Trivia: income, napping and visitors. And motherhood.

[ailbhe]

I joined a survey-filling scheme lately and yestreday received four pounds in Luncheon vouchers. Easy money, say I. I just need to work out where will accept them, and make sure to eat there. If the Biscuit Tin at the Town Hall does, we're in luck.

Linnea is probably about to wake up - she's been asleep for almost two hours now. This is because I wanted to go to visit my friend and her new baby at about 2 pm.

I want to help! But there's nothing I can do to help, they are all sorted out and organised fine, apparently. It's silly to want in on it, it's nothing to do with me really, except as a concerned friend.

The other two women from the antenatal class called round this morning, which was nice. One baby was on the way to get her MMR jab. In theory I should be organising Linnea's, but I'm far too scared to do it without lots of research, and far too tired to do the research. Hey, what do you think I should do? And while I'm asking for advice, how about honey? Can she have flapjacks? Or are they too much like sweets? What else do I feel guilty about today - ah! Apple juice, about 150ml a day - good or bad? Justifiable? And toothbrushing; she has between 16 and 20 teeth (you reach in and count 'em before you call me unattentive, ya?) and should we insist on brushing them properly twice a day, or is it enough to see that the brush touches each tooth, and then just let her chew on it for a few minutes? She likes toothpaste. Am I overloading her system with fluoride? What about the blue colouring they put in the gel? And how do I get her to do outdoor play when it's 30C outside and there's no shade? When was the last day the TV was not turned on in this house? Does that make me a bad person? How do I make the PMS go away and chill out?

I'm a mother: I don't just believe three impossible things before breakfast, I feel guilty about them, too.

Comments

[oldbloke.livejournal.com]

Try to limit her to an hour in the day, she'll sleep better at night.
As somebody who dopped out of a stats degree in the 1st year, I say, I've lookled at the data and she should have the MMR - anytime she isn't already ill with a cold or somesuch.
Your friend will appreciate even small stuff like making tea. Try not to end up living there though.
The botulism-in-honey thing is a crock. As long as she gets her teeth cleaned, don't worry too much about sugary stuff, within limits - you don't want her hyper. We use a strawberry toothpaste, not sure what the fluoride content is. We _try_ to actually _brush_ the teeth.
PMS: Chocolate and booze.

[k425.livejournal.com]

Surveys - have you seen ciao.co.uk - I can manage a couple of quid a month, sometimes more.

MMR - we did. I've seen kids with the after-effects of all three diseases. I've also got friends with kids on the autism spectrum and they've vaccinated later kids on the grounds that actually, it's not that bad, and MMR can be a heck of a lot worse. We did because we looked at the risks and decided there weren't any for us.

Honey - she's over 12 months, her immune system is good. If you want to, why not.

Flapjacks - one SWEET thing a day won't hurt. At nursery YB gets a mini muffin, flapjack, biscuits, gingerbread or cake after tea. I have no problem with it.

Apple juice - once a day, fine. With a meal better than sipping all day long.

Teeth - we try for each tooth twice a day and sometimes don't manage that... If you're using baby toothpaste, and not quite as much as the 'pea-sized blob' they suggest, well, that's what we let YB swallow...

Outside - pass.

TV - Hah. Us too. CBeebies! YB can say "beebees".

PMS - chocolate? Maya Gold...

[artela.livejournal.com]

You can get special toothpastes for toddlers? If you can find a low fluoride one at least you know that while they're her milk teeth if it isn't quite as effective at protecting the teeth it isn't as important as avoiding the fluoride in a little 'un.

I regard natural sugars as fine (as a non-mum though) - certainly better than processed sugars (as they require a little more work by the body to break them down) :-)

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Honey: Not for kids under 2. It can contain just enough botulism that we don't notice it. Also, anyone with a real problem with immunity -- AIDS, chemotherapy, etc. -- shouldn't use honey.

Flapjacks are like white bread. You can make them with whole wheat flour (50%) and add a lot of nice nutrients. 30C and no shade? Why not stay inside? ;)

(I grew up in a town where 40+ days in the summer were routine. We played outside in the early morning and at dusk.)

I know you're not really asking, just talking about what's up, but the honey thing I've had drilled into me from my earliest days of teaching, I like to share it.

[thereyougothen.livejournal.com]

let's see: I think flapjacks are perfect mother and child food - lots of oats help mum make lots of milk. lots of oats are lovely and nutritious for child. so there's sugar in them, la la la. it's not like they're going to eat the whole tray! sugar in moderation is good for all of us. well, except maybe diabetics, I guess.
apple juice - i still water all their juice down if they don't catch me at it. it's as much habit as anything, but hey, it saves money too.
honey? in this house honey is practically a religion. their dad feeds it to them as soon as the little hand crosses the 12 on their first birthday. ok, i exaggerate, he does wait for breakfast time. personally, i don't see the charms of honey at least not on toast. in salad dressing, or a sticky marinade, yes...

Flapjacks

[ailbhe]

Flapjacks are made of oats, margarine or butter, sugar, and honey or golden syrup. I prefer them with honey but will consider using golden syrup in future. So what's the botulism thing? Does cooking kill it or is it chemical? Is It Already Too Late? why do some places advise 12 months and you 24? Why do I believe you rather than the other sources, because, you know, I do? And why is the baby still asleep?!

[ai731.livejournal.com]

The botulism-in-honey thing is a crock.

*nod* So long as it's pasteurised honey, which is what you'll get in supermarkets. If you're buying from the Farmer's Market or Ellis, check that it's pasteurised.

[rjw76]

I did a lot of research a year ago on the risks associated with MMR as part of my degree and reached the conclusions that a) MMR is not associated with an increased risk of autism and b) the adverse effects of measles, mumps and rubella themselves are far, far worse than the side effects of the vaccine. The MMR vaccine doesn't contain thiomersal (which IIRC has now been removed from all vaccines given in the UK) so there's no need to worry about that. Oh, and you'd have to give about 1000 different vaccines at once before you risked overloading the child's immune system, so three ain't a problem.

So basically, get her vaccinated. You're protecting her, and you're also helping through herd immunity to protect the kids whose parents react to media scaremongering (and before I get yelled at, the ones who can't have the vaccine because of health issues like allergies)

If you'd like to read my dissertation on MMR, email me at my username @cam.ac.uk and I'll send you a copy and reference list. The government produces a leaflet entitled "MMR: The Facts" which is available online somewhere on www.nhs.gov.uk, and its content ties in with the scientific literature I've read on the subject.

Hope I've been vaguely useful.

Re: Flapjacks

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

Oh, flapjacks aren't pancakes, then. Mmm, I'd eat your flapjacks. :) Oats are good food.

Cooking kills botulism, you can make, say, muffins with honey.

It might be perfectly safe just not to give honey to infants, but in my various "child health" and "pediatric nutrition" and similar classes through my degree, I've always been told 24 months. Maybe there's a fuzzy line in there, some 11 monthers can handle it and some can't at 15 months, so they say 24 to be safe. It's probably a gradual increase in tolerance throughout infancy and toddlerhood.

The baby's still asleep because she has loud plans for 3 am and wants to be rested for them.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I water my own juice down! Half a glass of orange juice and half of bubbly water, mmmmm.

Where I teach nursery school (kids 3-6) we strongly encourage the parents to send water in the kids' drinking bottles, or no drink at all (we have cups and tap water), rather than juice. It's not that it's evil, it's just unnecessary and it's got a lot of sugar, even if natural.

[rmc28]

I'd be interested in that dissertation too, if you don't mind? Will email you separately.

My impression from the media upset was that the studies that got people in a tizzy about autism were a) done on very small groups of children b) concerned a gut disease linked to autism and c) weren't repeated by anyone but the self-publicist who did the research. I also read a disturbing article about an increase in babies affected by rubella since the media hooha (but I can't remember where it was now, drat).

I am the sibling of a child with Asperger's and the friend of a number of people with an autism diagnosis, and the daughter of a woman who nearly died as a child from measles. In my opinion, death and deformity are far worse than a scientifically-dodgy supposed tiny risk of autism. If I am lucky enough to have children, they will be immunised.

[mrs-warwick.livejournal.com]

My impression from the media upset was that the studies that got people in a tizzy about autism were a) done on very small groups of children b) concerned a gut disease linked to autism and c) weren't repeated by anyone but the self-publicist who did the research.

I did at one point try to read the orignial paper that caused all the hooha. As I recall, there was some concern expressed in the paper that a number of children had very small amounts of the mealses virus in their gut. Co-incidently, some of these children had autism. It is thought that the virus was present as a result of vaccination. Nowhere in the paper does it suggest that there was any link between *measles* and autism. The first time the link was made was by the self-publicist in interviews with newspapers. Since then, lots of groups across Europe have reviewed lots and lots of studies, and AFAIK, none have found a link.

What is undisputed, is the rise in the number of cases of measles, mumps and rubella, and the number of children who are suffering from some quite severe post-infection consequences (not the word I want, can't think of the correct term at the moment).

We had Rhiannon vaccinated.

[tiggsybabes.livejournal.com]

I was very confused about the MMR, but looking at the moral panic about it in the media was part of my OU course just before Kate was due hers, so I had lots of nice statistics & info on it & I decided them that it was better to have it.

I'll be looking into it again next year for Holly.

[buzzy-bee.livejournal.com]

Hey. You stole me cat ;-)

[buzzy-bee.livejournal.com]

I think we've done the same OU course. DD100? I'm doing DD305 right now.

[buzzy-bee.livejournal.com]

1. Supermarkets take them. Boots may even take them for non-food items.

2. Yes to the MMR IMO.

3. Honey at a year.

4. Flapjacks are a yes!

5. Apple juice, watered down, no harm done.

6. Toothbrushing: best you can, work on improving.

7. Toothpaste: just use a small amount. I think you can buy low fluoride if you water is also fluoridated.

8. Give up on outside in that heat :)

9. Never in our household. It does not make you a bad person.

10. Camomile tea and chocolate.

[ailbhe]

"Try to limit her to an hour in the day, she'll sleep better at night."

Clearly you do not know my baby. Sleep begets sleep!

[k425.livejournal.com]

Try to limit her to an hour in the day, she'll sleep better at night.

Depends on the child!

[k425.livejournal.com]

Okay, toothpaste. I checked the fluoride content at home last night.

OldBloke and I used Colgate, which is 1200ppm (or close). We got a tube of Ultrabrite in YoungBloke's 7month bag, along with a baby toothpaste. That's 1000pm and we'll be using it ourselves. YoungBloke uses Boot's Own Strawberry Smile toothgel, which is 260ppm. I don't mind if he swallows the toothpaste at that level, but there's enough flouride touching his teeth to do some good.

Ah, outdoor play, just thought - how about a paddling pool in a tent, or under a garden parasol?

[oldbloke.livejournal.com]

Even if not pasteurised, the botulism was in a very small sample of Californinan honey and the chance of getting any in you was lower than from touching soil. The whole "not suitable for children under N" was an over-reaction.

[oldbloke.livejournal.com]

Well, you've posted that she was being sensible coz of the weather. But we found that asking the nursery to only let Jack have an hour made a big difference to how easily we got him off at night.

Re: Flapjacks

[oldbloke.livejournal.com]

Infant botulism works differently to the adult form. Suggest you google it. But the scare stuff about honey is way OTT. Maybe stick to pasteurised to be absolutely sure.

Re: Flapjacks

[baratron.livejournal.com]

Cooking in an oven at 150 degrees C + for half an hour is basically equivalent to pasteurisation :)

Any concern I have about MMR is linked to the mercury, which has now been removed.