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Soon after I was pregnant again! I was physically ready, but emotionally so unsure and afraid of losing this baby. I used the tools I had learned to help my body support the pregnancy, and my mind from spinning out of control with what ifs. That baby turned into a healthy baby girl, strong willed from the start. But the last trimester of her pregnancy was far from great. I was easily dehydrated, peed all the time, and ended with preeclampsia and an emergency c-section. Not the pregnancy or birth I envisioned.
It took over a year of me searching for the right help and healing before I was physically no longer in pain from that birth. Then another few months wrestling with God, on how to finish the healing process. How can You redeem and fix something like that? We finally came to the agreement that He knew better than I and could see the big picture. I prayed “God when You know I am ready, open my womb. Until then keep it closed.” He answered, with the pregnancy of our boy that fall. The difference between the two pregnancies was stark from the go. My girl’s pregnancy was riddled with anxiety and doubts. My boy’s pregnancy was filled with peace and grace. The end was still far from easy, PUPPS rash, but God healed and redeemed my little girl’s birth through my son’s.
During that time of healing, I did a lot of learning and researching. I learned how to listen to my body, and how to build it up. I learned to advocate for myself and my kids. I learned to pray, research, and find all possibilities for every decision. I learned to do the best I can with the knowledge I have, and to give myself grace and forgiveness for when I didn’t know. I learned to keep digging until I have the real answer, not just the symptom.
I love teaching others what I have learned the hard way. Every momma needs some help right? Everyone should be thriving, not just surviving. I love helping others find a different way to their answers, and thriving.
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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You might be thinking, “I’m not around chemicals, so of course I’m toxin free.” Are you sure? “Of course! I’ve switched to all-natural products.” Have you read the labels on your household cleaners? What about your soaps? Shampoo? Lotions? If not you may want to keep reading, then go check your bathroom, even if you have the greener, all-natural products.
In Europe, more than 1,300 chemicals are banned from use in lotions, soaps, toothpaste, cosmetics, and other personal care products. Contrast that to in the United States where just 11 are banned. The average US woman uses 12 personal care products and/or cosmetics a day, containing 168 different chemicals, according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG). Chemicals are all around us, they are hiding in our lotions, soaps, face washes, make-up, laundry detergent, dryer sheets and softeners, air fresheners, candles, cleaners, and more.
A bit scary huh? So what are some of the most common chemicals hiding all around us?
Soaps: sodium laureth sulfate - chemical used to remove car grease off floors. It can be damaging to the skin and disruptive to immune and hormonal health .
Shampoos: phthalates - banned in children's toys, but still used in cleansing products. It is a known endocrine disruptor and very hard for the body to break down.
Candles and Air fresheners: Formaldehyde - #1 cancer causing chemical. This is what they use to embalm at the morgue....
Household cleaners: 2-butoxyethanol - known to cause sore throat, narcosis, severe liver and kidney damage.
Laundry detergents and dryer sheets: alpha-terpineol, benzyl alcohol, and camphor - all cause central nervous system disorders, loss of muscular coordination, central nervous system depression, headaches, nausea, and vomiting.
Fragrance: a broad category that hides hundreds of chemicals. Fun fact. Companies are not required to reveal the actual chemicals in each "fragrance", keeping the public in the dark about what the true toxicity of the products are.
Talc, bismuth, parabens, lead, mercury, and mineral oil: all found in store bought skin care and makeup products. They can disrupt the endocrine system, are highly carcinogenic, and have even been found in tumors.
Beware that products boasting "all-natural" labels can still contain harmful chemicals, so be sure to check the full list of ingredients. Better yet, simplify your routine and make your own products. A slew of lotions, potions, and hair treatments can be eliminated with a jar of coconut oil, for example.
It's important to remember that your skin is your largest and most permeable organ. Just about anything you put on your skin will end up in your bloodstream and be distributed throughout your body. Once these chemicals find their way into your body, they tend to accumulate over time because you lack the necessary enzymes to break them down.
When these toxic products are used on a daily basis, the toxins build up within our bodies (bioaccumulation). The more we are exposed to the toxins, the harder it is for our bodies to break them down and get rid of them. This build up causes both minor and major health issues over time. This is why I'm so fond of saying "don't put anything on your body that you wouldn't eat if you had to." What you'll notice if you browse through the ingredients in any of my personal line of natural skin care products is just that – ingredients you'll know and recognize, like organic coconut oil, orange oil, or rosemary extract.
So now what? Choose better. I have become a label reader on everything I buy. You can become a DIY queen and use all ingredients you know the source of. I do make some of my own products, like my lotion, but I am a busy farm wife and momma of littles. I do not have the time to experiment and make everything. So I found an easy button, a company that is dedicated to improving wellness and chemical free living, around the world.
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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What is sooooo good about the great outdoors? I am truly blessed to have kids who love the outdoors, and love to be outside with me. We live on a farm and spend most of our days in the spring, summer, and fall outside. They play in the dirt, catch chickens, play with the dogs and calves, and help in the garden. One of the books I read a while ago had an excellent ‘recipe’ for preserving children.
“Take 1 large field, a dozen children, 2-3 small dogs, a pinch of brook, and some pebbles. Mixz together children and dogs; sprinkle the field with flowers; spread over all a sky of deep blue and bake in the sun. When brown, set away to cool in the bathtub.” ~The Encyclopedia of Country Living.
I might be biased, but country kids are some of the healthiest kids around. There are a few studies that have suggested this as well. Check out google scholar if you want to dive deeper there. But what does all the great outdoors have to do with health? Let's take a look at some basic things the great outdoors has to offer our health.
#1 Vitamin D! There is no doubt the best, most readily available source of vitamin D comes from the sun. When you are outside you soak up that Vitamin D, giving your immune system what it needs to help keep you healthy. With that said, do NOT go out and get sunburned. That is not helpful to your body.
#2 Fresh air! Remember over winter how stuffy the house gets to feeling? You cannot wait until spring to throw open the window and let all the air in? Fresh air allows us to breathe in clean sair, that is not loaded with bad bacteria that make us sick.
#3 Bacteria exposure! Before you go and freak out, hear me out. Bacteria way out number us. They live in us and surround us. Many ‘bad’ bacteria actually naturally live in the body. They only become ‘bad’ when they move to where they are not supposed to be, or become too populated. Your immune system is like a muscle, the more it works out the stronger it becomes. Outside is loaded with bacteria, good and bad. Exposing yourself to all that bacteria is like exercising your immune system. It becomes stronger, with small exposures, then when a large challenge (hello flu) comes around it is armed and ready to fight.
With those 3 things in mind, I’ll keep my kids outside as long as they can all year. Don’t worry, I’ll be out there too!
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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