How to Make Herbal Baby Wipes
10 Jan 2011 2 Comments
in Baby & Child Health, Beauty and Skin Care, God's Green Herbs, Green Living, Preggo Mama, recipes Tags: baby, herbal baby wipes, lavender, non toxic wipes, olive oil
You don’t have to be a baby to use these either.
Really, anyone that wants a nice gentle non-toxic cleanser will benefit from making their own cleansing cloths and tossing the toxic wipes which are loaded with cancer causing parabens and formaldehyde.
You will need:
-organic disposable cotton pads or you can make your own cloth squares by cutting organic cloth baby diapers into 3 equal parts and sewing around the edges. If you are too lazy to do that or your life is crazy busy like mine, just chop up a 100% die free cotton tee shirt into 5inch by 7inch rectangles.
-5inch by 7in glass dish with airtight cover or you can use the size you have available. When traveling you can use a smaller container or a resealable water proof cloth bag that replaces the traditional zip-lock bags or just use a small travel size baby wipes container like the one pictured above, but make sure its chemical free. No BPA, PVC or Phthalates please!
-1 pint of distilled water
-3 drops of essential oil of lavender
-3 drops of essential oil of rosemary
-3 drops of essential oil of calendula
-2 drops of organic tea tree oil
-1 tablespoon of organic almond or olive oil
-1/4 teaspoon of organic vinegar
-1/2 cup of 100% pure organic aloe vera gel you can purchase or make at home
To make:
Mix your essential oils in with the tablespoon of almond or olive oil. Add this mixture to the distilled water and add in the aloe and vinegar. Mix well then place your cloth pieces into your glass container and pour mixture over. Seal and use within one week. Store any extra solution in the fridge.
I know this might seem time-consuming and crazy but its the better choice for the environment and for your health. Why give the baby wipes manufactures money when they are using toxic ingredients in their products? Better yet, why expose your families skin to cancer causing solvents and ingredients?
**Note** I always keep extra liquid in my container with the wipes, because I use some to wash off our little one’s tush and I cleanse my face with the wipes as well from time to time.
**Travel Note**You can carry your cloth pieces with you in one of the containers or bags mentioned above and place your liquid mixture in a spray bottle. When its time for a facial cleanse or diaper change just spray your cloths with the desired amount and use right away. If you’re at home set dirty cloths aside in a wash pail with some soap and launder later in the day. If you are out and about, place the soiled wipes in a baggie until you get home.
Do you need more ideas and recipes for making your own wipes? Then check out these related articles I found for you.
- Handmade Cloth Baby Wipes (peasloveandcamelot.wordpress.com)
- Make Your Own Diaper Spray: Eco- and Wallet-Friendly (ecochildsplay.com)
- Cloth Wipes Solution (peasloveandcamelot.wordpress.com)
Like this:
Health News: Study finds a link between BPA and childhood asthma
01 Jul 2010 Leave a Comment
in Baby & Child Health, Health News Tags: asthma, baby, BPA, plastic, study, toxic chemicals
Source:
Researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, are reporting the findings of experiments with mice that indicate exposure to bisphenol-A, or BPA, during pregnancy may increase the chances of asthma in the child.
The chemical, used in plastic bottles, linings of cans and other products, has been linked to reproductive problems and increased risk of cancer, among other maladies.
Researchers fed BPA to pregnant mice a week before they gave birth, in quantities that would produce a proportion equivalent to that which has been found in women. They then introduced a common allergy-provoking substance and measured the response in pup mice.
“All four of our indicators of asthma response showed up in the BPA group, much more so than in the pups of the non-exposed mice,” said co-author Randall Goldblum.
Findings of the study will be published in the February edition of Environmental Health Perspectives.
Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration changed its position on the chemical, saying it deserves wider study.
Following an increasing number of governmental bans on the chemical, the six top makers of baby bottles have moved to BPA-free containers.
– Geoff Mohan
Photo: Bisphenol-A, or BPA, has been used in baby bottles for years, raising concerns after the chemical was linked to reproductive issues and increased chances of cancer and diabetes. Credit: Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times
Are you exposing your children to endocrine-disrupting chemicals like BPA?
01 Jun 2010 Leave a Comment
in Baby & Child Health, cancer, Health News Tags: baby, birth defects, Bisphenol-A, BPA, chemicals, endocrine, estrogen, phthalates, plastic, Polycarbonate, toxic, Toxicology
BPA is used in baby bottles, water bottles, plates, toys you name it. And we all know its not safe for us since its been classified as an endocrine-disrupting chemical. An endocrine disruptor is a synthetic chemical that when absorbed into the body either mimics or blocks hormones and disrupts the body’s normal functions. This disruption can happen through altering normal hormone levels, halting or stimulating the production of hormones, or changing the way hormones travel through the body, thus affecting the functions that these hormones control.
So what do you need to know about BPA? Below I have listed various quotes on this troubling topic. Please read through and steer clear away from this stuff.
=============================
You should be drinking a lot of water, but please beware of plastic water bottles. Plastics made from polycarbonate resin can leach Bisphenol-A (BPA), a potent hormone disruptor. BPA may impair the reproductive organs and have adverse effects on tumors, breast tissue development, and prostate development by reducing sperm count. BPA can leach into water bottles through normal wear and tear and exposure to heat and cleaning agents.
- C. W. Randolph, M.D., From Belly Fat to Belly FLAT: How Your Hormones Are Adding Inches to Your Waistline and Subtracting Years from Your Life
Bisphenol-A [is a] a chemical that mimics the female sex hormone estrogen and is used to make consumer products ranging from plastic baby bottles to the linings of tin cans.
- Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith, The Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps
Dental sealants can contain Bisphenol-A, a suspected endocrine disruptor, while traditional silver-colored fillings can contain as much as 50 percent mercury.
- Deirdre Imus, Growing Up Green: Baby and Child Care: Volume 2 in the Bestselling Green This! Series (Green This!)
There are two solvents commonly used in cosmetics and personal care products: phthalates, and Bisphenol-A. These ingredients are often hidden, remaining undisclosed on product labels.
- Samuel S. Epstein, Randall Fitzgerald, Toxic Beauty: How Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Endanger Your Health . . . And What You Can Do about It
A 2007 review of 700 studies involving BPA, published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology, found that infants and fetuses were the most vulnerable to adverse effects from this toxic substance.
Bisphenol-A is a toxin associated with birth defects of the male and female reproductive systems. BPA is commonplace — found in copious brands of fruit, vegetables, soda, and other frequently eaten canned goods. It migrates from the can or plastic into the contents, which are then ingested.
- Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith, The Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps
- Samuel S. Epstein, Randall Fitzgerald, Toxic Beauty: How Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Endanger Your Health . . . And What You Can Do about It
Toxins are everywhere — from household cleaning products to plastics in our kitchen-ware, phthalates and Bisphenol-A in our plastic water bottles, and even in our tap water and air supply. We live in a sea of toxins, and a large body of growing evidence shows that these toxins are, in part, responsible for the epidemic of disease we see in the twenty-first century. Toxic exposures affect the health of all brains, young and old. We must also deal with all the by-products and toxic metabolic wastes created by our own bodies.
- Mark Hyman MD, The UltraMind Solution: Fix Your Broken Brain by Healing Your Body First
Polycarbonate can release its primary building block, Bisphenol-A, another suspected hormone disruptor, into liquids and foods. In 1998, the Japanese government ordered manufacturers there to recall and destroy polycarbonate tableware meant for use by children because it contained excessive amounts of Bisphenol-A.”
- KC Craichy, Super Health 7 Golden Keys to Unlock Lifelong Vitality
BPA has been linked to the development of prostate and breast cancer in adults.
- Mark Schapiro, Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What’s at Stake for American Power
Bisphenol-A was invented in the 1930s during the search for synthetic estrogens.
- KC Craichy, Super Health 7 Golden Keys to Unlock Lifelong Vitality
The compound BPA is one of the most-produced chemicals in the world, and almost everyone has traces of it — or more — in their bodies. The statement, published online by the journal Reproductive Toxicology, was accompanied by a new study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health finding uterine damage in newborn animals exposed to BPA. The researchers indicated that such damage is a possible predictor of reproductive diseases in women, including fibroids, endometriosis, cystic ovaries and cancers.
- Andreas Moritz, Timeless Secrets of Health & Rejuvenation: Unleash The Natural Healing Power That Lies Dormant Within You
An estrogen-mimicking chemical, Bisphenol-A, causes early puberty in female rats and reduces fertility in rats. In males it appears to cause enlargement in the male rat prostate glands. We do not know if this chemical might be related to prostate cancer in humans.
- Doris J. Rapp, M.D., Our Toxic World: A Wake Up Call
An expert panel found credible evidence that Bisphenol-A and the insecticide methoxyclor can cause reproductive damage at very low levels of exposure that are well below the so called “no effect” levels. In one report infertility had risen from 0.5 percent to 25 percent in one cross-section study of college males. In another report in April 2001, the infertility rate in Chinese university students was reported to be as high as 85 percent. Infertility, sexual dysfunction and impotence was stated to affect 20 to 30 percent of Chinese males in one study.
- Doris J. Rapp, M.D., Our Toxic World: A Wake Up Call
At 20 ng/g dose of Bisphenol-A, the daily sperm production went down 20 percent. This work needs to be reproduced, but unless refuted it adds fuel to the need for precautionary measures. Try not to get any fillings, especially during the first trimester of pregnancy. Regular fillings contain mercury (a known hormone disruptor) and composite fillings contain Bisphenol-A (another hormone disruptor). If you have to have a filling, ask for a temporary made out of other materials.
- D. Lindsey Berkson, Hormone Deception
Over the past two decades, BPA has meanwhile become an integral chemical in the packaging of millions of food products and other plastic goods; more than six billion pounds of BPA are used each year in resins lining metal cans, food packaging, hot beverage cups, and in blends with other types of plastic products. Lab research shows that the bond that secures BPA molecules to food and beverage packages changes over time, resulting in the release of free BPA into the food we eat and the beverages we consume, as well as into the environment.
- Donna Jackson Nakazawa, The Autoimmune Epidemic
PCBs, like plastic additives such as Bisphenol-A and common pesticides, are endocrine-disrupting chemicals that have been shown in numerous lab studies to stimulate increased production of autoantibodies — antibodies against self — which are the hallmark of autoimmunity in action. Indeed, as we have seen in the previous chapter, the science demonstrating the way in which estrogen disruptors such as PCBs promote autoimmune disease is emerging with profoundly disturbing conclusions.
- Donna Jackson Nakazawa, The Autoimmune Epidemic
The plastic industry will tell you that small amounts of BPA are nothing to worry about. A study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, however, suggests that when mice are exposed to low levels of BPA for several days, they develop insulin resistance. What is so alarming about this discovery is that the levels of BPA used in the experiment would be considered safe for humans by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
- Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D., Best Choices From the People’s Pharmacy
Don’t microwave your food or drinks in plastic containers; avoid using plastic wrap to cover food in the microwave.
- C. W. Randolph, M.D., From Belly Fat to Belly FLAT: How Your Hormones Are Adding Inches to Your Waistline and Subtracting Years from Your Life
The estrogenic properties of Bisphenol-A (BPA) was known as early as 1936, yet children now have their teeth coated with plastic containing BPA. The ADA denies any problem and goes on coating teeth. Food and drink cans are lined with it. Some plastic baby bottles contain it and other plasticizers.
- Michael Friedman, ND, Fundamentals of Naturopathic Endocrinology
In addition to testing positive for high levels of Bisphenol-A, a chemical that mimics the female sex hormone estrogen and is used to make consumer products ranging from plastic baby bottles to the linings of tin cans, the politicians were also tested for polychlorinated biphenyls, chemicals 185 used in electrical transformers that were banned decades ago. Despite no longer being in use, PCBs are so persistent that all the politicians tested positive for them.
- Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith, The Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps
MOMS – We are what makes the world go round!
30 Apr 2010 3 Comments
in Nursing Super Mommy, Words for the Soul, Bach Flower Remedies, Stress, Baby & Child Health Tags: nursing, baby, mom, super mom, wonder woman, superhero, sleep, psychologist, breasfeeding, laundry, liver
First let me start off by saying that Wonder woman has nothing on me!
You know kids have a beautiful way of reminding you just how insignificant your woes and wants are. They have a God given way of completely humbling the hardest of hearts with sweet potato spit up on your freshly dry-cleaned suit.
I often think that if I offered a stand up comedy show every week on my adventures in mommy land I would win an award.
Here are just a few funny’s that might strike a cord.
We are on our way to the health food store and my beautiful baby boy starts to scream. It hasn’t even been 5 minutes since we left the house and he is hungry.
Within his high pitched screaming we get a “teta -ita” then a “tetita” which means he is calling me.
Yeup my son thinks it’s funny to call his mommy “tetita” which in English is like saying booby.
He thinks my name is booby!
Of course who wouldn’t since I am on the couch with him countless hours a day nursing him into a coma?
So we park, I get out the car sit in the back with him and assume the “I’m uncomfortable and nursing in the back seat” position. After what seems like 1 hour it looks like we are finally done. He is no longer calling me booby and seems quite content. I tell my husband, “Quick honey grab the diaper bag my purse and the stroller.” Hubby says, and “Don’t worry I got him I’ll meet you outside.”
I get out the car, proudly holding my booby monster and hear my husband yelling at me.
“What are you yelling about??” I say in a not so sweet tone.
I look down only to realize I am in the parking lot approaching Whole Foods with one of my “tetitas” in the “I’m getting a sun-tan” position.
OMGoodness – I can’t reverse quickly enough with baby in hand to get back into the car, fix myself and then reappear as if nothing happened. Only then I notice I am wearing some of my own milk across the side of my shirt in the form of cottage cheese spit up. “Oh well, I hope I don’t run into anyone.”
“I know, I’ll just hold the baby while we walk through the store and no one will notice”.
Who said babies can’t be used as protective gear. In this case he was protecting me from further embarrassment and it worked!
We get home and I realize I need some sleep when I am having a conversation with my husband who is holding the baby and I am standing in front of him rocking my body forward and backwards humming “go to sleep, go to sleep”. Something I do when I am holding our little baby and trying to put him to sleep.
It’s only after a few seconds that I realize from the way hubby is looking at me that I am not holding the baby, he is and I have to stop and ponder if I am loosing it!
From chefs to laundry-mats. Consulting firms to doctors. Moms do allot and we are often looked at as the second class, the piece of liver nobody wants to eat.
But we are not.
We are the superhero no one can ever write about or portray on TV. We would put Mrs. Incredible, Wonder woman, JI Jane and Shira to shame.
We don’t have stock but we have smiles.
We don’t get a raise but we’re constantly raising the standard for how we care for our children.
We may not have the latest fashionable makeup colors but we have a home full of beautiful colorings our little ones have given us.
MOMS – we are what makes the world go round – Don’t forget that!
Without us the world would be chaos, with us it still is buts that’s another story!
So this Mothers Day – Lift your hands up in the air and give a shout out to all the moms you know who are doing a fantabulastic job. Yeah, yeah, I know that’s not a word, but my son seems to think it is and that’s what matters!
Signing off la Chica Organica AKA Organic Super Mom
Toxic Baby Wash – Plus Johnson & Johnson class action suit.
26 Apr 2010 1 Comment
in Baby & Child Health, cancer, God's Green Herbs, Nursing Super Mommy Tags: baby, Environmental Working Group, Johnson & Johnson, lawsuit, new mom, toxic baby wash
According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), personal care products contain known human carcinogens or developmental toxins, and more than one-third of all personal care products contain at least one ingredient linked to cancer. You can access their database by clicking on the image on your bottom right that says “Are your cosmetics toxic?”
So what do you use for your baby or grandbaby, or what are you planning to use? I don’t know about you but I am very careful on what I knowingly allow my children’s skin to absorb especially our baby. You see baby’s skin is their largest organ and is quick to absorb toxic ingredients into their bloodstream.
When companies like Johnson & Johnson are being sued for placing known carcinogens in their baby wash, it leaves a not so nice taste in my mouth. Especially since most people choose these toxic washes completely unaware of the dangers.
If you have trouble believing me just check out the latest class action suit against J & J for toxic baby wash – Click here to participate in the suit or to read about it
Your baby’s skin is so important because it’s the filter for their little bodies. What they are exposed to eventually ends up in their blood stream and can cause serious harm down the line. That’s why studies have shown toxic chemicals in the umbilical cord of a newborn child. Now if that doesn’t get your attention I don’t know what will.
Please don’t risk it. Go to the link I mentioned at the beginning of this article which is located to the bottom right of this page. There you can type in an array of products even baby products and it will tell you what you almost wish you didn’t know.
Interested in a safer alternative? We use organic herbs for bathing baby; as a matter of fact I use them myself too. If you are interested in an article about the use of herbal infusions for skin care please email me at LaChicaOrganica@gmail.com
If I receive 10 requests or more I will post an article ASAP. If not I will post one anyway, but it won’t be right away. 
Safe bathing!
Who's saying what