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Maj
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### Annoying Questions I'd Like Answered...

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Post by Maj » Thu Sep 03, 2009 12:07 am

So I had a medical practitioner tell me this week that I shouldn't give my baby a bottle anymore because drinking from a nipple spreads whatever liquid is being drunk around a baby's mouth more than drinking out of a glass.
How does that even work?
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Post by Cynic » Thu Sep 03, 2009 12:30 am

0_o. Now that's a new one. I still get hundred different sorts of medical advice relating to kiddos.

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MGuy
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Post by MGuy » Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:04 am

Never heard that one either though when my little sis was pregnant I heard that it is better for babies to get breast fed (don't exactly remember why though).
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Quantumboost
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Post by Quantumboost » Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:26 am

> MGuy wrote:[...]I heard that it is better for babies to get breast fed (don't exactly remember why though).

The way I've heard it, babies get antibodies from mother's milk, which would be good for their immune systems. Also that it somehow is better for intelligence in some manner not fully understood.
I don't remember the source, though, putting that in the very reputable position of "some guy on the internet said he heard it somewhere".
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Maj
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Post by Maj » Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:57 am

On breastfeeding:
My overall general perspective is that humanity evolved successfully by giving mothers the perfect tool to sustain life. Babies have drunk breast milk for thousands of years, and we're only now being able to recognize a large portion - though not everything - that goes into what makes it the ideal food (vitamins, minerals, co-factors, proteins, fats, carbohydrates, enzymes, hormones, antibodies, etc). I trust evolution a bit more to provide for my son than glorified corn syrup.
But more specifically, breast milk is cool beans because it actually changes day by day depending on what the baby needs to survive. I've even heard, though I don't happen to have written confirmation at the moment, that the composition varies across the course of the day.
Oh, yeah... Breast milk is way cheaper, too.
What I don't understand about the professional treatment of breast milk is why when it's deficient, the nutrition of the mother isn't looked at. For example, a couple of health care practitioners have told me that breastmilk is deficient in Vitamin D, and thus they want to prescribe a supplement for my son so he's not deficient (he's fine). That's nice, but if there's a deficiency in the content of breastmilk, the mother's nutrition needs to be looked at first since it's her body that makes the food from the supplies it's given. If she's deficient in Vitamin D, her breast milk will be lacking in that department. By fixing the mom's nutrition, you help two people, not one - at minimal cost, too.
And now that I've typed out that reply, I totally forgot what the question I wanted to add to this thread was.
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Sock Puppet
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Post by Sock Puppet » Thu Sep 03, 2009 5:07 am

There is also a school of thought which says that all of the toxins and other unnatural substances that a mother has ingested throughout her life come out in the breastmilk, which is bad for the babies. I cannot verify this in any way shape or form, it's just "something I heard once". As far as I'm concerned, as long as you don't smoke a bunch of meth or ingest something equally poisonous, you're probably fine. And obviously, if you've been smoking or drinking, you should "pump and dump" all the breastmilk in your system so that baby doesn't get any of that.
We used the powdered formula as a supplement to breastmilk. We started off using filtered water to mix the formula, but my mother told me to just regular tapwater, since the babies need to get accomodated to the particular chemicals in the local water system anyway.
I've also heard that you are supposed to let little kids eat their own boogers, because it helps to dump the microbes back into their systems and forces them to build up the auto-immune systems at an early age.
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TarkisFlux
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Post by TarkisFlux » Thu Sep 03, 2009 5:21 am

Actually, breast milk is just deficient in vitamin D naturally since babies have historically gotten it like the rest of us, from spending time in the sun, and there wasn't a reason to pass it on to them through milk. As I understood it, necessary supplementing was pretty rare outside of places where exposure to the sun is greatly reduced because it sets and doesn't come back up for a while, but plenty of people have begun to prescribe it to assist with development even when it was technically unnecessary.
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Maj
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Post by Maj » Thu Sep 03, 2009 6:00 am

> Sock Puppet wrote:There is also a school of thought which says that all of the toxins and other unnatural substances that a mother has ingested throughout her life come out in the breastmilk, which is bad for the babies. I cannot verify this in any way shape or form, it's just "something I heard once".

From what I've heard, that is, indeed true. Many of the fat-soluble toxins from the environment are passed along through breast milk. One school of thought suggests that this is why a breastfeeding mother's chances of getting breast cancer are reduced.
But the comparison is more like organic fruit and veggies to non-organic fruit and veggies, rather than organic fruits and veggies versus no fruits and veggies. While organic has less toxins and more nutrients, it's still way healthier to eat any fruit and veggies rather than none.

> TarkisFlux wrote:Actually, breast milk is just deficient in vitamin D naturally since babies have historically gotten it like the rest of us, from spending time in the sun, and there wasn't a reason to pass it on to them through milk.

You know, I might totally buy it if supplementing the mother resulted in no change in Vitamin D content of breast milk. But the fact that a greater intake in the mother results in a greater intake for the child means that breast milk evolved to be a conduit to carry Vitamin D. It's not like fluoride, where if you supplement the mom, the content in breast milk doesn't change.
Not that I have objections to letting my son play outside in my garden and getting his Vitamin D from the sun, but considering that I've seen estimates that claim as many as 90% of women are Vitamin D deficient, to me it seems really hard to say with certainty that breast milk is "naturally" low in Vitamin D.
And I remembered my question...
I was also told that all juice that I feed my son ought to be pasteurized - even the stuff that I run through my juicer 30 seconds before I give it to him. The reason is that harmful bacteria might infest the juice and make my son ill.
But if illness-inducing bacteria will contaminate juice immediately upon converting it from fruit, isn't that like saying that we should pasteurize all fruit? Doesn't it [the fruit] already have to contain harmful bacteria in order for the juice to be contaminated?
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mean_liar
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Post by mean_liar » Thu Sep 03, 2009 1:19 pm

Limited contamination is a good thing and will encourage a healthy immune system and well-functioning gut fauna. Eat organic to avoid pesticide loads and wash with cold water and you should be okay.
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Zherog
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### Re: Annoying Questions I'd Like Answered...

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Post by Zherog » Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:46 pm

> Maj wrote:So I had a medical practitioner tell me this week that I shouldn't give my baby a bottle anymore because drinking from a nipple spreads whatever liquid is being drunk around a baby's mouth more than drinking out of a glass.
> How does that even work?

A) That doesn't even make sense.
B) Who the fuck cares if what he's drinking spreads around his mouth more?
You can't fix stupid.
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TarkisFlux
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Post by TarkisFlux » Thu Sep 03, 2009 5:49 pm

> Maj wrote:You know, I might totally buy it if supplementing the mother resulted in no change in Vitamin D content of breast milk. But the fact that a greater intake in the mother results in a greater intake for the child means that breast milk evolved to be a conduit to carry Vitamin D. It's not like fluoride, where if you supplement the mom, the content in breast milk doesn't change.
> Not that I have objections to letting my son play outside in my garden and getting his Vitamin D from the sun, but considering that I've seen estimates that claim as many as 90% of women are Vitamin D deficient, to me it seems really hard to say with certainty that breast milk is "naturally" low in Vitamin D.

Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, and the fat in breast milk will pick up more of it if the mother's taking in more of it. It's still not enough for a newborn on it's own, and if you want me to cite my wife's nursing textbook where it specifically states that breast milk is a poor carrier of vitamin D I will. Which isn't quite me saying with certainty that it is low by default, but it's as close as I'm going to get without examining research sources or conducting a study. If those deficiency estimates are right (and I have no idea if they are or aren't), then the mother taking in more would certainly help, but it's not enough to allow them to keep a baby in a sunless place for long periods.
Didn't know that about flouride though.
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shau
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Post by shau » Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:00 pm

Everyone has some idea of how to perfectly raise a child and keep them healthy and everyone wants you to buy their book about it. People have been raising children successfully for thousands of years and most of them seem to have done it while putting less care and thought into than you seem to be Maj. Just don't leave him in the dryer or something and I am sure he will be fine.
Disregarding the last paragraph, I have heard great things about the health benefits of encasing your child in Lucite. You should totally try that.
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Maj
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### Re: Annoying Questions I'd Like Answered...

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Post by Maj » Fri Sep 04, 2009 4:30 am

> Zherog wrote:A) That doesn't even make sense.
> B) Who the fuck cares if what he's drinking spreads around his mouth more?

No, it doesn't make sense. But it's a concern because of something called bottle-mouth, wherein children's baby teeth rot long before they're supposed to fall out.
During my appointment, I was asked if I still gave my son a bottle - because I do. Especially when I'm travelling.
TarkisFlux: Thank you for the info. More studies are being done as the importance of Vitamin D becomes more and more recognized - there's a theory that even suggests that seasonal influenze is a result of D deficiency. Cool stuff.

> shau wrote:Everyone has some idea of how to perfectly raise a child and keep them healthy and everyone wants you to buy their book about it. People have been raising children successfully for thousands of years and most of them seem to have done it while putting less care and thought into than you seem to be Maj. Just don't leave him in the dryer or something and I am sure he will be fine.

I honestly didn't intend for this thread to be about questions on raising your kid. I intended it to be questions inspired by stuff that I'd overheard/was told/read about on a wide variety of topics. It just happens that my first two questions were about things that trained professionals informed me I was doing wrong.
When someone who has more education than I do on a particular topic informs me that I'm doing harm to my child, what do you say to that? Nuh-uh? These are people that actually have the ability to take my kid away from me if they perceive what I'm doing as abusive.
My instinctive response is to just not tell them that I give my son bottles and don't boil the juice that I make from scratch. That will get them off my back, but how am I supposed to know what's going to raise their alarm bells?
My husband was carrying our son on his shoulders in Lowe's (a hardware store) and he spun around a couple of times because the boy was having fun. A random guy actually stopped and accused us of child abuse!!
Regardless of my personal beliefs on parenting - which are pretty lax compared to most - I often feel beseiged from all sides with the excessive amount of "for the children" that's dumped on me. It's very intimidating.
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Zherog
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### Re: Annoying Questions I'd Like Answered...

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Post by Zherog » Fri Sep 04, 2009 5:51 pm

> Maj wrote:My husband was carrying our son on his shoulders in Lowe's (a hardware store) and he spun around a couple of times because the boy was having fun. A random guy actually stopped and accused us of child abuse!!

Did you tell random guy to fuck off and mind his own business? Because, frankly, that's what I would've done.
Maj, you're a smart woman. You're not smart because you know shit; you're smart (in my opinion) because you know when you don't know shit, and go research it. Use your instincts. If somebody who you trust, such as a doctor or nurse, tells you something that seems counter-intuitive to you, then use your very excellent research skills and look it up.
Maybe you'll learn that a roughly one-year old child shouldn't drink from a bottle; or maybe you'll learn that your source is stuffed full of bullshit. Maybe you'll learn it's inconclusive. Whatever. Trust your instincts.
Last edited by Zherog on Fri Sep 04, 2009 5:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Maj
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Post by Maj » Fri Sep 04, 2009 7:55 pm

> Z wrote:Did you tell random guy to fuck off and mind his own business? Because, frankly, that's what I would've done.

I told him that while I was grateful for his concern for my son, it was completely inappropriate and out of line for him to accuse us of abuse.
My next annoying question(s)...
I realize that razors are all about getting the closest shave possible, and so they're up to five parallel blades (I think - maybe it's still just four). But isn't there a point where you can't actually clean out the razor because the blades are so close together? And why are they so expensive (Costco sells a 16 pack of Mach 3 blades for around $30 the last time I checked)? Isn't there a Nair equivalent for a guy's face?
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Count Arioch the 28th
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Post by Count Arioch the 28th » Fri Sep 04, 2009 8:13 pm

Wouldn't nair just work?
I wouldn't know, I get the cheapass packs of 10 razors with the single blade and I honestly can't tell the difference. Although I'm sure they would blunt faster, I typically can only get 2-3 uses before I throw them out. I only need to shave 1-2 times a week and I'm good, my hair grows very slowly.
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Post by virgil » Fri Sep 04, 2009 8:39 pm

I think you need to get more sensitive brand nair if you want to use it on your face. Besides, you'd have to nair about as often as shave, and I never thought it would be a good idea to use chemical warfare when sharp knives do the job . I personally avoid it because my beard is quite coarse and I don't want to experience ingrown facial hair.
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Zherog
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Post by Zherog » Fri Sep 04, 2009 9:30 pm

> Maj wrote:

> > Z wrote:Did you tell random guy to fuck off and mind his own business? Because, frankly, that's what I would've done.

> I told him that while I was grateful for his concern for my son, it was completely inappropriate and out of line for him to accuse us of abuse.

That just proves you're a nicer person than me, I suppose.
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Post by Lich-Loved » Fri Sep 04, 2009 10:03 pm

> Maj wrote: And why are they so expensive (Costco sells a 16 pack of Mach 3 blades for around $30 the last time I checked)? Isn't there a Nair equivalent for a guy's face?

Razor blades are expensive because the razors are sold at a loss to "lock" you into a product. This is the same model used by game console manufacturers (XBox 360 and the games), phone companies (the phone is cheap, the plan pricey) and printer manufacturers (HP printers and their ink). Once you own the core product, the company sells you inserts/fillers/whatever as an add on at a premium that only works with their product. This is done to recover the NRE (non reoccurring engineering) for the product as well as for profit.
This is also why manufacturers are rabid about 3rd party inserts/fillers. While the barrier to entry is high for mechanical replaceable parts (3rd party blades for a razor), the barrier is not as high for games and refillable ink. In the game box world, the manufacturer has taken steps to prevent you writing or playing anything but "approved" games (ones in which a premium is paid back to the maker of the console) and breaking that encryption is a violation of the federal DMCA. HP actually places chips in its newer cartridges that indicate when the ink is low. Once the chip indicates low ink, the cartridge will not be seen as "full" even if refilled by a third party refiller or done at home. The chip is also nominally encrypted and trivial to hack, but that too is a violation of the DMCA. The iPhone has a ton of capabilities, but many are locked behind software walls and cannot be accessed by the consumer. So called "jailbreak" phones have been hacked by clever phone hackers and can run apps that Apple may attempt to charge a premium for in the future. This is in addition to the cheap price of the iPhone (a 3g 8GB is $99 with a 2 year contract and $500 if bought off the shelf without the mandatory expensive data plan).
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Josh_Kablack
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Post by Josh_Kablack » Sat Sep 05, 2009 4:04 am

> I realize that razors are all about getting the closest shave possible, and so they're up to five parallel blades (I think - maybe it's still just four). But isn't there a point where you can't actually clean out the razor because the blades are so close together?

Actually, the triple bladed Mach 3, and quintuple (plus trimmer) Fusion have more space between the blades than the old top-of-the-line Sensor XL. Presumably the 4-bladed Quatro was similar, but I skipped that one like Vista.
The sensor XL has a cartridge that is only open on the sharp side, and therefore has to be cleaned by either banging in against the sink under running wate and/or by running toothpick/brush/cloth along the blades and potentially nicking the finger.
The 3 and 5 bladed razors have cartridges that are open on both sides can be cleaned by just holding under running water (at least in apartments with adequate water pressure) and letting the water flow between the blades.
If you need further explanation I could go take pictures.

> And why are they so expensive (Costco sells a 16 pack of Mach 3 blades for around $30 the last time I checked)? Isn't there a Nair equivalent for a guy's face?

Well, despite my difficult stubble and sensitive baby face, I can get weeks to months out of most blades (and I don't even resharpen to stretch them) so paying the $4-5 per cartridge that the Fusion runs around here
boils down to less than I spend on toothpaste.
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Post by Neeeek » Sat Sep 05, 2009 4:44 am

> virgileso wrote:I think you need to get more sensitive brand nair if you want to use it on your face. Besides, you'd have to nair about as often as shave, and I never thought it would be a good idea to use chemical warfare when sharp knives do the job . I personally avoid it because my beard is quite coarse and I don't want to experience ingrown facial hair.

I've been thinking of trying some form of nair-like product because I get ingrown facial hair regardless of using it.
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Post by Cynic » Sat Sep 05, 2009 5:59 am

Nair for the face is bad. It can be used in very small amounts and slowly. A hot wax is probably better sadly. As someone who has several epileptic fits a day and has cut himself deep shaving due to these attacks, I looked into Nair and other products.
Nair will probably get you a week to two weeks if done right. HOt wax is the same.
both will hurt like shiite. there are some sensitive face products that will take off some hair. so it'll probably cost you a bundle for each fortnight of not shaving a guy might get.
Also, the best razor is still probably the straight razor. it's hard to learn but when mastered your shave is smoother than smooth.

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Maj
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Post by Maj » Sat Sep 05, 2009 1:18 pm

Lich-Loved: I have to wonder how such a small combination of plastic and metal can cost $2 (or more in the case of other razors).
Josh: Thank you for the info. On the duration of razors... Do you shave once a day? Also, do you let the indicator strip (or whatever that blue thing that turns white is) tell you when the razor's over?

> A Cynic wrote:Also, the best razor is still probably the straight razor. it's hard to learn but when mastered your shave is smoother than smooth.

I've heard this. I don't understand it. If the disposable razor craze is leading up to more and more blades in order to get a closer shave, how can just one big ass blade work best?
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angelfromanotherpin
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Post by angelfromanotherpin » Sat Sep 05, 2009 2:15 pm

The multiple blades thing is complete bullshit. It's a marketing ploy, nothing more.
edit: Additional related hilarity.
Last edited by angelfromanotherpin on Sat Sep 05, 2009 2:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Josh_Kablack
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Post by Josh_Kablack » Sat Sep 05, 2009 4:03 pm

> Do you shave once a day? Also, do you let the indicator strip (or whatever that blue thing that turns white is) tell you when the razor's over?

On average about once a day.
I tend to let myself get scruffy on weekends/off days. But then again I shave again in the evenings for some weekday social occasions - my hair is dark enough that I do get notable 5 o'clock shadow.
And I go by feel and results - which lead me to believe that the indicator strip is maybe about 10% useful lubrication and 90% marketing to make you buy a new blade sooner.
But if we're posting links:
Local Reporter field tests the fusion vs barber shaving probably a hell of a lot more accurate than the 1983 link comparing single vs double bladed razors.
Critical review from the same publication
Last edited by Josh_Kablack on Sat Sep 05, 2009 4:06 pm, edited 3 times in total.
"But transportation issues are social-justice issues. The toll of bad transit policies and worse infrastructure—trains and buses that don’t run well and badly serve low-income neighborhoods, vehicular traffic that pollutes the environment and endangers the lives of cyclists and pedestrians—is borne disproportionately by black and brown communities."
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