Every month I coordinate a topical discussion with a speaker for parents of my son’s preschool. And every time one of these smart and distinguished speakers appears I walk away more informed and also a little bat sh** crazy.
Today, we had the pleasure of listening to the well-spoken Allison of Ecominders who helps people to remember to be green and reminded me of all the dangers lurking around my house.
The one I’m most mad about right now? That my new and fabulous Ice Mountain water cooler stores its water in BPA laden water jugs. I should have known and looked for that devilish #7, but I was naive and really was enjoying the hot tap. I’m not totally down on Ice Mountain, though. When I called and asked the company about BPA in their water jugs, the customer service rep had her talking points at the ready. But even if the ingestible amount in the plastic is .001 I still don’t want it near my baby.
So besides getting bat sh** crazy at myself for not being more dilligent in my research, what else can I do? Go back to good ‘ol Chicago City tap I guess.
Tagged as:
Green Living
It’s hard to put into words what it took for me to finally get the H1N1 vaccine yesterday, 38 and 6 days pregnant. There were the phone calls, the texts, the emails (yes, we’re quite the tech-savvy pair) to my OB/GYN office. There was the nagging of pediatrician offices (they had it for my son before I could procure one for myself, which is cool), other people’s (read: husband’s) internist for a dose. (They wouldn’t bite – only for patients.) I was like a reformed HFCS addict looking for a hit of a Twix. Where could I get my dose?
I didn’t really think it’d be that hard to obtain the vaccine while pregnant. I was at the top of the priority list according to the CDC and from what I’d read, they’ve been working on the vaccine for months. I figured by the time it came out, there’d be ample supply to quell my nerves about stories like these. Yes, I’m neurotic and yes, I wanted the vaccine before I delivered. (Can I throw a “dammit” in here just for fun?)
As it turned out, my road to H1N1 vaccination took me Uptown, Downtown (ok, fine, the Loop) and was hard fought with blood, sweat, almost tears (not mine), and a potential to make some hard cash. (Twix are really hard to come by, apparently).
You can only imagine what I was thinking Tuesday morning after what must have been my 40th call in 2 weeks to the OB’s office. They had no supply. Oh, they had their “Top 20 list based on delivery dates” but NO SUPPLY. So I went on a mission. I called all above-mentioned health care providers. I checked the Chicago Board of Health site for updates over and over.
And when those didn’t work out as planned, (My attempts to blackmail their healthy care practices over Twitter, Facebook and my blog were met with silence on the other end. Kidding people.) I knew I had to take it to the streets. Literally. I looked up the closest Chicago City College offering the vaccine to my house, and hightailed it there faster than you can say swine flu vaccine. Or Twix. Seriously, people, I have only 7 days left to fully indulge my sugar cravings.
I thought trekking to Uptown to get in line at the free clinic by 2:30 p.m. for the vaccine would give me a prime spot in line and a sure bet to be vaccinated by at least sundown. Instead I was met with this:
And that wasn’t half of it. When the nice 16-week-preggers-who-considered-wearing-a-fake-bump behind me in line and I realized that we could cut the line because we are pregnant, we raced to the next zone of H1N1 in waiting. Mind you, I’m pushing my 3-year-old around in his stroller the entire time while he’s screaming “I’m not getting a shot am I mommy!?”
Yes, it was that pleasant. Only, in that room, we were met with this:
Hundreds of those “high risk” people just waiting for the vaccine, you ask? Oh, if only. I think I saw more elderly, low-risk ninnies in line than I care to mention. Oh, and protocol, you ask? By all means, there was none. And if you don’t believe me, you can read for yourself. I was number 373 in line, well behind the old man wearing the medical mask. How is it possible that he would get it and not my 39-week pregnant friend whose son has H1N1? Surprisingly I found a chair to sit on and stuffed my son’s blankie in his face. And then decided to make a call to change me from number 373 to number 1. My OB had a dose for me. Saved.
I’ve never hustled my 167 lb. (yes you read that right) ass so fast back down Lake Shore Drive to the Loop in my life. Sweating, completely out of breath with a dirty-faced toddler in tow, we showed up at the desk of my OB ready to go. Twenty minutes later, I was injected.
But I can’t stop thinking about that 16-week preggers I left behind. Did she get it? Did it all work out for her like it did for me? That’s the problem at hand. Amidst the chaos, there were no good systems in place to ensure the high risk were put at no risk. I got lucky. My delivery date is imminent. But I know about the teacher at my son’s school who waited in line for 3 hours on her feet for the vaccine while my other friend’s low-risk over-50 years-old aunt got it for free at her internists’ office.
I’m not political, or vocal about much. But if we all want to fix what’s wrong with health care in this country, doling out medicine to those in need would be a good start.
I’m not a hysteric about making my house an organic haven, or making sure my kid can speak Tibetan by age 4, or worrying about the effects of Dora the Explorer’s shrill voice on my son’s eardrums.
But lately, I have taken to trying to eradicate certain ingredients from our food, like high fructose corn syryp, and after talking to my new BFF, Dr. Harvey Karp, making an effort to rid our lives as best as possible of endocrine disrupting chemicals.
What are EDCs, you ask? Good question. I wrote all about it today on Babble in an interview with the doc.
And he put the fear of freaking g-d in me about all the toxins in all the products we use on our bodies and in our house. Like phthalates in beauty products, insulating agents, chemicals in carpets and flooring. It’s not just the chemicals alone that are scary. It’s the research being done about how these chemicals compound in our bodies and may cause autism in our children. (The Ecology Center published a report yesterday showing test results on various household items in a similar vein. You can find their database of tested products on their site, healthystuff.org).
We all know BPA is the devil, but that’s just the one that gets all the buzz.
Luckily, though, there are things we can do. We can use “green cleaners.” (For a good list go to: Healthy Child Healthy World.) We can use natural beauty products on ourselves and kids (I listed a smattering of recommended products on my article.) We can buy organic foods.
We can vigilant without draping ourselves in hemp all day and living in a tent. And best, we can talk about it, create more awareness and try to get companies to get the toxins out of their products. (And try to get Sigg to give us a freaking explanation for what’s going on with their BPA-laced bottles!)
If you guys have any tips about this topic, I’d love to hear it as well.
I rarely use my blog to wax poetic about various causes as you all probably know. I’m just not that deep. But there are a few causes that I will advocate for:
And…
- High Fructose Corn Syrup in our products (No blog post, but it doesn’t mean I don’t care.)
Since Liz first posted about HFCS in our food, the dangers of HFCS and the brands that were doing things to eradicate it from their products, I’ve been vigilant about checking labels and weaning out HFCS from our home. (The candy Dots aside, because, hey, I’m pregnant and not perfect.)
I thought I had been doing a good job until recently, when I went to eat my high fiber breakfast of champions (remember the anemia-induced digestive problems?) – presented by Kelloggs Raisin Bran and Frosted Mini Wheats – only to find that they both have HFCS in them. So does Post Raisin Bran. (Yes, I like sugar cereal).
I was so pissed. As Liz points out in her post two days ago, marketers and big name brands like Kraft and Pepsi have responded to consumer demand and have taken the HFCS out of their big name products. We’re making progress.
But, as with all major movements, we still have a ways to go to get more big brand names on the anti-HFCS bandwagon. And g-ddammit, I need my fiber, so please, Kelloggs and Post, please step on it?!
P.S. next on my activist watch, endocrine disrupting chemicals… watch for my interview with Dr. Karp in next month’s Babble. You won’t want to get your nails done ever again.
