Toxic Metals in our Body

As parents we are taught the dangers of exposing our children to lead. Our Little Bears get lead tested at baby check ups, we are coached on ways to avoid exposure, and taught the long-term negative effects of exposure. However, we really aren't taught about how to cleanse our babies if they are exposed, as well as the risks associated with other metals in their little bodies. 



"Mercury, lead and cadmium are three metals that can be especially harmful and aluminum has also presented concerns. These toxic metals enter your body through drinking, eating, inhaling, and skin and eye contact" (Global Healing Center).  As humans in the modern world, we are exposed to these metals in everyday products such as potatoes, peanuts, deodorant, toothpaste, vaccines, medications, celery, soil, canned goods, fish, pesticides and more. Additionally, Little Bears' who have parents who work construction, mechanics, agriculture and other similar fields have increased risk of passing toxic metals to their children.



Toxic metals in your body can manifest a number of symptoms which include both physical and emotional effects. In fact, some integrative medical practitioners argue that some cases of ADHD are actually the result of metal toxicity.  Lead can effect IQ and Mercury can effect digestion. What's even more interesting, is that these symptoms can be reversed often with a good metal detox.  



My next post will include some tips and tricks for metal detox both as treatment and prevention.

  

The Magic of Elderberry Syrup (Recipe Included)

Contributing Writer: Jessica Edmundson of California

Hi there, my name is Jessica and I am a lucky mama to my almost three year old daughter, Isla. Isla was born in the cold heart of December and I knew early on I needed to incorporate immune boosting herbs and foods into both our diets. I began making elderberry syrup when she was 11 months old, November, 2015, which was a particularly cold and wet winter in our area. In addition to that, we have family in Humboldt County, California… ever heard of the Humboldt crud? You don’t want it! I diligently ensured her and I took a spoonful in the morning, and again at night and guess what? No sickness in my home all winter or spring! 

I still wasn’t sure if it had been luck that got us through, or if elderberry syrup was as magical as I’d heard. The following winter rolled around and I, again, started making the elderberry syrup until I missed a batch. It was January and we were incredibly busy and I just didn’t make the time to cook the syrup for three days. Three days. Isla got the flu in those three days. I knew then, it was a magic elixir and I would never skip a batch during cold and flu season again! After coming to the conclusion that it was magic, I had to know why. Why is this stuff so critical to fighting off sickness? I did my research and I tweaked my recipe with my new found information. I learned that the ingredients above work synergistically to build your immune system, helping you to fight off the germs you come in contact with daily! The best part is, my daughter loves the taste and asks for more syrup!

Elderberry Syrup Recipe - Makes one 16oz jar of syrup.

2/3 cup – dried Elderberries

1 ½ inch – ginger root, peeled and sliced

1 tsp – cinnamon powder

1 tsp – cloves

3 slices – lemon

3 ½ cups – water

½ cup – honey (If you find you prefer a sweeter taste, just add more honey!)

Add the dried elderberries, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, lemon and water to a medium to large pot, mix and bring to a boil. Once the mixture boils, reduce heat and let simmer 30-45 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture is reduced by about half. Remove from heat and use a flat surface to press the berries, this releases some extra goodness! Fine strain the mixture over a bowl, use a spoon or spatula to press all the liquid from the ingredients. Let the liquid cool until warm but not hot, stir in the honey until fully mixed then jar it up and keep it refrigerated. Depending on how many are taking the syrup and how much you use this will last 1-2 weeks. One 16oz jar lasts me and my daughter two weeks, each taking one tablespoon twice a day. 

Confession: Apologizing for Greatness

Last post, I discussed the responsibility of managing our lower qualities. One thing I do, that my mom does, and her mom does, is we hide and apologize for greatness. Its so automatic that until recently, I didn't even realize to what an extent I do this. Here is a clear example, if someone compliments me on my parenting, I quickly share a flaw that I have as a parent or divert all credit to my Little Bear. I don't just say "thank you," or engage in a conversation on the topic, I quickly divert and distract away from the praise.

I feel like I have to apologize for greatness. I work extremely hard. I'm constantly researching, working, living life at full speed, and I am proud of my accomplishments..... as long as no one notices. I keep many of my projects and passions secrets as not to draw attention. I graduated with high honors from undergrad and graduate school and the only person who shared this accomplishment was my partner. I didn't tell a sole (outside my resume).

In the past, I have justified and denied this behavior by wrongfully calling this humility, modesty, or shyness.  But really, its self deprecation. You give a compliment, I take it away with a bigger criticism.  I have a huge issue with this quality for two main reasons.

1) I want my Little Bear to be proud of his accomplishments and own them with genuine humility and modesty.


2) Out if habit, I now habitually apologize for my child's greatness.  (WHHAAAATTTTT!!!!!)

That second reasons hurts the most. I do, do that (deep sigh). For example, if someone compliments my son's advanced speech, I own it and say thank you. I'm proud. And then I quickly point out and refocus on that he is behind in his growth. Um.... What was that? Why!!!!

I've been working actively on socializing my Little Bear since birth. I'm the main care provider and largely stay at home, so I understand that without daycare, I have to purposefully create experiences for him. We have actively worked on playing, sharing, and interacting. The other day my Little Bear demonstrated that he is really grasping these skills at a recent play session. He made sure everyone in the room had a toy if they were too shy to get one on their own. And he is not even 2! What a sweetheart! The other parent's in the room were in such aw and asked how I worked with him on sharing. My response..... "I don't think he knew he was sharing. I think he just likes helping."  

For one, that doesn't even make sense, for two, I am undermining his generosity by reassigning his motivations as self serving, and three, "Ugh!" I immediately regretted saying it. Why would I steal his thunder? Why wouldn't I just share how we have been working on socialization? You know why? I was embarrassed.  Standing out and being successful embarrasses me, even though I work so hard to be successfully d want my son to grow up proud of his successes. 

This for me is by far the hardest blog entry to write and the one that feels the most personal. I am committing today, I will no longer apologize for my child's greatness. It doesn't mean other kids or people aren't great too. It just means he happens to be great also.  I also need to apply this lesson to myself. Or my son with learn this blueprint for accepting praise, just like I did.    

Being Stronger.

The most intense part of being a mother for me is understanding that my child models himself after me. Its an immeasurable realization that while my little bear was born his own person, he utterly looks up to me (well... at least for now...) and will model his behaviors after mine. How I manage fear, he will learn. How I manage stress, he will learn.  As he becomes older, he may be able to cognitively process and establish different coping skills from mine, but the blueprint for these reactions come from those he is closest.

My mother pushed herself. She was immensely motivated to raise a strong woman. She recognized early on that there were certain aspects of her character and coping that made her life more difficult. She purposefully targeted all efforts to teaching me differently. She largely succeeded. I am a strong, independent and brave person. What's crazy though is on a cognitive level, I am able to do what was taught. However, when I slide into a lower level of consciousness, "autopilot," her behavioral blueprint is a part of my make up too.  I've repeated many of her same mistakes.  This is not a criticism of my mother, but an example to me of the powerful influence our parents have over our lives.

"Its not always enough to teach our kids how to be stronger, we also have to genuinely make ourselves stronger."  

• If we want our daughters to have good body image, we have to  model good body image. 
• If we want out sons to be emphatic, sensitive and strong, we have to model empathy, sensitivity and strength.
• If we don't want to raise codependent children, we cant be codependent adults. 
• If we don't want to raise a child with low self esteem, we cant model an all encompassing low self-esteem.  

Depression, anxiety, sexual abuse, domestic violence, etc, are all cyclical issues that are passed down from generation to generation. Other factors like biology, war-time trauma, extreme poverty, etc can of course change the course of a functional family, but largely we pass these lessons on to our children.

We will never be perfect. We are all flawed humans who are striving to be better. I will make mistakes with my son and I will unfortunately pass down some of my lower qualities. But I promise, I will dedicate every second of my life to being the best version of myself, to live consciously, so I can pass the best of my intentions.  The weight and pressure is real.

Photo by: Jessica Saurez Photography
http://www.jessica-suarez-photography.com/

   

What is Having it All? Career and Motherhood.

Contributed by Writer: Ashly McVea-Figueroa

Creater of: Alice & Eddy Party

Blogger at: www.aliceonsunday.com

Photo by: Iridescent Photography

I have always been a very career focused person. Then I
became a mom and became a very motherhood focused person. And that’s ok. I
juggled both for about 4 years in the sports + entertainment industry and it
was killer. The thing about that particular industry is it never sleeps.
Unfortunately, neither does an infant…or a toddler and a newborn in the same
house, or two toddlers in the same room.

Things started falling through the cracks in my life. I was
missing soccer practices and mommy & me dances and good night kisses.
Meanwhile, I was promoted 3 times in a 3-year span. And that was what all my
hard work was for, right? But, in all that success, it felt really empty.
Seriously, empty.

So I quit! And don’t get me wrong; Mama Bears can have it
all. Women do it every-freaking-day. Women work full time jobs while pumping in
their cubicles, talking on the phone and setting up play dates. I see it all
time. I was living that life. But I wanted more out of motherhood. I made the
choice to give up career so that I could sacrifice ZERO in motherhood.

The thing is, I don’t feel less successful—I started a small
business (Alice & Eddy Party) that has made less than $1000 in the first
month of business, I’m cash poor (for now) and that is ok….kinda. It’s a process.

In the same vein, I didn’t turn into super mom. I still let
me kids watch way “too much” tv. I still make grilled cheese instead of
preparing a 3 course meal…you get the picture.

The point it, I am happy. My kids see and feel my presence
all the time. I am loved so fully and now I have the time & the energy to
show them that same level of “I can’t live without you” kind of love that they
have always shown me.

I am a stay-at-home Mama Bear with a master’s degree and
experience in an industry that some people never break into. How crazy is that?
But it is my reality and I’m standing in it…happily.

Raising a Bilingual and Bicultural Little Bear

Contributing Writer: Sofia Lopez-Ibañez of Texas

Life takes you to different places and makes you perform different roles than you expected...  Being a bilingual and bicultural parent was never in my mind when I pictured myself as a mother; but, here I am with my partner raising a bilingual, bicultural little bear. Born and raised in Mexico, we came to the U.S. as teenagers. We continue to live in Texas and we have acculturated to the point where we feel comfortable raising our child with the “best of both worlds.” 

There are several reasons why we have decided to raise a bilingual, bicultural little bear. The two main reasons are:

1. My husband and I are very proud of our roots, origin and heritage and at the same time we are proud to have the opportunity to become Americans.  We can't deprive our son from experiencing what we lived and develop a strong sense of pride for, being Mexican by heritage and American by origin.

2. By being bilingual and bicultural, we want to plant a seed of interest in other cultures and languages so our little bear can be open to learning and knowing those cultures and languages around him.

In order to successfully raise a bilingual and bicultural child, we have committed to passing on our traditions, beliefs, and language.  We also have committed to introducing American traditions, beliefs, and language as much and with the same emphasis. This will help our little bear to feel confident speaking two languages and being a part of two cultures. Our little bear is almost two years old.  We speak Spanish at home and expose him to English through family members, social activities, play dates, literacy, games and T.V.  We celebrate Día De Los Muertos and watch the fireworks on the Fourth of July after eating ribs, corn, and mashed potatoes.  We have vacationed in Chicago and Puerto Vallarta.

We are exposing our little bear to the beauty of both countries and languages as much as possible. We feel really proud when we see his excitement at a baseball game or after eating a “churro.”  We take these as signs that we are succeeding at making him comfortable with both experiences.  For us, it's all about balance. I am proud that my little bear says “gracias” as well as asks for his “ball.” Mixing words it's totally normal at this stage, until he learns "code-switching" and is able to switch languages depending on the kind of situation, either bilingual or monolingual. At this point, my little bear responds the same way to instructions whether it’s Spanish or English, without any expression of confusion. These are all signs he is receiving a balanced exposure to both languages.

Our family is lucky to be in a community so close to Mexico with a significant Hispanic influence. This helps to increase exposure of our Mexican heritage, while at the same time having family and friends who are American and can help introduce the American culture as well.

Dia de Los Muertos, 2016

I'm not Against my Child Getting Hurt

By: Tedi McVea 

From the start, I have not been against my child getting hurt. I have allowed our Little Bear to attempt skills I knew he wasn't quit ready for, understanding full well that it will earn him a few bumps and bruises along the way. While, this may not be the traditional "first-time mom" way, it has been our way.

I believe getting hurt is a legitimate learning experience. I don't want to rob my child of learning the natural consequences of his actions by creating a bubble (pain free environment).  I want him to learn when he can crawl that falling hurts, so when he can climb, he is more cautious about falling. I want him to know that running downhill may result in a fall, before he can ride a bike down a hill and risk a more painful fall. I want him to solidify these lessons at age appropriate stages, so he can feel confident in his assessment of risk and manage it appropriately.  This also means not running to him when he gets hurt and instead pausing a bit or walking to him. This time allows him to fully experience the cause and effect of his actions.... this little bit is often the hardest part for me and means fighting every mommy urge I have to run and coddle.

With that being said, I am completely for preventing injury. I mean lets face it... baby logic is sometimes not the most logical. It is still developing and help and guidance is certainly needed along the way. I define getting hurt as a temporary bump or bruise, which effects' can fade away in a matter of days or as quick as minutes. I am however, ultra protective against  injuries that can be longer lasting and more serious.

This philosophy for parenting is sometimes I think misunderstood. I have certainly gotten "glances" from other parents. There are even times with my own partner that I have to say, "No. It's okay. Let him jump from his chair." As I follow up with an explanation that there isn't the potential for injury. He will either land it and be proud or fall and get hurt be more cautious next attempt. I've noticed that she is now really warming up to this philosophy and sees the noticeable benefits.

Our Little Bear from the start has been ahead on his gross motor development and feels very confident trying new things. He was one of the first of his friends to walk, go solo down a slide, navigate down steps, or hang from the monkey bars. I think sometimes we don't realize how our anxiety's as parents, translate to our baby's experiencing anxiety trying new things. While every Mom has their own philosophy and every baby has their own development range and needs, this one has worked wonders for us! It also translates pretty seamlessly into Free Range Parenting, a granola mom staple.

So remember, getting hurt is okay. Its getting injured that we can work together to prevent.