Welcome to a weekly series on Traveling with Baby, Health Happy Round-Up that  focuses on multiple aspects of wholesome living and optimal health for the entire family.  Each weekend, Traveling with Baby will share some insightful news, recipes, and tips to help you consider fresh new perspectives on wholesome and happy health.

I’ve had my fair share of colds during my pregnancy – really though, is it ever “fair” to be pregnant and sick at the same time?! You probably already know you shouldn’t be taking over the counter medicine while pregnant if you can avoid it, so here is my list of natural home remedies that can help relieve your symptoms and lessen your recover time.

• Badger Balm. This stuff is the natural equivalent of Vick’s Vapor Rub. It smells great, when you can smell, and relieves congestion when you can’t.
• Essential Oils. Cinnamon essential oils help break up phlegm in your chest and reduce coughing. I’ll often walk around the house just sniffing from the bottle, or you can also drop some into a pot of steaming water and the scent from the steam will permeate your house (smells like Christmas!). Hang over the pot and breathe in – what a relief! If you don’t like the smell of cinnamon, consider giving eucalyptus oil a try.
• Herbal Expec. This is another natural remedy for coughing. No more robatussin needed.
• Homeopathy. When I was miserably sick and pregnant I was given free reign from my midwives to try whatever homeopathic remedies I wanted in my search for relief. A lot of the remedies you’ll find on the shelves at your natural food store contain what they termed “buckshot” homeopathy – meaning it contains several different cures for congestion, runny nose, etc, assuming that you don’t know which one you specifically need to address. I certainly had no idea, so buckshot homeopathy worked well for me.

We’re coming up on cold and flu season, so I hope this information is helpful. Feel free to post your comments on what natural remedies worked well for you and your family!

Recently, Teri Kent of Better World Betty interviewed me on green baby practices for the November issue of C-Ville Abode Magazine, on news stands now.  I “heart” her post title, “Greening Up Baby.”  Why didn’t I think of that?

Also, I just found out that my article submission was selected for publication in a new Heart Series book by Sheryl Roush and Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez, called Heart of a Military Women.  I’m SO excited about this!

Previously, I was interviewed and submitted two selections to Michele Hunter Mirabile’s book, Your Mother Wears Combat Boots, that were published in the final edition of the book.  What’s so special to me about that particular book is that my great aunt Vivian who served as a nurse in the Army Air Corps in World War II also has a personal story published in the same book!

Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on Heart of a Military Woman–especially if there’s some book signings by the authors in the local area.

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A bee-yuti-fall day on Calvin’s birthday…fetching candy, balloons, and other treats on the leaf-covered UVa lawn on October 30th.

There’s s’more evidence that your Mama let you have processed sugar (one day out of 365).

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Welcome to Tuesday Travels, a weekly series at Traveling with Baby.  This season, my son and I are excited about sharing some local day trips and field trip ideas for families with little ones.  This weekly series will also feature travel tips for families with kids-in-tow and related product reviews and giveaways.  I enjoy hearing about your traveling adventures, too.

Traveling with baby doesn’t begin after their born – it starts as soon as you are pregnant and continues for quite some time! I’m now 38 weeks into my pregnancy (almost at the end!) and so I thought I’d share a few tips for the road for other expecting moms out there. Most of this information is common sense, but it doesn’t hurt to write it down.

On the road …

• Plan Your Breaks. You will have to stop to use the restroom, so go ahead and build time for it while you’re traveling in the car. Get out and stretch, walk around a bit, use the facilities, etc.
• Bring Water. I hate to be thirsty in general, and have been especially thirsty while pregnant, so pack water, pregnancy tea, or some kind of liquid to consume on the road. You can also freeze it in advance if you want it to remain cold on longer travels.
• Pack Snacks. I have made several long trips since conception, and I have to say that this was an important point for me. When I had to pull over to purchase food I continuously made poor nutritional decisions, against all my best intentions. So, to keep my budget and my diet in check, I started packing my snacks. Take nuts, granola, fruit and veggies to keep yourself from impulse purchases like muffins, cookies and chips that present themselves at gas stations.

As you’re packing, don’t forget …

• Prenatal Vitamins
• Clothes that pull double duty (maternity wear can take up much more room in a suitcase than regular clothes)
• Comfy shoes
• More snacks! (especially if trying to eat healthy while traveling from place to place or staying at someone’s house when their diet is different from yours).

I recently wrote about my recommendations for a child’s car seat–describing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s efforts to provide more comprehensive regulations for side impact crash testing.

Since then, I learned about a plethora of free resources available to help parents make safe choices about car seats, and to help them use their car seats properly for maximum safety.

In Charlottesville (and Albemarle county), you can set up an appointment with the Albemarle County Department of Fire and Rescue for a complimentary car seat installation.  Contact them by e-mail carseats@albemarle.org or by phone (434) 531-6614.  Also, check out the downloadable pdf instruction guide for child passenger safety.

Stay in-the-know

Follow @ChildSeatSafety on Twitter, where a safety expert from the NHTSA responds to direct messages and publishes relevant tweets.  You can ask any questions about child passenger safety.

You can become a fan of the NHTSA on Facebook to learn about everything from LATCH to locating your local inspection office.

The Ad Council and the NHTSA have teamed up to produce a website with all the resources parents need to keep their smallest passengers safe.  You can locate the nearest inspection station to you, and watch instructional videos.

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For Calvin’s special day, I made a slight variation of my standard pancake recipe.  In fact I love this recipe because I can make all sorts of pancakes: banana pancakes, pumpkin pancakes, berry pancakes, oh the list goes on…

I tweaked the basic banana pancake recipe by substituting buckwheat flour for the spelt/brown rice flour.  Instead of milk, I used plain whole milk yogurt.  Instead of a banana, I used half of a baked acorn squash.

The great thing about these pancakes is that they’re gluten-free–perfect for anyone with grain allergies, crohn’s disease, celiac disease, or diabetes.  For more information on how gluten (found in many grains) is linked to inflammation and many health disorders, check out the Succulent Sanctuary and Deflame.com’s free pdf download of Deflaming Guidelines.

BUCKWHEAT ACORN SQUASH (or PUMPKIN)  PANCAKES

(Note: Makes about 6 servings of  6 inch-diameter pancakes.  I usually double the recipe and store the extra pancakes to reheat the next day.)

• 1 c. buckwheat flour
• 1 T. sucanat (you can substitute with turbinado sugar, molassas, or honey)
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder (I use aluminum-free)
• 1 egg (from a free-range chicken)
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. whole milk yogurt or buttermilk
• 1 T olive oil or coconut oil (it tastes BEST with coconut oil)
• 1/4 cooked acorn squash or 1/4 c. canned pumpkin
• 1 tsp. butter

Mix dry ingredients.  Create a divot/hole in the dry ingredients and pour in milk, yogurt, squash/pumpkin and liquefied coconut oil (must be above 76 degrees F).  Separately, beat egg, then pour in.  Mix ingredients until well blended (2-3 minutes on medium speed).

(Note: This batter is pretty thick with buckwheat–depending on your altitude and humidity.  You can thin it down with more milk, or from the start, you can use half buckwheat and half brown rice flour for thinner and lighter pancakes).

In a cast iron skillet (or griddle iron), turn to medium-low heat.  Add butter and coat pan surface.  Once warm, pour in pancake batter until the cake is 6″ diameter.  Once it bubbles and sets on top, and edges are a golden brown, flip and cook other side for only 1/4 of the time compared to the other side.

I love to serve these with butter.  If you want a little extra sweet, heat up a small bowl of pure maple syrup and add a dash of cinnamon.  You will never eat plain maple syrup again, for the rest of your life because this is so incredible!  Serve maple syrup over chopped pecans for some extra crunch and sweet, nutty flavor.

Serve and devour, immediately.  Bon appétit!

Note: for fun pancake shapes, I recommend using a plastic squeeze bottle.  I used something like this…

The squeeze bottle gives you control over batter flow and amount, but you’ll want to make certain the tip is wide enough for thick batter.

To  make the fun bear face in the top photo, I squeezed out a large pancakes, and smaller ones that were closer to 3 inch diameter.  I also made a small one for the bear’s nose.

The squeeze bottle is great for making letters, numbers, or more creative shapes, with the aid of a cookie cutter.

So, be creative and enjoy.

Don’t be surprised if you get a reaction like this:

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Two years ago, our son was born at 5:06 AM, at home with my husband, midwife, and sister-in-law present.

Two years ago, he looked like this:

Twelve months later, he was transformed into baby-toddler sweetness:

Today, he is two.

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I got myself out of bed extra early to prepare a special birthday breakfast for our family before my husband had to rush out the door for work.

Calvin woke up when he heard the mixer whirring while I was whipping up pancake batter (buckwheat pancakes with acorn squash and cinnamon–to be specific).  I used a squeeze bottle to make a few fun shapes, and we ended up with a bear with raisin eyes, served with huckleberry syrup on the side.

Calvin roared like a bear when he saw it.  Then, he gobbled it all up, followed by a bowl of plain yogurt–chased by a colostrum protein/greens/omega-3 shake.

Later that morning, Calvin and I went to a Mainly Music class at our church–almost every child present was in costume.  While standing at the front of the gym, everyone sang a special birthday song to Calvin while he danced and squealed and received a cool birthday book.  The class is our weekly Friday date, but it was definitely extra-special this morning.

Today, Calvin wore a his borrowed bee costume for the third time this week.  It was a blast attending the biggest birthday party EVAH!

Okay, so I didn’t really plan a big birthday party, but costumed children were invited to participate in candy giveaways on the University of Virginia lawn.  Balloons, costumes, juggling, free books, face painting, s’mores…I mean seriously…this doesn’t happen every day.  I think our little guy felt pretty special.

He is seriously cute. The cutest bee I’ve ever seen, actually.

Mr. Bee was a little overwhelmed with the thousands of people at the lawn.  I’m not kidding when I tell you there was a large crowd.

Calvin and I both got our faces painted.  He only relented once he saw me get my face painted first.  Prior to that, there was back-arching and yowling.  After I had a turn, there was complete and utter submission.

Then, he helped his Daddy roast s’mores  marshmallows in the amphitheater.

Only because it was his birthday (and we did allow a s’mores taste during his 1st birthday), we allowed him to have a couple bites of the s’mores treat.  He’d already consumed an apple prior, so at least he was full on something beneficial.

Tonight, we had a more intimate family birthday celebration at dinner.  I prepared my son’s favorite dinner–grass-fed beef burgers with green onions and avocado served with a side of peas and baked french fries.

I didn’t make a birthday cake nor cupcakes.  Instead, I went to Hotcakes and purchased their signature chocolate chip-walnut pumpkin muffins.  It was perfect for this…

And this…

You don’t want to miss a 23-second video of Calvin blowing out his birthday candle.

We’re so thankful for God’s blessing of Calvin in our lives for yet another year.  Here’s to many more!

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At the moment, my son is a a language sponge.  We’re seizing the opportunity to teach him a few words in Chinese, Hebrew, French, and a few other languages as we happen upon different cultures and languages in our city.

Although word repetition is the key to learning any language, even a first language, it’s also tremendously easy to learn new words and sounds with music.

Since last week, Calvin has been singing a discernible rendition of “Row Your Boat” and “Race Car”–I can’t wait to see what song he attempts to sing for me next!

My favorite way to share multilingual songs, cultural traditions, and exotic rhythms is through the quality selections available on Putumayo Kids’ albums.  One of their highest acclaimed and award-heavy albums of all time is the 1998 release of World Playground.  It was received with such praise and popularity that they created a sophomore release a few years later entitled World Playground 2.

The original World Playground started it all…soon thereafter were releases of country-specific playground or dreamland albums.  Putumayo Kids is the go-to label for fresh and ear-pleasing music with lyrics appropriate for children, yet full of world rhythms, instruments, and production appreciated by adults.

Calvin’s favorite track: #8 Manu Chaq ~ Bongo Bon

Dr. Dolly’s favorite track: #5 Home by Barna ~ Teresa Doyle

Calvin’s Dad’s favorite track: #1 Fatou Yo ~ Touré Kunda

World Playground retails for $14.99 on Amazon.com.  A portion of Putumayo World Music’s proceeds from the sale of this album will be donated to the non-profit Putumayo Cross-Cultural Initiative.

WIN IT!

One winner will receive a copy of Putumayo Kids’ World Playground album.

To enter, leave a comment relevant to this post before Sunday, November 5th at 11:59 p.m. (Don’t forget to follow the contest rules– all generic comments are ineligible.).  At $14.99, World Playground is a wonderful gift for a birthday or just because.

For more in-the-know fun on Putumayo World Music new releases, artist interviews, and more you can follow them on Twitter, and become a Putumayo World Music fan on Facebook.

YOUR TURN:

I want to know…if you could travel with your family anywhere, what destination would you pick?

Thank you to Putumayo Kids for providing a sample copy of World Playground CD for the purpose of this review.

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Welcome to a weekly series on Traveling with Baby, Health Happy Round-Up that  focuses on multiple aspects of wholesome living and optimal health for the entire family.  Each weekend, Traveling with Baby will share some insightful news, recipes, and tips to help you consider fresh new perspectives on wholesome and happy health.

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Hey Moms!

If you’re an expectant or nursing mom living near Charlottesville, there’s not one, but TWO opportunities to attend a free Healthy Mama Workshop taught by moi.

The first Healthy Mama Workshop will include postural considerations for mom and baby in breastfeeding and babywearing at 11:45 AM on Saturday, November 7th at Downtown ACAC located at 111 Monticello Avenue. The event is part of ACAC’s pre-natal and post-natal seminar, and it’s free and open to the general public. Refreshments will be served, and new moms and their children will have the opportunity to socialize and meet with others.  So fun!  Bring your baby carrier and nursing pillow, if you have one.

The second workshop takes place on Friday, November 13th at 4PM at Sugar Snap Consignment located at York Place on the historic Downtown Mall.  This workshop is primarily focused on postural considerations for mom and baby during breastfeeding.  Bring your nursing pillow, if you have one.

Both events are free and open to the general public.

I’m soooo excited to share the Healthy Mama Workshops with Charlottesville mothers. I want to help new moms learn how to take of themselves while nursing, so they’re confident, and comfortable at giving their 100% to baby and continuing a wonderful breastfeeding bonding experience.

I previously taught the Healthy Mama Workshops at Nature’s Child in 2008, and ACAC’s pre-natal seminar in October 2009. For more information on the Healthy Mama Workshops, please visit www.scoliosisdoc.com.

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Two creative moms with a heart for designing eco-friendly and modern play clothes for trendy tots created Jasper Hearts Wren.  These mamas use bright and colorful washable felt appliques made from 100% post-consumer recycled bottles on purdy dresses, irresistible totes, and the most adorable onesies.

I adore the eye-popping designs from the rocket ship, and skinny-legged birdies with button eyes, to the funky fridge magnet hoodie (featured above on Calvin).

The Fridge Mag Hoodie has “A-B-C” hand-stitched on the front and “1-2-3″ on the back.  The design is available in the chocolate hoodie (shown above) and navy.  I love that it fits long on my tall-torso-toddler, so that he can still wear it in the spring.  The fuzzy, soft cotton-interior is snuggly and warm on chilly Autumn days.  Hoodies are available in sizes 2T-6T.

I’m almost hurting to have another little one, just so I can put a baby in this adorable felt panda onesie.  Onesies/tee shirts are available 3-6M to 6T.  Dress sizes range from 6-12M to 3T, except for the one-size fits all apron dress.

When you support this mom-owned business, you support American workers (read: no sweatshop labor) in this green and humane business.

In Charlottesville, you can find Jasper Hearts Wren modern play clothing at Whimsies on Barracks Shopping Mall (North).  For a complete selection, you can purchase Jasper Hearts Wren clothing and apparel directly from their site.

The prices are a little high with felt onesies beginning at $30 ranging up to $65 for a dress.  However, all items are hand-stitched, American made, and eco-friendly–worth the investment to support high-quality and beautiful modern play clothing.

WIN IT!

One winner will receive a Fridge Magnets Hoodie (retail value $48).  Hoodie size is subject to availability.  To enter, leave a comment relevant to this post before Sunday, November 5th at 11:59 p.m. (Don’t forget to follow the contest rules–all generic comments are ineligible.).  Eco-friendly, hand-stitched, and novel play clothes for the modern child–I’m in love.

For more in-the-know fun on Jasper Hearts Wren you can become a fan on Facebook.

YOUR TURN:

I want to know…what features are important to you in children’s clothing?  Quality, durability, design, price–what’s most valuable to you and why?

Thank you to Jasper Hearts Wren for providing a Fridge Mag Hoodie for the purpose of this review.

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