Most Moms I meet tell me the issue of toxicity in everyday products didn’t really surface for them until they had a child. With all the bad press about BPA and other dangerous chemicals in our environment these days, it’s easy to get scared about trying to raise a child in this toxic world. Sometimes you need a little more information to help you feel grounded and to come up with an action plan.
That’s why I was so please to come across the new-to-me brochure from Healthy Legacy.org (with help from the IATP) that gives you the ‘readers digest’ version of toxicity issues and explains why children are even more vulnerable than adults. The Guide To Safer Children’s Products also includes a copy-and-clip guide to safer plastics and a well-compiled list of safer products for kids including baby bottles and sippy cups, utensils and dishes, pacifiers and teethers, food and breastmilk containers & formula and food products.
If you’re itching to do a little more reading or to get the cutting edge scoop on toxicity research and product news, check out these other fabulous resources:
Healthy Child Healthy World - A non-profit eductation and advocacy group dedicated to protecting the health and well-being of children from environmental exposures. They have a fabulous blog that will keep you up to date on the latest news and a book that should be on every parent’s bookshelf.
The Zrecs Guide to Safer Children’s Products - A well-researched, searchable guide to children’s products that focuses on keeping toxic chemicals out of our kids and is updated frequently.
The Smart Mama - This blog about taking “Simple Steps to Non-Toxic Kids” is written by one very smart mama! She is right on top of the latest news and information on environmental health and has a book on the topic coming out next summer.
Keeping informed about environmental toxins is one of the best things we can do for our kids!
If you are looking for a refreshing drink you can take anywhere with you, you have found it.
And Sarah hosted a baby shower for her sister featuring the Strawberry Sparkler - delicious!
I loved how it looked like champagne with a pink tint, very classy…
The drink comes in screw top bottles that are compact enough to throw in your bag on your way out the door.What I liked the best about this product is there are no artificial sweeteners
Carrying multiples? You deserve our latest mocktail creation just for you. Find the recipe for Make Mine a Double at TwinsTalk.
Besides, one bottle has 25% of your daily vitamin B6, which is known to ease nausea. Because of my morning sickness I was also unable to take regular prenatal vitamins (have you tasted one of those things?!). How comforting to know you are getting a lot of what your baby needs just by enjoying a refreshing drink!
Lowon Glow and want to WIN some? Enter the giveaways from some of our mom blog partners:
We’re excited to announce that Glow Mama is officially one of the seven natural ways to fight the cold and flu symptoms this winter… according to Pregnancy Magazine that is. Rush out and buy your copy of the Dec/Jan edition now to read more.
Pssst… yes, you can use their discount coupon code PREGMAG to score yourself free shipping on Glow Mama in December.
Whether you’re big Hell’s Kitchen fans or not, it is good to know that the ‘07 winner (after personally being touched by preterm deliveries and birth defects with his own children), Rahman “Rock” Harper, has teamed up with March of Dimes to be their celebrity chef for an upcoming event.
Click here to read his Crispy Sautéed Branzino with “rice and peas” and savory spinach recipe - especially high in folic acid. Be warned though… it doesn’t look slap-it-in-the-microwave-simple… and it doesn’t contain any Glow Mama! Maybe you’d like to try some Rock… sir?!
Just because the purse is empty and the budget is super tight this holiday season it does not mean we have an excuse to stop giving. Glow Mama went in search of things we could give that did not involve our moola/cash/dough/money.
Time - yes that’s an easy one. Volunteering at the local Feeding America Foodbank to hand out Thanksgiving dinners, or at the Habitat for Humanity group near you won’t cost a thing (except maybe blisters and sore feet). Both sites have a locator on their website so you can enter you zip code and start giving.
Gently used items - Didn’t you want to clean out the wardrobe to start the new year afresh anyway? Now’s a good time to donate your pre-loved clothes to Goodwill (you can arrange a pickup if you’d like to save on gas too) or a local woman’s shelter like the Bay Area Crisis Nursery, your un-used cellphones to the Washington Area Womens Foundation (who will send you a postage paid envelope) and even your old glasses to New Eyes for the Needy.
Your breastmilk - Not suitable for everyone, but for those of us with unused pumped milk in the freezer, don’t throw it out when you need room for the turkey leftovers… give it to either the Breast Milk Project for the babies in Africa, or Mother’s Milk Bank for needy babies closer to home.
How many times can we say gorgeous while still being taken seriously? We won’t push our luck, but.. really, these Nest Slings from Nonny & Boo are amazing. They have a whole collection of slings, wraps, tees, hoodies, plushies etc… all in the coolest fabrics and colors.
Here’s the one we chose to include in our giveaway this month… the Shore. Its hand-made from reversible 100% cotton and super cool.
Like to buy one now with a 10% discount? Use GLOWMAMA as your coupon code until the end of November.
Forget the baby-fat, the Modern Mom’s new worst enemies are now twitter-tummy, blogger-butt and facebook-fanny. What can we do to combat the sags?
1. Enforce screen breaks. By making sure our fingers, eyeballs and mouse hand are not the only parts of our body that move for hours, we’ll help our circulation, muscles, eye-sight, nervous and digestive systems… not to mention our creativity. Remember when the movie theatres had intermissions? What about a blogging-break (sans the skittles and popcorn)? Check the mail, grab a drink, throw in another load of laundry?
2. Stretch. How about moving the printer and phone to the other side of the room or at least a good obliques stretch away from the computer? Two minutes of stretching our backs, arms, neck and shoulders every half hour is really the least we can do for our bodies.
3. No online eating. In the same way that eating in front of the TV makes us eat more and feel less full, so must snacking in front of Twitter surely? And besides, there’s the whole crumbs in the keyboard, grease on the mouse issues to deal with too.
Any other suggestions? Spread the word on twitter to help fight Twitter-tummy.
Not only are we proud to be giving away an amazing Nest sling this month, but we’re happy to be baby-wearing mommies. That’s why we couldn’t let this crazy and insulting Moltrin video ad slip by without us mentioning how poor it is. Maybe if they’d had some moms in the ad exec/PR team instead of morons?…
Click here for the massive Twitter response on this ad that reached MSN and eventually caused the video to be removed, withdrawn and apologized for. Go Twitter!
Yes, they do exist, and they are now better known as Probiotics. Ah, the latest buzzword. On The Today Show. in the grocery store, in baby food. But what exactly are they? And how are they good for me? We’re here to help you explore probiotics.
What it stands for: Probiotics means “For Life”
What are they: Good bacteria that (when combined with diet & exercise) help to keep your digestive system healthy
How are they helpful? The potential benefits are many, and may include relief from Irritable Bowel Syndrome or Colitis, lower cholesterol and blood pressure, improving mineral absorption, the list goes on.
Are they a trend? Yes, of course, but unlike last year’s leggings, they are a good one! And one recommended by the World Health Organization.
What form do they come in and where can I find them? You can find probiotics in food (such as yogurt) or as a dietary supplement at local pharmacies and health food stores. Since the microorganism is live, they are typically kept in a refrigerated section.
…found the taste sweet but not cloying, definitely a little unusual. I mean, you’ve got to like kiwi to begin with for sure. But what’s particularly appealing is that Glow Mama is perfectly suited to mixing up mocktails that you can sip while you politely abstain from the eggnog this season.
Lucy offered more tips for surviving the holiday season earlier this week on our blog. We had the opportunity to meet Liz recently, and she’s one cool mom! Cool Mom Picks is giving away one of the mocktail kits she talks about - read the full review for a chance to win one for yourself.
Susan Heim, well known author and mama had a chance to sip her Glow as well.
Fortunately, you don’t have to be pregnant to benefit from Glow Mama. It’s good for nursing moms, sick moms, busy moms…any moms! In other words, it’s a healthy drink for anyone who wants an alternative to soda, caffeinated drinks, or even water.
We also want to congratulate Angie V for winning the Accidental Mommies virtual baby shower! Angie will be Glowing the next few months with a Glow Mama mocktail kit and many other fabulous shower gifts.
In the spirit of Thanksgiving Glow Mama is spending November asking for your help to decide which maternity wellness cause to throw our weight behind (giving our time, $, energy and Glow Mama over the next 12 months).
Their philospophy
The SF HPP is committed to providing a non-judgmental, motivating and empowering environment that builds trust and strengthens the family. They help hundreds of homeless children and moms in the San Francisco area transform their lives to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty. They believe that people can change and that everyone wants a better life for their children. They believe that every mother wants to deliver a healthy baby and become a good parent. Powerful stuff.
Their work
The list is incredibly long, but here’s some of the great work they do… housing assistance, prenatal and parenting education, paid internships to help homeless moms get back into the workforce, childcare, mental health services, classes (ESL, technology, art, tax) and a wellness center (pre-natal yoga, pre-natal and infant massage).
How you can help
* Either donate directly to them or host a party to collect baby gear to donate.
* Volunteer to help - we’ll be there this Thanksgiving so see you there.
* Vote for them in our poll - we’ll keep you posted on the results. (Don’t forget to leave a comment here telling us about your vote and we’ll enter you into the draw for this month’s big prize pack).
We are pleased to announce that Glow Mama will now be available on the shelves of the Mollie Stones Markets around the Bay Area. Look out for the bright & shiny bottles in the maternity nutrition, ready to drink, baby and vitamin sections.
To kick off this momentous partnership, we’re going to be at the Greenbrae Mollie Stones this Saturday (Nov 15th from 11am - 1pm) mixing up some yummy drinks, chatting about Maternity Wellness and spreading the kiwi goodness.
Please come join us and/or help us get the word out.
As a mom who spends about 1/3 of her days under the cloud of a migraine… it’s a subject I continue to research. I wasn’t surprised to hear that the 30million migraine sufferers in America cost employers over $13Billion a year in lost work productivity (and that doesn’t include us momtreprenuers)… and I know from experience that no migraine medication is officially safe during pregnancy and nursing… but I was surprised to hear two of the latest suggested treatments… BOTOX and a scary gun-like device!
Apparently “migraine patients who received Botox had fewer days with headaches compared with those who got dummy injections” according to two studies funded by drugmaker Allergan. And the transcranial magnetic stimulator, a “hairdryer-sized device that creates a magnetic pulse that, when held against the back of a patient’s head”, interrupts the electrical activity during a migraine’s aura. Weird sounding science? Yes. Would a desparate migraine sufferer try almost any alien contraption to ease the pain? Yes.
I also found this great article that talks about “headache hygiene” with the common sense suggestion that a healthy lifestyle of proper eating, exercise, sleep and stress-reducing activities (yoga, meditation) can reduce the onset of migraines. It even mentions we need sufficient “hydration to alleviate tension” - yeah for Glow Mama!
Here is another great article on Pregnancy and Migraines, with some facts on the hormones, drug info (no, there are no migraine prevention drugs listed in the American ABCDX system category A, ie. safe for pregnancy), and some helpful home remedies. I esp. like the massage suggestion.
Another tidbit… According to our local Pharmaca expert, the natural plant extract Feverfew (commonly used to treat/prevent migraines) is NOT recommended during pregnancy and breastfeeding.
Healthy Child Healthy World - A non-profit eductation and advocacy group dedicated to protecting the health and well-being of children from environmental exposures. They have a fabulous blog that will keep you up to date on the latest news and a book that should be on every parent’s bookshelf.
Welcome to the Glow Mama Blog! As the moms who developed Glow Mama, we're passionate about all thing maternity wellness.
