Eat Dirt!

This morning as I gently dabbed the gunk out of Elliot's crusty pink eyes I thought to myself, I wonder if I am too lax about letting him play with germy kids, put who knows what in his mouth and generally expose him to too many nasty bugs. He has had this string of colds since before Christmas, but each time he recovers quickly and he doesn't seem too much worse for wear. I thought that I would call my wise sister or my pediatrician friend Bianca and ask them if there was anything to the theory that exposing kids to bugs when they are young builds a healthy immune system. I still don't know what either of them would have to say on that subject but I opened up the New York Times this morning (ok, pulled up the webpage, same thing) and read the most fascinating article that addressed this very question. I was going to link to it but I'll just paste the whole thing here since it is pretty short.

Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You
by Jane E. Brody
Published: January 26, 2009
Ask mothers why babies are constantly picking things up from the floor or ground and putting them in their mouths, and chances are they’ll say that it’s instinctive — that that’s how babies explore the world. But why the mouth, when sight, hearing, touch and even scent are far better at identifying things?

When my young sons were exploring the streets of Brooklyn, I couldn’t help but wonder how good crushed rock or dried dog droppings could taste when delicious mashed potatoes were routinely rejected.

Since all instinctive behaviors have an evolutionary advantage or they would not have been retained for millions of years, chances are that this one too has helped us survive as a species. And, indeed, accumulating evidence strongly suggests that eating dirt is good for you.
In studies of what is called the hygiene hypothesis, researchers are concluding that organisms like the millions of bacteria, viruses and especially worms that enter the body along with “dirt” spur the development of a healthy immune system. Several continuing studies suggest that worms may help to redirect an immune system that has gone awry and resulted in autoimmune disorders, allergies and asthma.

These studies, along with epidemiological observations, seem to explain why immune system disorders like multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, asthma and allergies have risen significantly in the United States and other developed countries.

Training the Immune System
“What a child is doing when he puts things in his mouth is allowing his immune response to explore his environment,” Mary Ruebush, a microbiology and immunology instructor, wrote in her new book, “Why Dirt Is Good” (Kaplan). “Not only does this allow for ‘practice’ of immune responses, which will be necessary for protection, but it also plays a critical role in teaching the immature immune response what is best ignored.”

One leading researcher, Dr. Joel V. Weinstock, the director of gastroenterology and hepatology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, said in an interview that the immune system at birth “is like an unprogrammed computer. It needs instruction.”

He said that public health measures like cleaning up contaminated water and food have saved the lives of countless children, but they “also eliminated exposure to many organisms that are probably good for us.”

“Children raised in an ultraclean environment,” he added, “are not being exposed to organisms that help them develop appropriate immune regulatory circuits.”

Studies he has conducted with Dr. David Elliott, a gastroenterologist and immunologist at the University of Iowa, indicate that intestinal worms, which have been all but eliminated in developed countries, are “likely to be the biggest player” in regulating the immune system to respond appropriately, Dr. Elliott said in an interview. He added that bacterial and viral infections seem to influence the immune system in the same way, but not as forcefully.
Most worms are harmless, especially in well-nourished people, Dr. Weinstock said.
“There are very few diseases that people get from worms,” he said. “Humans have adapted to the presence of most of them.”

Worms for Health
In studies in mice, Dr. Weinstock and Dr. Elliott have used worms to both prevent and reverse autoimmune disease. Dr. Elliott said that in Argentina, researchers found that patients with multiple sclerosis who were infected with the human whipworm had milder cases and fewer flare-ups of their disease over a period of four and a half years. At the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Dr. John Fleming, a neurologist, is testing whether the pig whipworm can temper the effects of multiple sclerosis.

In Gambia, the eradication of worms in some villages led to children’s having increased skin reactions to allergens, Dr. Elliott said. And pig whipworms, which reside only briefly in the human intestinal tract, have had “good effects” in treating the inflammatory bowel diseases, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, he said.

How may worms affect the immune system? Dr. Elliott explained that immune regulation is now known to be more complex than scientists thought when the hygiene hypothesis was first introduced by a British epidemiologist, David P. Strachan, in 1989. Dr. Strachan noted an association between large family size and reduced rates of asthma and allergies. Immunologists now recognize a four-point response system of helper T cells: Th 1, Th 2, Th 17 and regulatory T cells. Th 1 inhibits Th 2 and Th 17; Th 2 inhibits Th 1 and Th 17; and regulatory T cells inhibit all three, Dr. Elliott said.

“A lot of inflammatory diseases — multiple sclerosis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and asthma — are due to the activity of Th 17,” he explained. “If you infect mice with worms, Th 17 drops dramatically, and the activity of regulatory T cells is augmented.”
In answer to the question, “Are we too clean?” Dr. Elliott said: “Dirtiness comes with a price. But cleanliness comes with a price, too. We’re not proposing a return to the germ-filled environment of the 1850s. But if we properly understand how organisms in the environment protect us, maybe we can give a vaccine or mimic their effects with some innocuous stimulus.”
Wash in Moderation
Dr. Ruebush, the “Why Dirt Is Good” author, does not suggest a return to filth, either. But she correctly points out that bacteria are everywhere: on us, in us and all around us. Most of these micro-organisms cause no problem, and many, like the ones that normally live in the digestive tract and produce life-sustaining nutrients, are essential to good health.
“The typical human probably harbors some 90 trillion microbes,” she wrote. “The very fact that you have so many microbes of so many different kinds is what keeps you healthy most of the time.”

Dr. Ruebush deplores the current fetish for the hundreds of antibacterial products that convey a false sense of security and may actually foster the development of antibiotic-resistant, disease-causing bacteria. Plain soap and water are all that are needed to become clean, she noted.

“I certainly recommend washing your hands after using the bathroom, before eating, after changing a diaper, before and after handling food,” and whenever they’re visibly soiled, she wrote. When no running water is available and cleaning hands is essential, she suggests an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Dr. Weinstock goes even further. “Children should be allowed to go barefoot in the dirt, play in the dirt, and not have to wash their hands when they come in to eat,” he said. He and Dr. Elliott pointed out that children who grow up on farms and are frequently exposed to worms and other organisms from farm animals are much less likely to develop allergies and autoimmune diseases.

Also helpful, he said, is to “let kids have two dogs and a cat,” which will expose them to intestinal worms that can promote a healthy immune system.

Did you read that last part Mr. Halverson??? OK, I'll pass on the cat, but here's one more reason to get a dog!

Change I Can Believe In

The economy may be in tatters but I woke up this morning with a smile on my face. No, not because Obama is at the helm, although that does make me smile, but because I DIDN'T wake up at any point in the night to comfort a crying child. This miraculous event has occurred for five nights running so I finally feel like I can write about and I won't jinx it. Our secret? We put Elliot to bed in the sensory deprivation chamber (our walk-in closet) and we leave the hall light on and the door wide open to the boys' room for Oliver. This seems to work wonders for both of them.

In other positive news, it has been weeks since Elliot last spit up all over me. No more stinky cheese smell, no more stained shirts, no more gross puddles on the floor and furniture, no more humiliation when I see pictures of me like the one below and realize that spit up doesn't "dry clear". What was I thinking???

Can we make these changes stick? Yes we can!

Blogging Hiatus

                                     

It has been a month since I last posted on this blog. Between our trip to New York for Christmas, New Year's, and our 7 year anniversary a lot has happened that is certainly "blog worthy" but I have just been so busy implementing my New Year's resolutions (to go to bed at the same time as Ryan, to keep to a schedule, to do a better job of magnifying my callings, to create a "HOUSE OF ORDER"...more on that later) that I haven't had much time to muse about my life, the kids, the incoming administration, etc. But tonight is Friday night and I can sleep in tomorrow (yeah right) I decided to throw caution and common sense and all that to the wind and post some pictures at least.

We stopped on our way up to New York in Washington DC and stayed with the Hales'. We invited a few old DC friends over for a "Bagels and Boys" playdate on Saturday morning. I was so excited to introduce Ollie to our friend's little boys. They bonded over a common love for trains and Lightning McQueen. Check out these cute kids! They belong to Catherine & Scott Ladd, Matt & Kathy Johnson, Mary & Steve Hales, and James & Mariane Viray.

We didn't have too much time to spend in DC because we had dinner plans with more old DC friends in New York. Here is Oliver with more Colonial Ward progeny: Katie Carpenter Groberg and Emily Carpenter Hanson's kids. (We were just getting the hang of a new lens that was my early Christmas present to Ryan so some of these pictures are a little skiwampus.) We had dinner with the Grobergs, the Hansons (minus JP and one sick kiddo), and the newlyweds Tom and Whit Gourley.

Katie is such a gracious hostess and not only made some awesome desserts (yum!) but brought cool Christmas craft projects for the kids.

 

The highlight of our trip to New York City may have been the trip to the New York Botanical Garden with Abby and Adam to see the Holiday Train Show. This is a pretty spectacular event. We thought it was pretty cool even before we had a train-obsessed little boy. The NYBG has recreated many famous NYC landmarks entirely out of plant material (twigs, bark, dried flowers, seeds, etc.) Oliver was pretty enchanted by all the trains.

 

 

Oliver and this European boy instantly bonded over how excited they were to see the model trains go by. But check out how DIRTY this boy is...really, this picture does not even do it justice.

After the train show we went out to dinner on Arthur Avenue in the Bronx. We thought we had made arrangements to go to the same Italian restaurant we went to four years ago, but arrived at Dominick's only to discover that it wasn't the place we remembered so fondly. The food was just OK but we had good company, so we enjoyed the dinner thoroughly.

 

The next day we went to see more model trains at the Citigroup Center, the ice skaters at Rockefeller Center, and the goods at FAO Schwartz. We had some other adventures planned but it was INCREDIBLY cold, so we pooped out.  Adam had given us the keys to his apartment in case we needed some place to nap or warm up during the day. (We adore Adam. He's the most thoughtful, generous, warm-hearted, fun and interesting person. Abby, you totally scored!!)

This is how we looked when we arrived at Adam's house...notice the sleeping Oliver. He was exhausted but had finally fallen asleep in our makeshift double stroller on the way to Adam's. We ever-so-carefully carried him into the house where he woke up as soon as the door shut behind us and proceeded to wreak havoc in Adam's brand new digs (no good deed goes unpunished, I'm sure he wasn't counting on that when he invited us to "make ourselves at home").

We had dinner with Abby and Adam again that night after they got home from work.  

Since it is late and I don't want to fall too hard off the "house of order" wagon I am not going to write too much else tonight. Christmas was, well, memorable. We drove up to my dad's house in Unadilla. Adam's flight to Michigan was canceled so he ended up joining us for Christmas, for which we are all (especially perhaps Ryan) most grateful! The boys got totally spoiled by their grandparents. Here are some pictures from Christmas. By the way, that's not the Charlie Brown Christmas tree...it's a Serbian spruce that my dad is planting in the back yard once the ground thaws :-)

                                                     

 

   

Proclamations to the World

Oliver has started talking in full sentences and it is pretty funny to hear what he has to say. He still has some pretty bizarre articulation issues (like the way he pronounces "house" as "fouse" and couch as "fouch") but his grammar is impeccable. He speaks with the halting manner of someone learning a new language, or rather, someone using a phrasebook to speak a foreign language "ou. se. trouve. les. toillets?"

On Saturday we went to the Genworth family Christmas party where Oliver declared, "I. Do. NOT. Like. Santa." Alrighty then, no sitting on Santa's lap. We got it, kid, your message was heard loud and clear. Not that he would have had trouble communicating his feelings about Santa without a strong command of the English language...he sent pretty much the same message last year with weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

He, like his mom, is a sucker for praise. We are pretty generous with praise around here but even when it's not forthcoming from us, Ollie supplies his own. He will look down proudly at the elaborate train track course he's made and announce, "I'm a good train worker man." Except that "worker" sounds like "wusser," which doesn't exactly sound like praise if it were to come from us. According to Ollie is also a "good eater man," a "good puzzle man" and a "good boy" (He often tells his mom that she is a good boy, too. Thanks, buddy.)

He has been a sport about eating lately, too. His palate is extremely limited but he is starting to enjoy some of the things that he does eat. For instance, he will take a sip of water and says "mmm...good water!" as if he were tasting some exotic beverage or fine wine. The other day he licked something off his finger and remarked with great enthusiasm, "mmmm...GOOD booger!" I must have given him a look that clearly signaled my disgust because he quickly corrected himself, "good EAR booger!" Oh, you are eating your own ear wax, that's SO much better than pickin' and lickin' your nose! Way to go kid!

Thanksgiving Photos

Ryan has long declared Thanksgiving to be his favorite holiday. Why? There's no hassle, no stress (usually)-- it's all about food, friends and family. We usually go out to his parents' house in Minnesota. His siblings, with the exception of us on the East coast and Taylor & Lisa out in California, are scattered around the midwest so it's pretty easy for most of the kids to get home for Thanksgiving. This year the midwestern contingent gathered at Kim & Clark's new digs in Bartlesville, Oklahoma but we decided to stay home. It was the first time in the entire time Ryan and I have known each other that we did not travel or host family and it worked out great. I missed hanging out with Ryan's family; playing ultra-competitive matches of Settlers and Ticket to Ride; going running with Kirsten, Kim and Lisa; eating Ryan's mom's famous jello "salad" (no kidding, it is a pièce de résistance--Ryan loves it so much that has lost its original name and is known by the family simply as "Ryan Jello" ); and witnessing Blake's obsessive insistence that the Christmas decorations go up the minute Thanksgiving is over.

This year we got together with our good friends Ali & Mitch and Kim & Jason for a really low key Thanksgiving fiesta. Ali hosted and provided scrumptious side dishes, I made the turkey (see Cackalacky Kitchen for more details), and Kim made two outstanding pies. I was in charge of photo-documenting the event and sadly, I was a dork and didn't take any pictures of the food! Let me assure you, it was a pretty amazing spread. I was too distracted by all the cute kids and took lots of pictures of them instead. So here are some pictures of our Thanksgiving celebration.

Ali has such great style. The table was beautifully set with fresh flowers and pewter goblets.

These guys are in HEAVEN playing with cars and trains.

The kids' table. But where's Oliver?? He had about three bites of a roll and went back up to play with cars in the playroom.

The ladies took the kiddos on a walk/Big Wheel ride throught the neighborhood between dinner and dessert. Oliver had a major freak out (see post below) because we were riding bikes in the street. He made me hold his hand the whole time. He steered his ride-on car with one hand and held mine tightly with his other. In truth, I'm glad that he is fearful about going into the street because unlike some of his other fears, this one has merit.

The boys watch in anticipation as the pie is served

This little guy was definitely a big fan of the chocolate cream pie. Who can blame him for digging in? That was some seriously delicious pie!

The Only Thing He Has To Fear Is...

...EVERYTHING. Apparently.

So Oliver, who has never been fearless in the sense of being reckless or impulsive, has recently developed a full-blown case of sissiness. He started to think everything is "scawy." Really. It started with this adorable (I thought) navy blue winter hat that I bought him. It had ear flaps and tassels on it. Cute, right? Well, I guess he thought that was scary. OK. Whatever. I tried a few times to get him to put it on and he totally freaked out. He couldn't stand to look at it much less have it on his head. It was on the ground in his room near the door and he was afraid to go through the door. I can only guess that he's thinking that those tassels might come and get him.

It doesn't help to tell him that something he is convinced is scary just isn't scary. He doesn't see it that way. So, the approach that I'm taking is to show him that he has the power to make something scary not scary anymore. The other night he was going to bed and he thought that his pillow was scary. What?? What is scary about a pillow?!? He said it was a crocodile. Hmm...I thought that maybe it was the ties on the back of the sham that were so offending him and somehow reminding him of a crocodile. I told him to turn it over and it wouldn't be scary anymore. He did it and agreed, "piddow not scawy enymore." I remind him of this when he thinks that other things are scary. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

What I'm trying to figure out is whether this is a common childhood phase or is this weird? Abby thinks that it is an appropriate adaptive response for a preschooler. I don't know if this is something she learned in medical school or if she is just inclined to think that anything Oliver does is smart and charming. :-)

Whatever happened to Family Values??

Some sharp-eyed readers have noticed that I wrote a post titled Family Values that is no longer up here on this blog. The subject of the post, gay marriage, is a controversial topic that elicits strong feelings from people we love on both sides of the issue. Ryan felt that our family blog was not the right forum for divisive political discussion. So I have moved that post here, to Cackalacky Kitchen, which will henceforth serve as a place for my musing on politics and pastry, among other things. Cackalacky Kitchen is co-authored by my sister, the amazing Dr. Abigail Ford.

If you are interested in what we're cooking, or what thoughts are keeping me awake at night, please visit Cackalacky Kitchen and leave a comment. If you just want to check out what we're up to and see pictures of our kids (can I blame you??) continue to check out this blog.

In any case, thanks for taking the time to read our blog!