Celebrate National Wildlife Week with your family!

National Wildlife Week april 19th-27

Green hour encourages parents to give their children a "green hour" each day. Time for unstructured play and interaction with the natural world. The green hour website has tons of ideas and inspirations to support families who want their children to connect with the earth. Check it out!

This years theme is get outdoors! This week you and your kids should watch and record the wildlife you see. (You can download a watch list that has flora and fauna local to you! And if you're in need of a thorough wildlife resource be sure to check out enature.com.)
Meet outdoors and share your stories with others!

Here are some great sites for wildlife ID/ getting outdoors for parents and kids

Wildflowers

Bugs

Urban Birds

Kids Gardening

Looking for Green minded holistic child care? Check out Holistic Nanny
Enjoy!

Baby Wipes Solution, Oil, Salve- Make your own

Baby Wipes Solution
You can make your own baby wipes solution! I use a strong tea or infusion & add some herbal oil to distilled water. There are a lot of herbs that are good for your babies skin, you can use chickweed (picture above growing right now in early spring!), chamomile, comfrey, calendula, and many others. Plantain & chickweed are common weeds found here in the pacific Northwest, I am using this infusion for my babies wipe water right now because I have a lot of the herb on hand, when my calendula blooms I will be using that as well. I also add some oil to the solution (about 1/8 cup to a few cups distilled water/ infusion), almond oil, sesame or olive oil can be used, if you want to get real fancy you can even add a little vitamin E & /or jojoba oil. Some people like to add a little vinegar, a few drops of essential oil, and/or baby soap. I don't use the soap or essential oil because my daughter has sensitive skin and I do not want the residue or irritation.

After you make your solution you can store a few wipes in the solution, beware they could mold if you keep to many in wipe water for too long. You can use a squirter bottle or spray bottle with your solution in it, spray on each dry wipe as needed, this will prevent your wipes from turning moldy. The solution should last at least a few days.

Herbal Oils
You can make your own infused oil and add this to your distilled wipe water. One way to make your oil is to determine the herbs you want to use. You can simply loosely fill a mason jar with your herbs and cover with the oil/s. Store a room temp out of direct sunlight for 1 or 2 weeks. (Be aware that more delicate plants like chickweed can spoil faster than other herbs) Strain your herbs and store in a cool dark place, most will keep for at least a year, if they start smelling funky it means they are rancid, discard and make a new batch. Another alternative is to use a crock pot or double boiler (this is especially good for roots), infuse your herbs for a few hours (or longer) on medium heat, if you are using a double boiler make sure the water on the bottom does not evaporate while you are infusing your herbs.

What to use for Cloth wipes?
I take recycling one step further, for my wipes instead of buying the baby wash cloths or purchasing other types of cloth wipes I use some old sweat pants that were thin (softer than the wash cloths!) One pair of sweats cut up equal quite a few good sized wipes! You can also use older cloth diapers cut into smaller squares. Some suggest using paper towels, I am trying to cut back on waist, help the environment & as an added bonus- save money- so I use cloth. I discard my wipes in the same bucket as the cloth diapers and wash them all in the same load.

Powder
Although not a local herb, I received some arrowroot powder from a friend. Sometimes it is nice to trade and barter! I have been using this occasionally on Ella's bum and it has been working nicely. I have been looking up some other powders and see that some add a little white clay, other powders and essential oils, I have not tried this on Ella because I avoid the oils. Here are some alternative recipes. Avoid Talc based powders! It is good to apply the powder to a "power puff" first before applying to babies bum vrs just sprinkling out from the container, so the powder does not get into the air for the baby to inhale.

About Creams / Salves and Cloth Diapers.
You may have heard about some studies suggesting that the additives in some baby soaps/ creams etc may be unhealthy for your baby. Why not make your own!
You really don't want to use any cream or salve that has a fish oil base such as A&E or Desitin when using cloth diapers. You will get this fishy smell that you will never get out of your diapers! Of course you can make your own salve with the oils I mention above, just add a little beez wax to thicken over heat, here is a video that will walk you through the process.

Diaper rash issues?
Here is a good link on learning herbs
Another solution, let your baby go naked! Ella loves it, she runs around like a wild child! Good for infants too, provided they are warm enough of course. It works for some to keep a thick layer of salve on and frequently change (especially change poopy pants right away!) Also consider food sensitivities, dairy, wheat, citrus, soy, even garlic are common causes. Mom's make sure you are aware that the food you eat will pass through the breast milk, really read labels if you are eating preserved food, eliminate the above mentioned food that may be causing a reaction from your diet. If you are formula feeding you may want to consider a different formula if your child has frequent rashes. More on food sensitivities. If you are using disposable diapers, some babies are sensitive to the chemicals in some commercial brands, 7th generation makes a safer disposable. Be aware of the detergents you are using; additives can cause rashes. Also, if you are making your own &/ or buying baby salve with additives or essential oils, this residue can stay on your cloth diapers even after washing, this could cause a reaction.

DHA/ARA oils in infant formula reactions/ sensitivities

Many parents may see DHA and ARA on labels for infant formula and immediately think this is the best choice for their child.

The National Alliance for Breastfeeding Advocacy (NABA) contributed to a report written by The Cornucopia Institute on the novel oils DHA and ARA in infant formula. These oils appear to be marketing tools to tell mothers that formula is now "as close as ever to breast milk." These lab-produced, hexane-extracted algal and fungal oils have been linked to diarrhea, vomiting and other adverse reactions in some infants, but the formula companies are not sharing the possibility of side effects with parents. Some infants have suffered through months of diarrhea because their parents did not know that a simple switch to non-DHA/ARA formula would, in many cases, relieve symptoms within a day.

Below is a link to the full report.

A quick scan of the highlighted quotes and photo captions will give you a sense of the report's contents although I do encourage you to take the time to read it in its entirety. The report is available for free download at http://cornucopia.org/index.php/replacing-mother-infant-formula-report/

Reference: This is an excerpt from a message from Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC

she would like your help in finding infants and their parents, and inviting them to share their stories. If you know anyone who has been impacted, please ask them to email their story, in confidence, to The Cornucopia Institute, at cultivate@cornucopia.org.

Holistic Wellness and our Kids

Many times I hear statements like "my kid wont take herbal teas" Certainly some herbs can taste bad or too strong to a kid, but there may be something deeper going on. Are herbal teas only introduced when there is a "problem"? Have you asked yourself as a parent how you view healing and medicine?
Traditional Western medicine is necessary and often life saving, however the mind body connection and the miraculous ability of the body to heal itself with the assistance from nourishing foods and natures medicine is often ignored. The Traditional Western medicine approach is to attack disease, you feel as if something is being done to you and that can often feel very invasive. A child is going to naturally want to rebel from this approach, it is scary and intimidating. "Take your medicine" can sound like something of a punishment.
Holistic medicine is about nourishing the body and living a healthy lifestyle. When I say "nourishment" I don't mean to simply take vitamins and minerals and eat good foods. Nourishment is a healthy loving emotional environment, exercise, rest, herbal remedies, connection with earth, connection with community and loving one another. It's reading fairy tales to your child, planting a garden, taking time to listen, & having a loving home. Involve your children when collecting healing medicines from the wild, show them how to make healing teas and infusions, help them to cultivate a healing kids garden. My mother and I often wildcrafted together and Ella being only 9 months old has gone with me on all of my outdoor adventures. Kiva gives a wonderful example on her blog of spending the day with wonderful wise women and her daughter Rhiannon.

We can be good role models for our children by showing them the beauty of their bodies and nature. Approaching sickness as if it were an enemy or something bad reflects badly on the child. If we teach our kids that sickness should be avoided at all costs, or attacked, we are denying that illness is a natural part of life. Even if you are extremely healthy, if you participate in life illness or "problems" will eventually occur. Explain issues when they arise in an age appropriate way that the child will understand, let the child be involved rather than approaching illness as a problem that needs to be attacked. Explain that the natural remedies support the bodies own ability to heal rather than a remedy being a magic bullet cure.

The "detox" rage is in my opinion is not approaching herbal medicine with a holistic view in mind. The extreme idea that we are somehow dirty and full of toxins is damaging. This illusion that we must live perfectly and become more pure will only lead to disappointment and disconnection from our bodies. Health is not about attaining perfection. There will be birthday cake, pop cycles, and chocolate. Balance is the real key, everything in moderation, even moderation! Extreme ideas are just as damaging as not taking responsibility for your health at all.The inner stress and guilt this causes is the opposite of being holistic. This view does not teach our kids to feel relaxed about themselves, enjoy life, be confident about their bodies, and celebrate good health. If and when illness does arise the child will feel defeated, like they somehow brought the illness on themselves because they are not "pure" or "perfect".
The goal is not to somehow fight the enemy of illness and toxins. The focus should be on avoiding unnecessary illness by nourishing ourselves with local grown foods, herbal medicine, exercise, fresh air and getting out in nature. When illness does arise we can attend to it with compassion instead of guilt, fear, and blame like the child is somehow doing something wrong and needs to be punished by "taking medicine"
If natural holistic living is part of your life as a parent, the child will be much more likely to accept it. Children are inundated with media messages that health is a perfect size 2, and skinny, COOL, active young people eat at McDonald's (or other fast food). Our goal should be to empower our children and try to send a different message.

Ella's New Doc

Went to Ella's 9 month checkup today. I got into this clinic with this Awesome Doctor. Her name is Dr Monique Pritchard MD, FAAP she is at the Sellwood Medical Clinic. I drove about 40 minutes to get there and let me tell you it was worth it! Her bedside manner with Ella was amazing! The first thing Ella did was wave and say "HI" O MY! That was a first! I knew I was in the right place. No wonder she has patients who drive 3 hours 1 way from Seattle. The room was cozy with an old rock fireplace with a very cool Native American picture, I felt very much at home. We were talking about organic food & nutrition, garlic ear oil, herbal remedies and teas, Infant massage, co sleeping (here baby is only a few weeks older than Ella and she co sleeps), importance & benefits of long term nursing, I couldn't believe it. A doctor, who actually gives a crap, spends longer than 5 minutes, in fact, we were talking for at least 30 minutes! She also said she is OK with no vaccinations (will write up a religious exemption) , and if they do vaccinate it is only tested and proven vaccines (plus she is willing to spend the time to educate on each one and what it is for), no more than needed, on your schedule! She checked Ella for lead because of the new toy scare, checked for anemia (she was A OK) Ella seems to be right on track, the nurse said "whatever your doing, keep doing it!" She asked where I lived and told me that since I am far away they will make an extra effort to schedule me in so I do not hit traffic. This is so refreshing. When I told her I was an herbalist and LMT, her eyes lit up and she requested my cards. WOW, not only was she listening to what I had to say, she was actually interested and agreeing with me! Am I dreaming? Oh and our insurance covers it!!???

Know Your Wild Foods Baby Food

A word of caution for parents who make their own baby food. In a previous article I discuss chickweed. You may be thinking it's packed with nutrients, why not add to baby food? Chickweed like corn, celery, miner's lettuce, and many other plants, will accumulate nitrates under the right conditions. Nitrates can inhibit an infants ability to breath oxygen. Nitrates will accumulate in the plant where there have been nitrate based fertilizers in the soil and the plant has been under a variety of stresses. Since there is no real way of knowing the amount if any nitrates the plant may have, it is best to avoid using these plants for baby food in infants under 1 year of age. Nitrates can be properly metabolized in humans over 1 year of age.

Catnip and Chamomile New Mom Necessities

No mom should be without these two herbs. When Ella hit the 8 week mark colic kicked in. I was having trouble with heavy letdown of the breast milk, she had gas and was miserable (manging this will be discussed in another article). I found out later that she is sensitive to dairy in the breast milk so that has been removed from my diet. At around 4 PM it starts, the screaming and constant crying. Now I am nursing so Kava Kava tincture for my stress is out of the question. Something had to be done. I reached for my herbs. Catnip, Chamomile, linden flower (Passionflower would also be good if you had it) Lemon Balm, a little Spearmint to mask the Catnip taste. I made and infusion and gave it to her using a tincture dropper filled approximately half way. Within 5 to 10 minutes the crying stopped. She did not wake crying in the middle of the night. I ran this by my Doctor and she said none of this absorbs in their system anyway so the herbs can't hurt (do you think an 8 week old knows what a placebo is?) Needless to say I have a new Doctor.
This is a life saver! Ella is 5 months old now and she still loves chamomile & Catnip, now that the teething has started this formula works great for that as well, especially with the linden flower added (thank you Rosemary Gladstar). The infusion does not interfere with my nursing regimen, I am able to give her a little more now than the 1/2 dropper full. She enjoys it. We are happy :)

Photo used by permission from http://resolutionhost.com/flora/