Natural Sunscreen-Micronized Zinc Oxide

So after some extensive searching through scientific and mother blogging(really a very accurate source of trial testers on products)I've narrowed down sun exposure safety. As one with fair skin and a youngster who didn't inherit his father's beautiful tan-I am always on the look out on how to minimize mine and his burning potential. I mean really this is a daily adventure as I Love the Sun-hence the name-Sun Loving Baby....always searching for the warms rays.

Here's some helpful tips to enjoy the warm sunny weather

-Bring a Golf Umbrella

besides being and excellent choice for sun ray filtering it can be added entertainment for the little one. a tent stake and string are crucial on windy days or just tie it to a chair if you have one.

-Lightweight Organic Cotton or Hemp Clothing

long sleeve pants and shirts will keep you surprisingly cool on a hot day as your surface body temperature isn't baking in the sun-Ideally Hemp Clothing as it wicks moisture away from the body, is naturally temperature regulating and grown without pesticides (one of the main causes of cancer and birth defects)

-Hat with a strap

keeps the sun off the face and the strap deters little hands from successfully removing it off their dome.plus the strap keeps the hat secure on windy days

-Natural Sunscreen

read labels and research every ingredient. just because it's sold in the natural marketplace does not guarantee it's safe. Go here to find your sunscreen and see how it is rated in terms of toxicity, developmental effects, bioaccumulation, cancer hazard and more. You'll likely be as alarmed as I am on how even my choice brand of Alba is really toxic as well. I always hated the way you could taste it in your mouth after applying it. Those chemicals were really soaking in. Terrible.

After digging through several sources I've concluded that Physical Sunscreen with Broad Spectrum Coverage is ideal. What this means is the sunscreen using minerals instead of chemicals to block harmful rays is safer. The minerals basically absorb then reflect UV light before it reaches your precious skin. Mineral Sunscreens with Micronized Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide are in the Physical Sunscreen Category.

Micronized Zinc Oxide is the most affective at blocking UVA and UVB light. Currently the only organic brand on the market is Badger Sunscreen which is a base of olive oil, shea and cocoa butter and some essential oils with 20% Zinc Oxide. This is not Nano Zinc Oxide but Micronized meaning the particles are greater than 100nm. Their is much concern on cell damage (DNA mutation) from the nano particles penetrating several layers into the skin. Unfortunately, Burt's Bees uses Nano Titanium Dioxide among other dirty ingredients which only protects you from UVB light. Burt's Bees was also bought out by Clorox and bleach is a whole other topic on cancer and water contamination. If you go to the link on Burt's Bees above you'll find that the fragrance is really one of the worst ingredients-saturating your skin with a neurotoxin. This is where reading ingredient labels is so important instead of glazing over on a company name.

SPF is difficult to evalute and higher numbers are not neccesarily better. In my opinion 15 is probably the highest you need to go as higher numbers mean more mineral or chemical content. Too figure out how long the SPF is effective calculate

-How long till you burn w/o sunscreen-Multiply by SPF rating = # of minutes till it wears off.

For example if it normally takes 20 minutes for you to burn and your using SPF 15 then after 300 minutes you'll need another coat. Sooner if you've been sweating or in water. So divide the minutes in half.

I like to put on a layer of Organic Lotion as the Shea Butter has a natural SPF of 6 and it provides a barrier to the sunscreen risks. I'd much rather have the Organic Lotion soaking and the Sunscreen floating on top doing it's job absorbing and reflecting light. Plus if I use SPF 15 I'm basically getting around SPF 20 by applying the two layers.

My rule of thumb for all products going on the skin is to stick with true plant oils and butters and stay away from anything with

-Mineral Oil (petroleum based)

-Sulfates and Sulfites

-Dioxins

-Fragrance

-Metals-especially Aluminum (causes dementia-use your old cookware for plant containers)

Really after reviewing organic shampoos and sunscreens I am quite disturbed. It really seems in terms of sun exposure that cancer can occur if you do or don't use sunscreen. Not sure which is more rapid or severe. You'll have to decide on the lesser of 2 evils. A combination of some sunscreen and clothing and shade devices seems the best bet.

As for me-I'll be making a whole new line of hats and sunscreen sticks to survive these beautiful Montana Summers.

Growing Earth and Sun Oven

Spend the day growing your space. Things you can do on Earth Day. Isn't this pic so inspiring! Click on any of the links below for directions

-Make an Sun Oven Or Cob Sun Oven

-Build an Earth Oven

-Park your Car

-Start an Urban Garden

-Make an Urban Greenspace

-Turn Your Computer Off

Diaper Free at 9 Months

Here we are at 9 months old and diaper free! How can this be you ask? Well we started at 7 weeks communicating with our little one and have finally broken free of the cloth diaper.



Parents diagnose Sleepy, Tired, Teething, Hungry, Frustrated, Happy etc..It only made sense to include the Need to Releive. And interestingly enough the early stages of lumping all needs into the above categories were actually indicative of the urge to pee or poo.



So there's three options out there-Disposable, Cloth and Diaper Free. The later being the most eco-nomical.

Here's how you can get started by following these 3 guidelines:



Ques

Timing

Consistancy



QUES

-restlessness

-fidgety-verbally agitated

-pumping legs

-shiver/quiver

-crawling to you or potty

-motioning toward or grabbing groin

-won't latch on

-becomes still (after crawling-rolling)

-stops making eye contact

-pushes away when done nursing



**Remember the cues evolve over time and are somewhat dependent on development



TIMING

-upon waking

-every 20 minutes (0-4months)

every30 minutes(4-6 months)

every 40 minutes(6-9 months)

-before leaving home

-upon arriving

-pulls off abruptly when nursing

-before wearing/wrapping

-after wearing/wrapping



**Find a rthyme that works for your child



CONSISTANCY

-when peeing or pooping use the same verbal cue

ex:pishing while peeing/grunting while pooping

-offer potty frequently

-offer potty after you miss one

-Keep At It-it can take a few months



What my diaper bag(daypack/backpack) is filled with

Red Potty

Handful of Cloth Wipes

2 Prefolds

2Cloth Diapers

32oz yogurt container-for backup and cleanup



**My personal cue was if I blew through both diapers I was not paying enough attention to my little ones' needs



We used cloth until we we're communicating more effectively. See the side bar for the hemp diapers we like.

Cloth also makes it easier to tell when you miss a pee(soaks thru rapidly)

Cloth diapers are great "potty trainers" for parents. You will associate what happened right before you felt pee or poo. Again it's about communicating with your child and "training yourself" to understand your child's ques.



This is not a new concept. Third World countries do not have the luxury of washing diapers or buying throw-aways. They are in tune their babies needs by neccesity. Also wrapping your baby is more commonplace around the world. Wrapping makes me far more cognizent of my little one's needs than any other carrying method.



A majority of the literature on "Potty Training" has really missed the point. Most parents spend the first few months "training" their child to go in their pants. Mammals inheritently do not want to releive themselves on themselves. Parents then at some point switch teams and try to get their child to stop using their pants and move to the potty.

Ever notice you get peed on quite a lot in the the early days?



This happens for several reasons I believe

-Baby waits to releive themselves instinctually when they don't have fiber bound to their waist

-Parents are actually intuitively tuning into when the baby needs to pee

If you feel this might be alot of work. Spend a day catching pees/poos and spend a day changing diapers. The former is far less time consuming, less messy and a great way to connect with your child!

Cottonwood Salve and Snow Buntings

If your baby falls asleep in the car consider yourself one of the lucky few. My baby just so happens to be one the members of this joyous club. During the early days of spring it has afforded me the opportunity to go birding mid afternoon.

Much to my enjoyment I have taken advantage of these splendid occasion to glass the glacier country side for migrant arrivals and winter farewell birds. This includes my spot of 15+ Snow Buntings in the West Valley Region of Montana. The males were in a spectacular transition from winter to breeding plumage. Bodies representing the summer plumage and heads adorning their winter colors. They have since departed on their journey to the Alaskan Coast for the summer.

Over the weekend we went looking for Cottonwood branches. I collected the Cottonwood Buds to macerate a medicinal salve for cuts, wounds and pain. Cottonwood buds are very aromatic, like sweet cindered honey, and exude a sticky ochre resin. After several months of soaking in an organic olive oil bath, the oil will be strained and added to a little beeswax. This medicinal salve is commonly known as the Balm of Gilead and highly therapeutic. The buds were collected around the full moon so the medicinal properties are being drawn out by the moons vibration. The branches fall reticently during wind storms as was the case for our collection. This stand of cottonwoods was along the Flathead River. Branches were laying on the icy shoreline that was beginning to melt.

I give the oils a vigorous shake daily. The resin is already making it's way into the oil and smells oh so delicious. Being from the willow family, Cottonwood has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as, cell proliferation constituents. It is best used on painful joints, burned skin and open cuts.

Biking Bald Eagles

Melting snow and new seeds coming up make me dream of biking in the warm sun with my little sprout. I found this great bike seat attachment. The features I like

Easy to Attach

Not Bulky

Fits on the front of my Mountain Bike

Muds not flying up on your little one

Better baby view for them and for me!

We were taking a snowy walk on one my bike trails and saw 3 Bald Eagles today. Mom and Dad plus their juvenile. A raven was dive bombing one of the adults to move them out of his territory. They were all casually riding a thermal. A Red Tailed Hawk came in as well and the Raven promptly chased it off.

Eagle calls are so beautiful. Very High Pitch and Lucid. Their wing span is phenomenal-80" or nearly 6ft 7inches. They are a common site in Montana and no less majestic.

Birds are precise indicators of season and weather changes. One of our summer migrants will be arriving from Oregon and Washington---Varied Thrush---Males of most migratory species have strong site fidelity. They return to the same nesting territories year after year. So it is possible the singing migrant who visits your woods is the same male from the year before.

I love the sound of town right now. It's like walking around in a zen water garden. The water is trickling and dripping off roofs and coursing down the road. Male birds are singing and enticing females. Hearing is so heighten this time of year after the long winter silence.

Organic Baby Lotion

I've just created our Organic Lotion Line. It consists of a rich base of organic hemp seed oil, organic coconut oil, organic shea butter and infused organic lavender floral water. It is gentle enough for baby and perfect for the whole family. Goes on smooth and feels light and refreshing. Comes unscented or your choice of aroma.

Check out our whole line from the same base including Organic Bug Repellent , After Sun Therapy and Rejuvinate. All lotions come in a 4 oz blue glass bottle with black pump top. We use glass instead of plastic as it does not leach impurities into our products. The pump top is really nifty as well. Simply turn counter clockwise to lock pump in place.

In honor of this momentous occasion we'll be giving away a free bottle of Organic Baby Lotion (suitable for all ages). Simply identify this bird in the post and be the first to leave a comment.

Snowshoeing in Wool Boots

These little wonders are from my felted wool sweater project! We like to wear the felted wool sweater pants too(vibrant red sweater). Wool is so warm and moisture wicking in the winter. No need to worry about sweating in this cold weather. Just perfect dry warmth. I plan to make larger boot sizes with leather bottoms (upcycled pants). Email me your Creations from felted wool!