Oily Lotions

As you can probably tell by now, I am really enjoying my essential oils. This past weekend I gathered up some supplies and made my own lotion. I have a friend who recently posted some wonderful recipes on her blog so I gave them a try. It was fun to make!

The base:

1/2 lb shae butter

4 oz grapeseed oil

4 oz coconut oil (warm until liquid)

*the yellow shae butter is the most raw form but it does not smell too good

Whip for 5 minutes or so with your kitchenaid mixer or hand mixer.  It'll get big and fluffy and creamy.

Divide the base into glass jars and add oils.

*Note: it's important to use glass containers as the oils break down in most plastics.
(I used glass half pint mason jars, and it was perfect.)
There is enough base to make 4 batches of creams with about 3/4 cup base each.

I made 4 creams: pain cream, sleepytime cream, vapor rub, and eczema cream.

Pain cream:
Using about 1/2 cup of base, I mixed in 10 drops each of panaway, valor, and peppermint, and lemongrass.  
I recently read about a "heavy duty" pain cream that included 10 drops of frankincense, idaho balsam fir, and copaiba in addition to the others.  I will add those next time.

Eczema cream:
Using about 1/2 cup base, I mixed in 10 drops each of lavender, frankincense, and melalucea A (tea tree oil).

Sleepytime cream:
Using 1/2 cup base, I mixed in 15 drops each of Peace & Calming and lavender.  

Vapor rub

Using 3/4 cup base, add 8-10 drops each of peppermint, eucalyptus (supports respiratory health) and lemon.  SO perfect to rub a bit on the chest to help a stuffy nose, or on the feet with socks to soothe a cough.

I also have the recipe for an energy cream:  1/2 cup of base with 15 drops each of Motivation, En-R-Gee, and Peppermint.  I've heard it's awesome!

How much fun are these oils? You can do so much with them and make them last a long time! After the first night of using the Eczema lotion I could tell a huge difference in the softness of my skin. Jon had me rub some pain cream on his lower back and he could not get over how good his back felt later that night. The creams are magic! Just give them a try and see!

Oily Infatuation

We have been using Young Living Essential Oils for the past few weeks and have loved using them. We use our diffuser every afternoon when we get home from work and it has such a calming effect. This week has been a pretty stressful week between work, being tired and life in general. I have been coming home and instantly diffusing Peace & Calming which has helped lift my spirits. I also love to rub Stress Away on my wrists for an extra calming effect and that works wonders. I find myself with an increase in energy and able to get through cooking dinner with a baby crawling around my feet and a little dog begging for scraps while I cook. These oils are truly amazing to me! Once the baby goes to bed and I get a little free time I love to take a bath with Epsom salt and Lavender. I cannot tell you how relaxing this combo is and it allows me to sleep so soundly. Right before bed I will rub Lavender or Peace & Calming on the bottom of my feet and I fall right asleep. The oils have a level of comfort to them. I love how I am not using Tylenol PM to sleep or any other medications to make my body fall asleep. I recommend everyone at least give them a try! I have been using them on the bottom of Beau’s feet before he gets into his footed PJ’s and he has been sleeping so well. He is cutting 4 teeth right now so he is a little fussy and going to be extra early so this has helped him stay asleep all night.

I love how the oils added such a positive vibe in our house and truly work wonders for us! Even Jon loves the oils and uses them every day just like I do!

I plan on making some lotions with the oils this weekend so I will post my recipes next week!

Carpet Burner

Beau is now more active than ever. He is crawling on all fours which has allowed him to get places very fast. He can crawl from one end of our house to the other and loves to be where we are at all times. He does not cry when you leave his side but he will sure follow you to the next room to see what you are doing. He is one curious but very careful kid! When we saw the doctor last month she took a look at his red knees and could tell he was crawling all over the place so she called him a carpet burner. I make sure and put Vitamin E oil on his knees at night just to make sure his skin does not get too dry and raw. If you have ever had a carpet burn then you know it can be painful. Luckily he has not rubbed his knees raw but they sure are red and rough. 

His other trick is pulling up on things and standing. He is not walking yet but is just about to at any day. It is so funny to see him crawl over to something and pull up to a standing position. He gets a big smile on his face and is so proud of himself. He is one strong boy!

Crunchy Foods

I am a sucker for reading my friends blogs because many of them don’t live close to us. I love how social media has brought us closer together even when we are so far apart. Most of my friends have at least one kid so it is wonderful to compare notes. I know it is bad to compare your child to other kids but it is perfectly normal and I catch myself doing it a lot, especially at each milestone. Beau is right on track with his milestones and is growing like a weed. He is a great eater and sleeper which I thank God for daily. Many of my friends have little girls and I have noticed that girls mature a little faster than boys. Most of my friends started feeding their babies “crunchy” foods about a month before Beau would even try it. I was getting a bit concerned that he was not progressing normally but I just needed to sit back and let him be the boss of his own eating schedule. (I call foods that require chewing to be crunchy, if you were wondering) This month we had a breakthrough and he ate a Puff for the first time last week and it was all over from there. I was so excited! This has opened our food options up in so many ways and he finally can sort of eat what we eat. I got so excited that I fixed him a pancake for breakfast the next day and he loved it! Ever since that day we have been trying out new foods like crazy. He is loving every second of it! His most favorites are Puffs, yogurt drops, pancakes, small pasta, shredded chicken and cheese. I figured out that I can put him in his highchair in the kitchen while I cook dinner and he is perfectly entertained as long as I keep the food on his tray. Genius!!! We still give him pureed foods just to make sure he is getting enough calories and he is drinking his milk but his snack time has exploded with fun finger foods! Having a baby is just so much fun!

9 Months

This month was full of changes which was so much fun to watch. He is becoming so much more active! We went to the doctor and he weighs 22 pounds and 30 inches long. Here are some highlights:

·        Sleep- Beau is still a wonderful sleeper. He goes to bed between 6:30-7pm every night. He might wake up in the middle of the night but goes right back to sleep. Jon and I don’t ever go into his room unless he makes his “I don’t feel good cry” which is hardly ever! He still sleeps in his footed PJ’s which are so warm and cozy! I want a pair! He sleeps for about 12 hours and wake up between 6-6:30am. We are so blessed to have a child who sleeps well!

·        Naptime- Beau still takes a really good nap every day. He will go down for a nap around 10am and will wake up around 1pm. He loves to nap and will let you know when it is time so lay down by sucking on his two fingers.

·        Eating-Beau is a great eater! He eats everything we put in front of him and is actually getting more use to green veggies. This biggest accomplishment this month has been him eating crunchy foods like Cheerios, Puffs, pancakes, small pasta, etc. This has opened our world up to a lot more food options. He still eats pureed baby food but we are mixing in the crunchy foods! He still drinks a bottle when he wakes up, one during the day and one at night. He enjoys that downtime and I love the snuggles while he drinks! We are loving this change in food!

·        Clothes-Beau is getting taller and not getting as full which is associated with all the crawling he is doing. So he can still wear the 12 month clothes which is nice! The weather is changing into more springtime warm weather so we are not having to wear a coat and we love that!!

·        Diapers-Beau is still wearing the #3 diapers. Our favorites are Swaddlers by Pampers because they don’t leak…ever! We put the “nighttime” diapers on him when he goes to bed and they hold everything in all night. We don’t ever deal with diaper rashes so the diapers must be doing their job!

·        Crawling- Beau is not crawling on all 4’s and gets around the house fast! He can crawl from one side of the house to the other and loves having the freedom to explore. He like to follow Lilly dog around and laughs when he gets close to her tail. It is precious to watch!

·        Standing-Beau’s favorite pastime is standing up. He wants to stand up and hold on constantly. By the end of this month he finally pulled up on his crib and will stand up which is precious. Jon went to get him out of his crib last week and Beau was standing there looking at him. Too cute! We feel that he is getting really close to taking his first steps!

·        Coordination-Beau has great hand-eye coordination. We can sit him in his highchair and put some pasta on the tray and he will be occupied for a long time. This is how I can cook in the evenings! Great source of entertainment! He is really good at picking up each piece and putting them into his mouth. He can also move his legs like he is walking. He has this method down pat so he will be walking soon!

·        Babbling-Beau makes all kinds of sounds. He can say momma, dada, and all kinds of other sounds. He holds conversations with himself constantly and we will babble right back to him. It is so fun. He does not associate us with a word yet but that is coming soon.

·        Socialization-Beau is a baby who never meets a stranger and loves everyone. He will go to anyone who will hold him and will study their face. When he gets around people he does not know, he will stay quiet and not make a sound. When he is in a group of kids he will sit by himself and watch all the other kids before playing with them. He observes everything going on around him and will slowly warm up to the situation. He is super sweet when playing with other kids and never cries.

·        Baths-Beau still loves his bath. He will crawl around the tub on all 4’s reaching for toys. He loves to touch the little bubbles in the water and will try to catch them. We try to not get any water in his ears b/c we are afraid he will get another ear infection so we put plugs in his ears. He would play in the tub all day if we let him and he does not like getting out.

·        Wagon-Beau loves to go for walks around the neighborhood in his wagon or in the stroller. He enjoys looking around at the houses, birds, people, dogs, etc. that come our way. He smiles and laughs and just enjoys life.

·        Car-Beau enjoys riding in the car and does not cry unless we are in there for hours. We don’t have a DVD player for him to watch and don’t plan on getting one. He enjoys looking out the window, playing with his toys, looking at books and just interacting with us as much as possible. He is an easy baby to take for a ride!

Overall, Beau is a dream child. He is so easy going, does not cry unless he is hungry or tired, loves everyone, sleeps well, eats a lot, will entertain himself, does not have to have people around him at all times and of course the most precious baby boy you have ever seen! This was a break through month for him with all the crawling and eating milestones. I cannot wait to see what Month 10 holds!

 

Thanks for checking in on us!

Cabin in the woods

This past weekend Beau and I went to see my parents in Pennington, Alabama which is close to Butler. They recently purchased a hunting camp and some land so I wanted to check it out. Jon had to work so he stayed behind. We left Huntsville at 7am on Saturday morning and got to the house at 10:30am. It was a really easy drive. Beau slept almost the entire way which made our trip very quiet. Beau is such a fun little guy to travel with. He is very laid back and goes with the flow. My parents were delighted to see us, especially him! When we arrived we checked out the house and then jumped back in the car for a tour around the city and had lunch at a local catfish cabin. The food was amazing! Beau sat with us while we ate. He also had his lunch of sweet potatoes and prunes. When we got back to the house he took a nap and my parents and I took a short walk around the property. It was such a beautiful weekend. The weather was warm and sunny which made sitting outside so much fun. We enjoyed our time away from home and cannot wait to go back! This hunting camp is going to be a wonderful place to meet so we should be seeing my parents a lot more!

2nd Ear Infection

The weather here in Huntsville has been so crazy. One day it will be 70 degrees/sunny and the next will be 27/misty rain. It is the perfect weather for getting people sick. I am just amazed how babies will one day be perfectly fine and the next they will be super sick. You really never know what the next day will hold I guess.

Beau woke up last Wednesday with a cough and runny nose. I thought it was just a cold so I took him to Mrs. Pats on my way to work because he was acting like his happy self. Around 10am she called me on my cell and said that Beau had a temp of 101.6 and was miserable. I quickly called Jon, who was home working and he rushed over to get him. I let my boss know that I was headed home to care for my sick little man. On my way home I did a lot of thinking about how often he had been sick and that we might need to take another approach to medicine. I have been reading rave reviews on Facebook from my friends who have started using Essential Oils and how they were replacing the modern day medicine. I called my friend Jessica who is a distributor and made an appointment to meet her around lunch to get a sample to try on Beau. I also called Beau’s pediatrician office to set up an appointment for him that afternoon.

I got home and Beau was sound asleep on Jon’s shoulder. He was so pitiful! Obviously he had a fever and did not feel like his happy self. It is so sad to see little babies so sick. Jon put him in his bed and he took a 2.5 hour nap. I did some work around the house and started reading up on the oils. I could not wait to get my hands on some and see how these magical things worked!

I got Beau up in time to go meet Jessica. We decided to meet at Chick-fil-A at 12:30 and so I ended up getting there a little early. We walked in the restaurant and rounding the corner was our pediatrician. We stopped to talk to her and I told her that Beau was sick and we were meeting a friend to talk about essential oils. She told me that she uses the oils on her three girls and highly recommends them. She said that she cannot talk to her patients about them because she is not licensed but would be happy to talk to me further next week at our 9 month check-up. I told her that Beau has been on Amoxicillin three times and he has stopped reacting to it. She said that a lot of kids become immune to it so finding an alternate method would be smart. After she left I felt so good about my decision to try the oils. That was a sign from God that I was going in the right direction which made me so happy!

Jessica brought all kinds of samples for me to try and a wonderful book for me to read about using oils on babies. She left me with detailed instructions on how to use them on Beau and I ordered my first starter kit. I now can get oils for 24% off and will be able to share my knowledge with other mom’s if the oils actually do work!

We left Chick-fil-A and headed to the pediatricians office. Our normal pediatrician (the one I ran into in the restaurant) was off that day so we were seeing someone else. She checked Beau from head to toe and decided that he had another ear infection. She gave us a prescription to Amoxicillin and we were headed home. I had to make a quick/hard decision about filling the medication so I called Jon. We talked and decided not to fill the medicine and try the oils. Of course this made me uneasy. All I have ever known is when you get sick you go to the doctor, get a prescription, fill it, take it and get better. It was hard getting out of my comfort zone but I was interested to see how the oils would work. I said a little prayer and headed to the house.

When we got home I took out all the little bottles of oil and rubbed them on Beau just like Jessica had said. They smelled amazing! Beau drank a bottle and then laid down for another nap. While he was sleeping I wrote down what oils I had and what each one did. I could not get over how good they smelled! Jon got home and was so excited that I had called Jessica and gotten the oils. He has always been more on the holistic side of life and loves to try new things. He has been taking a lot of yoga classes and they use oils in the class for relaxation and meditation and he feels like they really do help.

Beau slept for two hours and when he got up we could tell he felt a little better. He did not want to play with his toys and just wanted to be held. We read books and snuggled most of the afternoon until it was time for him to take a bath. I drew a warm bath, added some Epsom salt and a few drops of Lavender to the water. He played in the tub and I could tell he was getting some relief by just relaxing in the warm water.  After the bath I went through the entire sequence of oils and he was ready for bed. He slept all night. I could not believe how well he slept. He has never slept all night when he had an ear infection before. The next morning he woke up fever free but still had a runny nose. He had a big smile on his face when I got him out of the bed so he was obviously feeling a little better.

The next few days we kept using the oils and he kept getting gradually better. Jon and I could not believe how well the oils were working and how fast he was getting over his sickness. We both believe that modern day medicine is not good for the body if you have to take it often. We are going to use the oils every day for a preventative measure in hopes that Beau (and us) can stay well.

I love talking about the oils to people because their reactions are all about the same. People cannot believe that something as simple as oils could make such a big difference in someone’s health. I am now a distributor for the oils and would love to talk to anyone who is interested in trying them. They truly are a blessing and have changed our lives for the better!