I recently had a mom bring her 7 year old daughter into my office, concerned because her cholesterol was high. Huh? Since when are doctors testing for high cholesterol in kids? Then I got this question from Kelly on Facebook: Last year, at 5 years old, my daughter’s ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL) was elevated, so we improved
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10 Ways To Optimize A Vegetarian Diet For Fertility & Pregnancy
When it comes to preparing for baby-making, a vegetarian diet for fertility has its challenges. This is especially so if you’re vegan. I have worked with countless vegan and vegetarian women in my practice who found their plant-based food choices were no longer adequate when they were trying to conceive or to maintain a healthy pregnancy
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Will the Royal Baby Have Less Birth Intervention than U.S. Babies?
While I’m not one for watching the news, I still appreciated this little clip about the differences between British and U.S. birth. Unlike U.S. Birth Standards, in the U.K…. Prenatal care is free Most women use midwives instead of obstetricians (though Dutchess Kate is using two OB’s!) There is more of an emphasis on natural
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Why I Don’t Give My Kids Multivitamins
At least once a week, someone asks me what kids’ multivitamins I recommend. The short answer: none. I don’t give my kids multivitamins, and I don’t recommend them for my patients’ kids. Before you assume that I think kids should be eating big plates of steamed greens at every meal, take a peek at the
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Want to Get Pregnant & Have a Healthy Baby?
Some couples just seem to glance at each other and end up with a bun in the oven. For everyone else, it’s important to grasp the basics of how to get pregnant so you can turn fun-and-tumble sex into successful baby-making with the least amount of stress. How to get pregnant – 6 essentials for couples trying
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Is My Child Contagious?
This post was almost entitled, “Does Green Snot Mean Infection?” – and then I realized you might have come here looking for a delicious recipe for tonight’s dinner. If you’re still reading, I’ll assume you don’t mind the references to nasal discharge… Today when I picked up my daughter from pre-school, I was informed by her
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Why We Ditched Attachment Parenting
Guess what. I sleep-trained my infant. I am sure it will probably shock and offend many attachment parenting advocates that I chose baby sleep training. I’m sure this will probably shock and offend many attachment parenting advocates, but with all the hype about co-sleeping and baby wearing out there, I think it’s important to share
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Ask A Midwife: Alternative Treatment For GBS
Group Beta Strep (GBS) is a type of normal bacteria that is commonly found in the human body. 10-35% of all healthy adult women have GBS in the lower intestine and/or vagina. Ordinarily, this doesn’t cause a problem, however, in certain circumstances, GBS bacteria can invade the body and cause serious infection; this is referred
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3 First Foods That Your Baby Needs and Your Doctor Won’t Mention
When it comes to first foods, mainstream advice is to feed your baby rice cereal. There are various reasons why this is a bad idea, starting with the fact that babies do not have sufficient amounts of the proper enzyme, called amylase, needed to break down grains in their tummies. While infants do produce salivary amylase (source),
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My Daughter’s Home Birth Story – A Tale of Fear & Joy
For my beautiful sweet girl, FAB – Your birth story. You were determined to join us. When your daddy and I first decided it was time to start ‘trying’ for our second child (and a sibling for Will) I figured it would take a few months. To be completely honest, I was not quite ready
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The Best Grain Free Birthday Cake Recipes
A kid’s birthday party can be a fun and festive affair without becoming a sugar and processed food disaster. This photo above was taken at my son’s fifth birthday party. As you can hopefully tell, it’s Star Wars themed, and as you can clearly see, I made that cake myself. A little secret – I
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7 Tips For a Successful Kitchen Play Date
Once a week (barring holidays) my friend Sweet Ginger Mama and I get the toddlers together for a playdate while my older son is at school. But this isn’t your regular old tea-sippin’, toy-negotiating get together – though those things usually happen too. We cook. Sometimes it’s a marathon event, sometimes we just whip up
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