In the time between having my fourth baby and my fifth, I became much more "in to" natural products. Previously, I would regularly wipe down surfaces throughout my house with Clorox Wipes and/or spray everything down with a generous coating of Lysol. No matter what I did, my kids still got sick and still passed their sickness to everyone in the house. Then, one year, I switched to cleaning most of my kitchen and main living area with Vinegar, instead. I found that my kids still got sick (seriously, school is like a cesspool) but the amazing thing was that it would stop with that kid. It didn't get spread to everyone in the house, if I was good about cleaning all surfaces with vinegar, every day. I was quickly converted! And you can buy 2 gallons of vinegar at costco for only $3 or $4! Nice!
Then I started using more essential oils, both for cleaning and for treating minor illnesses. DoTerra, and Young Living are the "name brands", but there are others to check out! Like Edens Garden or Revive which both have quality essential oils for a much nicer price.
And before I knew it I was making my own face wash and deodorant! (I can't find the link to the recipe for my homemade deodorant, but here it is: heat up 4-6 TBSP coconut oil in microwave, stir in 3/4 cup arrowroot powder, 1/4 cup baking soda and essential oils as desired ( lemon, orange, lavender are all good choices). The next obvious step was reusable menstrual products (which, by the way, I actually find much more comfortable than the more expensive and wasteful disposable alternatives). I use cups for heavy days, reusable cloth pads for medium days, and period panties. (If you decide to go green for your period, look around! There are a surprising number of companies that provide the products you may be looking for, no need to pay the extra money for the name brand! I actually own both a Thinx pair and 2 Bambody pairs that I linked you to, and I find the off brand, cheaper Bambodies more comfortable and less diaper-y, check out reviews and see what other people have to say about everything. Also, supporting the underdog helps encourage innovation, improvements and more competitive prices by all!).
Then, I was introduced to Norwex, super-micro fiber cleaning clothes that are embedded with silver to trap and kill germs! These products are pretty incredible, you should check them out. I have clothes, hand towels, face clothes, etc. Seriously, if you are thinking about using less toxic cleaning options, I recommend 1) vinegar, 2) replace your dryer sheets with wool dryer balls, (I've been using mine for over a year and they are still going strong...and with 5 kids...I do a lot of laundry!) and 3) get a kitchen rag from Norwex.
ENTER BABY PREPARATIONS!
As I got ready for baby, I bought a greener laundry soap from Costco. I found a home made hand soap recipe, and there are many similar recipes for baby wash (don't forget the foaming soap dispensers!). All the castile soap I found already has essential oils added. I basically just squirt some castile soap in, and add water. I'm a minimalist, like that :)
I found some recipes for homemade diaper rash cream and "boobie balm" to use instead of Lanolin. Both recipes were pretty similar: involving beeswax, shea butter and some lavender essential oil. Sadly, I cannot recommend the homemade boobie balm. I really wish I could, but I can't. Here is my experience from using them: the boobie balm was AMAZING at healing my sore nipples as I started nursing again. The problem? It was also amazing at clogging my milk ducts, leading to repeated episodes of mastitis, which is basically the worst thing ever. (side note, did you know that Wintergreen oil is INCREDIBLE at healing mastitis? Rub the oil around your breasts and armpits --I usually avoid my actual nipples though--when you first start to feel it coming on, and be sure to clear those clogs! This treatment can have you better in a number of hours, instead of the days it takes to feel better on antibiotics!)
Anyway, I think the problem is that beeswax, and to a lesser extent shea butter, has a very high melting point, so it coats and clogs and is very hard to remove. I ended up having to go back to using regular lanolin, instead of my homemade stuff.
That being said, using them for dry skin would be great! I still use it, occasionally, as diaper cream, and I think it would do wonders on my kids dry cracked hands, this winter!
I also have been using these reusable nursing pads. Just be sure to change them regularly, especially in the beginning, as they get gunked up by all the lanolin and excess lactating. Just throw them in the wash and get a clean pair every day, or twice a day as needed.
Finally, on my line up of natural baby products: my sister gave me some Norwex baby clothes that have been AMAZING! All of my kids have gotten pretty bad baby acne at about 2 months. At one point someone gave me the tip that washing their face with head and shoulders helps, so I start putting a little dab on the corner of a wash cloth and carefully washing their poor little faces, avoiding the eyes. It DID help slightly, but they were still plagued by acne for a month or so. By contrast, with my fifth, all I did was wash her face with warm water and her baby norwex rag. I did this every day, or every time I noticed acne starting to crop up again. You guessed it. It was AMAZING! It helped keep a handle on that baby acne better than anything I have yet seen! And I don't have to feel worried about anything getting in her eyes, or mouth, or feel bad for using harsh chemicals on my baby. Love it!
There you have it! There are my recommendations. Good luck!
