Toddler Food No-No's

Mr.Asparagus Pants

I firmly believe in a whole foods diet for my whole family. Our food supply scares me, the supermarket is packed with non-nutritious,toxic, junk food. My concern isn't unwarranted either, I preach regularly about the state of our country's health. The Standard American Diet (SAD) is causing so many health related issues, in simple terms you really are what you eat. Cancer rates are as high 50% and expected to rise to 75% in the next 20 years and chemical toxins are a leading cause.It isn't always easy, preparing and planning meals, but your children will reap the rewards. This isn't only for toddlers, the diet of the parents is always going to be mirrored in the child's food preferences. My son has a few allergies and sensitivities, and it is always to stuff no one should be eating anyways(corn,wheat,soy etc), so in my house we know we are eating good  as long as he can eat it also! I also want to say that it isn't "stealing" a childhood away with healthy food and not buying processed crap.  My son and I enjoy baking together and enjoying our meals after we prepare them from scratch. In my experience children helping prepare the meals instead of  'Here eat this' always warms them up to try new things. 

We have to take power back in the name of our childrens health from these large corporations that control our food system, and tell them "NO MORE" We can do that by buying local, whole food organic product, showing them what we want through our dollars spent.

Artificial Colors and Preservatives

There are so SO many safe alternatives to artificial colors and preservatives that they belong NO WHERE near anyone's plates. They cause hyperactivity and behavioral problems in children. Not to mention nervous system damage and cancer among various other ailments. I urge you to try to eliminate these from your childs diet and see the amazing change in their behavior and health. Our bodies do not recognize these substances as food, and has no idea what to do with it excrete what it can, and store the rest. 

"Recent studies suggest that a person's body might create even more body fat so that it has more room to store the onslaught of toxins." 

All of these additives are unnecessary and are only in the best interest of shelf life, not human life. There are over 300 additives recommended to eliminate from your childs diet, and it is your duty as a parent to research and make informed decisions about what is in your childs food.

http://life.familyeducation.com/nutrition-and-diet/weight/46763.html#ixzz20STm8enO

"The Feingold Program recommends eliminating from the diet: all artificial (synthetic) colors, listed on the label as ``food coloring'', ``color added'' or by its FDA number, like FD&C Yellow #5 or FD&C Red #40 (both used in the Lancet study); artificial flavors listed as ``flavoring'' or ``artificial flavoring'' or artificial vanilla (vanillin); aspartame (an artificial sweetener); and three preservatives, BHA, BHT, and TBHQ – already removed from most food for children in the U.K." 


And let me tell you, these are in almost all of mainstream conventional food and household/personal products. 


Artificial Sweeteners
For me the most disturbing trend in food additives is the sugar free scam. Aspartme is a byproduct of ecoli and causes brain cancer. It is disgusting and should not be on the market whatsoever. It is in all conventional gum and pretty much anything that is "sugar free" In this article from Dr. Mercola he shines some light on the dangers of this toxic substance.(It is a MUST READ)


"Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious including seizures and death. A few of the 90 different documented symptoms listed in the report as being caused by aspartame include: Headaches/migraines, dizziness, seizures, nausea, numbness, muscle spasms, weight gain, rashes, depression, fatigue, irritability, tachycardia, insomnia, vision problems, hearing loss, heart palpitations, breathing difficulties, anxiety attacks, slurred speech, loss of taste, tinnitus, vertigo, memory loss, and joint pain."


I have seen this in numerous(more than I can count) childrens food products. Don't even get me started on marketing to children on food packaging either!! It just blatantly shows that these corporations have a bottom line(the dollar)  in interest and NOT your childs health. There are alternatives that are healthy and safe that should be utilized instead of artificial sweeteners.(Honey or Stevia anyone?) Also I would like to take a moment to advocate for natures candy AKA fruit.(Woop woop!) If you start early and feed your child a natural whole food diet then they will enjoy a strawberry instead of an artificially flavored,colored,sweetened processed "treat". I remember as a child liking strawberry flavor and not strawberries, and thought blackberries tasted like spray paint which just so happen to be my favorite berry. It took me until I was 20 to try it again, so starting young is key with food preferences.


Pesticides,chemical fertilizers and Irradiation

 Pesticides are important to eliminate from your baby/toddlers(and your) diet because of their sensitive developing bodies. As we know, you are what you eat and  the cells in your body are the foundation of health. Pesticides are chemical toxins cause them to malfunction and sometimes damage or kill them. Causing your detoxification system, mainly your liver, kidneys, lungs, colon, and skin, to work overtime and eventually malfunction as well. In children this also affects their nervous, endocrine among other various systems that are still developing. Organics also have more nutritional content and are not genetically modified. They also no not irradiate the soil, which is using radiation to kill pathogens in the soil which obviously is dangerous(and stupid)(and doesn't actually work) The top ten dirty dozen list is helpful when transitioning into buying organics! 

Why it matters

Toxins are accumulative and we are introduced to enough through our industrialized environmental (i.e. oil refineries and vehicle exhaust) so we need not introduce any more chemicals into our babies little bodies. Starting now, wherever you are in your journey as a parent, makes a direct impact on your childs future and wellbeing. Also, it is always fun to garden with your children, is educational and nutritious for everyone and is a great way to introduce picky eaters to the food on their plate! 

The statistics on our country's health is proof that we need real change. And the first step is what we put into our bodies. Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, ADHD, asthma, autism are all usually diet related and are skyrocketing in the youth. Also the large amounts of antibiotics we use and the high prevalence of sugar in our diets is causing Candida overgrowth in an estimated 70% of Americans. Candida is a yeast overgrowth which feeds off of sugar and starch. Antibiotics kill the good bacteria with the bad and this is the result. Find out more here . We have to stop trusting corporations with the well-being of our children and educate ourselves on what is really going on.

Childhood should be about family, love and fun and is not hindered by removing chemical toxins from their diet. My toddler is a happy healthy boy, who whines for a banana at the grocery store instead of a candy bar. "Fun" foods aka cakes and candy do not have to constitute toxic cancer causing processed foods. I make my treats for my son with whole food ingredients that are good for him,and we enjoy them just the same and get special bonding time preparing them while we are at it! I think childhood is hindered by the many ailments that affect the nations youth everyday, and we need to revamp what childhood is about. The "Golden Arches" and food coloring shouldn't be staples of toddlerdom and should be replaced with sunshine and gardening.

Written by Haley

Children are not pets: Their right to rights

https://www.facebook.com/BayAreaIntactivists

As we wrapped up a wonderful juice bar lunch with the kids (no tears & didn't even need to break out the emergency bananas!) we were approached by a member of the ACLU, (American Civil Liberties Union) clipboard in hand. We began to discuss our disappointment with the organization, and their blocking of  circumcision banning legislation in San Francisco.

(If you don't know why circumcision is cosmetic, unnecessary and a violation of human rights please look into intactivism and get educated about this important topic. Feel free to ask for links and additional information.)

He wasn't prepared or informed on this topic and had some really odd responses. 

These included a "federal hair cutting law" retort (we'll come back to our hair cutting philosophy later) to which we tried to explain the removal of nerve endings and permanence of  circumcision. He responded that "We don't know that much about hair." It gets worse:  a Nazi reference, his approval of circumcising dogs, equating intactivism to a "god hates gays" movement and even saying "Children are like pets..." 

Yes, a person advocating for civil liberties thinks children are pets.

I would like to make it very clear that children are humans and entitled to the same inherent rights. These rights should not be withheld due to arbitrary age and are not anyone's to refuse or allow. Being a parent does not make you an owner of a child, (it would be more accurate the other way!) Your ownership is of your own body and does not extend to the possession of another human being. Your rights end (religious, parental) where another person's body begins.

Our duty as parents is to provide, protect, educate and allow our children to become the best version of themselves. Children's rights mirror these values and include freedom from fear and harm and the freedom of choice over their own body.

It is not a parental right to choose elective and cosmetic procedures for children. It is the child's right to choose, especially when the procedure is permanent and body altering such as circumcision, ear piercing or tattoo. It is in our own parental philosophy to let the children choose when they want their hair cut. I recall a dispute with a lady informing me that sometimes you have to traumatize children as a part of childhood, like a haircut. Disagree. Choice, right to one's body and nurturing win in this home, personally we enjoy watching their hair growing in their natural patterns:  mullet, curls and swirls.

Let's commend the German court that ruled that a child's right to physical integrity trumps freedom of religion and parent's rights and for the ban on circumcision that came from this ruling. 

We wouldn't subject our children to personal, medical, religious or other procedures they did not choose or did not want. Of course there are loopholes and scenarios we could go batty over, but even in a medically necessary (emergency procedure most likely) I would validate my child's emotions and physically be supportive with them through it. 

We also conclude that a child's right to be free of fear and harm win over the (improper) parental right to hit a child. (Since nowhere in society hitting another person is a right, and even a threat is considered criminal) 

We need to rethink our roles as parents. There is nothing that bugs me more than a "Because I'm the  Mom!" approach to parenting. Children are people, they have real feelings, real thoughts and inherent rights. We need to humanize our babies and never forget that they are not a possession but a person who we are given the honor of loving, protecting and teaching. We must respect their rights and teach them to respect others. If we nurtured every child this way the world would be such a better place. 

Born This Way

If there is one promise we make the first time we hold our newborn babies, it is to love and protect them.We don't know their temperment, or futures, we can't even predict their eye or hair color. None of that matters, we just dedicate ourselves blindly to who they are and who they will become.We recently marched in the SF Pride Parade with our children representing The Bay Area Intactivists. Our boys strolled along in their wagon with signs that read 'Born This Way'. This message represents their unchanged bodies and our acceptance of their entire being, unconditionally.


We enjoyed the parade, I love the feeling of celebration and liberation. We are proud supporters of genital integrity and sexual orientation integrity also. Just leave peoples genitals and sexuality alone!


We thought the world was on the right track until we ran across Becky Fischers' latest atrocity. We recognized her from Jesus Camp, a documentary where she directs an Evangelical summer camp and children shake and sob over abortion, and pray over a cardboard cutout of George Bush, kind of heavy for kids ya think? What happened to canoeing and crafts? Heres an overview of the movie:

Becky Fischer is a Pentacostal minister who holds Evangelical Christian conferences and camps, the latter called "Kids on Fire" which are held in Devil's Lake, North Dakota. She holds the camps in the hopes of teaching Evangelical Christian children to lay down their life for God. She equates her philosophy to that of extremist Muslims teaching children literally to fight in the name of Islam, but with 'the right' message. She teaches the children at the camps to be outspoken in their beliefs with a passionate fervor, all in the name of Jesus Christ. Topics presented include the evils of Harry Potter (in Old Testament times, he would have been put to death for being a warlock), the waste of dead churches (where there is no passion in the praising of Jesus), the evils of abortion, and Evangelical Christians taking back government in the United States. The camp attendees soak up the messages like sponges as she is preaching to the converted. Her events are played out against the backdrop of the George W. Bush presidency, he who speaks to Ted Haggard, the leader of the National Association of Evangelicals, on a weekly basis. Christian radio host Mike Papantonio, who is non-Evangelical, provides his views of what he considers Fischer's indoctrination process, and especially the harm he sees in blurring the line between church and state.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486358/plotsummary

Bigotry at its 'finest'

Love at its finest

Her latest works not only include teaching children to raise the dead, but also how to prevent homosexuality. She sells the classes that teach gender roles and stereotypes and says 'It begins in childhood, it can be prevented'. This is bigotry and a hate crime. First of all, you cannot prevent homosexuality or any sexual prefrences. We are aquainted with twins, now adults, male and female who are both gay. They were not raised in an open gender-bending environment but a traditional gender role American family. If you asked the twins they would tell you they were born that way. Im not suggesting we are inherently gay or straight, but that we are inherently ourselves. It is nobodys right to change or fix us. We should be letting children do anything they desire, regardless of our preconcieved notions and gender ideas. One of our boys has a pair of tap shoes, shiny ones made for girls. They were the pair that fit him. There isn't anything gender binding about those shoes except that we, in our minds know they are marketed for girls. Why tap dance for a boy? Well he loves stompin' around making noise! Traditionally, American tap dance was a male performed entertainment. It has no hold on our childs sexuality or the ones of men in early American show business. Furthermore, he won't know that he has girls' shoes unless someone tells him that there are gender specific tap shoes. Even then, he won't care unless he is guilted or shamed for this. We believe colors are for everyone. Not too long ago pink used to be for baby boys, and blue for girls! The associations only ring true in our own perceptions. Some of our kids favorite things are pink: A fuzzy heart pillow, a baby doll. He also loves flowers! Why shouldn't he? Should we gear him to like a more manly crop?! Lol. 

 We allow our children to be children and try to help them explore their intrests, free of inhibitions, and our own condentations of gender and sexuality, which they know nothing of. Part of the wonderment of childhood is not concerning yourself with society's expectations, sexuality, abortion or politics. I can assure you I won't be making my children cry over intactivism and will teach them to be proud of their bodies and who they are. The parade teaches them acceptance of themselves and others, and isn't about teaching them to conform to social standards or be unaccepted, revoked of love and condemned to hell fire. The implications of Fischers work are worrisome. Already, homosexual youth is five times more likley to commit suicide. This number is increased by a hostel environment. You can't change your sexuality. Remember electro-shock therapy? Gay isn't a disease, its not contageous or cureable. It's not perventable or changeable. It's neither wrong nor right, black nor white. Yes, there are instances like violations or molestations that can steer or shape our sexual behaviors, but that isn't a factor for the majority of cases. And you cant hetero-molest a child into the sexuality you perfer, sexuality isn't simple. I don't know why I'm straight or why one person has more libido than the next. The real problem is that we are forgetting our oath to love and protect our children. Fisher isn't teaching love but hate and alienation over protection.

"We have the idea that indoctrination is like the Chinese shoving bamboo up your fingernails or dropping a drop of water on your head until you say "Okay, Buddha is God" Indoctrination is nothing more than teaching someone else a set of ideas" Becky Fischer 

“Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.” Buddha 

This quote from Becky Fischer reveals her extreme ignorance; religiously and politically. We all know the Chinese aren't torturing people in the name of Buddha(Uhh, Tibet anyone??). Buddha is not a deity, and is not "God" He was a person who reached enlightenment and taught that path to those who listened. Our family practices Buddhism and if you were to learn anything from, it would go as follows:


(1) to lead a moral life,
(2) to be mindful and aware of thoughts and actions, and
(3) to develop wisdom and understanding.

If your religious beliefs lead you to hate and anger, YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG. 


11 things bible bans, yet Becky Fischer chooses to ignore <<<<<

Go tell her how you feel! https://www.facebook.com/pages/School-of-Supernatural-Childrens-Ministry/152102601534685


(If you want more information on Intactivism and why we oppose Routine Infant Circumcision, I would suggest reading through drmommas website: 
http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/cut-vs-intact-outcome-statistics.html and 
Saving our Sons facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/SavingOurSons
Bay Area Intactivists facebook :page:https://www.facebook.com/BayAreaIntactivists
 facebook.com/discerningmommas

Cosmetics, Circumcision and Oprah: A disgusting display of cruelty and indifference

 We know that circumcision is a barbaric practice. It is medically unnecessary and for aesthetic purposes only.No child should ever have to endure genital cutting. We intactivists do everything we can do save ever baby boy that we can, or so we thought. Are your dollars supporting the circumcision industry? The skin care industry has a dirty secret. And it's not that wrinkle creams  don't work. They are using human foreskins to test their skincare products on. 

"Organogenesis Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., uses a variation on the foreskin
theme for its Testskin by seeding human foreskin tissue into a bovine
collagen gel. Nutrients are added, the cells secrete collagen and growth
factors, and an epidermal layer is placed on top. Manufacturers now using
Testskin include Est'e Lauder Inc., Mary Kay Cosmetics Inc., Avon Products
Inc., and Amway Corp. Next from Organogenesis will be a skin model
containing pigment-producing melanocytes useful for testing sunscreens and
makeup for dark-complexioned people, says John Burger, director of investor
relations for the company.

  "On the advisory board of the John Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing-Y.H.    Laurie Pan, PhD, DABT (Mary Kay, Inc.) and here is quote about their research: 

"In order to characterize a fibroblast cell line representing normal human skin fibroblasts in three-dimensional cultures, we compared the fibroblast line MSU-1.1, derived from human foreskin....."

They also supply foreskins to transnational corporations such as Advanced Tissue Sciences of San Diego, California, [1] Organogenesis, [2] and BioSurface Technology, [3] who have recently emerged to reap new corporate profits from the sale of marketable products made from harvested human foreskins. In 1996 alone, Advanced Tissue Sciences could boast of a healthy $663.9 million market capitalization performance.[4]

This is immoral. Aesthetic genital cutting for mommys wrinkle creme.Foreskin fibroblasts are used to grow and cultivate new cells that are then used for testing of products and for skin cremes.One foreskin can be used for decades to grow $100,000 worth of fibroblasts. In order for the foreskin to be able to be tested on they cannot use anesthetic during the circumcision. This is a huge business, as is the circumcision procedure for doctors. The scary thing is, this appears to be an industry wide practice.  Since the 1980s, private hospitals have been involved in the business of supplying discarded foreskins to private bio-research laboratories and pharmaceutical companies who require human flesh as raw research material.


Even worse, Oprah openly endorses a SkinMedica, a product that openly uses fibroblasts in its products. Great! Cosmetic genital surgery on children for cosmetics for adults. And there is supposedly no monetary gain in circumcision? Corporations have taken over every industry possible, including the cutting of babies genitals. We need to rethink where we spend our dollars. Big companies never have your best interest at heart, and this is just another example. Your dollars spent are each votes for where you want humanity to go.We think of circumcision as the money maker in this dirty scheme, but the money in testing and using foreskins is a multimillion dollar a year industry. I believe Mary Kay's involvement in this is very revealing, I have read some speculation of many other large companies, and I will say I won't use any of them. Toxic ingredients in them that are bad for our planet and bodies anyways. Buying natural, small family based cosmetics are your best bet to not support such cruelty to children. 

 "Parents should be wary of anyone who tries to retract their child's foreskin, and especially wary of anyone who wants to cut it off. Human foreskins are in great demand for any number of commercial enterprises, and the marketing of purloined baby foreskins is a multimillion-dollar-a-year industry."

--Where Is My Foreskin? The Case Against Circumcision- Paul M. Fleiss, MD:Mothering (The Magazine Of Natural Family Living) Winter 1997, page 39

http://voices.yahoo.com/human-foreskins-big-business-cosmetics-201840.html?cat=69

http://www.foreskin.org/f4sale.htm


http://crunchydomesticgoddess.com/2009/05/28/babies-foreskins-used-to-make-cosmetics-is-this-ethical/

The politics of parenting: Time to wake up

First, I understand if upon reading this you get defensive if this is a new idea, or contradicts what you have believed most of your life. As mothers we never want to feel like we have done something to harm our children. Our job is to protect them and to teach them what we know and it is difficult when our actions an ideas are challenged.




Our country is not okay. We are sick, getting sicker and cannot ignore the elephant in the room any longer. Our children are plagued with ADHD, Autism, Asthma, allergies, early onset diabetes, obesity, cancer; the list goes on. Pediatrics just reported that from 2002-2005, there was a 103% increase in diabetes medication for children, a 47% increase in asthma medication, a 41% increase in ADHD medication and a 15% increase in high cholesterol medicine. In the next 20 years the cancer rate is going to go up to 75%. We live under the illusion that we have the best health care system in the world.Then why do we rank #37 in healthcare in the world? U.S. has second worst newborn death rate in modern world.

We have fallen victim to mass media and corporations selling us convenience. Corporations aren't people who care about our families. We are just consumers to them. These corporations are blatantly disregarding the public and planets health. We are ruining the planet, we are stripping it of its resources, while polluting it, and filling the land and oceans with toxic trash. They mass produce animals and their products for consumption with no regard or respect to life. They mass produce toxic oil and spew benzene gas out of refineries and the exhaust from our cars, into the atmosphere and our babies lungs. Benzine is known to cause cancer among other various ailments. We genetically modify crops, and chop down forests. 700 new chemicals a year are being introduced into our products and not being tested by the TSCA whatsoever. There are  no credible product safety measures in place that have not money but the publics and earths best interest at heart. The current state of the world is not healthy and we need to take the power back into the hands of the people.



"A corporation has been endowed with personhood by the Supreme Court. It is not a person but it is run by persons. If the ethical standards of those at the top fail to maintain a certain level of social responsibility, the result is the insidious onset of corporate psychopathic behavior"



I feel like corporations have dehumanized the population of the planet. We as a whole don't treat ourselves or the planet with any regard to anything but comfort and instant gratification. This behavior appears to spill over into our parenting.The medical- birth industry is the start. Practices such as circumcision, crying it out, and spanking are other obvious examples. Then we disregarded what we put into the child's body with sub par nutritionally deficient food. We have a government that allows corporations such as Monsanto to continue to exist. They subsidize crops like corn, wheat and soy and then the meat/dairy industry to keep it cheap, and us unhealthy. Continue with the shooting live viruses grown on aborted fetal cells into our children in hopes they gain immunity and don't gain a mental disorder.Then we put them in little boxes of what boy and girl humans have to be: Pink and Blue, Pink and Blue. We are living in such an unnatural environmental for humans to thrive. We have suffered from extreme value inversions and forgotten what life is about. We have let corporations and the federal reserve system steal from us humanity and force us into a system of slavery called the dollar.




The state of the world doesn't depress me or intimidate me.There is so much beauty and goodness in the world to marvel at. I know humanity and families can wake up and change everything. I believe mothers love their children so much that when they realize the faults of what we are taught conventionally, that they will do better. I fed my son Soy GMO formula from the day he was born, I didn't know anything wrong with it. When I found out, I cried and cried, but then I learned from it. Now with my daughter, I have been breastfeeding for 6 months. You learn better, you do better. We as mothers cannot ignore the facts. The way we have been doing things for the last 100 years is not working. We have to look at the implications for humanity if we do not take action through our parenting choices. My top eight things to educate yourself on is something I believe if everyone practiced, we would see such an amazing impact in our childrens lives.




I suggest watching a documentary called "Ethos" it's award winning and very revealing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGlu4Xlrkvc

It is on netflix also.

Food Inc. really opened my eyes about the state of our food system.

http://vimeo.com/35413948







http://articles.cnn.com/2006-05-08/health/mothers.index_1_mortality-rate-death-rate-world-s-mothers?_s=PM:HEALTH






http://ecochildsplay.com/2009/02/27/700-new-chemicals-introduced-each-year-not-tested-for-toxicity/

The former Judgey Moms are evolving into Discerning Mommas

dis·cern·ing  (d-sûrnng, -zûr-)

adj.

Exhibiting keen insight and good judgment; perceptive.

---

dis·cerning·ly adv.

When we were thinking about starting our blog, we would regularly visit Baby centers facebook page and give advice to mothers with questions that  are relevant to our experiences and base of knowledge. These women seemed not to like getting advice that was different then they were doing, and like people do, they got defensive. They called us names, such as judgey moms. We thought, if being judgmental means then trying to advocate natural,peaceful parenting, then SIGN US UP! We decided to embrace that and thought other parents might understand where we are coming from, a place of people getting defensive and thinking your're judgmental, when in actuality you have everyone's best interest at heart.


 We are Buddhists and Buddhism really speaks out against, hate, anger, and judgment. What I've realized is that we aren't trying to be "judgey", we are trying to be discerning as possible. There is a distinct difference between judgment and discernment. Discernment means perceiving the way things are, period. Judgment is what we add to discernment when we make a correlation  between how things and people in the world are. It is  hard as we all know to keep negative judgment at bay, especially when childrens' well being is at stake.Start with a persons dissatisfaction over another persons decisions and mix in our desire for them to be otherwise and then you will surely feel a slew of negative emotions. I need to clear my mind of all preconceived thoughts and notions and start advocating with a blank mind, a discerning one. 


A 'discerning mind' comes from a peaceful place, from a nonreactive place, and ‘judging mind’ comes from a reactive place. But there has to be a middle ground, I mean even Buddha himself sometimes criticized the teachings of the Brahmins of his day, which means he judged they were wrong. There has to be a middle way, in every situation. For example, you see a child being abused and you judge that this is wrong, and you are able to stop it, then you probably will. I think for the state of my spiritual and physical progress I need to find that middle ground in my promotion of informed parenting. I feel like I have to judge corporations and money(not people and their actions) through my advocation,hopefully that is a good middle ground?


This brings me to  our news.We are not 'Judgey' but are promoting good judgment. We want more moms to feel welcome,and not put off by our name. We understand why we used the name "The Judgey Moms" but does everyone else? I  am passionate about families living beautiful,healthy, happy lives and I don't know if anyone can receive that energy with our current name. It has served its purpose in our lives, we feel our blog needs to follow our intentions and life experiences. We feel as if we parent 'with good judgment' and want to encourage others to open up to the wealth of knowledge mothers inherently own. We want you to realize you have your childs best interest at heart, no pharmaceutical corporation or  government organization can match a mothers instinct and capacity of love. 


We will be changing our blog name to Discerning Mommas and hope you understand and will join us! 


p.s-the new blog will be up in the next week and we PROMISE this is the only time we will be doing this :)

Mommy needs a Xanax: My ongoing journey to inner peace --By the former The Judgey Moms

Since my husband has been gone, I have been so ‘busy’ with my pregnancy and a toddler and life in general that I forgot about me.In turn I have neglected my emotional and mental well being.I have anxiety. I have anxiety about my anxiety. I have anxiety about trying to fix my anxiety. It has been a struggle, and I was becoming increasingly disconnected from my emotions about well, everything.  I feel as if I have legitimate reasons for my anxiety, but I still feel guilty that I get stressed and depressed sometimes. My husband hasn't gotten to experience all the joys of parenting (he was here for the first year of Maddox’s life) including, lack of sleep and ANXIETY. I sit here and feel like shit, why can’t I just DEAL WITH IT? Here I am, with our two beautiful babies, smiling or crying who cares, right? I don’t know anyone in the Bay area here, and I literally don’t get any me time ( we are working on that a.s.a.p. by the way) In my head I feel as if all of these factors are just plain bullshit. JUST DEAL WITH IT, HALEY.


Wrong.

So as you know, I hate the medical industry. Yeah yeah, there is a place for them in the world, and it should have to do mostly with car accidents and broken legs not maintaining mental and physical health. I have been having this dialogue in my head about my stressed out past weeks, and how I felt helpless to cope with it on my own. I felt as if I got to a point in my head where I just needed immediate relief to be able to come back down and deal with life with a clear head. I talked to a good friend, who told me how strong I was and how she thinks I was right and might need a little extra help and validated all of my feelings.

So, I went to a doctor. She was an hour late. She looked at me and said “So what is it you want” I said “uhh, relief” She was rude and didn’t believe me. Here I was with two babies, who wanted a damn nap, and I was pretty stressed out after being there so long. And of course because of my Fibromyalgia diagnosis I was treated like a liar. She told me that all she would prescribe was an SSRI. SSRI’s make me suicidal. I went through the ringer a few years back in the medical system when I trusted them and was happily ignorant of the truth, and in this time found that EVERY anti-depressant makes my life come to a screeching halt with sadness and pain. I don’t think they are safe, and I think there are better alternatives for myself. Long story short, I left 60 dollars lighter, and with a panic attack. It really solidified my disbelief in the medical industries ability to care or heal.

Today I woke up and I just wanted to feel better. We went to the library and got a book on the art of intention. *I intend to feel better, damnit*. We listened to the book on the way to the park, and I did deep breathing all the way there. I watched my son play with children and smile with all the light of the universe in his eyes. ( I might of asked some kids what they were looking at while nursing my daughter and they were squealing with laughter at how disgusting it was,  but hey, I’m freaking working on it here.) We got home and the kids took a nap, so I meditated for the first time in, well, way too long. As I opened my eyes, I remembered that this is what peace feels like, not a Xanax. I took deep breaths and let out my emotions the healthy way, the way that brings you closer to your real self. I let the tension out of my eye brows.  I let anger out of my heart and mind. I opened my heart to the universe and let the light in. Ahhhh. I will not give into big Pharma, I will not give into my anxiety. I will give into love, though. Healing and Happiness are already there, you just have to open up and let them in.

http://alexgrey.net/a-gallery/theolg.html

While I feel like I’m well equipped to advocate informed parenting because to me, it is visible and simple and easy to understand. But meditation, your physical and spirit body, and Buddhism are harder for me to convey to everyone.  I feel as if there are so many better examples and teachers of this eternal knowledge and I urge you to look into this yourself. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for Buddhism and meditation. Neither are religions. Science backs both of them up.  Happiness and relief await, deep in your mind. Join the collective consciousness and spread the love!

*Buddhism and meditation ARE NOT religions—they are compatible with every person and religion*

( I would also like to say, I am not trying to make anyone feel bad about their choices to deal with anxiety or depression, and hope you find peace and comfort. :) )

A good place to start would be to watch a few documentaries—

What the bleep do we know( This is very enlightening on the science of your emotions and the reality of the universe)(FULL DOCUMENTARY) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkR85DzY24c

Alex Grey’s COSM— http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Um_B_4uWGqk

(They changed my life, I named my son Maddox Grey after him. I met him in San Fransisco and It was amazing. He is my favorite artist and a great influence for the world) http://www.alexgrey.com/ Look at his beautiful art

The Science of Buddhism-- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj_i7YqDwJA

The book The Celestine Prophecy is very relevant; although it is ‘Fiction’ It was very profound to me on my journey to discover the reality of myself.

Here are a few more relevant links

http://www.knowledgeoftoday.org/2012/03/thought-definition-life-energy-power.html

About Buddhist Meditation-- http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/story/bl015.html

Quantum Physics and your emotions-- http://www.abundance-and-happiness.com/quantum-physics.html

Written by Haley