~A Veteran~

A veteran - whether active duty, retired, national guard or reserve - is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to The United States of America, for an amount of "Up to and including my life". That is honor, and there are far too many people in this country who no longer understand it. - Author Unknown

Friday, November 28, 2008

FEED THE BABIES

When a baby is born into a family, the word “best” becomes synonymous with that new child. The word hovers around your home with new meaning and parallels everything you consider when it comes to raising your child. This includes feeding your baby.

Breast feeding is best. Let me repeat myself, BREASTFEEDING IS BEST. It is the first and for many the only option considered during pregnancy all the way up to the time the child is born. However, due to circumstances beyond our control such as but not limited to: premature birth; lactation problems; low milk production; infant digestion problems; breast feeding problems; sometimes a new mom is not always able to do the one natural thing she was ready to offer her newborn child. FEED THE BABY NATURALLY.

So alternative feeding comes into play.

In the delivery wards of hospitals, even if you elect breastfeeding ONLY, the makers of infant formula have diapers bags, and ready-to-feed formula samples (enough for 2 or more days) pre packaged as gifts for every new mom. MARKETING PLOYS.

In every newborn care and hygiene cart there are at least two mini diaper bags filled with these goodie bags from the top tier infant formula makers. EVEN IF YOU ELECT to breastfeed. You’re encouraged by the nursery nurses to take these goodie bags home.

On occasion, regardless that the card on your newborns cart says BREASTFEEDING ONLY, if your newborn has to stay in the nursery for an extended period of time waiting on a physician to do their rounds, and is crying out from hunger (babies are fed on demand) a nursery nurse may very well pop the top off of a ready to feed 2 oz bottle of formula and feed your BREASTFEED ONLY newborn infant. Many times without you even being aware. No harm no foul right? WRONG.

Most recently as is the case in China currently for 2008, Melamine has been purposefully added to infant formula to boost the protein reading content. A byproduct of Melamine is Cyanuric acid. It may be found as an impurity of melamine, meaning Melamine alone is of low toxicity, however experimental studies have shown that combination with cyanuric acid leads to crystal formation and subsequent kidney toxicity.

Now we find out that here in the United States, the top three infant formula makers have trace amounts of not just melamine, but Cyanuric acid as well. The statements from these top three industries "We're getting inundated by calls from moms confused about the situation," said Pete Paradossi, a spokesman for Mead Johnson, one of the three major manufacturers of U.S.-made formula involved in the problem detections.

“Confused” he says. Well certainly! Why? Let’s break that down.

Your INFANT has a liquid diet, FORMULA. You can not breastfeed, therefore you as a mom, have but the ONE option, formula. Now you find out there are TRACE amounts of a product that is 66% nitrogen, if mixed with resins becomes fire retardant, is usually combined with formaldehyde to produce plastics, and can be used in pesticides. Melamine is also used in the fabrication of melamine poly-sulfonate used as superplasticizer for making high-resistance concrete.

Melamine is described as being "Harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage. Eye, skin and respiratory irritant.” However, the toxic dose is on a par with common table salt with an LD50 of more than 3 grams per kilogram of body weight. This of course is for ADULTS—not newborn infants and SMALL CHILDREN under the age of 2 years old.

TRACE AMOUNTS of these two chemicals are in that powder you mix to feed your baby. TRACE AMOUNTS. And here is what the FDA has to say.

“The FDA reiterated its position that the baby food is safe and parents should continue feeding it to their babies, contending the extremely low levels of contamination do not present a health danger.”

The FDA and other experts said the melamine contamination in U.S.-made formula had occurred during the manufacturing process, rather than intentionally as was done in Chinese production. The manufacturers insist their products are safe.

"The levels that we are detecting are extremely low," said Dr. Stephen Sundlof, director of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. "They should not be changing the diet. If they've been feeding a particular product, they should continue to feed that product. That's in the best interest of the baby."

Now ask yourself this question. Why would the FDA say this? Why would the FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION and the CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY AND APPLIED NUTRITION of these UNITED STATES tell mommy’s of small infants and children to offer POISONOUS toxins to their children? TRACE AMOUNTS of TOXIC chemicals are in the BABY FORMULA. TRACE AMOUNTS are AMOUNTS UNACCEPTABLE no matter the reason as to how they got there.

Answer: The FDA in all of the Uber-Regulatory and shaking hands with Conglomo Uber Corporations DO NOT HAVE AN ALTERNATIVE. Not a HEALTHY alternative. So basically this is SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST kiddos! If the mom’s feel powerless to demand a healthy alternative or seek out a healthy alternative, then they take a chance that the government regulatory agency cares about the well being of their child. THE FDA HAS NO ALTERNATIVE THAT THEY R-E-G-U-L-A-T-E AND CAN PROFIT FROM, OR ASSIST OTHER COMPANIES IN PROFITING FROM--TO OFFER AS AN ALTERNATIVE.

Or it is possibly time to be SELF regulating, and SELF educating and really put all efforts and energy into HEALTHY alternatives for the benefit of the family and children---it is time to get off the grid—and out of the herd.

Yes, Virginia, there is an alternative. Homemade formula. No preservatives, no sugars, starches, fillers, gluten's, wheat, allergens, pesticides, plastics, or junk to harm your precious child.

Soy is even harmful to the very young! I never thought I would say that, but it is. It is harmful because of the processing of the soybeans. In addition to high levels of aluminum in soy estrogen's in soy (a soy-fed baby receives the equivalent of five birth control pills’ worth of estrogen every day); recent research suggests that high concentrations of manganese in soy can lead to brain damage in infants. Many moms are told if their infant has digestion problems or are suffering from colic, to try a soy based formula. NOT TRUE. This puts young girls at risk for early puberty, and young boys will grow slower, with a lack of testosterone and over abundance of estrogen.

Homemade alternative. Yes, you have to learn. Yes, it takes a few moments of your time. The end result--it is worth it to get out of the HERD.


This recipe is a DAILY ONLY produced formula. It for the diligent parent, who wants a healthy FRESH alternative to feed her baby.


Homemade Formula Recipe:

2 cups MEYENBERG Goat Milk
2 cups Rice Dreams Vanilla Fortified-Enriched Milk
1 Tbsp Tree of Life Unsulphured Black Strap Molasses
1 Tbsp Liquid Dynamic Health Lactobacillus Acidophilus Apple/Strawberry/10 Billion Live Cells
1 Tbsp Flora DHA Flax Oil
1 Tsp Dynamic Health - Liquid Vitamin C 1000 mg
1 Tsp Trace Minerals Research - Liquid Cal/Mag/Zinc Natural Pina Colada
1 Tsp Country Life Maxi Baby Care Liquid-Nutrient Rich Multi Vitamin
1/8 Tsp NOW Foods Wheat Germ Oil
16 drops Trace Minerals Research - ConcenTrace Trace Mineral Drops

Put all ingredients in blender and blend well for about two minutes. Pour liquid into clean, sterile bottles. Refrigerate until ready to feed baby. Warm by placing bottle in container of hot water for a few minutes. NEVER MICROWAVE bottles or formula! Not only will this deplete the nutrients in the formula, but it may cause BURNS to your child. Always use each batch of formula within 24 hours after preparation. ALL INGREDIENTS are COLD STORAGE-REFRIGERATED with the exception of the Trace Minerals drops, and the goat milk if you purchase the Meyenberg goats milk (canned) it has a shelf life as well.

If you can get the goats milk FRESH (farm) that is the best, however many of us are limited to city lives so goat farms are far and few between.

For Constipation and Diarrhea concerns, watch baby’s stool daily and adjust the Flax oil daily. The adjustment to make is ½ Tbsp when diarrhea is present, and then back to the regular 1 Tbsp when diarrhea clears up. (Usually after one day)

Please remember, with vitamins as you would normally supplement for a breastfed infant, increase with weight, not age. As too, this recipe requires the same increase. You will notice that this recipe is for a newborn infant. When you look at the bottle of Country Life Maxi Vitamin drops, the amount required in the formula is doubled. The “recommended daily allowance” aka RDA is the regulatory safety amount slapped on labels to make sure you get the bare minimum, but not quite exactly what you truly NEED everyday.

Increase the vitamin dosage in the formula at the appropriate WEIGHT as listed on the bottle, remembering to keep it at a doubled dosage. This is for the vitamin dose only. As your infants’ appetite increases, you will simply double the batch of formula you make daily.

Suggestions for weaning at 14-16 months: 2 oz rice dreams & 2 oz goat milk to 4 oz of whole fresh, or whole raw cows milk. Continue to add the vitamins and supplements to the formula. Offer the drink once daily as a breakfast shake with the meal. (including fruits and grains given at breakfast)
You can continue to use this formula until the child reaches 3 years old, making sure the child’s vitamin dosage increases at each growth stage (weight) requirement.

You might be asking yourself if you’re willing to do this much for your child. Or if this is cost effective. Or perhaps if this is healthy? What will your pediatrician say? The answer to all of those are truly personal, and for myself, are all YES-and it is my choice.

It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare one full days worth of formula, the costs are a little less than a months supply of Similac formula, and the baby this formula nourishes is in the highest % of our nations growth and development charts. However, the best advantage is knowing that my infant is healthy. I know that she is getting 100% zero pesticides, zero fillers, zero allergens. The small bit of extra effort it takes to provide the “BEST” for the baby, is worth every minute. Her smile says it all.

As far as the Pediatrician is concerned, I feed the baby an organic formula. As long as the baby continues to reach milestones, growth and development is great, and weight gain is great, there are no concerns. The main focus is the baby's health on both sides of the isle. I want a healthy baby. The Pediatrician wants a healthy baby. While the Pediatrician may not agree making homemade formula is a great idea, I happen to believe it is, because I took the time to purchase PRECISE measuring tools, and I purchase SPECIFIC ingredients. I am very diligent when preparing formula, and keep the entire work space sterile and clean. The Pediatrician can not help that he/she is indoctrinated by the school of thought that the "common" person is incapable of performing this simple task. I CAN perform this important task, and I AM. Period. A precious life depends on it. I can not lend this child's life to that of the possibility of some foreign plastics or toxic chemicals in her food.

I have no fears---when the FDA has to do as recall with Johnson & Johnson, Mead Johnsons’, or Abbott Laboratories--it does not affect my babies food source.

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