Big March Post #3: A New Place for FOOD!

It’s the last day of March and the last of the three big announcement posts promised for this month! This one continues our theme of “new:” first a new bed, then a new baby, and now… a new blog!

The new blog is a place where I can post all about food, like how we continue to deal with our changed diet due to food sensitivities, new recipes that I’m perfecting, ingredients we’re watching out for, our meal plans, and our weekly lunch wrap-up posts will move there in early April. We’re of course focusing on eating happily without dairy, eggs, wheat, nuts… basically all of the top 8 most common allergens.

The new site is NourishingRainbows.com, and for more on the name and what the site is all about, follow that link! It’s been up for about a week now and there are several new recipes up and a big post dedicated to an awesome potential Easter dinner, complete with dessert.

Here are some examples of current and future posts…

As for 9 Years Later, this blog isn’t shutting down. I still plan on posting about the 9-year goal to self-sustainability, although the posts may be quite sporadic. I’m doing a lot of gardening this year so watch for posts on that as the season heats up (haha, see what I did there?). Thanks for hanging in with 9YL and be sure to check out the new NourishingRainbows.com!!

Weekly Lunch Wrap Up #23

It’s lunch time! Here’s another look at what Kiddo1 brought to school for lunch last week.

If you’ve been keeping up with our “three big posts” for March, you know we have one more big one on the way! I’ll give you a hint… it does have something to do with lunches, in a small way. And we got a new lunch container – no more plastic boxes! So coming soon you’ll see a slightly different weekly wrap up. Next week is Spring Break so stay tuned for the launch date for Wrap Up 2.0 in two weeks!

Monday

Leftover pork roast for lunch on Monday! And we have been continuing with our rainbow carrots – today Kiddo1 had yellow carrots with some broccoli. For sweets he had strawberries and applesauce.

Tuesday

Lately I’ve been obsessed with making myself sandwiches (darn pregnancy hormones!) so there has been more lunch meat in the house lately. For Tuesday’s lunch Kiddo1 got one of his favorites: rolls of ham lunch meat (and turkey this time too) with slices of cucumber in the middle. He also had more broccoli, a mix of yellow and orange carrots, and more applesauce.

Wednesday

I’m not sure why this picture looks so weird… maybe I left an extra light on or something? Well anyway, Wednesday is always leftover tacos day, I believe we had beef tacos this week (it seems to be alternating between ground beef and ground pork lately – tonight we’re having chicken tacos though!), always served with shredded romaine and diced cucumber on soft corn tortillas. He had yellow and purple carrots with strawberries.

Thursday

Recently Kiddo1 told us he likes salami (where did that come from??) and since I’ve had some around lately for my sandwiches (and it is casein free!), Kiddo1 got some along with ham sticks in his lunch. He also had the veggie trifecta: cucumbers, broccoli, and carrots. And rounding out the goodness is more applesauce.

Friday

Finishing out the last day before Spring Break, and the last day of the trimester! And I had no idea what to make for lunch! So I settled on the rest of the leftover taco meat in a “taco salad” with blue corn tortilla chips (it’s hard to see them under there) plus Kiddo1’s traditional taco toppings of shredded romaine and diced cucumber. He also had even more carrots and a couple small slices of vegan dark chocolate truffle from Missionary Chocolates.

See you for new and improved lunch posts in two weeks!

Big March Post #2: A Mama’s Evolution

Some big things are going on at 9 Years Later this month! The first big post was all about our new beds and all the research and self-education we went through to get to our amazing sleeps. With this post, I’m talking about a subject that’s a bit closer to why this blog got started in the first place.

The announcement this time is that we’re expecting our third baby here in the 9YL family! (Which is another reason why I insisted on new beds – I’m not going through another pregnancy on a lumpy mattress!)

This baby is expected to arrive sometime in September and everything is going really well so far. We’ve had two appointments with our midwife and everything is looking good. Baby has a nice heartbeat, I’ve got good protein levels, etc, etc.

As far as the blog goes, I won’t be going back to doing weekly pregnancy posts or lots of pregnancy book reviews like I did last time. While every pregnancy is different and I’m sure there could be a bunch of new things to post about, I’m kind of feeling like I’ve been there and don’t want to repeat myself. I do love having my old posts to look back on now, though. It’s nice to have the record of what was happening – so much better than relying on my memory!

Something that has been big on my mind for this particular post, though, is how much Mr. Handsome and my – and especially my – parenting has changed in the 12 years that we’ve been parents. I say “especially my” parenting not because Mr. Handsome hasn’t evolved in much the same ways as me, but because it is just easier to reflect on my own thoughts and actions than trying to over-analyze him or read his mind. My mind-reading skills have not at all evolved.

As many similarities as there are between Kiddo1 and Baby2, they were also very different babies. So I tend to wonder if my parenting style has changed due to my thoughts on parenting evolving over time or is it just my babies needing different things? I don’t know for sure what the catalyst for all this is. But I do know that some things that worked great with Kiddo1 just didn’t translate to Baby2. One is quick to adjust her practices if the existing ones are not working anymore!

Take scheduling, for example: Kiddo1 was a Babywise baby, and he rocked it. He loved a schedule. He got up every day at 5:30 AM on the dot (and we quickly became morning people because of it). For the most part, we knew what he needed before he was hungry, before he was tired. Honestly, he still thrives on a solid schedule. Give this kid too much free time and you’re asking for trouble (although that’s probably a common pre-teen thing too).

Fast forward 9 years to a Baby2 that doesn’t do schedules. She has a loose routine but it is harder to predict her needs. She is not at all Babywise (in fact I’m sure she would not thrive with that method at all), and she has opened my eyes to why so many people hate Babywise because you really have to have a baby with the right disposition in order for it to be successful. Baby2 is an “Attachment Parenting” baby all the way – she loved co-sleeping, loved nursing on demand, loved the breastmilk SO MUCH (we were going to wean at a year because of my work schedule but that didn’t happen until she was almost two), she loved being worn (although lately she’s not that into it – she’s way too independent), and I found myself loving to do all that stuff too.

I never envisioned myself to be the consistent co-sleeper that I was with Baby2 (she’s been sleeping in her own bed since we weaned). When Kiddo1 was a baby, he was pretty much banned from our bed because I didn’t want him getting in the habit of coming in our room in the middle of the night. Of course he did that anyway – I should have learned that no amount of effort can really stop what most consider to be normal child behaviors. 

Something that I think has influenced my parenting evolution is also just me being more mature now. Kiddo1 was born when I was in a much different place in my mindset. I was 22 and thought I knew everything. I basically followed the parenting model that I saw around me, and it was fairly strict and rigid, which is mostly counter to my personality but I didn’t know there were other choices. I guess my desire for confidence blinded me to wanting to know if there was another way to do things.

Back then I also didn’t understand (or chose to recognize?) the impermanence of babyhood. I wasn’t excited for the dependence of a baby. I was excited to play with a kid but babies scared me. I wanted my baby to be less helpless, less likely to “break,” less dependent on me and Mr. Handsome, more of his own person. I cherished his baby time, don’t get me wrong. I have 1000 photos to prove it, boxes full of mementos, memories that only a senile elderly brain could wash away. I held him, I “spoiled” him, I loved him then every bit as much as I love Baby2 now. But today my mindset is different.

With my second attempt, I understand and appreciate the brief time that is infancy. I know firsthand that dependency, helplessness, “breakiness” (the constant feeling you’ll break your fragile little human), only lasts so long. Shoot, blink and you missed it, right? I mean, when did Kiddo1 stop being a baby?? When did he become so independent? These things don’t happen overnight – they evolve over time until one day you give him a goodbye kiss in the morning and realize you didn’t have to bend down as far… or at all. Or you’re out getting new school shoes and realize his shoes fit on my feet. I have watched my firstborn grow SO FAST over the last 12 years that I now cling to every second of whatever baby time is left with Baby2, and even that is fading fast.

So perhaps it is this awareness of all things impermanent that has made me love attachment parenting traits like co-sleeping, which gives me extra time with my baby, while she’s a cuddly, snuggly baby. Add to that the fact that when she was a baby I worked full time outside the home (read: no time with my baby during the waking hours!) and co-sleeping/baby-wearing/extended breastfeeding/EXTRA SNUGGLE TIME becomes even more appealing. Now I work from home, thank goodness, so I have a feeling things will be a little more relaxed with this third baby.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: every baby is different. Every family is different! And, apparently, every mama is different with every baby! We adjust, we evolve with every child, every experience, every mistake, every success. We become the mothers, the parents, the families, that we need to be.

Big March Post #1, Part 2: A New Night’s Sleep (Continued)

On Friday, I posted part 1 our first big announcement of three for March, which was that we finally got some brand new mattresses! I also laid out (hehe) all the reasons why we chose to forgo the conventional interspring mattress in favor of natural latex. For more on why we made our choice, check out the post!

Today we’re going deeper into our research to publish most of what we learned about latex, because there is a lot to learn! There are different manufacturing types, levels of firmness, options for mattress thickness and number of layers, how the layers are fixed (or not fixed) together, methods for wrapping the layers together, and different types of mattress toppers available. So let’s jump right in so you can gain a little insight from all the work we did!

Manufacturing Types

There are two methods for “curing” latex: Dunlop and Talalay. In either case, the white liquid that comes from the Hevea tree is whipped into a frothy mix, placed into a mold, and cooked, much like waffle batter being cooked in a waffle maker. The mold has a bunch of rods in it so that the finished latex has a cellular structure, which keeps the mattress breathable. After the foam has cured, it is removed from the mold and rinsed. From there the latex is cut to mattress size (or part of a mattress, in the case of Talalay) and stacked up with a bunch of other layers, waiting to be combined into a mattress.

The whipped latex mixture being poured into a mold for curing (Image from myessentia.com)

For the Dunlop process, that’s about all there is to it. Dunlop has often been called the more eco-friendly process because it does not add any other chemicals to the mixture and it does not go through any other processing. It is also said to be more economical because there are no additional seams to add (doesn’t increase labor costs) and it creates a more consistent product.

Dunlop is said to be a heavier, denser, firmer, and more durable material. For the most part, the Dunlop process typically deals with 100% natural latex, but it can certainly be mixed with synthetic latex, or it could be a 100% natural layer of latex mixed with synthetic layers. Therefore it is very important to ask the company from which you’d like to purchase to make sure the mattress you’re buying is made of 100% natural, non-synthetic latex.

The Talalay process builds on the Dunlop foundation. After whipping the latex and curing it in the mold, the mattress is then sent into a vacuum chamber where all the air is extracted from the foam. It is then flash frozen with chemicals to stabilize the structure. Carbon dioxide gas is added to help the mattress gel. Finally the mattress is baked at 220 degrees.

Talalay pieces can only be so big because of all the extra processing they must go through, so most beds need to have a seam down the middle where the mattress pieces are glued or stitched together. Glue is often filled with chemicals, so that is something to consider.

Talalay is lighter, less dense, less firm, and has been said to show wear faster (although most manufacturers will state it is just as durable as Dunlop). The manufacturing process takes more energy since there are more steps to go through and labor required to stitch pieces together. There is an issue with consistency of firmness due to the lengthy and variable process. There is also no such thing as 100% natural Talalay latex, since chemicals are added in the curing processes that cannot be washed off, even if the latex that started off the process was 100% natural.

Sap being collected from a Hevea tree (Image from Sumatran Feet)

Besides Dunlop vs Talalay, the next major difference in latex is natural vs organic. This has less to do with the manufacturing process and more to do with the growing process of the Hevea tress, but I thought I’d sneak it into this section anyway. An organic mattress is made from latex harvested from trees that have not been treated with inorganic pesticides or fertilizers, just like our food. A natural mattress uses latex that may have come from trees that have been treated. The cool thing about Hevea trees is that they don’t require fertilizers or pesticides in order to grow to their fullest potential. Hevea trees need to be in a tropical climate, so they are found primarily in the low-altitude, moist rainforests of South America. The only real trouble with the trees is that the moist environment does sometimes cause leaf diseases from mildew. This is usually controlled with sulfur dusts but can be treated with chemicals if the grower choses to go that route. Therefore, the biggest difference I’ve found between the “naturally” grown Heveas and the organic ones is the guarantee that organic trees are not treated with any chemicals that don’t conform to organic standards (keep in mind that there are such things as organic chemicals!). Organic mattresses will also be certified by a third party such as Oeko-Tex. Make sure the certification company is not the same company that is selling the mattress (as that would be a conflict of interest).

Whether you choose Dunlop or Talalay, organic or natural, make sure to ask these questions to ensure you’re getting a chemical-free bed:

• Is any part of the latex in this bed synthetic? Is it a mix of natural and synthetic latex? Are there synthetic layers mixed with a natural layers?
• Any fillers used in the latex milk, like calcium oxide or titanium dioxide?
• Are there any fillers that were used as part of the curing process?
• Was the mattress treated with any waterproofing or fire-retardant chemicals?
• Where is the latex from? What are the farming practices there (pesticides, fertilizers, etc)? This may be a very hard question for manufacturers to answer, but they should be able to at least find the source of their latex.
• If an organic mattress, what third-party company has certified the mattress? (You might want to research the reputation of the certification company if you’re unfamiliar with it.)

Firmness and Layers

Just like conventional interspring mattresses, latex mattress are offered in a variety of firmness options, typically medium firm, firm, and extra firm. Often firmness is controlled with a mixture of Dunlop and Talalay layers, although it is possible to find a 100% Dunlop mattress that is medium firm (we found one and bought two of them!). The firmness is varied by making the mattress more or less dense, but rather than me going into the subject of how latex achieves a certain firmness, I think I’ll just point to this article by Savvy Rest that explains the science and methods better than I could. Plus this post is already getting long and we’re only on the second section!

Firmness is also controlled by stacking latex layers of varying densities. This can also control the thickness of the mattress. In our case, we now have a mattress with two layers of Dunlop latex – one 6-inch firm layer and one two-inch medium firm layer. That gives us an 8-inch thick mattress which is a lot closer to the thickness of our old conventional mattress. We also opted for wool toppers on our beds, which further increases the mattresses thickness. We’ll get to the discussion on toppers in a bit.

Our mattress has one 6-inch firm layer and one 2-inch soft layer

Firm latex mattresses would typically have two layers (or three) of latex with the same density. This type of mattress could be both rotated and flipped if desired. However, latex mattresses don’t need to be flipped! They just don’t wear like conventional mattresses. Latex wears differently, more uniformly. It does not hold body impressions like conventional mattresses do. It doesn’t sag or compress. Since those “impressions” are the whole reason for flipping, then it just doesn’t need to be done with a latex mattress. So there are two reasons latex saves your back – from the comfortable sleep every night and by saving the work needed to flip the mattress!

One more thing to look for about firmness is perimeter support. Some latex mattresses add perimeter support so that you can sit on the edge of the mattress and feel a little more supported, similar to a conventional interspring mattress. The unfortunate thing about added perimeter support in a latex mattress is that it is almost always made of polyurethane foam, not latex. It also reduces the latex sleeping surface by 20% in most cases. If the mattress you’ve found offers perimeter support, ask lots of questions about it to make sure it isn’t spoiling your chemical-free bed. I’ve been sitting on the side of my bed a lot today and I can tell you I feel supported just fine.

Here are some questions to ask about firmness and layers:

• Are there any layers of synthetic latex in this bed?
• Does this mattress need to be flipped periodically?
• Does this mattress have perimeter support and, if so, from what material is it made?
• Does this mattress have a warranty and, if so, how long is it and what does it cover? (Warranties usually cover a certain measurement of compression over time, which is why I’m putting this question here.)

Fixing the Layer Together

There are a couple of options to fix your latex sandwich, if you will. The options depend on the manufacturer of the mattress, but they typically include glue, stitch, and gravity.

The glue option can be risky. Glues typically contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which most definitely release toxic vapors. This basically takes your well-researched, 100% natural latex bed back down a few notches. It’s like putting a GMO- and sugar-filled salad dressing on your beautiful home-grown organic salad. If you choose to go with glue, ask a lot of questions about the type of glue used. Even water-based glues can be trouble, so get informed.

You might be able to have the layers stitched together, which is an especially good option if you’re buying a king-sized mattress that definitely will have a seam down the middle. Stitching involves no glue (make sure this is the case though), so you avoid additional toxins getting into your “clean” mattress.

The layers of my new bed! No glues or stitches needed.

In our case, we don’t have a middle seam in the queen and twin mattresses we purchased and we opted to simply have gravity keep the layers together. If you’ve ever felt latex foam, you’d know how it’s very possible to stack up some layers and not have them move around on each other. The foam isn’t smooth, it’s kind of rough like a cat’s tongue. The layers really aren’t going to be moving around, no matter what kind of movement is occurring on your bed.

When it comes to fixing the layers together, the questions are pretty simple:

• How are layers or sections fixed together?
• If glued, what kind of glue is used? Does it contain VOCs?
• If stitched, is there any glue used as well?

Mattress Wraps

As far as I’m aware, all latex mattresses are wrapped up in some kind of material. Of all the mattresses we researched from local companies, the wrapping options were either cotton or organic cotton. The wrap helps to keep the layers all nice and snug together. It also helps folks who might have a latex allergy, as there’s a layer of material between the sleeper and the mattress. Latex is a contact allergy, so as long as that extra layer is there, folks with allergies shouldn’t have a problem sleeping on a latex bed (of course I’m not a doctor or an allergist so make sure you fully check out this claim and the materials used before committing to purchase).

The latex layers all wrapped up on comfy organic cotton

I don’t know of mattresses that aren’t wrapped, but in my research I found that the wrapping really just depends on the manufacturer. So as you find companies in your area that carry natural latex mattress, be sure to ask what the mattress is wrapped in and do your research on that material.

More simple questions about mattress wraps:

• What material is used for the mattress wrapper/casing?
• Is the wrapper washable and, if so, how easy is it to get back on after being removed? Do you recommend removal or spot-cleaning?
• Does the wrapper claim to protect against latex allergy reactions? (If that is a concern for you.)
• Is the wrapper waterproof or fire resistant? (Watch out again for those chemicals!)

Mattress Toppers

This one can vary a bit too. The mattress topper we saw was primarily wool, but it came in a variety of thicknesses and from lots of different suppliers. Wool is a fire retardant, so if you’re buying a 100% natural latex mattress that is not treated with fire retardants, you’ll either need a doctor’s prescription to get around the federal fire retardant laws or you’ll need a wool topper. As with all these materials, though, it is important to ask probing questions to make sure the wool has not been treated with chemicals, either to make it more resistant to fire or for any other purpose.

Wool toppers have more benefits than just resisting flames! They are great temperature regulators, staying warm in the winter but also cool in the summer. Wool is also resistant to dust mites and it’s moisture resistant. Keep in mind that it is not waterproof, though, so if you have a heavy spill on a latex mattress with a wool topper, make sure to take the topper off and let both surfaces thoroughly air dry to prevent mold.

Wool toppers do need to be replaced about every five years, as they will compress more than latex. Keep this in mind when you’re adding up your investment dollars over the life of the mattress.

Our wool topper, also covered in organic cotton

Other than wool, there are also latex mattress toppers. These are usually a layer of less dense, less firm latex. Most of the latex toppers I’ve seen are Talalay latex, but there are Dunlop latex toppers available. The shop we bought from only sells Dunlop latex and they had several latex toppers to choose from.

In addition to wool or latex mattress toppers/pads, there is a third and final layer that can go on a mattress. We purchased a thick organic cotton pad in an attempt to add more water resistance to our mattress. With a young child in the family, you never know what could spill (or leak) onto our mattress at any time of the night (or day). While our cotton cover still isn’t water proof, it will delay the absorption of water into the wool and latex long enough that we might be able to avoid taking the wool topper off to dry so that mold won’t develop.

The final layer – the organic cotton pad

No matter what, if you choose to have a mattress topper, make sure you ask the same questions about it that you asked about the mattress itself. A 100% natural, chemical-free bed doesn’t account for much if the topper is filled with chemicals. Make sure to ask about the manufacturing process, how (and if) it is secured to the mattress, and if it is treated with any chemicals, fire retardant or otherwise. Also keep in mind that any mattress topper, pad, or cover that is water proof (not water resistant) is guaranteed to have waterproofing chemicals applied to it. So read the labels carefully as well as asking thorough questions of your manufacturer.

Some specific questions about toppers would be:

• What mattress toppers/pads are available? From what materials are they made?
• Are the mattress toppers treated with waterproof or fire retardant chemicals?
• How is the topper secured to the mattress?

Mattress stores

Now that you know all these wonderful facts about latex mattress options, where do you go to find one? Just like the beds themselves, there are more options than you might realize.

IKEA: IKEA sells primarily Talalay latex. Their mattresses do tend to be significantly less expensive, but don’t expect to get the longevity from them that you might get from other manufacturers. We read lots of reviews of IKEA mattresses, covering all their suppliers, because we really wanted to get all the benefits of latex for less price. But we found the vast majority of reviewers were only happy with their mattress for about two years. After that, the mattress started to compress a lot and get really uncomfortable. We also read lots of reports of chemical smells coming from new IKEA latex mattresses, which suggests there may be more chemicals used in the manufacture or post-manufacture treatment of the materials. IKEA claims that there have been changes made to the manufacturing processes to reduce chemicals and make the mattresses more durable, but only time will tell if they can really last.

Department Stores and “traditional” Mattress Stores: They will typically sell Sealy, Serta, Memory Foam, Tempurpedic, and other brands that use synthetic latex. Unfortunately it is the big, “trusted” brands that consumers need to check the most carefully when looking for a 100% natural mattress. Ask all the questions – is the mattress material any kind of synthetic blend, is it Dunlop or Talalay, are all the layers made of the same material, were any chemicals used in the manufacturing process, were any fire retardants used to treat the mattress, etc, etc. It sucks that consumers have to be so careful about these things, but these big companies are typically out to make money, not protect our interests. So keep that in mind at the department store (actually keep that in mind at any store!). “Traditional” mattress stores are stores like Sleep Company, American Mattress, your local “Beds R Us,” and any store that just sells mattresses and beds.

Online Stores: There are a lot of great options out there for buying a 100% natural latex mattress online. A lot of them get great reviews, offer a quality product, and their prices are reasonable. However there is a huge downside – you can’t try before you buy! Checking out the bed before purchasing is really important. I was sure we’d all want to go for firm mattresses with soft wool toppers, but once we tried out a few beds we were all sold on medium firm. Look for a store that offers a trial period, a money-back guarantee (with free shipping!), or at the very least an exchange option. Also, make sure you can call a representative who is knowledgable enough to answer all the questions you need to ask to make sure you’re getting a quality, chemical-free bed.

Local Stores: If you can find them in your area, this is by far the best option. Local stores will likely be very closely connected, if not immediately connected, to the manufacture of your bed. If you’re lucky, the bed is also assembled in your local area, which is good for your local economy. In the Portland area we have two stores that are highly recommended for latex, Mulligan Mattress and Cotton Cloud.

Summary

Whew! That is a lot of information! I hope it helps you in some way if you have a new mattress purchase coming up. Check out the sources I’ve cited below for EVEN MORE information, if you can handle it at this point.

Buying a latex mattress comes with lots of details, but figuring them all out is totally worth it to get not only a more comfortable night’s sleep but a chemical-free one as well. Best of luck in your research!

Sources

http://sleeponlatex.com/blogs/news/7845413-dunlop-vs-talalay-latex-foam

http://sleepingorganic.com/blog/talalay-vs-dunlop-latex

http://thenaturalsleepstore.com/blog/post/sustainability-of-natural-latex.html

http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/kids/species-profiles/rubber-tree

http://www.savvyrest.com/blog/guide-to-firmness

http://www.plushbeds.com/blog/mattress/need-rotate-flip-latex-mattress/

http://www.habitatfurnishings.com/blog/?p=13

http://www.cottoncloudfutons.com/onlinefutonstore.01/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=1704&zenid=2583273cefbd5d86fd5602b738665884

http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-204

Weekly Lunch Wrap Up #22

Welcome to another weekly wrap up of last week’s school lunches! Here’s what Kiddo1 took to school last week…

Monday

We started off simple and basic on Monday. No meat leftovers from Sunday so Kiddo1 got some “sticks” of ham, along with carrots, cucumbers, a Mandarin orange, and strawberries (organic strawberries were on sale again – score!).

Tuesday

More ham on Tuesday – apparently we needed to cook more last week! But things around here have been super busy so I guess ham comes to the rescue again! More cucumbers on Tuesday, along with carrots – but this time they’re special yellow carrots! Another Mandarin orange and two Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies.

Wednesday

Leftover tacos on Wednesdays! This week we had ground pork with our tacos, and Kiddo1 likes his with romaine and cucumber on a soft organic corn shell. He also got purple carrots (we’re on a colorful carrot kick!), broccoli, apple slices, and a couple more Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies.

Thursday

For Thursday’s lunch Kiddo1 got leftover meatballs we made Wednesday night from more of the ground pork we got in our half pig share. He also had broccoli, carrots, cucumber, and some apple sauce.

On Friday there was no school, yay! And only one more week of lunches before Spring Break! See you next week!

Big March Post #1, Part 1: A New Night’s Sleep

Welcome to the first of three big posts for March! This one is very exciting for me because I’m going to talk about… our new mattress! Wait, stay with me, I promise it is more exciting than it sounds.

First, it’s exciting for me because, if you can believe it, I’ve never had a brand-new mattress in my whole life! Crazy right? My parents got my childhood mattress used, and I slept on it from about a year old until I left for college. Then in college I slept on the dorm mattress, gross and certainly not new. When I moved to an apartment I slept on a futon, which was new I guess but not really a mattress so that doesn’t count. And when my husband and I got our first house we were gifted his parents’ guest bedroom mattress, which was practically new but had still hosted a few guests in the few years that they owned it. And we have now slept on that bed for 13 years, so it is well past it’s need-to-replace date. Did you know conventional interspring mattresses need to be replaced after about seven years? (According to Consumer Reports and The Better Sleep Council.) Not only is our mattress old, but Kiddo1’s mattress is too. Although we bought his new from IKEA, the mattress is still about 10 years old and starting to get pretty lumpy. So, new beds for everyone! (Except Baby2 since she’s still rocking her crib mattress as a toddler bed just fine, and doesn’t look like she’ll need a new one for another year or so.)

Our new beds are even more exciting because we got a nice tax refund this year so we decided to invest it in the best mattresses we could buy. We did a ton of research, starting with talking to family who had also recently bought a new mattess. They went with a big-name company (think one of the “three S’s”) and told us lots of things we weren’t exactly happy to hear – the new mattresses have pillow tops attached to them (which I believe it an option not to have, but a lot of them have the toppers attached), which makes flipping the mattress impossible. The mattress can be rotated 180 degrees but not flipped around. Because of this, the newest beds claim to have an even shorter life span – about five years. We really didn’t like the thought of making this investment and then having to do it again in five years. If that were the case we would have to have bought three mattress in the time we’ve only slept on one together! Crazy!

Besides the fast replacement timeframes, conventional mattress also come with a standard cocktail of chemical flame retardants – boric acid (used to kill insects), formaldehyde (which is known to present a cancer risk), and antimony, a substance more toxic than mercury. There are all kinds of studies out there about the absorption rates of these chemicals for adults that sleep on conventional beds, and they state an adult sleeping on a chemically treated mattress “will absorb .8 mg of antimony every night, an amount that is 27 times more than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says is safe”. A child could absorb 63 times the safe limit. (source) That’s insane right?! Add to this the research that looks into the link between chemical flame retardants and fertility, as well as chemicals being found in newborns and breastmilk. Scary stuff. This post isn’t about chemicals, though, so I’ll leave my chemical research at that, but I think it is important to note here. It was certainly one of the main reasons why we chose to avoid purchasing a conventional mattresses!

All this research led us to find an alternative and we discovered natural latex. At first I was really hesitant, I mean don’t people have allergies to latex? But after reading into it more I discovered the allergies are to things like latex gloves, which have a thin, stretchy structure that concentrates the protein that allergic people have a reaction to. Also, sleeprs are protected from the latex itself by a mattress wrapper, typically made of cotton, and there are options for wool toppers, so you’re not sleeping directly on the latex. To cause a reaction latex must come in contact with the skin. Simply breathing around it is not a problem, as it does not “off gas” like the flame-retardant chemicals do (there’s an exception I read about for startch-lined latex gloves though, which can release latex molecules into the air and cause an airborne reaction). We read about latex allergies with regard to latex mattresses from a variety of sources, but this website give a good summary. No one in our family has any known latex allergies, but lately when I know something is a common issue I tend to investigate it a little further just in case!

Of course there are other alternatives to the conventional interspring mattress, like memory foam and Temperpedic mattresses. BUT, those are just made from synthetic chemcials! They also off-gas and they are not sustainable materials (meaning they can’t be replanted like the Hevea tree that provides liquid latex – they’re manufactured in a lab). So while these type of foam mattresses have some of the same benefits of latex, they’re still not quite what we’re going for.

Some benefits of natural latex:

• No chemical flame retardants. A wool topper makes a natural fire resistant layer. And the more we thought about it, the more we wondered why our mattress needs to be flame-resistant anyway? We’re not smoking in bed, we don’t use portable heat sources, even our heating air vent is a safe distance away from our bed. So unless some actual sparks start flying in the bedroom (haha), why do we need a mattress that can resist a blowtorch flame?
• Natural latex is inhospitable to dust mites, which love living in conventional mattresses where they can live off our dead skin cells. Ew! It’s also mildew and mold resistant (but not waterproof, so a water-protective layer like wool is a wise investment for further protection).
• Natural latex mattress are super durable – they can last at a minimum of 10 years, often 20 or more. This site even claims they can last up to 30 years! And since there’s no build up of dust mites, I don’t mind keeping the same bed for that long.

The cellular structure of a layer of latex (Image from Sleeponlatex.com)

• Natural latex is “spongy” because of its cellular structure (ie it has lots of regularly spaced holes) and because of its natural “foamy” properties. Therefore it cradles your body but doesn’t leave impressions in the mattress – it bounces back. This cell structure also makes it breathable. Most latex mattresses do compress about an inch or so after roughly a decade, but without having much impact on the comfort or other benefits of natural latex.
• Natural latex keeps pretty cool since it is breathable. If a cool mattress doesn’t work for you, though (I get cold when I sleep) then a wool topper helps the mattress not only stay warmer in winter but also cooler in the summer. Wool is also mildew-, mold-, and dust mite-resistant. Wool is a magic material!
• The natural latex material is sustainable – it is harvested much like maple syrup, with a tap created in a 7-year-old Hevea tree, which can be harvested from for 25 years (source). Plus since you’re only buying one bed every, let’s say, 20 years, instead of two or three, that keeps fewer mattresses from going to the landfill or needing to be broken apart for recycling.
• There are a TON of latex options out there – options on manufacturing types, firmness, number of layers, how the layers are fixed (or not fixed) together, how the layers are wrapped together, types of mattress toppers available, etc. Just as many options as presented by conventional mattresses, if not more. Of course, all these options can also be confusing, so you’ll see this “pro” come up in the “cons” section as well.
• Finally, for us, our mattress purchase was kept pretty local. While the latex itself does come from an entirely different continent (since Hevea trees are tropical), our mattress was built right here in town and the organic cotton and wool was all American-made. Plus the store we bought from is women-owned, which gives me, as a woman, some warm fuzzies.

A Hevea tree tapped to give natural latex material (Image from Encyclopedia Britannica)

 

Sounds wonderful right? It is almost perfect. Of course, there are a couple cons:

• Price – a natural latex mattress will cost more than a conventional one, often two to three times more (even more if you go for organic natural latex). But they also last at least two to three times as long, and you don’t get the chemicals.
• Latex mattress are a little less thick than conventional interspring mattresses. That doesn’t make them any less comfortable or less durable, but it will affect the height of your bed, if that’s an issue for you. There are also thicker latex mattresses available (they have more layers). The bed we purchased is 8 inches thick with three layers of latex, about the same thickness as the interspring mattress we got rid of.
• There’s so much to learn about latex! There are so many varieties and manufacturing types out there. Which brings me to part 2 (this post got really long so I had to split “big announcement post one” into two parts!), which is our latex-specific research.

All of this research is what turned our exciting new mattress purchase from your regular experience at a mattress store to a big education on flame retardants and chemical-free alternatives. While we had become comfortable with the alternative of a natural latex mattress, we still had a lot to learn about the latex choices. Part 2 will cover all the research we did about latex and how we ended up choosing our new bed.

Weekly Lunch Wrap Up #21

We’re back to regularly scheduled weekly lunch posts!

Monday

We started off the week with some strips of leftover chicken. We usually eat a whole chicken every other week or so, and when we’ve had our fill we strip off all the leftover meat and make a broth with the bones. I love that our chickens do double-duty, or even triple-duty, for us – we get dinner, some lunch leftovers, and tasty broth too! But back to this lunch… Kiddo1 also had his fairly standard carrots and cucumber, along with some strawberries (organic strawberries were on sale last week – it’s almost strawberry season!).

Tuesday

No leftovers from Meatless Monday so Kiddo1 had ham, more carrots and cucumbers, a Mandarin orange, and Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies.

Wednesday

Beef tacos again this week, since they’re Kiddo1’s favorite. Plus more carrots and cookies! A fairly standard Wednesday lunch.

Thursday

Kiddo1 finished off the leftover chicken for Thursday’s lunch, plus had a bunch of veggies and fruits – carrots, broccoli, cucumber, and strawberries. And of course the Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies are not to be forgotten!

Friday

Finishing off the week by finishing off a few things from the fridge – the last of the carrots, some more ham, another Mandarin orange, and  a special request for raisins. And those are the lunches for this week!

 

So after much teasing last week about the “three special announcements” for March, I’ll finally have the first one published this weekend. And it won’t involve lunch foods at all!

Weekly Lunch Wrap Up #20 (Catch Up #3)

Whew, the last catch up post is here! This one covers the last week of February. Next lunch post will be at its regularly scheduled day on Tuesday. And of course, since I haven’t mentioned it already (ha!) there are three big posts/announcements coming in March too! Keep checking the blog or drop your email in the “Follow” box at the right to stay updated.

Monday

Kiddo1 hasn’t had a lettuce wrap in a long time! We had some leftover pork roast from Sunday night so I figured wrapping it up would be the best way to get him to eat it. There’s also diced cucumber in the wrap. On the right we have carrots sticks and a couple Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies.

Tuesday

Once again we were out of meat leftovers for Tuesday’s lunch (because Monday nights are meatless) but we do almost always have our back-up: ham! We buy Beeler’s uncured ham. Kiddo1 also had his usual carrots and cucumbers, plus a nice-sized little Pink Lady apple and a couple Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies. It was a chocolate chip cookie week around here!

Wednesday

No leftovers again on Wednesday, this time it was because we went out to eat on Tuesday night – something we rarely do anymore! But it was my birthday and the family wanted to celebrate, so we did a bunch of research to find a place where Kiddo1 could eat foods that he would both enjoy and wouldn’t give him tummy troubles. We found a place willing to make some plain chicken and french fries for him – it was so good we didn’t have any to take home for lunch the next day! So instead of more ham I cut up these meatsticks that everyone in the family loves. The are beef and organ – yes organ – meat, super good for you and you don’t even know it is in there! Kiddo1 was a little weirded out at first but he loves them – and loves freaking out his friends a little when they see the package. Kiddo1 also had a bunch of good-looking veggies and some more Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies.

Thursday

On Wednesday we had to have tacos (since we missed them on Tuesday night) – a week can’t go by without tacos! For Kiddo1 we had beef tacos again (two weeks in a row!), along with his favorite toppings, romaine and cucumber. He also had more carrots and cookies.

Friday

On Friday, Kiddo1 had more sausage from the pork buy we got in February. Our whole freezer is full of nothing but pork right now, so we’ll be eating a lot of it! Completing this lunch are more carrots, cucumbers, another mandarin orange, and the rest of the Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies.

See you with more lunches on Tuesday! Have a great weekend!

Weekly Lunch Wrap Up #19 (Catch Up #2)

Here’s our second of three “catch up” lunch posts to get us back on track after a busy no-post February! There are also THREE big posts/announcements scheduled for March coming up too – and they aren’t involving lunch! But for now, let’s get to the wrap up – this post covers the third week of February (no posts for the second week because I was out of town).

Monday – no school, happy President’s Day!

Tuesday

Kiddo1 had some leftover bits of pork chop on Tuesday with a side of bbq sauce. It’s been difficult finding good bbq sauce – one without corn syrup (or even without a ton of sugar), no artifical flavors/colors, etc. This one is the Woodstock brand and it is pretty tasty, plus organic and a decent ingredients list. Kiddo1 eats it with everything! He also had his usual carrots and cucumber, plus two Enjoy Life chocolate chip cookies.

Wednesday

More leftover tacos! This week we had beef tacos, Kiddo1’s favorite. He also had his favorite applesauce and some carrots. And this week we had a good supply of cucumbers so no running out before Wednesday like last week.

Thursday

Iin February we bought a half pig’s worth of pork and it came with a whole lot of the boys’ favorite – sausage! So you’ll see a few lunches with sausage over the next couple posts. Normally I’m not a huge fan of processed meats – we try to limit ham (but everyone loves it so we’re not too successful), but this sausage isn’t too bad because it is pretty “minimally processed,” if that’s a thing. We talked a lot to the butcher who processed our pork and he left the sausage uncured and kept the ingredients minimal and to our “clean eating” standards. So I can’t complain too much about this sausage! “Rounding out” this lunch – haha, notice all the round foods? – are carrot rounds, cucumber, slices of apple (they don’t brown too much if you keep them stacked up like this) and some slices of vegan dark chocolate truffle from Missionary Chocolates.

Friday

On Friday, Kiddo1 said he wasn’t too hungry so we packed a fairly minimal lunch of ham sticks (we can’t ever get away from ham!), carrot sticks, a mandarin orange, and more vegan dark chocolate truffle from Missionary Chocolates.

Weekly Lunch Wrap Up #18 (Catch Up #1)

Yikes, we are waaaay behind on the lunch posts! February was just a crazy month around here. It started when I went away for a business trip and missed a Tuesday warp up post, then everything else in life got behind schedule too. I’m finally just now catching up so this week I’m going to marathon post all the lunches from February… except for those that I didn’t photograph while I was away.

Another reason lunch posts have been delayed is that I’m working on THREE big posts/announcements that I plan to share in March. So watch out for those as they’re posted this month. For now, on to the lunches of the first week of February!

Monday

The first school day of February kicked off with our normal carrots and cucumber, plus some leftover chicken from Sunday night. For sweets, Kiddo1 had grapes and his favorite, applesauce.

Tuesday

We changed up our veggies a bit on Tuesday, with broccoli instead of cucumber. Broccoli is still not Kiddo1’s favorite, but he will eat it if it’s given in small quantities. For protein he had ham, our go-to when there’s no leftover meat (because typically Monday nights are meatless). And rounding out the left side is a small mandarin orange and a chunk of vegan dark chocolate truffle from Missionary Chocolates.

Wednesday

Wednesday is leftover taco day! This week we had turkey tacos on Tuesday night, so Kiddo1 gets a leftover one with a bit of lettuce. He usually takes cucumber on his tacos as well, but we ran out! Hence the servings of broccoli two days in a row. But we tried to compensate with more grapes and applesauce.

Thursday

More chicken for lunch on Thursday, plus carrots and another mandarin orange (we must have still been out of cucumbers). More applesauce AND a vegan mint chocolate truffle from Missionary Chocolates. Must have been something special going on…

Friday

Friday was Kiddo1’s 12th birthday! So he got something very special for lunch – a sandwich! He hasn’t had a sandwich for the whole school year. I usually make bread but it is more for toast, it’s not a real soft sandwich bread. And I haven’t made any bread since the New Year, mostly due to lack of motivation. But we found this amazing bread at the store from a company called New Cascadia. Their bread is pretty much just millet flour and yeast so we can eat it! And it is soft and wonderful. So Kiddo1 got a surprise birthday sandwich with ham, romaine, and cucumber slices. I think it looked pretty good! He also had some carrot sticks and a homemade birthday brownie.

Tomorrow we’ll catch up on the third week of February (skipping the second week because that’s when I was away). More to come!