Helpful Advice

I have received so much advice this past year, but the most helpful and practical advice that I have received since becoming a Mother has been health related. I LOVE learning ways prevent and combat/recover from illnesses without the use of antibiotics or drugs.

• Vitacost.com: This is a great budget concious website where you can order most of the products that I will mention, as well as the ones Krista mentioned. You will save a lot of money ordering from here.
• Starwest Botanicals: If you're looking for highly concentated oils and quality homeopathic herbs, this is the place for you. It's a bit more pricey than vitacost, but the quality is supreme. (By the way, I heard the "Mate" Tea is incredible and tastes like what coffee "should" taste like. )You might have to order in bulk, but if you found others to go in with you on your order, it would be worth it.
• Boswelia: Great natural pain reliever
• Allzyme:Digestive enzyme; take with every meal to help with digestion, especially during traveling when you are ingesting the healthiest of meals. Great for men who spend FOREVER on the toilet. (hee-hee!)
• Head/Chest Cold: If you have an infant/toddler that is too small to put over a steam pot to clear congestion, put them in a rather warm bath along with the following: 1 cup Bath Salts, 1 cup Epsom Salts, 1/4 cup baking soda, and a few drops of these oils: lavendar oils, eucalyptus oils, mullein and elderberry. Put the drops in after you put your baby in the tub because the steam will rise rather quickly.
• Avoid Tylenol with fevers: Heat destroys infection. Fevers have a purpose and by giving your child tylenol as soon as they have a fever(except for special medical issues like Brugada's Disease where you MUST keep the fever down always), you are prolonging healing. Allow the fever to do its work (103 or below), AS LONG as you keep the head cool with a warm, wet cloth, because even a warm cloth will feel cold on a feverish head. This is very important. However, it's dangerous to allow a fever of 103 to go on for more than a day. Anything over 103, put your child in a warm bath, because even a warm bath will feel cold to a baby that has a fever. In your bath, include the recipe above.
• Fever: If your child has a cold and is running a LOW grade fever, put them in a warm bath and allow their body temperature to go up, allowing their body heat to kill off any bad bacteria in their system.
• Oregano Oil: Like Krista said, this stuff is A-mazing and has healed many colds in our household. Be sure to get the concentrated bottle. A little bottle will last FOREVER. The reason it works so well is because it's a HOT herb and the heat from this oil will kill the bacteria inside the body. There is a special way to take this oil though, so do not just drop it in your mouth. You will feel like you've just poisoned yourself. For children: rub the oil on the bottom of one foot. The bottom of our feet are so porous and you'll be surprised how this works. (I know, it's sounds so strange.) Be sure to cover the feet with socks for you DO NOT want your child putting his/her foot in the mouth with this oil on it. Footed-pjs work well, along with the soft-soled leather shoes(hard for infants to remove). If you're an adult, use a dixie cup, add only an ounce of water, drop only three drops into the water, drink it down fast and follow it with a spoonful of peanut butter. Why peanut butter? Water will repel off of the oil, so guzzling a glass of water will do you no good, for you will feel like you have just eaten the biggest jalapeno of your life. You need something that you #1 don't have to chew and can swallow right away and #2 something the oil will stick to and remove it from your mouth. Diluting is absolutely necessary.
• Garlic: I'm about to sound like your grandma(or maybe I have been sounding like your grandma all along), but garlic is such a powerful blessing from the Lord. When you feel like you're getting a cold, chop up several cloves of garlic into pill sizes and swallow them three times a day. You can't even taste it since you're not chewing it. For children, cut open a clove and rub the wet part of the clove on the bottom of the other foot(remember: the opposite foot is covered in oregano oil. Your child will smell like a pizza pie!). The more you can do this, the better. When I was nursing, I didn't want to take any antibiotics or any over the counter medicines for fear of exposing Laney and for fear of my milk drying up. I recovered from the WORST sickness when Laney was 4 months old, only by using Oregano Oil and Garlic three times a day. I was a believer after recovery.
• Red Raspberry Leaf Tea: All women should drink this tea. It's amazing for the uterus, whether you're going through menopause, trying to get pregnant, are pregnant or recovering from having a baby. This is SO good for the uterus. This is a great way to prepare your body if you're wanting to get pregnant or a great way to strengthen the uterus if you are already pregnant. A friend of mine who has had several miscarriages was recommended to start drinking this tea to try to get pregnant again. It tones the uterus, improves contractions and decreases constipation. Delivery is said to be very quick after drinking this tea. FYI: It does NOT start labor or contractions. It contains iron citrate (upon which depend blood making and regulating properties in the body), pectin (healing and soothing agent), malic acid and other organic acids, B vitamins, calcium chloride, potassium chloride, and potassium sulfate. Ever had leg cramps in the middle of the night during pregancy? This will help. Do a Google search on it and study up on this amazing tea. There's so much history with this tea that I didn't mention.