THREE NEW THINGS THAT I TRIED IN 2014!!!
1. No-Poo Hair Washing Method
What is it?
The hair cleansing practice using only Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking soda, cleansing first with a baking soda water mixture, and rinsing with the vinegar water mixture.
I used 1 Tbsp Baking Soda in a cup of warm water to cleanse, rinsed out, followed by 2 Tbsp of the vinegar in a cup of water as a conditioner, then combed hair as usual ad rinsed (all in the shower).
Why would I do such a thing?
I have crap-tastic well water in our current residence and my hair has taken on some serious damage. Aside from that, most commercial shampoo strips hair of all the good oils anyway, and I found that almost everything I tried was making my hair more dry and brittle. I needed to try SOMETHING new.
Results?
Overall, this method is great for me.
I started it in the summer and I am currently still using this method, with the occasional conditioner assist and about once a month, I use an organic shampoo and conditioner as needed, but the benefit of the No-Poo was seen immediately.
After a few showers where I was using this method, my hair was shinier, less frizzy and smoother. The vinegar acts as a natural clarifier, which is what I needed to cleanse the mineral residue left by our water.
Like most "natural" practices, it requires you to pay attention and adjust it as needed. There is no "one size fits all" in anything, in my experience.
2. PAIN FREE Folk Remedy Wart Removal Method
(NOTE: Some people will find this gross...but it freekin' works).
What is it?
So...last year, my first born, Boo, had a wart...that became two warts. One on his wrist, then one on his knee developed. I had been reading up on warts and different treatments, and I tried a few things...including duct tape and apple cider vinegar...but they all required a week or two of consistent application, and that was NOT going to happen. What could I do that was not going to require that level of attention span for bandage application (something neither my son or I were capable of at the time)??? Then, I stumbled upon a blog of a mother and her unconventional method of ridding herself of warts. Well, it was worth a try...but I had to read more...because...
it's urine.
A little bit of the person's urine placed on a bandage and covered over the wart.
Why Would I Do Such A Thing?
This woman swore that it worked, and with very powerful results...so I was willing...even though I normally would not just take the word of a random stranger on the internet...but shoot, it is certainly NOT as bad or risky as those toxic smelling applications at the drug store...so here we go!
Results?
I used a q-tip, and dabbed the wart with urine, then covered it with a good band aide, where I also dabbed the bandage part with urine. That was it. After a day, the wart turned pink-red...and he said "it stings a little"...and the bandage came off. The next day, it turned blackish...and within a few days, it basically fell/peeled off. I did the treatment on his wrist only...figuring just in case, right? Well...a few weeks later...I noticed something amazing; THE WART ON HIS KNEE WAS ALSO GONE. Basically leading me to believe the claims of the online woman even more...that the uric acid knocked out the virus that caused the warts, not JUST the wart. I soon got to use this on my little Bubs too, as he got a wart on his finger recently.
This amazes me, and people need to do this!
It's FREE and basically painless, and it only really needs to be done ONCE if the bandage stays on well for one day.
We've had success with this method now on three occasions.
3. Waterbirth
What is it?
What is it?
Giving birth in a pool or tub of water, generally one maintained at a certain temperature. In the US this usually means an inflatable birthing pool or a facility tub that is used only for birth and labor management.
Why would I do such a thing?
Um...because water is AMAZING.
Imagine you just spent the entire day traveling across country, carrying luggage through the airport, not having a full meal, uncomfortable and tired but you can't really sleep on a plane...and then finally...you arrive at home...and lay down in your bed. Do you feel it? That quasi-orgasmic relief feeling where your muscles make little happy tingles tremor up your spine and you giggle with joy? THAT is what warm water feels like to a birthing woman.
Now, I have made use of a birth pool for all three of my children's births, but mostly for pain management. With my first two, I entered the warm water during active labor (the second of three stages of labor), and while it relieved the intense bodily strain I was experiencing at the time, it effectively stalled my progress as well. In my case, this was not a problem, but it did prolong what ended up being two "marathon" births (so called by my midwives). This time, I wanted to have a WATER BIRTH...and actually HAVE my baby in the water. I have heard nothing but amazing stories and experiences when this is done with the proper set up, and knowing how receptive I am to water, I knew it would enhance and improve my birthing experience. The trick is to get into the water during Transition; the final stage of labor. At this point, water will relax your muscles, but less likely to slow the actual birth. (Learn more about the stages of labor Here!)
Results?
The birth of my third child was markedly different than my first two, and the water was a big part of this. Having set off to the Birth Center in active labor already, I arrived and went right into transition. The pool was filled and baby was born within 3 hours. That's full dilation in record time for me...and yes, that is as intense as it sounds...only MORE so. However, that moment when I stepped into the pool in the 3 seconds before another push contraction was the best decision I could have made. The minute my body touched the water, I let out a "OOOOO" sound of such relief, my friend/doula giggled, recalling her own water-relief experience with her second child in the same birth pool. The intense and exhausting labor instantly became utterly tolerable and I birthed my child smiling and singing in operatic tones...yes, really. She floated up to me and I was there, holding my little girl to my chest, instantly altered into the post-pardam glow stage, where everything that just happened is a faint memory, and all that exists is the sweet child in your arms and the warm water around you.
If you can make waterbirth an option for yourself, I HIGHLY recommend it, and based on other birth stories I've heard of similar speedy and intense description, the waterbirth likely save me from severe tearing.
Photo by Brooklyn Logan
I am definitely going to stick to my conviction of adding a few new natural skills or practices to my life every year. Baby steps, as they say...and when surrounded by babies, what better way to go?
