Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Meet Haute Mess Mama

Hey friends, I want to introduce you to a friend of mine.  Her name is Lacey and she just started a blog called Haute Mess Mama.  She started using essential oils in November and is on a journey to make life more healthy for her and her family.  She is a born and raised Texan and has a heart of gold. Her adorable family consists of her, Haute Mess Papa Kevin, Haute Mess Baby Tennysin, and their fur babies Isabella and Dozer.  
We collaborate a lot and we will be sharing each others posts so we can give you more information that we think you will enjoy.  Go check her blog out at HauteMessMama or here on Facebook where she will be talking about God, family, cooking, crunchiness, DIY, essential oils, parenting [triumphs and struggles], and the kitchen sink! 

Just look at how adorable they are!




Be healthy, 
Jen


Sunday, January 12, 2014

Tackling Teething

Do you have teething babies in the house?  I do right now, big time!  Poor Mallory has 8 teeth now and has been plagued by 2 molars this past week that can't quite come through.  Below are a few things that we have been using to give her some relief.  Sometimes we only need to try one thing, other days we throw everything but the kitchen sink into making her feel better.  Here are a few things outside of the normal things like frozen teething rings and cold foods.

When she is pulling on her ears I use a blend of equal parts basil and lavender with a carrier oil and rub along her jaw line and behind her ears.  The recipe would be 10 drops basil, 10 drops lavender, 20 drops carrier oil.  Of course you can multiply this for whatever size container you want.  This blend is also great for earaches.

When it seems like she needs relief right on her gums I usually use a blend that is a DIY version of Punkin Butt Teething Oil.  Here is the recipe I came up with -
The fancy bottle of teething oil.
2 drops clove
10 drops peppermint
15 drops roman chamomile
35 drops olive oil
I have it in a roller bottle and I just swipe my finger to get a little bit and then rub it on her gums.  With this you want to make sure and not get it on the lips because the clove is hot and not comfy on sensitive lips.
As a side note, I have been using this on a sore spot on my gums and it is really effective.  After several applications my gums and tooth are no longer sore.  Why did I not use this weeks ago?  Silly me.  Clove is an antibiotic, analgesic as well as anti-inflammatory.  If you have gum and/or tooth pain clove is an excellent choice, just make sure you dilute and test it first, it is a hot oil and very strong!

I pulled this kit out of the closet the other day.  I have had it in the closet for a while now and not opened it.  Why o why have I not opened it up?  It is a great little kit that I bought here on Amazon and it even has a little book about each bottle and symptoms it can address.   The chamomilla is working pretty well so we will definitely keep it in the arsenal.

I have also been putting frankincense with a carrier oil on the bottoms of both feet.  Frankincense has many properties and is considered the king of oils, but the properties I'm interested in here
My trusty bottle of Frank.
are anti-inflammatory, analgesic and sedative.  Other common oils that are anti inflammatory are lavender, peppermint and melaleuca.  One thing I love about essential oils is that there are lots of oils that each have several different properties so if you don't have one oil on hand you may have another that can do the trick.  Pretty cool stuff!

And of course my baby girl always has her baltic amber jewelry on.  She has a necklace and two anklets that she wears everyday.  Genuine Baltic amber comes from near the Baltic Sea and because of the high levels of succinic acid it has inflammatory reducing properties.  We both wear ours everyday
My baby with her bling on.
and I feel like it helps a little.  But even if it doesn't work they sure look good on her!  I get mine at Inspired By Finn but only when I can find a coupon code.  They are sometimes floating around for 25% off and I'm super cheap so I won't pay full price.  You can also get them at Hazelaid.

It is hard to tell what one thing is the most effective because it seems to be the combination of several things that is doing the trick.  Of course every child is different but hopefully this gives you a few more options that you didn't know were out there.

Be healthy!
Jennie

Remember, I'm no doctor or health professional.  I'm just a mom who is sharing what works for me and my family.  

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