A smile for this Mommy and a call to action

Everyone, today is a very good day.

My son Benjamin, who has been undergoing treatment for the last 2+ years for Castleman's Disease, seems to be getting better! His rare disease, which involves a lot of crazy and painful symptoms, includes lesions inside his mouth. The disease first presented itself to us with the bizarre mouth/tongue lesions in January 2008, and then progressed to lesions all over his body. With surgeries (to remove the tumours that triggered the symptoms) and chemotherapy, the lesions on his body receded twice. But the lesions inside his mouth stubbornly remained despite every treatment, as painful and as big as ever.

Today, his oncologist looked inside his mouth and declared that those stubborn lesions are receding! I am so happy.

I'm not ready to throw a victory party yet, but am feeling hopeful now that victory is within our grasp, thanks so much to BC Children's Hospital (BCCH) and its persistent and conscientious doctors, its attentive and caring nurses, and the generous donors whose philanthropy helps to put smiles on a children's faces even when they're so sick that they can't sit up.

Will you support BC Children's Hospital? You can. Sign up for the ChildRun on June 6 and join the fight against childhood cancer. Run or walk for a little someone you know, or for all the little someones you don't know who will benefit from your participation. You can find out more on the ChildRun Facebook page too.

Hope to see you on June 6!

Introducing baby Freya!

urbanbaby & toddler's tireless guest blogger, Mommy Leanne (nee Pregnant Leanne) has had the presence of mind to send us a couple of photos of her beautiful new bundle, Freya Ashille. So without further adieu, here she is, World!

Pregnant Leanne (now Mommy Leanne) writes from new perspective

Our dedicated guest blogger, Leanne, has written us an entry, post-birth! That deserves a congratulations on so many levels. Here's her latest entry, written from the glow of new motherhood (read: lack of sleep and extreme anxiety that characterizes this new phase in life). Note to Leanne: If you're reading this, please send us a photo of little Freya...we need someone new to fawn over!

Mommy Leanne: It's a girl!

Well so much for my maternal pregnancy instinct! I could have sworn I was having a boy…

Welcome Freya Ashille, 6 lbs 8 oz, born at 4:17 am on March 15. Not a tiny, tiny baby so, ‘Ha’ to all the doubters. We laboured at home for 90 percent of the time and when I got to the hospital, my water broke and it was time to push! I’m a bit in awe of myself and what my body has achieved. I’m equally in awe of her long legs and big feet, which explain the rib-cage and liver beatings near the end.

This first week has been a teary, vulnerable, anxiety-provoking, steep learning curved adventure and, wow, the laundry!

My What to Expect book says that with a proper latch, breast feeding shouldn’t hurt. Lies! Thankfully, my midwives and the honest nurses at BC Women’s Hospital and the Babies Best Chance book tell it straight. Latching does hurt and will depend on your skin type and sensitivity. Now if I could just coordinate the open mouth, tongue down, nipple to nose, head shove while holding her hands back from her lips…I need a third arm!

Picture me, smelling like a barnyard, thanks to my lanolin cream, the cabbage leaves on my boobs, my granny panties, the black head-band and matching under-eye circles. Wonder what the boys who think pregnancy is hot, would think now?

Ex-Pregnant Leanne has a girl!

Congratulations to urbanbaby & toddler's guest blogger for the past several months, Pregnant Leanne (who isn't pregnant anymore and whom we shall call Mommy Leanne now!), who gave birth to a baby girl on Monday, March 15.

Mother and daughter are doing well, and Mommy Leanne has promised to write an entry about her labouring and new parenthood experience for the blog soon (but we won't hold her to it if she can't!).

Enjoy new motherhood, Leanne.

Buy blueberries to help earthquake survivors

Buy berries and help earthquake survivors in Chile! From March 15 - 19, whenever you buy fair-trade blueberries from Choices Market, 100% of the net proceeds will go to earthquake relief in Central Chile.

According to a press release, issued yesterday by Choices Markets:

Concepción, a small city in Central Chile was hit hard by the earthquake. Among those affected was Green Tribe, a cooperative of fair trade certified blueberry growers situated in four surrounding villages. As of January 2010, Choices Markets, in partnership with importer Discovery Organics, has been sourcing fair trade blueberries from the Green Tribe grower cooperative. When both businesses heard of the tragedy, minds came together to devise a plan to raise relief funds for their trading partners half a world away. From March 15–19, Choices will be selling Green Tribe’s fair trade certified blueberries with zero mark up. All net proceeds from these sales will be given back to the growers immediately, assisting them in providing the bare necessities for their children, elders, employees and neighbours.

February 27, 2010, saw the fifth-strongest earthquake in history strike Central Chile. The earthquake has devastated many rural communities and remote villages, leaving them with virtually no potable water, shelter, food or electricity. “From our contacts at Discovery, we have heard directly that the growers from the Green Tribe cooperative have been working tirelessly to restore their villages,” comments Mark Vickars, Choices CEO. “With very little resources, so far, they have managed to construct three emergency shelters for their workers. It’s inspiring, and we felt the need to contribute in some way.”

Along with the emergency shelters, the growers are also working on rebuilding homes and delivering what little food and water there is to people in need—all while trying to simultaneously harvest what is left of their blueberry crops.

Secret's safe with Mommy

My daughter is only 5 but she already thinks her mother is empty-headed.

As she was preparing to whisper "a secret" into my right ear last night, she quickly clamped her hand over my left ear and exclaimed, "I don't want the secret to leak out!"

Win $100 worth of baby stuff

It's called the "We're Back, Baby(licious)" Contest and you can enter to win $100 worth of stuff from this Vancouver-based designer of modern and sweet baby products including bib, yummy blanket, hooded towel, facecloth set, receiving blanket set, sit + spit set.

You can only enter in person at the following Metro Vancouver stores for a chance to win:
· eio!, 3404 Cambie Street, Vancouver
· jack & lola, 135 West 1st Street, North Vancouver

Deadline to enter: April 12, 2010.

Want to see Babylicious' new lines? Click here.

NYC chef makes cheese from wife's breast milk

I came across the news of a chef in New York City who made cheese from his wife's extra breast milk. As soon as I heard about this, I had to stifle my urge to throw up. Breast milk is full of nutrients and wonderful stuff for our babies and tots, but for adult consumption? Hey, I'm not a squeamish eater -- I'm Chinese and grew up eating cow's tongue, jellyfish, chicken/duck feet, fish eggs, sea cucumber as part of a normal diet. But even I have my limitations. For me, eating human breast milk products ranks right up there with eating your own placenta. Definitely not on my list of 'must-eat's.

Daniel Angerer is the chef's name, and he blogged about it. Read his post here:
http://danielangerer.com (click on Mommy's Milk under Recent Posts)

Would you eat cheese made from human breast milk?

Pregnant Leanne: Week 40 of pregnancy - Only the lonely

March 9, 2010: Week 40 of pregnancy

Well, no babies yet! Four days past my due date and my parents have taken to calling me the "ticking time bomb." With nothing left to organize or clean, I'm going a little crazy at home by myself. Every time I eat something I think, Leanne, this could be your last meal as a NON-MOTHER or This could be your last cup of HOT tea. I’ve heard new moms manage to suck back only lukewarm beverages--something I don’t yet understand.

I’ve taken comfort in the fact that less than five percent of babies are born on their due date. However, that doesn’t mean the two-week window before induction isn’t looming large. As each new day ticks by sans baby, my anxiety and fear about the birth is being replaced with, "Can we just get on with it?!"

The other day, in a teary moment of unabashed, indulgent, feeling-sorry-for-myself-ness, I realized that I need to look on the freaking bright side. I am so grateful to be experiencing pregnancy, something I’ve always wished for. I have an amazing, sympathetic, funny and kind hubby to share this adventure with. So really, no matter how the whole birth-thing goes, lucky me!

(Note to self: re-read this in 3 weeks when it’s 2 a.m., my hair is unwashed and the baby won’t stop crying…!)

Helping your anxious child

Here's a promising event, coming up. Check it out!

Raising a Chill Kid
March 22, 7 - 8:30 pm
How to help your child bounce back from stress and anxiety. An informative and interactive evening with child and youth psychologist, Dr. Carla Fry. Open to parents of kids of all ages. Call 604-733-5007 to secure your spot; seating is limited.
Cost: $10
Location: Solarice Wellness Centre, 2200 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, BC
Info: 604-733-5007 or www.therapysites.com/sites/drcarlafry.com

This event and more on urbanbaby & toddler's Calendar.

Inspired in the City, a baby & family fair - Mar. 6

Find an amazing collection of local products and support services for moms and families at Inspired in the City, A Baby & Family Fair. Admission is FREE! Don't miss out on this very popular event.

Date: Saturday, Mar. 6
Time: 11 am - 4 pm
Place: Thompson Community Centre, 5151 Granville Avenue, Richmond

Information: info@youpillows.com

Making kids' birthday parties eco-friendly and socially responsible

I spoke with two savvy entrepreneurs this morning about their unique eco-friendly and socially responsible birthday party business. Scroll down for my article:

Children's birthday parties are big business. Think of everything that parents buy: the invitations, the party favours, the presents... Is it all worth it?

"There is always this huge build-up to these birthday parties," says Veronica, a Vancouver mom of two. "But at the end of them, you're inevitably left with a bunch of small toys or party favours that will either break in a week or two, or be totally forgotten and thrown in the garbage. You have to wonder what kind of impact all this stuff has on the environment and what values we're teaching our kids with these commercially-driven celebrations."

Veronica isn't the only parent with this concern. Entrepreneurs Alison Smith and Debbie Zinman, both mothers in Toronto, identified this concern among parents and they did what any responsible, eco- and socially conscious parent would do: in 2008, they started a charity-driven, eco-friendly, online birthday party service called ECHOage -- and its impact has been reverberating through parent circles across North America.

"ECHOage is a website that solves the birthday party problem," explain Smith and Zinman. "Parents come to the website, choose their invitation, the charity they want their guests' donations to go to." Half of the guests' contributions (made online) go to toward buying one dream gift for the birthday child, and the other half is sent to the birthday child's charity of choice.

You can't choose any charity -- only the charities that ECHOage has chosen, but Smith and Zinman say the list of charities on their site are specifically chosen because they are "charities that support children directly as well as the environment." You can choose from a list of US and Canadian charities.

But just one gift for your child? Some parents may wonder if that's a hard pill to get your child to swallow, especially if they've had traditional birthday parties before, when they've received dozens of gifts. Not so, say Smith and Zinman. "When putting your child in the driver's seat and letting them choose, they get excited by the process and are able to see all the contributions being made. It's also an opportunity for parents to talk to their child about a gift that's important to them. And children are choosing substantial gifts. One child wanted an iPod Touch and another wanted horseback riding. Your child is able to choose something special to him."

Many parents have started having ECHOage parties for children turning as young as one year old, so they won't know any different as they grow up. And it's never too early to begin teaching your child to be compassionate and environmentally responsible. The most popular age group registering for an ECHOage party is two to six years, say Smith and Zinman.

How does ECHOage really connect a child to the charity that is the recipient of his/her guests' donations? Smith and Zinman have thought that through too. From the moment the parents register their child for an ECHOage party, there are several opportunities to make the charitable aspect tangible to the child as well as the party guests. "The child gets to learn immediately about a few charities because of the way we profile them on the website," explain Smith and Zinman. "We're specific about what the charities do and we do that in the child's language...they're learning what they're actually helping these charities do. Guests also learn about these charities that the child has chosen. And each child gets an award for the good thing he has done -- which is, not bringing a present and donating money to a charity -- and thank-you notes reiterate what has been done." They also add that the charities send the birthday child a letter that acknowledges what's been done and quantifies it in terms of social impact (i.e. 76,832 healthy meals went to kids, 26 students learned how to protect themselves online, or $3,702 went to making children's lives easier in hospitals).

As for cost, there isn't any cost to the parents who register for a party. Smith and Zinman say that a 15-percent service fee, which is used to basically keep the website running, is deducted from the total donations. They haven't yet paid themselves for their full-time commitment to ECHOage, which is clearly a work of passion for them.

"We are so encouraged by the things we see the children doing [through ECHOage]. It's the heart and soul."

For more information on ECHOage, visit www.echoage.com.

Pregnant Leanne: Week 39 of pregnancy - Ripening my what?!

March 2, 2010 - Week 39 of pregnancy

Three days left until my official due date and I am living on high-alert. Was that a contraction or a cramp or a baby squirming? Ah, bless me and my contraction ignorance, eh, ladies? The baby has taken to hooking one of its feet under my ribs. Wonderful. Time to get this process going I say!

My midwife has mentioned several ways I can help my cervix to ripen. I immediately imagined putting my nether-regions in a paper bag on the counter top and leaving for a few days, but nope. The recommended methods involve special nine-month tea and acupuncture. How fabulously 16th century! Cobbled streets, full moons, herbs...just up my alley, actually. I’m very into natural methods.

With my acupuncture appointment made, I was nervously trying to envision what ‘exact’ points are used for cervical ripening? How literal an interpretation would be used? Just the thought made my palms sweat. Thankfully, only one needle in the belly and the rest in nice neutral spots like wrists and foreheads and feet. I’ve got another appointment on my due date and we’ll see how that one goes. Come on uterus!

Editor's Note: Leanne, we are all rooting for you! You're almost there.

Can a mompreneur get a drink?

I'm thirsty. Totally parched. But I can't leave my home office to go upstairs to the kitchen to get a drink. Yes, I work from home. So what's the big deal? The big deal is, I work from home...and my children are upstairs! Once I set foot up there, I'll be bombarded with, "Mommy..." this and "Mommy..." that. I'll never get back down to my office to work!

All you parents who work from home know what I mean. The joys of working at home.