Natural Family Living

Constipation in a toddler?

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:30:53 GMT

My daughter will be 2 at the end of the month, and has always had pretty solid poop. Lately it seems to be worse, and hurts her when she goes. She also strains pretty hard to get it out. Today when I changed her diaper there was a little blood on the surface. Her bottom looks sore, but I can't see any fissures or anything. She tells me AFTER she's already gone that she wants to sit on the potty...we're working on that since I think it may be easier for her to poop sitting on the toilet. Anyway, my question is what can I do about this? She's a decent eater, pretty balanced diet, and drinks plenty of water. What kind of foods can i add to her diet to help? Any natural remedies?

Thanks!

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:26:54 GMT

If anyone has any recommendations for getting permanent pen ink out of a bathtub, please lend me your ideas!

We walked into the bathroom today to find the tub mysteriously covered in pen ink (even more mysteriously: both children are devoid of even the smallest dot of it, and both claim innocence - for that big a mess you'd think someone's hands would hold evidence!).
We've been scrubbing, spraying, Magic Erasering, Comet-ing and various other toxic cleansers all day long with zero effect. The bottom is absolutely covered in little dots and smears.

Short of blowing the whole thing up does anyone have any suggestions we haven't tried?

Chapped lips

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 04:16:42 GMT

I'm not sure whether or not it's the change in the weather, my current pregnancy, or the products I'm using, but I can't seem to get rid of these chapped lips. For the last month I've been coating them with either Burts Bees chapstick or Carmex. I just looked and saw Carmex has salicylic acid in it which is dumb. I'm stopping slathering that on, but does anyone have any other recommendations? They were chapped before putting the Carmex on, they've just gotten worse since using it regularly...

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:10:52 GMT

so i had my baby a little over 9 weeks ago. meals are TOUGH. its so hard to find time to cook up good, nutritious, but EASY meals. we're a vegetarian family. spam me with your recipes!

Green Products Question

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:56:43 GMT

Hello ladies and gents,

My question is related with the so called green detergents. I live in Europe, more specifically Portugal and the only brand of green products i seem to find are from the brand EcoVer. Are these any good? My regular stuff is starting (finally!) to run out and i want to switch to greener alternatives. My concern is, if the ecover brand is as green as they claim or are they just using that key word to sell?
Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

splitting the MMR vaccine in Canada

Thu, 09 Oct 2008 16:29:42 GMT

Was wondering if anyone here has successfully managed to get separate vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella in Canada?

Thanks!

Miniwear?

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 19:19:27 GMT

Who makes Miniwear brand baby clothes? I can't find anything on Google.

UTI in 4 year old girl

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:29:32 GMT

My friend's daughter is 4 years old and in the past few months she has had 3 urinary tract infections. My friend is taking her daughter to the doctor but she's looking for some natural remedies that are safe for a 4 year old. I told her I'd ask all of you because there is a wealth of knowledge in this community.

Her daughter won't drink cranberry juice so that is out. Plus I've heard it's not as great for UTIs as everyone says. Not sure if that is true.

EDIT: Her daughter is seeing the doctor for a test that checks to see if something is wrong with her urinary tract. In the meantime she wants something to ease the symptoms. She also wants something that, in the future, if there is nothing wrong with her urinary tract, it will stop future occurrences.

Calms Forte for 6 month old?

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:27:51 GMT

I have been trying for hours upon hours upon HOURS to get my six month old to bed. She just won't go to sleep. Every little thing is waking her back up just as she starts to drift off and she wants to play play play. She's starting to get super bleary-eyed and psycho cranky and I don't know what to do. She's already had some Hyland's teething tablets. Can I give her some of the Children's Calms Forte? It says give 2 to a 2-year-old.

Safe in a 1/2 dose? I am going out of my mind over here and it is LATE.

Halloween ideas?

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:24:48 GMT

I don't want to give out candy this year and I would rather give kids something that is healthier and earth-friendly, but something that will still be enjoyed and appreciated. First, any ideas for non-candy treats? And secondly, any earth-friendly or natural ideas that won't break the bank? Surely I'm not the only one who is looking for an alternative to candy!

Ultrasound

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:29:12 GMT

My baby sister has had 4 positive pregnancy tests and should be between 7-8 weeks pregnant at this time. But the doctor can't find anything on the ultrasound.

I've told her to relax and stop having ultrasounds for a month. Our mother has had pregnancies where they couldn't find the baby until she was approximately 10 weeks although admittedly this was not the case on her first pregnancy and technology has advanced considerably. On two of my pregnancies they thought my babies were undersized but they were both born at weights over 9 lbs. My sisters' uterus IS tilted, she is NOT overweight.

Can anyone point me to information that will put her at ease?

The truth of the matter is another sister of mine had a pregnancy where they couldn't find the baby, then saw problems with the baby and eventually her little girl was still born at 7 months.

EDIT: She has had the blood test 3 times and it shows increasing levels of pregnancy hormone.

Pediatricians...

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:14:51 GMT

Those of you in the Ann Arbor Michigan area..

Who do you use as a pediatrician? We really wanted to use Liberty Pediatrics however they are not taking new patients until January--and if it's not a newborn it has to be 18mos... :(

We want someone who will support our co-sleeping, extended breastfeeding, selective vax ways.. and it is proving to be harder than I thought it would.

Any suggestions?

Also,

Can any of you tell me what Dr. Sear's delayed vax schedule is? I want to do more research on the topic, and have heard that his suggestions are good ones. ( I have a book of his but not the right one, and I can't afford it right now, and didn't see it in my local library.)

I( hope that this is allowed here.

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:34:02 GMT

Money is tight around here and so i AM selling my Mei Tai carrier. It is a custom-made BabyHawk w/ Minkee lining. It is in LIKE NEW condition and I'm asking $75.00 for it, as I paid $95.00 new. This includes shipping. i ONLY accept PayPal. Sorry and Thank you. To inquire please email me - ravenxtragedy@gmail.com

thanks again! Email me if you are interested- ravenxtragedy@gmail.com

I only accept PayPal. My PayPal address is- anime_grrrl420@yahoo.com.

I can ship this AS SOON as I get a taker! =)

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!

cleaning books?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:23:12 GMT

Does anyone know of a good way to clean old books? I inherited many books from my grandmother and they were housed in a mountain cabin in which she used a woodburning stove to keep warm and smoked Pall Mall unfiltered cigarettes. Most everything in her cabin was covered in soot, ash, and dust, not to mention reeks of cigarettes. Obviously I can't just take a wet cloth to a book and scrub it down, but if you know of a safe way to clean books or at least deodorize them, I would be most grateful.

Vinegar

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:49:57 GMT

For those of you who clean with vinegar, do you dilute it or use it full strength?

Talk to me about plugged ducts

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 07:22:27 GMT

I think I may have a plugged duct. I'm not sure. I scratched under my armpit a little while ago and felt a huge lump about as big around as a Susan B. Anthony coin and thin on the edges and thick in the middle. I have no fever and the lump is not sore. It feels kind of bumpy or grainy. After the initial scare, I thought it might be a plugged duct.

Has anyone ever had one that was not sore? About how long do they take to go away? I'm thinking I'll just treat it like a plugged duct and use heat and massage, but at what point should I expect it to be gone? If it doesn't go away, I want to have it looked at, but I can't find anywhere that says how long they usually last. A day? A week?

UPDATE: Thanks for the advice, everyone! We went to bed last night and she just would not nurse - too sleepy. I woke up in the morning and the lump was huge and hard and sooooo sore, so I guess I just managed to catch it when it was just starting. I nursed her on that side all morning and pumped and it seems to have gone away. Thank goodness!

Mahalo nui loa for the help!

Yeast, Friends, and Pee

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:22:01 GMT

Sorry to bombard, but I have three questions for this post!

1) I'm pondering the likelihood of having a systemic yeast infection and would love to be spammed with good resouces on how to deal with it. Also, I have a three month old script for Fluconozole (single dose) that I never took when I treated a post-antibiotic infection naturally. Does anyone know if it's absolutely horrible to take as a "just in case" sort of thing?

2) What on earth do I Google to look up parenting groups that are more naturally minded in my area. I'm tempted to join a conventional one but I've not had much luck in just getting on good terms with other mothers I've randomly met because it seems nice conversations get spoiled by defensiveness. For example if I mention making the Woobie's baby food or cloth diapering, it seems like they automatically feel like they're being judged. Usually they just get uncomfortable and self-depricating, and I in turn become the same. I'm not nearly as crunchy in practice as I'd like to be and it'd be nice to meet some like-minded types where I don't feel like the dirty-footed outcast, ya know?

3) My LO has not been getting nearly as much liquid as he normally does. I'm not overly concerned but I realized I have no idea on what color his urine is because we use unbleached cotton prefolds. Any suggestions, aside from letting the little booger crawl around naked half a day?

TIA!

Colic Calm for an upset tummy? Other ideas?

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:21:27 GMT

My almost two-and-a-half-year-old seems to have a mild upset tummy (a soft stool--she's usually constipated, burping, cramps/pain). Has anyone ever used Colic Calm to help with this? I am looking for something to help ease her cramps/pain. If not Colic Calm, other suggestions?

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:26:34 GMT

ok, so natural peanut butter... mine is in your standard quart-ish sized jar. When we first open the jar, I stir it up best I can, all is dandy and we go on with our PB lovin' ways. But when we make it to the bottom of the jar, it is SO thick. and not in a good sticks to the roof of your mouth way. I can't get it to spread without ripping the bread.
I figure I am not getting enough oil to mix into the bottom portion of the jar.

How do you prevent this? Do I just need to dig and stir better? stupid peanut butter.

but she loves it...

Tue, 30 Sep 2008 10:20:39 GMT

At my brothers house recently, we put my daughter in my nephews fisher price 'jolly jumper' which she adored. I immediately suggested to my husband that we buy one for her (although, vaguely in the back of my mind thought there was a reason we hadn't). After researching for a while, my husband decided that they are bad for her development, which definately struck a chord with my memory.

I generally wear her everywhere (and enjoy doing so), so it's not really as a baby sitter, I've just never seen her so happy as when we let her have a bounce in it! She is at the stage where all she wants to do is stand in my lap.

Obviously I know it would depend of the amount of time the child was left in one, but what are your opinions on 'jolly jumpers'? I don't want to interfere with her natural development but I also do love that little face of delight.

Thank in advance.

Finding a home for my milk.

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:47:30 GMT

I've been posting my milk as up for grabs on Milkshare for a long time, but no one wants it. Maybe it's because I live in Hawaii and no one wants to pay to have it shipped. (I can't afford to do it.) The local hospital won't take it. I can't bear to pour it down the sink, but it's nearing it's expiration date. I don't have room in my freezer to keep it anymore. I can keep a little bit for medicinal use, but the rest has got to go.

What else can I do with it? What other organizations will definitely take it and put it to good use. I really don't want my milk to be sold if I can help it. The thought of some huge company making so much money off of my hard-made milk just gets me hot under the collar.

scrip bottle success!

Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:18:49 GMT

i posted a couple days ago asking for input about recycling the plethora of #5 prescription bottles i generate, and got some really good ideas. thanks to everyone who responded!

i called walgreens this morning to ask if they would refill my bottles with new meds for me, and they said it depended on whichever pharmacist was working at the time. they also said that they will take my old bottles, but they have no idea what happens to them when they leave the store; they might be recycled, or they might be destroyed. way to be informed (/sarcasm)! so that was a no go, unfortunately.

after that i called my local nonprofit recycling center, which is seperate from the city recycling, and asked them if they accept prescription bottles. ding ding ding! they said that they do indeed; it just takes them a while to find a buyer, so the bottles sit at the center for a bit. now the bottles i can't find another use for won't have to be thrown away. i'm so pleased about this. just thought y'all might like a followup!

Flu Shot Question

Sun, 28 Sep 2008 14:56:22 GMT

As a rule, I'm not a big fan of flu shots for our family. When I was working with the public I never came down with the flu. I had bronchitis every year, but I was also a smoker then, and my husband has a very good immune system.

We have decided to vaccinate our son, though I space the vaccines out. With the next child, we'll probably do the Dr. Sear's delayed schedule. His one year appointment is coming up in November, and I'm sure the ped will suggest a flu shot. Honestly? I'd rather not. I'm a SAHM and work periodically as a massage therapist. The Woobie is not in daycare but we are looking to join a playgroup or parent's group of some kind. What makes this tricky is this: I've been sick three times in the past couple months - a more frequent rate than I'm used to. It's possible that I'm immunocompromised since there are some enlarged lymph nodes in my chest that the specialists are *still* trying to diagnose. Or, it could be that I'm not out and about as much and my immune system hasn't been exposed to as much. The Woobie has gotten sick two of those three times with me.

Can anyone recommend some good resources for making this decision? Does anyone have any experience with a scenario like this? I was considering getting a flu shot for myself, but not for the Woobie, but I'm not sure if we should both get them, or neither of us and see how it goes.

TIA!

those darn scrip bottles

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:53:56 GMT

i've done my googling, and found some possible solutions, but i wanted to ask here as well:

what the devil do y'all do with your plastic prescription bottles?? i go through at least three a month and have run out of ways to reuse them. there's apparently a kid in WV who takes them to a free medical clinic that reuses them; i found his website and there's a PO box to send them to. i am also going to call my vet clinic and see if they will reuse them. it really drives me up a wall to be throwing so much plastic away. for me that's at least 256 containers a year, counting my inhalers. :(

My Fuzzi Bunz

Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:17:50 GMT

I think my fuzzi bunz are broken...

the wicking just doesn't wick! We make our own laundry detergent, so it cannot be that. I haven't owned them over six months...but they just...leak!

Help!!!!

Pocket diapers saved my LIFE when you all told me about them. I was actually able to sleep at night. But now, I'm back to changing her every few hours or (gasp) putting her in a 7th Gen at night! I'm devastated, and with one on the way (I'm 14 weeks!!!) I'd like to get this figured out before we're at it again!

Help!!! And thanks...in advance :)

~B