Strange September

A few years ago Greg and I created alliterations for the fall months...not in order to become a self-fulfilling prophecy but because we thought we noticed a trend. After summer was over, it sometimes just felt like things got harder (usually the back-to-school schedule in graduate school added some challenges).

Anyway, there was "Sucky September" (offensive, sorry!), "Odd October," and thankfully a reprieve, "Nice November."  Since I have young ones now I try not to use the word "suck," so I'm swapping it out for Strange September.  And this September has been slightly strange only in that it's been a very different September than any other!

stitches + a sunburn around his eyes = hot mess

Mainly because we are homeschooling two days a week and Mia goes to school two days a week and our weeks feel busy and full and...different.   And I have a little man who likes to throw wrenches into our homeschool days by falling off a chair the very first day of homeschool, cutting his chin, and requiring 6 stitches (hello, trauma!)  I won't lie, that was a really hard day for this mom as well.  Like, immediate crying in the doctor's office when he told me he would require stitches.  I think it's the mama-bear protection instinct when you just ache inside for your little one.

The other wrench a little man threw into our advent into homeschooling/schooling was when he came down with a stomach bug the day before we were to have our family pictures taken with my girl Laura Hinely before she MOVED indefinitely to NYC 2 days later (speaking of, anyone needing some photos in the Big Apple should check her out!). That meant scheduling was priority and we wouldn't have many options or really ANY option to reschedule.  As a mom, of course I wanted my little man to feel better just for his own sake, but I also was hopeful he'd feel better for the pictures' sake as I didn't want this opportunity to pass by!

Well, as I was simultaneously trying to get things ready for our photo shoot and take care of Gabe, I came across the brilliance that is activated charcoal.  I read about activated charcoal on Wellness Mama's blog and how she used it for teeth whitening, and I'll be honest, my pearly whites were more like pearly off-whites.  They needed some love.  Yet I wasn't keen on the Crest White Strips as I tried them before we got married and they made my gums sensitive and felt really chemical-ly.  So I was excited to see that for less than $8, you could buy some 90 capsules to try activated charcoal in order to whiten your teeth! It looks like you have oreos on your teeth at first but it really works.  It's gradual, but it works.
I assumed activated charcoal had other uses and lo and behold, it can be used for stomach bugs (Gabe's very issue)!  So fascinated about it, I wrote this guest post for Modern Alternative Mama about activated charcoal.  You can read it here:
http://www.modernalternativemama.com/blog/2013/09/21/activated-charcoal-new-must-have-in-my-natural-health-arsenal/

And oh yeah, Gabe recovered in 24 hours and we were thankfully able to get those family pictures made.  Can't wait to see the actual files soon! (These are just screenshots from Laura's computer from her iPhone.)

PS: School has been great for the chiquita!  She's a champ.

3 simple meals in 30 minutes or less

Bacon & Sweet Potato Hash
Photo by thebittenword.com at flickr

I like simple. And I like fast.  So this week while we've been sharing a car as one is in the shop getting some repairs, my typical late afternoon meal prep time has been squashed so that the kids & I can pick Greg up from work. We've enjoyed the time together in the car, but it means dinner must be made fast.  Slow-cooker meals would definitely work in these instances, but our mornings have been so busy too I haven't had the chance to throw something in there earlier in the day!  So, fast meals it must be.

These meals can be adapted for various diets, and you can go so far as swapping the type of ground meat, bacon or potatoes that are required in a few of the recipes.  

Here are 3 simple meals you can make in likely under 30 minutes!

Real Simple's Speedy Sloppy Joe's

(Potential modifications: using ground beef instead of ground turkey; using homemade salsa; using a different biscuit, bun or breading or opting out completely if grain-free.  We made them Monday night with hamburger buns instead of the tube of buttermilk biscuits.)

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey; 1 cup of fresh salsa; salt & pepper; biscuits or buns

Serious Eats Bacon & Sweet Potato Hash

This is our new favorite and go-to meal!  We modified by only making the bacon and sweet potato hash; we did not make the eggs or avocado cream, but for even a more filling & complete meal you certainly could!  

Ingredients: 

1lb bacon; 1-2 sweet potatoes; 1 medium onion; butter; salt & pepper to taste

Modern Alternative Mama's Quick Beef & Potatoes

Very similar to bacon & sweet potato hash just variations on the ingredients list!

Ingredients: 
1 lb. ground beef (preferably grass-fed); 4 – 5 medium potatoes, thinly sliced; 4 tbsp. butter; 1 tsp. onion powder; Sea salt 

For any of these meals, I may steam or saute a veggie on the side, which hardly takes any time as well. 

What are your favorite quick & easy meals?

9 ways to get well during cold & flu season

croupy sad baby

In my community it seems there is always something germy passing among the small kids and families.  It just seems to be a fact of life.  I'm not a germaphobe (nor am I a clean-freak, perhaps the two go hand-in-hand?) but of course, we like to stay healthy and not experience illness if at all possible.  Of course, it isn't always that easy. Just recently, we had a round of croup with the youngest one of our brood, and here is what we tried to help him get better.

Humidifier
Photo Credit

1. Clean up the diet. It's sort of hard to "clean up" a breastfed baby's diet that much, but I tried to give him homemade chicken broth if possible, mix coconut oil into his pureed fruits or veggies, and focus on giving him foods with lots of Vitamin C.  Fermented cod liver oil, which contains Vitamins A & D, is extremely helpful, but go easy with little ones.  If you're really still struggling, remove grains & sugars from your diet, and load up on the probiotics.  
2. Saline spray & suctioning. By far, this goes on the list as one of the LEAST favorite activities for a baby, but putting a salt water solution up their nostrils and sucking out the mucus with a nose bulb helps clear their nasal passages and allows them to breathe better.  Just be prepared for a few tears.
3. A humidifier with a few drops of essential oils like Tea Tree or Eucalyptus.  We ran the humidifier every single day for about as strong as we could to help moisten the air and to allow nasal drainage.  
4. Homemade vapo-rub.  I made a recipe very similar to this one last year and I have used it on the feet and chest.  
5. Oil of Oregano can help relieve congestion, among many other benefits. Be careful to dilute it in another oil like olive as it is VERY strong.  (Thanks to JMK for this recommendation.)
6. Colloidal Silver works for so many things. You can take it orally or even spray it in your ears for ear infections.
7. Elderberry Syrup is an absolute necessity in your medicine cabinet for colds & flu.  It's loaded with antioxidants and tastes yummy too.  If you give it to a child under one, make sure the formula you have does not contain honey.  
8. Homeopathy: See my post on what to stock in your medicine cabinet for specific remedies.  Our favorites around here are Aconitum, Chamomilla, Pulsatilla and Byronia Alba.  
9. Chiropractics: Whenever we're coming down with something, a quick visit to the chiropractor often helps as there is probably something out of alignment. Chiropractors can be especially helpful with childhood ear infections.  When Gabe's ears were inflamed several months ago, we saw our chiropractor 3 times in 4 days, and Gabe improved rapidly.  

runny noses are no fun

How did these work out for us?  Well, Gabe had croup for ~6 days (the longest bout we'd ever experienced for either child), and naturally broke his own fever the last day, and then was over it.  I think the fever was the last straw, and once he got over that, the croup was finished.

There are no doubt many other things you can do try to try get over the common cold or typical fall & winter illnesses. What are your tried-and-true home remedies?

Why Gabe sports a surfer-dude necklace

I get a lot of questions about Gabe's necklace. Say "boy" and "necklace" in the same sentence and unless you're from the Jersey Shore, you'll likely receive some weird looks.  Unless wearing necklaces is normal in your culture or community.  Please tell me if it is!  But yes, my little man of 9 months wears an amber necklace and has since he was two or three months old, when I decided to take the amber teething necklace plunge.

Why Amber?
Baltic Amber, which is sourced in eastern Europe near the Baltic Sea, has some amazing natural properties.  It's an immune booster.  It naturally reduces teething pain.  Baltic amber can calm a baby without resorting to drugs.  It contains anti-inflammatory and therapeutic properties, and is considered a natural analgesic.  

Baltic Amber has some of the highest concentrations of Succinic Acid found in nature, and this is what makes it so special (Source).

So how does it work?

"When baltic amber is worn on the skin, the skin's warmth releases trace amounts of healing oils from the amber. These oils contain succinic acid and are absorbed into the skin." (Source)

Baltic amber necklaces are also helpful for headaches, other dental pain, TMJ, and joint pain.  

There are usually a few common culprits that can keep a baby up at night or not sleeping well: it may be poor sleeping habits, a growth spurt, illness, or teething pain. Wearing an amber necklace can really help with that!

Source

So, you just wear a necklace, and your teething nightmares are gone??

Wellll, maybe! It depends on the child, and it depends on the type of amber.  

"It is scientifically accepted that the darkest colored amber generally contains less succinic acid than lighter colors. The more cloudy or opaque amber is, the more succinic acid it contains (and usually the more cloudy amber is the nearer to the color white it becomes)," according to InspiredByFinn.com's website. 

Our testimonial

I originally had a different necklace for Gabe to wear, but I began to notice a rash around his neck. He wasn't drooling (because the amber also helps with all the drooling! another positive side effect), but he did spit up sometimes and I thought the rash may have come from spit up lingering in his little chubby neck folds, exacerbated by the necklace.  Turns out, the concentration of succinic acid in that particular necklace was a wee bit too much, which I learned by speaking to customer service at InspiredByFinn.com, so I ordered Gabe a different variety and voila, no joke, the rash went away, and we continued along.  

But, he did cut his first two bottom teeth, and I had no idea they were busting through.  No sleepless nights, no incessant finicky whining, no...nothing. Just two little white buds that popped through his gums one morning.

The amber teething necklaces are not a panacea, though. While I've never experienced an epidural, I would liken it to what I imagine it might feel like.  The pain is numbed, but you still know stuff is going on, and you can sense change or movement.  There are days or nights when I get the sense he is just uncomfortable, but thankfully those nights seem fewer and farther between, and he recently cut 4 teeth on TOP.  So, we've already had 6 of those teefers break through and he's pretty much been his happy contented self all long!

Where can you buy these?

I'm not being asked to promote these necklaces, so I have no personal incentive if you buy, but I personally purchased from InspiredByFinn.com but know there are other reputable companies out there as well.  Just make sure it is authentic Baltic Amber.  It will do you and your baby no good if they are sporting a cute necklace made out of PLASTIC! It must be amber!

Free Tip: Keep tabs on babysteals.com if you want to order; they often run deals on amber teething necklaces (or hazelwood) and you can get the necklaces for almost 50% off.  Or if you find a legitimate website, google "Coupon codes + [name of website]" and you might be able to buy it for even less! #doublewin

Have you used amber teething necklaces? What has been your experience with teething? What's worked, what's not?