BPA in Baby Bottles

I'm certain that many Mom's out there have heard about the news about bisphenol-A in plastic baby bottles. Bisphenal-A (BPA) is a compound that mimics the hormone estrogen.

Tests were done on three major brands of baby bottles: Gerber, Playtex and Avent. The test revealed that all three brands leaked BPA into the fluids when bottles were heated. After the test was released to the public, retailers have taken these baby bottles and all other polycarbonate plastic items off the shelves and are no longer for sale.

What a scary thought. Think of all those babies who have used these bottles all this time and BPA has been leaching into the milk. I'm so glad that Jasmine has not accepted the bottle previously until this week, or else, she would have been exposed to BPA this entire time. We went out immediately to purchase Born Free (BPA-free) bottles.

Clearly, you should clear out your cupboards and make sure you are not using any plastic containers that may contain BPA. Bisphenol A is often identified with the plastics industry's recycling symbol of the number seven, enclosed in a triangle.

5 Months - Bottle again!

Jasmine turned 5 months and now weighs in just over 13 pounds. She has been gaining weight since birth but her growth has slowed down. The doctor informs that there is nothing to worry about, as Jasmine may have inherited my genes (slim shape). I'll take that as a compliment (thank you very much), but I prefer my baby a little chubbier if possible.














Since the doctor thinks we should carry on as normal and not do anything different, I wanted to find out how much milk Jasmine is taking in each day. So we tried putting Jasmine on the bottle once again. We had a difficult weekend ahead...

Actually, Richard did all the work. Because I carry the milk around with me, Jasmine can smell me and most likely not take the bottle from me at all. So, while Richard stayed at home feeding Jasmine the bottle, I went out for a 2-hour massage. Aaaaahhhhh, now that's how motherhood should be....

By the time I got home, Jasmine was able to use the bottle. That is, after starving herself for 12 whole hours. That's one stubborn baby. I guess she really, really likes the real thing. Here is Richard successfully feeding Jasmine now. What a good Daddy Tweet.

We are currently alternating breastfeeding and bottle feeding each day. Oh yeah, and Jasmine is back to sleeping 6 hours straight each night now - phewf!

Sleep Regression - 4 Month at 19 weeks

Has anyone heard of the 4 month regression stage for babies? What's up with that?

Jasmine was a pretty good sleeper from 2 weeks until about the 4th month. She could sleep for 5-6 hours at a stretch at night. Then suddenly, her sleeping habits went out thru the door; she is waking up every 1.5-2 hours to feed. And even for naps, she sleeps about 45 minutes and then gets up, but only gets tired again and then wants to nap again. She ends up having 5 or 6 naps throughout the day. I can't even think about doing chores or getting some shut-eye myself, knowing that she will be awake in less than an hour.

This has been going on for the past 3 weeks...yawn... The sleeping gods are looking down and laughing at me.

Apparently, there are growth spurts at 5, 8, 11, 19, 26, 37, 46 and 55 weeks. Jasmine just hit the 19th week mark, which corresponds to one of the worst spurts (next to the 37th week one (8 months)). Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do about it except wait for these spurts to pass and deal with them as they come. I know that many other Moms are experiencing the same thing so I don't feel too bad.

As Jasmine hits her 5th month (next Monday), hoping this will pass soon....fingers crossed.

Tummy Time

Most babies hate tummy time. Unfortunately, it's just one of those things that babies have to work on in order to gain upper body strength, to learn how to crawl. Here is Jasmine working on her muscles...

Organic Creams

For the past two months, I've been looking into creams and the ingredients that may help eczema skin. I've always been crazy over creams (I hate wrinkles and sun spots) so this is just another excuse for me to do more research. I can literally spend hours, standing in the cream aisle staring at creams.

The best cream must trap moisture in the skin, stop the itch if possible and work to improve the skin cells. It's tough to find a cream that will work on sensitive baby skin. With all the chemicals out there, you have to be careful with what you put on, since 60% of everything you slather on will be absorbed by the body. When was the last time you looked at the ingredients of your night moisturizer?

After trying all the creams that my doctor suggested (and none of them did anything), I've taken the natural and organic route. Here are the creams that I've tried (in alphabetical order):

Aubrey Organics Baby Lotion and Rose Hip Moisture Cream
Burt's Bees Buttermilk Lotion
Champori Anti-Eczema Cream
Dermamed Children's Healing Cream
Gentle Naturals Baby Eczema Cream
Jason Natural Calendula Cream
Weleda Calendula Cream
7 Cream (new formula)

Because Jasmine has really sensitive skin, the only two creams that work so far is Aubrey Organics and 7 cream. I wish that these can coat the skin more but it's good enough so that she doesn't get flareups.

The reasons the others didn't work: Burt's Bees has fragrance in it. Champori and Gentle Naturals use petrolatum as the cream base (which is something I am trying to avoid). Dermamed had a strong scent, even though the scent is from oils (something gave her rash). Jason Natural uses potassium sorbate as a preservative . Weleda contains lanolin.

Your doctor may tell you to try Eucerin, Aquaphor, Aveeno Baby, Glaxal Base or Vaseline. Seems like all of these creams have petrolatum or mineral oil or parrafinum, not to mention some -parabens. I've read somewhere that basically you are coating a layer on top of the skin so that moisture can't escape but at the same time, the skin can't breathe. The skin needs to breathe in order to get the toxic stuff out. Note - everything I'm writing is from what I've been reading up so please don't pound on me if any information is incorrect.

I am hoping by using these natural organic creams instead, Jasmine will grow out of the eczema condition. If you have tried another line of natural creams that work for you, please send me a note so I can check it out. Thank you.