Tea Tree Oil is amazing...

Let's talk essential oils, specifically Tea Tree Oil.

I wish I knew more about essential oils and their uses and hopefully someday I will but for now the oil that I use on a daily basis is tea tree oil.  I know there are hundreds of uses for tea tree oil so I lucked out when Apothecary Extracts sent me a bottle of their Australian Tea Tree Oil to try out.  Not only is it an amazing deal but every order comes with a 100 page digital guide on the science behind the oil as well as 53 recipes so you can start using the oil to its full potential!

Currently I use it as part of my cloth wipe solution since it fights against bacteria, fungus and viruses. Kill those germs!  I also add a few drops to my cloth diaper laundry routine.

Tea tree oil can help with multiple skin conditions such as acne, eczema, psoriasis, ringworm, staph infection, sunburn, bug bites, warts, skin tags, boils, corns, dry skin/dandruff, calluses, chicken pox marks, dermatitis, hives, jock itch, scars and scratches.  Using recipes from the guide will help you cleanse your skin in a much more natural way without a lot of the harsh chemicals added to over the counter remedies.

Wouldn't you love to have an antiseptic spray for cuts and scrapes using tea tree oil, lavender, aloe vera and other simple ingredients instead of something from the pharmacy with ingredients you can't pronounce?  How about a toilet cleanser using tea tree oil, lemon, vinegar and baking soda?  I know I'd feel more comfortable having my daughter around that instead of highly noxious bleach fumes.

I can't wait to start implementing this amazing oil into more aspects of my life!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Happy first birthday...

Let's see if I can write this post without crying...it's time to share my labor and delivery story...

Today is August 9, 2014, 9:15am last year at this time I was driving myself to the hospital to get hooked back up to the monitors after being in preterm labor and on bed-rest for four days.  I had a bit of mother's intuition that it would be the day but that was definitely not in my doctor's plan.

My pregnancy was not an easy one. I had severe morning (umm "morning" is such a lie it was all-day-every-day) sickness for the first 7 months.  I still continued to get sick 3-4 times a week for the remainder, but that was a relief from the 4+ times a day!  I had plantar fasciitis in both feet and every step was like walking on hot pokers, my feet still have not fully recovered.  But, despite all that I loved being pregnant!

My little bug was an active baby.  From that first faint, butterfly wing like movement I never went longer than 10 minutes without feeling something.  After my 3 losses the activity was such a blessing, it helped me stay connected and calmed my nerves.

We decided to keep the sex of the baby a surprise.  I had very few choices in the way my delivery would go since I was a mandatory c-section due to my uterine rupture less than a year prior.  Choosing to wait made me feel like I had some say in things.  I also think it made the delivery just a bit more special.

Now all the back story is out of the way, let's get on to the fun part...

I started having minor Braxton Hicks contractions around 34 weeks but never more than 4 an hour and only when I was active or thirsty.  I tried to relax and hydrate as much as possible.  Then at 36 weeks things really picked up.  I started having 4-6 contractions an hour no matter what I was doing.  If I was standing they were 5 minutes apart.  My doctors felt like the best thing would be to get monitored every other day and stay on bed-rest.  It was a scary week.  I knew that each contraction put my uterus at risk of another rupture but that trying to keep the baby in till 37 weeks was also important.  I did a lot of praying and a lot of talking to my little one.

The night of August 8th as I was going to bed I felt a rush of calmness and heard, "you will be holding Juniper Kai tomorrow, just relax."  I did...although the name part threw me off a bit since we had a list of girl's names and although Juniper was on it Kai wasn't.

Beau went to work the next morning and I went off to be monitored thinking about the words of the night before, I was 36 weeks 6 days.  The doctor decided I should stay that night and schedule my c-section for the next morning since I would be officially 37 weeks at that point.  I  agreed to that plan but still heard the words on repeat in my head so knew I wouldn't be spending that night alone.  After a few hours my contractions started to lengthen.  They were 5 minutes apart and lasting for 10-15 minutes each.

The nurses were not happy with how fast I was progressing and they pumped me full of fluids and had me adjust positions trying to slow things down.  The anesthesiologist came up to speak to me and prep me for the next day.  The look on his face as he watched the monitor was priceless.  He kept asking how I was managing to be calm and talk to him while contracting like that.

While finishing the pre-op work up  my precious baby started to have some heart rate decelerations.  I knew to adjust my position and that helped but they paged my doctor quickly.  She decided we couldn't wait any longer and I called Beau and told him it was time.

Ok, welling up a bit now...

Beau seemed a bit on edge but I was all smiles heading into the or.  I was ready to meet my baby.  I heard my doctor say, "Wow, look at those eyelashes, this had better be a girl!"  And then there she was, August 9, 5:02pm, the most beautiful little baby girl I had ever seen!  What, you think I'm biased?  Nope, it's true, she was perfect and you can't tell me otherwise!

Finally having her little warm body placed on mine skin to skin made me feel complete.  I was what I had always dreamed of but never thought possible, I was a mother.

I spent that whole night just staring at her and snuggling her in my arms. (I don't think she spent more than 10 minutes in the bassinet during my entire hospital stay.)  I mentally went thru our list of girl names again but there was no point.  This little miracle was, is, and ever will be, my Juniper Kai.

Now a year later and she is snuggled in my arms nursing and dozing.  I feel like all that was just yesterday but at the same time I can't imagine my life before her.  I know growing up is important and I look forward to watching her change and blossom into an amazing woman but I want to remind her that there is no rush and she should stay little as long as she can.

Happy first birthday my little bug!

Love always, Mamma