Lavender Essential Oil Uses

Lavender is such a beautiful plant. I love how the silvery green mounds form a base for the spiky flowers. Those pictures of lavender fields in France are just unbelievable. But the look of this plant is nothing compared to its signature scent. Who can help running the spiky flowers through their hands to release the potent scent into the air? I know that I can't.

Lavender was one of the first essential oils that I began to play with when I received my Family Physicians Kit from doTERRA. The very first night, I opened the little vial and dropped a single drop of essential oil onto my pillow. What a delightful treat! Honestly, I use my essential oils mainly for my own luxurious indulgences, and the other benefits they provide are kind of secondary.

For many months lavender was my go to for facilitating relaxation, its much easier to relax when a delightful scent to breathe. The list of actual uses for lavender essential oil is crazy long, quite frankly many of the popular essential oils have huge lists of uses and I get lost in those lists. Its not until I have an ailment that I discover some of the great uses for many of these oils.

Most recently I got some gnarly blisters on my heels (I don't know why I keep trying to wear Converse tennis shoes, they just don't seem to work with my anatomy). These were beastly blisters about an inch across! My normal care for such an ailment is usually nothing. Maybe a bandage to reduce further friction or some Tiger Balm depending on where the blister is. So I decided to look up what essential oils could combat a blister. Believe it or not, lavender was one of the recommended oils! These big blusters were gone within a couple of days without losing the top layer and exposing the fresh skin.

Plus, lavender is gentle enough for me to use with Evelyn. Not that she's getting blusters or burns, but sometimes she does need a bit more help settling down. Lavender has worked almost instantly to calm this little lady down so that she can focus on eating or going to sleep.

There are well over 80 common primary uses listed in the Modern Essentials Usage Guide that I use as my primary reference. That is so many that looking at the list really doesn't give me any real guidance as to when I would use it. Plus there are so many little household uses that keep popping up in my Pinterest feed (using it with baking soda to freshen a mattress, putting a drop in the cardboard roll of the toilet paper, simply misting a room with a diluted solution). I can tell you it was the first oil that I ran out of, and there was no doubt in my mind that I needed to buy more.

My Journey to Essential Oils

When I think back to why I wasn't hesitant to try essential oils, the origins are surprising. One summer day, I was in the garden section of Fred Meyer and discovered some delightfully scented herbs. I bought a lemon balm and pineapple sage just because they smelled amazing. Once home, I planted them in pots and simply enjoyed their fragrance.

As these herbs grew, I decided I should find out if I could use them for tea. It turns out that not only can they be dried and used for tea, but lemon balm has proven anti-viral properties. So the next time I started to feel a cold sore coming on, I drank lemon balm tea by the gallon. Whether that particular cold sore was just a small one, or the tea worked, I was happy.

Lemon balm blossom; Image credit, Jess Beemouse.

Fast forward quite a while to the autumn of 2013, I was pregnant and working in a public school. This resulted in cold after cold, I was miserable. Mostly because I couldn't just take nyquill and get a good night's sleep, so the colds seemed to linger. A friend of mine had just started using essential oils and had some recommendations for me. I decided to dive in since there are many more essential oils that are safe for pregnant women to use than common pharmaceuticals. Plus, I figured in the worst case scenario, I would end up with some lovely scented options for lotions, lip balms, etc.

I started using lavender essential oil in the bedroom at bedtime, peppermint essential oil to knock out headaches, lemon essential oils as a refreshing addition to my water (and as cuticle oil since it was winter), and melaleuca essential oils if I got a scratch from the kitty. All of these were wonderful additions to my day to day activities, so I decided to order more to see what other joyful concoctions I could come up with.

Stay tuned for more of my personal favorites, and if you would like to learn more please check out the Intro to Essential Oils section of my essential wellness store!

Gratuitous Post of Baby Pictures

The Challenging Dairy Days

I do not think any breastfeeding couple starts out without a single challenge. Sure their challenge may be more about elimination challenges, but those are still challenges (just look up the elimination diets to figure out food sensitivities). So here is the nitty gritty of our first week breastfeeding.

Right when Evelyn was born, we were just so ecstatic. I vaguely remember offering her the breast, but she wasn't interested right away. So we went back to doting on her. I honestly cannot remember when we first tried to feed her. I just remember the nurse helping with position and latch, then saying that she was going to refer us to the lactation consultant. She was really hopeful that the lactation consultant would be able to work us in (because we wanted to leave "early" seriously, if we had stayed 48 hours, we would have been released at 5 am on Monday morning. So that was BS). 

I remember the lactation consultant showing me how to express the colostrum into a cup. She showed us other ways to feed our precious tiny girl, and encouraged us to keep trying her on the breast. Not terrible, and honestly with the relatively tiny amount of colostrum it was manageable. I thought it was odd, because all the nurses kept having her suck their fingers and commented on her strong suck (gosh, the things we do to kids!). Even then it seemed a little odd that she had a great suck, but wasn't seeming to get much to eat. 

We went for a weight check with our doctor early in the week, so I believe mentioned something about tongue tie. But I couldn't quite recall. So we did what we could until our appointment at the lactation clinic on Thursday. When I described what I thought was going on (it seemed like Evelyn was just slipping off of the breast without getting much to eat) I could sweat the woman had a spark of recognition in her eyes. We got started with weighing our tiny baby to get a baseline, then I tried to feed her for a while. Trying different positions, compressing the breast, trying to soothe and calm Evelyn so she could eat more effectively before weighing her again to calculate how much food was being transferred from me to her. 

After a while, the lactation consultant went into pure assessment mode. She had evaluation tools that she used to determine that our baby girl had a tongue tie. Finally, someone was telling us the whole story (I'm sure those nurses and lactation consultant in the hospital had an idea that something was going on). Not only was she telling us the whole story, but she had a solution for us (the only thing she could have done differently was tell us that tongue and lip ties are congenital, because I immediately had the irrational worry that I had done something wrong, not enough, or who knows).

During this visit, I also received a breast pump. This was amazing, because I was finally able to reduce the pressure. It also gave us an easy way for Paul to feed our daughter for a while. The best description of how I felt was "gun shy." I just needed a little bit of distance from our poor breastfeeding relationship. I was able to take a little space, know that she was being fed, and process my feelings (any woman who has breastfed with any emotions other than love for your baby knows that it is just plain weird). 

In those first weeks, Paul was calling to make all our appointments. He called the ENT who specialized in tongue tie in the Portland area, only to find out that the next appointment was weeks away. I don't remember what I was feeling, but I logically was thinking "better late than never." I remember him on the phone expressing how much we need to be able to feed our daughter (and obviously getting told that there wasn't anything yet, but they would do their best). That afternoon I took a nap, when I woke up Paul gave me the best news. We had an appointment the next afternoon!

I have to say that was one of the strangest appointments. Dr. Ghaheri was so knowledgeable that he looked at Paul and I, announced that Paul's genetic code was the culprit, then had us each lift our tongues to confirm his hypothesis. It still strikes me as odd that in a fifteen minute appointment, he evaluated our daughter, confirmed the diagnosis, taught us the aftercare, joked with us, encouraged us by his family's story, and preformed the actual procedure. The procedure only took about 2 minutes (including their walk to the procedure room), but that was the longest few minutes of our lives as parents (still is for me). When she came back to us, we first tried nursing her, but she was so upset that it didn't work. So Paul gave her a bottle. 

We continued bottle-feeding her throughout Friday and Saturday. I can remember feeding her a bottle in the middle of the night, while pumping at the same time. Now I know I was feeding her all wrong, but whatever, she was eating. I honestly don't know how often I offered her the breast in those two days. I was still feeling a little raw from the experiences; I can remember telling Paul that I thought I saw her looking at the bottle longingly (totally projecting) and feeling terrible about it. Through all of this, Paul kept encouraging us to keep trying (yes, he was encouraging Evelyn too, I'm sure of it). 

On Sunday morning, we went to church and brought a bottle with us (a public place really didn't seem like a good first place to try to re-establish our breastfeeding relationship). She fussed a little, and I offered her the bottle, she took a little bit. When we got home that day we stopped the bottle. I wish I could remember that first feeding where she latched on and effectively ate. I cannot. I just know that since that day she has not taken a bottle. 

The next week, we went to the lactation consultant. We still weren't getting as much milk transferred as she hoped to see, and she suggested that Evelyn and I "bed-in" for a day or so to see if she would eat more. I tried that for a couple of hours and HATED it. Luckily, my in-laws were with us, and my mother-in-law gave us the advice to ignore advice that didn't work for us (between that piece of advice and all the grandmothers at church telling me all their babies were 5 lbs, I felt totally on top of the motherhood instinct thing). So that Sunday, we went to the mall with her for hours, haha. 

After bucking the advice of the lactation consultant and just figuring out our own flow, I went to the lactation consultant. Since she had been up front with me, I returned the favor. Luckily, that mother gene of mine had really kicked in. Evelyn was finally where she needed to be weight-wise. The funny thing about lactation consultation is that you are supposed to bring your baby hungry; yeah right! On this particular morning, she was hungry so I tried to feed her a little bit. I don't remember the interval I limited her to, but she wasn't very hungry at all once we got to the appointment. 

Regardless, she and I decided that Evelyn and I had finally established our breastfeeding relationship. After the tears, the lasers, the wet shirts, the bottles, and tossing out the extra breast milk in the fridge we had made it. It can still be a bit frustrating; she has a favorite side, my strong let down bums her out, and breastmilk makes excellent baby hair gel. In the end, if Paul hadn't supported our breastfeeding relationship I may have given up on the whole thing (which in hindsight sounds ridiculous because it was only really trouble for 3 days). 

I do my best to breastfeed in public, but that's another story. I think that there are certainly reasons a woman can't breastfeed, and I can completely understand that. In those first few weeks, everything is so special that our experiences tend not to be shared beyond our closest friends. Those first early weeks are also spent at home, where we are most comfortable. I still find that I am the only first time mom with a baby as little as Evelyn in most places. I wonder if more women share about those early days that aren't all adorable smiles and working rhythms, then maybe more new mothers will be encouraged to push through the challenging times. 

Cloth Diapers and Their Far-reaching Impact

I decided while pregnant that we were going to cloth diaper. Not for the environment, not for any reduction in chemicals that may interact with my baby. But simply because running out of something that I have to go out and pay money to buy more of sounds TERRIBLE. We did run out of diapers while out at the mall once, and we were able to buy some basic cheap prefolds (which we have found a million uses for).

So we cloth diaper, in short, because we are cheap and lazy. And I am totally fine with that. Because of cloth diapers, we do laundry regularly. That's fine, we may end up buying more laundry soap this year. But you know what else we are buying less of? Baby clothes that Evelyn is growing out of like a weed. She lasted in the newborn size for about 6 weeks, but the 0-3 month size only lasted 4. Hopefully her 3-6 month clothes last a little longer. Well maybe not hopefully since her only responsibility right now is to grow. Thank goodness I learned early on that with diapers being washed every other day we only need five onsies in each size.

You know what else we are saving, money. I conceptually knew this going in, but it wasn't until we started having professional photographs taken of her that this really sunk in (yes the hospital photographer is just a sales pitch, but they keep you there for so freaking long its nice to have something else to do). Several months later, I am glad that I know we have a bit of theoretical budgeting wiggle room thanks to the savings on diapers and clothes that I can spend on pictures of my beautiful girl.

Plus, they are so flipping cute. I didn't even buy diapers with prints or mink fabric. I bought simple solid colors. One of each color that the company I ordered from carries. Sometimes I have fun matching the diapers to her outfit, sometimes I don't. They just look so cute!

Mostly, I am glad that I get to spend money on pictures of my beautiful little girl with slightly less guilt than if we were going to Target regularly to pick up diapers (note: even if you are doing disposable diapers don't go to Target, we all know you can't just buy one thing there!)

Bedtime Rituals

I have never been a huge routine person, at least not at bedtime. I do like them in the mornings, but that's certainly not happening anytime soon. Well, not in the make coffee, read something I will enjoy, then start my day type of routine. Now it looks more like good morning laughter, change diaper (and clothes and sheets if needed), breastfeed, then I get to take a trip to the bathroom and maybe get some coffee (if my husband was a delight and made me some).

Several weeks ago, we instituted a bedtime routine for Evelyn. It starts with us walking downstairs to the bedroom; if she has been telling us she is ready for bed (meaning: if she is fussy) and we carry her downstairs she will just be delighted with us.

Then we close the curtains together (she also loves this if she isn't too frustrated with our lack of interpretation of her language).

She then gets to spend some time on our bed while I turn on the lights of our essential oil diffuser (again, if she is fussy I may take more time to fill the diffuser and add some oils to it).

Finally, with a nighttime diaper, sleeping outfit, and some baby lotion in my hand I join her on our big bed. This is when we do the majority of our actual bedtime preparation. I take off her daytime clothes, change her into a nighttime diaper, then do a bit of baby massage.

The massage is insanely simple, some gentle hands on her chest to calm her, then basically rubbing lotion down her arms and legs. When the massage is over, she gets her nighttime clothes (we call them ghost costumes, but they are just sleeping gowns).

To end the routine (read: put her to sleep) she gets all the milk she will take, then swaddled and laid into her baby bed.

Now what my bedtime routine looks like is a bit different. I fall into bed as carefully as I can so as not to wake up the baby after adding a cloth diaper to my bra in the dark room. Then if I am tired enough I just knock out. Lately, I have been intentionally heading down a tad early to read.

I have never been one for a nighttime routine. What are your bedtime rituals? Right now I am loving diffusing cedarwood and wild orange essential oils.

The Surprise of Attachment

In my graduate studies, we briefly covered some various parenting styles or theories. I remember thinking that attachment parenting sounded nice, but wondering if anyone actually lived that way.

Fast forward to my pregnancy, where I read books on breastfeeding, elimination communication, and natural childbirth. I bought cloth diapers and set up a crib next to my side of the bed. Logically I knew I liked to curl my blankets up around me, so pure co-sleeping was out.

Then, she arrived. In the hospital, my husband and I couldn't really imagine her sleeping in the hard bassinet that the hospital provided. All alone, elevated up to a comfortable level for the nurses to check the baby, but not designed to sleep next to either of us. So we sort of took shifts sleeping and holding her. It just felt natural. Mind you, I at least was still high on the oxytocin from delivery. I am not sure what my husband's explanation is. 

On the drive home, I sat in the back seat with her. She did not like being unwrapped from her swaddle and buckled into the lightly disguised plastic carseat. So it seemed natural to sit next to her and provide my finger for suckling comfort and my familiar smell.

At bedtime, we initially set her down in her baby bed, and looked over at her. She just seemed to tiny and alone. So we brought her into our bed and she slept between our pillows for the first couple of nights. It just felt like that natural thing for us to do. A few nights of this, and it felt natural to give her a bit more room in her baby bed next to ours.

Evelyn was very small at birth (5 pounds, 8 ounces) and we needed to take her for weight checks and lactation consultations and even to the ENT for a procedure. I remember the first of these appointments was a sunny day, so we just pulled her from the car seat and carried her in. I thought nothing of this until it was drizzly for the next appointment, so we carried her in the car seat into the office. Boy was that weird! Carrying the clunky plastic car seat instead of my soft, cuddly daughter. What was I thinking? Plus, the thing I never noticed before was that no exam rooms at doctor's offices are that large. So there is not really anywhere for the car seat to go once you are there. Since then, the only times I have carried the car seat in are if I am the one with the appointment and the first time I did Costco by myself (since the first time I have put her in some sort of wrap or carrier). Even for most walks, we choose to wear (me) or carry (her dad) our little girl with us. For longer walks or walks that may include jogging, we do take a stroller, but its not terribly often.

Now for the real surprise to most folks. Our daughter lets us know when she needs to go potty. Mind you she is currently 10 weeks old, so she's not using words or texting us. But when we are listening to her fussing and paying full attention to her, we end up opening a dry diaper. Elimination communication was probably the only part of attachment parenting that I knew I wanted to try solely because I taught baby swimming and if those babies can figure out that when I tell them they're going underwater they need to get ready to hold their breath, then I'm sure a baby can figure out how to handle a natural bodily function. The real surprise was how much my husband enjoys communicating with her about her potties when he catches them.

Needless to say, we started this journey with some ideas of how we would parent, and none of them were quite as inline with attachment parenting as we have turned out to be practicing. Its such an interesting journey, but as so many advice-givers say you have to just trust your instincts and this is where our instincts have led us.

Adventures of a Milk Maiden

With the arrival of my daughter, many things in our household have changed. The cat has to sleep on his own. We have much more laundry than before. The two of us parents are excellent at forgetting to eat and sleep because she is just so adorable to look at. And I have a new job as a full time exclusive dairy. Here are some of my observations from the first month of motherhood.

Essential Solutions, Surprise Attachements and Kitchen Adventures

At the end of last year I was feeling a bit like I had lost some parts of myself. I was ending a job I thought was a great opportunity that turned into a huge pain. I was pregnant with my first child. I had lost that spark of creativity in the kitchen and with my knitting needles, and beyond those areas I wasn't even sure where I could be creative. I wrote the following excerpt to re-kick-start my blog and hopefully a bit more than just that.

Do you remember being a kid and thinking that every day, week, month, year seemed to take forever? I remember thinking summer vacation was almost un-ending. Oh what I would give to get that feeling back. Over the last year of working full time, I have noticed getting lost in work and forgetting to enjoy the good times.
Weekends
Cooking Delicious Dinner
Creating Original Knitting Projects
Hiking In and Around the Beautiful Portland Area
October was a month full of weddings for my husband and I. You know what we realized attending all of these events filled with friends? That we have not been taking full advantage of our lives. In fact, we found ourselves attempting to fill every minute we had with them with excitement. Consequently, we both came home and promptly caught colds.
Its time for a change, and what better way to help remember how to track the beautiful moments of life than with the whole world on the internet? Please join me in this adventure!

Now, several months later, that blog has become dedicated to knitwear design. But there are so many more thoughts and projects and ideas that I want to document. Not the least of which is the adventure of becoming a parent and watching my little girl grow and learn and discover the world around her. It seemed as if a new blog dedicated to my adventures mothering, housekeeping, and wellbeing was in order. And with that I begin this new blogging adventure.

enjoying our morning coffee