Essential oils - super allergy bomb

I have had several friends ask me about what essential oils I use, and since I've had pretty good success with several concoctions, I thought I'd share my experience here.

Today I am going to share with you my SUPER ALLERGY BOMB concoction using Thieves, Breathe Easier and Melaleuca. All through Eden's Garden.

Please note: I am not a doctor. These statements are simply my experience. Please do your research and use with caution.

I have used this on every member of my family and this stuff works! If you have a cold, snotty nose, cough, allergies, etc. this stuff is for you!

It's simple. Put 30 drops of each oil into a roller bottle and roll it directly onto the bottom of your feet, back of your neck and behind your ears. I do this simple topical application for myself, my husband and my 2 year old. I notice a difference almost immediately, although I cannot use this right now because Breathe Easier has peppermint in it which will dry out my milk supply.

FOR MY BABY, I put a carrier oil on his feet first. I use coconut oil. Then I roll it directly onto his feet. I do not put it on his neck because I don't want it too close to his eyes.

THAT'S IT! I know how debilitating allergies and colds can be for a family, so I sure hope this helps y'all!

Judson - 2 months

Age: 2 months

Height: 23.75"

Weight: 12lbs. 5oz.

Nicknames: Judd, JudderBug

 

Milestones: We have smiles!! He's still pretty hard to impress, but when he sees me for the first time after nap or in the morning, he gives me huge gummy smiles that absolutely melt my heart! Judd found his hands this month and loves sucking on them, which are now usually open (he never really had "clubs" as hands like Jacob did though). He loves laying under his playmat, kicking his little legs and batting at the toys. He tracks with his eyes more smoothly now, and can definitely hear my voice in the room and will move his head to find me. Judd is also very vocal, he's always "talking" to us, which is seriously the cutest! Judd loves sitting in his bouncy seat, hitting the little toys and kicking his legs. Sometimes he kicks so much that he actually bounces himself, which I think is the point of the chair...big brother never did that though!

Sleep: We moved Judd into his own room on his 1mo birthday, and my goodness- what a good decision! He's such a noisy sleeper, so now we can't hear most of his moaning and whining. He's still in his rock & play, until we can figure out his reflux. Overall he's a much better sleeper than his brother (knock on wood), but I think that's in part to starting good sleep habits early with him (i.e. putting him down drowsy but awake). He can soothe himself to sleep for naps and bedtime with little to no crying. Yay! Here's our current schedule. 

Eating: We're still exclusively breastfeeding every 3 hours during the day and anywhere from 4-8 hours at night. Judd is such a different nurser than Jacob- Judd will not latch if he's not hungry and eats only what he wants, as soon as he's done he pops off and if you attempt to re-latch him he will cry!

Clothes size: 3mo

Diaper size: just upgraded to size 2!

 

Teeth: none

Favorite toy: he's been loving this zebra

Likes: His favorite thing to do is sit on my lap, looking at me, and talk and suck on his hands. I could do it for hours! He also loves diaper changes and going for walks.

Dislikes: being overtired, overstimulated, hungry or wet 

Personality: I'm still trying to figure out if he's easy going or high maintenance. Maybe a little in between, but definitely easier than Jacob.

Best moment: we've had some warmer temps recently, so just getting outside!!

Worst moment: Poor buddy got another cold this month, he's actually still recovering. Breaks my heart!

Looking forward to: warmer weather and lots of time outdoors!

How is Jacob adjusting?: Jacob has really started to warm up to his brother. He has always loved his baby brother, but he's just sooo sweet now! Always giving kisses and telling us how much he loves Judd. It's really cute! He always insists on going to get Judd after his naps or sitting next to me while I nurse him. He's still acting out a little bit, but not quite as much I think.

A few more pictures from the month...
 

 

Our Schedule - toddler + 2 month old

Something I always enjoy reading are sample schedules or other people's daily schedules, so I want to share that with you today.

I started a pretty strict schedule with Judd around 1 month, because I could not function without it. Jacob and I have grown so used to knowing what to expect that it was strange and, quite frankly, not working for us to not have a schedule anymore.

I also felt like I was spending all my days rocking Judd to sleep for naps and only getting 30-45 minute naps out of him. That wasn't working either, mostly because I cannot spend 30 minutes rocking him to sleep while Jacob plays in the living room by himself. God only knows what he could (and did) get into! Plus I'm a firm believer in the effects of overstimulation and overtiredness.

I had already done loads of sleep research with Jacob, so I kinda refreshed myself and decided what path we were going to take.

I love the adjustable schedules from Moms on Call and have heard tons of success stories of babies sleeping through the night by like 9 weeks, so I knew I wanted to go with that schedule. And I respect and understand the sleep training methods of Babywise, especially since I saw firsthand what bad sleep habits can do to a baby (ahem, Jacob). 

So with that little background, here's our current schedule. This is best case scenario. Some days we follow this to a T and other days I'm tapping out when dad gets home at 4:30. I've also noticed that Judd is ready to extend his feeding times to 3.5 hours, so we'll be changing things up very soon.

2am: Judd wakes up for the first time to eat. I feed him, change his diaper, re-swaddle him and put him back down.

6am: Judd wakes up again to eat. Like before, I feed him, change his diaper, re-swaddle him and put him back down.
7:30-8am: Jacob wakes up. After waking up myself, cleaning up and changing clothes, I go in and get Jacob up, change his diaper and clothes and bring him out to the living room for breakfast and milk.
8-8:30am: Judd wakes up. I change his diaper and bring him out to the living room.
(If Jacob has school, I try to feed Judd a little bit during this time before we leave. Otherwise, we play with Judd for a bit.)

9am: feed Judd while we watch cartoons (I try very hard to keep Judd on a 3-hour feed schedule)

9:30-10am: playtime with big brother, either on the playmat or in my arms

10am: Judd goes down for his first nap. I always change his diaper and put on lots of butt paste before naps. Swaddle + white noise + dark room = recipe for success!

10:10am: I pump, get Jacob to finish his breakfast, and clean up breakfast

11-12am: one-on-one playtime with Jacob. I also try to make Jacob's lunch at the end of this time, so he can graze on it for the hour.

12pm: Judd wakes up (or I wake him up, I only allow naps to go 2 hours). Diaper change and bring him out to the living room. 

12:05pm: feed Judd while we watch cartoons and Jacob eats lunch

12:30-1pm: playtime with big brother

1pm: Judd goes down for another nap. Diaper, swaddle, white noise, dark room. 

1:10-1:30pm: Jacob and I watch Thomas while he finishes his lunch. This is something we've done for almost a year now, good cuddle time!

1:30pm: Jacob goes down for his nap.

1:35pm: I make lunch for myself and do anything I need to do that can't be done while Jacob is awake (crafts, blog, etc.)

2:15pm: Jacob is usually up after 45-60 minutes, so I get him up, change his diaper and we come back out to the living room. I continue doing things I need to do (laundry, cleaning, etc.) and then make him a snack. 

3pm: Judd wakes up. I change his diaper and bring him out to the living room. 

3:05pm: feed Judd while we watch cartoons

3:30-4pm: playtime with big brother

4pm: Judd goes down for his afternoon nap

4:10-4:30pm: I am usually drained by this point, so I'll throw the iPad at Jacob or attempt to clean up all his toys.

4:30pm: dad gets home! Party! Jacob usually tags along with Josh for awhile and I sit on the couch and recover from the day. Haha!

5:30pm: I wake up Judd for his "supper" feed. Josh usually starts dinner. 

6-6:30pm: playtime with big brother and daddy while mom finishes dinner and plates it. Jacob starts eating dinner. 

6:30pm: Judd goes down for his last nap of the day, this is usually a catnap (unless he's slept bad all day).

6:30pm: we eat dinner 

7pm: start a Bubble Guppies episode with Jacob while he drinks a little smoothie (we've been doing this for over a year)
7:30pm: Judd wakes up
8pm: both boys start bathtime (I bathe Judd in the kitchen sink, while Josh bathes Jacob in the tub)
8:15pm: bedtime feeding in Judd's room
8:45pm: both boys are down, and Josh and I clean up the house
9pm: I take a shower and get in bed...e x h a u s t e d

I'm exhausted just reading this! Gah! This really puts things in perspective.