pregnancy ups and downs

Well, I am 26 weeks pregnant this week. So far, this pregnncy has been ok. This morning, at 5am I awoke to contractions! Not Braxton Hicks, full blown contractions! You can just imagine how I felt. 26 weeks is to early for this baby girl to make her appearance. So, I remembered something I read in my favorite book. I think I have mentioned this book before, but if not, the title is Be Your Own "Doctor", an informative Guide to Herbal Home Health Care by Rachel Weaver M.H. I have been using this book for about two years now and would highly recommend it to anyone.

There is a chapter entitled "Pregnancy and Motherhood" and it gives all kinds of information and recipes for pregnancy. I truly love this book. So, when I realized I was having contractions, I went straight to my book for encouragement.

It has a section in this chapter that tells us what we need to do if we start experiencing Preterm Labor. She says for those who are at risk of developing or are currently experiencing true, preterm labor, here are some things you can do:

~Take a lukewarm water (not hot) bath loaded with epsom salt. Use two to three cups of salts. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate which is what they actually use to stop preterm labor in a hospital. Do it every day if you need, to keep strong contractions from coming back. Especially do it at bedtime to relax you so that you can sleep better.

~Drink at least 12-14 8-ounce glasses of water a day. More if you can take it. Dehydration (even mild) is a leading cause of contractions. But when you do, you need to take at least 1/2 teaspoon of salt to keep your minerals in balance so that you do not feel dizzy from flushing them all out with water.

~Eat a nice amount of good protein. Protein foods include milk, eggs, cheese, meat, nuts and peanut butter.

~Stop drinking all tea and coffee, whether caffeinated or not. Tannins in these beverages can be very irritating to the uterus.

~Stop drinking red raspberry leaf tea or eating anything with raspberries at all.

~Avoid all herbs in the mint family, including basil.

~Lie on your left side as much as possible. It improves blood flow and calms contractions.

~5-10 drops of false unicorn tincture every 15 minutes for an hour and then hourly for a few hours if needed (while lying down). A source if provided.

~Start taking at least 1000mg. of vitamin C per day, immediately and throughout your pregnancy and two to three grams of alfalfa per day or two to three cups of alfalfa tea, which will help prevent premature rupture of membranes and prevent bleeding.

Talk to your doctor or midwife to see if you should be on full bed rest.

She also says to drink a large protein drink. She gives a recipe for this in her book.

A Good Protein Shake

1 egg

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon powedered milk (extra protein)

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 tablespoon instant chocolate powder or carob if you wish

Blend in the blender. Add a bit of ice and blend. This will give you two or more cups of drink. Drink two cups immediatelyu. This will give you a quick bit of protein that your baby needs.

I took an Epsom salts bath early this morning and it stopped my contractions! What a blessing. I also made me the protein shake and to my surprise it wasn't to bad. I cheated a little and added a little sucanat to make it a bit sweeter.

I will continue to use this book throughout my pregnancy and any other time I feel me or my family needs it.

This book was designed to provide information in regard to the subject matter covered. The author or publishers are not liable for the misuse of the material provided. If you choose to use the following or any information provided here you are doing so at your own risk!

God Bless!

Wild Cherry Bark Syrup

As you know, I doctor my family using herbal remedies as much as I can before we go to doctors. I am all for going to the doctor when it is necessary but if it is something that I can cure or make better with herbs, that's the way we roll.

I have many herbal books I use on a daily basis but the one I go to the most often is Be Your Own "Doctor" by Rachel Weaver M.H.





Recently, my oldest bug came down with a nasty cold. She began with a stuffy nose and sinus pressure and then ended up with a cough. I decided to do the herbal treatment we used the last time she came down with this.

For her age and weight, she was to take 1000 mg vitamin C, 2 droppers of echinacea tincture, Garlic salve rubbed on chest and fresh garlic and 1 cup of respiratory tea (2 parts peppermint, 1 part oregano, 1/2 part echinacea, 1/2 part mullein and 1/2 part comfrey leaf), every hour when awake. I made a mullein tincture a while back, so instead of using mullein in her tea, she took 2 droppers of mullein with the echinacea tincture.

This is a real aggressive herbal treatment, and done so immediately, you will not have a really sick child.

I also found in this book how to make a Wild Cherry Cough Syrup. I just purchased Wild Cherry Bark from my favorite bulk herb store, www.bulkherbstore.com, so I figured what better time to make this than right now!

This is one of the simplest ways to stop a cough.

Recipe from the book:

Fill a quart jar with shredded wild cherry bark. Fill it again with vodka or brandy. Do not worry about the alcohol. You will distill almost, if not all of it, when you simmer this mix with honey. Anyway - most over the counter cough syrups have at least 5-7% alcohol, nighttime syrups have 15-20% and so do most asthma medicines. This will have less. Let it set for three weeks. Then strain it in a kettle and add the same amount of honey. Heat until the honey is melted and then simmer about five minutes.

DO NOT USE THIS FOR CHILDREN UNDER ONE BECAUSE OF SOME CONCERN ABOUT HONEY AND BOTULISM.

Here it is in a mason jar when it is complete and ready to use. I will store it in an amber bottle in the refrigerator to keep it fresh and good.

She is on the mend and feeling better. I really believe God give us these wonderful herbs for us to use, and everyday I realize that our Creator placed all of these wonderful things in our world for us to learn from and use for the healing of our families.

Here is a link for this wonderful book. I highly recommend it. It has been a life saver in our home. I hope if you decide to purchase and use it, it will be a blessing to you and your family like it has for mine.

God bless!

        



Linking up at NEW LIFE ON A HOMESTEAD., LIKE A MUSTARD SEED

Honey and Lemon Pops

Well, as of yesterday, I have a couple of bugs with sore throats so I decided to make some honey and lemon suckers since one of the bugs is only three years old. I stumbled across a few recipes for this a while back and thought it was time to make some.

Here is how I did it.

1 cup honey (I used local)

2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice

Candy Thermometer

 Lollipop Sticks

Non-stick surface

Heat your honey and lemon juice to hard crack stage, stirring constantly. Spoon small amounts onto a non-stick surface, I used my silpat, and add sticks (in my case, I was out of lollipop sticks so I used craft sticks). Let cool.

There are some recipes that call for peppermint oil also. I might try those next!



It is that simple. Homemade, all natural, sore throat soother! Boy how I love to give my family all natural, homemade goodness!

Just another home remedy that is easy to whip up!

                        


Linked up to : Ben and Me, Like a Mustard Seed

                     

Beeyoutiful - Schoolhouse Crew Review

 

 

BEEYOUTIFUL is a Christian company that believes that we as individuals are responsible for our own health. Their goal is to carry natural products and to eventually carry every one they use as a family. Stephanie Tallent, a certified nutritionist, runs this wonderful, natural wellness company with her husband.

 

 

As a member of the Schoolhouse Review Crew, I was lucky enough to review some of their products. This is the package I received for this review:

It had four of their products in it with a very helpful DVD.

BERRY WELL - 8fl. oz. for $19.75, is an immune booster that fights flu, cold, bacterial and viral symptoms. Not only does this fight these but at the same time builds up your immune system. This is an elderberry syrup made from organic purple elderberries. It also contains raw honey, organic echinacea root, organic apple cider vinegar, propolis extract and 2% pure grain alcohol. It can be taken regularly as a preventative or taken at the first sign of a cold or flu. My plan is to use this when my boy bug comes down with tonsillitis. We battle this about every other month. I feel this will help his condition and will be a staple in our home.

LIP BALM - $3. I love this lip balm. I received the orange flavor. I use this everyday. It has a wonderful consistency. Lots of all-natural lip balms, in my opinion, are hard. This one is just right. They are available in orange and peppermint. I use it alone and under my lip gloss. It keeps our lips very moist and prevents chapping.

MIRACLE SKIN SALVE - 2 oz. for $15, 4 oz. for $25. I can't say enough about this salve. Of all the products, we used this one the most. From cuts, ant bites, rashes to minor burns and skin irritations, we used it for everything. The ingredients in this salve are wonderful. Coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, beeswax, organic plantain leaf, organic comfrey root, organic calendula flowers, propolis, lavendar essential oil and rosemary essential oil. This salve can be used for any kind of skin irritation or injury. It is wonderful. Everytime one of my bugs get an ant bite, they ask for the miracle salve. Just today, my red bug started using it for the dryness under and around her eyes. She has etopic dermatitis and I am hoping this salve will be our "MIRACLE"! I highly recommend this product.

OW!-EASE - Arnica Trauma Salve - 1 oz. for $15. This relieves pain and effectively helps reduce swelling and muscle pain associated with bruises, contusions, sprains, pulled ligaments and muscles. With a 3 and 5 year old around the house, you can imagine how many times we have used this. Everytime I turn around, one or both of them have some kind of bruise. We used this on every bruise and I really believe in its healing properties. Because it contains Arnica flower, it is not safe for internal use, so it is not to be used orally or on broken skin. Some of the other ingredients are extra virgin olive oil infused with chamomile, organic calendula, organic St. John's Wort, cayenne, coconut oil, beeswax, lavendar essential oil and rosemary essential oil.

We also received the Beeyoutiful Views DVD with Stephanie Tallent - $3. She talks about many of the products they offer and how she uses them with her own family. There is also a How-To section. I found this section very helpful. The bugs and I watched this video together and learned many things from it. One of the things we are wanting to try is the activated charcoal facial. Another section is the Healthy Pregnancy section. It gives you information on the specific products they carry that can be used if you are expecting.

I highly recommend Beeyoutiful products and encourage you to check out their website.


Check out what other members of the crew said about Beeyoutiful products. Some reviewed Beeyoutiful Skin mineral make-up and Skin care products.

Disclaimer: As a TOS crew member, I received these products, in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

More Herbal Remedies

A few days before Christmas, I decided to make some herbal glycerites. Like I didn't have enough to do already! I read this book and began learning alot about herbs and herbal tinctures and glycerites. I highly recommend this book if you are wanting to make your own "herbal medicines". When I first started learning and making tincts and glycerites, I wanted something for the bugs to take to build their immune systems. I started with an Astragalus glycerite. Its key actions are antioxidant, immune support and tonic.

I recently made another Astragalus glycerite but added peppermint this time to help with the bitterness of the root.

I made a Mullein/peppermint glycerite to help one of my bugs with a cold. It is considered the herb of choice for respiratory problems. It loosens mucus and expels it out of the body.

I also made an activator which help to activate the healing energies in the body and another formula to help boost the immune system to prevent illness or to help the body fight infection. They call this formula "herbal vaccines". I found these recipes in the book mentioned above. These are only a few of what I want to make. It takes time to make tinctures and glycerites so I try to make a couple a month. There are so many that can be made. Play around with it and see what you can come up with.

This is something I am very passionate about but it is not for everyone and is not intended to replace any medical advice from a healthcare professional.


Activator:
1 part yarrow flowers, 1 part elder flowers, 1 part peppermint

"Herbal Vaccine"
4 parts echinacea root, 2 parts thyme, 1 part licorice, 1 part elderberries

Just A Few Things We Have Been Doing Around The Homestead!

We haven't blogged in a few days. Been pretty busy around here. We started play practice at church for our Christmas program that will be  December 19th,  this past Sunday. Having a lot of fun with that. It is going to be a really good program.

Monday was pretty much a normal day. We started with school, we are doing a Thanksgiving unit study. I will be posting some pictures of a few things we are doing with that. Did some laundry and sorted our herbs we got from Frontier. That's our food co-op with our homeschool group.

We ordered Peppermint leaves for some of our tinctures we are making and decided to make us some tea. Here are the bugs enjoying some of the Peppermint Tea we made Tuesday! We also had a little bible study while we were sipping our tea. I got a book off of Paperbackswap months ago entitled Little Visits With God. We really enjoy this little book. It has a bible verse, a short story pertaining to the verse, questions to ask the children and a prayer at the end to be read aloud. We all take turns reading the prayer.

We also made our homemade laundry detergent this day also. I will post some pictures of us doing that in another post. Some of my friends are wanting to see this and also wanting the recipe.

Wednesday is usually music day but for us this week, we had to cancel. I was not feeling well so we decided to stay home. So instead of doing music, here is what we ended up doing.

 My kids walked out to one of the gardens we have every summer and found these. They picked a few more than this picture shows. We sat at their Maw Maws and Pa Paws house, in the yard and shelled them for supper. We had a really good visit with my mom and dad while we shelled these speckled butter beans. There are still as many beans left on the vine as in the picture. We plan to pick the rest tomorrow and put them in the freezer. Look how beautiful these beans are. There is nothing like growing your own organic vegetables in your garden. GOD IS GOOD!!!





We also made a yummy dessert this afternoon to. Pecan Pie Surprise Bars! These taste just like pecan pie except you make them with a cake mix. How does that sound? Here is the recipe for these delicious bars. I forget where I first came across the recipe for these. Either way, they are FANTASTIC! I replaced some of the ingredients with the things we use around our house to stay as healthy as possible.



PECAN PIE SURPRISE BARS

1 package of yellow cake mix or can use a homemade mix

1/2 cup melted organic butter

4 eggs

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar (may use sucanat instead, I have used both and they both work)

1 1/2 cups dark corn syrup ( I used Sorghum molasses instead of the corn syrup)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped pecans

Set aside 2/3 cup of the cake mix. Combine remaining cake mix, melted butter and 1 egg in a large mixing bowl; mix and press out into a 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Combine the reserved cake mix, 3 eggs, brown sugar, corn syrup and vanilla in a mixing bowl; mix thoroughly. Pour over partially baked crust and sprinkle with the chopped pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Cool and cut into bars.

Well, I guess that's enough about what we did for the last few days. I am sorry this post is so long. I will try to post a little every day instead of one every few days to keep my posts shorter.

GOD BLESS!

Dana

I LOVE HERBS!!!!!

I have been studying herbs for a while now. I first started thinking about herbs when our family went to a homeschool convention in Memphis, TN this past March. I had the pleasure of sitting in on a workshop that was to teach us about herbs and ways to use them in our home. A lady by the name of Jessie Hawkins conducted the workshop. She is the founder of Vintage Remedies, http://www.vintageremedies.com/home/, a wonderful resource for anyone wanting to learn a little about herbs or to become a  full blown herbalist. In the near future, my plans are to start taking her Family Herbalist course. When we were at the convention, I purchased one of her books entitled "Vintage Remedies for Kids". It is by far one of my favorite books.

It has so many resources in it. I have thoroughly enjoyed every little bit of it. It is written to be able to teach children about healthy and natural living. I am planning on doing a unit study with all my bugs in the spring of 2012. We have already done a few things out of this book. From making our first cheese to making tinctures and Calendula Balm. I will list the recipe for the cheese and the directions on how to make the Calendula balm at the end of this post. I would highly recommend everyone to get this book. Go to her website and look around.

               

My First Cheese

You'll need:

1 quart organic yogurt

Assorted flavorings (cinnamon and honey / herbs / other small foods or spices)

Cheesecloth

Large strainer

Large bowl

Place the strainer into the bowl. Line with the cheesecloth. Stir the flavorings into the yogurt and pour it into the lined strainer. Leave in the fridge overnight while liquid drips. Remove in the morning, scoop out into a bowl and keep covered in the fridge up to a week.

This cheese is great for morning treats as it is creamy, like cream cheese. It is also made from active cultures in real yogurt, and since it hasn't been heated, they remain in the finished product.

Calendula Balm

Calendula (calendula officinalis) is a bright yellow flowering herb that is also known as marigold. As a medicinal plant, it is prized for its anti-inflammatory properties and ability to stimulate wound healing.

Calendula is a herb to have in your home at all times, as its uses are practically endless. We use it in our home for any kind of bug bite or sting to the treatment of minor scrapes and injuries.

You'll need:

2 ounces of calendula

1 teaspoon beeswax

1/2 cup olive oil

Metal tins

Break apart the herb into small bits. Toss then in the oil in an oven proof bowl and place in a warm oven. Infuse for 2 hours. Remove from the heat and let cool. Once cool, strain the herbs out with cheesecloth. Return to the clean bowl and add the beeswax. Heat until the beeswax is just melted, then pour into clean tins. Label with the ingredients, uses and date of production.

We are planning on making alot of these and giving them as Christmas gifts to our friends and family.

Sorry this post is so long, I get carried away talking about HERBS!

Dana