Monthly Archives: February 2011

I’m not getting any money for promoting ConsumerLab.com. They have no idea who I am, and anyway, this blog is still a podunk blog read only by myself and a few avid friends. But, I am blogging this as a public service announcement because I think ConsumerLab’s service is well worth the $30 or so a year that I pay for it. ConsumerLab basically tests vitamins and supplements to make sure they deliver what they say they do. Often they find that certain products do not have the dosage claimed, and less frequently (thank God!), they find that certain ones … Continue reading →

I set up a Bone Health/Osteoporosis workshop tonight at Preston Wynne with holistic physician and Board-certified Internist, Dr. Kim Millman, MD, PhD. I brought my mother-in-law along because I wanted her to hear why taking Actonel was potentially harming, not helping, her. And, I wanted to spread the wisdom to everyone else out there who is concerned about osteoporosis/osteopenia, or who knows someone on Boniva/Fosamax/other bisphosphonates, or who just wants to be proactive about getting healthier bones. So, I am offering my summary of the event for everyone’s benefit. The key takeaways tonight (for me) were: Our body’s bone formation … Continue reading →

This is actually a painful post for me to write. I’ve really been hurting emotionally as I’ve noticed my milk supply dwindling the last couple weeks. I guess I’ve been pretty attached to my ability to proudly say that my baby is 100% breastfed, and when I had to supplement her with formula yesterday, it hurt like a punch in the gut. I’m not sure how it started, or what happened. It seemed like one day I was pumping 5 ounces out each session, and the next day I was pumping out only 1.5 to 2 ounces out each session. … Continue reading →

“Just let go of the idea that you are going to be sleeping for the next 18 or so years,” said Pat, one of the lactation consultants who leads a weekly breastfeeding support group at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, in response to a question from one of the attendees about getting her baby to sleep through the night. At the time, my Aria was 4 weeks old, and I couldn’t even get her to latch on properly, let alone sleep through the night. So I laughed at Pat’s answer, thinking she must have been kidding. “I’m not kidding,” … Continue reading →

Hold on a second, aren’t alcohol wipes supposed to PREVENT transmission of bacteria? This article is a bit scary, and I’m not usually one of these anti-government people who wants to do away with all watchdog and regulatory agencies.

When I was pregnant and chatting online with other mothers and mothers-to-be on a 3rd trimester message board, there was a lot of buzz about whether to vaccinate our little ones. Some women were firm that immunization is a given while others were debating the risks and benefits. (For some reason, I don’t usually encounter much vaccine skepticism in my practice.) One concern that came up frequently was whether vaccines, particularly the mercury-containing component, thimerosal, causes autism. In short, the claim that there is a causal relationship between vaccines and autism has been essentially debunked at this point. The theory … Continue reading →

I’ve always loved root beer, ever since I can remember. There is something about that root-y, anise-y, licorice-y taste that is so heavenly, that causes me to think back to those warm and balmy Savannah summer twilights, the sun dipping below the horizon, bathing the world in an orange-purple glow, the fireflies winking into the evening. I think of lying flat on my back on the top of my parents’ lime-green Dodge station wagon with my father and my brothers next to me, staring up at the sky. My Dad is quizzing us in Chinese, asking us to make sentences … Continue reading →

Thank GOD! I was driving in pouring rain and crazy winds last night to go get her at the airport, and as my little Honda was getting blown every which way across every which lane on 101 North, I kept thinking, “Oh no! She’s landing in this weather?!? It has got to be TURBULENT up there.” And then I thought, “Thank God for mothers-in-law!” I know that is a “strange” sentiment, especially since mothers-in-law are now the butts of many jokes in American society (note the movie, “Monster-in-Law” and others in the same vein). Whenever you say the word, “mother-in-law” … Continue reading →

We got the results back on Friday, 2/11: Aria tested positive for pertussis. Yes, I feel guilty. Yes, I feel stupid. Yes, I feel like a bad parent. The good news is, on the day we found out, she had already been on 5 days of antibiotics, so she was already feeling better. I didn’t hear a single cough out of her yesterday, which was so blissful. And our doctor gave her a clean bill of health at our follow-up appointment yesterday. So relieved! My hubby and I have each been vaccinated now, we’ve spoken to our county Department of … Continue reading →

I’ve decided to own the scary truth that I really have no idea what I am doing as a first-time parent. And is anyone out there really deep-down convinced that they DO know what they’re doing? They say in life that you don’t know how to do something until you’ve done it 25+ times, and I don’t know that many people with 25+ kids. So I guess I feel better just admitting this … out loud. I feel a huge responsibility to do right by Aria and make her well, and for that reason, I cave in to pressure to … Continue reading →