Paige interviews Charlie Engle, an endurance runner, about his long distance run across the Sahara Desert, and his charity organization H2O Africa. H2O Africa was co-founded by Engle, Matt Damon, and others involved with Engle’s Documentary film, Running the Sahara. Engle also founded Mission Skincare, based on knowledge he acquired about caring for your skin in the desert. You can visit Charlie’s website at charlieengle.com.
Giving birth is only the beginning of the journey. From bathing to feeding it is important for parents to be prepared when bringing a newborn home from the hospital. As part of the MommyCast series “My Baby Me and My World,” sponsored by Pampers, Paige and Gretchen invited Dr. Laura Jana on to the show to discuss the different health and safety issues parents of newborns should be aware of.
Monica Bishopp has a beautiful twenty month old son, Alexander, who was born with profound hearing loss. The Newborn hearing screening identified the loss and Monica and her husband decided to pursue hearing aids for amplification, along with therapy. The mommies visited with Monica about her son's recent cochlear hearing implant surgeries. You can follow Alexander's progress on his blog, and you can learn more here about cochlear implants.
Doris Stein lost her 4 1/2 year old daughter, Jessica, due to complications from the flu in 2002. Now Doris and her husband are part of a group of families called Families Fighting Flu who work to promote flu vaccinations and were instrumental in influencing the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to expand the recommended age for flu vaccines to include children up to the age of nineteen. Doris spoke with Paige about how critical it is for parents to be aware of complications that can arise from the flu and the importance of vaccinating the whole family to protect against both the seasonal flu and H1N1. Please visit www.FamiliesFightingFlu.org for more information, and please, protect your family and friends by getting vaccinated.
Getting children to take an interest in good oral hygiene is not easy, but Gretchen and Paige invited Valerie Woo, DMD to the show to talk about how it can be done. It’s important to be positive, consistent, and give motivators. A toothbrush with an angled handle can help kids reach all their teeth, but most children will need help until they have the dexterity to tie their own shoes. Our show is sponsored by Listerine Smart Rinse and Dr. Woo recommends a fluoride rinse, like Listerine Smart Rinse, to help protect kid’s teeth from cavities.
Paige's newly discovered love of running has her in awe of our latest guest endurance runner Charlie Engle. Last year, Charlie and a few of his friends decided to run straight across the Sahara desert and they documented the entire expedition. The run took 111 days, went through six countries and covered over 4,300 miles. The fabulous film "Running the Sahara" documents each and every step of this amazing journey. Visit the website runningthesahara.com to get your copy of the film today. Enter "Mommycast" into the promo code and receive 20% of your purchase.
In our busy society we often feel like we need to "push through" when we're sick. That’s not the case when you're dealing with H1N1, commonly known as Swine Flu. Gretchen and Paige spoke with Nicole Lurie, MD and Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health and Human Services to get the facts about H1N1 symptoms, treatment, and vaccinations. They learned that one of the most important things we can do to stop the spread of Swine Flu is to keep our children at home until they are fever free for 24 hours. That can mean at least 5 to 7 days at home before your child can return to school. Talk about stir crazy! For more information, visit www.flu.gov.
You've probably heard something about high fructose corn syrup and how it has replaced table sugar in a lot of the foods we eat. If you're wondering what that means for the health of your family, check out this show where Paige and Gretchen learn from Neva Cochran, a registered dietician, more about high fructose corn syrup, its’ nutritional value, and why food companies choose to use it in their products. You can learn more too, by visiting SweetSurprise.com.
State Farm has partnered with Dr. Ian Smith of ABC’s The View and VH1’s popular reality series Celebrity Fit Club to create “The 50 Million Pound Challenge” to promote healthier lives and more nutritious diets.
As part of our series “New Beginnings: Being There for Your New Family,” sponsored by State Farm, Paige and Gretchen visited with a mom-and-daughter duo who are serious about taking the Challenge! Danielle Williams decided to join the Challenge because of her concern for her daughter Dasia’s health. When Dasia’s doctor warned that she was at risk for type-2 diabetes, Danielle knew she had to do something. Now, inspired by the Challenge and armed with online tools available at www.50millionpounds.com, Danielle is taking charge of her family’s health. Watch the show to get your own inspiration and learn what the Williams are doing -- from restricting fast food to banning television. It is awesome! .
There's a lot that goes into keeping your home safe for your family, some of it is obvious, but some of it... not so much. To help new families keep on top of everything, State Farm is sponsoring the series, "New Beginnings; Being There for Your New Family." Watch as Gretchen bravely opens her home for an evaluation by Rebecca Morley, the Executive Director of The National Center for Healthy Housing. Rebecca checks for the main elements of a healthy home: dry, clean, pest free, ventilated, contaminate free, and maintained and shares where to check for potential problems. For even more information, visit the NCHH healthy home checklist by clicking here.