It’s not the Flu!

So Cupcake and I are sick. It’s been 7 days of varying symptoms. I know what it isn’t – the flu.

I don’t get the flu.

So rather than complain about my zombie-like appearance or regale you with tales of my amazingly sweat-tastic week (seriously, we are talking POOL STATUS, people), I will talk about some of the all natural cold remedies I am using to fight this mother.

Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar

This organic, unpasteurized liquid is known to aid in heart health, high cholesterol, weight loss, diabetes, and cancer. It’s used as a “folk remedy” to lower fever, relieve sinuses, aid indigestion, etc.
How I use it:
2 tsps in HOT water with 1 tbsp of raw honey. This way I can fool myself into thinking I’m drinking hot apple cider.
You can also drink the 2tsps alone, but I’d liken it to a shot of whiskey… Blech.

Raw Honey

Unpasteurized, unprocessed, and full of health benefits, raw honey is full of vitamins, minerals, and both antiviral and antibacterial properties. It is used to relieve allergies, help digestion, relieve sore throats, balance both blood sugar and blood pressure, strengthen immune systems, etc.
How I use it:
I add it to hot tea, apple cider vinegar, use it as a sugar substitute in baking, and take it by the spoonful to relieve an achey throat.

Cinnamon

Used in both stick and ground form, cinnamon has long been used in Chinese medicine to help with indigestion, pain relief, and increase energy. In current [western medicine] studies, cinnamon has been shown to aide in lowering cholesterol, lower blood sugar/raise insulin levels, fight candida (anti fungal properties), and has an anti-clotting effect in the blood.
(**Cinnamon is TOXIC IN LARGE AMOUNTS)
How I use it::
Sprinkle ground cinnamon over my baked goods, in my coffee, and over the main course in our “French Toast Saturdays”

Neti-Pot

Used for nasal irrigation, it is a pot or squeeze bottle containing a saltwater-saline solution designed to rid your nasal cavity of sinus congestion, allergies, and cold symptoms.
How I use it:
I follow the directions on the box! Though it feels weird and I refuse to look into the mirror as I use it… so gross… I haven’t drowned yet! *IT IS IMPORTANT TO ALWAYS BOIL TAP WATER & let it cool to room temperature before using**

Alba Un-Petroleum Jelly

This multi-purpose jelly contains beeswax, vitamin E, coconut oil, castor oil, and is used to moisture and soothe.
How I use it:
I use it in the place of Vaseline (which contains petrolatum). Specifically, I smother my nose in it to moisturize the red, raw skin left over from too much nose blowing (achoooo).

Water

Keeping hydrated when suffering from a cold or allergies helps prevent your respiratory secretions from becoming too thick, allowing you to clear them more easily from your airways (blowing your nose & coughing up that yummy phlegm, i.e. getting the mucus OUT!). It keeps you from becoming dehydrated especially with diarrhea or vomiting, and it helps keep nausea at bay.
How I use it:
Drink, drink, drink, drink! I’m already the toe of person who carries around a water bottle wherever I go, but when I’m sick I take it to the next level- No coffee or sugary juices, just water.

Tissues with lotion

Brands like Puffs Plus or Kleenex boast the softness to their tissues with added aloe or lotion. I’m partial to Kleenex as I find the Puffs Plus brand leaves a lotions feeling on my fingers that I don’t like.
How I use it:
Self explanatory!
This time around I’ve gone through 5 notes of tissues in 7 days. No exaggeration. I should probably buy stock or switch to handkerchiefs like my grandfather… Nope, totally grossed myself out just thinking about it. I’ll take cloth diapers over handkerchiefs any day.

Sleep

During sleep, your immune system releases proteins that are needed to fight off all the infections, inflammations, and stresses of your day. From touching a door handle to washing a load of dirty laundry, your body is hot with germs non-stop. Sleep allows your immune system to buildup, recoup, and get ready to battle another day.
How I use it:
Unfortunately, being the mom of an exclusively breastfed infant doesn’t allow me much extra sleep time. Napping for hours in bed is out of the question, so I put a sheet down over the couch, bring my pillows out with a comfy blanket, and “rest” my body as much as I can. On a good sick day, I can nap when Cupcake naps. On a normal sick day I can shut my eyes for 15 mins while Hubs heats up some soup or burps Cupcake. You gotta take what you can get- Any extra sleep while you’re sick is helpful

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**Disclaimer**
I don’t have a medical degree, nor do I pretend to be a doctor. Always do your own research & check with your medical advisor before using any OTC medicine, alternative medicine, etc. This is just what is currently happening in my life [exciting right?] so I thought I would share it with you 🙂
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Do you have any “natural cold remedies” that work for you? Share them below!

Time for a rest. I’ll leave you with little Sickee McGee (Cupcake) and his adorable “you just used a booger sucker on me” face.

Did you say CLOTH DIAPERS?!

So this is it. We have officially begun cloth diapering. [insert your grimace/awkward questioning here]

Let me preface this post by saying, we did not cloth diaper for our first two children. We chose to cloth diaper Cupcake for a few different reasons: it’s environmentally friendly, financially friendly, and sensitive skin friendly. Primarily, he was/is allergic to a chemical found in commercial disposable diapers. Huggies, Pampers, you name it, he’s allergic to it. And by allergic, I mean breaks out into a blistering, painful rash after just 1 day of use.

For the first 3 months of Cupcake’s life, we used Seventh Generation disposable diapers. These are free of dyes, chlorines, and other icky chemicals that can bother sensitive skin. These icky chemicals, however, proved important when it came to the absorbency of disposable diapers. Cupcake had 2-3 blowouts PER DAY. After getting soaked through my dress with watery, mustardy poop having an accident during a Sunday morning service, I’d had enough. There had to be a better way!

I began researching cloth diapering. Can I tell you, it’s ADDICTING! There are so many different options out there – prefolds & covers, hybrid systems, all-in-ones, and pocket diapers to name a few. Don’t even get me started on soap/detergent options! It’s actually become a running joke (not to me) in my home that whenever I am on the computer, Hubs will walk by and say “Whatcha’ doin? Looking at cloth diapers?”, and then laugh hysterically. I hate to admit there’s 87% chance I probably am, haha.

Here is my first cloth diapering “stash”.
I followed some advice online and purchased a few different types of cloth diapers to see which would be best for our Cupcake. I will update soon with what is currently working for him, our washing routine, and bring you along with me throughout all of my trials & errors.

Ready? Set? Wash!

{Diaper Stash from left to right:}
Green Mountain Diaper unbleached cotton prefolds, medium size,
4 Thirsties all-in-ones
4 Kawaii onesize pockets
3 BumGenius 4.0s
2 Fuzzibunz (second hand)
4 Flip onesize covers & disposable inserts
6 gdiapers (small, second hand) 5 gdiapers (medium) & disposable inserts

Some websites I ordered from:
http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com
http://www.kellyscloset.com
http://www.cottonbabies.com

Third Time’s the Charm.

When Dear Husband (here on out referred to as “Hubs”) and I finally became pregnant with Baby 3, we were ecstatic.  Having had a 6 year gap between pregnancies and now being  in our 30s  a bit older,  we were really feeling prepared and excited for a new little soul to join our family.
“Baby Cupcake” [affectionately dubbed by the Big Brothers] was a perfect pregnancy.  Minus a scare with low blood platelets, it was text-book; I gained 35 pounds, still worked 5 days a week as a teacher,  actively participated in 2 fulltime church ministries, and thoroughly enjoyed every moment.   Well, almost every moment.  Already the parents of two boys, people decided it was okay to speak their opinions over me:
“Oh this time it’s going to be a girl!”
“Are you hoping for a girl?”
“Wouldn’t a girl be great?”
“You must WANT a girl after ALL these boys…”

We found out Cupcake was a boy at 18 weeks and we were BEYOND happy. After all, we knew boys.
We had fun with the “gender reveal” both in person & via Facebook post, choosing as a family to all wear either pink or blue. Every moment of “baking” Cupcake was enjoyed as a family. Being a family, a tight unit, had always been important to Hubs & I and Baby #3 just meant we would become even closer knit.

On Thursday, May 30th while Hubs was dropping our older boys off at school, I began to have contractions. What does a 3rd time around preggo do when she begins labor? Well go for a mile walk, of course! You can shake your head as you read this, my husband did too. Hubs & I took a walk down the beach, contractions 7 mins apart. At home, I decided to get ready for the hospital finish up the nursery – folding clothes, putting up shelving, and breathing heavily while bouncing on my yoga ball. When it was “time” to head to the hospital, the conversation went a little like this:
Me, putting on makeup in the bathroom: “Babe… how about [my contractions] now?”
Hubs, patiently standing at the door: “60 SECONDS!!!”
Me, lowly walking to the door: “Umm… we should probably go to the hospital now.”
Hubs, holding my hand, his keys, & the hospital bag: “Finally.”

Forty minutes later we were holding our little boy! The baking was over and our Cupcake had arrived. He zoomed into the world naturally; no pain medications, one push. One of the doctors jokingly asked, “Did you want to have your baby at home?” “Maybe next time”, I responded with a laugh.
Did I say next time?

So that’s the story of how our family went from 4 to 5. How we went from quartet to quintet. And how we became 3 Boys, A Girl, and A Baby.