People think we become mothers when we give birth but the truth is we become mothers the moment we start calling our babies to us in our thoughts, dreams and prayers. Some paths are short and some are so long that you can easily forget where you were headed.
Re: Crunchy Mamas
I'm a little crunchy, but not super crunchy, ya know?
On recent purchases that are baby-related, we've gone with:
Some non-toxic daily products we use are:
- Pure Haven line for face and hair care (it's an MLM, sorry guys. My sister started selling it a few years ago and I was impressed with their line, so I've been using it ever since), however I'd love to give an ACV hair rinse another change.
- Charcoal toothpaste tablets
- Baking soda-free non-toxic deodorants
- Homemade lotion with shea butter, castor oil (pre-pregnancy, right now I'm using an olive oil base) and essential oils
- Homemade household cleaners (depending on the purpose, typically a blend of vinegar, castile soap, orange peel and for window cleaners, a couple of ounces of vodka to help with streaks)
- Homemade beeswax candles scented with essential oils instead of synthetic fragrances
ETA words*Live, Love, Laugh, Learn*
https://circularlivingco.com/
Me too @olivemomma I only recently heard it regarding parenting because of a FB group invite. Well, cloth diapering wasn't new to me because while lurking, someone on TB mentioned it in their BMB before. Not sure what will be my decision on that yet. There seems to be a lot of great non-toxic disposable diaper options. What usually happens with me is I'll start to learn about something and go down the rabbit hole for awhile. Then I'll be like wellllllll that seems a bit much and not very pratical and find some option to compromise because at least the option will be wayyyyy safer than a lot of the mainstream stuff, imo.
@zamora_spin That mattress you posted yesterday in the product spotlight, thank youuuuu! Saved from hours of burning my eyeballs out online
@ElcaB Haven't heard of crunchy discipline methods yet. What did you find out?
@oklahomak Thanks for the tip on Gentle Nursery, I'm already there reading about diapers! We went with the Karla Dubois Baby Oslo 3 in 1 Convertible. I'm not happy about the paint finish but that's something that had to be compromised on. The ACV hair rinse I've been using is 2-3 tablespoons of it in a 16 oz glass of cool water. After the shampoo bar...well, mine lathers up really really well but leaves my hair too squeaky feeling after. So pouring the ACV on my scalp and hair, all over, letting it sit for two minutes and then rinsing works well. It doesn't smell at all and it softens my hair enough to get rid of that squeaky feeling. It doesn't make it feel as soft as mainstream conditioner but there is no issue with static and at least my hair shaft is closed and happy.
@denma2015 It's so hard to find a natural deodorant that's closer to the price of mainstream. Just recently, we found out about Naturally Fresh unscented spray deodorant. Surprisingly, we were able to catch it on Amazon for $7, but the shipping takes forrrrrrrever and a strange thing happened. It came with a CA prop 65 warning in my shopping cart. That doesn't make sense since the product claims to be chemical free and is certified by the EWG. I'm currently trying to get to the bottom of that.
My 7 Year Journey ***Tw in spoiler***
IVF #1 - September 2018; Follistim, Menopur, Cetrotide & Lupron/HCG combo trigger; PGS; ICSI
Back on Levothyroxine
FET #1 - October 2018; cancelled, all PGS aneuploid
FET #1 - November 30th, transferred anyway
Wondfo BFP 5dp5dt, CB Digi 6dpt,
1st Beta on 7dpt 93
2nd Beta on 10dpt 510!
TTC #1 since 2011. Tried for 5 years before we knew there was a one year rule.
Diag w/MS 2016; w/PCOS & IF 2017
New RE 2018; PCOS diagnosis taken away, IF due to ovary adhesions, but prev. RE insists PCOS IF
IUI
IUI #1 July 2017 w/100mg Clo+trigger; BFN; benched w/big cysts
IUI #2 October 2017 w/50mg Clo+trigger; BFN; benched w/big cysts
IUI #3 February 2018 w/5mg Femara+trigger; low P
BFP February; mc March; Subclinical hypothyroid started Levothyroxine
IUI #4 March 2018 w/7.5mg Femara+trigger; BFN
Medicated cycle & TI April 2018 w/7.5mg Femara+trigger; BFN
Tried several cycles on our own; all BFN
My 7 Year Journey ***Tw in spoiler***
IVF #1 - September 2018; Follistim, Menopur, Cetrotide & Lupron/HCG combo trigger; PGS; ICSI
Back on Levothyroxine
FET #1 - October 2018; cancelled, all PGS aneuploid
FET #1 - November 30th, transferred anyway
Wondfo BFP 5dp5dt, CB Digi 6dpt,
1st Beta on 7dpt 93
2nd Beta on 10dpt 510!
TTC #1 since 2011. Tried for 5 years before we knew there was a one year rule.
Diag w/MS 2016; w/PCOS & IF 2017
New RE 2018; PCOS diagnosis taken away, IF due to ovary adhesions, but prev. RE insists PCOS IF
IUI
IUI #1 July 2017 w/100mg Clo+trigger; BFN; benched w/big cysts
IUI #2 October 2017 w/50mg Clo+trigger; BFN; benched w/big cysts
IUI #3 February 2018 w/5mg Femara+trigger; low P
BFP February; mc March; Subclinical hypothyroid started Levothyroxine
IUI #4 March 2018 w/7.5mg Femara+trigger; BFN
Medicated cycle & TI April 2018 w/7.5mg Femara+trigger; BFN
Tried several cycles on our own; all BFN
I would love to be better about food. We have been ordering our meat through butcher box which I’m loving. It is all grass fed and organic. I still eat way too much processed crap though, and after starting with making my own baby food, have given in to the ease of common kid foods.
I’m also all about trying holistic approaches to things, but as a nurse, I trust the medical community and medical research and I’m not going to be turning down any type of vaccines or appropriate medical treatment for myself or my family.
Part of our crunchy journey entailed learning to make our own soaps/body products, purchasing all our meats from a grass-fed only farm, natural cleaning products, etc. We tried cloth with my first but couldn't keep up after 6 months, so now we buy disposables. It is what it is!
I'm also a pro-breastfeeding, babywearing lover of a mom. That's my sweet spot!
But also I really like a clean shave, and think in general people are too lax with essential oil usage. 🤷♀️
I used to spend tons of time obsessing on EWG about products and then I found out that Whole Foods does not allow phthalates and other ingredients I avoid in their products and it's made life a lot easier. (Plus EWG seems to view all natural fragrance as hazardous which I don't entirely agree with). Be warned I do think they sell some products with Vitamin A (totally safe unless you're pregnant or TTC), so you should still look at the labels for retinol and related ingredients.