West Texas Natural Baby: Our Rainbow is here!!

It doesn't seem possible to love anything more than you love your child, Each one brings more joy into your life, each marking an event in your life. When I first began the blogs I was a nervous mess and not ready to face the possibility of loosing the pregnancy. What we didn't know at that time was we would be here 9 months later. I admit that Kathleen has already done so much in her short life! As I am writing this I am holding her in my arms.  

As many of you know Kathleen was born on August 14, 2016.. I was due as of August 20th,2016.. So she was born 6 days before her due date. My pregnancy was considered high risk and due to my asthma and celiac disease I was followed very closely by my OB and a perinatologist. While I would have loved to give birth with a midwife and at a birth center, Abilene doesn't have many options and I wanted to make sure that if I was going to have any complications that she was born safely in a hospital setting and that I was close to help. Seeing as I have several health issues I decided that even with this being my last baby, I wanted to respect the fact that I am already a mother to 3 children and I wanted to be home safe with them after it was said and done.. Early on we where told my pregnancy was at risk due to a bleed behind the placenta and her amniotic sack. I was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes and was put on a strict and limited diet.. Most of my meals where high protein and very low carb.  My hopes and wishes for a natural and low risk pregnancy was not completely dashed, but was limited by the complications that I could have had if I chose a different route. Which is why I feel at peace with how everything went in the end.

Kalthleen's birth:

08/13/16:

Felt very off that morning and was having a lot of Braxton hicks contractions.. I felt very heavy in my pelvic region and was questioning if labor had began yet. Decided to rest on and off that day as much as possible. I made dinner and then laid down for the night. Could not sleep and decided I needed to finish up my pregnancy blog as I knew it would be the last one before I had the baby and started to write her birth story.. After a few tears I was gearing up for my induction Monday morning. 

08/14/16

At 3:45 am I was woke up by lower back cramps that where not severe at the time, but where most definitely something I had not felt before that night.. I decided to try to sleep through them as much as possible ( trying was the real word ) . At 5:45 laying in bed was not comfortable anymore and I decided to go sit on the toilet and try to use that as a way to relieve the pain, contractions where 10-15 minutes apart at that time .I messaged my friend who was coming into town and let her know what was going on. She begged me to not have the baby before she got there!! I told her no promises , but at least I wouldn't have to be induced!! I Noticed a lot of bloody show and decided a bath was the next best choice for me. I woke my husband up and told him that I was not sure, but I felt like labor had begun.. I Tried to rest between contractions while running the water. By the time I ran the water and was settled the contractions where about 8-10 minutes apart. 6:30 am comes and I can't seem to even get through the contractions without having to breathe .. The water isn't as soothing as my last birth!! I was very annoyed with this and got out.. I Tried to lay back down to sleep for awhile to no avail, the contractions where too strong!! I Finally decided to get up and move to the living room with hubby and asked for a back rub and some counter pressure on my lower back. I Labored in living room for a few hours until my friend and her husband arrived at my house . I Decided to eat a small snack and quickly discovered that my stomach was not going to handle that. At 12:45 I had enough and decided to go ahead to the hospital with my friend and told my husband to join us if I was truly in labor. Arrived at the labor and delivery and was told they where keeping me and I was in labor and they where keeping me.. I was transferred to my labor and delivery room and was quickly told I had to lay still and allow them to monitor the baby.. I was not impressed at this point.. My hope was to have labored naturally like I did with my son . A few hours passed and my husband joined me in our room along with my friend. I begged them to start the epidural as my heart felt like it was going to pop out of my chest.. I was told I had to wait till the first bag of fluid was in my body and they would call ... Another hour passed and when the nurse came in again I begged for them to call for my epidural .. Each contraction sent pain into my legs and into my toes... It took them another hour to finally get the anesthesiologist in and another hour for him to put it in ( after bending me into what seemed a pretzel) .. It wasn't long after they did the epidural that I felt the same feeling I had before during transition.. I felt like my body was freezing and that I needed to go to the bathroom. I told the nurse to check me since I felt like she was a lot lower in my pelvic region. Sure enough she was ready to come out!!! Nurses scrambled around my room to get the birth area prepped and then pull me down to the edge of the bed.. God bless them because what was supposed to be a twilight epidural had completely left me unable to move!!  We struggled for about 20 minutes to get my legs into the stirrups!! The doctor they had on call was prepping himself when I felt her head drop lower and I freaked out . I loudly called out " um are you going to catch the baby?!"  Not even two second later a tiny baby was laid onto my chest!!! I was shocked on how little she was !! 

I was expecting a baby 2x her size!!!  When I looked at the doctor he clearly had a concerned look on his face and was working furiously to get her cord cut and across to the nurse. I hear him call out "Baby's cord was knotted!! Call nicu!!" At that moment all the emotions of my pregnancy and the loss of my previous baby flooded me and I began to cry. My head swam with worry as they swept away her tiny body from my chest and onto the warmer.. 

Her first loud cry was heard from across the room.. I had missed my perfect birth, but was just glad to hear her doing well. I was asked several times if i was sure of my due date, if I had complications, and several other things. It wasn't until they told me how much she weighed did my heart drop... It was an hour before she was finally given to me and 2 hours later before we settled into our recovery room.. My mom, dad, hubby and friend all got to have turns holding her. It wasn't until the next day my other children came!! 

 We left the hospital 2 days later and have been settled for about 3 weeks now!! I am so thankful to have been able to do this again. While it wasnt the birth I had planned, It was the birth that had my sweet Rainbow baby here safely







So we are proud to announce the birth of

Kathleen Rae McDowell
Born August 14, 2016 at 7:35pm
5lbs 4oz
19 in long

What joy and pain is this: Having a rainbow baby

It didn't take me long to become apprehensive about the news that we where expecting again. Two days prior I had thought that my body was doing what it had before, leaving me feeling even more torn as it had before. I had been struggling the last year with rapid weight gain and crippling reactions. One year on steroids had taken its toll, nothing was working the same anymore. My cycles that where once predictable had become less and less so.   In May of 2014 I was shocked to see a VERY faint line on a test that I had taken in the early morning.  Joy washed over me as I woke my husband from sleep and quietly announced to him we where expecting again. Over the next two days I felt the same nagging symptoms as I did with my other children. My joy however was short lived as I woke up to severe cramping and bleeding. For three days I laid in bed, begging God to comfort me. My whole being felt torn and raw. What made it worse was a few days prior a family member announced their pregnancy as well. Feeling alone I decided to just keep my pain and sorrow to myself. Soon I started to snap at the ones I loved the most, including my husband. It wasn't until I let go and finally had a good cry that I decided that I would move on with life.. Hard as it was I had made the choice to leave it into Gods hand to make the choice for me if we would ever have another child.  August of 2015 my cycle was late for 2 weeks. The hell of having to take tests only to come out negative made me fear what I already knew... I was starting to loose my cycles and I may never be normal again. I mourned what could be the last chance to have a baby gone. My husband and I had come to the conclusion even before that both of us where too sick to have anymore children. If only i could go back in time and tell myself life would shortly change, I would have enjoyed my holidays with the kids and smiled a little more.

I was due for a cycle Christmas morning of 2015 .. When I missed my cycle I thought nothing of my chances of being pregnant. I just assumed I was loosing yet another cycle. However I also started to notice I was turned off by some of my favorite food and that my chest was sore and achy. It wasn't until I went out and bought a pregnancy test ( by the prodding of my husband) ) that I started to feel the same uneasy and betrayed feeling I had before. What if it was negative?! What if I was just making these things up in my head? Reluctantly I took the test.. I hadn't even had a chance to set it down when the plus sign showed up bright and clear.. My heart went into my throat and I called for my husband. He looked at me and said " I knew it!! I knew it for two weeks!!" I however was scared and worried.. How can I expect that this baby would stay? After a week the bleeding started... I asked my husband to take me to the ER and my heart sank when they told me that the baby had a bleed around it. On my paperwork it stated " threatened miscarriage." I started to prepare myself for yet again another loss and started to try to keep myself from bonding with the baby. About 4 days later the bleeding started again, this time with bright red bleeding.. Turns out the bleeding had grown and again I was sent home to loose our baby.. For what seemed like ages I waited... I waited to say goodbye. Weeks passed and my first OB appointment came..

On the screen was the perfect little outline of a baby... I saw a little heart flickering and small limbs moving. I smiled and teared up .
 A few short weeks after our ultrasound we found out we where having a girl!!! I still guarded myself since we where not in the safe zone.. For weeks again I had a hard time bonding with her !! I begged God to allow her to stay. 24 weeks came and went.... I finally had peace that she was staying.. In or out she would survive !! Soon after we started monthly visits to a specialty doctor to keep watch over her. Each visit gave me new photos of her to enjoy.. My heart however longed for her to be in my arms, not in my womb. As my due date approached I madly planned for her to be here, making sure everything would be done. We scheduled my induction and I had my baby shower..

 Time was passing quickly!!! It wasn't until I passed 38 weeks that my nervousness hit a new peak.. Why isn't she here?! The day I went into labor I decided then this would be my last time doing this.. she would be my last baby. Never again did I want to go through the torture and pain of having to hope there would be a good ending !! It wasn't until I heard her cry that a wave of relief washed over me.. I cried .... not just for the relief of her birth.. But finally saying goodbye to the baby who had left my womb too soon..

Being the mom of a rainbow baby is like having a stitched up heart. All your children take a piece of it.. When one leaves this world before you, it feels like that patch given was ripped from you. Unable to stop the bleeding , the wound has to be stitched. Then another baby comes and the wound still feels raw and sore.. It isn't until the baby is born that you feel that patch sealed over with gold thread. The pain is still there, but this new thread has healing powers.. not what the other had.  The birth of my daughter saved me... her birth gave me hope. I am still in awe of this tiny creature... Each little cry, squeak or sigh makes me jump to my feet. Each little sleepy smile or content sigh after her tummy is full makes my heart sing. I still lovingly think of our baby we lost before her. Maybe her sleepy smiles are her looking upon the face of her sibling. Next May she and I will go to a quite and small place and release a balloon.. A memorial for a baby who left us both too soon. A baby wanted by both heaven and earth.. Maybe as she grows the pain wont be there anymore.. I cant wait to see what she becomes!! I cant wait to go home one day and hold the baby I never got to.. I am at peace and content with waiting and enjoying my sweet little rainbow here on earth..


Until we meet again my sweet little one I will dream of you

In loving memory of our baby
Came into our hearts May 23, 2015
Went to heaven May 26, 2015

We will meet again...

Announcing the birth of our rainbow baby
Kathleen Rae McDowell

Came into our hearts January 2016
Came earthside  August 14, 2016
Our rainbow on a cloudy day!!

West Texas Natural Baby: Counting Down to D-Day

Soooo I left you off last trimester pretty much whining about how much I hated my new Diet. However I also shared some of the more personal things about being a mom to a rainbow baby! It has  really gone too fast. By the time I finish this post I will most Likely be holding her in my arms!! I wish I could have written more in the Second trimester, but during that time I was going through some pretty rough feelings and I was also trying to figure out how to handle them all. Pregnancy is rough and sometimes it isn't the cakewalk you want it to be.


Weeks 28-33: After about a week of the sugar detox, I started to notice more that my body was a lot happier and almost felt like I had a new lease on life. The first few weeks my blood sugars where super bad and I was trying to find a way to still allow carbs into my diet, vs carb starve myself and feel even worse. I admit I lived off of caffeine and a ton of grapefruit essential oils!! I had to draw my energy off of something. I also had something else to distract myself with.. I was offered a baby shower and I was thrilled seeing as we hag gotten rid of everything that we had for Kaleb ages ago. So off I went planning all the things that we needed for her! I was also a nervous mess trying to plan out how I would manage a newborn and my two older school kids and started to go through my calendar planning all the things we would need for the as well.. I could have used a lot more sleep then because life was about to become a lot more uncomfortable!


Weeks 34-36: I probably spent most of my day running in between the house and appointments. I Had a small stent in the L&D overnight due to my constant going. I was warned several times I needed to slow down or else I would be forcing myself to the point of delivering a preemie. So I had to make the choice between being busy and being bored... Being bored it was!! I found joy in adding things into my baby registry and planning the birth. I started to rely more and more on natural means of keeping this baby in. A week before my shower my doctor cleared me for a cheat day and I was exited for a chance to eat something with sugar in it.. Of course the day that I had my shower I decided to skip most of the carbs anyways. I didn't want a remake of the sugar detox  I had weeks before. The shower was wonderful!!! I had tons of friends and family there.. It was so refreshing and what got me through the last few weeks till I hit 36 weeks. The day I hit 36 weeks I thought for sure that we where going into labor.. I was having timeable contractions, was very sick at my stomach and felt a lot of pressure on my cervix. My husband begged me to go to bed and rest, he needed more time to finish a project at work and wanted the baby to wait a few more days. The next morning I was surprised to find that not only had the labor stalled off , but my spotting had stopped as well.. We are going to make it !! At 35 weeks we started the weekly visits to the OB and Primatologist began. I was nervously awaiting the measurements for her weight since I had started the Gestational diabetes thing later in the game. While It was hoping for a bigger baby , I was also hoping she would not come out the size of a small toddler!! At 36 weeks we where given the size of 5lbs 5oz.... I was a little worried when they said she was that small. However her fluid, cord and placenta where all working the way they where supposed to.
Ti Weeks 37- 39: We made it I thought that Saturday morning.. I worried about having another early baby again since this pregnancy we decided against the P-17 shots. The amount of relief I had once midnight passed was enough to make me cry.. I know if she was born in the next few days, she would make it!! Of course I also became a little impatient at the same time.. My whole body aches and I was ready to get this over with. As selfish as that seems I was ready to look upon my little girls face. My next visit with the perinatologist was short and easy and he asked about my plans for induction. I hadn't thought about it honestly since all of my babies have came early. I talked to the OB at my next visit and we decided August 15th it was. I was already dilated to a 1 and my cervix was showing signs of getting ready for baby. I joked with her during my 37 week visit that I wanted a 39 week baby! Sure enough I made it to 38 weeks.. I went in for my last visit with both of my doctors as a pregnant mom. I sat down in the hospital cafeteria for lunch and thought about all the changes about to happen in the next few days. I was only 4 days away from meeting my little girl. Secretly I had hoped I would go into labor. Saturday came and I hit 39 weeks. I was seriously upset with my body at this point. Why wasn't I going into labor by myself!! The whole day I was secretly hoping I would do enough cleaning to jump start the whole process..

I guess you all will have to wait till the next blog right?! Stay tuned for the next blog for her birth story!!!

West Texas Natural Baby: Code Name Second Trimester Down

Its over! Second trimester actually was booted at Midnight! While I would love to say that it was dreamy and easy, I would have been lying! I wanted to have a memorable pregnancy and by golly I got one!!

13-16 weeks: I would not be lying when I said I loved the new medicine that they gave me for nausea! Yes my goal this pregnancy was to stay off all the unnecessary medicines and go natural. After three visits to the ER for fluids and treatment for two pretty severe UTI's , I decided that if this would allow me to keep fluids down it was worth it. I would however follow it up with oils to help support my digestive tract behave. My husband and I where a lot more at ease and exited about the baby being happy and growing. At some point around 15 weeks I swore up and down I felt the baby move.. Of course it felt like tickles and bubbles!! We also found out that we where adding a baby girl to our bunch!! The excitement that we felt was amazing!! All the pain and struggle of the last few years had been changed with the news that she was also very healthy and that she was not suffering from any ill effects of both my husbands and my health issues!!

17-20 weeks: I was hit again with a nasty UTI and was tired of the constant burn. We again went in to get fluids and then see how baby was doing since I had not felt her move!! Of course once we where told that she was moving and happy in her little home. I did have an anterior placenta and that was making it harder for me to feel her. I also know during this time I was going through the waves of a family issue that was not helped by the pregnancy hormones by any means. My biggest concern at this time was trying to stay pregnant and not allow stress to start the mad cycle it did before.

21-24 weeks: Finally it seemed I was getting a break from the needing to pee constantly and was able to rest longer in between bathroom breaks at night. I still was battling some of the others that had ailed me at the beginning . I started to feel her move more often and took solace in it. I know many mothers expecting a rainbow baby feel the same way. We fear that we will again be left with an empty womb and empty arms. Of course when she would shift to a position I couldn't feel her in the anxiety started to creep in more and more. I was expecting in the next few weeks I would be having to do the dreaded glucose screening and be left feeling sick even worse after that.

25-27 weeks: Sooooo. This didn't go exactly as planned since I was told I had Gestational diabetes.. I was pretty bummed seeing as last time I was pregnant I had more options as far as foods. Being a Celiac and having gestational diabetes is almost the worst form of torture one can go through. The first week was absolutely the most depressing as foods and I quickly became tired of the same three options I had exhausted before in my previous pregnancy. I also found quick that sugar detox is the devil!!! It causes you to become the hulk in a very moody sort of way. At about 28 weeks which ill highlight in my next post, I was ready to quit!! I was ready to have this baby and be done with it all together.


So what did I do naturally this Trimester:

1. Started to use oils more often than I was using them before. I was super wary the first trimester since I was at a high risk of loosing the pregnancy

2. I started to buy more organic foods at the end of this trimester seeing as the diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes was enough to scare me into more natural foods

3. Started really watching how much I was walking and my Carb/calorie intake


What could I have done better?:

1. Not had as many sugar loaded snow cones as I did!! I must have gained at least 10 lbs just from that!!

2. During my sugar starving , I went back to soda.... Yes shame on me!!!


Well thats all for now!!! I will check back in with you next trimester and of course what comes after the 3rd trimester is BABY!!! I hope once I finish this blog that some of you find humor in my suffering!! I sure as heck may look back with a laugh after all this is done!!

West Texas Natural Baby: I survived the First Trimester!!

Yes its true, I am pregnant!! While this little one was a surprise, I figured that I would wait till the last week of my first trimester to sit and write out everything that has been on my mind! From the hardest hitting morning sickness I have ever had to the neat tips and tricks I have learned along the way to make the worst trimester the best! I will also be attending a class here in the next few weeks to get a in depth look on how you can naturally help your body through pregnancy. From food, to essential oils and a few real life savers!! I am glad to go through this journey with you! I cannot promise you however that the humor or some of the nitty gritty details wont make you laugh or even  maybe you will relate!

Weeks 1-4:  Ok we all know the magic happens about this time. Yea you know the sperm meets egg, egg travels down and implants, then the miracle of life continues until your holding a cute squishy newborn in your arms. I was blissfully unaware of any of this, I even missed my period without a worry. Why would you ask, I was having issues with the lady down stairs, she was not keeping my periods on time! I would skip from 32 day cycles to 36 day cycles. I was actually due for my period on Christmas eve.. When she didn't come I didn't bat an eye!  However I was rather annoyed due to my taking Vitex (Chasteberry) for over a month! I noticed Soon after that I was feeling rather tired easily which I blamed on my autoimmune and my other condition. I was soooo wrong!!

Weeks 5-8: New years eve went by and I noticed about then I was having breast soreness. Again in perfect denial, I shrugged it off hoping that maybe that my lady times was upon me. The next week I started to bleed a little and was like " yes!!! I can finally get off this emotional roller coaster and dumb the hormonal crap!" Oh I was wrong!! I was blessed with Overwhelming nausea and that was  when I knew something was up! Tada this girl was pregnant!! After one at home test,  a hospital visit for something for the nausea, fluids, and a UTI I was able to survive the day and eat a little.What I didn't know was I was 7 weeks along!!  After three days of finding myself endlessly dozing off with my 4 year old in bed, I knew it was time to change up my routine. I started to diffuse grapefruit to hide unpleasant odor throughout my house and I also noticed at night if I diffused peppermint it would help allow me to relax and drift off to sleep ( yes I know it says peppermint is supposed to wake you up a little, it makes me go to sleep). I continued however to take the nausea meds so that I could swallow down the nasty horse pill prenatal. I was awaiting however a special delivery from my LRP that would take away the nasty horse pill and add some more natural sources of nutrients for me.



Weeks 9-12: I wont lie the morning sickness came back with a bite after running out of the medicine . I was left curled in a ball searching every natural remedy I could find on Pinterest. I came across a post about eating what you crave, not what your supposed to. I found very fast that meats where not in my book of yummy foods. Cheese and crackers however settled very well and so did veggies. I made my way up to even eating a grilled cheese sandwich. I soon found that I could snack lightly throughout the day  However some times even when craving certain things I would not be able to eat. My husband finally caved and bought me every flavor of power- aid he could find to just keep my fluid intake up and give me the minerals I needed. My appointment came and I was able to after 3 weeks finally relax. I was given a safe medication to ease the morning sickness. I was also given the best news, baby was alive and well!

I look like an alien !!

After about three days on the meds and a few nights of good rest I was finally able to eat normally!! After the all clear I finally started to use oils and a few other things to help get me back on track. I watched my body change and my once flubby tummy become more round and full. I had received my monthly LRP order and was able to start taking my LLV ( Life Long Vitality ) vitamins and the pro-biotic. I noticed within three days of taking those that my body started to feel less sluggish and I was able to get through most of the day without having the overwhelming need to nap! By week 12 I felt like I did pre pregnancy!! While still a little tired off and on, I managed to make the best of the new found relief I had been given and then took life back by the horns and Continued on being super mama!!

My takes out of the First Trimester:

Ok so what about this post was all natural? I mean what advice out of this can I give you that helps you through the first trimester without pushing the not so healthy button. I cant say I did everything right in my journey, but lets get real here, no one is perfect. I have learned however that even if you did things all natural, you can still have a few road blocks. Yea I could have cut out the crappy Power-aid and made my own electrolyte solution, cut out the starches and ate veggies and fruit instead, and maybe had been a little more pushy about how I used my oils. I also could have made myself miserable and possibly caused myself a lot more harm. After doing the natural thing for years I have learned that each of us dance to our own drum. 

So what did I do Naturally? 

• I ate organic veggies and fruits! Hey one can never underestimate the power of not having to worry if your food is slightly radioactive! 

• Quit conventional prenatal vitamins and went for the food based!! 

• Slept when I needed it!! I mean if your a mom of a small child  I can understand the struggle. I was a mom of 3 kids under 5 at one time! However my 4 year old was very happy to go with his grandma ( aka Emma) so I could rest

• Oils!!! Ok I wont lie I am short of nuts about these wonderful gifts to man!! I use them everyday in our house to support our kids and my health!!

• I quit sodas!! I really have a new found love for herbal teas and juicing!! 

• I started walking more and also making sure that I keep active! Nothing stalls a labor faster than sitting!!

• I put healthy fats into my diet! I have been someone who has always loved fish and chicken ( however it takes an arm twist to get my hubby to eat it)  

What I didn't do so naturally:

• I ate a lot of carbs. Bread and crackers where my staple for the times eating anything else was not in the books

• Instead of not taking medicine ( which I hate taking with a passion) I took anti nausea pills.

• I still used a few conventional items that otherwise maybe could have been replaced with more natural products. I am however switching to a new shampoo soon!!

• I could have been more prepared and a little less junked up before getting pregnant! Its true, most of how your pregnancy will go is based on how you treated your body before baby! I was slacking a little in that department!!

My goals going into the Second trimester are:

• Listening more to what my body says VS listening to the advice from others

• Eating healthier!! Eating more foods that will support a growing baby and a working mama!!

• Make sure I exercise more! I dont want to be caught off gaurd while delivering the baby!

• RELAX!!! Learn to stress less and enjoy more of this pregnancy since this WILL be my last baby! 

Until next trimester!!!

Our path to wellness: Autoimmune, allergies and more.

This article is in no way medical advice. If you have life threatening food allergies, Type 1 diabetes, asthma , or any other condition that requires medicine or medical attention please consult with your primary doctor or holistic doctor before quitting or making any changes to your treatment.

"I am sick and tired, but mostly just tired. I was put back onto steroids again after the 3rd reaction I have had this year.  I am so tired of being stuck at my house doped up on so many medications that I cant function. I just wish I felt better so I can go out with the kids."

This status was written 2 years ago on my Facebook! We were sick and tired, My household was  feeling run down and sickly. Most days the kids would complain of stomach aches and my husband and myself were exhausted. We had went to doctors to get answers, and came out with more problems. The list of conditions in this household is more than the occupants. The doctors just handed us prescriptions and allowed us to go on without even so much as a way to cure ourselves. I was defeated, what was causing us to get sick? Why even with organic foods where we sick? I sat down and started to write out the list of what everyone had and then started to research it.

Kason : Food allergies, Eczema, Asthma, Speech delay, Environmental  Allergies, sulfa allergies, sting allergies
Kaleb : Environmental allergies, suspected food allergies, food sensitivities
Kalli: food sensitivities, Possible celiac disease
Husband: Type 1 diabetes, neuropathy
Myself: Asthma, Eczema, dermatitis herpetiformis, Celiac disease, Mast cell activation disorder, histamine intolerance, food sensitivities , sulfa allergies.

Shocking right?

After MONTHS and I mean months of research I was amazed to find out that it was tied to one thing and one thing only! It is really quite simple and actually kind of shocking to me why doctors and medical professionals have not caught on soon enough. It was our intestines!! The majority of our immune system is located in in our intestines. After our intestines are damaged several times our bodies start an inflammatory response to everything, even the foods we eat most of our lives. So our intestines get bombarded by medicines, heavy metals, chemicals, poisons and other harmful things.  Imagine how much toxins we put into our bodies and how they get into us? You are actually exposed to 2,100,000 toxins throughout your day and you body can only expel out a couple of thousand at a time! These can enter in through our skin, noses , mouths , ears, by food, by drink , and by touching. It is almost impossible to avoid toxins. However by avoiding the most common sources of these chemicals and by healing our intestines  we may have a chance to stop or even prevent ourselves from developing these conditions. A lot of people are told that these conditions are genetic and it is very true! If your mother, father , and or grandparents where carriers of a disease there is always a high risk of it yourself. A lot of the conditions are passed down because of the inflammation going on in your mothers bodies while pregnant or even the damage to the sperm from your father. I am sure you are asking yourself is there any hope for healing what has been hurt? Yes!

Ok a lot of you are asking where do you start healing the damage?

1) Find your symptoms and treat them, do not mask them. That means if you have pain, find the root of the pain and find a way to treat it. If it is by essential oils then use them, if it is a deficiency then find foods that are high in the mineral or vitamin , then eat it. I know a huge cure for a lot of things is getting enough sun . Good ole vitamin D helps everything and every process in your body.

2) Detox!! That means flush your body out. Drink green tea, eat plenty of fiber (including brown rice and organically-grown fresh fruits and vegetables. Beets, radishes, artichokes, cabbage, broccoli, spirulina, chlorella, and seaweed are excellent detoxifying foods), Take vitamin C , take detox baths etc.

3) Eat healthy.. No I don't mean go on a diet, that could be one of the worse pieces of advice a lot of you are given. That means take out all foods that are processed, GMO laden and have gluten. If you want t go farther take out all fake sugars and maybe replace them with more natural or even drop them all together. If you feel froggy ( I love that saying) then even cut out the foods high in histamine and inflammatory properties!

4) SLEEP!!! I cannot stress this enough!! SLEEP people!! the recommended amount of sleep is 9 hours! That means you need 9 Hours of sleep to get your body to tip top shape.

5) Hydrate!! You need water to flush out the toxins or else they are stuck inside your body and they are hard to get rid of. If you are anything like me and hate just drinking water, then add a lemon, or lemon essential oils. Get rid of the plastic cup and get you a good quality glass bottle! I bought mine through lifefactory and have never looked back!. If you are a soda drinker, try teas! I drink green tea and add fruit juice to it to give me a boost of energy when I am tired. Try to not to get to the point you are all of a sudden thirsty, that means you are dehydrated. Drink water through the day, even if it is a 8 ounce glass every hour.

6) Get moving !! If you get up and move, that moves the toxins. If your sedentary it isn't going to help you much. You need to move just as much as you drink water and or eat healthy. A good moving body is a happy body!

These steps are not the only things that my family and I have been doing. We have incorporated essential oils, paleo diet ( modified) and low histamine eating. I stopped using chemicals to clean and went through a company that sells products that use water and enzymes. For our family, switching over came a little late. My husband, my son and myself have conditions which all require medications. My husband is insulin dependent, I have to carry and inhaler and epi pen and so does my son. We all are on base doses of our medication and for us that helps not only us achieve our goals, but our financial health as well. I hope one day to have my autoimmune all under control. Even if I never do, I know that I did the best I could do to keep the damage to a minimal. My hope is that by eating better my husband can control his blood sugar and reduce the damage to his body.

I hope and pray that you can find wellness in your home through simple changes. I know they look very complicated, but in reality they are only a small life change. Please if you need any kind of help and or need someone to talk to , feel free to contact me by email at : mkmommy3344@icloud.com
If you are looking into essential oils or cleaning your house greener feel free also to contact me or go to theses websites to research or even buy products.
http://www.norwex.biz/pws/marymcdowell/tabs/home.aspx
Please contact me about the essential oils due to FDA regulations I cannot list the company name on my site
If you are interested on any of the sources I used or a more holistic lifestyle, please click the links below.

Sources:
http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/health-hazards-to-know-about/daily-toxin-intake
http://life.gaiam.com/article/10-ways-detoxify-your-body
www.joettecalabrese.com  ( holistic resources)
http://thepaleodiet.com/
http://thelowhistaminechef.com/
http://www.glutenfreeliving.com/gluten-free-foods/diet/basic-diet/

New year , New life, New changes....

We left off last August as Kalli started a new year of school. We had a wonderful start and Kalli seemed to blaze along well with her school year. She had several passing grades and was making excellent strides. We started her in Girl Scouts and let her expand her wings a little more by doing so. She loves the ability to hang out with each of her friends and learning so many new things. As the fall progressed so did the amount of stress with homework and paperwork. It is amazing how incredibly busy they keep 1st graders. We had barely gotten done with the first assignment when another harder worksheet would come in. I have my own opinions about common core, but that is for another blog. I feel like we are all going to suffer when our children become these overly stressed and overly worked adults. Kalli however is like her mother in a sense. She can blast through stressful situations without much noise, but when overly tired she becomes very dramatic . How I wish that I could have the coping skills she has when I was in school, maybe I would have continued on.  Kason and Kaleb have been doing well, or as well as they can get. Kason had his skin testing and we found out that he was still very allergic to peanuts and eggs... Tree nuts where negative, but the protective mama will always keep them away since we have had a history.  Kaleb has bloomed into a loud and moody 3 year old. Both of them sharing a room has been the biggest change in our house. Kason normally slept in his room by himself when we first moved in, then we moved Kaleb in early the next year. Most of the times I am climbing over toys and clothes, and scrubbing down walls that Kaleb thinks is fun to color all over.
Fall came and left without any kind of problem, however Christmas break was interesting. We all came down with the flu. It took about a week to move through the house and through each person. God bless one of my friends here in town , she offered to bring over essential oils for us to try. However  I declined ( stupidly) because I was scared that we would pass it on to her family. We however where out of luck for the Tamiflu ( which now that i think of it we are lucky we didn't settle) and so was the rest of town. I managed to look up online some natural treatments and came back with Elderberry.  Two days later we where able to celebrate Christmas without so much as a hiccup. After that I decided that we needed a new change. I made plans to start using essential oils and natural treatments and made plans for a class in February. Kason and I both where tired of being drugged and bogged down with the overdose of  meds that we took on a daily basis. When It was all said and done we where hopeful that this would work. It was an investments, but one of the best we had ever made. Gladly I can report that we are all on base doses of medicine ( with the blessing  of the doctors of course) and are thriving well. I am starting to do classes and will be teaching on how blessed as a family we are since we adopted our new lifestyle. Blessings can come from the more uncomfortable moments in life. Thank you influenza A for putting my faith into Natural medcine.