Right now we are floating between houses. We are still trying to sell our Charlotte house and we still stay at the “flop” house as Ella calls it. I had intended on painting the flop house, but life has seriously gotten in the way. So I’m going to do this post in 2 parts. I know lots of people start home projects at the first of the year and if you are going to paint, you must read this article first!

VOC’s are volatile organic compounds which are in most paints. First of all, Low or No VOC paint is basically a joke. If you purchase the expensive No VOC paint and then add color, 25% VOC just got added back into the paint. On top of that, the government allows the use of certain chemicals (which are actually VOC’s but do not cause smog) to be called “exempt compounds” and they are not to be applied as VOC’s. So the paint has them, but the brand can still write No VOC or Low VOC on their label. The government does not care about toxicity or safety of the paint. They only rate VOC’s due to their reaction to nitrous oxides and ultra violet light to form low level ozone, or smog.

The government allows 250 grams of VOCS per liter of regular paint. That’s almost half a pound! Green Seal GS-11 paints can have 150 grams per liter (besides flat paint which is 50 grams). And No VOC can have 5 grams per liter. This is only the VOC’s that aren’t exempt. Who knows what the true levels are once you factor those in!

The American Lung Associate says that VOS’s can produce a number of health problems like eye and skin irritations, lung and breathing problems, headaches, nausea, muscle weakness, liver and kidney damage. It is recommended that you do not paint while pregnant and that it can cause a miscarriage or deformities. It is not known exactly how long the VOC’s can emit into the air, but it is speculated the paint can release emissions for years after the initial application. The best thing to do is to buy non-toxic paint like ECOS Paints.

Happy 2011!! Here’s to a MUCH better year filled with lots of joy and happiness. 🙂

OK, so I want to get my posts about my miscarriage over by the new year so I can move forward. 2011 IS going to be a better more positive year. But this is something any woman that still has a menstrual cycle can relate to. After working at Franklin Goose and learning so much about the benefits of cloth diapering, I felt like I should at least contribute to cutting back disposable waste and look into reusable pads.

I found some cloth that I was happy with. It was cute, thin, and wasn’t a pain to deal with. Then a customer brought it to my attention that PUL was used in the pad. Yeah, I missed that in the fine print. There are lots of debates about PUL and Pro Care. Frankly, I just don’t trust either. I’d rather use extra padding than deal with a chemical on my organic pad. So I did more research on different reusable cloth pads.

I then came across GladRags. I thought they were super cool! No PUL or Pro Care. You can choose organic or regular cotton. And the designs were really neat. We were in talks about me doing a review and then I found out I was pregnant. 2 days later the pads arrived in the mail. I stored them knowing I would need them later. When I went to my 3rd ultrasound appointment and they couldn’t find the fetus, I knew it was time to get the GladRags prepped and ready for use.

They sent me their organic Pantyliner, organic Day Pad, and organic Night Pad. Now when I looked at the Night Pad I first thought to myself, “what in the heck am I supposed to do with this thing? It’s huge!” It doesn’t look big in the pictures, but it almost fits your whole underwear from front to back. The Night Pad and Day Pad come with 2 extra liners for protection. The Pantyliner is just a single liner. They all snap on the outside of your underwear and don’t move around.

So, when my bleeding began, I totally understood the Night Pad and it became my best friend. There were no leaks and it was the perfect size for what I was going through. This was exactly what I needed- no worrying about leaks or constantly changing my pad like I would have to if it was a disposable. I highly recommend the Night Pad for postpartum bleeding as well as for heavy bleeders. It isn’t uncomfortable and I barely knew I was wearing it. The Day Pad and Pantyliner were both super absorbent and comfortable. But I suggest all 3 if you are going to try them out. They are less bulky than regular pads and you don’t feel crunchy when walking. It’s like wearing underwear but knowing you aren’t going to leak.

The pads are very easy to wash. I recommend either buying their soaking container or using a large pot with a top to soak the pads in soap before washing with other clothing. GladRags recommends using Bi-o-Kleen cleaner, but Rockin Green has worked great for me. GladRags carries numerous products to help you through your cycle- including cycle beads, bath salts, carrying bags, books, kits, new mom kits (with Earth Mama products!), Earth Mama Angel Baby, nursing pads, cramp relief, and lots more. Best of all, they are made in the USA.

Be sure to sign up for the GladRags newsletter to get 15% off your first order!

I have been in love with Earth Mama Angel Baby for almost 2 years now. I think I’ve now tried just about every product they have and there hasn’t been anything that I dislike. I wish no one had to try their Healing Hearts Baby Loss Comfort products, but for someone who is personally going through a loss right now, I highly recommend.

Earth Mama’s angels sent me a care package this week when they heard the sad news. They generously sent me their Healing Heart Mist, Comfort Bath Blossoms, and Organic Harmony Tea. The Healing Heart Mist smells similar to the Happy Mama Spray which is my all time fav. I sprayed it on my pillow and have inhaled all day. Its been very soothing. I haven’t tried the Comfort Bath Blossoms yet because I haven’t been cleared for baths, but the smell is divine. I however love the dried flowers. The Organic Harmony Tea was actually quite pleasant. The only tea I like drinking is black tea. But Blogs Mama told me to try it with honey. I’m so glad that she did! It is an extremely soothing, light tea. I added it to ice and it’s really refreshing. The tea is recommended not only for mama’s experiencing a loss, but for postpartum and monthly woman’s needs.

Granted no products can fill the void of the loss of a baby, but they can make recovery as calming as possible. This has been my 5th miscarriage and it never gets any easier. I do want to order the Seeds of Hope from Earth Mama to plant for my lost angels. They also have a Light of My Heart Candle, No More Milk Tea, and a Comfort Kit. If you know of anyone who goes through a loss, these are excellent gifts to pass along.

They also have a Healing Hearts page for parents to go for support, research, and to know that you are not alone. If you know someone who has experienced a loss, you can also find comforting words to say to the parents. There is nothing worse than being told, “it wasn’t meant to be,” “things happen for a reason,” “you are young, you can try again,” “it was God’s will.” Yeah, those are quite hurtful. Most mama’s know these things, but don’t want someone else to point it out. It’s better to just say I’m sorry.

I did an interview with Mama herself and wanted to share. She is such an inspiration!

Q. How did Earth Mama Angel Baby begin?

A. I started studying herbal medicine many years ago. I’m a nurse, BSN and have always believed that pregnancy is a natural, normal state of wellness. I also believe that the common discomforts associated with childbirth and postpartum recovery have been supported by women using plant medicine, very safely, for a very, very long time. Morning sickness, heartburn, hemorrhoids, cracked nipples, etc. can all be safely supported with herbs.

I didn’t originally intend to start an organic herbal manufacturing company. Every single product I formulated was created to help support friends and family for one problem or another. So it was created over time. After my own personal experiences during pregnancy and breastfeeding, I realized there were no safe, organic products available to women that combined traditional plant medicine with evidence-based research.

A. My inspiration was the plants themselves. I spent over two years every day in the garden tending plants, drying, macerating, blending and formulating. I learned how to make soap, salves and how to blend herbs to maximize their efficacy. And I got to play in the dirt – nature is pretty inspirational!

A. Ach! That’s like asking me who is my favorite child! I love them all, of course. And they are always, always being refined, revised and improved every time we have newer empirical knowledge or research information. But I will say that I still have a jar of Angel Baby Bottom Balm that is almost 10 years old (and it is glorious) – it was the first balm I formulated and still pretty spectacular. I’ve seen the ingredient list on other people’s products, but over the years I’ve done very little to alter the original formula. It’s safe and it works!

A. I’m a nurse, and my job is to help people but to first do no harm. Earth Mama Angel Baby’s mission is to provide safe products that work. Safety is always our #1 priority. Because after all, if our products are formulated for the most fragile, precious population, then we know they are safe for the whole family. That’s why we go through the effort and expense of organic certification – to make sure we’re doing everything we can to ensure the safety and integrity of each raw material in every product.

A. The jars we use are amber and are also UV protected to keep the volatile oils and herbs safe from being degraded by light. Our products never contain synthetic preservatives so it’s important to protect them in the safest way possible.

A. That my strength is in the garden and in the lab. I love my job, and the thing that continues to bring me the greatest joy is hearing the constant positive feedback about how we helped comfort some woman’s pregnancy nausea or helped a mama produce more milk to feed her baby, or comfort the terrible pain of a baby’s diaper rash. That makes the hard work worth it.

A. People acknowledge that women who have lost a baby have a broken heart. But in our experience, we know that they are also postpartum women, who often have had episiotomies, hemorrhoids, C-section wounds and sometimes even breast milk. We feel strongly that as we nurture a woman through her pregnancy, we also want to be there to help her heal physically and emotionally after a loss. To do less would feel like we were abandoning them.

A. Ooohh good question. Earth Mama always has something up our sleeve. Stay tuned!

I just want to say thank you to all that commented on my loss post. Your support truly means a lot to me. 🙂

Historians have been able to date back New Year traditions to 4,000 years ago. The New Year was originally celebrated by Babylonians and Romans in March when Spring began. It was Julius Caesar that later changed it to January 1 to honor the two-faced god (one facing forward and one facing back) Janus. Historians say that the Babylonians believed that what they did on the first day of the New Year had an effect on their whole year. That’s why most of them returned borrowed equipment and did good deeds. The Babylonians made their resolutions to get favored by the gods. And if they broke the resolution, it was deemed bad luck.

In 1738, Benjamin Franklin wrote in Poor Richard’s Almanack, “Each year one vicious habit rooted out, In time might make the worst Man good throughout.” Which pretty much stemmed the “better ourselves”resolutions that we make today.

In 2008 my New Years resolution was to change my lifestyle to at least 85% organic/non-toxic/eco-friendly by the end of the year. Now when I made this resolution, I knew 1/10th of what I know now. I even felt guilty for the 15% lean-way I was giving myself. It was an impossible resolution, though I didn’t know it at the time. But I wanted to do my part in helping the planet and keeping my baby girl safe.

I started simple by changing out my household cleaners when they ran out. You can always donate your cleaner to friends if you are ready to switch now. (Please do not throw out filled bottles and do not empty in drains!) You can find non-toxic cleaners at every grocery market, but be sure to read and understand the labels. Some big corporations try to trick us with their “all natural” labeling. My favorites are Seventh Generation for cleaning, disinfecting, and dish soap; and Rockin Green for laundry. The most eco-friendly way to go is to make your own cleaners. Lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda work miracles.

Food was a given. We only bought organic in whatever was available. We still buy organic, but now buy local Organic Valley dairy, local grass fed meat, and local organic fruits and veggies from our farmers market. Organic Valley is a fabulous co-op and there are over 1,600 organic farms in the US. I love knowing that my dairy comes from a farm within 2 hours of my house. Anything that we buy processed is made in the USA and has the USDA organic stamp. This keeps us away from corn syrup and white flours. 🙂

I then researched our local area’s recycling rules. There were things I didn’t know that we could recycle. Like we can take our used cooking oil to the recycling center be changed into fuel. We can also drop off our used or broken appliances. Packing materials, CD and DVD cases, plastic electronic casings, mixing bowls, tooth brushes, legos, detergent bottles, egg cartons, produce bags, and even bread bags can be recycled. We also started finding ways to reuse what we have to cut back on waste and having to buy new. My favorite reused items are: to-go cups (glass bottles), Tupperware (veggie, yogurt, or cheese containers), to-go bags (bread bags), spray bottles (old cleaning bottles), and seedling kits (egg cartons).

The tricky one was personal products. Thanks to www.cosmeticsdatabase.com it’s easy to find safe (and unsafe) products for you and your family. But during this transformation, I learned how deep the toxic products go. You have to look at hand soap, shampoo/conditioner, bubble bath, soap, face/body wash, hair spray/gel, moisturizer, make-up, finger nail polish, lotion, sunscreen, deodorant, toothpaste, razor blades, shaving gel, make-up remover, feminine products, diapers, diaper cream, and the list goes on. This is where it gets overwhelming and you feel like giving up because you have to find products that work as well as the toxic ones. After 2 years of searching, my every day must haves are Clean Well, Earth Mama Angel Baby, Juice Beauty, John Masters, Little Twig, Lavera, Preserve, Joyful Girl Natural, Dr. Bronners, Boiron, and Glad Rags. Again, the easiest thing to do is when your product runs out to then make the switch. Or donate your products to someone. Never throw out or dump into the sink. Most containers can be recycled- even make-up!

Over the past 2 years I’ve also transitioned all of Ella’s toys to wooden/non-toxic. Luckily she was at the age she needed more advanced toys when I started. We donated all of her old ones. I only purchase organic or used clothing and shoes. We switched out our pots and pans to stainless or Green Pan. I make sure we buy energy efficient light bulbs and appliances. And I started composting this year-which isn’t as hard as you’d think.

It’s now about to be 2011 and I’m not sure that I’ve fully met my 2008 resolution. Though, I still strive for it every day. Just doing simple things like cutting off lights when leaving a room, turning off the water when brushing your teeth, buying reusable batteries, making your own cleaners, starting a garden, composting, buying local, buying organic, buying used… all these things add up in the end and make a difference.

This has been an exceptionally hard year for my friends and family. We’ve had lots of ups and downs. Stress from my sick baby girl who was ill for 1/2 the year before they ended up diagnosing her with PFAPA and removed her tonsils. Then I had surgery, followed by the loss of my grandfather. Then 2 of my friends husbands have been battling cancer. Sadly the week before Christmas, Sean passed away in his sleep after a 2 1/2 year battle. And lastly, 2 days before Christmas I had a miscarriage at 11 weeks. Yeah, talk about an emotional roller coaster!

dandelion has just released their new Toddler Doll and she is adorable! If you aren’t familiar with dandelion, you should check them out. They are a innovative baby company that uses organic and corn fiber fabrics. You can find dolls, stuffed animals, totes, teethers, books, tableware and more!

Last year my daughter got the dandelion My First Doll. This is seriously a baby’s first doll! It’s perfect for babies, but your preschooler might not pay it the attention it deserves. I loved the feel of the doll and the price was perfect. But my daughter, who was 3 at the time, took no interest. It could very well be a baby doll for your child’s baby doll.

I was so excited when I heard dandelion was releasing a Toddler Doll! And I’m hoping next year they will release a Preschool Doll that is slightly larger for my growing kiddo.
The Toddler Doll is 11 inches from top to bottom. She has a sweet face and is very soft and cuddly. I love the Mary Jane shoes! Her body is made with certified organic fibers and her body is stuffed with PLA- corn fiber filling. The PLA allows her to be machine washed and dried easily. Cotton can get lumpy after being washed and can harbor mold very easily. The corn fiber is mold resistant just like a polyfill. The doll isn’t over stuffed, so she can bend her legs and sit up easily. You can get her as a blond or brunette.
I was able to learn about the corn fiber processing and thought it was interesting enough to share. Below is a picture used to describe the process to get the polymer to make the dandelion tableware. The corn fiber filling is almost identical.
dandelion purchases the corn sugar (dextrose) to make PLA- corn fiber. During the manufacture of PLA, the multiple-stage processing and high heat used to create the polymer removes all traces of genetic material. No petroleum is used and all traces of chemicals that might have absorbed into the corn have been eliminated. The corn is a GMO mix. Since PLA is new and not in demand (and very expensive) dandelion has to use the only supplier available which doesn’t offer organic corn. Luckily, the finished corn fiber is Oeko-Tex Standard 100 certified. Which is the highest certification test for harmful chemicals.

You can get the Toddler Doll for only $24.99!!

I hope everyone has a nice relaxing Thanksgiving with your families! There is a lot to be thankful for. 🙂 I am especially thankful for all of you that have stuck with me over the past year!