I am sad to say I definitely had a stigma about "those Moms."
You know those 'Hippie Moms' that wear Birkenstocks and have hairy legs and always smell like patchouli and breastfeed their babies au' natural in the open... you know what I mean.
Before I had kids I ignorantly associated any interest in natural health with people who fit this description.
And now, after having kids and seeing the world differently (and hopefully growing up and becoming less judgemental), I am here to report that I am now on the Hippie Mama path myself :0)
Okay, don't get your knickers in a knot... I am still far from Hippie. I'm still shave my legs, and I haven't been breaking out the incense. I still enjoy junk food (working on that one), and I love my beauty products. But I am becoming more and more interested and passionate about natural living and homeopathic medicine.
My trip down the Au' Natural Path is a different story for a different time, but the driving force leading me in this direction had been Bennett's eczema and numerous pediatricians' lack of desire to do anything to heal it. This lit a fire under me to find true healing for our son, not just "live with it" or slather on dangerous steroid creams.
Also, a word of warning: once you start investigating the products you are using and how harmful they can be, your eyes are opened, and it's hard to look at your counter top cleaner or Cheetos or sunscreen or (sniff) lipstick the same way ever again. So consider yourself warned. If you head down the au' natural path, you might not like what you find there.
Hey... wouldn't that be an awesome movie line? I can just picture myself in a dingy old saloon saying it to a cowboy-clad Jeff Bridges.
But I digress.
Here is the awesome website that has helped me to make sense of ALL the information out there. I REALLY appreciate Dr. Mercola and all the insights he provides. If you, like me, are a newbie to natural medicine, there is a wealth of knowledge here to get you started.
Here are a few of my favorite articles as of late:
- On exercise and how to maximize your cardio time safely
- On sunscreen and the importance of natural sunlight!
- On skincare and how toxic most of your products are (even my Trader Joe's ones... sniff!)
- On microwaves and how dangerous they are (I told you, you might just not want to know these things...)
- A new perspective on taking fish oil
These are just a few of the great articles that have been really interesting and informative to me. Hope they are helpful to you as well!
So, what did you end up doing to help Bennett with his eczema? We have a baby in our church who is really struggling. His mama is already a hippie mama :-)but she is having trouble getting it under control. I am sure she would love some input.
ReplyDeleteI hate reading that about the skincare stuff! I knew about lauryl sulfate and parabens, but I hate that those are in almost everything!--and the natural replacements are so expensive.
ReplyDeleteHi Casey! I really like Mercola's website too. Do you also know about the cosmetic database?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/
You can look up lots of products and their toxicity rating.
Crystal,
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of things your friend can try for eczema, and we are honestly still in the process of figuring Bennett's out.
Here are a few things to try:
*probiotics -- this is important because most often skin problems like eczema are linked to digestion problems. Dr Mercola sells a great one!
*fish oil or better yet, the krill oil mentioned in the above link from Dr. Mercola. I just ordered this for Bennett. This helps create inside-out moisturizing for the skin.
* Moisturize like crazy! I've experimented with all kinds of moisturizers and ointments and this is the best I've found: I make a hard lotion bar from this "chapstick recipe" and rub it onto his skin twice a day. You have to be vigilant on this one.
http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2010/11/homemade-natural-chapstick.html
Also, NO aquaphor, vaseline, etc... these are petroleum-based and just dry your skin out more.
*Cut out gluten. If that doesn't help try cutting out dairy too... or switch to raw dairy.
* We also saw a homeopath who has prescribed some homeopathic drops specifically designed to aid in digestion and clean out those toxins so they won't come through the skin. So that's one route she might want to take.
Well, sorry that was a long response :0) but hopefully it helps your friend.
Hi Brooke!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip! I will definitely check out that website!!!