Then we go through labor, and that was rough and a whole different story. Now we are ready to enjoy bonding by breastfeeding are newborn! But its not a walk in the park like we’ve been told. Now, even in the early days of breastfeeding the nurses, friends, and even husbands are seeing you struggle and saying “Lets try a bottle”, “maybe try the breast pump?”, “formula is not that bad”, “Maybe its not enough milk?”. 

Let me encourage you through the pain and confusion. I want to come along side you and help you through the first days and weeks to establish a healthy breastfeeding journey and rhythm by correcting a few misconceptions, and helping you with common breastfeeding issues.  

• Breastfeeding Timeline ~ A Year of Breastfeeding
• “Breastfeeding is Easy” ~ Breastfeeding Gets Easier
• “Breastfeeding Happens Naturally” ~ What ever you do will become natural to you.
• “I Have Low Milk Supply” ~ Your milk supply is regulating
• “My Baby has a bad latch” ~ How to help your baby with a good latch
• Mastitis and Pain Relief

Breastfeeding Timeline ~ A Year of Breastfeeding

This is not at all a perfect schedule or exactly what the first year of breastfeeding will look like. This timeline is just an example of how things can change over time. 

Day 1-3

In the first days of breastfeeding your milk is called colostrum. It is high in protein and antibodies to build up your new baby’s immune system. Your breast will seem a little bigger as you start to nurse and latching can be difficult during this time. It is normal for your baby to loose weight. Stay strong, I’ll cover more of the difficulties and how to get though them later on, so keep reading. 

Days 2-6 

Somewhere between 2-6 days Your ‘milk’ will ‘come in’. Oh My Goodness. This is so strange! Your breast, literally over night have tripled in size. Breast engorgement is when your are so full of milk your breasts are hard and are continually leaking out milk. You feel a since of urgency to get your baby to get a good latch and eat up! If you have had trouble latching, that issue may (may not) at this time get resolved. This time nipple pain is common, even with a good latch. Don’t loose heart! Your milk supply will regulate soon and the pain will go away. 

Days 6–14

Your milk will start regulate and will change to a Transitional Milk. The milks protein levels drop while fat, lactose, and calories rise to fuel growth. If you keep a schedule during the day and nurse on demand at night your milk supply will regulate faster. 

1–3 months 

You milk will produce more lactose for rapid brain growth. Your body will start to regulate your milk production and you will leak less often and feel less full. This is normal, it does not mean you have low milk supply. 

3–6 months 

Your milk will increased in fat for a more active baby. You baby will be awake for longer and also sleep longer, making nursing ever 3-4 hours more doable. The fat will also make them more full for longer. This does not meal you have low milk supply, its regulating. 

6–12 months 

You milk will rise again with more immunity factors as your baby is introduced to new solid foods as well as everything else they put in their mouths. Along with the introduction of solid foods your milk production will continue to regulate as you may be skipping a breastfeeding session here and there because of new eating routines. 

12+ months 

Your milk becomes even richer in antibodies for continued protection as they get older and experience many new things. At this point you might only be nursing once or twice a day (me), where as others (my sister) my still be nursing 4-6 times a day. There’s no right or wrong. 

“Breastfeeding is Easy” ~ Breastfeeding gets Easier. 

At first breastfeeding can be a challenge. The first days and weeks of breastfeeding is full of discomforts, changes and challenges and for new mothers this can be discouraging and a toll on your mental health. You’ve probably been told breastfeeding is easy and then when you have a hard time your are told that is normal. Now, your confused. Will breastfeeding always be hard? 

It is a common misunderstanding to believe that the way you experience breastfeeding in the beginning will be how it always is. This is good news. Instead of worrying the first week of how you are going to be able to do this for a whole year take one day at a time. Each day you will learning different things, gain confidence and see results soon enough. 

“Breastfeeding Happens Naturally” ~ What ever you do will become natural to you.

Breastfeeding is the most natural way to feed your new baby but that doesn’t mean it comes naturally for everyone. Educating yourself, preparing yourself mentally, getting guidance from support groups and lactation experts are all ways you can prepare so that breastfeeding feels more natural. If you expect to just be able to nurse because its natural you may be surprised. Difficulties do arise and when they do you don’t want to feel like a bad mother because you are having trouble but that’s often what happens. We have the sense of loss when things don’t go the way we assumed they would. Don’t assume you will just figure it out. Gain the help you need and strive to figure it out. 

As you learn to breastfeed you will create and adapt to your own rhythm. Your baby will also adapt to whatever you do while you learn how to help your new baby breastfeed. For example, if in the first few weeks you start pumping and feed with a bottle at night and nursing during the day, by week 3 that will feel natural to you. By 3 month you wont be able to think of another way to do things. If you hold your baby in a certain position that is what you will both get used to that position. If you co-sleep and nurse at night, that is what you will both get used to. It doesn’t matter how you do it, find what works for you and make that your natural way of breastfeeding. 

“I Have Low Milk Supply” ~ Your milk supply is regulating

When you milk first comes often we often have a high volume of milk and suffer from engorgement. We wake up in the middle of the night feeling the sensation of milk filling up breast and the baby is of course sleeping. You may be soaking through nursing pads every couple hours due to leaking and your thinking this is how it should be and will be for the next year of breastfeeding. 

Your milk will soon regulate. Your body produces milk based off of demand. If you nurse you baby on a schedule your body will regulate a lot faster. You will feel full and ready at the same times everyday. Whether or not your baby is crying, hungry or even sleeping you nurse them at those sometimes. Often baby’s on a schedule during the day will sleep longer at night. Especially if you schedule the day and nurse on demand at night, you will find they can sleep 8 hours by 8 weeks old. 

If you breastfeed on demand you will notice times when you are full and baby is not hungry and you will notice times when your baby is hungry but you aren’t feeling a full sensation. Even if you don’t feel a full sensation you can still nurse them. You still have milk. Once they start sucking your body get the hint and will start to produce enough breast milk.

As time goes on you will stop feeling ‘full’ of milk. Often when this happens people assume they have low milk supply. This is not low milk supply it is an appropriate milk supply. 

You may also stop experiencing let down, you may stop leaking, your baby may even nurse less frequently or more frequently. Non of these are true signs of low milk supply issues.

If you think you have low milk supply but are not sure read Milkology’s article on “Sign of low milk supply (and 12 fakeouts)” Shes does a great job of helping you understand this common misunderstanding. 

Here are 3 ways you can tell if you truly have a milk supply issue. 

Weight Lose

If your baby is loosing weight. In the beginning it is normal for your baby to loose some weight and gain it back again. After those first 2-3 weeks they should be back to their birth weight and only be gaining weight from here on out. There may be times when they stay the same weight but aren’t actually loosing weight.

My son at 5 month old suddenly lost 5 lbs, from 16lbs to 11lbs! (He was 9 lbs when he was born). This was extremely concerning at that time I found out I was also pregnant with our second! Surprise! I still had plenty of milk and from let down alone I still getting 4 oz in the mornings. The problem for me was the richness of fats in my milk. I still breastfed my oldest till the day my second baby was born but had to supplement with formula and solid foods earlier then I expected to. It took him a while but he gained back his weight and is now a very healthy, smart, active 7 year old. 

Dry Diapers

If you baby is not peeing or pooping regularly. Especially in the early days you may be told to track your baby’s wet and messy diapers. 

Dehydration

If you baby shows signs of dehydration. Those signs include, dry mouth, tear-less crying, dark sunken eyes and/or dark urine. 

“My Baby has a bad latch” ~ How to help your baby with a good latch

In the first days of breastfeeding getting a good latch is important. Some of the first advice I got while breastfeeding was “Never let them nurse on a bad latch”. Letting your new baby breastfeed on a bad latch will train them to latch incorrectly. When your baby has a bad latch it can cause sore nipples, cracked nipples, low milk supply and plugged milk ducts. With a poor latch you baby will not be getting a good milk flow. To insure you new baby is getting plenty of milk you will need a good latch. 

What does a good deep latch vs a bad shallow latch look like?

A shallow latch is when your baby is latched on the nipple with little to no breast tissue in the baby’s mouth. With a deep latch the whole nipple and part or all of the areola will be in the baby’s mouth. Your baby’s chin should be pressed up against you breast. Don’t be afraid if the nose is also pressed up a little, they can still breath. 

A deep latch should be comfortable and painless. Although even with a good latch there may be some other discomforts due to engorgement, soreness, inflammation of the breast or another underlying problem. If you are experiencing pain check to make sure your latch is deep before assuming its a bigger problem. 

Here are a tips and tricks to getting a good latch

• Feeding Position. When breastfeeding, the position you hold your baby matters. The are many different feeding positions but no matter if you are sitting up or in a side-lying position you want to hold you baby’s belly/chest against your belly/chest so that the baby’s head is straight when latched. If the baby’s head has to turn to latch they will be uncomfortable a pull.
• A deep latch. If your baby has a shallow latch it will cause sore nipple pain, bad milk flow and you could get a plugged milk duct. To get a deep latch bring you baby to your breast. Guide their chin/bottom lip to your breast first. To open the baby’s mouth you can place your finger on the baby’s chin and bring it down. Bring you nipple to their upper lip/nose. Have your baby open and reach upwards to latch. This will insure a wide mouth for a deep latch. 

Mastitis and Pain Relief

In the early weeks of breastfeeding there can be many factors to why breastfeeding is painful. Mastitis is by far the worst breastfeeding experience I have ever had. And I had if twice with my fifth baby. Thankfully it never led to an fever and infection and I never had to take antibiotics for it. If you know the sign you can catch mastitis before it turns into something really bad. Here I will help you understand engorgement and mastitis so you can avoid a breast infection. 

Engorgement

This, I would say is the most common reason for pain in the early weeks of breastfeeding. The best way to relieve engorgement is to nurse. As painful as it is, it is the best way. Use a warm compress and hand express a little before you nurse, this can make a big difference. If its too painful to nurse you can use an electric breast pump but I do not recommend pumping for engorgement. Pumping will relieve the pain but it will also encourage more milk production but the problem with engorgement is too much milk. Instead of pumping, hand express just enough milk to relieve the pain. The best way I have found is to take a shower and massage the breast with olive/coconut oil. Gently massaging from the armpit to the nipple with your hand in a C shape. A few centimeters always from the nipple gently squeeze to express milk. By hand expressing you will release pressure without cueing for more milk production. 

Mastitis

Mastitis is an inflammation of the breast. This can often be caused by plugged milk duct after being engorged for too with no relief. Mastitis can also be caused by poor blood and lymphatic circulation. To avoid mastitis be sure to avoid engorgement for long periods of time such as overnight. Ware loose clothing, no tight bras. To keep your blood and lymphatic circulation do arm circles and arm stretches everyday. Mastitis, along with breast pain, can cause flu-like symptoms like aches all throughout your body, chills, hot flashes, sore lymph nodes in arm pit and neck, I personally also expired a lot of pain in my feet.

To relieve pain due to mastitis you want to bring inflammation down. Use a warm compress before you nurse and cold compress after you nurse. The warm will help milk flow and the cold will bring down inflammation and slow down milk production. Use a cold compress on your breast and arm pits and anywhere else that aches. You can switch back and forth with heat and ice if that feels good but always end with ice to bring down the inflammation of the breast. Continue to nurse. Don’t stop breastfeeding if you thing you are sick. Often breastfeeding will make things better and to stop might make things worse. 

Breast infection

Mastitis and a breast infection often go hand in hand. If you have a breast infection you have mastitis but not always do you have an breast infection when you have mastitis. If you have mastitis symptoms check your temperature every couple of hours. A fever is a sign of infection. If you have flu-like symptoms with no fever then its more likely to be swollen lymph nodes or a plugged milk duct then an infection. Yet both of these can lead to infection. Either way its best to contact or Doctor, OBGYN or midwife as antibiotics may be need. For pain relief, you can start with the cold and warm compresses but for more idea and help read “24 all natural remedies to cure Mastitis” by Motherhood Sprouting.

Breastfeeding Encouragement from others

Encouraging others to embracing their breastfeeding journey no matter what hardships come along with it is community is all about. We are so blessed to have online communities this days and I encourage you to ask questions or share your most helpful breastfeeding tip in the comments for others to read. I can’t tell you home many times the comments to a post or video has answered my questions better then the actual post or video.

The post Why is breastfeeding so hard? Common Challenges Made Easy appeared first on Embracing The Home.

A Little About Azure

Azure Standard runs like a co-op. They deliver their goods once a month to many delivery drop locations, or drop site, throughout the United States. When you make an order you are committing to meet the semi truck at the delivery drop location and pick up your order straight off the delivery truck at a specified time on the designated date. 

Azure Standard is known for and believes in the benefit of organic foods. Although they do have some non organic products they are very diligent to source good quality foods. They are also known for the ability to order bulk quantities, they do also offer smaller or smaller quantities for their products. Flour for example, their organic all purpose flour has size options of 30oz, 5lbs, 10lbs and 25lbs. I buy 25 lbs at a time.

Azure Standard is a family and community motivated company. They strive to provide affordable and healthy food to their customers. From the way they grow their organic foods to the way the deliver, their motivation is for the benefit of the family and community.

A Little About Costco

Costco is a popular store that is known to have everything you will need. From organic groceries to swimming pools and insurance. They carry clothing and dog food, household appliances, pharmacy… Its designed to be a one stop shop. This is great! Some of their items are even in ‘bulk’ form, meaning you are getting more for your money. The prices at Costco are in someways are simply unbeatable. Especially for organic foods.

They have high quality prepared foods available such as their rotisserie chicken, big bags of chips, Sanders dark chocolate sea salt caramels, granola bars, the whole bakery section! They have a ton of organic or high quality snack foods. Good meats, bulk toiletries, and other household supplies.  

The Main Differences Between Costco and Azure Standard

Ingredients or Prepared Foods

Costco and Azure both have a great selection of healthy options but have one big difference in the items they carry. Costco leans towards more prepared food items while still having a good base for ingredients while Azure leans towards ingredients at its simplistic form before prepared foods. 

For example, Azure and Costco both sell organic flour. But Azure also sell wheat berries so you can make your own flour and Costco has a whole bakery where you can buy prepared breads, bagels, cakes, cookies, pies, muffins and more. Costco does not sell wheat berries, Azure has no bakery. (They do sell breads, bagels and cookies but nothing like Costco’s awesome bakery.)

Here is a list of a few things Azure sell that Costco does not and some items that Costco sells and Azure wont have.

Azure Standard has, but Costco does not.

• Dry Beans (even canned beans are hard to find at Costco)
• Organic Wheat Berries
• Raw Honey
• More Spices and Herb Options
• Raw Cheese
• Essential Oils
• Apple Cider Vinegar (Costco has some online only)
• Elderberry Syrup/juice/whole
• Organic Chocolate Chips
• Tallow
• Tons of delicious snacks without artificial flavoring and colors or chemical preservatives.

Costco has, but Azure does not.

• Muffins, Cakes, Pies other Bakery Items
• Pork
• Alcohol
• Shell fish
• Flowers
• Rotisserie Chicken
• More meat option in general
• Appliances and Electronics
• Tons of delicious snacks with artificial flavoring and colors or chemical preservatives.

There is so much more to both Costco and Azure than this simple list. But what I desire you to see is the different direction both of these store take in what they sell.

The quality and standard

Both Costco and Azure have great quality standards but… Azure Standards product standards are like not one else’s. Costco does a great job and with quality products but Azure goes above and beyond. Azure products, including all products they sell have to meet the very high standards of Azure.

To Learn more about the 50+ ingredients Azure Standard will not sell you that is often found in our local grocery stores, including Costco. “Azure Product Standards”

The standard the Azure Standard holds for the products they produces and sell may not be your own standard. To be honest, my standards are lower then Azures, but my standards are also higher then Costco a lot of the time. Azure’s product quality standards are high and you should never feel ashamed if your personal health convictions are not as the same as someone else’s. But we can still be thankful that someone else cares enough to offer me their very best.

Costco and Azure Standard Price Comparison

Where to buy bulk foods

So now, to determine whether to buy from Costco or Azure Standard we looked at the difference in what they sell, their quality standard, and the price difference. 

If you want already prepared foods and snacks in bulk then shop at Costco. If you like shopping in one spot for all your needs. Shop at Costco.

If you want high quality ingredients in bulk shop at Azure Standard. Also, if you don’t want to check labels and ingredients list, shop Azure Standard.

If you are like me you will probably shop at both! I order from Azure Standard monthly. I get oatmeal, sugar, wheat berries, raisins, beans, rice, spices, fresh/frozen fruit and so much more.
At Costco I shop for meats, dairy, nuts, toiletries, and a few treats here and there. Because I live in the central valley of California I get a lot of our fresh produce from a lady who has a delivery service that sources fresh produce form many local farmers in the area. If I didn’t have her I would shop produce mainly at Costco.

Let me know in the comments where you shop and if there is any other stores you would want me to compare.

The post Costco Or Azure Standard? Where To Buy Bulk Foods appeared first on Embracing The Home.

So naturally we thing I need to find a different natural, chemical free cleaner for all these different areas in our home. That is the wrong way to look at cleaning. Instead of thinking of the product you may need think of the ingredients you need. 

There are 5-6 simple ingredients we need to cover all our own homemade cleaning products.

• Vinegar
• Baking Soda
• Castile Soap
• Essential Oils
• Rubbing Alcohol (not actually natural but a much safer alternative for disinfecting cleaners)
• Olive Oil (for wood)

With these 6 ingredients you can mix and match to make just about any cleaning product you want.

The Ingredients for Natural Cleaning Products

When cleaning with natural cleaners we simply need to understand the ingredients of natural cleaning. Understanding how each ingredient works give you the knowledge you need to create the best cleaning products for your needs.

Vinegar

Vinegar is an acidic cleaner. The acid in the vinegar brakes down mineral deposits, cutting through grease and grime, stains, loosening dirt and calcium build up. Vinegar also has antimicrobial properties helping to disinfect and stop bacterial growth. 

Vinegar is great for bathroom, kitchens, appliances, glass, mirrors, metal, tile, vinyl, fabrics… Most anything except materials that brake down easy by acid. 

Now this is where I’m supposed to say, you can use on tile but you can’t use on tile because you shouldn’t use on grout, or the vinegar will eat away at the finish of the tile or wood so you should use on that either. Don’t use vinegar on TV, computers or phones it will eat away at the anti-glare film. Although these things are true, they will not ruin your table, or cabinets, doors, chairs, floors, tile by a little cleaning with a vinegar based cleaner. Extensive cleaning with harsh vinegar I will not advise. I would also advise to clean with a soap based cleaner for these items for better results. 

Marble and other natural stone carter-tops are more porous surfaces and should not be cleaned with acid cleaners. And that is okay, vinegar, although the most popular is not the only way to clean. 

Use Cleaning Vinegar, Distilled Vinegar or White Vinegar for cleaning. Do not use Apple Cider Vinegar, white wine vinegar or other cooking vinegar for cleaning. 

*Lemon juice is a citric acid and can also be used for cleaning in replacement or along side white vinegar.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is a alkaline cleaner. We all know that when you mix this alkaline with our acid vinegar we get a carbon dioxide gas (or bubble). When cleaning we tend to not want to mix these two because they neutralize each other. 

We clean with baking soda when we want to scrub something. Baking soda has a fine abrasive texture making it perfect to use when we need to scrub out a deep stain or tough build up. it also has deodorizing properties as well as whitening properties. Its a great ingredient for diy cleaners for cleaning clothes and stains, grout and toilet bowls and so much more.

Castile Soap

Castile Soap is a vegetable based soap. It has no synthetics, its no toxic ingredients, and hypoallergenic. Its safe for your skin and hair as well as your clothes, furniture, kitchen, bathroom you name it. Except plants, apparently. Don’t clean your plants with it. 

Castile soap is the base that you can use for all your soap needs. Dish soap, hand soap, shampoo, laundry detergent and even all purpose cleaners.

Essential Oils

Essential oils have many benefits to them in our homemade cleaning recipes. Many of them have antibacterial properties making them perfect for disinfecting and stopping the bacterial growth. There scent is probably the most enjoyable benefit that essential oils have. Smell is a huge indication of cleanliness and makes our house more enjoyable and inevitable. 

The biggest benefit I have found with essential oils not the smell or the antibacterial properties but the benefits to my own immune system these oils give. Cleaning with a few drops of essential oils means that all around my house are beneficial, immune boasting properties all around me. Other chemical based cleaners are harmful to my healthy while cleaning with essential oils builds up my health. 

Read in more detail what essential oils are best for cleaning on my post about cleaning with essential oils.

Rubbing Alcohol

Rubbing Alcohol is not technically natural, it is a synthetic product. Although alcohol is the natural occurrence of certain fermenting sugars, Rubbing Alcohol is not made the same way. It is man made through a chemical process involving petroleum derivatives. In order to find out more on how its made visit BiologyInsights.com. Rubbing Alcohol is extremely toxic to drink, but not to touch. With long exposure it can cause skin dryness and irritation.

Although Rubbing Alcohol is not as safe or natural as vinegar but is still considered a safe cleaning product. Rubbing Alcohol is not as toxic or cancer causing as the harsh chemicals in other cleaning product ingredient are. Just to name a few… Phthalates are known to cause hormonal issues such as low sperm count, birth defects and reproductive cancer. Sodium Hydroxide is really bad for your skin and can causes respiratory damage. Formaldehyde can cause asthma or throat and nasal cancer. You can find out more about these and other cleaning products ingredients you may want to avoid at thegoodnesswell.com.

If you don’t feel comfortable using rubbing alcohol as a cleaning product there’s good news! You don’t have too! You can also use Vodka. Or vinegar, it can stand on its own or can be pared with antibacterial essential oils or lemon oils from lemon rinds. To learn more about making lemon vinegar from your lemon rinds check out my post on Lemon Vinegar Cleaner.

Olive Oil

Olive oil may seem like a strange ingredient to use for cleaning, and it is. There are two main reasons we use olive oil to clean with. One is to get gunk or sticky residue off of things. You can use olive oil to moisten and soften something that is hard and stuck on to the item you are cleaning. 

The other ways to use olive oil is as a polisher. Polishing is not actually considered cleaning but it does help keep our homes clean when surfaces have a little polish on them. The polish will keep grime and dust from sticking and building up on certain surfaces. 

Surfaces to use olive oil on when polishing would be stainless still, wood, cast iron and leather.

Recipes for Natural Cleaning Products

I have two bottles of cleaners made up at all time for my daily cleaning. An All Purpose Cleaner and a Bathroom/Kitchen Cleaner. I also have these six ingredients always stocked in my house for when I need to make another cleaner for something specific. Here are all your will need diy cleaning recipes.

All Purpose Cleaner Recipe (soap)

Mix together in a glass spray bottle about 2 tablespoon soap to 2 cups of water in a spray bottle. Add about 8-15 drops of your favorite essential oil. My preference is Thieves or On-Guard for my all purpose regular cleaner.

Bathroom/Kitchen/Window Disinfectant (vinegar and alcohol)

This is my favorite bathroom cleaner. In my glass spray bottles I mix 1 part vinegar, 1 part rubbing alcohol and 1 part water. Add 8-15 drops of you preferred essential oil (Tea Tree Oil/Melaleuca and Thieves/On Guard are great choices). I use this cleaner for every part of the bathroom, including the mirror.

Other cleaning products you can make with these ingredients

I keep these 6 ingredients stocked in my house so I can make any needed cleaner at any given time. When needed you can also make these cleaner with our 6 natural ingredients for cleaning.

• Laundry Detergent – 1 cups Baking Soda, 1 cup Washing Soda (learn how to make from baking soda) 1 bar of grated Castile Soap (You can get unscented or a scented soap, I like lavender).
• Stain Remover Baking soda or washing soda, hydrogen peroxide, Castile soap. 
• Dish Soap – 16 oz glass dispenser, 1/2 cup Castile soap, 1 1/2 cups water, 10-20 lemon/orange/grapefruit or any citrus essential oil.   
• Hand Soap – 1 cup Castile soap, 3 cups water, 10-20 drops essential oils, 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• Disinfectant Spray – 1 part water, 1 part rubbing alcohol, for strong disinfectant 
• Disinfectant Wipes – Check out Laura’s recipes
• Over Cleaner – Mix together baking soda and water to make a paste. Wipe the oven down, let it sit for 30 minutes or overnight. Wipe down with a rag and spray some vinegar to get the rest. 
• Grout Cleaner –  Mix together baking soda and water to make a paste. Use a toothbrush to clean the grout with the paste. Wipe down with damp rag. 
• Drain Cleaner – Poor hot water down the drain. Then poor 1/2 – 1 cup baking soda down the drain add 1/2 cup vinegar. Place a rag over the drain and let fizz for 20 minutes. Rinse again with more hot water. 
• Toilet Bowl Cleaner (comet replacement) – Baking soda or washing soda
• Dust Cleaner (Pledge Replacement) – 2 cups water, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup Castile soap, 10-20 drops essential oils.
• Fabric (couches, pillows, beds, curtains, rugs) Deodorant (febreze Replacement) – 1 cup vinegar, 2 cups water, 20-30 drops essential oils
• Mirror, Glass and Window Cleaners (Windex replacement) – 1/2 cup rubbing alcohol, 1 cup vinegar, 2 cups water.  
• Hardwood floor cleaner –  2 cups water, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup Castile soap, 10-20 drops essential oils.
• Fabric Softener – Vinegar

The post All the DIY Natural Cleaning Products Recipes You will Need appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Vinegar, A natural Cleaner

Vinegar is natural products that you can literally consume. Not just edible but good for you! Although, I do not recommend drinking this cleaner, that would be gross. There are also different types of vinegar, and some are better to consume with and other better to clean with… Cleaning vinegar is the best choice for cleaning due to it being high in acetic acid, white vinegar is second best. I would not use apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar to clean with. Those vinegar’s are best cooking with.

Is Cleaning with Alcohol Natural?

Rubbing Alcohol (or isopropyl alcohol) is a super powerful disinfectant yet it is a synthetic product. Although alcohol is the natural occurrence of certain fermenting sugars, Rubbing Alcohol is not made the same way. It is man made through a chemical process involving petroleum derivatives. In order to find out more on how its made visit BiologyInsights.com. Rubbing Alcohol is extremely toxic to drink, but not to touch. With long exposure it can cause skin dryness and irritation.

Although Rubbing Alcohol is not as safe or natural as vinegar it is still considered a safe cleaning product. Rubbing Alcohol is not as toxic or cancer causing as other commercial cleaners and household cleaners ingredient are. Just to name a few… Phthalates are known to cause hormonal issues such as low sperm count, birth defects and reproductive cancer. Sodium Hydroxide is really bad for your skin and can causes respiratory damage. Formaldehyde can cause asthma or throat and nasal cancer. The toxic elements of these cleaners are major concerns for me. You can find out more about these and other cleaning products ingredients you may want to avoid at thegoodnesswell.com. 

If you don’t feel comfortable using rubbing alcohol in your natural DIY cleaners there’s good news! You don’t have too! Vinegar can stand on its own or can be pared with antibacterial essential oils or lemon oils from lemon rinds. To learn more about making lemon vinegar from your lemon rinds check out my post on Lemon Vinegar Cleaner.

How to make All purpose cleaner with Vinegar and rubbing alcohol

Its really very simple. In order to make your cleaner mix together 2 part water, 1 part rubbing alcohol 1 part vinegar into a glass spray bottle. That’s it!  

This ratio is even adjustable. I often use a 1:1:1 ration when making my cleaner, especially when cleaning the bathrooms and both version work great. Now, be aware that not enough vinegar or rubbing alcohol wont keep things as clean and too much can cause some damage to paint, wood and sometimes plastics.

add essential oils

If you want to make a great smelling and extra cleaning strength then add a few drops of essential oil to your cleaner. Add 15-25 drops of your preferred essential oil to your 16 oz glass spray bottle. For more effective recipes you can read more about using essential oils in your cleaning products here. Some great essential oils to use for cleaning are Tea Tree Oil, Lemon, Orange, Eucalyptus, Thieves, On-Guard and so many more. My favorite blends are Thieves and Tea Tree Oil.

add citrus rinds

I you don’t have essential oil you can also make your own citrus cleaner by soaking lemon, orange, lime or grapefruit rinds in a jar full of vinegar for 2 weeks or adding 1/2 a cup of lemon juice. The vinegar will start to brake down and mix with the de-greasing oils and antibacterial properties of the citrus making a powerful cleaner. Then use that vinegar in your cleaning solution. To read more details on making your own citrus vinegar cleaning here.

Are Homemade cleaning products cheaper?

Lets do some math…
-1/4 gallon, Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Spray, Lemon Breeze Scent, 32oz – $3.97, $1.98 per 16 oz bottle.
-DoTERRA’s Multi-Purpose On Guard Cleaner Concentrate 12 oz, makes about 9, 16 oz spray bottles, $24 $2.67 per 16 oz bottle
-1.5 gallons, Homemade Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner – Cleaning Vinegar 64oz, $2.62 + Rubbing Alcohol 91%, 32oz, $3.98 (x2) + On Guard Essential Oils, DoTERRA, 15ml $52OR Revive 30ml $28. TOTAL (with revive) is $38.58 at check out. 64oz of vinegar, 64oz of rubbing alcohol, 64oz water makes 12, 16oz spray bottles. When using 15 drops of oil per 16 oz spray bottle the total comes to about $1.78 per 16 oz bottle.

30ml of essential oil is approximately 500 drops. That is about 6 cents per drop. 15 drops per 16 oz spray bottle comes to 90 cents per bottle.

So yeah, this homemade cleaner is pretty cheap compared to most store-bought cleaners.

Vinegar and rubbing alcohol Cleaner is a Antibacterial Disinfectant

Vinegar is very strong acid creating a hostile environment for bacteria making them inactive but not always killing the germs… There’s a lot of different thoughts on this. We are all taught and know that there are good germ and bad germs but its not always easy to know when to kill germs and when to embrace them. 

If just using vinegar as a cleaner then clean is what you get. If you want to kill germs and disinfect you will need to add the rubbing alcohol. It is the the alcohol that disinfects. Disinfectants kills all germs both good and bad. A good cleaner remove dirt, debris, grime and germs on the surface level, making most germs inactive but does not kill them. Cleaners make it so germs don’t grow. Disinfectants will make them go away completely. So for best results in making a disinfectant with safe ingredients is to add a rubbing alcohol to your own cleaners.

FAQ

Can I use any vinegar to clean with?

There are lots of different types of vinegar and not all of them are ideal for cleaning. However, cleaning Vinegar, or distilled white vinegar are you two best vinegar for cleaning. I personally wouldn’t use Apple Cider Vinegar, or Rice Vinegar, or any other cooking vinegar for cleaning with.

What is NOT safe to clean with vinegar?

Vinegar is an all purpose spray cleaner but there are a few things to avoid cleaning with vinegar. 

• Natural Stone. The acid in the vinegar can cause pitting in natural stones like Marble or Granite. 
• Grout. Vinegar can cause deterioration of grout. 
• Stainless Steal. Again, the vinegar can cause pitting the the steal. 
• Waxed or unfinished wood should not have full strength vinegar but diluted is fine. The vinegar can cause discoloration if full strength. 
• Cast Iron. Again, the vinegar can cause pitting.  
• TV’s, Computers or other screen as the vinegar will take off the anti glare coating. 
• Rubber. Rubber with lots of exposure to vinegar will start to deteriorate. A little here and there wont hurt it too badly. 
• Hardwood Floors. Vinegar can dissolve the finish on the hardwood. For hardwood I suggest Murphy’s Oil Soup

What is safe to clean with vinegar?

• Glass, windows and mirrors. Mix a little rubbing alcohol for with the vinegar and you will get a quick dry, streak free cleaning. Toilet. For a deep clean you can put 2 cup of vinegar in your toilet and let sit for 2-3 hours. Clean with a toilet brush to help remove/prevent hard water lines and odor. Dust a bit of baking soda on the floor around the toilet and let sit for 20 minutes or longer spray with your vinegar cleaner let it bubble and do its work then wipe up.
• Bath/Showers. Your vinegar helps prevent and remove watermarks as well as preventing mildew. Use your cleaner for weekly wiping down of your shower and bathtubs. For deeper cleaning use undiluted vinegar. 
• Faucets. If you have hard water cleaning your faucets with vinegar is almost a must. The hard water build up can ruin your new faucets and daily or weekly cleaning with vinegar can prevent hard water build up to keep your faucets clean.
• Dirty Floors. Except hardwood floors or waxed floors. All other floors are safe for cleaning with vinegar.
• Dishwasher. Again, keep your dishwasher safe from hard water build up and crud with vinegar. 
• Appliances.
• Microwave, stove tops, oven, refrigerator etc, vinegar is a great cleaner for these appliances. I also have such a peace of mind cleaning around my food with a safe, natural cleaner. 
• Laundry. A miraculous deodorizer for your clothes, sheets, rags is adding vinegar to washing your laundry. Just be sure to not mix bleach and vinegar in the same load. 
• Coffeemakers. Run equal parts of vinegar and water through your coffee maker for a good cleaning. 
• Wood. If you want to clean natural wood with vinegar add an equal part of olive oil to your vinegar.
• Carpets and Upholstery. Spot clean you carpets with with vinegar. The profession carpet cleaner we use at our church told me to use vinegar for coffee spill and hot water and dish soup for sugar based spills (soda, lemonade).

What is NOT safe to clean with rubbing alcohol?

Here are a few things to look out for when cleaning with rubbing alcohol.

• Natural Stone. The alcohol can remove protective laying making it more porous and prone to stains and scratches.
• Painted or Finished Wood. A diluted cleaner should not do much or any real damage to the finish or paint but straight alcohol will strip some of the finish or paint off of your wood.
• Leather. Dries out, causing cracks and discoloration.
• Delicate Fabrics. Shrinks or discolors materials
• Rubber. Rubber with lots of exposure to rubbing alcohol will start to deteriorate. A little here and there wont hurt it too badly.
• Hardwood Floors. Vinegar can dissolve the finish on the hardwood. For hardwood I suggest Murphy’s Oil Soup
• Acrylic Plastics. Causes cloudiness and weakens material.

What is safe to clean with alcohol?

• Counter tops
• Stainless Steel Carpets and Upholstery. Make your own homemade carpet cleaner with Karries DIY carpet cleaning solution here. 
• Appliances.Microwave, stove tops, oven, refrigerator etc
• Glass, windows and mirrors. Rubbing alcohol is has a quick evaporation time, when mixed with the vinegar and you will get a quick drying, streak free, glass cleaner.
• Toilet, Bath/Showers.
• Faucets.
• Sticker Residue.
• Electronics. Rubbing alcohol is great for electronics and your computer keyboard because it drys quickly without leaving any residue. Its not great for electronics because it can damage the anti glare protection.

More of my favorite natural cleaning Formulas 

In my option the best cleaner out there is good old fashioned elbow grease and a clean cloth or paper towel with warm water. I’m never disappointed when I simple go around the house with a clean damp cloth, maybe with a drop or two of dish soup and go around my house cleaning. But obviously, I’ll probably do an even better job would if I take an all purpose cleaner around with me. 

Use these other natural all purpose cleaners, avoiding harsh chemicals to get a professional cleaner level cleaning in your home.

• Essential Oil Cleaners
• Castile Soup Cleaners
• Hydrogen Peroxide
• Lemon Vinegar Cleaner

The post Cleaning with Vinegar and Rubbing Alcohol appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Are Chemical Cleaners Bad?

YES!!! VERY BAD! …okay, maybe I’m overreacting… Let me just say right now, I have Bleach and Comet (Natural version here) and even Windex in my house right now that I use. Now, you are not going to keel over and die from them as your spray your window to clean it. With the toxic chemicals in our store-bought cleaners the danger is in long time exposure. 

Lets use bleach for example. Breathing in bleach fumes irritates your lungs. Sometimes while cleaning with bleach you might cough a little, feel a burning in your noes or throat from just the smell of bleach… that is the chemicals burning your lungs. The feeling might goes away with a drink of water or some fresh air but that doesn’t mean there’s no damage. Healing is needed. Breathing in bleach everyday keeps the healing from happening. The more chemical burn your experience the longer its going to take to heal. Then you get a cold… and your lungs struggle. The coughing hurts, it turns in to bronchitis and then it goes crazy and you have lung cancer. It’s the constant damage, without healing that causing tissue and cell damage. To learn more read “Is Breathing in Bleach Bad?“

Yes, I keep these bad cancer causing chemical cleaners in my house. No, I do not use them daily, or even weekly. My daily and weekly cleaning needs are met with all natural cleaning products.

Does Cleaning with essential oils really work?

YES!

In all honesty I wouldn’t clean with only essential oils. I will always pair them with vinegar, soap or rubbing alcohol. But don’t get me wrong, I’m not using essential oils just for the fragrance and fresh scent but as the cleaning agent in the cleaner. Both the essential oil and the vinegar or soap work to clean. Essential oils have cleaning, cleansing, antibacterial properties that really do work. For best all purpose cleaning in your home it will be best to combine them with another natural cleaning agent.

What Essential Oils can I use to Clean with?

There are so many great essential oils that you can use in your daily cleaning routine. The oils you want to use are oils that have antibacterial properties. Antibacterial essential oils stop the growth of bacteria. Keeping you home clean from bacterial growth without killing both the good and bad bacteria completely. Cleaning with essential oils benefits our immune system rather than harming it like the commercial cleaners full of toxic fumes do.

Essential Oils for Cleaning

• Eucalyptus Oil has antibacterial properties 
• Peppermint Oil contains anti fungal and antibacterial properties 
• Lavender Oil has powerful antimicrobial properties 
• Cloves Oil contains both anti fungal and antibacterial properties, a great at disinfecting and cleaning mold.
• Lemongrass Oil has both anti fungal and antibacterial properties, brakes down grease and grime. 
• Cinnamon Oil is one of the most powerful antibacterials and anti fungal of the essential oils. 
• Tea tree Oil (Melaleuca) has both anti fungal and antibacterial properties.
• Bergamot Oil is another antibacterial with a large amount of limonene, which is also found in citrus oils. 
• Oregano Oil has strong antibacterial properties  
• Thyme Oil has antiseptic properties 
• Basil Oil has antimicrobial properties and repels insects 
• Rosemary Oil has antibacterial and antiseptic properties
• Geranium Oil helps remove dirt and grime
• Wild Orange Oil cuts through grease and dirt and is antibacterial
• Lemon Oil antibacterial properties
• Grapefruit Oil natural de-greaser and has antimicrobial properties 
• Lime Oil high in limonene helping disinfect bacteria

Mix and Match

Some of these essential oils are stronger cleaners than other or have different cleaning abilities. Some being better de-greasers, some being better for molds and fungal. To make a all-purpose cleaner you can combine oils to create your own cleaners that fits your needs. 

Some essential oil companies have blends already that are specially for cleaning. Young living has blends like ‘Thieves’ and ‘Purification’. DoTerra has ‘On Guard’ and ‘Purify’. Revive has ‘Clean’, ‘Purify’ and ‘Immunity Boost’. You can make things simple and buy one of these blends or you can create your own household cleaning products.

How To Make An Essential Oil Cleaner

Here are 3 simple recipes for natural cleaners using essential oils   

1. Mix together 2 part water, 1 part rubbing alcohol 1 part cleaning vinegar or white vinegar into a reusable glass spray bottle. Add 15-25 drops of your preferred essential oil to your glass bottle. 
2. Mix together 3 parts water with 1 part Castile soap and add 15-25 drops of your preferred essential oil to your glass spray bottle. 
3. Mix together 3 parts water to 1 part vinegar and add 15-25 drops of your preferred essential oil to your 12 -16 oz glass spray bottle.

For more all purpose cleaner recipes check out my post just on DIY Natural Cleaner Recipes for different types of cleaners using essential oil, baking soda, Castile soaps, rubbing alcohol, vinegar and olive oil.

Is Homemade all-purpose cleaners cheaper?

Lets do some math…
-1/4 gallon, Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Spray, Lemon Breeze Scent, 32oz – $3.97, $1.98 per 16 oz bottle.
-DoTERRA’s Multi-Purpose On Guard Cleaner Concentrate 12 oz, makes about 9, 16 oz spray bottles, $24 $2.67 per 16 oz bottle
-1.5 gallons, Homemade Vinegar All-Purpose Cleaner – Cleaning Vinegar 64oz, $2.62 + Rubbing Alcohol 91%, 32oz, $3.98 (x2) + On Guard Essential Oils, DoTERRA, 15ml $52OR Revive 30ml $28. TOTAL (with revive) is $38.58 at check out. 64oz of vinegar, 64oz of rubbing alcohol, 64oz water makes 12, 16oz spray bottles. When using 15 drops of oil per 16 oz spray bottle the total comes to about $1.78 per 16 oz bottle.

30ml of essential oil is approximately 500 drops. That is about 6 cents per drop. 15 drops per 16 oz spray bottle comes to 90 cents per bottle.

So yeah, its pretty cheap.

What brand of Essential Oils is Best?

Not all Essential Oil brands are made equal. For cleaning you want high quality essential oils. High quality essential oils are not always found at your local grocery store. Young Living, DoTERRA, Revive and Plant Therapy are all good, high quality brands you can trust for your diy cleaner. For more about these brands read Emma’s Post on the Top 10 Best Essential Oil Brands on her website, Essential Oil Haven.

Mistakes when Cleaning with Essential Oils

Mixing with bleach

Bleach and essential oils are completely different ways of cleaning. They do not mix well, its not considered to be safe. Bleach will overpower the sent of the essential oils. Essential oils are meant to be breathed in, benefiting the whole body. Bleach is not to be breathed in or put on your skin. Just don’t do it. It doesn’t make since to mix the two.

Using by themself

Essential oils alone are not are compete cleaner or disinfectant. Cleaning with essential oils is very effective and should be diluted to clean with. For best results mix with and non-toxic cleaners like Castile soaps, vinegar, witch hazel or rubbing alcohol to make your DIY cleaning spray.

Using too much/using too little

There no absolutely right amount of oils to use but there is a wrong. I typically find people use too little, trying to save the expensive oil. But its also true that you don’t need to over do it. 5 drops is not enough for a 16 oz spray bottle but 30-35 may also be more than enough, therefore being wasteful. Use your nose. If you put 15 drops in but you can’t smell the oils when you spray it, then its not enough. Add 3-5 more till you can smell it. If you use Vinegar along with your oil and you can’t smell of vinegar at all, maybe you used too much oil, or not enough vinegar. I am always looking for both smells while not letting either one over power the other.

Using low quality oils

One of the biggest mistakes I think you can do buying poor quality essential oils for your homemade cleaning products. You need 100% pure essential oils or they oil will not have enough or any of the antibacterial, antimicrobial, anti-fungal, antiseptic, de-greasing properties to them. Don’t use oils that are not 100% pure, or have other ingredients listed other that oils, like ‘fragrance’. Check out these 7 simple test to tell if you oil is pure or not.

Improper Storage

You should store your essential oils in a cool dark place. Using glass bottles, best if they are dark glass but not always necessary if you keep in a dark cabinet. UV rays can cause the oils to brake down and the dark glass helps keep them safe.
Plastic bottle react with the oils. The plastic can even start braking down and mixing the plastic toxins in with your oils. The oils can also pass through the plastic as it is more porous than glass. In both cases makes your oils not as pure or effective in their cleaning.

Forgetting to shake the bottle

Oils like to separate from water when sitting in the cabinet, shake for an even mixture before cleaning.

The post How to make Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner With Essential Oils appeared first on Embracing The Home.

This is a honorable goal and can bring joy to the home as long as its not paired with overwhelmed and stress. Here are 5 ways to keep the joy in your home and the stress elsewhere.

• Letting Go of Perfection
• Declutter Your Decorations
• Keep Your Everyday Meals Simple
• Consumable or No Clutter Gifts
• Remember, All Glory be to Christ

Letting Go of Perfection

No matter what trick you use to simplify your home, avoid overwhelm and make the holiday’s less stressful nothing will actually work unless your attitude and perspective are right. Some people call this taking care of your ‘mental health’. I would say this is much more of a heart issue than a mental issue.

When you love something it becomes important to you. Once something is important to you, you get anxious and stressed when that thing is not going the way it should. As a homemaker, we are responsible for the things going on in our home. The cleanliness, the meals, the way the home functions, we are the ones who get to work that out and accomplish it. It becomes important to us.

What do you love?

I love homemaking! Creating a home that is comfortable, hospitable, clean and has the smell of homemade meals delighting the soul is what I love doing. I love when my kids want to be home. When my husband comes home from work with a smile on his face. I want people to feel welcome and at home in my house. This is all good, until it is more important, loved more than my own families well being.

So what do I love more? I love the Lord and the most important thing I can do as a wife and mother is emulate Gods love to my family. Show them love, teach them love. Walk in His way and teach my kids to do the same.

Proverbs 25:24 says “It is better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, than in a house shared with a contentious woman.” It says similar things in Proverbs 21:9 and 27:15-16. If I’m continually stressed over the well being over the home and I’m yelling, complaining and getting frustrated with the kids, I’m in the wrong. My love is on my home and myself more than my family who the home is for. I have become a contentious women.

Let go of perfection

If you find yourself overwhelmed, bitter and contentious over the busy holiday season you need to let go of the perfection of your home and seek perfections or sanctification in your relationship with your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Avoid overwhelm by resting in the Lord. Remember His holiness. Be thankful for His sacrifice. Serve you family for His glory. Let go of the ideal perfect home and seek the perfect Lord. Let go of the idea of the perfect holiday experience and see the perfect Lord. Don’t hold onto the standards of the crunchy homemaker but seek the standards of the Lord. Only then will you be able to truly avoid overwhelm.

With that being said, lets get into some of the tips and trick that can help simplify our homes now that our hearts are set.

Declutter Your Decorations

To avoid the holiday overwhelm in your home, simplify you decorations. Now, I’m not saying you have to go all minimalist with your holiday decorations but try to avoid a cluttered look. Not every little angel, nutcracker or snowman has to be out every year. If your decorations make you feel like your house is clutter and uncleanable, simplify them.

A cluttered house can be hard to relax in. During this time of year our schedules are often full and cluttered. Our home should be able to give us all rest and peace. If the decorations stress you out, simplify them to fit your family’s needs.

Letting the kids help Decorate

When you have little kids who want to help decorate things can get stressful very easily. We imagine we will be making wonderful memories with our kids when decorating until they have their own great ideas of how things should look. Then its messy, unorganized, and chaotic.

I want my kids to be creative and celebrate our saviors birth with joy and not memories of mom controlling things and taking the fun out of it. But I also can’t stand the numerous messy, mismatching kids ornaments and cut outs, drawing and such. Its all clutter to me.

In our house, each of the kids rooms get their own tree with their own ornaments. My kids can also display all their arts and crafts and decorate in their own rooms however they want. They get to be creative and make memories. I get a tidy house with decoration that bring me joy and not stress.

Maybe you don’t want a tree or decorations in their room. You can also take same idea and apply it elsewhere in the house. Like a table, shelf or mantle that they get to decorate and arrange. Giving them some boundaries to their creativity is a good for them. When given boundaries they become more intentional with what they do.

Keep your everyday meals simple

The holiday season is all about food (and Jesus). From Thanksgiving to New Years there are so many traditional meals, sweet treats, from scratch family recipes we have to make. There are parties that we are baking for and edible gifts to make all on top of all the expected amazing holiday day-of meals.

For the homemaker it can be a lot of fun or stressful days in the kitchen. This is when meal planning and freezer meals come in handy. I love cooking, but it can be exhausting during the holidays to keep up with all the extra baking and cooking on top of the daily meals. Having a monthly meal plan laid out for the month of November and December help me a lot. Here are more resources on monthly meal planning.

When planning these meals I choose easy, simple meals that my family loves. Meals that can be make ahead of time if needed. In November I often make a few freezer meals for some of the busy days in December. This makes it easy for us to eat a healthy home cooked meal on days we have been out all day enjoy the seasons festivities. Having freezer meals ready also makes it easy for me to relax and not worry about dinner when I’m overwhelmed with all the extra holiday baking.

In all, to avoid the holiday overwhelm as a homemaker plan our a months worth of meals ahead of time. Choose simply easy meals. Have a well stocked freezer of meals ready to go.

Consumable or No Clutter Gifts

As a homemaker, as your family receives gifts, it can be stressful. As a mother with 5 small children we receive a lot of toys at Christmas time. It doesn’t help that we have November, December and January birthdays in our family. Lots of new things coming through that I must now find a place for in my home and teach my children to put them away properly.

The day after Christmas, about 3 years ago I remember looking at the mess and realizing I had not place to put all these new toy and I cried. I was overwhelmed. That day I made a plan, went to Walmart, bought bins and a new shelf, organized and threw out a lot of old toys to make room for the new ones. Here are a few tips on how to the avoid overwhelm and stress of gift receiving as a homemaker.

Tell your family and friends what gifts are appropriate

You don’t have to make this a joy killing moment of making harsh boundaries. It can be as simple as mentioning “We are getting out kids fun art supplies this year, they would love more coloring books too”. Often times that sparks a good conversation with friends and family as to what type of gifts are joy giving in your home.

In the past, to avoid overwhelm, I have had to give some family members a limit of how many toy and gift they can give my kids. Thankfully we have such good relationships that this was not offensive. When giving these types of boundaries I have often worded them like “We have a lot of toy right now, for Christmas I’d appreciate it if you only got them 1 toy. You can get them as many gifts as you want but can you keep the toys to a limit of 1 per child?” If you need more boundaries you can say something like “We have so much right now, and would appreciate a limit of only 3 gift this year.” Or what ever it needs to be.

What type of gifts to kids that are not toys

To avoid the clutter and overwhelm of toy during this seasons think of consumable or easy to store gifts for you kids. Gifts like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, coloring books are great non food consumable gifts. When they are done they are gone.

Food gifts, like their favorite snack in their stockings is always loved. I always fill my little kids stocking with applesauce, banana, boxes of yogurt covered raisins and fruit snacks and they love it! As they get older treats like, breakfast cookies, chocolate bars, trail mix. You can be as crunchy or not, food gifts are always loved.

For more ideas for no clutter consumable gifts here I have a list of 27 gifts ideas you can check out.

Remember, All Glory Be To Christ

Now that you have decluttered, stocked up on freezer meals, and your gifts aren’t stressing you out, you can remember again, this is all for the glory of Christ. It may be tempting to say what I do is for the glory of God. Christ is honored by my work. I give honer to Christ with what I accomplish. Like a knight saying he will win this tournament for the beautiful lady. Its not about me giving God glory with what I do but doing what He would have me do that brings Him glory.

All glory be to Christ means I seek His will and workout His plan that He has for me. God has prepared work for us to do and yes, doing the dishes, making the meals, wrapping the gifts so beautifully is a part of the life that he has given to us. But the work he desires for us is in our heart attitude towards Him and our neighbors. He desires us to love Him with all our hearts, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as ourself. Put off sin, confess and repent, giving glory to our Lord.

When you do the work of a homemaker, don’t come to God saying “Look what I did for your glory” but come to God asking “What can I do to give your glory”.

The post How to find joy and avoid overwhelm as a homemaker this holiday season appeared first on Embracing The Home.

We never had to go through the endless sleepless nights of crying children and sleep deprivation. Or feeling exhausted after 6+ month of interrupted sleep. No waking up to crying, waking up to feed, no waking up the husband saying “its your turn” for months on end. Seems too good to be true, right? 

If you think this is unrealistic, I promise you its not. But I will tell you this, its not for everyone. My sister, for example, when I told her my schedule she was stress out by it. This method gave me peace but gave her stress. If a method of sleep training stresses you out, its not worth it. Find something that works for you. All the different methods of sleep training has some aspect of stress but some are harder for some vs others. The idea is to choose the hard that works best for you.

This may not be for you…

First, a disclaimer: This method of sleep training may not work if you baby is under 7 lbs. All my babies have been close to or over 8 lbs. Being over 8 lbs makes a big difference. Once the baby is 8 lbs they can handle an 8 hours night between feeding. Baby’s who are less then 8 lbs typically wake up more often. Most of the internet specialist say a baby must be woken for night feeds every 5 hours if they are under 12 lbs or under 6 months old. I personally, from experience, and advice from my midwifes and seasoned mothers, do not agree with the internet specialists. If the baby sleeps 8 hours on their own, they are ready.

Newborn Schedule, Starting Day 1

Congratulations new parents! You had your baby! Your goal today is to nurse. Newborn babies want to sleep a lot in the first 24 hours and that is good, let the baby get restful sleep. But to train your baby to sleep at night and eat during the day try to nurse every 2 hours. Sometimes it will be a success and sometimes it wont. That okay.

Day 1 is all about starting your rhythm. Every 2 hours try to nurse for a few minutes. If in about15 minutes you can’t get them to wake up enough to latch don’t worry. Let them sleep for another 2 hours and try again. If they wake up hungry but its hasn’t been 2 hours, feed them. Don’t worry about “the schedule” at this point. Find your rhythm.

If they have gone 4-5 hours without nursing then you may want to try a little harder. But don’t get worried. My 5th baby (who was 8 lbs 13 oz at birth) loved to sleep. I nursed about 20 minutes after he was born and he latch well. After that, it was about 8 hours later till he latched again and I was trying every hour for a while. 

If you are worried and are at the point of needing them to eat and are tempted to try a bottle, even thought you really want to nurse, I advise you to try this first. Hand express some colostrum onto a baby spoon or use a dropper and place it in their lips. Let them lick their lips and get a taste. Then keep trying to nurse.

Pro Tip: Nurse right away. Like, before the placenta is out, try to nurse. Baby comes out, cord is still attracted, baby goes to mama’s chest to regulate body temperature and nurse. Nurse as soon as possible

The First 4 Weeks of Sleep Training Your Baby

Successful sleep training begins with how you nurse during the day. Your milk will come in between 2-3 days after birth. The milk that you have been feeding the baby the first 3 days is called colostrum. Colostrum is full of great nutrients that help prepare your baby for life. When you start producing milk you will feel it. Your boobs will get massive. It can be painful for a bit but soon everything will regulate. It will regulate faster if you keep a nursing schedule.

Start your day at the same time everyday. It may be against everything you thought in the beginning but I highly recommend stetting an alarm clock for the morning. I start my baby’s day at 8:00am. We nurse at that same time everyday. Then we follow the clock nursing every two hours. I know, “Don’t wake a sleeping baby”, in my house, this applies only at night. During the day, wake them up, every two hours. 

I also keep a consistent bedtime routine and time, for us is 10:00pm (for the first 4ish week). So throughout the day I’ve nursed 8 times. Now that 10:00pm has hit I don’t wake up my baby. Let the baby sleep as long as they want. When they wake up, feed them. You will notice that they will keep their own sleep schedule during the night waking up at similar times. Your newborn will create their own regular sleep cycles, we are parents to get guide them for best sleep success for all.

Nursing the Baby to Sleep

Contrary to some other sleep training methods I almost never nurse my babies to sleep. If they fall asleep while nursing that’s okay. But I do not nurse my babies to get them to sleep and here is why. Food fuels us. It gives us energy. So most of the time your baby will want to be awake after they have been fed. They may sleep for a few minutes then wake up happy and alert.

If you baby is always sleepy during or after nursing that is also normal. It takes energy to digest and sometimes it can make them sleepy to digest all their food. But what I’m trying to say is, to create good sleep habits don’t fall into a pattern of your baby depending on nursing in order to fall asleep. Or you will be waking up in the middle of the night, when they are not hungry but need to nurse in order to fall asleep again.

Nurse, Play, Sleep, Repeat

During the day, to sleep train your baby, follow patterns to create habits that will benefit you at night. Nurse, Play, Sleep, Repeat.

Even when they are just a few days old you can create this habit with them. Nurse, burp, do a few simple arm and leg stretches, give lots of kisses, change diaper. At first, this maybe takes 5-10 minutes then your baby is ready to sleep again. As the baby gets older their awake time gets longer.

Changing the Schedule

Once your baby is staying awake for about 1 hour or longer you are ready to start nursing every 3 hours. This will allow your baby to still get a good 2 hour long nap between feeding. This always happens for me earlier then I expect. Around 4-6 weeks has been normal for my kids. 

Now my daily schedule has changed but my start of the day and end of the day has not. I still wake up my baby around 8am and end the day around 10pm. My nursing schedule ends up being 8:00, 11:00, 2:00, 5:00, 8:00 and then sometime between 9-10pm I nurse again and put down for the night. 

Around 3-4 months old this schedule changes again as your baby starts staying awake for long periods of time. When your baby is staying awake consistently 2 hour in-between naps you will want to give the opportunity for 2 hour naps. That’s when I start nursing every 4 hours. 8am, 12pm, 4, 8 and 9-10 bedtime.

I typically don’t change my schedule after that until I’m introducing solids foods between 6-9 months of age. When they start taking 2 naps regularly the schedule can become flexible according to the baby and your needs that day.

Nursing at Night

During the day for the first month its important to wake you baby up every 2 hours to nurse. This is going to train your baby them when its day versus night and keep them well fed. With this schedule at night they will easily sleep 3-5 hours during the night. 

Nurse your baby and put them to bed around 10:00pm, do not wake them up. Wait until they wake up to feed them. You will find they will create their own nighttime sleep schedule. A typical schedule that my kids have had has been approximately 2am, 5am then 7am. Even if they wake up 7am, I wake them up and feed them again at 8:00am to start our day. 

Sleep Transitions 

Eventually your newborn baby will start to longer periods of sleep during the night. So instead of waking up at 2am they may wake up closer to 3 or 4, then again at 6:00, and then start the day at 8:00am. This takes out one of the night feedings. 

If your baby does this 2 or 3 nights in a row, or multiple times during the week, you know its a good time to change the baby’s sleep schedule. Now they they are down to 2 feeding during the night, 3am and 6am and we start our day at 8am. If your baby wakes before 3am, I give them a pacifier till it is closer to the new normal nursing time. 

During these transition times you might have a few long nights here and there or really early mornings, but believe me when I say it doesn’t last long. Take your cues from your baby. When they want to sleep 5-6 hours straight help them by not nursing them during that time. Give them the pacifier to help them go back to sleep, if they wake up out of habit. 

Follow the baby’s lead, then reinforce the longer stretches of sleep patterns they have proven to you. With this sleep training structure I have had all 5 of my kids sleep 8 hours by 8 weeks old! Ending my day at 10pm and going until 6:00am, then waking them up at 8:00 to start our day. By 12 weeks most of my kids have been sleeping 10 hours. No more nursing at night. We go to bed at between 9-10pm and wake up at 8am.

Should I let my baby cry themself to sleep?

Letting you baby cry themselves to sleep is definitely controversial. In our family we have let our kids cry or fuss themselves to sleep. But I do believe you can sleep train your babies with a gentle sleep training methods that does not include the shedding of many tears. 

There are lots of internet exports on this subject if you want to learn more about why you should or why you shouldn’t let your baby’s cry when sleep training. Here I will briefly go over some of the boundaries I give me and my baby’s when it comes to them ‘crying it out’.

I don’t leave them to scream themselves to sleep. There is a difference between screaming, crying and fussing. You will know the difference.

How I let my baby ‘cry it out’

I would let me newborn baby’s fuss or tired cry themselves to sleep for at least one of their naps during the day so that they would get used to falling asleep without any assistance. Not every nap and I was never strict about it but saw it more of a practice. I want my baby to know how to fall back asleep on their own in when the abnormally wake in the middle of the night. Yes, I would do this as early on as 1 month old. Also, again I practiced this when I was well rested and when it was day. It was okay if they didn’t fall asleep right away. 

In the middle of the night, I don’t want them to cry so much they wake themselves up more. I will attend to them pretty quickly. If its a feeding time I will nurse. If not, I will not nurse them to sleep but I will hold a pacifier in their mouth till they fall asleep. When needed, I will hold and rock them to sleep. As they get older and If they wake up abnormally in the the middle of the night, I check the clock and time how long it takes them to fall back asleep. I typically don’t let it go longer then 5 minutes sometimes 10, before attending them. If their cry changes from tired and turns to a desperate cry or scream I attend them right away.

4+ Month Sleep Regression 

As your baby gets older you may find the start waking up again in the middle of the night. We call this a sleep regression. If your baby is used to sleeping 8+ hours and now they are waking up multiple times in the night it is time to train them again. This might happen because they are going through a growth spurts and hungry or because they are teething or when they start rolling over and finding themselves not being able to get comfortable again. 

If they are not teething try nursing them more during the day, or maybe its time for some solid food, especially in the evening before they go to bed so they will be full longer. If they are teething try Hyland’s Teething Tablets. They have work great for all my kids and are a trust worthy, natural ingredient brand. 

When your baby goes through a sleep regression you have the choice. 1, quickly get them back to sleep by nursing and therefore creating a habit of waking up every couple hours for a few minutes for possibly a year nursing, Or 2, take a few rough night, maybe a week long, if teething plays a part maybe longer by letting them find other ways to get comfortable. 

My 5th baby is 9 month old and still sleeping in our room. My husband get up at 4am every morning for work and so does the baby. He is also teething right now so my routine is to give him 4 teething tablets, make him comfortable if he has rolled/moved around back on him and run my fingers through his hair for 30-60 seconds. I do count. He typically falls asleep with in 30 seconds but sometimes not. When he does fall back a sleep right away I lay back down for 10 minutes while he cries. Sometime he fall back and sometimes he doesn’t. After 10 minutes I do the same process, reminding him its time to sleep. 4 teething tablets, and comfort for up to 1 minute, then another 10 minutes of him working it out on his own again. The first couple nights of trying this process can be rough, and has sometimes taken up to an hour of calming down and crying again til my son has fallen asleep. But his is not every night.

Try before your pick them up

When sleep training your baby here are a few good ideas to try before picking them up for successful sleep training.  

• give a pacifier 
• rub/pat their back/head/stomach
• turn them over (stomach or back, what ever gives you peace)
• white noise 
• teething tablets 
• diaper change
• rock the crib if possible 
• lavender essential oils

Mistakes I see other Moms make When Sleep Training

I have heard from so many other moms how well their baby is sleeping through the night. They say things like “this last week they didn’t wake up to 3 or 4am, but last night they woke up a 1am to nurse”. If they are starting a habit of sleeping long nights and then randomly wake up or regress, don’t nurse them. Help them self sooth, give them a pacifier but do not nurse just to get them to go back to sleep. 

Another mistake I see mom make is creating the bedtime too early. I talk to a mom who’s baby was a month older than mine saying she was still waking up every 2 hours to nurse. When I asked her what time she put her to bed she said 7pm. Then the mom would go to bed at 11pm and wake up at 1, 3 and 5am to nurse. Her baby was sleeping from 7pm to 1am. That is a wonderful 6 hour stretch but the mom was unable to take advantage of it because it was too early in the evening. 

Nursing before every nap is another mistake. If during the day you nurse before every nap you baby will not know how to go back to sleep without nursing. Teach them during the day to fall asleep with out nursing. Rock them in a rocking chair. Give them a pacifier. Wrap them in a wrap and walk around with them but do not nurse to go to sleep. Nurse to give them energy. 

The last mistake I see mom make when sleep training their baby is letting them take long naps during the day. Don’t be afraid to wake them up during the day if they are sleeping longer than 3 or 4 hours. We want those stretches to be at night so you can also sleep 3-4 hours straight.

Sweet dreams!

I hope what worked for me works for you when sleep training your baby. I have been blessed by my children and their healthy sleep habits and I hope this knowledge is helpful to you. 

Like I said in the beginning, this baby sleep training schedule may not be for everyone and that is okay. My goal was to have good sleepers so I structured my days to making that possible. Waking up at night to nurse may not bother you, some moms have even expressed to me that they like waking up at night to nurse. If that is for you than sweet dreams! Enjoy your baby, do what works for you and your family. So ask yourself what is the goal of sleep training for you and have peace with the decisions you make and sleep well at night without anxiety over if you are doing it ‘correct’ or not. 

Sweet dreams!

The post How to Sleep Train – The Newborn Sleep Schedule appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Sourdough desserts are my new favorite things! Sourdough bread can be hard to get right sometimes and a lot of people give up on baking sourdough when they can’t get the right rise in their bread. I personally don’t make the fancy Instagram loafs that you picture when you hear the term sourdough. Mostly I make sourdough desserts, pancakes, apple fritters, flat bread, cookies, banana breads, muffins the non-rising baked goods.

The idea of sourdough is to use a ferment dough/batter in your baking for added health benefits. When our dough is fermented it brakes down the grains making them easier to digest as well as making it easier to absorb the nutrition from the grains. Fermented dough also have prebiotics that the bacteria in our gut feed off of also helping us digest not just the bread but everything we eat.

When we make non-rising sourdough baked goods we mix our sourdough starter, flour and liquids. Let sit on our counter for about 4 hours or in the fridge for overnight. Then we add the rest of our ingredients and bake. The longer you let if ferment (sit on the counter) the healthier the benefits but also the more sough flavor it will get. I don’t mind the sour flavor but some people don’t want to taste that in their desserts.

Many sourdough recipes for baked goods like these will are considered sourdough discard recipes. The problem with these is that they mix 1/2 or 1 cup of discard to the recipes but don’t let the batter ferment. This will add only a very little amount of the benefits that true fermented sourdough brings.

Ingredients for Baked Sourdough Apple Fritters

Ferment the following ingredients

• Sourdough Starter. If you don’t have a sourdough starter you can buy a starter off of Amazon or learn to make your own.
• Milk. I you don’t like the idea of having milk in your batter sitting on the counter for 4 hours you can use water and add 1/3 cup dry powdered milk to it later.
• Flour. I use all purpose for these apple fritter donuts. You can use a combination of whole wheat and all purpose but I wouldn’t go all whole wheat for this recipe. We want a light and airy texture and that can be hard to accomplish with whole wheat flour.
• Brown Sugar or Honey. The flavor changes a little depending on if you use brown sugar or honey. Both bring great flavors to our apples fritters donuts so its up to you and what you choose.
• Eggs. I don’t add the eggs at this stage unless I’m letting them ferment in the fridge. If I fermenting on the counter I will add the eggs later, right before I bake them.
• Coconut Oil. If you don’t have coconut oil around you can substitute with another oil, apple sauce or butter.

Add after fermented

• Apples. Granny Smith apples are best for this recipe but often I just use what ever apples I have on hand and they all seem to work out. Dice your apples in to small pieces, about the size of a fingernail. The larger the apple chunks the more crumbly you donuts will be. Keeping them small will help them cook faster and provide the best texture.
• Baking Soda. Baking soda is our rising agent that will help keep our apple fritters light and airy. the baking soda will react to the fermented dough and create little gas bubbles giving us the desired texture.
• Cinnamon & Nutmeg. My two favorite spices, especially with apples. the cinnamon and nutmeg will give us a warm flavor that pairs perfectly with our apples.
• Salt. Enhance the flavor with good salt like Redmond Real Salt. If you are looking for a unrefined natural salt with multiple minerals and electrolytes harvested in the United States of America, then look no further. Redmond Real Salt is full of flavor and nutrients and harvested out of the ancient seabed deep beneath Central Utah.
• Vanilla or Almond Extract. I love almond extract, but its expensive and not many house holds keep it around. Vanilla extract is just as good. If using vanilla use 1/2 a teaspoon. Almond extract can be a bit stronger so only use 1/4 a teaspoon for the apple fritter donuts.

How To Make Baked Apple Fritters

Ferment The Batter

In a bowl, mix together the sourdough starter, flour, sugar, milk, coconut oil and eggs together. Cover with a lid, wet cloth or plastic wrap and let sit on a the counter for 4 hours or in the fridge overnight.

Add The Rest of Ingredients

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350.
Add the rest of the ingredients, diced apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla extract, and baking soda.

Pour Into Donut Molds

Pour you apple fritter batter into silicone donut molds. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Glaze Baked Donuts

Let cool for a couple minutes before taking the donuts out of the molds. Mix together 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1-2 tablespoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Glaze the donuts and let cool completely.

Sourdough Apple Fritter Donuts

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 4 hours

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours 8 minutes

Print

Ingredients

Sourdough Batter

Toggle ingredient group

• 1/2 cup sourdough starter
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 eggs

Add After Fermentation

Toggle ingredient group

• 2 cups diced apples
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

Toggle ingredient group

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix together the sourdough starter, flour, sugar, milk, coconut oil and eggs together. Cover with a lid, wet cloth or plastic wrap and let sit on a the counter for 4 hours or in the fridge overnight.
2. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Add the rest of the ingredients, diced apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla extract, and baking soda.
3. Pour you apple fritter batter into silicone donut molds. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.
4. Let cool for a couple minutes before taking the donuts out of the molds. Mix together 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1-2 tablespoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Glaze the donuts and let cool

The post Simple Sourdough Apple Fritters | Baked Donuts for Kids appeared first on Embracing The Home.

The most common comment I hear when pregnant, when it comes to food, is “You’re eating for two now, you need more calories!” Most of the time implying that you can eat whatever food/sweets you want. With all the pregnancy cravings and mood swings its tempting to use that logic when you want to eat another bowl of ice cream or just snack on a full bag of chocolate chips, or a bag of potato chips or whatever your unhealthy snack foods are. But this way of thinking and eating is so dangerous. High blood pressure, premature labor, gestational diabetes, morning sickness, unneeded weight gain and other high-risk pregnancy issues can mostly be avoided with a healthy diet. I am not saying if you eat healthy there will be no complication or that eating healthy will fix every problem but the healthier you eat the lower chance you have at a high-risk pregnancy. 

Good nutrition is one of the most important building blocks for a healthy lifestyle, pregnant or not. Healthy eating gives your body the nutrition its needs to function properly. When you are pregnant your body’s needs become more than normal, extra calories, more protein intake, more vitamins and minerals, extra water. And you can’t get these needed extra nutritious calories by eating just pickles and ice cream all day. You need to learn how much a mother’s nutritional needs are and feed yourself accordingly. 

To learn more about what is needed for a complete pregnancy diet we can look at the Dr Tom Brewers pregnancy diet.

What is the Brewers Diet?

The Brewers Pregnancy Diet was created by Dr Tom Brewer who was a obstetrician and studied nutrition for over 50 years. He helped his patients achieve low risk, healthy pregnancies, uncomplicated natural labors through a focus on diet.

The diet is not supper strict diet when it comes to what you cannot eat but more about getting the right amount of nutrition into your diet. Most diets fads we see are about cutting out foods. Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Fat Free, Low Carb, Vegetarian, Vegan… those are all about cutting foods out of our diet. The brewers diet for pregnant women is different in that it tell you how much of each food group you should eat to get the right nutrition each day for you and your unborn baby.

This diet provides what you need for the unique needs for a pregnant woman. The brewers diet guides you through 12 different food groups containing the mother’s nutritional needs as well as the needs for your unborn baby. As you eat throughout your day there is a list you can check off if your meal hit any of the foods groups that is recommended. At the end of the day you can see what food groups your where missing and adjust the next day paying special attention to eat more of the foods you are missing. You can adjust your diet slowly as you find new habits of eating that check off everything on your list.

Brewers Food Groups

There are 12 different food groups that the brewers diet pulls from with each one having a specific serving size. The amount of servings are not your limit but your minimum for a healthy pregnancy.

• Water (unlimited)
• Dairy/Milk Products (4 Servings)
• Calcium (2 Servings)
• Eggs (2)
• Protein (6 to 8 Servings)
• Fresh, dark green vegetables (2 Servings)
• Whole grains (5 Servings)
• Vitamin C foods (2 Servings)
• Fats and oils (3 Servings)
• Vitamin A foods (1 Serving)
• Weekly Liver (optional)
• Salt/Sodium (unlimited)

Here is an helpful Free PDF of the some different foods that fit in the Brewers diet food groups. You are not limited to only these foods for each category of nutrition.

Based off of the Brewers diet basic plan its not always easy to determine how much nutrition each size serving really needs. I’ve done my best to try and write out how much of nutrition I believe Dr Brewer was aiming for. The protein food group was the easiest to determine. Each serving size Dr Brewer suggests is about 7 grams of protein. The calcium and vitamins were unclear how many grams are needed but there I was able to find a range I could work with. Vitamin A needs about 450mcg per serving,Vitamin C was 100 mg, Calcium around 50-100 mg each serving. The hard food groups for me have been the wheat and the dairy.

The way wheat and dairy is processed these days is a bit different then it was in the 70’s when this particular study and research was done. I advice caution and discernment with these two categorizes. Be wise as to the quality of your foods. If the suggested amount of wheat or dairy is effecting you negatively with bloating, gas, fatigue or just feeling gross afterwards, try eating less but of the best quality you can get your hands on. Sometimes this means making bread and yogurt at home with organic, high quality ingredients. Avoid processed, pre-made items in these two categories.

How To Make Meals that Fit the Brewers Diet

Now that we have a foundation of what the Brewer diet is and our list of what size serving, we can put together meals that hit all of these requirements for our prenatal care.  

Using our handy-dandy little check list I will give you an example of a days worth of meals and how it checks off all the boxes.

Here’s how it works.

Breakfast

For breakfast I might eat 2 egg, 2 pieces of whole wheat toast with butter 1/2 a cup of cottage cheese with 1 cup fruit that is full of vitamin C.

I can now check of my 2 egg, 2 whole grains, 2 serving of dairy, and 2 serving of vitamin C and 1 fats/oils. It’s tempting to mark off 2 protein (the eggs) as well but the brewer principles advise not to do that. If you do check off eggs as protein as well as ‘eggs’ make sure you hit all 8 servings for adequate protein intake.

Lunch

For lunch I will then eat, 2 tacos with rice and beans, (⅓ cup meat ⅔ cup bean ½ cup rice, 2 corn tortillas, 2 oz of cheese). Other topping like salsa, limes, avocados are optional.

This meal checks off 3 proteins, 2 whole grains, and 1 dairy/milk and 2 fats/oils if you add 1/2 an avocado.

Snack

While I’m snacking throughout the day I may eat, 3 apricots and a handful or two of almonds or two high protein granola bars.

This covers 2 more protein and my vitamin A needs.

Dinner

Now for Dinner I will eat, Spaghetti and meat sauce with 1 tablespoon molasses in the sauce, Parmesan cheese, side of kale salad or broccoli.

Dinner checks off 1 Dairy, 2 Calcium, 2 Protein, 2 Greens, 2 Whole Grain.

Be sure to drink water throughout the day, and mark it. Add good, rich in mineral salt like Redmond’s Real salt or Pink Himalayan salt to you whole foods. Learn more about the benefits of good salt here.

Meal Planning Made Easy

Here I have a meal plan guide to help you out. Figuring out what to eat each meal to hit all the right requirements for a mother’s nutritional needs can be a daunting task, especially if you are in the first trimester. 

Here is a guide is broken into 4 groups. If in one day you eat 1 meal/snack from each group you will successfully meet all your requirements for a healthy diet during your pregnancy.

For example, for breakfast you choose a meal from group 1, then for lunch you can choose a meal from 2, 3 or 4. Say you choose group 4. Dinner you pick from group 2 and your snack is from group 3. By the end of the day you will have covered all your nutritional needs. 

Feel free to mix things up, I honestly love breakfast foods and could each just breakfast all day. And sometimes I do. I just make sure I choose an option from each group so I still get all my nutritional needs.

These meals not an exhaustive list. They are suggestions and can be adapted to meet your needs. I hope this is a tool that helps you understand how you can get your daily needs with as little emotional stress as possible. I hope this guide helps you see how you can make your own favorite meals work for you while checking off all that Dr Brewer recommends.

These meals not an exhaustive list. They are suggestions and can be adapted to meet your needs. I hope this is a tool that helps you understand how you can get your daily needs with as little stress as possible. I hope this guide helps you see how you can make your own favorite meals work for you while checking off all that Dr Brewer recommends.

Learn More About How to Have A Healthy Pregnancy and Natural Labor

The post Free Meal Planning Guide for Pregnancy | The Brewers Diet appeared first on Embracing The Home.

The Brewers Pregnancy Diet was created by Dr Tom Brewer who was a obstetrician and studied nutrition for over 50 years. He helped his patients achieve low risk, healthy pregnancies, uncomplicated natural labors through a focus on diet.

The diet is not supper strict diet when it comes to what you cannot eat but more about getting the right amount of nutrition into your diet. Most diets fads we see are about cutting out foods. Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Fat Free, Low Carb, Vegetarian, Vegan… those are all about cutting foods out of our diet. The brewers diet for pregnant women is different in that it tell you how much of each food group you should eat to get the right nutrition each day for you and your unborn baby.

This diet provides what you need for the unique needs for a pregnant woman. The brewers diet guides you through 12 different food groups containing the mother’s nutritional needs as well as the needs for your unborn baby. As you eat throughout your day there is a list you can check off if your meal hit any of the foods groups that is recommended. At the end of the day you can see what food groups your where missing and adjust the next day paying special attention to eat more of the foods you are missing. You can adjust your diet slowly as you find new habits of eating that check off everything on your list.

Brewers Food Groups

There are 12 different food groups that the brewers diet pulls from with each one having a specific serving size. The amount of servings are not your limit but your minimum for a healthy pregnancy.

• Dairy/Milk Products (4 Servings) milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese…
• Calcium (2 Servings) broccoli, kale, molasses…
• Eggs (2)
• Protein (6 to 8 Servings) meats, fish, beans, nuts…
• Fresh, dark green leafy vegetables (2 Servings) broccoli, sprouts, spinach…
• Whole grains (5Servings) brown rice, quinoa, pastas, bread…
• Vitamin C foods (2 Servings) grapefruit, orange juice, bell pepper…
• Fats and oils (3 Servings) butter, avocado, vegetable oils… 
• Vitamin A foods (1 Serving) apricots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin…
• Weekly Liver (optional) 
• Salt/Sodium (unlimited) 
• Water (unlimited) extra water

To see the different food options and serving sizes for each food group you can go to drbrewerpregnancydiet.com or download my FREE PDF Page as well as a weekly check list.

Based off of the Brewers diet basic plan its not always easy to determine how much nutrition each size serving really needs. I’ve done my best to try and write out how much of nutrition I believe Dr Brewer was aiming for. The protein food group was the easiest to determine. Each serving size Dr Brewer suggests is about 7 grams of protein. The calcium and vitamins were unclear how many grams are needed but there I was able to find a range I could work with. Vitamin A needs about 450mcg per serving,Vitamin C was 100 mg, Calcium around 50-100 mg each serving. The hard food groups for me have been the wheat and the dairy.

The way wheat and dairy is processed these days is a bit different then it was in the 70’s when this particular study and research was done. I advice caution and discernment with these two categorizes. Be wise as to the quality of your foods. If the suggested amount of wheat or dairy is effecting you negatively with bloating, gas, fatigue or just feeling gross afterwards, try eating less but of the best quality you can get your hands on. Sometimes this means making bread and yogurt at home with organic, high quality ingredients. Avoid processed, pre-made items in these two categories.

Adapting the Brewers Diet to Fit Your Needs

Dr Brewer knew very well that each women and pregnancy has their own unique needs. The brewers diet plan serves as a basic guide line but is able to be adapted based off of your needs. On the Brewers Diet page there is options for vegan and vegetarian diets. The goal is to get a balanced diet of the right foods for you. 

Pregnant women need extra nutritious calories and in order to get your daily needs you will need to eat a variety of foods. You get to choose the food you eat but if you follow Dr Brewers dietary guidelines you have the building blocks for a healthy and low-risk pregnancy. The brewers pregnancy diet is designed to be adaptable in the type of foods you eat while still getting the key nutrients you need. For example one of the categories is ‘dairy’. A lot of people now days have stomach problems with dairy due to its high processes and modified nature. If you are avoiding dairy you can substitute more calcium and soy options. Look at the vegan and vegetarian version of the brewers pregnancy diet for more ideas.

Nutrition value for each food group in the brewer diet

Understanding what nutrition is needed from each food group helps me adapt the diet to fit my needs. This however is I think where the Brewer diet lacks information. It is not always clear how much nutritional value each food group and serving size should be. I do believe this is because different foods have different combinations of nutrition making the absorption rate of the needed nutrition differ from one food to the next.

For example, sodium (salt) is unlimited according to the brewers diet. Did you know that sodium is not properly absorbed by your body unless you are eating enough potassium and magnesium? So if you are eating lots of greens (potassium) you may not need as much salt. If you lack in greens you may be wanting more salt due to the poor absorption rate. So if you are craving salty foods, eat them, along with some dark greens.

The protein food group was the easiest to determine and adapt. Each serving size Dr Brewer suggests is about 7 grams of protein. The calcium and vitamins were unclear how many grams are needed but there I was able to find a range I could work with. Vitamin A needs about 450mcg per serving,Vitamin C was 100 mg, Calcium around 50-100 mg each serving. The hard food groups for me have been the wheat and the dairy.

The way wheat and dairy is processed these days is a bit different then it was in the 70’s when this research was done. I advice caution and discernment with these two categorizes. Be wise as to the quality of your foods. If the suggested amount of wheat or dairy is effecting you negatively with bloating, gas, fatigue or just feeling gross afterwards, try eating less but of the best quality you can get your hands on. Sometimes this means making bread and yogurt at home with organic, high quality ingredients.

What foods to avoid when pregnant?

“What foods should I avoid when pregnant?” This is a question I think everyone asks when they find out they are pregnant with their first. Its a good questions that has a deeper answer then just a list of foods to avoid.

The common list of foods to avoid when pregnant is this:

• Raw fish
• Fish that is high in mercury (swordfish, shark and more)
• Hot dogs
• Deli meat
• Soft cheese
• Unpasteurized diary
• Unwashed fruits and vegetables
• Drugs
• Alcohol
• Caffeine
• and some people even say herbal tea… (please drink your herbal teas)

Why should we not eat these foods when pregnant?

This is the question we should be asking. We want to understand what it is that is actually harmful. The answer is bacteria. We should not be eating food that have a higher chance of harmful bacteria. So when avoiding foods we don’t stick to a list but consider the quality and cleanliness of our food.

How long was this food sitting out? Do I trust the kitchen that this food came from? Is my body healthy enough to eat this much sugar? Knowing sugar breaks down our immunity making it harder for us to battle harmful bacteria. What foods typically have a higher chance of harmful bacteria? These are questions that can help us determine if we should be eating certain foods.

Not all bacteria is bad.

We also consider our body’s ability to handle certain foods. I know of plenty of people who always drink raw milk for its good gut helping bacteria and continue to do so while they are pregnant and have no complications due to the raw milk. It’s probably not a good idea to start drinking raw milk for the first time while pregnant because you don’t know how your body will respond.

There is good bacteria, bad bacteria and worse bacteria. Remember our bodies are amazing and will fight the bad. Eat the right nutrition in order to keep your body fighting the bad bacteria when unexpectedly exposed.

Why is this bacteria more harmful when pregnant?

Food poisoning is never fun but when you are pregnant food poisoning can effect the development the baby greatly. The baby relies on your immune system to protect them. When your immune system is down, so is the baby’s. Your baby is a lot more fragile than you are. You may be able to bounce back after a day or two but your baby may suffer long term.

Don’t live in fear

Its tempting to take all this information in and be afraid that everything you eat might make you sick. This is not how you should live. Two reasons. One, God is healer and can sustain you and your baby. If he chooses not to He has a reason and you can trust that His goodness will be shown through a tough situation. Two, getting food poisoning is a possibility not a guarantee. That food poisoning leading to complications in pregnancy is also a possibility but not a guarantee. Eat wisely and leave chance to the Lord.

Why a healthy diet is so important during pregnancy?

Eating a healthy diet can help you avoid a high-risk pregnancy and complications at birth. Many of the more common complications are due to malnutrition. High blood pressure, gestational diabetes, anemia, underweight, overweight, just to name a few, can be avoided with the right diet.

It has been proven that the healthier you eat while pregnant it lowers the risk of some major complications as well. The risk of pre-eclampsia, placenta abruption, choleostasis, HELLP syndrome, premature labor, and so much more can be lowered by key nutrients throughout your pregnancy.

The healthier you are the better help to your baby you will be. As you nourish yourself you nourish your unborn baby. If a unforeseen complication does arise how much more dangerous if you and baby are also malnourished? Be better prepared for the unseen complications by giving you and baby the best care that you can through a healthy pregnancy diet.

How to avoid complications…

If you want to know more about how to prepare and avoid complications in pregnancy and birth check out my other post on this subject.

Curious about the different stages of labor?

Learn how to relax while in Natural Labor – No drugs needed!

The post The Brewers Diet | How To Eat Healthy When Pregnant appeared first on Embracing The Home.