the good stuff

You know that I went through and purged my beauty products for all things toxins. And truthfully I took two things out of the bad pile to keep (mousse and conditioner). Now I'd like to share the good natural bathroom products that we use every day and I'd love to hear what your favorite natural products are.

I have to apologize in advance to those readers who do not have access to a Trader Joe's, you may just want to quit reading right now. We buy many of our products from them, they are so good about making their own cheaper brand. If you do have a TJ's in your area go there, check out the prices and thank me! I'm sure there are many amazing products out there to spend your money on. But I try to do everything on the cheap since I stay at home and we live on one income.

First of all toothpaste, Trader Joe's (see, I told you you'd be mad) makes an excellent natural toothpaste. I didn't like the taste at first, but now I'm used to it.

deo- I make my own and it works better than anything I've ever tried. Mix 1/4 cup cornstarch with 1/4 cup baking soda, add coconut oil to desired consistency and a few drops of essential oil like lavendar. Take a deep breath and savor the freshness, ahhhh...

face lotion- tried Trader Joe's and not a fan, I don't want an SPF with Oxybenzone in it on my face all day. Sometimes I use Jojoba oil, sometimes I use Aveeno, sometimes I use nothing. I would love to hear what you are using. I bought an Avalon Organics lavendar scented face lotion and it was heaven, I felt like I had been to the spa every time I use it. But it's pricey- at Whole Foods it was $18 for a small jar!

body lotion- my whole family uses plain old olive oil, while your skin is still wet from the shower/bath. It's like a little massage. I'm going to put vanilla essential oil in it for a natural bug repellent during the summer.

shampoo and conditioner- from Trader Joe's again, they have an awesome line of tea tree oil products and I think they're around $3 a bottle, come on now, it's practically robbery.

soap- we use a TJ bar soap made of oatmeal and honey, it's awsome and just $2 for 2 bars.

So, what do you use? Anyone else <3ing TJ's as much as me?

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No more hives

I'm so happy to report that our little guy is feeling better. It's amazing how fast babies recover- today he woke up almost all cleared up. Our little trooper couldn't wait til 8am to tell us that he was OK, he thought 4am was a more appropriate wake up time. My wonderful husband stayed up with him so I could get some much needed sleep. I just can't be mad at him when he was so sick the last two days. He got extra cuddles and nursies all day. We're still not sure what was the cause of the reaction. It could have been some peanut sauce I ate earlier in the week in chicken lettuce wraps. But it could also have been a million other things. We'll just be happy that he's OK and be more careful about peanuts in his and my diet.  Thank you for the kind words and advice and offers for help. It's nice to know so many people care about our little family ;)

Hives!

This is what I woke up to this morning. Hives! All over my beautiful baby's body. I was so scared for him. I first put him in the bath with some oatmeal. Then took him to our pediatrition when they opened. Actually, the first person I called was my Mom, or Dr. Momma (she's not a real doctor but she may as well be with as much natural healing reading that she does!) She was so helpful and reassuring, thank you Mom. Our Dr. prescribed Benadryl for the itching and homeopathic drops for whatever was giving him the reaction. I've been racking my brain thinking about what it could be and I still don't know. The weirdest part of all of it is that when I leave him with my husband and leave the room all of the hives go away.  We don't know if it's the timing of the Benadryl or something about me that's setting him off. It's a horrible feeling that I may be causing my baby to feel like that. I tried putting breastmilk on him, by taking some I had frozen and putting it in a syringe then squirting it on his skin- it got everywhere! But he smelled so good and milky. He didn't want to eat or drink anything but he would still nurse. It made me SO thankful that we're still nursing.

I'm really giving myself a guilt trip because I've been trying to eliminate toxins from our home and use more natural products and he still had a reaction. To what?! I guess we'll find out if it happens again. I should be glad that it's not more serious and that he's strong enough to recover. I'll keep you updated on his progress.

status quo

Those of you that have seen me during the last 11 months know that I am breastfeeding. And for those of you that have asked or are wondering what we're going to do now that the baby is turning one- the answer is nothing. I'm not stopping or changing a thing. Now, I could quote organizations on the health benefits, talk about celebrities that breastfeed, or mention the amazing benefits to me that it provides. But really we're going to keep doing it because it's easy, free and the little guy loves it! He knows the sign for "milk" and he asks for it (a lot). And have you ever thought about how breastfeeding is great for the environment? Even if you only do it for a few weeks, it comes from you so there is no production cost, no packaging, and no transporting. You don't need any bottles or water to make it. No fancy equipment required! Although some fancy equipment is fun, you can buy cute nursing covers, nursing pads, special clothes and bras. Also, the almighty breast pump. A crutial decision in a new moms life. The one that I bought is manufactured by a company that also makes formula. Should it be any surprise that it doesn't work very well? Conspiracy??  I wish I had known not to buy the Evenflo pump, please spread the word to new moms.

So, all is good in our home and all is staying good. Little guy is popping new teeth all the time and is up to 6. He's also taken a few tentative steps by himself. We're looking forward to his first birthday in a couple weeks. We can't wait to see our families and celebrate!

yee haw!

the stink face of teething

do you see my new teeth?

p.s. I made my own deoderant and it works great! Mix equal parts baking soda and cornstarch, add coconut oil to desired consistancy.

Glamour article

It looks like I'm not the only one concerned about toxins in our homes:

http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/2011/04/the-new-toxic-threats-to-womens-health

today is a good day

ahhh.. nap time and all is quiet. Today is just one of those days where everything is good. We have been busy with life and family and friends and I feel like I have so much to be thankful for. We went to California two weeks ago to visit our family there. Our little guy was showered with love and affection and he just basked in all the attention. We learned how much a 10 month old doesn't like to be in his car seat for six hours :) but we stopped and got out as much as possible and we survived. My Mother-in-law took us to a farmer's market at Laguna Hills Mall and it was amazing! It was about four times larger than ours here and they had fish and seafood and all kinds of different veggies. It made me want to move there- just for the market. We also got together with my husbands' friends and their families. Little one made some new friends and had a great time playing at "playtopia", which is what we've dubbed their backyard. They had tons of cool toys like a little tykes play house, little slide, toy lawnmowers, cars to ride on, a sand table, water table, golf toys, bubble machine, little picnic table, you name it and they had it! Then we got home and I looked at our backyard- we have a kiddie pool... and it's empty. Time for Mommy to get on Craigslist!
Over the holiday weekend we got together with Tara and Jed (love you guys!) and we had friends with babies over here for a BBQ and we went to another friends house on Monday to drink beer and eat good food. We saw all of our AZ friends and enjoyed the hot weather.
As we've been hearing about all the destruction going on across the country with the tornados in Joplin and now the East Coast, it's made us appreciate our health and safety. Our hearts go out to the people who are affected, especially those with babies.
Here are some pictures of things we've been up to.