Very often you can hear about green living, green houses, green cars, etc. It is important to live green and learn more about it. In our time, when pollution is everywhere, we have to be aware that raising green children is crucial for their health. The knowledge about a green life approach will help parents to prioritize they choices about food, products and services. There is great help you can receive from green pediatricians.

Moms are asking what is the exact different between a regular and a green pediatrician.

The green doctors are using green medication and products. To raise a healthy child it is a whole process from choosing the vaccination to using glass bottles. Not all the people know that the regular vaccine contains mercury and the liquid absorbs chemicals from the plastic bottle. One of the basic chemical compounds of plastic baby bottles and nipples is bisphenol A (BPA). Bisphenol A is now considered an endocrine-disruptor, which mimics the naturally occurring hormone estrogen. Studies have linked low-dose BPA exposure with such effects as: permanent changes to the genital tract; increase prostate weight; decline in testosterone; breast cells predisposed to cancer; prostate cells more sensitive to hormones and cancer; and hyperactivity.

Avoid the plastic bottles, which are made from #7 polycarbonate since these tend to leak BPA. A less-toxic options available is made from #5 plastic. You can find the plastic number on the bottom of most bottles.

The safest option is tempered glass since there is no chance of any leakage of any kind. More and more companies are starting to manufacture glass bottles once again and consumer demand is at its highest. Some of them are producing bisphenol free plastic bottles. 
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Few days ago I was talking to one of my friends. She was complaining about her son’s sleep problems and how it affects her daily life. It made me think about how sleep is important to everybody and what we should do to maintain right level of sleep. When we sleep, we rest and gain energy for a new day. We also process all the events of our daily life. After a night without enough sleep we feel exhausted and irritable. But after a good night’s sleep, we feel rested, refreshed and full of energy. No wonder that it is so important to parents that their child sleeps through the night. It influences the entire family’s life and wellbeing.

Newborn babies sleep up to 16 hours per day. Children between one year and five years old sleep up to 12 hours each day. Northwestern University scientists studied two- and three-year-old children. They find out that children who are sleeping less than 10 hours in a 24-hour period were consistently at greatest risk for behavior problems such as oppositional or noncompliant behavior, “acting out” behaviors, and aggression.

There are few “sleeping “tips for moms:

·      Limit active play, television and video game play before bed.

·      Make bedtime a special time.  It should be a time for you to interact with your child in a way that is secure and loving

·      Try to set a consistent schedule for your child and make bedtime the same time every night. His sleep patterns will adjust accordingly.

·      Make sure your child is comfortable. Have a night-light left on, or the door left slightly open.

·      Try to avoid letting your child sleep with you. This will only make it harder for him to learn to settle himself and fall asleep when he is alone.

·      Try not to return to your child’s room every time he complains or calls out. A child will quickly learn if you always give in to his requests at bedtime.

·      The most common cause of nighttime awakening is a change in routine. Changing rooms or beds, losing a favorite cuddly toy or blanket, or taking a trip away from home may all disrupt his sleep. If he’s ill or cutting a tooth, he might wake up more often. Also, between twelve and fourteen months he’ll begin actively dreaming, which can startle or frighten him awake. These are all valid reasons for him to wake up but not for you to pick him up or bring him to your room. He needs to put himself back to sleep, even if it means crying a bit first. If your child is used to getting lots of nighttime attention, you’ll need to retrain him gradually. Let’s say you’ve been giving him milk when he wakes up. It’s time to change first to diluted milk or water, and then to stop it entirely. If you’ve been picking him up, restrict yourself to calming him with only your voice from a distance. Above all, don’t get angry with him if he continues to protest. You’ll need to show him some compassion, even as you remain firm. It’s not easy, but in the long run it will improve your sleep as well as his.

·      Make sure your kids have interesting and varied activities during the day, including physical activity and fresh air.

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I would never think that I would feel that way but after giving a birth to my second child I started to feel differently. First, I thought that I am just having bad days but in six weeks I figure out that it cannot be it. Generally, I am very happy person. I love my life. I enjoy having wonderful relationship with my husband and my children.  But that time I felt said and miserable all the time! I felt that I am a bad mother and I do everything wrong. How do I feed or play with the baby, change the diaper, etc. My newborn daughter had a lot of colic. The doctors were telling me that it is normal but I blamed myself. I also thought that I couldn’t give enough of attention to my 4 years old son. I felt ugly, unattractive as a woman and useless as a mother. This caused insomnia. I could spend 2 to 3 hours trying to fall a sleep but sad thoughts wouldn’t let me to relax. Of course I felt so tired in the morning that I was constantly late to take my oldest son to the preschool, which made me feel even worst. I didn’t know what to do. I was confident that nobody would understand how do I feel. I was afraid to share with my husband. I was sure he would think I am crazy. One day change it all. I met another mom on the playground.  We had children almost the same age. Our oldest sons were playing together and we started the conversation. For some reason I felt that I can trust her. I told her about my problems and found out that she feels the same way as I feel. We talked for two hours! We become friends and started to make play dates for children and dates for ourselves. We started to read books and research on Internet about postpartum depression and how to overcome it. I am writing my story because I think it is crucial for moms who have postpartum depression do not afraid to ask for help. I was lucky to meet my friend and we can go through this together. I would advise moms to find mothers groups in your neighborhood and seek for support.

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