If we talk at all you know that I've pretty much become an all natural Mama! We've switched it all around here... food, cleaning supplies, toiletries... everything, and it all started for us with a little girl named Chandler Rae.
Matt and I were first introduced to the organic world after watching the movie Food Inc. (which I highly recommend if you have not seen it). This movie pretty much rocked our world and educated us on the foods we were putting into our bodies and feeding to our little ones at our very own dinner table every night! It was shocking information to us and we immediately made changes in the meats and dairy products we purchased for our family. Soon after, we decided to start buying organic fruits and veggies too (it was a pricey decision, but one we couldn't refuse after the new knowledge we now had about pesticides and contamination to most of the produce out there).
When our precious bundle Chandler was born we had no idea how much more organic and natural we would soon be going. To put it lightly, our girl has some serious allergies. We noticed her skin allergies when she was about 2 weeks old. Her eczema was the worst I had ever seen and our pediatrician (at the time) brushed it off to be nothing. He handed us a script for steroid creams and told us, "she'd probably out grow it." Months later she was still suffering with dry itchy patches all over her body and also had a persistent cough and runny nose 24/7. We knew something had to be wrong, but were told time and time again, "it was probably just a couple of viruses, not to worry, and continue the creams for her skin." I knew it was more. There was something wrong with my baby girl. When Chandler was about 7 months old she stuck her hand in peanut butter while I was making her brother a sandwich. It was soon evident that a peanut allergy was in the cards for Chandler. I rushed her to the ER in a panic. Praise God, she was okay, but it was all adding up in my mind. I knew she had to have some serious allergies and maybe it was more then just peanuts. I was still nursing Chandler at this point so everything I ate, she got. I immediately cut out peanut butter, but was very curious if it was something more. We decided to have her tested for allergies to see if I was right. Not only was Chandler allergic to peanuts, but she was also allergic to eggs and has a sensitivity to wheat! Holy moly!! This was overwhelming information (to say the least) for me because this meant so many things for us. We now had answers and for that we were grateful, but changes now had to be made! Big ones. Grocery changes, diet changes, and label reading to the max! While in the moment I wanted to crawl under a rock and forget I knew any of this, we now live in a peanut free home with limited egg and wheat used and it's been easy. The alternatives out there are amazing! The local health food stores and even some Publix stores now carry great products with guarantees of no cross contamination. Also, finding substitutes has been fun and surprisingly easy.
When I first learned of Chandler's allergies, I turned to the internet for tips and advice and after one of my posts on facebook, was recommended a site that would soon educate and shock me about more than just what we put on our dinner tables. This site taught me so much about the ingredients that are in our cleaning products, our lotions and soaps, and most of the common products you would find in any household. I was flabbergasted. I felt like I had been contaminated for the last 27 years and immediately began searching for new products for our family.
We now use Shaklee cleaning supplies which I am absolutely loving! Not only do they work better then the other yucky stuff we were using before, but I don't have to put on giant rubber gloves and clear the house before I clean. These products are non-toxic, safe for the environment, and kill more germs for longer then all the other products out there! I feel safe cleaning around the kids and am now confident in knowing that these products are not harmful to us, our home, or our planet. Also, after reading the book, Green Goes with Everything by Sloan Barnett (the wife of Shaklee's owner), I have learned so much about the correlation between cleaning supplies and allergies and I think it would shock most just how much our bodies are affected by what we are cleaning our homes with! One of the best parts too is that using these products saving you big time! We bought one of the starter kits for less than $100, and will not need to buy any other cleaning supplies other than laundry detergent and dish washer soap for at least a year. In the long run, we will save thousands on our cleaning supplies using Shaklee products. Shaklee also has a health and beauty line which I plan on checking out.
We've also changed to California Baby for lotions, shampoo, diaper cream, sunscreen, and bubble bath. We are loving these products and they are all organic (truly organic, there are lots of products out there that claim to be organic or natural and are absolutely not, read your labels!!) I've been testing other brands too for Matt and I and have also fallen in love with the brand Everyday Shea. I'll throw this in too for tmi, but I quit using deodorant!! Not only is it very unhealthy for your body, but it's completely unnecessary. I have switched to baking soda and water. I was shocked to find that it works better then what I was previously using and bonus, it only cost me 44 cents and it's lasted more than a month! While it is not an antiperspirant, I feel like if God gave us sweat glands under our arms, he put them there for a reason! Just my opinion, but I have to say I'm enjoying the switch!
While I'm not a huge make up wearing woman I have changed to the organic line that Physicians Formula has recently come out with. I like the prices and the quality and am very happy with the ingredients I'm exposing my face and body to every day.
I really could go on and on about this subject and the changes we've personally made in our home, but I felt pretty passionate about sharing our story and encouraging all to do the research, become educated, and make the changes in your home too to become healthier and to provide a safe environment for you and your family.
We feel so very blessed to have been given Chandler Rae and feel like God has blessed our family by creating her with allergies! We love you baby girl.
Click here to check out Mercola.com where I found a lot of helpful information. Also, check out Food Inc and Food Matters!
Happy Researching!!
When buying "organic" or "natural" be sure to check your labels. Just because it has the title "organic" or "natural" does not mean that the ingredients are! Look for the USDA organic certified label on the front of a product. If you see it there, you can rest assured that this product and its ingredients are truly organic.
