Declan and I recited one of our favorite bedtime poems this morning. He's 2 1/2 years old and I have to say that it's moments like this that make it all worth it!
Skidamarink
Skidamarink, a dink a dink
Skidamarink a doo
I love you!
Skidamarink, a dink a dink
Skidamarink a doo
I love you!
I love you in the morning
And in the afternoon
I love you in the evening
And underneath the moon
Skidamarink, a dink a dink
Skidamarink a doo
I love you!
I had always dreaded the thought of giving birth. It seemed like such an impossible task and after all the talk of how terrible it was from people who had already done it, I was convinced I would take every drug offered to me and would preferably be knocked out until it was all over.
The reality is that giving birth was the most wonderful, incredible, momentous and enjoyable experience of my life so far and I can't think of anything that could top it. I hope that I can encourage and inspire you not only that you can do this, but that you can do it well AND enjoy every moment.
I am convinced that 95% of the battle with childbirth is our mindset going into it. I decided to have a homebirth, and taking pain medication was never even an option; it was never discussed, never brought up, never considered so my whole mentality from day one was preparing myself for natural birth. I will say this though, I leaned heavily on my supportive husband, and my professional, knowledgeable and supportive midwives. How confusing and frustrating it would have been if they would have tried to offer me drugs half way through the labor. Would I have given in? I don't know. I hope not but I do know that in the incredibly vulnerable and exhausting state of giving birth, you need all the help and encouragement you can get to see it all the way through. If you have any doubt about the ability of your healthcare provider to enable you to give birth the way you want, I encourage you to keep looking.
I highly recommend the book 'The Bradley Method' by Susan McCutcheon. I love the breathing techniques in this birthing method. Rather than the highly stressful panting recommended by other methods, the Bradley book takes you through a deep, slow breath that is relaxing, helps you to focus and eases the pain.
If you are having your baby in a hospital or at home, you can look into having a doula attend your birth as a support coach. The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek meaning "a woman who serves" and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period. Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily.
I have a friend who had labored hard for 12 hours and was about to be taken in for a C-section when a doula just happened to pass the room, offered her assistance and the baby was born 20 minutes later!
Here are some ways to prepare for the birth that really helped me:
Everyone's birthing experience is unique so it's difficult to give 'ten steps to an easy birth'. What helped me the most was the realization that my body was capable of doing this awesome task. I read a lot of books and talked to a lot of women who had had homebirths and I felt inspired that it was going to be wonderful. I chose not to listen to the women who talked about pain and the 'what-if' issue of homebirth. I had read enough to be fully convinced that I was not in any way endangering myself or my child.
I'm a big believer in making conscious, responsible and informed decisions. When people would question me on our decision to have homebirths I wanted to be able to give real, quantifiable answers. I'm not one to just follow what everyone else does, or blindly accept social norms. I like to know why I'm going to do something and if my final decision looks the same as everyone else, so be it. In this case though and in many of my parenting choices, I know that I have gone against the grain. I'm OK with that because for every decision I've made, I can tell you exactly why I've made it.
I read the following books that I found really helpful in being informed both emotionally and physically as well as getting statistical facts on the safety of homebirths compared to hospital births:
The Power of Pleasurable Childbirth, by Laurie Morgan
Dangers of Compulsory Immunizations, by Tom Finn
Childbirth at Home, by Marion Sousa
I'm something of a novice when it comes to sprouting grains but I have taken the first step and found that it is surprisingly easy and wonderfully delicious.
I have been wanting to sprout grains for a long time because of the amazing health benefits. Grains themselves have an acidic effect on the body but when you sprout them, they have an alkalizing effect which is highly beneficial for our health (see 'pH balancing' in Foundations of Natural Health category). Also, the sprouted grains that contain chlorophyll have the qualities of green veggies, and get this, they contain all of the amino acids which are the precursors to protein, making them a perfect protein source. So, forget that 16oz steak that's full of fat, is acidifying to the body and probably full of horrible chemicals, and just reach for a handful of sprouted grains! Not convinced? You wouldn't believe how many uses there are for sprouted grains and how delicious they can be.
My initial reservations were that it would be too difficult to do and that it would be time consuming. Not true! I bought myself a sprouting bag, a small bag of salad mix (it contains alfalfa, mung beans, red and brown lentils) and some distilled water. I put about a tablespoon of the grains / seeds in a bowl, cover them with water and a few hours later, just pour it all in the bag which I hang over my kitchen sink to drain. Each morning and evening, I rinse the bag and hang it back up to drain. Five days later I have a huge bowl full of sprouts to enjoy. They last about 5 days in the fridge, by which time my next batch is ready to eat.
So far, I've only sprouted this one mix and as we're heading into warmer weather, I"ve just been using them on salads, sandwiches, wraps and my favorite lunch; raw portobella mushroom marinated in Braggs Aminos, topped with guacamole and sprouts.
I'm totally inspired now though. I'm going to get myself a couple more bags and start experimenting. Something I'd like to try is sprouting sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds then marinating them in Braggs Aminos and dehydrating them for a salty flavored, crunchy snack. These would be great in my homemade trail mix too (see my recipe). Wheatberries can be sprouted and used in bread, flax seeds are wonderful sprouted - there are so many options. I'll let you know how it goes. Better yet, why don't you give it a shot and let me know how it goes!
It's the same old story; temperatures soar heralding the unofficial start of Summer, we all rush outside and come home at the end of the day hot, tired and ....... fried.
Sunburn is not fun, especially for kids. Here's a couple of natural remedies:
Aloe is the tried and true way to relieve sunburn. Just make sure you get a quality brand that doesn't contain any alcohol. I like Natures Sunshine's Aloe Vera Gel.
To relieve the pain, add 2 cups of vinegar and 1 box of baking soda to a bath. You can also apply the vinegar directly to the skin. Drink plenty of water to keep the skin hydrated, and you can also apply Vitamin E oil. Just pierce the capsule and rub on the skin. Honey is also beneficial if a little sticky.
Potassium is needed if the sunburn is severe, and Herbal Trim Skin Treatment stops the pain immediately.
The best course of action is obviously prevention. Wear a hat and sunglasses, keep covered up and stay in the shade when possible. When it's not, use Natures Sunshine sunscreen. Safe for kids too!
With an estimated 75% of children suffering from some kind of ear infection by the age of three, it's not surprising that parents freak out when their child exhibits those tell tell signs of pain and possibly fever. Most of the time there's not much option but to run them to the ER for antibiotics. You have to do something right? Well, of course you do. You don't want to mess around with infections in small children. That's why I'm so impressed with the two products I'm going to tell you about because they're incredibly effective and have none of the negative side effects and repercussions of antibiotics.
I had recommended these products to a gentleman whose five year old daughter had had one ear infection after another since birth. They were at a loss as to what to do and didn't want to put her on even more antibiotics. The doctors were talking about doing surgery. I recommended CBG Extract and Silver Shield and the gentleman came back to see me two days later to tell me that his granddaughter was like a different child, the ear infection was gone!
What is an ear infection?
An outer ear infection (also known as swimmer's ear) is often preceded by an upper respiratory infection or allergic reaction to some foods, most commonly dairy products. The ear canal becomes inflamed and swollen, causing symptoms such as slight fever, discharge from the ear, and severe and throbbing pain. It is definitely worth addressing the root cause of this in infants. Is your child allergic to the formula they're on, or, if you are breastfeeding (ear infections are very uncommon in breastfed babies), mother might need to change what she is eating, avoid dairy or any other foods that your baby is reacting to. Babies can also develop a mild ear ache when they're teething.
A middle ear infection is very common in children and infants. The infection is located behind the ear drum where the small bones of the ear are located. Air pressure is regulated in this area by the eustachian or auditory tube, which runs from the ear to the back of the nasal cavity. If bacteria or viruses get into this space, the area becomes inflamed and fluid starts to build up, causing the sensation of pressure. Other symptoms include ear ache, pain, a feeling of fullness in the ear and/or a high fever. Children often pull at their ears to relieve the pressure.
A severe middle ear infection can cause perforation of the eardrum so it's important to catch it as soon as possible. If this happens, it will cause a sudden reduction in pain as the pressure is released when the drum bursts. The result is hearing loss and a discharge of bodily fluid from the ear.
Recurring ear infections are generally an indication that an original infection has been resistant to the prescribed treatment. I hear this so often from parents that once their child has had an ear infection, they continue to get one after another.
If the ear infection is accompanied by a fever, a vinegar wash is really effective to bring the temperature down. I always keep my child close and wrapped up warm if they have chills, and then have a bowl of warm water with white vinegar in it (just a couple of tablespoons will be enough). I use a wash cloth to rinse their heads. The action of the vinegar opens the pores so the fever can escape. If the child is sweating, do the same but without the blankets. You can also put them in a bath with about a cup of vinegar.
We had our first ear infection in our son when he was almost 2 1/2. He woke up in the night crying and obviously distressed. He wouldn't let me touch his ear as it was so painful so it didn't take me long to figure out what we were dealing with. I have had the necessary remedies on hand since the day he was born as I never wanted to be in this situation and have nothing that I could do about it.
I gave him Silver Shield and CBG Extract orally, and some drops in the ear. Then I laid down with him and cuddled him until he went back to sleep. Isn't that so much better than a trip to the ER in the middle of the night? An hour later, he woke up again so I repeated exactly the same routine. He went back to sleep and woke up the next morning at 9am his normal, happy self. I continued giving him the Silver Shield and CBG Extract throughout the day to make sure that any lingering infection was dealt with but we never had another issue.
Interestingly, two days later, my husband was changing our son's diaper and he said that his pee was really brown. When infection leaves the body, whether it is in the mucus that comes out of the nose or mouth, or from the kidneys, it will always be brown.
I love it when I see a natural response of the body to deal with sickness and infection. I am confident that that infection left my son's body so we will not have recurring ear infection issues.
Resources:
I have been trying to figure out what it is that is preventing me from losing those last few stubborn pounds of baby weight. I was one of the fortunate few who didn't actually put on very much weight during pregnancy but the pounds actually crept on afterwards. My theory was that I could eat as much as I wanted because I was tandem nursing my infant and my two year old. Of course I was eating healthy but I was just eating a lot, and then I'd usually finish off whatever my husband and son left on their plates. I'll confess, I'm also a bit of a carb addict (don't judge, I know I'm not the only one), and I'm also partial to a bit of sugar every now and then.
And that's where my problem lies of course. Combine two small children with the 'stay-at-home' aspect of motherhood and there has to be some kind of escapism somewhere. Mine was my 'cuppa tea'. I would dig out the biggest mug I could find, fill it to the brim and then open up a box of cookies to dunk in my tea. Call me crazy but that's what we Brits do.
Now, who of us can eat a cookie and stop there? Not me, if I eat one, I'm going to eat three and if the box is open in front of me, I'm more than likely going to forget to count after that. The real crux of the problem I was facing is that I would just keep dunking and eating until my 24 oz cuppa tea was gone.
I had to take two approaches to my little addiction. First, choose a smaller cup for my tea thereby running out of dunking liquid before I consumed too much cookie. Alternatively, I could drink my 24 oz cup of heaven without opening the box of cookies. My second approach was in realizing that my escapism was in response to my lack of stress management when it came to yet another tantrum or a baby who won't go to sleep.
I can't say I've conquered either approach but I am trying to find other ways to manage my little bouts of stress, and I finally rid the house of sugary temptations. I'm also not eating quite the same vast quantities of food and I'm very happy to say that I have lost 7lbs. I've got a few more to go but I might just go and put the kettle on so I can brainstorm a new strategy. No cookies, I promise!
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