Playground for Parents

Trader Joe's Recall

How many times have I mentioned my love for Trader Joe's over the past year?  Yea, it's right up there with my love for Target, reality TV, and all things chocolate.  T.J.'s can do no wrong, even if they do have a current recall... 

Just in case you buy their Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars for your little ones, be aware that Trader Joe's is warning consumers that those boxes with use by dates of 16JUL10H2 and 17JUL10HI may have salmonella:  "As a precaution all of the product has been removed from sale and has been destroyed. To date, we have received no reports of illness related to these Chocolate Chip Chewy Coated Granola Bars."

T.J.'s will give a full refund upon the return of these items.  Buy yourself their frozen chocolate croissants instead.  Have you tasted those masterpieces?  Bake one up after the kids go to bed (so you don't have to share).  I swear, it's better than a bubble bath and the latest installment of Twilight.

 

Haiti Relief: Quick, Easy and Compassionate

You don't have a lot of time, or a lot of money. But, you have a big heart.  Here are two quick and easy ways to help provide relief for our Haitian brothers and sisters in desperate need. I promise it'll make you feel really, really good.

*  Sports Chalet stores are accepting gently worn adult and kids shoes from now until January 31st.  All shoes collected are given to Soles4Souls for distribution to the Haitians.  They listed a brilliant idea on their website, of organizing a shoe drive in your community.  Within one minute of reading that tip, I sent a quick email to the parents of my kids' sports team, and asked them to bring shoes to this weekend's game!  Come on, you have at least one pair that you haven't worn since 2008, or your kid has a pair they have to curl their toes up to make fit. This is a fantastic way to get the little ones involved in a selfless act of compassion, and responsibility for mankind. For more info:  Sports Chalet Haitian Donation (I just created that name. Kinda catchy, huh?!)  Just take 'em off, and drop 'em off!  (I just came up with that one too. Man, I'm clever! Ha!)

(Thanks for the tip, Gwendolyn!)

*  Pick up your cell phone. Text "HAITI" to 90999. Done! $10 will go to the Red Cross Haiti Relief Fund.  The charge will show up on your phone bill, and this is available for all cell phone carriers. Skeptical of anything involving money being donated over the Internet or phone? I know, I know. Me too. But, this one's legit, mama. It's sponsored by mgive, who has numerous charitable organizations registered to them, including Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Doctors without Borders, etcetera.

(Thanks for the tip, Erika!)

On the Naughty List: Enfamil

I know of one company who may be getting coal in the Christmas stocking this year:  Enfamil.  I'll tell you the incredible reason why in a minute. But first, a bit of a personal tale, because, what's the point of a blog if you can't rant or brag or simply share?!  My first baby was easy to nurse.  A few first days of waiting for the milk to come in.  Followed by a few days of toe-curling engorgement.  And then my kid did her thing, my ducts did theirs, and they both cooperated for the entire 12 months that I nursed.  Baby #2?  Not so much.  She fell asleep, and stayed asleep, whenever I nursed her. Cold towels, breath blown in her face, tickles to her feet and stomach, the discomfort caused by disrobing her - produced NOTHING. The kid was zonked out like I had sleeping medication secreted in my breastmilk. She'd nurse briefly on one side, and then not the other. She didn't latch appropriately in the beginning, too sleepy I suppose to even open her mouth wide enough to get a good grip.  Because Munchkin didn't nurse long enough, and didn't nurse appropriately while she waited for my milk to come in, she lost more than the average amount of weight in those first two weeks of birth. I was advised by her pediatrician to supplement with formula until her weight stabilized. I resisted, because I wanted Munchkin to only have breastmilk, without my own personal guilt and shame about feeding her formula. My own hangup. I'm just being honest (I can also honestly say that I have no negative feelings about other moms feeding their baby formula. With the exception of excessive disciplining, I'm quite open-minded about other moms' choices in childrearing). In the end, I gave her about two 4-oz bottles of formula per day, for just a couple of weeks, until her weight stabilized and she could manage to pull herself together for at least 10 minutes to nurse. Then we went to exclusive breastfeeding, and I produced enough milk to feed my baby, your baby, and your neighbor's baby.  But I was grateful to at least have the formula option when it was deemed medically necessary. The formula I selected was Enfamil - a brand I knew, always saw advertised, and thought best for my baby. I didn't give any consideration to the store brands of formula, assuming them to be inferior to the major Enfamil money-maker.

 

That was over a year ago, and a concern of the past. But, this week I was contacted by MomSelect, and informed about a landmark court case against the makers of Enfamil formula. MomSelect asked that bloggers pass the  information along to their readers.  And after learning about the case, I absolutely agreed that it was imperative that my readers hear it too.  Are you past the nursing/feeding stages? Stop gloating long enough to pass this along to a mom you know, or a mom-to-be, who could be helped by this info. 

 

The information was very well summarized by MomSelect, so I've copied it below.

 

Let us preface what we want to share with you with this- We are in no way endorsing formula over breastfeeding; however, we have learned that many moms are unnecessarily paying more for formula when they choose to bottle feed because of unfair advertising.  We thought this information was important enough to share with you and hopefully your readers.
 
In a landmark federal court case, a jury verdict confirmed that Mead Johnson, the maker of Enfamil LIPIL Infant Formula, has engaged in false advertising by stating that store brand-infant formulas sold at Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens and other retailers, do not provide the same nutritional benefits as Enfamil.
 
The jury found that Enfamil advertisements were false and misleading, especially since store- brand formulas have the same nutrients at the same levels as Enfamil.  In the process, they have exposed the truth about infant formula: store-brand infant formulas are nutritionally equivalent to, and confer the same developmental benefits as, the more expensive national brands like Enfamil. Buying a heavily marketed formula from a big pharmaceutical company does not get you any closer to breast milk.
 
So what does this mean to Moms?  It means they could have been saving up to $600 a year by using store brand formulas, which cost half as much as Enfamil LIPIL and other national brands.
 
We want to be very clear that by sending you this information MomSelect is not suggesting that formula feeding is the best available option for infant nutrition; breast milk is best for babies. We just want moms to know that they don't have to spend money unnecessarily.

 

Further information can be found through the following links:

 

http://www.pbmproducts.com/press.aspx?ID=310

http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10004868/a-desperate-mead-johnson-loses-135m-jury-verdict-over-false-claims/

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/esearch/e3i6328aaffeb014c13fbcc5dbedc3d4fd7

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/baby/2009/07/save-money-on-baby-stuff-cheap-formula.html

Big thanks to Amy and MomSelect for spreading the mama word!

 

Oh, No He Didn't

 

We've heard other people's kids when they are whining, throwing tantrums, screaming in the store. Somehow, it's even more irritating to us than our own kid's whining. We move away, we roll our eyes, we share knowing glances with the store clerk, we stare down the mother in attempt to tell her telepathically, "control your bad kid!" and we are thankful that it's not our child on that particular afternoon. 

 

But, no matter how unnerved we are, we would never, ever, in this lifetime, or the next, think of slapping another person's screaming kid. There's a mother in Atlanta, however, who experienced just that, when her 2 year old daughter was screaming in Walmart. A 61 year old stranger came up and told the mom, "shut your kid up, or I will," and proceded to slap the 2 year old repeatedly. 

 

I know. Let that sink in for a moment.

 

Traumatizing is an understatement, for both the little girl and her mother. I'm trying to put myself in that mom's place, and the protective mechanism in my brain simply won't let me. I can't go there. I start to get dizzy when I try to visualize it happening to my child. Is it possible to puke, pass out, scream, cry, and decapitate someone all at the same time? If so, then I imagine that's what I would do.

 

But, this I know for sure: if it did happen to my daughter, and the man was arrested, and we knew when his arraignment was, I would NOT be able to hold my husband back. All glorious 6 feet 4 inches of my husband. And to be honest with you, I wouldn't even want to hold him back. Come to think of it, I would not be able to hold my mother back either. I'm dead serious. She's a tomboy at heart, was raised in the country with a lot of brothers, in great shape, and fiercely protective of us. She's the one you want to call to curse out the creditor, or tell the unethical repairman face-to-face where he can stick his screwdriver.  I'm pretty sure you would see us on one of those tv video shows, Court Gone Wild or whatever they are called, where the victim's family jumps over the rail and commences to beating down the perp. I'd have to start collecting bail money for my own family.

 

Check out the full story and the video news segment: Stranger Slapped Screaming Child. The accused looks like he wakes up and goes to bed in a perpetual state of anger, doesn't he? He really should've stayed home that day. Now he has a lot more to worry about than a screaming kid.

 

 

Michael Jackson: A Kid's Sudden Lesson About Death

I was driving home from work today at about 1:30pm, flipping radio stations as usual, and stopped when I hit a Michael Jackson song. When the song ended, the DJ said something that sounded like "Rest In Peace." Huh? I couldn't get home fast enough. Like many of you, I turned the TV on as soon as I got here, searching for breaking news. OK, actually, I immediately asked the nanny if she heard anything, and ran to the TV, before I even greeted my kids.

 

Daughter (age 8):  "How did Michael Jackson die?"

Me: "They think it was cardiac arrest, which means a heart attack."

Daughter:  "What happens in a heart attack?"

Me:  "It's when someone's heart stops beating all of a sudden. Once their heart stops beating, they pass out - like going to sleep. And they stop breathing. Sometimes the paramedics can come in time to get the person's heart beating again with a machine. And sometimes they can't, like with Michael Jackson."

Daughter:  "I thought Michael Jackson was brown."

Me: (the death question was easier than this one)  "He was, when he was younger. He said it was a skin disease, but no one knows for sure."

Daughter:  "That's how the queen died in Tale of Despereaux. She saw a mouse and had a heart attack."

 

End of discussion. Sometimes their questions are easy. Sometimes they are excruciatingly difficult. And sometimes kids relate it to a cartoon, and it's over.

 

There's one thing for certain: whether in real life or a movie (and someone ALWAYS seems to die in kid movies), death sucks.

 

Amazing how things change in just days. My daughter was making up a little dance routine, and of all the millions of songs to choose from, including the current ones of her day, she wanted to choreograph her dance to Michael Jackson's "Beat It." Long after we found it on YouTube and played it for her, my husband and I continued to listen to our other MJ favorites that evening - Billy Jean, Thriller, Man In The Mirror...

That was just last Saturday. Today, the creator of those legendary and timeless songs is dead, and an entire world mourns the death of a musical icon.

 

One of my favorite MJ songs, which is much more meaningful to me now that I'm a mother: Man In The Mirror. "...If you wanna make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and then make a change..."

Vaccines Cause Autism? The Court Decides

Despite today's ruling, I remain concerned terrified about vaccines.  I dutifully take my baby to be vaccinated every couple of months, as medically advised, but not without plenty of prayers for a good outcome, and not without Daddy, Grandma, or the nanny for emotional support (the screaming tears me to shreds every time)!  It doesn't seem to get any easier.

 

Court Issues Ruling in Autism Case

By KEVIN FREKING and LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP

"It was abundantly clear that petitioners' theories of causation were speculative and unpersuasive," the court concluded in one of a trio of cases ruled on Thursday.

The ruling was anxiously awaited by health authorities and families who began presenting evidence in June 2007. More than 5,500 claims have been filed by families seeking compensation through the government's Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The claims are reviewed by special masters serving on the U.S. Court of Claims.

 

"Hopefully, the determination by the special masters will help reassure parents that vaccines do not cause autism," the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement.  Read Full Story