As I am reformatting and reestablishing myself on WordPress — thanks to the inspiration from a few friends — I felt I should gather any posts from my OLD WordPress and place them here for anyone’s knowledge gain or entertainment.
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[Posted; May 2014]
Hi.
So it’s been awhile (a year–oops). I wanted to return to blogging! Yay! But I do feel that since I’ve been away for so long I should reintroduce myself. I’m pretty plain — brown hair, blue eyes, 5.3 ….[weight excluded]. I am a short, feisty, animal loving, environmental supporting, tea-drinkin’, any-music-flies-with-me living woman of God — and THIS is my blog.
First up on the agenda:
I was wasting time on the internet, as I often do when I have a paper to write — a topic for discussion at a later time– and I found myself on Pinterest or as I like to call it, The Time Sucker of Doom (no relation to it’s cousin Facebook, The Black Hole of Social Corruption and Procrastination).
Pinterest, for those who aren’t Pinners themselves or aren’t familiar with it and it’s alluring means to waste time and day dream, is an app or website online that allows one to find photos of things they like, people they like, recipes, room decor, arts and crafts, gift ideas, things they have thought of, phrases, Bible verses, inspiring sayings, pretty much anything you can think of as well as the capability to ‘Pin’ things themselves for others find search and find. All of these images are also links to where there may be an article full of information about that image, the process or steps they took to create said DIY crafts, or a helpful blog that discusses healthy food recipes, etc. You find all these digital goodies and ‘pin’ them to a ‘board’ that you have given a title, description, and can then send the link to others. It’s quite addicting and very resourceful for brides or women in general (the men I know on Pinterest are limited in number, but I don’t think that means they can’t or shouldn’t try it out. P.S. it’s good for giving gift ideas!)
Well as I was wasting time this morning searching for decor Intended for a future home someday, I stumbled upon a couple interesting articles discussed on a blog linked here: http://naturalkids.wordpress.com/
I was very impressed with it’s length of research included in the blog posts as well as the variety of topics. Granted, I am not a mother, but I plan to be in the future therefore my mommy radar shot up and I thought to myself, “This could still be helpful to learn now rather then be overwhelmed with an abundance of research when I do become pregnant. Why not read it and see what it has to say?” *click*
Article One: “Wait! Don’t Wash that Newborn!”
The article originally was posted on a site called Eco18.com. I researched this site and found it to be super informative. Their name was even thoughtfully creative. ‘Eco’ was picked for obvious reasons–18 is the numerical representation of the Hebrew word ‘life’. Their primary goal, as a collective group of contributors, is to feature earth friendly information that promotes green ideas, articles, and tips for a variety of topics including food, fashion, beauty, culture, home, moms, organic gurus, and even pet lovers. Green for everyone!
http://naturalkids.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/wait-dont-wash-that-newborn/
The article I read on wordpress “Natural Kids” was a condensed version of the Eco18 article about the benefits of a naturally born child. Listen and be intrigued….. *spiraling vortex of hypnosis*
The Newborn & The Vernix
It’s not a mythical creature–on the contrary, the Vernix, by definition is “a white cheeselike protective material that covers the skin of a fetus.”
What is its purpose?
Well, researchers have explained the purpose of the Vernix is to lubricate and moisten the babes skin after birth. This made sense to me for a couple reasons.
1. I witnessed my eldest nephew’s birth — incredibly gross, yet fantastic at the same time — and after a bath his skin was dry and flakey. I have also seen this on other newborns or infants of my friends. I was always curious as to what the reason was for that. They are newborns! They shouldn’t have dry skin…
2. This led me to discover that, as cited by Jennifer Azzariti — the Cosmetics and Toiletries Sciences Applied explained several benefits and functions of the Vernix prenatally.
“Waterproofing, since due to the low surface energy, vernix caseosa is highly unwettable; the facilitation of the skin formation in utero; and protection of the fetus from acute or sub-acute chorioamnionitis (an inflammation of the outer (chorion) and inner (amnion) fetal membranes due to a bacterial infection). During delivery, vernix caseosa acts as a lubricant while postnatally, it exhibits antioxidant, skin cleansing, temperature-regulating and antibacterial properties.”
Fascinating, right?! Who knew that something naturally grown and prepared in the mother’s womb could have planned ahead to care for the babe after birth? (God).
Also, this accompanies the information following in regards to a study that explained the immune benefits for the baby by keeping the vernix on for 24 hours at least.
“A study regarding the significance of vernix was published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 191 (6), 2090-2096, titled: Antimocrobial Properties of Amniotic Fluid and Vernix Caseosa are Similar to Those Found in Breast Milk. This study revealed that a number of immune substances were present in both amniotic fluid and vernix samples. Tests using antimicrobial growth inhibition essays show these substances are effective at deterring the growth of common prenatal pathogens— group B. Streptococcus, K. pneumoniae, L. monocytogenes, C. albicans and E. coli.” (NaturalKids.wordpress.com; Azzariti, 2012).
Even with all this information as well as a direct quote form the WHO (World Health Organization) saying, “Do not wipe off vernix”, hospitals still have procedures that if not asked to avoid, they will follow — such as bathing the babe and thereby removing the vernix.
A word of caution to all mothers out there who haven’t heard of this yet — wait to bath the baby. =)
-MVgirlblogger
The EGER Blogger 