we recognize that there has always been and will likely always be controversy surrounding vaccination. Indeed, Benjamin Franklin, persuaded by his brother, was opposed to smallpox vaccine until scientific data convinced him otherwise. Tragically, he had delayed inoculating his favorite son Franky, who contracted smallpox and died at the age of 4, leaving Ben with a lifetime of guilt and remorse.

Quoting Mr. Franklin’s autobiography:
In 1736, I lost one of my sons, a fine boy of four years old, by the smallpox…I long regretted bitterly, and still regret that I had not given it to him by inoculation. This I mention for the sake of parents who omit that operation, on the supposition that they should never forgive themselves if a child died under it, my example showing that the regret may be the same either way, and that, therefore, the safer should be chosen.

The vaccine campaign is truly a victim of its own success. It is precisely because vaccines are so effective at preventing illness that we are even discussing whether or not they should be given. Because of vaccines, many of you have never seen a child with polio, tetanus, whooping cough, bacterial meningitis or even chickenpox, or known a friend or family member whose child died of one of these diseases. Such success can make us complacent or even lazy about vaccinating. But such an attitude, if it becomes widespread, can only lead to tragic results.

Over the past several years, many people in Europe have chosen
not to vaccinate their children with the MMR vaccine af ter publication of an unfounded suspicion (later re tracted) that the vaccine caused autism. As a result of underimmunization, there have been small outbreaks of measles and several deaths from complications of measles in Europe over the past several years.

Furthermore, by not vaccinating your child you are taking selfish
advantage of thousands of others who do vaccinate their children, which decreases the likelihood that your child will contract one of these diseases. We feel such an attitude to be self-centered and unacceptable.

We are making you aware of these facts not to scare you or coerce you, but to emphasize the importance of vaccinating your child. We recognize that the choice may be a very emotional one for some parents. We will do everything we can to convince you that vaccinating according to the schedule is the right thing to do. However, should you have doubts, please discuss these with your health care
provider in advance of your visit. In some cases, we may alter the schedule to accommodate parental concerns or reservations. Please be advised, however, that delaying or “breaking up the vaccines” to give one or two at a time over two or more visits goes against expert recommendations, and can put your child at risk for serious illness (or even death) and goes against our medical advice as providers at All Star Pediatrics. Such additional visits will require additional co-pays on your part. Furthermore, please realize that you will be required to sign a “Refusal to Vaccinate” acknowledgement in the event of lengthy delays.

Finally, if you should absolutely refuse to vaccinate your child
despite all our efforts, we will ask you to find another health care provider who shares your views. We do not keep a list of such providers, nor would we recommend any such physician. Please recognize that by not vaccinating you are putting your child at unnecessary risk for life-threatening illness and disability, and even death.

As medical professionals, we feel very strongly that vaccinating
children on schedule with currently available vaccines is absolutely the right thing to do for all children and young adults. Thank you for your time in reading this policy, and please feel free to discuss any questions or concerns you may have about vaccines with any one of us.


I found the full letter at the AAP website on "Helping parents who question vaccines"

I find it appalling that the AAP is now attacking parents for becoming informed. For making decisions about their child's health that is not based on lining the pockets of Big Business, we are now being forced out of doctor's offices across the country and are being denied basic health care for our children. These people claim to be acting in the best interests of our children, but they refuse to treat and care for those children who do not meet their standards!

Please do not allow yourselves to be bullied into compliance, there are good doctors out there who believe in the rights of parents to make informed choices about their children's health. For more information on how you can fight this newest attack, please visit http://www.standupbecounted.org/issues.htm

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Making Focaccia



This is a fantastic visual walkthrough on how to make Focaccia.

I top my dough with olive oil, basil, and crushed garlic instead of the fresh rosemary and salt they use here.... toppings are a matter of taste, there are no set rules for making Focaccia. I have heard that topping with cheese before baking can lead to over browning of the cheese and a bitter taste. I sometimes add Feta cheese before the final baking though with great results.

This Focaccia is great by itself, with Bruschetta, or just about any thing really. I have used Focaccia in place of pizza dough in my Mediterranean Pizza recipe (listed below in the recipe section). Simply prepare the Focaccia as directed, but before taking it off the pan to put directly on your oven rack, top with the pizza ingredients.

Focaccia freezes well, so it is easy to make several "personal size" Focaccia at one time and freeze them for future use, but since they are so easy to make, I prefer to make them up as needed.

Here is the basic recipe for the Focaccia that is made on this video, transfered into American terminology.... I did not list any of the topping ingredients, because tastes vary. And of course you will need extra olive oil for drizzling on top.

NOTE: He uses the sugar to "feed the yeast" however, the sugar is not essential....you can omit the sugar and let the yeast proof in the warm water for 5 minutes, then gently stir the yeast to dissolve completely.

Ingredients

2 tsp. dry yeast and 1 tsp honey or sugar
3/4 cup warm water
3 3/4 cups white bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Mimosa - Update 2

Finished with the Mimosa Border Chart.... starting on the body next...

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Peek-A-Boo


Alex has recently discovered the fun that blankets can provide.... he loves to play in the blanket tents that Daddy builds for him and he loves to play peek-a-boo when he wakes up in the morning...

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Mimosa




I have cast on the Mimosa Wrap from Big Girl Knits (pictured above). It is a challenging pattern.... at least for me.... I learned to knit last September as a birthday gift to myself.... I have tried to start this shawl 4 times, and each time something has gone awry, and I have had to frog the entire thing. I feel like it is doing quite well this time, and I have finished the lower edging and have started the first row of the mimosa border. I will keep posting about the shawl as I complete more of it.
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