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Pretty much every garden will need water at some point. Depending on where you live, how much and how often you will need to water it. As with planting a garden, there are also different watering systems. Each with its own pros and cons. Below I’ll outline the overall common systems. You will have to determine what is best for your garden. At the end you will find what I use.
By far the most common system is the simple sprinkler. Attach a hose and broadcast the water by a sprinkler over an entire area. The advantage of this system is it is simple and cheap to install. Buy the hose and a sprinkler and you can move it wherever you need. The disadvantage is that if you have very dry air, or must pay for your water, this system can use a lot of extra water. You can also have issues with to much moisture and possible mold on plant leaves if you water at the wrong time.
Another popular option is the soaker hose. The advantage of this is the hose is usually inexpensive and keeps the water low to the ground. This means you loose less to evaporation right away. You also keep the water off the leaves eliminating the mold issue. The downside is if you have a large area to cover, it requires a lot of hose.
An increasingly popular system is the drip line. Within this there are several different types, I am only going to discuss the overall. The advantage of the drip line is you can get the water exactly where you need it without wasting any (also not watering unwanted grass or weeds). The disadvantage of this is it can be costly to set up. It also does not move easily to another area.
As you might have guessed, I use a combination! In the main garden area, I use the big sprinkler to cover the large area. To get around the mold issue, I stop watering by noon, so the leaves have time to dry before dusk. In my flower beds away from the main garden, I use soaker hoses. These I leave out year-round and chance the mice eating them. In the new orchard area, we installed a drip line due to the large spread-out area. At the same time, I didn’t want the existing weeds and grass a chance to get extra water and grow. This drip line we have to drain before winter, so it doesn’t crack.
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How do you learn to trust your gut? What does trusting your gut even mean? Trusting your gut is that small voice or feeling inside that says something is right or wrong. It’s a small feeling that can easily be ignored, but when listened to, more often than not, is correct.
We have been conditioned to think logically, ignore our feelings, and listen to the professionals. Here’s the problem with that. Professionals only know the average normal of a population. They do not know what your normal or your child’s normal is.
So how do you learn to hear that small voice of intuition again? One moment at a time. I find that I have the biggest gut feelings, when a big decision is at hand. So often I have ignored the feeling that something wasn’t right, because logically and using reasoning everything made sense.
I started learning to listen to and trust my gut again, by simply listening and tuning in. Did the situation feel right? Did something seem off, even a little bit. Does something seem to be missing? Many times it is a feeling that something just doesn’t seem right. I can’t put my finger on it or explain right away, but if I step back, investigate or wait, I find the answer.
When it comes to my kids or me and seeking medical care, I tune in carefully. I press for answers, not just “it’s normal”. A good example is this spring I started bleeding abnormally. Concerned for my baby, I sought the expertise of my provider. It was recommended that I go in to be checked, because the color and amount of blood was concerning. After countless hours in the ER, baby was fine, but they weren’t sure why I was bleeding so heavily. So the next day we had follow up appointments with an OBGYN. We discussed possibilities, and had another ultrasound which revealed a large subchorionic hematoma laying fairly close to my cervix. At least we now knew what was the cause, but no one was sure why it happened in the first place. We still aren’t, though we have some suspicions.
I pushed for answers, trusting my gut, which gave us answers and a direction.
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Some of the best advice around birth I received during my second full term pregnancy. First, during birth, leave well enough alone. Second, after birth do nothing. Both of these go against modern thought processes. But are actually extremely helpful and good.
The first, Leave well enough alone. Why is this against the norm? Mostly because birth has become so medicalized, that we have come to believe that birth is risky and requires constant monitoring, just in case. The truth is this constant monitoring, interrupts the birth process and can lead to unnecessary interventions.
When birth is left to happen on baby and mom’s terms, they are allowed to follow their natural instinct, and communication between baby and mom’s body is uninterrupted. When interventions begin to be used, it disrupts this delicate balance. In the case of pitocin use, the natural feedback from baby signaling the contractions is too intense no longer exists. When left alone, if baby needs a break from the contractions, their body sends a hormonal message to mom’s brain and the contractions decrease.
Leaving well enough alone means, not disturbing or interrupting the laboring mother unless absolutely necessary. A train midwife can pick out when something is not quite right and can then ask to check whatever is concerning.
The second advice, do nothing post birth, is completely against society norms. We have developed a view that women are supposed to just bounce back to where they were before pregnancy. This ignores the fact that a woman's body has physically changed and rearranged in the previous 9 months. The 6-8 weeks postpartum a mothers organs are slowly moving back to pre-pregnancy position. Her body is also healing from the stress and tissue damage birth caused.
The complete advice was 1 week of bed and baby snuggles, except bathrooming. This allows the mother to rest, her body to heal, and bonding with the baby. Week 2 was to take place around the bed, in other words more time up, but not leaving the sacred space of the bedroom. Week 3 was around the house, but not leaving the nest.
Did I follow this exactly? No. I was still in do it myself mode. I did well the first week, but then quickly wanted to resume summer activities. I paid for it a bit in that it took my stretched and weak pelvis longer to heal than it should have. This time? I fully intend to follow that advice and rest until I feel the energy shift in my body, signaling it's time to resume activity.
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Tough question, but one most of us will face at some point. Something we loved doing must be put on hold for a time, sometimes known, sometimes unknown. Hobbies or passions are held or altered for different reasons: life circumstance, health, finances.
When this happens there usually is a process of grieving. You deny that you really have to give that hobby up and find ways to still include it. Then you have feelings of anger or frustration that you just can’t make the hobby work. You might try bargaining for time, money, health, to get just a bit more of that passion. Then you fall into a bit of a depression as you long to do what you used to love. Finally you accept that maybe one day you will be able to do your passion again.
Feeling like my passions are being taken away has happened to me recently. I am a strong willed, independent, woman. I love riding horses, and being in my gardens. With the addition of each child my time riding has decreased, but I am ok with that as I still have them and have continued to care for them. My garden has increased as our family has increased, filling much of my used to be riding time, because it is something else I enjoy and the kids can do it with me.
Late this winter however, I saw both of these hobbies start to be limited and felt them being taken away. I had started bleeding heavily during pregnancy and found I had a large subchorionic hematoma. I was put on activity and weight restrictions of 10 pounds, until the bleeding stopped. This made it impossible to feed hay to my horses, help my kids ride, or start yard prep for the garden. At first I was ok, ‘it’ll only be a couple weeks, then I can resume’ (denial). But the two weeks turned into a month and still no end in sight. In total I bled 7 weeks. Even after it was done, I was still advised to keep the lifting light and limit activity so nothing would reinjure.
I was angry. Angry there was no clear reason or answer to why. Angry I couldn’t take care of my portion of the chores, upset I was having to rely on everyone else to feed hay, get feed, pour the feed into the cans, and do the heavy lifting in the gardens.
I then went through a bit of depression as I realized all the things I might not be able to do this summer. Planting was going to be difficult, weeding, mulching. Planting the bushes was out of the question. Clean up in the wind break was on hold. My plants I started suffered, as I didn’t care for them like they needed.
Only recently have I been able to accept that I will not return to full normal activity until months after delivery. That has been helped by being surrounded by friends and family that are willing and able to step in and help, with the chores I cannot do (thank you to my husband, who does the bulk now with his own cattle chores). Friends who come out and help with the big garden days (Nicole and Andrew) and get the digging, mulching, weeding done.
Is it still hard? Yes. I want to do so much and don’t like relying on others to have to help me all the time. I have accepted that some things just won’t happen this year, but there is next year. I also know this is not forever and one day I’ll be back to full speed. But that buggy horse is sounding really good right now….
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For in depth reading on midwife history and natural birth check out Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth. This is a brief summary of different childbirth providers.
Midwives specialize in normal pregnancy and birth. Individualized care, focusing on minimizing use of obstetrical intervention. Midwifery is associated with fewer episiotomies, forceps and vacuum-extractor deliveries, epidurals, and cesarean sections. They are trained to identify the small percentage of births which complications develop and refer these women to obstetricians. There are several types of midwives:
Certified nurse midwives (CNM) - These are registered nurses who have completed additional postgraduate training at an accredited institution by the American College of Nurse - Midwives (ACNM).
Direct entry - Any midwife who did not become a registered nurse in the midwife training process.
Certified professional Midwife- certified by the North American Registry of Midwives
Certified Midwives - certified by the ACC (credentialing arm of ACNM)
Licensed Midwives - licensed by the state to practice.
Lay Midwife - a midwife who learned through apprenticeship and not formal schooling. This does NOT mean UNTRAINED.
Family doctors most prevalent in rural areas. May not have surgical privileges and refer to an obstetrician if c-section is necessary. Tend to have lower rates of intervention than obstetricians
Obstetricians (OBGYN) doctors who specialize in obstetrics. They are trained on detecting and treating the pathological problems of pregnancy, labor and birth. They are surgeons and can perform cesarean sections, forceps and vacuum-extractor birth. They outnumber family doctors and midwives in north American due to the past dominance over the other two professions. They design most hospital maternity rules and routines.
Home births are usually attended by some kind of direct entry or lay midwife. Birth centers have all kinds of midwives, depending on the state regulations. CNM’s are usually found within hospital settings. Family doctors and obstetricians work within hospitals.
Depending on where you live will often determine who is available to you as a provider. As with any provider, interview them before you commit to them in pregnancy. It will make a huge difference in your pregnancy.
For more on a Health Natural Pregnancy I have a whole course with all the details. https://getoiling.com/CassandraRow/landing/naturally-healthy-birth
Wanting a community to lean into? Join the FREE Courageous + Purposeful Mommas group! This community is for the Mommas, mommas to be, in the midst of raising, and kids grown, looking for tips on building your family up and providing for them through natural methods. Tips include: gardening, bulk buying, caning,/preserving, livestock, homesteading, and home remedies. Your family is precious, and this group is to help you gain the knowledge and tools to keep your family well and not reliant on outside professionals. Remedies and tips are easy and simple for the busy momma, time is precious after all, including pregnancy, birth, young kids, and illness. Trust your Momma gut again! This community offers the resources + community you need to help get started on your journey and prepare for whatever future you envision.
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You are on this amazing journey to better health and want to dive deeper into finding a provider that matches you. Now, Doctor, Naturopath, Chiropractor, Homeopath...WHAT?! What is the difference and how do you choose? Keep reading and we will break each of these down.
By definition, a doctor is “a qualified practitioner of medicine; a physician.” So for human traditional medicine would be a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.). Typically you will find these in hospital or clinic settings. A chiropractor, according to Oxford languages, a chiropractor is “a practitioner of the system of integrative medicine based on the diagnosis and manipulative treatment of misalignments of the joints.” Chiropractors specialize in correcting joint alignments in the body.
Naturopathy is “a system of alternative medicine based on the theory that diseases can be successfully treated or prevented without the use of drugs, by techniques such as control of diet, exercise, and massage.” Homeopathy is “the treatment of disease by minute doses of natural substances that in a healthy person would produce symptoms of disease.” Both of these are similar, but have stark differences in application.
So now you’re thinking “great, they are all different. How do I pick what is the best for me?” Let’s unpack that a bit. Reality is at some point in your life any one of them is going to be the best for you. It all depends on what you are needing assistance with at the time. If your back is out of alignment, a good chiropractor is by far the best option to correct the issue. For a chronic nagging issue, and you want to avoid the traditional medication for whatever reason, you might try a naturopath, who will look at the whole body and not just a specific part. If you shatter your leg skiing you should probably seek out a doctor, specifically a surgeon to repair it. If you are faced with an acute illness and want to avoid medication, look into a homeopathic doctor.
The thing is each has its place and purpose. Each is a tool that can be utilized freely to improve your health. Now you know. Choose what is best for the situation you are in at the moment.
Wanting a community to lean into? Join the FREE Courageous + Purposeful Mommas group! This community is for the Mommas, mommas to be, in the midst of raising, and kids grown, looking for tips on building your family up and providing for them through natural methods. Tips include: gardening, bulk buying, caning,/preserving, livestock, homesteading, and home remedies. Your family is precious, and this group is to help you gain the knowledge and tools to keep your family well and not reliant on outside professionals. Remedies and tips are easy and simple for the busy momma, time is precious after all, including pregnancy, birth, young kids, and illness. Trust your Momma gut again! This community offers the resources + community you need to help get started on your journey and prepare for whatever future you envision.
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Prevent vs React, sounds strange. How about offence vs defense? Sounds more familiar? What does this have to do with your health? Turns out a lot. Our bodies and nature are in constant motion. Laws of nature dictate that energy is required to maintain order. If you let nature happen, without inputting any energy, life or your body will decay.
If you think about it in sports terms, is it easier to be on the offense side, commanding the game, or on the defense side, working to get to the offense? The offense of course! So why do we not do this with our own health? Perhaps because you do not know where to start. Let me help you! Take charge of your health, move your life to thriving, and decrease illness. Build your body up.
Step one in building your body up is to feed your body well. If you give your body what it needs, most of the time it is very good at healing and defending itself. Make sure you are consuming the proper amount of vitamins and minerals (this includes the trace minerals). Many people are actually deficient in many trace minerals, even in wealthy countries. Our processed food is lacking in many of these trace minerals, and the vitamins are also lacking. Our store bought food is also lacking enzymes it naturally has fresh that help our bodies break food down for better digestion. Unless you are eating it straight out of the garden. Enzymes are very fragile and easily destroyed. It Is well worth investing in an enzyme supplement and vitamin/mineral supplement. If you need help finding an effective supplement message me, I’d be glad to help you. I talked more about food earlier in You are What you Eat.
Step two, decrease your sugar! I have talked about this one a lot. I will also be the first to admit I need to decrease my sugar intake. I am good at minimizing my kid’s sugar intake, but my own? HA! After they go to sleep, I take my peanut butter, and some vanilla, a heaping scoop of sugar, and maybe a handful of chocolate chips and enjoy my mini-flourless helping of cookie dough. In all seriousness though, sugar fights the immune system and increases inflammation in the body.
Step three, use nature to aid your body when needed. Herbal teas and blends do wonders for the body when it needs the extra boost. This is especially easy if you like hot teas. Plus a hot tea, with a little honey when you feel ill, is extremely soothing.
Step four, piggy-backs off step three. If you are not a big tea drinker, you can use essential oils. I apply these daily to myself and my kids. CAUTION you must know your source to ensure they are truly pure and have the correct properties and are the correct frequency to give the desired results. Again, contact me if you would like some help here. Essential oils are much like herbs, except much more concentrated. This means you need less to do the same job as the herbs would do. I have an entire group to help you learn how to use essential oils and how to dilute for SAFE use with children.
Want more information? Contact me!
Wanting a community to lean into? Join the FREE Courageous + Purposeful Mommas group! This community is for the Mommas, mommas to be, in the midst of raising, and kids grown, looking for tips on building your family up and providing for them through natural methods. Tips include: gardening, bulk buying, caning,/preserving, livestock, homesteading, and home remedies. Your family is precious, and this group is to help you gain the knowledge and tools to keep your family well and not reliant on outside professionals. Remedies and tips are easy and simple for the busy momma, time is precious after all, including pregnancy, birth, young kids, and illness. Trust your Momma gut again! This community offers the resources + community you need to help get started on your journey and prepare for whatever future you envision.
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