Milk

As Baby approached her first birthday, to be honest, I started counting down the days until we could stop breastfeeding. I had set a goal to breastfeed for her first year of life. It was a wonderful experience, especially when she was a sweet little newborn, but by the time she was a year old she was getting wiggly and bound to spring teeth any day (which didn't happen until 18 months, but who could have predicted that?). Plus, the grandparents were all excited for an overnight visit from Baby, and Nick and I started planning a weekend at a bed and breakfast. Baby had already started solid foods by then, of course, but a large portion of her nutritional needs would still be fulfilled with milk. With all of the controversy about milk these days, I began researching what option would be the best for my little girl.

Here's a very brief summary of what I learned about the current problems with cow's milk*. In an effort to make more money, many dairy farmers give their cows the artificial growth hormone rBGH, created by the corporation Monsanto (big surprise). This added hormone is banned in most of Europe and many other parts of the world. It's my understanding that rBGH increases milk production in cows, but because their bodies are often not able to handle the added milk, it can cause mastitis (an infection). To treat the mastitis, cows are given antibiotics, which theoretically pass into our milk and could potentially not be great for our health.

The other controversy related to rBGH is that the added hormones themselves may be bad for our health. Consumer advocate groups theorize that it can be a cause of early puberty in children. However, several studies have disproven this theory, and it seems that the rise in early puberty is more likely related to an increase in childhood obesity. It is, however, possible that rBGH may be linked to cancer in humans.

While much is still unknown, I decided that it was important to find a milk clear of rBGH for Baby. My criteria for The Ideal Milk was:

• rBGH-free
• Locally produced (for environmental and economic reasons)
• Affordable

Now, I'm not going to list all of the options for milk available in Colorado Springs, because there are MANY, but I will name a few that I considered:

• Robinson Dairy: While local and convenient (they deliver to your home), the prices were a bit high for the amount of milk we drink.
• Organic milk available at the grocery store: Not locally produced and pretty expensive.
• Raw milk from a local farmer: Although arguably the most healthful option for adults, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that babies be fed only pasteurized dairy products. Plus, it's usually VERY expensive.
• Colorado Proud milk: I shop at King Soopers, and Colorado Proud is the brand name of their cheapest milk. It's usually priced around $1.68 - $2.29 per gallon. Not only is it locally produced (I'm defining "local" as "Colorado" here), but it's rBGH free!

So, surprise, surprise, the least costly option ended up being the best choice for my family.

Now I'm curious: If you choose organic milk for your family, what is your reasoning? Am I missing something?

*I'm sorry, I can't quote sources for you...I think I learned the most from Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", but I also did some internet research, and this was nearly a year ago so I don't remember where I found most of it.

Denver's Downtown Aquarium

Baby watching some "pishies".

Nick's sister Elise, Grandma Carol and Baby experiencing a flash flood.

Grandpa Jim, cousin Joey, Daddy and Baby hanging out while sharks and sting-rays swim overhead.

Baby ever-so-cautiously standing on glass while sharks swim underneath.

Overlooking the tiger enclosure.

Baby touching a sting-ray.

Cute new word of the day: "Fishy Horsies" instead of Seahorse.

Halfway

I thought I'd do some baby bump modeling in celebration of reaching the halfway point in my pregnancy! We learned that we are expecting a baby boy a couple weeks ago with an ultrasound, and more importantly, we learned that he seems to be growing at just the right pace and appears perfectly healthy. My morning sickness lasted until about week 16 this time around, so for the past month I have felt absolutely fantastic. I've been swimming at the gym often after discovering at the very end of my first pregnancy that weightlessness is a wonderful feeling when you're packing on the pounds.

Thank you to everyone who commented on my post a couple weeks ago when I asked your advice about the epidural versus a natural birth. Since I am not strongly opinionated about either option, it was nice to read all of your experiences and gave me a lot to think about.

20 weeks down, only 20 to go! Hopefully the nesting instinct kicks in at some point...

Just a Couple Pictures

Baby enjoying the awesome play area at Focus on the Family.

Making a big mess with her little indoor sandbox (of rice). The 30 minutes of solid entertainment are worth the 2 minutes of vacuuming when she's done.

You guys know how bad I am about taking pictures, so that's all I have for now. Well, aside from half a dozen naked pictures from when she escapes and runs around "Hanky" (her word for naked) after her bath!

Mint.com

Nick came across the most AWESOME personal finance website I've ever seen. You have to check it out! Mint.com brings together all of the information from your online banking, credit cards, loans, investments, and property. My favorite feature is the budget tool: you input your own monthly budget, and Mint pulls your transactions from your bank and credit cards to compare your actual spending to your budget. It also prepares a variety of helpful graphs, such as trends in your spending, income, assets, debts, and net worth over time.

Nick makes fun of me for my...well...tight-fisted-ness. I used to update excel spreadsheets monthly with all of this information, so this website makes the job much easier! Not only does it save me time, but it also provides some neat tools. For example, in the budget section you can choose that some categories "roll over" from month to month. This comes in handy for some things, such as my "gifts" category. In one month, I may have two baby showers and a birthday to buy for, and the next month nothing. I can set the same monthly budget and if I don't spend it this month, it will carry over to be added to next month's budget. Love it! They also send email alerts whenever you exceed your monthly budget for a particular category (so, we'll be getting emails about our dining out category pretty much every month!).

Of course, the site claims to be safe and secure (check out their information about this), and it's been named "Best Budgeting Site" by Kiplinger's magazine, and "Top Pick" by Money Magazine. All for free, too!

Baby's Entourage

Here is a picture of Baby's family. Each of these five special stuffed animals has a proper name, and they are often found kissing each other or dancing together. She goes through roll call to make sure that everyone is present during naptimes and bedtimes. The bear on the left is the newest addition to the club so that may be why he hasn't made it into the inner circle.

In the second picture, she's making the face she makes when I ask her to smile.

Local Restaurant: Pizzeria Rustica

I keep reading about Pizzeria Rustica. They've won awards for their environmental sustainability and have been highlighted by nearly every local publication (and some not so local ones) for their artisan pizzas. Although their prices are quite reasonable, this trendy little eatery didn't come across as the most toddler-friendly, so we haven't had a chance to visit. That is, until Baby's grandparents offered their overnight babysitting services! We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary with dinner and a movie (Avatar in 3D, good movie, not great for morning sickness).

Photo courtesy of Pizzeria Rustica

Located in Old Colorado City, the Pizzeria is a 30 minute drive from our home on the East end of town. Well worth it. I ordered their Quattro Formagi, a white pizza featuring house-made mozzarella, provalone, podano, and fontina cheeses with tons of roasted garlic and olive oil, and I asked them to add some elk pepperoni (featured on their special last night). Nick had their Salumi pizza with two kinds of salami, mozzarella, and tomatoes. The pizzas are individual-sized, but rather large (nearly a foot in diameter); we ignored the waiter's admission that many couples get by with sharing one pizza between them and were glad we did.

The desserts...oh the desserts...the star was Nick's Spumoni, which is pistachio ice cream with dried cherries and nuts and a balsamic fig glaze. I had yesterday's special, a cannoli with lemon gelato.

Nick and I talked about all of the places we would travel without kids or budget restraints. Croatia made the list this time, as did an Alaskan cruise and a weekend in Crested Butte, Colorado. Maybe we'll make it to the latter this Spring before I am entirely too pregnant to enjoy it; with another year of breastfeeding coming up, who knows when we'll be free to travel again!

Nick, thank you for the most wonderful 7 years...I love you!