Please say a prayer!!!

At this time, we are asking everyone to keep Amy, our fellow NMF member, and her family in your prayers. She is currently facing some health complications and could use the extra prayers and positive thoughts.


Thank you!

Magic Eraser Warning!

(submitted by Angie)

From a local mom: I'm so embarrassed that this happened but I want you all to be aware of what can happen. This was caused by a magic eraser sponge. I have let both kids erase their crayon marks off the walls and never even thought the sponges would have this kind of chemical in them that would cause this kind of burn or even hurt them. Learn from my mistake. You can't even imagine how bad I feel that this happened to Kolby. Pass this along to anyone who has kids or grandchildren.

Chemical Burns to Children - If you are a parent or grandparent, this post is meant to save your loved ones from the horror one of our friends went through. Here is the email we received. One of my five year old's favorite chores around the house is cleaning scuff marks off the walls, doors, and baseboards with either an Easy Eraser pad, or the real deal, a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser I purchased a package of Magic Erasers ages ago when they first came out. I remember reading the box, wondering what the 'Magic' component was that cleaned crayon off my walls with ease. No ingredients were listed and absolutely no warnings were on the box, other than 'Do not ingest.' My package of the Scotchbrite Easy Erasers didn't have a warning either and since my child knew not to eat the sponges and keep them out of reach of his little brother and sister, it was a chore I happily let him do. If I had known that both brands (and others like them) contain a harmful alkaline or 'base' chemical (opposite of acid on the pH scale)that can burn your skin, I never would have let my little boy handle them. As you can see from the picture, when the Scotchbrite Easy Eraser was rubbed against his face and chin, he received severe chemical burns. At first, I thought he was being dramatic. I picked him up, put him on the counter top and washed his face with soap and water. He was screaming in pain. I put some lotion on his face - more agony. I had used a Magic Eraser to remove magic marker from my own knuckles a while back and I couldn't understand why he was suddenly in pain. Then, almost immediately, the large, shiny, blistering red marks started to spread across his cheeks and chin. I quickly searched Google.com for 'Magic Eraser Burn' and turned up several results. I was shocked. These completely innocent looking white foam sponges can burn you? I called our pediatrician, and of course got sent to voice mail. I hung up and called the Hospital and spoke to an Emergency Room nurse. She told me to call Poison Control. The woman at Poison Control said she was surprised nobody had sued these companies yet and walked me through the process of neutralizing the alkaline to stop my son's face from continually burning more every second. I had already, during my frantic phone calling, tried patting some numbing antibiotic cream on his cheeks, and later some Aloe Vera gel - both resulted in screams of pain. The Poison Control tech had me fill a bathtub with warm water, lay my son into it, cover him with a towel to keep him warm and then use a soft washcloth to rinse his face and chin with cool water for a continuous 20 minutes. My son calmed down immediately. He told me how good it felt. I gave him a dose of Tylenol and after the twenty minutes was up, he got dressed in his Emergency Room doctor Halloween costume and off we went to the Hospital. They needed to make sure the chemical burn had stopped burning, and examine his face to determine if the burn wouldneed to be debrided (from my fuzzy recollection of hospital work, this means removing loose tissue from a burn location). My son was pretty happy at the hospital, they were very nice and called him 'Doctor' and let him examine some of their equipment. The water had successfully stopped the burning and helped soothe a lot of the pain. I'm sure Tylenol was helping too. They sent us home with more Aloe Vera gel, Polysporin antibiotic cream, and some other numbing burn creams. By the time we got home, my son was crying again. I tried applying some of the creams but he cried out in pain. Water seemed to be what worked the best.. After a rough night, I took the above photo in the morning. He was swollen and wouldn't move his lips very much to avoid moving the skin on his taut cheeks. Today he is doing much better. The burns have started to scab over, and in place of red, raw, angry, skin we have a deeper red, rough healing layer. I can touch his skin now,without it stinging.

Question of Week! September 24, 2007

With Halloween quickly approaching, please share any Halloween safety tips you have for the little ones?

September Meeting, Date Night!

Saturday night was our first NMF date night! We enjoyed dinner and a comedy show. It was great time had by all!

As much as we LOVE our NMF mom group, we found it entertaining and embarrassing to keep repeating to the restaurant employees that we were with the "Nine Months and Forever" group. Our hubbies had an especially hard time saying it while picking up the tickets at will call! :)

Jodi, Maria, Danielle & Nicole getting ready to watch the comedy show!

Jodi, Danielle & Nicole representing our missing NMF members by flashing a big "9!"

Loyal NMF hubby (Dave) flashing a big "9" too! :)

Rachel & Dave

Kevin & Danielle

Nicole & Josh

Dave & Maria

Dave & Jodi



Next Months Meeting: Dinner Thyme! Be ready to cook and

prepare several meals that your family will enjoy for weeks!!

Serious Recall Information

Baby cribs recalled after three deaths
By ANN SANNER, Associated Press, WASHINGTON

(submitted by Shilpa)

About 1 million Simplicity and Graco cribs are being recalled after three children became entrapped in their cribs and died of suffocation, the Consumer Product Safety Commission said Friday.

ADVERTISEMENT
Two infants, a 6-month-old and a 9-month-old, died in the recalled cribs, which were sold through May 2007. A 1-year-old child died in a newer model of the cribs, which has not been recalled but is being investigated by the safety agency, CPSC officials said.
Commission spokesman Ed Kang would not comment on when or where the children died. Simplicity spokesman Joe Householder said the company will not release further details about the deaths out of respect for the families.

In all three deaths, the consumer had installed the drop-rail side of the crib upside down, the CPSC said. This creates a gap in the crib that children can slide into and suffocate.
Seven other infants have been entrapped in the cribs, according to the CPSC. There have been 55 reports of the cribs' drop sides detaching or the hardware failing to hold the side to the crib.
Simplicity Inc., of Reading, Pa., is listed as manufacturer of all the cribs, which were made in China. The recalled cribs were sold nationwide, under the Simplicity or Graco brands, from January 1998 through May 2007. The recall involves multiple models and model numbers.
"Simplicity strives to make safe products, that is our number one priority. That's why we worked with the CPSC to take this action," Simplicity president Ken Waldman said in a statement.

In a separate recall in June, the commission recalled about 40,000 Nursery-in-a-Box cribs, manufactured by Simplicity, because the assembly instructions incorrectly explain how to attach the drop side.
None of the cribs that Simplicity currently supplies to stores is included in a recall, the company said in a statement.

The commission, however, cautioned consumers who have the newer versions not covered by the recall to check to make sure the drop side is installed right side up and securely attached. The newer hardware has a flexible tab at the top of the lower track and a permanent stop at the bottom. The older hardware has a flexible tab at the bottom of the lower tracks.

In an earlier Simplicity recall, a 19-month-old child in Myrtle Creek, Ore., died Jan. 6, 2006, in a crib that carried the Graco logo, the CPSC said in February 2006. Mattress support slats came out of the crib, and the child suffocated after getting trapped between the mattress and the footboard. That type of crib had been included in a December 2005 recall of about 104,000 Aspen 3 in 1 Cribs.

The company is offering free repairs

How do you prepare your food?

CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL , U S - PLEASE READ
(submitted by Stephanie)

1. No plastic containers in micro.

2. No water bottles in freezer.

3. No plastic wrap in microwave.

Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well. Dioxin chemicals causes cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from the plastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard. He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.. He said that we should not be >heating our food in the microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body. Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware, Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners, instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, Corning Ware, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper. The dioxin problem is one of the reasons. Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as >dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food >is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead. This is an article that should be passed onto anyone important in your life!

Weight Loss Tactic

Check out these shoes!!! (submitted by Kim)

These shoes make you loose weight, tone muscle, and improve posture. One lady lost 15 pounds from doing nothing else except wearing these shoes all day. They are called MBT. They are expensive but sound super cool. Web site is :

http://www.footwearetc.com/static_links/BOOST_BLUE.html

Sale On A Great Book!

Cures from the Kitchen: It is a book that talks about foods to eat that cure, prevent and treat 80 different type of common illnesses. It is 12$. If anyone is interested, please email me at kim.twinn@dhs.gov. It has to be ordered by October 3rd.

Mom2MomList Information

Andrea says she's been to two of these sales, and they are great. Check this out for more information:

www.mom2momlist.com

Here is a description from their website:So what IS Mom2MomList??? Many things.......We started out simply by providing a service of listing metro-Detroit area mom-to-mom resale events held by neighborhood churches, schools, and moms' clubs. At the time, there was about 20-30 sales each season. This year, we will help to advertise over 100 sales just in the spring sale season alone, and many more in the fall. You can find sale listings right here on our site, updated almost daily, or at any of the sales that we advertise on our "Pink Lists". We have also grown into much more than an advertising service. We offer many new articles on a wide variety of topics, plus tips, quotes, recipes, and crafts every month for parents to enjoy with their children. And thanks to our wonderful members, we are very proud of the community of moms that have come together on our very active message boards. Our members buy & sell their items between sales, plan playdates together, enjoy moms' nights out, share advice and much-needed adult conversation, let off steam together, and so much more. We invite you to join us and become a part of our online family!

Saving for College...

If you are interested in learning how to save for your child's college education, this might be for you:

FREE Seminar at the Plymouth Public Library:
Saving for College ~ Thurs. Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.--How are YOU going to pay for college? To assist you in answering this question, Rick Bloom, JD, CPA, will present a seminar detailing rising college costs, 529 College Savings Plans, Education IRAs and Student & Parent Loan Programs. Please register by phone at 734-453-0750.

Question of the Week for 9/17/07

How did you tell your husband or other family members you were pregnant?

Does This Stress You Out??? Interesting but Concerning!

Top 20 things that are more dangerous to children than lead paint in Mattel toys


The mainstream media is amusingly irrational when it comes to reporting scare stories. The latest example involves the lead content of Mattel toys made in China. The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a third recall of Mattel toys involving over 700,000 toys containing unacceptably high levels of lead paint (over .06 percent lead). Irrational parents are rushing back to retailers in droves, turning in their Mattel toys to "save their children" from the dangers of lead paint. Mattel, for its part, is being rightly blasted in the media for selling shoddy products made with toxic heavy metals.But here's the interesting part in all this: Parents directly poison their children every day with products far more dangerous than Mattel toys.

Don't believe me? I'll name twenty things in this article that are far more dangerous to children than Mattel toys. It doesn't mean Mattel toys are safe, of course. They apparently do contain unacceptably high levels of lead, and there's no question about the toxicity of lead. But children don't eat toys nearly as often as they eat some other toxic substances given to them by their parents, and even as parents are herding back into retailers to refund their toxic lead-laden toys, they're returning home and poisoning their children with many other products that are far worse.The press, of course, reports nothing about these other toxic products. And why? Because they're made in America.


American products poisoning American children:
American products, you see, are often given blanket immunity by the U.S. press. While the media is happy to jump on toxic lead found in Chinese products, they completely ignore (for example) the toxic mercury that dentists continue to place into the mouths of young children all across the country. Why is it considered highly dangerous for a child to merely touch a toy with .06 percent lead paint while it is considered perfectly safe for a child to chew on a filling made with 40 percent mercury? Mercury is far more toxic than lead in many ways, yet the media has nothing to say about the mass poisoning of children through the outmoded dental work still being performed on children today. Mercury fillings were invented before the Civil War, and they're just as toxic now as they were then!Of course, if dental fillings were made in China, the U.S. press would be screaming about their toxicity! But since they're installed by crazed U.S. dentists -- many of whom still manage to seem convincingly sane -- there's zero coverage in the mainstream media.Reporting the truth about dangerous chemicals, heavy metals and other threats to children is extremely selective. The public never hears the real truth about what's dangerous -- they only hear what the media want them to think is dangerous! But I've had it with popular media distortions.

Here, I'm going to reveal the top 20 things that are more dangerous to children than the lead paint in Mattel toys. Interestingly, most of these are things that parents intentionally give their children (or feed to them!). If you're worried about lead paint, you should be far more worried about these 20 things...


The top 20 things that are more dangerous to children than lead paint in Mattel toys


1. Mercury fillings: Often called "silver fillings" to hide the fact that they're made from mercury, these highly toxic fillings are placed directly into the mouths of children where they are inhaled (mercury vapor) and swallowed, causing systemic mercury poisoning to the child and leading to long-term neurological damage. Visit www.IAOMT.org and watch the "Smoking Teeth = Poison Gas" video to learn more.

2. Vaccines: Think vaccines are safe? You've been hoodwinked by the popular media parroting drug company propaganda. Vaccines are preserved with methyl mercury, one of the most dangerous chemical forms of the toxic heavy metal. This mercury is injected directly into the bodies of children where it causes severe neurological damage. And yes, it does cause Autism, despite what you've read in the dumbed-down press. Only a fool would inject their child with mercury-preserved vaccines.

3. Hot dogs: Hot dogs are made with horrifying processed meat parts (click here to see shocking photos of processed meat products , then preserved with a cancer-causing ingredient called sodium nitrite. As detailed in my book Grocery Warning, this ingredient causes brain tumors in children, not to mention leukemia, pancreatic cancer, colon cancer and other cancers. Hot dogs are far more dangerous to a child's health than lead paint in my opinion, and yet parents keep feeding them to their children!

4. Antibacterial soap: How about a little nerve toxin in your soap? That's what's found in antibacterial soap. It's a toxic cocktail of chemicals designed to kill life. That's how it kills bacteria. The problem is that it also harms people -- especially infants and children who are trying to develop healthy nervous systems. Avoid all products claiming to be "antibacterial." You're better off using natural soap (like Dr. Bronner's soap, www.DrBronner.com ) and letting your child's immune system fight off common bacteria. The world isn't sterile, after all. You can't turn your house into a germ-free bubble.

5. ADHD drugs: Would you give your child street drugs like speed or meth? Probably not, but what if your doctor wrote you a prescription for speed and said your child needed it because he was ADHD? If you're like most parents, you'd fall in step and start giving your child speed. But wait, you say: ADHD drugs are not speed, are they? But of course they are. They belong to a class of drugs called amphetamines. They used to be illegally sold as speed. Now they're prescription drugs, and they're given to children in schools all across America (and elsewhere). Psychiatrists and drug companies are making a killing dosing up kids and infants on substances that used to be considered illegal street drugs (and that have no legitimate medical use whatsoever).

6. Sports drinks: For some reason, parents irrationally believe sports drinks are healthy because they contain the word "sports." Didn't they notice the neon green artificial coloring? Sports drinks are, in my opinion, a nutritional joke. Made from salt water, processed sweeteners and petrochemical coloring, many of their ingredients are actually harmful. Drinking water would be smarter, and feeding your child some healthy trace minerals would be even better. Low on potassium? Eat a banana.

7. Cough syrup and over-the-counter medicines: Nearly all children's over-the-counter medicines contain multiple toxic substances such as chemical sweeteners, preservatives and additives. Cough syrup, in particular, has been scientifically proven to be absolutely worthless in preventing coughs. Many "children's" medicines are actually more toxic than their adult counterparts because they're sweetened up and cosmetically enhanced with artificial colors made from petrochemicals. Yet parents poison their children every day with over-the-counter medicine.

8. Sunscreen: The sunscreen industry is a huge scam. Most popular sunscreen products actually cause skin cancer due to the numerous toxic chemicals they contain (which are quickly absorbed into the skin where they cause DNA mutations that lead to cancer). Even worse, sunscreen blocks the UV radiation that allows the skin to manufacture all-important vitamin D -- the most powerful anti-cancer nutrient yet known to modern science. It prevents over a dozen different cancers, yet parents block it by slathering toxic sunscreen on their children, all while mistakenly believing they're "protecting their children from cancer!" What a scam.

9. Fluoride in the water: I've always found it amazing that city water officials were dumb enough to actually buy a toxic waste substance and arrange to have it dripped into the public water supply where it would be ingested by infants and children. The result? Mass fluorosis and toxicity to children everywhere. Didn't these people realize that fluoride only works topically? (That is, it only works if you rub it on your teeth, then spit it out, and even that only works if you're using natural fluoride, not the chemicals spit out as byproducts of the fertilizer industry, which is what city water departments are buying and dripping into the water supply.) Click here to see my CounterThink cartoon on this topic.Whoever heard of drinking a topical medication in the first place? It's like swallowing sunscreen to prevent sunburn. Even worse, putting this into the public water supply effectively mass medicates everyone with a bioactive chemical substance that no one has been given a prescription for. This is all done with no regard for the level of natural fluoride children might already be ingesting from other sources. The situation is so crazy that it's difficult to find a more insane example of medical tyranny than the mass fluoridation of public water supplies. The fact that doctors and dentists so vehemently support it demonstrates just how crazy they really are.

10. Processed milk: Children as young as 10 years old are now being diagnosed with heart disease and clogged arteries. Ever wonder how it happened? It's due in part, I believe, to all the processed milk children are swallowing these days. Not only is the milk contaminated with pus, blood and detectable levels of pesticides and other chemicals, it's also homogenized, meaning the fats are artificially modified in a way that makes them stay in suspension. This homogenization also makes milk fats dangerous to cardiovascular health. While I support the consumption of raw, unprocessed milk, I think that consuming processed, homogenized milk is dangerous to the health of infants, children and adults alike!

11. Fast food: Fast food is extremely unhealthy for children. Not only are the foods often fried, homogenized, hydrogenated and otherwise altered, they're also laced with chemical additives, taste enhancers, processed sugars, petrochemical food coloring and other unhealthy substances. Strangely, many parents actually reward their children for good behavior by buying them unhealthy fast food meals, thereby creating a psychological association between good feelings and junk food. (Fast food restaurants further exploit this psychological link by building playgrounds and running feel-good advertisements that emphasize friends and fun, then link those good vibes to their food products.)

12. Antidepressant drugs: Children as young as six months old are now being put on psychotropic drugs such as SSRIs (antidepressants). These drugs, we now know, cause suicidal thoughts and violent behavior, especially in young boys. They imbalance brain chemistry and even alter the body's metabolism of sugar, promoting diabetes and leading to rapid weight gain. These drugs are so dangerous that feeding them to children should be considered a crime. Every single school shooting involving a child in the United States in the last 15 years has been linked to antidepressant drug use. Need I say more?

13. Chemical laundry detergents: Parents are shown fancy ads on television depicting how wonderful and clean their clothes will be if they wash them in brand-name laundry detergent. What they're not shown, however, is the toxicity of all the synthetic chemicals that go into most laundry detergent products. The fragrance chemicals alone are often carcinogenic, and they're just as bad for the environment as they are children's health. A new alternative has appeared, however: Soap berries! It's laundry soap that grows on trees. We offer it at www.BetterLifeGoods.com

14. Flame retardant chemicals: Did you know that new mattresses for infants and children are often sprayed with extremely toxic flame retardant chemicals? These are easily absorbed through the skin of infants and children where they contribute to numerous neurological disorders and immune suppression. Many clothing products are also sprayed with flame retardants, as are some carpeting products. In the push to make everything fireproof, state regulators (who have mandated the flame retardant chemicals in states like California) have created a toxic environment for everyone. I suppose if you're a politician, it's always better for a million people to die of a mysterious disease that can't be linked to you than to have one baby burning up on the evening news with fingers of blame pointed directly at you.

15. Soda: Aside from directly promoting diabetes and obesity, sodas also contain high amounts of phosphoric acid, a substance that dissolves bones and causes a loss of bone mineral density. This causes massive tooth decay as well as a shrinking jaw bone and overall skeletal fragility. Diet sodas are even worse, since they contain chemical sweeteners linked to neurological disorders and learning disabilities.

16. Air fresheners: Air fresheners contain cancer-causing chemicals. Unleashing them in the house exposes children to these chemicals, promoting asthma and other respiratory problems. If you value the health of your children, avoid air freshener products and just use essential oils or citrus peels instead. (Peel an orange and hang the peel in your kitchen.)

17. Synthetic vitamins: Many children's vitamins are made with cheap, synthetic "vitamin" chemicals that actually harm people who take them. Plus, many are loaded up with artificial colors, sucrose and chemical sweeteners. Avoid cheap, store-bought children's vitamins or anything containing cyanocobalamin (a toxic form of vitamin B12). Quality children's vitamins are available through sources like Nordic Naturals (fish oils) and www.IntegratedHealth.com (also check www.WellnessResources.com for high-quality supplements).

18. Dryer sheets: Most popular dryer sheets and fabric softeners are made with toxic synthetic chemicals that are not safe to use on children's clothing. The fragrance chemicals alone are often highly carcinogenic, and the other chemicals contribute additional toxicity to the clothing. Children's clothes should never be washed or dried in chemicals. Only use natural detergents and fabric softeners, or avoid the fabric softeners altogether.

19. Bacon: Most bacon and sausage are processed meat products made with sodium nitrite (like the hot dogs, above) and contaminated with various chemicals lodged in the animal fats. Conventionally-raised beef, pork and chicken products are, in my opinion, extremely toxic to the human body and contribute to colon cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer and many other diseases and disorders. If you make meat for your children, shop for 100% organic, free-range, antibiotic-free meats that have no nitrites or nitrates.

20. Shampoo and bath products: Virtually all popular shampoo and bath products sold on the market contain cancer-causing chemicals. The ingredients read like a top-40 list of toxic chemicals. Virtually none of these chemicals have ever been tested or approved for use on humans (they are simply ignored because the FDA astonishingly believes the skin won't absorb chemicals). If you want healthy products, use the shampoo I recommend: Pure Essentials Fragrance-Free Shampoo from Earth Science (www.TheNewES.com)


Keeping your health priorities straight:
So that's the list of 20 items that are more dangerous to the health of children than the lead paint in Mattel toys. Most parents have no concern whatsoever for any of these 20 things, but they're going ape-shoot-crazy over the tiny amounts of lead in their Barbie toys and Elmo stuffed animals. It all just goes to show you that the sheeple will think anything the mainstream media tells them to think (and they'll ignore everything else).It's classic American contradiction: Returning a Mattel toy at the local toy store while taking your child to a dentist to have mercury implanted in the cavities caused by all the soda the kid consumed at home (because the parents keep buying Coke and Pepsi). If it all weren't so downright tragic, it would almost be funny.

About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health author and technology pioneer with a passion for sharing empowering information to help improve personal and planetary health He is a prolific writer and has published thousands of articles, interviews, reports and consumer guides, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2007, Adams launched EcoLEDs, a maker of super bright LED light bulbs that are 1000% more energy efficient than incandescent lights. He's also a noted technology pioneer and founded a software company in 1993 that developed the HTML email newsletter software currently powering the NewsTarget subscriptions. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and enjoys outdoor activities, nature photography, Pilates and adult gymnastics. Known by his callsign, the 'Health Ranger,' Adams posts his missions statements, health statistics and health photos at www.HealthRanger.org

Fit Momma!

As the seasons change, so does the weather here in Michigan, which in turn jeopardizes a lot of your fitness plans! No longer do we get to take long strolls in the nice warm weather, grill healthy meats or purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from our local farmers market! Here are some great tips to refreshing your health and fitness plan!

1. Get moving mama! Just go for it.....join a gym! I'm sure the first thing you're thinking is "I'll have to find childcare." Or maybe the whole thing just sounds like a bit much for you at this time in your life. Well, low and behold, Lifetime Fitness offers free childcare to it's members. E-mail ninemonthsandforever@hotmail.com with your name and address and I will send you a free FIVE DAY PASS to a Lifetime Fitness Gym (this is for NMF members only for safety purposes.) You can find your nearest location at http://www.lifetimefitness.com/ Remember how important it is to take care of you.... It will make you an even better mother, wife and all around healthy woman! If the local gym is not in your budget and you are enjoying stroller workouts, why not sign up with some of your NMF buddies for a run or walking race? Check out the listings of local walks at http://www.runmichigan.com/ They are listed by month and by city. In turn, you'll be giving back to your community!

I'm sure you've heard these before....but it's always a good reminder to....

2. Choose whole-grain foods whenever possible.

3. Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day.

4. Include 2 servings of milk products each day (3 if you are a nursing mom.)

5. Drink AT LEAST 6 glasses of water each day.

6. Make sure you get enough protein...you'll feel much more satisfied. Pick lean meats such as skinless poultry, fish and eggs.

7. Limit added sugar and alcohol

8. Take a multi-vitamin supplement each day

9. If you're struggling to get rid of that last 5 or 10 lbs. of baby weight, try one of the best programs out there..... Weight Watchers is not a diet, it's a healthy lifestyle change to your eating habits. Visit http://www.weightwatchers.com/ for more information. I have had several friends experience GREAT success by attending weekly meetings (you can bring your kids) and following the program. You don't feel deprived because you're still eating what you enjoy. You are making changes in your portion size and that's what makes the difference!

10. Om.... This local Yoga studio is a GREAT workout and offers the first week FREE! Check out http://www.centerforyoga.net/ There are two locations, one in West Bloomfield and one in Birmingham. This will give you that peace of mind you are looking for as well as those long lean muscles! Above all, remember your body is your sanctuary. Take care of it, be proud of it and love it!

By: Maria (a local fitness instructor & NMF member)

Need A Good Laugh?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P6UU6m3cqk

QUESTION OF THE WEEK! 9/10/07

Do you exercise? If yes, how do you fit it in to your busy schedule? Tell us about your work out routine?

PS) Walking the kids counts! Anything that gets that heart rate going!!! :)

The Arrival of The Little One!

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN)
(Article submitted by Kim)

When you take your bundle of joy home from the hospital, it's inevitable you won't do everything right. We asked pediatricians what the most common mistakes parents make with their newborns.

Letting a newborn sleep through the night
"One of the things that makes me cringe is when parents say to me, 'The first night home from the hospital she slept all the way through the night!' " says Dr. Lance Goodman, a pediatrician in Boca Raton, Florida. "I tell them, 'Oh no! She's not supposed to be doing that!' "
Our pediatricians were unanimous: Parents need to wake up their babies to eat every four hours. With a few rare exceptions, newborns should not sleep through the night for the first two weeks of life. Babies who go too long without eating could become dehydrated, Goodman says. Plus, sleeping eight hours at a stretch might be a sign of severe jaundice. "They might be so lethargic they can't arouse themselves to feed," Goodman says.
So when is it OK to let your baby sleep through the night? "At the two-week checkup, if your baby is gaining weight and sleeping through the night, hallelujah! Go enjoy it!" says Dr. Ari Brown, author of "Baby 411" and a spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Interactive: Three blogging parents share their mistakes, advice »


Not feeding on demand
Our pediatricians say new parents sometimes make the mistake of wanting baby to eat on a strict schedule. The doctors say as long as a newborn is eating at least every four hours, they should keep whatever schedule they want. "A baby is smarter than any grown-up," says Dr. Robin Madden, a pediatrician in Silver Spring, Maryland. "Whether breast-fed or bottle-fed, they know when they're hungry and they know when they're full." "Babies don't feed on a cookie-cutter pattern," adds Brown. "If you follow their demand, they're going to eat better."


Taking a newborn to crowded places
Another thing that bugs Goodman: When people take their newborns to a crowded place, like a busy store or a child's birthday party. "There's no reason to do that," he says. "It's a matter of using common sense."
Your Health Tools
MayoClinic.com: Health Library
Healthology: Health Video Library


Exposing your baby to lots of germy people is a problem for two reasons:
One, he could get a life-threatening bacterial infection. Two, even if he gets a fever from a virus (which is less dangerous), doctors will still have to hospitalize him to make sure it's not something more serious. "A fever in a baby less than six weeks old is an automatic ticket for a two-day hospital stay," says Brown. "Your kid's going to get a spinal tap, blood drawn, and catheterized for urine."


Keeping a newborn cooped up at home
While going out to crowded places is a bad idea, it's also a mistake to stay home 24-7 for six weeks with your newborn. "Look at postpartum depression -- what could be more depressing than being cooped up with a kid who's not talking to you and cries all the time?" says Brown.
Brown encourages her patients to take their newborns for walks outside. She also tells them if they need to take the baby to the grocery store, to pick a time when it will be less crowded.


Not trusting your instincts
Our pediatricians said too many new parents don't trust their inner voice. "It's all about listening to yourself and trusting yourself," says Dr. Lisa Thebner, a pediatrician in New York City. "But when you're getting a lot of feedback from nannies and friends, it can be hard to block out all that white noise." If you don't trust yourself, you could be putting your baby in danger, says Madden, who's chair of pediatrics at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland, and associate clinical professor of pediatrics at George Washington Medical Center in Washington.
"I've had parents who have a feeling their baby is sick, but people around them say the baby is fine," she says. "So even though their instinct says something's wrong, they wait way too long to bring the baby in to the doctor because people reassured them."


And here are a few more mistakes parents of newborns make, according to our experts :
•They put their babies to sleep on their sides or stomachs. (The American Academy of Pediatrics says the back is best to avoid Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.)
• They don't vaccinate their babies even though the pediatric academy, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and virtually every scientific organization recommends it.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK! 9/3/07

Tell us about a family tradition you have with your immediate or extended family.