rachel

9802

Mom to three amazing kids, living my best life exploring Colorado and attending lots of soccer/basketball/dance/baseball events!

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Response to: “Moms: what multivitamins do you take? Now that I am done having kids, I should probably take some vitamins on a regular basis. What brands do you recommend?”I think the answer to this depends a lot on your phase of life. I’m going to focus on women in their late 30s through their early 50s, because I’m in that group! And it has some unique needs. Included my multivitamin, plus a few other things. MULITIVITAMIN I’ve just recently landed on the Life Extension, Two-Per-Day Multivitamin https://www.iherb.com/pr/life-extension-two-per-day-multivitamin-120-capsules/86453 In addition to standard vitamin levels, I had some specific things that I was looking for in my multivitamin: vitamin B6: regulates serotonin levels, which drop in women as they go into perimenopause. I’ve seen mixed info on how much to get. I’ve gone for the higher end of the recommended range because I there is some evidence that vitamin B6 helps with perimenopause mood swings. methylated folate: Regulates serotonin and dopamine levels, and helps with perimenopause mood swings. Aimed at getting above 500 mcg. Methylated folate is easier to absorb than folic acid. Vitamin B12: boosts energy levels and thyroid function. As you age your body struggles to absorb B12, so it’s really important to get in your supplement. The general recommendation for women is 2.4 mcg each day, but some studies indicate that as women get older it should increase significantly. So I went with one with pretty high levels. Vitamins C: I try to get 1000 mg each day because vitamin C helps with preventing heart disease and lowering cholesterol. This multivitamin only has half of that, so I add an additional vitamin C supplement. Vitamin D: high levels are good for vaginal health Vitamin E: Low vitamin E levels can contribute to depression and weight gain. Increasing your levels combats that and has been shown to reduce hot flashes too. Really you should be getting more than 100 mg per day to get an effect, but the supplement gets you a decent way there. Add in some wheat germ or almonds or avocado or broccoli or spinach to your day, and you are good! Zinc: helps lower estrogren levels and increase progesterone levels, which is exactly what you need in perimenopause (as estrogen levels climb and progesterone levels drop). Looked for one with 15-50 mg per day. FLAXSEED Flaxseed is a super guy for this age group. It’s rich in omega-3, which lowers your risk of heart attack and your cholesterol. It has lignans, which are linked to a lower risk of cancer. More fiber helps with digestion. There’s evidence it might help with regulating sugar levels, which would lower your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. And there is some evidence that it might reduce perimenopause symptoms, like hot flashes. I do 1 tbsp of ground flaxseed each day, tossed in a salad or smoothie or on yogurt. BLACK CURRANT SEED OIL It contains a chemical called gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). GLA helps with immune function and swelling. In conjunction with that, there is some evidence that GLA helps with the cramping, water retention, and breast tenderness you can get in perimenopause. I take 1000 mg tablet each day (140 mg GLA). MAGNESIUM Women in this age group are often short on magnesium, which can make you feel tired and make it hard to sleep. From what I’ve read I wanted a multivitamin with at least 400 mg per day. I have yet to find a multivitamin that pulls this off. So I use a separate supplement: https://www.iherb.com/pr/doctor-s-best-high-absorption-magnesium-100-mg-240-tablets/16567 PROBIOTICS I know this isn’t a multivitamin, but I also use Garden of Life probiotics. https://www.iherb.com/pr/garden-of-life-dr-formulated-probiotics-once-daily-women-s-50-billion-30-vegetarian-capsules/64442
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Response to: “What are the books you most enjoy reading with your kids?”Oh this one is so hard to answer because there are so many great books. I can’t wait to read other response! I’ve selected the ones that we’ve read over and over, or that had a powerful impact on us. Picture Books Dr. Seuss books. Some of our favorites are Wacky Wednesday, Are You My Mother?, The Best Nest, Wocket in My Pocket, Fox in Socks, Green Eggs and Ham, Apples Up on Top. One thing that was really great is they had read these so many times that when my oldest were in kindergarten and first it made these easy readers. They still had to sound out the words but because they already somewhat knew the cadence and story, it made it a lot more comfortable. The Book With No Pictures. My kids think this one is SO funny, and I love hearing them crack up every time we read it. https://www.amazon.com/Book-No-Pictures-B-Novak/dp/0803741715 Richard Scarry books. We especially love the what people do storybook. I think I’ve read every story in there at least 10 times. https://www.amazon.com/What-Do-People-All-Day/dp/0008147825 Berenstein Bears. We’ve been through multiple copies of the storybook collection. https://www.amazon.com/Berenstain-Bears-Storytime-Collection/dp/0593177320 What Should Danny Do? My kids have had me read this SO many times. They love being able to make the choices for Danny. https://www.amazon.com/What-Should-Danny-Power-Choose/dp/069284838X Journey trilogy. This is a series with no words, but instead it tells a wonderful story just through illustrations. My sister recommended it when my kids were little, and it is definitely one of my favorite books. https://www.amazon.com/Journey-Aaron-Beckers-Wordless-Trilogy Press Here. This books is falling apart because we’ve read it so many times. I love how interactive, but simple it is. https://www.amazon.com/Press-Here-Board-Herve-Tullet/dp/1452178593 An Anthology of Intriguing Animals. This book is beautifully done, and has just the right amount of facts about each animal to read out loud to my kids. And I learned so many interesting things too. It’s also a perfect reading level for early elementary school. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1465477020 The Dinosaur Book. Beautifully illustrated. WE loved looking at this and reading about dinosaurs. The whole series by the Smithsonian is great. https://www.amazon.com/Dinosaur-Book-DK/dp/1465474765 Illustrated chapter books I’ve loved reading TO my kids Dragon Masters series. Starting reading to my kids when my oldest two were 4 years old. I was shocked when they sat for 45 minutes straight because they kept asking for one more chapter. Amazing! Now that my oldest are 8, they enjoy reading these on their own. https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Masters-Books-1-5-Branches/dp/1338777262 The Chocolate Touch. my kids LOVED this one. Great for reading out loud to ages 4-7 or so, and a really good early elementary reader as well. https://www.amazon.com/Chocolate-Touch-Patrick-Skene-Catling/dp/0688161332 The Fabled Stables. The artwork in this is so beautiful and the story is cute. It was also a great early reader when they started reading on their own. https://www.amazon.com/Willa-Wisp-Fabled-Stables-Book/dp/141974271X Charlotte’s Web. Amazing characters and so much emotion in this book. I loved exploring this world with my kids. https://www.amazon.com/Charlottes-Web-Trophy-Newbery-White/dp/0064400557 The Last Firehawk series. We read this right after dragon masters. Cute story. Beautiful illustrations. https://www.amazon.com/Ember-Stone-Branches-Book-Firehawk/dp/1338122134 Flat Stanley. Cute silly story. https://www.amazon.com/Flat-Stanley-His-Original-Adventure-ebook/dp/B002BY77AE More advanced chapter books that need a bit of verbal editing Wings of Fire. This one needs quit a bit of editing if you read the full books, as I found it was described a little too much violence for my kids. But then we were gifted the graphic novels, and they were lovely. Pictures are beautiful, and the story is so good. My kids loved the characters, and go so into these stories. I would still recommend the full books if you are ok filtering as you read out loud. https://www.amazon.com/Wings-Fire-Graphix-Box-Books/dp/1338796879 Harry Potter. So you kind of need to edit this as you read because it can be a bit scary, and it is a slow start for kids. But once we got into it, this one was magical. The later books are too scary for my kids (oldest kids are 8) so we haven’t gone past the first book, but they LOVED it. Having the illustrated version definitely helped. https://www.amazon.com/Harry-Potter-Sorcerers-Stone-Illustrated-ebook/dp/B073QTXDBZ
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Response to: “What are some of the expert parenting resources that you love?”My favorite resource is Dr. Becky at The Good Inside. The basic idea of her philosophy is that every kid is good inside, and just needs the right tools to process the complicated emotions they experience (just like we all do really). She has a great podcast and instagram account, but the resource I’ve absolutely loved from her is her two part course/workshop on Deeply Feeling Kids (DFKs as she calls them). That course has been a game changer for me in helping me support my kids when they are experiencing emotions (anger, sadness, frustration, anything) really intensely. The advice to take my DFK from a large space into a small space and just sit with them (not saying anything) as they process the emotion is gold. “I am bringing you to your room. You’re not in trouble. You’re a good kid having a hard time and I’m going to stay with you.” Oh, and her advice not to say anything during these huge outbursts, yes, so much yes. My job is to contain and not to extinguish the fire. Game changer. She has a ton of other great workshops, but that workshop in particular has been so powerful. And her instagram account is also amazing for small bites of really great advice. https://www.goodinside.com/workshops/
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Response to: “What’s one thing you need on a beach day with the kids?”Reuseable water balloons ( we only use them at lake and river beaches, and the pool; I’d be cautious about using them where waves could wash them away): https://www.amazon.com/Reusable-Balloons-Latex-Free-Self-Sealing-Activities/dp/B0B4G8GYXG
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Response to: “What advice would you give yourself as a first-time parent?”Here are a few things I wish someone had told me before I had my first baby: Milk Supply A lot of moms struggle with milk supply. I have. Two of my sister-in-laws have. If you end up breastfeeding, great. If you end up doing formula, great. #fedisbest Crying You will cry all the time for a couple weeks after you give birth. It’s normal. Gas Newborn babies have a lot of gas. LOTS. I’m sure it’s a weird experience for them. Anyway, it takes a couple months for them to work out the whole tooting thing. We found what helped the most was to lay them on their back (either on the floor or slightly angled on your legs – we’d do it sitting on the couch with our legs propped on the coffee table) and make bicycle motions with their legs. Very helpful. Crevices Babies have so many squishy little crevices, that get sore because they see no air (especially around their neck). So each morning we’d clean of their neck crevices with a wet washcloth and get some A&D in there. It made a world of difference until they could hold up their heads. Tiger in the tree hold Google it. It’s amazing. It was the only thing that would calm down my daughter. Sleeping It takes about 6 weeks for babies to figure out night vs day (they don’t produce melatonin at first so dark vs light means nothing). Nothing you can do will speed it up all that much so don’t worry about it. Just do your regular thing, keeping quieter and darker at night and they eventually figure out you sleep at night and play during the day.
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Response to: “What was the best gift you received as a new parent?”My first were twins and they were preemies, born at 4 lbs 1 oz each. We were not prepared for preemies, and had nothing for them to wear. 🤷‍♀️ A couple days later, a friend dropped off a delicious homemade taquitos meal, with a bunch of fruit and healthy snacks, along with several darling preemie outfits for each of them. I remember closing the door after she dropped it all off and bursting into tears in gratitude at her thoughtfulness. The healthy delicious food and the preemie outfits were exactly what I had needed. For those of you with preemies, or with friends who have preemies, a lot of brands have preemie lines that are designed for preemies who are at least 5 lbs or so. But Carters has two lines for preemies, one for those under 5 lbs and one for those 5-6 lbs. We found those were the best for the tiny preemies. https://www.carters.com/carters-preemie-clothes?prefn1=apparelSize&prefv1=Preemie+(Up+to+5+lbs)
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Response to: “I need ideas for my husband’s 40th birthday! What have you done that was fun? We don’t want to go out of town or do anything too expensive. Thank you!”Here are a couple ideas that I’ve seen with our friends that I really liked: For several of our friends, I’ve been asked to write a short note with one of my favorite memories of our friendship. And then they were all compiled into little book. For another of our friends, we went to this fun party where the spouse had inquired of friends and family in advance about some of their favorite things that stood out about this person. And then he had got a whole bunch of tiny presents, and each one based on something that people noticed. Like a book because lots of people commented that she loved to read. a blanket because lots of people noticed she was always cold. for my 40th I was pregnant with my last, and so my sister-in-law and her family came and stayed with my kids for the night and my husband and I went to a nice hotel and got massages. And lastly for one of my best friends, they just spent the day doing her favorite stuff. So they went to her favorite restaurant. He got her a chunky gift card to target and let her roam free. And they went golfing. And they went and saw a movie in the theater. It was just a day of her favorite stuff to do and eat.
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Response to: “Favorite pumpkin recipes?”Some of my favorite recipes (all say canned pumpkin, but I’ve pureed pumpkin instead and it’s still good!) Mini Pumpkin Donut Muffins https://www.melskitchencafe.com/mini-pumpkin-donut-muffins/ Pumpkin Snickerdoodles https://cambreabakes.com/chewy-pumpkin-cookies/ Pumpkin Bread https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/spiced-pumpkin-bread.html Pumpkin Rosemary Dinner Rolls https://www.melskitchencafe.com/pumpkin-rosemary-dinner-rolls/
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Response to: “Favorite pumpkin recipes?”Pumpkin Goodness 1 box yellow cake mix—dip out one cup first and set it aside 1 egg, beaten 1/4 cup melted butter Mix together and pat into bottom of 9x13 glass pan 2 eggs 1 cup sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ginger 1/4 tsp cloves 29 ounces of pumpkin puree 2/3 cup evaporated milk (1/2 of a can) (NOT sweetened condensed milk) Beat eggs, sugar and spices. Mix in pumpkin, then mix in milk Pour over the yellow crust in the glass pan 1 cup cake mix l/2 cup sugar 1 tsp cinnamon 1/4 cup butter or margarine (melted) Mix together and sprinkle over the pumpkin mixture Set glass pan on top of a metal cookie sheet (so the bottom doesn’t burn) and place in oven Bake at 350° for 45 minutes
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Response to: “Best water bottle for toddler? Seems like such an easy purchase but we’ve already gone through several and she is only 2”We settled on the Thermos Funtainer: https://www.amazon.com/THERMOS-FUNTAINER-Stainless-Vacuum-Insulated/dp/B08VFFJFYL It’s important to clean out the drinking straw area on a regular basic, but it comes with a little tiny brush to do so. I like that they are stainless steel and insulated so they can keep things cold all day. These worked all the way through kindergarten for us, and then we just switched to larger version: https://www.amazon.com/THERMOS-FUNTAINER-Stainless-Vacuum-Insulated/dp/B0CZPTGMNQ