I am a natural minded mother with the desire to live a fully sustainable life. Join me on my journey to learn how to become a naturally sustainable person!
In this video I explain everything I did to cure my cavities!!!
Since making the video I learned that Fermented Cod liver oil is not the best for us so I no longer recommend that. But as far as everything else here are links on where to order.
You can easily find all the products I mentioned in this video to your right!!! --->
I also highly recommend reducing your sugar intake. If you struggle with this area (I did! I was a sugar addict) and need help overcoming sugar, then I highly recommend using the "pink drink" that helped me overcome my sugar addiction. You can find it here Ninja awesome sugar craving fighter aka "the pink drink" and it has a 60-day satisfaction guarantee! So if you don't think it helps you, you can get a full refund! How awesome is that?!?!
You might be wondering what an egg, a four wheeler, and a homebirth all have in common. And it admittedly sounds very strange that they are all linked together, but indeed they are.
It was a beautiful Sunday and I was 40 weeks and three days pregnant with my third baby. We had spent most of the day out and about in town and I was having quite a bit of trouble getting around. We had gotten some Mexican food, and since it was a gorgeous day we took the boys (almost 4yo and almost 2yo) to the park. When I say nice day, I am talking an unheard of 70 degrees on December 13th in the Midwest. So we were definitely going to take advantage of the gorgeous weather while we had it. During our time at the park we walked over to the pond area and saw the ducks and after that we headed to the car to go to Lowes and then the grocery store. At Lowes, I was having a lot of discomfort and was really struggling to walk. And if you have ever been to Lowes, you know how big it is and what a pain it is to walk from one end of the store to the other, even in pivotal health. So I was complete struggle buckets walking around in there. After that we still had to go to the grocery store (we live in the country so we have to do all of our errands at once because it is a 30 minute trip to get to the town). So I told my husband to just get the groceries and I would stay in the car with the boys.
Once we got home both the boys were asleep in the car seats. So my husband sat in the car with them while I went to close the chicken coop. When I went in the coop to check on the chickens and make sure they had food and water I was pleasantly surprised to see a small green egg in the nesting box. I hadn't been getting any eggs from my older hens in a few months, and I hadn't ever gotten an egg from my younger hens that I had hatched and raised. Because it was a smaller green egg it was a sure sign that it was the first egg from one of the hens I raised. I excitedly took the egg with me and quickly showed my husband. I said to him, "Look babe, one of my pullets laid its first egg! Maybe its a sign I will go into labor tonight!" I had been saying for the past few days that I thought Sunday would be a great day to go into labor because it was going to be so nice. Little did I know that in just a few hours I would find that sign to be true.
So the rest of the evening I spent slightly nauseous, which was nothing out of the ordinary for me. I could only stomach eating a few bites of oatmeal, sharing the bowl with my almost 2 year old son. My husband wasn't feeling very well as he had a migraine. So he headed off to bed to try and help his headache and also just go to sleep because he gets up early for work. So I was up with the boys for a bit and then I started to feel some contractions. I knew they weren't simply Braxton hicks contractions because along with the tightening of my uterus I now felt aches in my lower back. I remembered from my previous pregnancy that was how my early labor contractions felt. It was 10:30. I wasn't positive I was in labor so I started paying attention to these new contractions and seeing how far apart they were. They were about 4 minutes apart or so and lasting for 40 seconds or so. The boys were watching a movie and I kept tracking my contractions. I didn't want to wake up my husband unless I was 100% positive I was in labor.
At around 11:30 I was convinced I was in labor but I didn't want to wake my husband just yet because I knew he wasn't feeling well. So I continued to labor on my own, but was texting my good friend/neighbor/doula, Kasondra, telling her to come on over. No response. So I tried calling her. She didn't pick up. I go into the bedroom and let my husband, Joe, know I am in labor. He asks if I am sure. I say yes. He continues resting as his migraine is really bad. I then go back to the kids bathroom to continue to labor in there. I continue to try and call my friend. After several more phone calls and still not getting through I decided I needed to start setting up the birth pool. The contractions are getting quite intense at this point and I know I am progressing quickly.
So I go into the bedroom, turn on a light and start trying to set up the birth pool. I then start to feel overwhelmed and I start crying, saying, "I feel so alone. I am laboring and doing all this by myself." It was right then my husband sprung into action. He asked what he could do. I told him he would probably have to take the four wheeler and go get Kasondra. After one more contraction and thinking about the situation, I decide I am going to be the one to go get Kasondra. Joe asks if I am sure, and I say, "Yes, because she is probably asleep and you might have to go into the bedroom to wake her and that would be uncomfortable for both of you so I will just go do it. Its late and I don't think it would be a good idea for a big guy to be walking into her house in the middle of the night." He agrees and I get my coat and boots on and grab the keys. I go outside and start up the four wheeler and drive over to Kasondra's house. As I am walking in her back door I immediately start having a contraction. It's 12:30 and I am at the point in labor where I have to lean against something and moan through the contractions. She comes out her bedroom and says, "well you just 'bout got shot." We both laugh and agree that probably wouldn't make for a good doula review.
Here is a picture of our sweet girl at 2 weeks old holding the egg God used to tell me I was going into labor! God is so good!!
I tell her I have been in labor for two hours now but I am progressing very quickly and I need her to come soon. She says okay she will be right over and she begins getting her stuff together. After one more contraction in her kitchen, I head back to my house on the four wheeler, going down the front of her driveway (where I have to stop and breathe through another contraction) and then back around to my driveway. I get back to my house and see my husband has been working on setting up the birth pool. I try to help him in between my contractions. Kasondra walks in and immediately starts setting up her doula stuff and helping my husband work on the birth pool.
My boys were still up watching a movie and playing. My sweet little four year came into the bedroom and asked if he could get into the pool. If you read my first homebirth story you know that I did let him in the pool while we were setting up. But this was a different time and I was much more progressed at this point. I gently told him that he couldn't get in the pool, that the pool was for mommy because the baby was coming. He was so sweet. He said, "Oh the baby's coming?" and I said "Yes, hunny. The baby's coming." He then ran back out to watch his movie. As I continued to labor in the bedroom he came in and out several more times excitedly asking me if I was going swimming or if the baby was coming. Or he would just come in and excitedly announce that the baby was coming. It was the most precious thing to see him so excited about the baby and the whole situation. That is one of my favorite things about homebirth, that I can have my children there and they can experience the birth of their sibling too if they want.
While I am working and praying (I cried out to the Lord through almost every contraction asking him to help me) through contractions, and drinking coconut water in between, Joe and Kasondra are working really hard to get the birth pool filled. The system we had from getting water from the shower pipe to the birth pool was not working as smoothly as it had in the trial run I did a few weeks before. Water was spraying everywhere. My amazing husband and awesome friend worked their butts off to get water into that birth pool for me. Finally, there was enough water for me to get in.
I then carefully got into the birth pool and sat in it as it continued to fill. We ran out of warm water so we had to turn the hose off for a bit. The water still wasn't even at the minimum fill line, but even the bit of water I was in was helping ease the intensity of the contractions and I stayed in that pool through the delivery of the baby. I knew I was getting closer and I let my husband know I was nauseous and that I was in transition. This being my third labor, and second homebirth, I was pretty aware of where I was in the labor process. And I knew I was in transition.
My husband went back and forth between my side and the kitchen to check on and bring some boiling water. He let me know that my oldest son had fallen asleep in the living room but that the 2 year old was still awake. Joe and Kasondra continued to work together to try and get some more warm water into the tub. We finally got it above the minimum water mark when the warm water ran out again and we had to take another break from filling the pool. Kasondra then tries to go help Micah because he is crying due to being overtired and not having his mommy or daddy to help get him to sleep (We were a little busy). I am really quiet at this point as I am in transition and getting closer to pushing. The contractions are extremely intense and I look up at Joe and tell him it's so hard and I am ready for it to be over.
Joe asks if I want him to get some indian flute music playing and I say yes. As he tries to get that going I go through another contraction or two. At this point I get extremely relaxed in between the contractions. I remember from my last labor and birth that this is exactly how I felt right before I pushed out my son. I got so relaxed between contractions that I almost fell asleep. And this is what was going on now. So I knew I was close to pushing. I tell my husband to forget about the music and to come over and get ready to catch the baby. I tell him I am so close. He knows I am too because he remembers how I was right before I pushed out Micah. During each contraction I continue to cry out to the Lord, asking him to help me and give me strength. And He does.
A wave of intensity hits me and I feel the urge to push, working with my body as it bears down. I am moaning/grunting as I begin to push the baby out. Immediately the bag of waters breaks and we can see that the water is clear with chunks of vernix in it. That was a relief. In the same push the babies head crowns and then comes out. I reach my hand down and touch my babies head, feeling a bunch of hair. As I was pushing my husband said, "Oh there's the water, ok, there's the head! Good job hunny the head is out." My body takes a break for a moment before it urges me to push again. I feel the urge and my body bearing down so I begin to push one last time and my babies body is born. My husband catches the baby and then hands it to me. I see that the umbilical cord is wrapped once around the neck and I quickly and instinctively unwrap it. My beautiful baby begins to cry.
Hearing that first cry is incredible. Every single time a baby is born it is the most magical moment and so gratifying to hear it cry. I told my husband "We did it. We did it." and he excitedly said "I know." It was incredible. Then we looked to see if it was a boy or a girl and discovered she was a girl! We had our first daughter! I just couldn't believe it, I had to check multiple times. We called our doula to come in who was still with our overtired two year old. She came in and looked the baby over. She agreed it was a girl, but I had her check a few more times! haha. I just couldn't believe that the Lord had blessed us with a daughter! I was so grateful! Here is the footage of me reacting to finding out it was a girl!
While I was in the birth pool with the baby, my husband held my 2 year old son while sitting on the edge of the crib which was right next to the birth pool. Soon the toddler was asleep and my husband went to lay him down. Then Kasondra helped me and the baby out of the birth pool and positioned in the bed. I leaned back against the wall and held my precious newborn daughter. She was perfect. I sat on the bed and began to breastfeed her. She nursed so well! I was so proud and full of joy! I kept thanking the Lord for such a beautiful birth and my beautiful baby. I thanked Him for allowing her to be healthy. I still couldn't believe I had a daughter! My husband came back into the room and sat next to me on the bed. The three of us sat and talked and gawked over the baby. Everything was so peaceful. I asked Kasondra any questions I had and when I should try and push out the placenta. We both agreed that I should wait until I had the urge. I continued to nurse the baby, which brought on contractions of the Uterus going down. Those are the worst contractions of all!!! I think its because I already had the gift in my arms, so this just felt like pain without a purpose. Thankfully I had my After Ease Tincture right next to my bed. Oh my goodness how much that tincture helps.
My doula went and got me some more water and coconut water while I nursed the baby. It had been about 45 minutes since I had pushed the baby out and I still hadn't had the urge to push out the placenta. So we discussed it and decided I should try and push with the next contraction. I prayed to the Lord to help me push the placenta out and for it to happen safely. Then with the next contraction I pushed out the placenta, thanking the Lord for answering my prayer. It was so amazing to me how God was answering my every prayer. I thanked Him for being such a good Father. Then her and my husband worked together to sterilize the scissors and string to cut the cord. Once I was ready to have the cord cut, my doula tied off the cord and my husband cut it. Then after a bit, we had Kasondra weigh the baby with the newborn weighing satchel I had made weeks before out of my favorite sarong. She weighed 9lbs 1oz and was 21 inches long. She was healthy. She was beautiful. She was Perfect.
After we settled back in the bed, I dressed the baby in the newborn outfit I had picked out for her. Kasondra headed home and Josiah and I fell asleep with our precious new baby girl. Our precious gift from heaven.
Any parent knows that children, and especially babies, don't exactly improve your sleep. In fact most will tell you that they have lost countless hours of sleep since their children came into the world. And it is no different in my life. Both of my children fight sleep like crazy and are night owls by nature. I am not. I have always been an early to bed person, even from the time I was a little baby. My parents often tell the story of when I had just learned to crawl and I all the sudden disappeared. They started looking for me and found me in my room standing up next to the crib and whining with hands up, seeming to be asking to be put in the crib. My mother picked me up and put me in the crib and I was instantly asleep. That's me. I love sleep. My kids, not so much.
They love staying up and will do anything to try and stay awake. Both of them will start squirming like crazy if they catch themselves getting heavy eyelids, and often will start kicking and screaming. Why? Because they do not want to go to sleep. You would think that resting their minds and bodies was pure torture by the way they act. It's not unusual for one of my children to be up until 2am despite my best efforts. I can't even tell you how many times I will get the baby to sleep just to have him instantly pop his head up out of nowhere and give me the biggest smile. And there have been many times where in the middle of the night he will sit up and start laughing, climbing on me or my husband acting like its time to play. Every single night I nurse him at least 4 times to get him back to sleep. Most nights I am only getting around 5-6 hours of interrupted sleep.
But you will never hear me complain about my loss of sleep. Why? Because out of all the reasons in the world to lose sleep, this is the most worthwhile reason of all, to nurture and love a young child and to try and help them get back to sleep. I have lost sleep over some pretty fruitless and sometimes downright stupid reasons; watching t.v., reading, playing spider solitaire (I have told you before I have an addiction to that game), studying for a test, writing a paper, or from before my mothering days.... partying. All of those reasons are not as important or honorable of a reason to loose sleep as taking care of my sweet precious babies. Because in my eyes, there is an eternal purpose for taking care of my children. All of those other reasons I have lost sleep are for worldly reasons but taking care of my children, who have a soul and will live on for eternity... taking care of them has an eternal purpose.
So no matter what time of day, or night, I will not complain of my duty to nurture them. Yes I will occasionally joke about how they are night owls and I am not, or will laugh (sometimes cry) (jk) about their late-night tactics to keep themselves awake, but I will not complain or feel sorry for myself. Because my babies are alive and well. They are healthy and strong and beautiful. I have too many friends who have lost their babies, or have babies with very serious medical issues. So I will not take any moment with my sweet, precious little ones for granted. Even if it is in the middle of the night and I will be a zombie the next day. After all, that's why God gave us coffee.
Here is a song parody I wrote that touches on my constant battle to try and get my night owl baby to sleep.
And now for some funny baby, sleep, and coffee memes..... because laughter and coffee is the best medicine.....
Sorry I skipped posting last week. To be honest I was feeling embarrassed because I gained a little less than a pound. So this past week I started doing P90X3 (Thank you Meredith from Beginning New Chapters for loaning it to me). I also have stopped eating sugar so that has helped. I was pretty sure I had a sugar addiction until I drank some kombucha and then my body went into detox mode, so now I am positive I had a sugar addiction. I am glad to be on the up and doing better, sugar free! So with all that said I will tell you my results. When I weighed myself yesterday I weighed 211.6 pounds! Wahoo!
I am excited to see what I will weigh next week with this new mindset, exercise routine, and eating habits. I am leaving today to go to Tennessee with some friends and our kids and we will be doing lots of hiking and playing so I know it will be good for my body there too. Plus fresh mountain air is just good for the soul! Thanks for reading and I'll see you next week! Oh and stay tuned... on Wednesday I will be posting who the winner of the giveaway is... if you haven't already you should enter!
Starting Weight: 224.4
Weight this week: 211.6
Total weight loss: 12.8 lbs
Green, crunchy, healthy, hippie, granola, environmentally friendly, natural, and sustainable are all words you could use to describe the items in this giveaway. I decided to sum it all up with three words: Green Living Giveaway. I am doing this giveaway to mark the milestone of reaching 1,000 subscribers on my YouTube channel! Thank you to all of you who have subscribed to my channel and for those of you who are about to! Good luck to everyone and I am excited to see who wins! I will announce the winner on April 2nd. Everything will be done via Rafflecopter so it will be very well organized and the winner will be chosen at random. The thingy to enter the giveaway is near the bottom of this page. Now for a look at what is included in this giveaway! (over $200 in value)
3 Sets of Cloth Nursing Pads: Made with a top layer of flannel, a soaking layer of unbleached cotton batting, and a backing layer of anti-pill fleece. The fleece keeps the moisture in the batting and prevents any milk from leaking through to your bra or shirt. ($12 value) Made by The Sustainable Mama.
Set of 3 Wee-Wee Wigwams: They are made with soft flannel on the top and an inner layer of super soft terry cloth. The terry cloth is very absorbent and helps to soak up any pee that your little indian may shoot. These make a perfect baby shower gift for a expectant mother of a baby boy. They are saving face one wigwam at a time..... literally! ($10 value) Made by The Sustainable Mama.
Set of 3 cloth pads: These super comfortable pads are made with a top layer of super soft flannel featuring three different prints: Celtic, Red&Purple, and Owl, followed by two layers of unbleached cotton batting, and backed with anti-pill fleece providing a water-resistant back They are made for regular to heavy absorbency and measure approximately 10" long. These feature two snaps, one for snapping during wear, and the other to snap closed to keep clean while in your bag or to enclose it once it is dirty. These pads have surged edges with a reinforcing topstitch. The middle vertical stiches only go through the top three layers, so there is less opportunity for leaking. ($24 value) Made by The Sustainable Mama.
Carrying Case for Cloth Pads: This adorable flower carrying case is perfect for your cloth pads. It helps to keep the clean and organized while you are on the go. The case also makes it discrete when you are carrying your pads to the restroom. Is made with an outer layer of cotton flower print material and an inner pink layer also made of cotton. The case has three snaps placed on cotton bias tape. This case can fit several pads and is the perfect size for my regular/heavy cloth pads. This case is a MUST HAVE for any cloth pad user! ($15 value) Made by The Sustainable Mama.
A Dozen Cloth Baby Wipes: This reusable wipe set is made of super-soft durable flannel. Wipes are made of TWO layers of flannel with serged edges and reinforced corners. Wipes measure 8 x 8 inches each. This is a mixed set with all girl and boy prints. In addition to wiping little bottoms, they work great as washcloths at bath time. You can keep a few in your pocket, purse, or diaper bag for those runny noses and messes while out and about. They make great cloth napkins for those little hands and faces too! These are great for adults too! Perfect for the family cloth system, makeup removal, or washcloths. When folded in half, these wipes fit perfectly into a standard wipe container or travel wipe container! ($16 value) Made by The Sustainable Mama.
Set of 6 Family Cloth: These super soft flannel wipes measure approximately 5" by 7" so they are the perfect size to use as toilet paper or tissues. These are the ideal family cloth. They are made with two layers of super soft flannel featuring owl print and fish print. The wipes have serged edges with a reinforced corner. ($7 value) Made by The Sustainable Mama.
5 Packs of Shakeology: Two packs of vanilla, two packs of chocolate, and one pack of strawberry. Also included is some helpful tips for Shakeology, recipes to use with them, and some other helpful papers put together from Meredith. ($25 value) Donated by Meredith at Beginning New Chapters.
3 Newborn Alva Cloth Diapers: These diapers come with 2 inserts for each diaper. There are 3 homemade terry cloth inserts and 3 Alva inserts (two cotton and one bamboo). So there are six cloth inserts in total. ($18 value) Terry inserts made by The Sustainable Mama.
Nursing Necklace: Made with woven cotton material and organic wood free from chemicals or finishes. This is the perfect necklace for your little nursling to play with during breastfeeding sessions or even use as a teething ring while babywearing. ($12 value) Donated by Kasondra
Muscle Ease Herbal Bath: Ingredients are arnica flower, lavender flower, comfrey leaf, Epsom salt, and ginger root. To use this hebal mix for the bath all you have to do is simmer for 30 mins in 4 cups of water then strain and add to your bath water. Then soak in the bath for 20 minutes and you will feel your muscles loosen up as you relax in the tub. ($8 value) Donated by Kasondra.
Booty & Body Balm: Safe for use on newborn-adult, safe to use on diaper rash, eczema, and even as a nipple butter. Ingredients: Organic Coconut oil, Calendula oil , comfrey oil, beeswax, aloe, therapeutic grade melalueca and lavender essential oils. ($10 value) Made by Burba's Botanicals.
Healing Salve: Made with herbs that aide in rapid healing such as comfrey leaf, calendula flower, lavender and various other healing elements! This is a must-have in a house with kids and during the super dry winter months! Ingredients: Organic Comfrey Leaf, Organic Calendula Flower, Organic Lavender, Aloe, Melalueca, Olive Oil, Peppermint Essential Oil, Coconut Oil, Organic Beeswax ($10 Value) Made by Burba's Botanicals.
Magnesium Lotion: Transdermal magnesium therapy is a form of magnesium supplementation that is easy, convenient, and affordable. Transdermal, or “topical” magnesium is particularly helpful for those seeking a safe method of increasing magnesium intake beyond that possible with oral supplements, which can cause diarrhea or other intestinal complaints. Ingredients: Organic African Shea Butter, Organic Coconut Oil, Magnesium Chloride Flakes from Dead Sea, Lavender Flower Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Therapeutic Grade Lavender Essential Oil, Olive Oil. ($10 Value) Donated by Burba's Botanicals.
Talc Free Baby Powder: Safe for use on newborn-adult, safe to use on diaper rash. Ingredients: Organic arrowroot powder, umbrian clay, organic corn starch, therapeutic grade sweet orange essential oils. ($3 value) Made by Burba's Botanicals.
Dreamsicle Lip Balm: Ingredients- Oragnic African Shea Butter, Coconut oil, Calendula oil, beeswax, therapuetic grade sweet orange and vanilla EO. ($2.50 value) Made by Burba's Botanicals. Young Living Citrus Fresh: Citrus Fresh is an exclusive Young Living essential oil blend. The single oils used in this blend are: Orange, Tangerine, Lemon, Mandarin, Grapefruit and Spearmint. It may be diffused, used topically or ingested as a nutritional supplement. Denise is also including a roller-ball attachment for ease of application should the winner desire to use it. Citrus Fresh stimulates the right brain to magnify creativity and well-being and may be used to decrease anxiety. It is also a great air purifier. ($20 value) Donated by Denise at A Heart for Oils
To learn more about Citrus Fresh watch this video:
Not much to say today. I weighed myself this morning and I weight the same as last week. Wah Wah. Oh well, at least I didn't gain weight. This just means I better find time to exercise this week and try to eat a bit better. I am not going to post a picture or my weight because I am sure I look the same as last week and I know I weigh the same so if you want to know just go the week 4 blog post.
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