Children's Health, Food and Nutrition, Women's Health and Issues, Sleep, Relationships, Behavior

Marin Mommies presents a guest post by Cheryl Huang, MD FACS—Board-Certified Plastic Surgeon

As mothers, we all delight in our babies’ skin—soft, plump and smooth. But we often forget to value our own skin. Neglecting to take proper care of this “canvas of beauty” can deprive us the opportunity to keep looking radiant and youthful for the years to come.

So many factors take a toll on our skin, from stress and hormonal changes to illness, sun exposure, air pollutants, and poor nutrition. These inflict damage on our skin, ultimately leading to the degeneration of collagen and elastin. For many, this breakdown begins during our thirties, with the appearance of fine lines under the eyes and around the corners of the mouth. Those lines may begin to deepen, and the surface of our skin may start to become dull, dry, blotchy, and discolored. 

But today we know that the earlier we start taking care our skin, the more damage we can prevent. Simple lifestyle changes and the help of a medical professional can help you make 40 the new 30. The following ideas can go a long way to restoring some of the youth and vigor to our skin.

One of our favorite destinations for a family road trip is the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The aquarium is not only a world famous attraction, but an international leader in environmental education and the fight to save the world's oceans.

One of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's most immediate and accessible conservation efforts is their Seafood Watch program. The goal of Seafood Watch is to raise consumer awareness about the need to choose seafood from sustainable sources, and to advocate for environmentally friendly seafood.

We're pleased to present another great guest article, this time written by Marin life coach Johanna Beyer.

So often I speak with people about what they would do in their lives if there were no constraints holding them back. Often times people have visions of being more creative or starting a business or traveling to new places. Inevitably, there is always a big, old BUT that comes after their exciting stories of possibility and that BUT is usually followed by a reason why they cannot make it happen. Perhaps it is not financially possible or there is a fear of failure or no one would think their idea would succeed. I then ask them why they cannot begin to explore their curiosity. What is the harm in beginning to carve out some time to specifically explore, research and talk to others about what interests them? The biggest obstacle I see people bump up against in trying to make purposeful change in their lives is an “all or nothing” approach. I can see the ego wanting the new endeavor to be perfect and that is just about death to any new seedling of an idea. Does a redwood tree come out of the ground strong, tall and robust? No, it takes time and the right conditions for it to grow and become majestic.

Presenting a guest post by Lisa Flato, certified Hatha, prenatal, and postpartum yoga instuctor. Lisa teaches prenatal yoga at The Yoga Source in San Rafael on Saturdays mornings.

The image of a pregnant woman shrouded in flower petals, seated eating ripe fruit, all while having her feet rubbed is perhaps a nice dream. Once in a while she may have the opportunity to take in such pleasures as she rightly deserves. However in our world of moms who work away from home, stay-at-home moms, and all of the other many variations, it’s not always possible to pamper oneself accordingly. And, to be frank, the pregnant body is not always comfortable staying still for that long; movement often feels much better.

A friend asked me about my experience with this the other day, so I thought I'd pass it along here. This something is constipation. My son never really had a problem with it when he was little, since we made sure to feed him a good diet, until one fateful day. Of course we were on vacation, visiting friends down in Pacific Grove, when it happened. Doesn't it usually happen like that?

So one morning Trevor wakes up and instead of his usual happy two-year-old (at the time) self, he's cranky and crying and eventually seems to be in some physical distress. And because he's only two, he can't really tell us what the problem is. All he knows is that he's miserable. On our friends' recommendation we head down to the nearby urgent care clinic on Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey and fill out the paperwork with a crying toddler in the background. Of course this particular clinic doesn't take our otherwise pretty universally accepted health insurance. Of course not!

I think one thing that all expectant and new parents can agree upon is that there can never be too many resources to back you up in this new and unfamiliar part of your life. One of these resources is the new Parents Center, which recently opened in the inside the venerable Heller's for Children store on Fouth Street in San Rafael.

Located in Heller's loft area (in space donated by Heller's), the Parents Center is a comfortable, welcoming place that offers support and education for new and expectant parents. Moms are invited to come in, feed and weigh baby, have a cup of tea and relax. There's even a special rocker for breastfeeding moms with an optional privacy screen. There is a library of books and dvds for loan, all about pregnancy, parenting and baby and mother wellness. All parents are welcome, so stop by and check it out.

Classes, workshops, and programs offered at the Parents Center include free lactation consultations on Tuesdays between 12:30 and 2 pm, infant/child CPR and first aid, childbirth, newborn care, breastfeeding and pumping, prenatal yoga, baby massage, infant sleep, baby massage, and more. All class fees are on a sliding scale, which is especially welcome in today's economic climate.

Every parent eventually faces the dilemma where they have to ask themselves, "Is my child too sick to go to school today?" How sick is too sick to go to school? That's the question addressed in a recent New York Times article by parent and physician Perri Klass, MD. The upshot of the article seems to be that kids with mild colds (no fevers, of course) are more or less OK to go to school, especially in light of all the germs already present in such settings. You'll have to read the article to get the whole story, of course.

New York Times: "The Cough-and-Sniffle Question: When to Keep a Child Home?"

That's the idea tossed out in a recent post on the Mommy Files blog on SFGate.com. Recent studies suggest that children in daycare build stronger immune systems by virtue of being around lots of other children, many of course with illnesses. Of course, medical research being what it is, some physicians disagree with that theory. Read the full post here, as well as the associated discussion (it's always lively on SFGate).

Presenting another guest article, this time by Mill Valley life coach and mom Johanna Beyer.

Last night I watched Kung Fu Panda with my 4-year-old son. I was thinking that it was going to be another silly kid’s movie, but I was pleasantly surprised by its spiritual message. In the movie Po, a big, clumsy panda, is constantly told by his father about the family’s secret noodle ingredient. When Po is finally able to learn about the secret ingredient, he is told by his father that there really is no magical ingredient. His noodles taste so good because of his hard work and dedication to the art of making good soup everyday. Now that is DEEP!