~ Ditch the Vic, Super Easy Stuffy Nose Rub ~

This is the easiest way to help relieve stuffy little noses. I took some jojoba oil, about 2 ounces and mixed it with about 15 drops of essential peppermint oil. Rub it on the bottoms of your little ones feet, pop on a pair of socks and your good to go. Best thing, it smells like Christmas!! This post is part of the Herbal Medicine Chest Blog Hop

~ Our Sickness Protocol ~

Last week three of our children were sick (first time this year) so I thought I would share what has worked for us to help them recover and heal. We use a holistic or whole body approach.

First stop, chiropractor. Basically your spine is like the central intelligence agency of your body. Each vertebrae in your spine has nerves that "plug" into it and send signals to different parts of your body. If your spine has any subluxations, or twisted vertebrae, your body will not run properly because the nerve signal is being interrupted.

Our next go to is good bone broths and homemade chicken stocks. I always have them on hand in the fridge as part of our protocol for healthy teeth. This simple, easy recipe from The Healthy Home Economist on Potassium Broth would as be very beneficial to anyone try to recover from an illness or surgery.

1 part fresh lemon to 1 part raw honey + as much raw garlic or ginger as you or your kids can stand. I talk more about this here. We use garlic ear oil if ear pain is an issue. Garlic is a natural antibiotic that is much more effects that prescription antibiotics because it works synergistically as a whole plant rather than a single isolated antibiotic. Its main route of action is in it sulphur compound allicin. If we really need a boost we utilize Grapefruit Seed Extract. Stephen Harrod Buhner's book Herbal Antibiotics is a must read.

Fever! A fever is not to be fear unlike the medical establishment would have you believe. It is our bodies natural response to the invaders in our system. Most bacteria/viruses can not handle high heat so they are literally cooked to death when the body spikes a fever. When you reach for the bottle of fever reducer you are doing more harm than good. You are giving the bacteria a leg up by reducing your temperature to a level that they can readily reproduce in making an illness last much longer than it normally would. I am again going to direct you to The Healthy Home Economist because she wrote a very good, concise post here. If you have a child that is very uncomfortable a bit of diluted green tea can help. The small amount of caffeine can dilate the blood vessels just enough to bring comfort without compromising the healing aspects of a fever.

It is said that the ability to run a high fever is a sign of vitality and I can attest to that. My daughter will run temps of 103-104 and she still runs circles around us. She generally sleeps right through them waking healthy as though she had a perfectly normal night with no temperature.

Nourishing foods and probiotics: Your immune system is only has healthy as your gut. We all have on a daily basis, raw milk products, kombucha or water kefir and my husband takes extra probiotics because they promote flu vaccinations at his work and I don't want him bringing home the flu because of others shedding the virus. We don't vaccinate as vaccinating compromises the immune system.

And last but most important is rest. Your body needs downtime. The only reason you got sick in the first place is that your body was run down and your immune system was not running on all cylinders. Just because you get a "germ" in your body doesn't automatically mean you are going to get sick. Bacteria and viruses have to have the right medium to grow on in order to make someone sick. If you are eating lots of sugar and processed foods (or even just a little) you are compromising your immune system by destroying your gut health.

Last week three out of the four were sick. We got a new bucket of raw honey that is crystallized (oh so yummy!) and the kids had been allowed one to many spoonfuls. To a certain degree, sugar is sugar and the extra sugar weaken their gut health by feeding the bad flora and in turn weakened their immune system. We were around two different families dealing with two different illnesses that we picked up. They all had quick recoveries, 24 -48 hours. We ran temps in the 104 range, drank lots of water kefir to stay hydrated and kept blood glucose levels up and encouraged them to sleep a lot. We haven't been to a doctor for illness in 6 years and my oldest has had one round of prescription antibiotics when he was 18 months old before the stance on ear infections was to just wait it out.

People get sick. Its not inherently a bad thing. It's Gods way of building our immune systems improving our overall health. Are there those that haven't been sick in years? Yep, and coo-dos to them but I live with four kids who touch everything (an occasionally lick stuff! yuk!!) and we are bound to get sick. This is just what has worked best for our family to help us make a speedy recovery without the side effects of OTC or prescription drugs.

~ Natural Cough Sore Throat Remedy ~

This post is part of the Home Remedies Carnival at Keeper of the Home

As cold season draws closer I make sure I have three things stocked in my fridge and pantry. Raw honey, fresh lemons, and garlic.

Raw Honey is antiseptic, antibiotic, antifungal, and antibacterial -- it never spoils. See the little flecks in the honey, that is all the raw goodness. When you buy honey at the store it has been heat treated(pasteurized) to make it clear and pourable. The problem is now you have a dead honey that has no life giving properties left.

 
  Eight Health Benefits of Honey
 1. Taking organic raw honey is a healthy way to get an energy boost. Its carbohydrates supply us with energy and strength. It can boost your endurance and reduce muscle fatigue.

 2. Honey is a great aid in relieving morning sickness, reportedly even more effective than traditional soda crackers. It’s also good for sore throats including laryngitis and pharyngitis.

 3. Honey and cinnamon can help in many areas including relief from bladder infections, arthritis, upset stomach and bad breath. It’s even supposed to be able to slow down hair loss.

 4. Raw honey can be used as a medication for men with problems of impotence and women with problems related to infertility. Warm raw goat milk and raw honey is believed to increase sperm count considerably.

 5. A salve made of honey, for diabetic ulcers, has been proven effective when other topical antibiotics are not well tolerated. It can be applied to eczema, canker sores or bleeding gums.

 6. Honey and apple cider vinegar can be used for many ailments like stomach aches, constipation and even migraines.

 7. Honey and lemon goes to work in the body shifting the extra fat stores, thus making it usable energy for regular body functions. And, honey is cholesterol-free. It reportedly can even help to keep cholesterol levels in check

 8. Raw honey has a viscous texture due to its low water content. It also establishes a poor environment for bad bacteria to grow, and is a good natural preservative. Lemons have a hot and dry quality which is the opposite of a cold. It cuts and dissolves phlegm, making it a great agent against the cold and flu. It also alleviates chest congestion and eases coughing fits. Lemon also fights headaches and is a diuretic, helping to flush out your system and those nasty cold and flu bugs.

Garlic is hot in nature and its moisture quality also helps it dissolve and break down phlegm in the throat and chest. Garlic is a broad spectrum antibiotic with powerful antibacterial properties. The active component in garlic is the sulfur compound called allicin. Allicin is the chemical produced when garlic is chopped, chewed, or bruised. Allicin is quite powerful as an antibiotic and a potent agent that helps the body to inhibit the ability of germs to grow and reproduce. In fact, it's said that 1 milligram of allicin has a potency of 15 standard units of penicillin. Cough Syrup Mix 1 Tbsp of fresh lemon juice, 1 tbsp of raw honey, and 1 to 3 cloves of grated garlic, according to what you can tolerate. If making this for children, start with one clove. Keep in a covered jar in the fridge. Use when ever a sore throat presents itself or at the first signs of cold symptoms. We love to add this to Peppermint or Wild Cherry Bark tea. Both can sooth a sore throat immensely. I have also made this using ginger in place of the garlic and adding ginger in with the garlic. The extra heat will draw out the cold. If we are going to be out and about in one place for an extended period of time them I will give this in advance. Garlic works best at preventing a cold or being consumed right as symptoms begin to show.

~ Spring Fever ~

"Oooo..." You know it is your fourth when you get the camera and not the kid

I am just about ready for the nut house, lol because if I didn't laugh I would cry. The kids have been crazy with a capital "C". We have even had them outside multiple times a day. I think that is backfiring on us, it seems like the more fresh air they get, the more energy they get. I am not one to wish winter away, but a good warm-up would be nice. With it being so loud, my brain doesn't think well enough for a "really good post", you know, with a recipe or something like that.

This is the best I have, great blogs to share with you, so really, what can be better than that? Dionna at Code Name: Mama is writing an awesome series on circumcision, if you are going to be having a boy soon you really need to go and check it out. She also has lots of fun ideas to help encourage your toddler or even preschooler to explore. Peaceful Parenting (brought to my attention by Dionna) is an awesome resource for all things. Every time I am there I learn so much new info, that is solid info, not just a bunch of huey. Dr. Joseph Mercola is an ND and his site has invaluable info. I watch a great video the other day on what a hoax the H1N1 scare was and the profit that pharmaceutical companies receive from your US tax dollars. You can basically search his site for anything you are looking for info on and find an answer, or so my experience has so far proven. Happy info hunting, the more you know, the more you are in charge of your health, which is always the best place to be.

~ H1N1 Hoax ~

I just got done listen to a great video on Dr.Mercola's site. You may have subscribe to his free newsletter to listen to the whole thing, but he has so much great info that if will be worth it. It is about a half hour long, but totally worth listening to. Here is some of what the video highlights. There is an investigation being done on whether or not the big pharmaceutical companies pressured the WHO into declaring a worldwide pandemic so they could manufacture vaccines. 80% of the US population did not want a H1N1 vaccine leaving 130 million doses unused, a huge waste of US tax dollars. European countries also have huge surpluses of vaccine left and the pharmaceutical companies are refusing to refund the money these countries spent on them, countries that bought them only because the WHO declared a worldwide pandemic. Some scary stats:

• In the '80's autism spectrum disorders were 1 in 10,000
• In the '90's they were 1 in 2,500
• Today they are 1 in 100

Vaccines given have tripled since the '80's, children now receive 69 doses from birth to eighteen years of age of 16 different vaccines, some receiving up to 8 vaccines in one day.
Scarier yet there are 200 new vaccines in the works with over 2,000 clinical trials worldwide. It is hard to believe that there is no correlation between vaccines and autism. In 1986 when legislation was past to compensate families who's children had been injured by vaccine the pharmaceutical companies told the US government that if they were not allowed liability protection they would leave the US without any vaccines. If the pharmaceutical companies have no liability for what they produce they have no reason to make vaccines safer or improve what they manufacture. Bottom line, before you get your kids or yourself vaccinated, educate yourself, beyond your doctor, who basically knows only what the CDC is telling them. Very few doctors do any research on their own, especially if they belong to a large practice.

~ Jews and the Law Regarding Circumcision ~

This is what Paul had to say in Romans about The Jews and the Law regarding circumcision.

'Circumcision has value if you observe the law, but of you break the law, you have become as though you had not been circumcised. If those who are not circumcised keep the law's requirements, will they not be regarded as though they were circumcised? The one who is not circumcised physically and yet obeys the law will condemn you who, even though you have the written code and circumcision, are a lawbreaker. A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is a circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and a circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but from God. Romans 2:25-29
It is also interesting to learn that the traditional circumcision had nothing to do with removing the entire foreskin. A tiny slit was many for a few drops of blood to enter into a covenant with God. In paintings of baby Jesus, he was INTACT. Here is a great link that goes into more detail.

As far as thinking that circumcision is a Christian thing, it is not. By following the old covenant, we are denying the new covenant in Christ and renouncing that he came to save us. It has been clearly stated that there is no medical reason for circumcision and there is no religious reason either, point blank, this does not need to be done. As far as someone saying that they like the look of a circumcise penis, get over yourself. It is your son that has to live with the choice, not you. If he decides that he wants it done after he is 18, that's his choice to make. It is a severe violation of human rights to do this to an innocent baby that has no say in the matter. There is a bill being brought forward in Mass. to make it illegal to practice genital mutilation, lets make our voices heard and make sure that this legislation is brought about in every state. Here is the web site, this is current legislation, their will be a public meeting on March 2, 2010 at 1:00 pm.

~ Keeping Our Boys Intact ~

I am the proud mama of three beautiful boys and if I could go back and keep them intacted I would in a heart beat. The main reason given to me was that everyone should look the same, that if dad was circumcised, then baby should too! What idiocy! And I can't believe I fell for such a line, but when you are a new mom you want to do the best for your baby and you think that your doctor is giving you the best information when in reality they know that there is no medical reason to circumcise a baby and yet they do it anyway.
In fact, the US is the only country that regularly practices the barbaric procedure. I read this yesterday and sobbed for about twenty minutes after, not believing what I had done to my boys. I was angry that I had been told such lies, like "it is a quick and painless procedure". My last son was a home birth and he had his done in the clinic, his dad was with him and they still do the procedure the same way, strapping baby down and most clinics use no pain medicines. Even if they do numb the area, it is physically impossible to numb the area where the foreskin is attached to the penis. It makes me sick to my stomach to think about it.
We, as mom's of boys need to stop this barbaric practice that has no medical value and no biblical one either. Even a Jewish baby boy doesn't need to be circumcised. Here is a very moving letter from a Jewish father to his son explaining his decision not to circumcise his son.

Here is the first part of a three part series on circumcision, it is a well written, factual article, that everyone needs to read and past on to all of their friends, whether they have kids or not, we need to stop this practice in the US once and for all. If you are informed, you will never allow this to be done to your son. Again, please pass this on to everyone you know, we have to stop this, it is a brutal assault on a helpless baby that changes something in them forever, I know that I will never be the same now that I know the truth.

~ Baby Reflux ~

I am past this stage with my kiddos but found the very valuable site for moms with new babies. Pollywog Baby. They offer information and products for babies that deal with colic, spitting up, and fussiness due to what might be acid reflux. In today's culture we are a "magic pill" fixes everything kind of people. I abhor medications and money grubbing pharmaceutical companies, mostly because God's gave us self healing bodies and it is up to us to give our bodies what they need to heal themselves, not poison them with the latest and greatest drugs.
With my last two babies I didn't eat any dairy, corn, or wheat for the first six months. It was a very limited diet but my babies were very happy and that is all that counts in my book. Breast milk is the best thing on earth that you can give your baby and no formula out there even comes close to it. Formula essentially is a dead food, it contains no live enzymes or antibodies. Here is a great article about breastmilk, the different stages and composition as it changes to meet the needs of your baby. If you are going to be nursing soon or are struggling to do so now, please reach out to friends that have been successful, to the LaLeche League, an ND specializing in infants and children, don't give up. This is one of the most important decisions that you can make for your baby. I know doctors will tell you that formula is just as good but its not and it is helpful to keep in mind that they get payed by pharmaceutical companies to tell you that (maybe not with a direct paycheck, but the door goes 'round).
The first part of this article talks about the negative health effects of soy formula on babies, please read, I can personally attest to this as my second son was put on soy formula by uniformed doctors and now we are dealing with most of these issue along with toxic vaccine effect. From Dr.Mecola's site, here are some great articles on formula if you have to use one, it's a long list but well worth reading. There are other options out there other than the commerical formulas on the secular market, I wish I had know about them six years ago, maybe life would have been better for my big guy today. I am still nursing my fifteen months old and it is a true joy, knowing that I am giving him the best start to life that there is.

~ The Dangers of Vaccines ~

 My second and fourth sons are victims of toxic vaccine autism or toxin vaccine effect, but we are well on our way to recovery. My second son got the full rounds of vaccines and my fourth son was to get a selective vaccination schedule but after only one shot as a two month old has had no more.
The reason that boys are more likely to develop autism is that mercury binds to testosterone 5 times more than estrogen. "But", you say " they took all the mercury out of vaccines" No my friend, they didn't, there is still a full dose of mercury in the flu shot and the tetanus shot and they simply replaced mercury with other heavy metals. Here is a link with all the toxic additives that go into vaccines.
About 25 years ago they took all of these additives out of animal vaccines because pet and livestock we experiencing brain damage and death after being vaccinated. It is sad to think that we would take more considerations for out animals than we do for our own kids.
When the medical community says that vaccines have been extensively study, that is a lie. They have studied 2 out of the 36 vaccines and only 1 out of the 35 EPA noted toxins (like mercury), that doesn't seem to qualify as extensive to me. I hope to have the time to write our our full story soon.

~ The Pink Eye Saga ~

My daughter had pink eye this past week and gave it to her little brother. Hers went away relatively quickly, but Jairden's is hanging on due in part to the head cold he got along with it and the brownie he had on Sunday. It was one that I made so it was low in sugar but it was still sugar. Bad bacteria feed on the tiniest amounts of sugar, its crazy. I have been fighting off getting sick too and I only had a half of one. It just proves to me that sugar is just something we need to stay away from all together.
This morning he woke up with super crusty eyes, poor baby, so when I got home from MOPS I washed his eye with some Burt's Bees Baby Shampoo, which is pH balanced so feels like water. Don't be fooled with other "Tear Free" baby shampoos, they are not tear free. They simply contain a numbing agent so while it is burning the heck out of your baby's eyes and doing damage to their mucus membranes they can't feel a thing. Once I had them cleaned up I put some Neosporin on a q-tip and rub that around the outside of his eye. Spend the money and get the brand name regular Neosporin, they don't use mineral oil and white petroleum is the last ingredient on the list. With in a half hour the swelling went down and the redness was gone. I did it again after he fell asleep and put some drops of fresh breastmilk in his eyes, so hopefully when he wakes up he will be goop free.
Update: After only sleeping an hour, ah-hem, he only had a small amount of goop, but really it only looks like he has sleep in his eyes. Yeah!! I will keep up this treatment until tomorrow for sure and them we will see how he is when he wakes up. 4:26 pm Tuesday Update #2: He had no goop this morning, just a little stuck to his eyelashes, I can't believe how fast that worked. I washed his eyes again last night before bed, put a little Neosporin around his eye, (in the corner and on his lashes, massage the corners to help unclogged the duct) and a few drops of fresh breastmilk. I saved $150 on an office visit and $20 for the drops, plus the torture of having to hold down a screaming infant to put drops in his eye because they sting.

~ Natural Remedy for Pink Eye ~

Last Saturday we went swimming with some friends at church and three hours in the pool was way to much for their little systems. Chlorine is really hard on your body and when you swallow large amounts of chlorinated water it kills all of the bacteria, good and bad, in your digestive system. Your immune health is only as healthy as your digestive tract.
So, add the pool on Saturday to the germ pool on Sunday at church and you end up with three sick kids, two that have gotten pink eye because their noses are so stuffed up. I don't like antibiotics, they are way overused and are really, really hard on your entire body. Similason has homeopathic pink eye drops that work great, but an even better remedy is bread dipped in scalded milk and them placed on the eye as a poultice. This is all my mom ever did when we were kids and it is all I have ever done with my kids. We usually do one eye at a time and read a huge stack of books as a distraction. Some might be tempted to use candy as a distraction, but don't. The sugar in candy feeds the bad bacteria in your system and you can end up with a yeast overgrowth in no time. Stale bread works best because it holds up when wet better.
Simply scald some milk on the stove in a small pan and then dip your bread into it. Let it cool enough so that your child can tolerate it on their eye and then let it sit there until it is cool, about ten minutes. It draws out all the gunk in the tear duct, thus getting rid of the infection because the eye can work properly again. It may take more than one treatment, but I don't think that I have ever had to do it more than twice.
For all you moms out there that are still breastfeeding, breastmilk is also great for pink eye because of it antibacterial properties.