I am the furthest thing from a granola. I eat granola mind you, in my yogurt. But I am not a granola. I own no Birkenstocks. I drive a gas guzzling minivan. I use disposable diapers. Breastfeeding has always seemed sort of unnatural to me. And it's so hard! I would reach for the infant tylenol before an amber teething necklace any day. And I never ever drink enough water.
But. My kids, Letty in particular, get sick. And often. It's kind of exhausting. Nothing major mind you and for that I am ever grateful. Just fever after fever, and more often than not, an ear infection. She sleeps enough, drinks nothing but water, takes her multivitamin, loves to eat fruit and yogurt and she washes her hands. And yet... Sick. Always.
Essential Oils have basically permeated every blog. Everywhere you look, there they be. My interest has been piqued for quite a few months. And the only reason being: Letty and her immune system. I researched and read and researched some more and did a lot of bugging where Brittany is concerned and finally made the leap. Brittany recommended Native American Nutritionals as the best bang for my buck without sacrificing quality or paying exorbitant shipping and I heeded that advice. I figured while I was buying the Immune Strength I might as well get the Lavender too. Everyone says lavender is like the oil to have, working wonders on any manner of ailments. And if you've ever been in my house during the witching hour you would agree we could all use a dose of relaxation.
So the two bottles of oil were purchased.
Then I went on amazon and bought roll on bottles that unfortunately I couldn't seem to find in small quantities, so I got a box of 18. But it wasn't that expensive... so okay. They came with long plastic droppers too (not that I really needed those). And then per Brittany's recommendation I got fractionated coconut oil, which is fancy for it always stays liquid. It doesn't smell, which surprised me and was a good thing seeing as a fan of the coconut odor I am not.
The day they all arrived I nervously set up my station in the kitchen and felt very Harry Potter-esque, mixing potions, Severus waiting in the wings for me to screw up.
But. I made up my two roll on bottles without issue and that was that. And so here is what I've been doing with them. And the oils in general.
2 drops in 10 ml bottle w coconut oil. Roll on soles of feet once a day and cover with socks. I also read somewhere some moms roll it up and down their child's spine? I'm a bit side-eyeing that one but sure okay that too. If I fear we have had a particularly germy day I'll do this twice.
2 drops in 10 ml bottle with coconut oil. If the kids are being particularly nuts I'll roll this on their foreheads or behind their ears. Or if Matt or I have a headache I'll roll some on our temples.
Letty got a papercut and was really laying it on thick as far as pain exaggeration goes so I rolled some on the cut mostly to just stop the whining but I hear it is good for such things. And she did stop whining...
One drop in my mascara tube that apparently will thicken and or lengthen my lashes. So far I just get a nice whiff each morning.
One or two drops directly on our pillows (under the case). Matt swears by this and he would like it to happen twice a week instead of just on new bed day.
I added about 5 drops to a 10 ml of coconut oil in another roll on bottle and I've been using it as a moisturizer. The rub (haha) being that it's good for acne and wrinkles and it makes you look like Jennifer Aniston. I made that last one up. While I'm not seeing any crazy results of Jennifer Aniston proportions I figure it's healthier for me than the Jergens tanning lotion I've been using since 2001.
Coconut Oil:
I had this large bottle of the stuff and needed all of 10 mls for each of my mixing potions so I looked to find other uses. And apparently.... There are many. Such as...
Tablespoon in my daily coffee. And my lips have never been happier without Chapstick. She's quite jealous. I hear this is good for all kinds of reasons that I won't bore you with.
Letty had a pimple. I wanted to pop it something awful because I am picker. So instead of popping I put a warm compress on it followed by a bit of coconut oil. And it went away? Who would think you put oil on a pimple and wala!
So. In summary, my children have not gotten sick once in the month since we have been using Immune Strength (knock on wood). They have been sleeping more soundly and later into the morning, as well as not fighting us when we put them down. I've taken less tylenol. Matt pretty much goes comatose after laying down on a lavender pillow.
Can I say I'm a believer? Well things have improved so.... Yes, sure. I'm getting there. I dipped my toe in and found the waters to my liking. Now I'll put the whole foot in. I ordered a shipment of lemon, peppermint and eucalyptus oils and I have a few ideas in mind with what I plan on using them for. So, to be continued?
The Birkenstocks are next.
