5 Tips to Save Your Sanity

Who hasn't felt the insanity during the holidays? Even the most planned and prepared can have their hairy moments!

I'm guest posting over at Modern Alternative Mama today with 5 Tips to Save Your Sanity this holiday season... go check it out!

And remember to stock up on your Baltic Amber or Hazelwood necklaces or bracelets over at InspiredByFinn.com and save 25% using discount code MEGAN25, good through December 23, 2013!  

Why Amber? Read more here or here:
Why Gabe sports a surfer dude necklace
Everything's going my way (scroll to bottom of post)

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.

A Natural Fever Remedy (that you probably already have!)

sad, feverish Gabe

If you've ever had a small child with a fever, you know that they are pitiful little things.  The last thing you really want to do is prolong their suffering, but that can be hard when you know that fevers serve a purpose and letting it break on its own without medical intervention is usually best.

At our house, we try many tricks to try to allay the woes of a fever, and lately, we've been able to let fevers run their courses in both of our children without dosing them up with Tylenol or Motrin.

Until this week.  Gabe ran a hot-for-him fever of 102 for 2 nights in a row.  It would, as fevers tend to do, go low-grade during the day, but it was the most uncomfortable I'd ever seen him with a fever.  He was sleeping fitfully during his naps, and between the hours of 8pm till midnight on both nights, both Greg and I took turns soothing him as he would cry about every 30 minutes.  He was not happy.  The first night of the bad fever, we ended up giving him a small dose of Motrin. I'd just been reading about how toxic Tylenol is now considered for the liver (and I used to think Tylenol was the better of the 2! See here: http://holisticsquid.com/tylenol-trouble/) But the Motrin did its trick, and he slept peacefully until 6am, woke up for a quick drink, and then slept till 10am!  He was a tired boy!

However, during the day Friday, his fever crept back up again. I knew if we kept medicinally reducing it, it would probably not have a chance to reach its breaking point anytime soon and he'd just be struggling with it again over the next few days.  So, I was scouring my resources for what I could try.  We'd tried Aconite, elderberry syrup, Vitamin C, probiotics, and an essential oil rub (all at various times).  I remembered reading or hearing somewhere though that cut up onions on the feet underneath socks could help. (http://wellnessmama.com/1499/natural-illness-prevention-and-treatment-beat-the-cold-flu-and-fever-faster/)  The onions brought the fever out and in the morning, they'd basically be cooked little wimpy things in the socks.

I thought it was worth a shot, and I had a fresh onion, so why not?  Greg definitely looked at me like I was crazy, but this is not the first time I've ever done something insane in the name of health.

Onion: 1, Fever: 0

So I cut up just the very tip of the onion -- Gabe's feet aren't enormously large so therefore I didn't need a lot of onion -- and I placed a couple rings each on the bottom of his feet and put his socks back on.  He smelled delicious, like it was time for tacos, but it wasn't, it was time for bed.  He was still resting fitfully like he did Thursday night (pre-Motrin), and so Greg & I took turns helping him get back down and sleep.  Right before midnight (the last time he'd wake up), I thought he was starting to feel just a little less hot.  I put him back down and never heard another peep from him until 8am!  *heavenly chorus*

When he woke up this morning, he was not burning up.  I could tell he was still feeling unwell, but he was not feverish like he'd been.  Did the onions work?  Our case size was 1, and our experiment only lasted 1 night, but in this case, I'm going to say Onion: 1, Fever: 0.

He just woke up from a 3 hour nap and is not burning up.  We'll see how the rest of the day unfolds, but his energy and temperament already appear better.

Would you try onions? Do you have any unusual tried-and-true home remedies for fevers?

In case you want to read anecdotal evidence about onions, here's some reading enjoyment:
http://www.tipking.co.uk/tip/2872.html

If you are curious about why fevers serve a purpose, read here:
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/10/the-benefits-of-fever/

http://wellnessmama.com/5820/why-i-dont-reduce-a-fever-and-what-i-do-instead/

http://www.westonaprice.org/childrens-health/traditional-remedies-for-childhood-illnesses

My child is almost 4 and has never had antibiotics (directly)

My child is almost 4 and has never had antibiotics (directly)*.



I shared that information with a pharmacist the other day and she looked at me and said, "Woah, really?"  I guess I never really thought that maybe that is an unusual thing for an almost 4 year old, but the more I thought about it the more I realized how often I hear of other kids her age being on antibiotics at least 1-2x/year for some kind of infection.

I believe antibiotics have their time and place in medicine and I would not hesitate to use antibiotics in the right situation.  They can be life-savers and I'm thankful they were created so that we can use them in and at appropriate times.  An important distinction though is that appropriate times do not mean ALL THE TIME.

*Personal note: I was on antibiotics for over 5 years.  I shudder to think of the actual length of time I was really on antibiotics because, really, was that necessary? Absolutely not.  But, I was seeing a dermatologist for acne, and an antiobiotic is what she prescribed, and because I didn't want to deal with broken-out skin (the embarrassment! the horror! the scarring!), I dutifully took it as directed.  For the better part of my older teenage years and early 20s, I took an oral antibiotic and I rubbed a topical antibiotic on my skin. I also took antibiotics after Mia was born at least 3 different times because I could not get over mastitis without it.  FWIW, I did not get mastitis after Gabe's birth.  Cleaned-up diet for the win!

Why am I cautious about giving my kids antibiotics?

• Because the infections were not life-threatening.
• Because I knew given proper rest and a good clean diet, the infection could heal itself on its own.
• Because simple infections that are treated with antibiotics often come back again and again.
• Because antibiotics kill all the bacteria (both good and bad) in your digestive system, leading to a whole host of other problems.

In some cases, giving my child an antibiotic would've been much easier than the alternative course.  It's not as much fun restricting diet when your child has an infection, or making sure they consume garlic, or elderberry syrup, or trying to get them to guzzle warm tea.  A fruity tasting liquid antibiotic or chewable capsule would've been far easier!  But it may not have been in their best interest health-wise.

So, how have we handled illness and infections?

• Clean up the diet from any processed foods or refined sugars.  Depending on severity and duration of symptoms, dairy and grains may also be removed.  Consume homemade bone broth.
• Increase dosages of Fermented Cod Liver Oil (FCLO). It has high concentrations of Vitamin A and Vitamin D, which are essential to prevent and regain strength from sickness.
• Consume elderberry syrup. (Be careful if you or child have autoimmune issues, too much may not be good for you.)
• Add liquid garlic (or consume raw garlic, if an option) to food or sneak in condiment like organic or homemade ketchup --> voila, garlic ketchup! Yum!!
• Treat infection topically with colloidal silver or orally take colloidal silver.
• Relax and replenish the body with soothing Epsom Salt Baths (provides magnesium).
• Add probiotics into diet to give digestive system a little boost.
• Visit your chiropractor!  This has helped immensely by visiting as soon as symptoms are noted - a simple adjustment often puts things back in alignment and your body can better respond.  A chiropractor working with children should use gentle fingertip pressure.  Mia often says this "tickles!"  I have also cleared up nasal drainage the first time I went to an acupuncturist!  The Chinese weren't messing around!

There are loads of other ways to treat illness. I refer often to Wellness Mama's post on Natural Illness Prevention & Beat Cold, Flu and Fever Faster.

These are ways you can naturally manage infections, like colds, ear infections, upper respiratory, and even skin infections.  

Will we ever use an antibiotic in the future? I am not a crystal ball reader, but chances are quite likely that the answer is yes.  For now, we will continue on this path and do what we can to preserve healthy gut function.  

Disclaimer: I'm not a medical doctor or a physician. I am "just a mom" who has done a lot of research.  Please consult with your primary care provider or holistic physician if you have questions regarding these recommendations.

What do you do to stay healthy? How do you limit or avoid antibiotics?