Cow's Milk Vs. Goat's Milk

This post was inspired as a response to Emily's comment.

Thanks for your comment Emily:) Yes he eats other foods with calcium, so I'm not worried about his calcium intake. I think that's going good. I appreciate your encouragement too. I switched my other son Moses to goat's milk when he was 13 months old because when he turned one we started him on cow's milk and he then had 2 ear infections in one month. One was really bad and he also had a persistent cold that month too. ANyways, after the 2nd really bad ear infection I was talking to my mom and she told me that cow's milk can cause ear infections, especially if a child is prone to them (which we found out Moses was prone to them because they're hereditary as daddy Ryan had alot when he was a child). So I did some research of my own and learned alot of interesting things about cow's milk. Just type in "milk ear infections" in google and see what you come up with. I was surprised to read that cow's milk has proteins in it that are not easily digested. In addition to that it also produces more mucos, so when nasal congestion occurs, passages become blocked and irritated, then ear infections are the frequent result. So, anyways, we took Moses off cow's milk and switched to goat's milk because it's less allergenic than cow's milk. Also, goat's milk does not have the proteins that are the main stimulants of allergic reactions to cow's milk.
Plus, certain cow's milk proteins suppresses the immune system and goat's milk doesn't. ANyways, if you do a little research you'll find a lot of negative things about cow's milk for young toddlers and children. Overall, goat's milk is just better for you.
www.crohns.net/Miva/education/aboutgoatsmilk.shtml
But don't just take my word for it, I encourage you to find out for yourself.
So, with Elijah we're just going to do goat's milk. Moses still drinks goat's milk occasionally, but because it is so expensive out here and WIC doesn't offer it here (it does in Oregon), we don't buy it as often, however I just found a website that has a good deal for powdered goat's milk which is just a great as the liquid , so I'm going to order some from them. Anyways, Moses and Elijah both eat cheese and yogurt too, plus there are a lot of other foods besides dairy that have calcium which I was surprised to learn http://home.bluegrass.net/~jclark/calcium_foods.htm. (another great website that I like is www.whfoods.com). Moses sometimes has cow's milk but it's not a regular part of his diet.

Does anyone else have any thoughts or comments? I still have much to learn about diet and nutrition, so I am not claiming to know it all, this is just what I have learned and was sold on it because we have never had another ear infection since switching to goat's milk.

Weaning Baby

Does anyone have any advice for weaning? I am starting to introduce goat's milk to my 11 1/2 month old and he will take a sip or two but he doesn't seem to like it very much. I'm concerned about him because he doesn't nurse for very long when he does, which is about 4 times a day and once at night. He likes water, but I'm just not sure how much breast milk he is getting and concerned about his fluid intake (he is not dehydrated, but sometimes his diapers are more yellow than clear, and he sometimes will go 4 hours without needing a diaper change because he is not that wet. I want to wean him about his 1st birthday but concerned for his lack of wanting to drink milk. I don't have a pediatrician yet, so...I'm just not sure who to talk to for advice. He is happy and healthy overall and seems content after nursing and eating...I just don't feel completely at peace with how things are with his liquid intake.

Dragon Fruit

Has anyone ever eaten dragon fruit? I just had some for the first time today and it's very interesting. I did some research and found out that it is native of Central and South America, where it's known as pitaya, and is gaining popularity in Hawai'i. It's the fruit of a climbing cactus that prefers warm, moist climates rich in organic soils. I really couldn't compare the flavor to anything, but if I did have to compare texture it's close to a kiwi. Very yummy and absolutely beautiful!

Boys

Does anyone have any advice for me about young boys? My little guy is almost 2 and is turning into a boy!! I need help! What do I do with him? I am always feeling like I don't do enough and I'm running out of ideas for things to do during the day. Most of the time he plays with his cars and balls, and I try to get him outside once or twice a day where he can run around in the yard. He loves books, so we read stories everyday too. I guess I'm just unsure of myself as a mom...I just feel like there is more I should do, or be providing him with more activities. I'm just starting to see more differences in him recently and seeing he is full of energy and loves to run and wrestle where I would love him to sit and color I realize that is not going to happen! At least not now. It's a good thing he has a wonderful papa who plays with him when he comes home from work. I'm seeing first hand how just how important a dad is in a little boy's life.
I am also wondering if anyone has any good recommendations for books about boys, besides Dobson's book. I've read it and some of it was good, but I'm looking for more of what boys at his age are going through, developmentally. Any advice would be welcome too! Thanks

Randomness

For the first time in a long while, I am starting to feel more of my need to read my bible and pray in the morning before I do anything else! I'm so glad that God is working in my heart and is ever so patient with me. But today when I really just wanted to be alone and not be bothered so I could read my bible and pray, my little almost 2 year old really wanted mama to play with him....so, at the particular moment I felt like God was saying that loving my son and playing with him outside was more important that my alone time. So, I got him ready and we went outside to play. He had a blast, he loves to be outside. So I walked around with him and while he roamed I read some Psalms out loud so he could hear too. I'm learning new ways to get the Word in me with my children around because I'm not alone very much....but I really should get up earlier to read and pray before they get up...

I sold a pair of shoes on ebay a couple days ago that my husband bought at a garage sale for $3, and we made a $13 profit, not bad. I'm hoping that we will find more bargains in the future that we can resale and make a little extra cash.

I started running today! Yea! Well, my goal was to begin working on cardio-vascular exercise again for at least 30 minutes today. I went for a run and was able to maintain a good pace for about 10 minutes, but after I went up a good hill, I had to slow down and walk for a little bit, then I started again. So, I jogged most of the time, but combined with walking I got a good sweaty workout! I have not run like that for almost 2 1/2 years! Just with 2 pregnancies in a row, I was just a walker overall with baby and big belly:) Today it felt great to run, but I'm really out of shape and need to work up to being able to run for 30 minutes straight. I am going to try and be realistic with what my goals should be so I'm going to just try and do what I did today 3 days a week for a week or two, and then maybe add another day to it after 3 weeks or so. ANyways, I am glad to have made the step and actually went out and did it. I really want to get into better shape.

Diastasis Recti

For those of you who've just had a baby recently, whether a month ago or two years ago, I would encourage you to check out these websites and learn if you have a Diastasis Recti.

http://womenshealth.suite101.com/article.cfm/separation_of_abdominal_muscles

http://www.fitpregnancy.co.za/content.php?sec=getfit&year=2006&month=12&doc=Belly_there.html

http://baby.families.com/blog/5-things-to-know-about-mummy-tummy-or-diastasis-recti

I was still feeling like I had some mama chub on my front belly after almost 1 year from my 2nd baby's birth, even though I am back to my old size and I fit into my old clothes. So I started doing some research online for some exercise about the best way to burn tummy fat when I came across a forum of these moms talking about their bellies and "diastasis recti." What is that I wondered. So I did some research and discovered it means separated abs which occur with pregnancy. Most of the time they come back together on their own, but for a handful of women they don't. (and I'm one of them) I read about how to check to see if my abs are still separated, and they are, so I'm very glad to have found this out, which explains why my tummy is the way it is. So you have to do special exercises to work the transverse muscle to bring them back together. I just want to share what I found just because I knew nothing about it and maybe it would be helpful info to others. It's really important to strengthen these muscles for future pregnancies. Now I just need to actually do the exercises consistently. Lord willing it will be another couple of years before we have another baby, but I really want to get my body in better shape by doing these exercises and running again.

How I Am Today

Usually I'm pretty positive, at least I try to be and see the bright side of things. But it's really been hard for me to do that lately. I think that is why I have not written in so long. I feel like I don't have anything positive or encouraging to say ...oh great, I just totally sounded like K-Love! For those of you who know that station know what I mean, anyways...so yeah, I usually want to be uplifting overall, but I've been so self-focused lately and so down (just in the past couple of months) that I haven't had much to give or to pour out into any body's life (online or in person for that matter). But I really want to keep writing...though I don't know how often my page even gets looked at, but whatever, it's a good outlet for me. So, I've come to the place where I realize that I just need to be real about who I am and write about what is going on in life. Being real is definitely something I am not that good at. I really want to be better at it, and I don't want to be fake and pretend that life is great...so I am going to try.

We just moved to Hawaii 3 months ago, and much to my surprise it's been really hard, a lot harder than I thought it would be. Yes, there have been lots of good things and many blessings but it's been hard for me nonetheless. I've just gone through the stuff of being homesick and feeling down and depressed at times. ( I am encouraged though because I have heard that this is normal for females with such a major move and life change). And I have not gone so far down in the dumps that I've given up and succumb to staying in bed all day, there have just been days of feeling really low and crying, but I'm not always sure why. I still want to be present and a good mommy to my boys and a good wife to my husband. But it's been a struggle because I've been so down. It's just hard feeling so many hard things, like constantly pouring out to my family all day, and not feeling well emotionally or spiritually. But God is working in my heart and answering my prayers, so I'm definitely in a better place than I was a month ago. (rabbit trail: My grandma died at the end of May and I was able to fly out to California for 4 days with Elijah. To be with my entire family!(I had not seen my younger brother in 2 years, and my older sister in 9 months). It was amazing seeing God's timing of it all and working out all the details. So that sure helped with homesickness for family and the mainland, and it made coming back to the island much easier.) So where I'm at now is I am seeing more of my desperate need for God's strength and filling me every day. Realizing how much more I need to pray and look to him for all things. Really seeing my weakness and how much I need him to work in my heart.
God is good. Good in that he lets us go through hard things but he is there to see us through and to bring hope and comfort. ( I can't help it, I have to end on a positive note:)