Supplement Savvy Sarah has a kid

Many of my friends know that I work in a supplement store. It is my life. Shannon and I have been doing this together since 2006. Working with your significant other and living together is a task in itself, and then you throw a kid in the mix. However, we usually don't work at the same stores and we've been able to keep a professional relatioship with few quarrels about work.

Before Koko Bean came along, we were always at the gym together. We had UFC parties at our house once a month and we were rather carefree...eh hem...yes carefree enough to what??? Yes, Korbin was a surprise, not an accident. I had secretly had the baby bug for a few months before finding out I was pregnant, but never really thought twice about it. I wasn't married and I had been working out very hard, hard enough to get the competition bug too. I was 27, had a great career, and a wonderful man who was scared you-know-what-less, but also very excited. He was so excited, he called his mother before I had a chance to even mention it to my parents!

So here we were, expecting a baby. I had thought a lot about what kinds of healthy things I would do while pregnant and was inquisitive about breastfeeding. I made the decision after all the shock and awe set in, that I would in fact nurse my baby. It was the best chance for her to get a headstart on a healthy immune system as well as extremely beneficial for me. Breastfeeding helps to prevent breast cancer in the long run for both mother and child and breast cancer runs rampid in my family. Among other things, it is also the best possible way to bond between a mother and child. The other thing I knew I needed to do was make sure I religiously took my fish oil (omega 3 fatty acids) while pregnant and nursing. Omega 3 is essential for baby's brain development, eye health, and mom's MOOD, brain, eyes, joints, and hair, skin and nails, and heart. I attribute taking fish oil to my lack of stretch marks. I am allergic to just about every lotion or cream out there, and all I did was fish oil. I took and still take the GNC Triple Strength Fish Oil.

The other thing I knew to take was a GOOD multivitamin. Now, I'm not talking about some cheapo deapo Walmart Equate knock-off prenatal multivitamin or even a prescription prenatal. I could give a rat's rear if my mulit was made in an FDA laboratory. Don't trust 'em. Never have. Never will. The only multivitamin I have ever been able to stomach was the GNC multi so I went with the prenatal by GNC with iron. It had the best source of antioxidants, B Vitamins, including 1,000mcg of folic acid (hello brain again,) as well as trace minerals I needed in a sustained released tablet. Chewable and capsule form vitamins are a waste. They basically are peed out a couple hours after taking them. I always recommend tablet form multi so it has a chance to do some good. However, some of the leading brands like Centrum and One-A-Day compact their multi into one tablet using synthetic ingredients. Therefore, it passes through during defication or sits in your body and doesn't do squat. This is true with all vitamins, not just prenatals. (Fun fact about Prenatals. They do NOT make your hair, skin and nails thicker, longer or more beautiful. They are just about half the strenght of a regular multi. Pregnancy hormones are what make you glow. )

Even when Korbin was nursing I made sure to keep taking my prenatal, and my fish oil and I started her on a liquid infant vitamin per recommendation from a friend who is a pediatrician. As she got older, we introduced a chewable multi with calcium since we decided not to give her milk after weining.

The supplements Korbin takes now are the following:
Multivitamin- basic nutrients (she's not a good eater)
Fish oil- to give her brain a fighting chance at proper development (her genetics don't hurt either) :)
Vitamin D- to keep her immune system boosted (she's had one real bout with the sickies in her life)
Probiotics- since she doesn't eat right, she doesn't poop well. This keeps her regular as well as we carry about 70% of our immunity within our intestines.)
Protein shakes- No we aren't trying to get her buffed up, but since she doens't eat right, we have to supplememt.
Melatonin- this was a really hard choice for me because I didn't want to be that mom who drugged her kid just to be able to sleep herself. However, Korbin is the energizer bunny. She just can't get her mind to shut down for rest.
Silver biotics- when runny noses poke their ugly heads
Saline spray and the good ol' snot sucker- to prevent infection when those runny noses appear.

I have talked with Korbin's pediatrician about all her supplements and he was very impressed and said we were doing the right thing. This surprised me because most doctors don't know what half of that stuff is, let alone think it's a good idea. I understand that they are under certain rules where they really can't recommend those things, but it's nice to have a doc on the same page and that supports natural supplementation.

Now that we've been through runny noses, and slight coughs but no major illnesses, I feel it's safe to say, we are doing the right thing. As long as you get your supplements from a reputable source, natural supplementation is by far better than taking prescription drugs that usually cause more side effects than the symtoms they are treating.

Koko bean is a happy healthy two -year-old who has been going to daycare since she was 8 weeks old. She has been our little gem and loves it when it's time to take her "bidenum." In fact, she will tell us when it's time now!!!