3/11/10
At the end of the day
I lifted my baby into my lap last night. She was warm and sweet, smelling of the days little mysteries and many adventures. She settled in, snuggled into mismatched pyjamas, one freckled over with puppy dogs and one with ponies. Her teeth brushed and flossed, tired out from day-long playing, laughing, growing.
We spent full hours in the sunshine together, bicycling round our neighborhood, eating watermelon while we watered our container garden and hung laundry in the sun. She chased shadows around and giggled at a sneaky lizard stealing the warmest place in the sun for itself.
Her laugh tinkled through the apartment as she ran back and forth, inside, outside: free-reign over the tiny spot we call a yard, freedom to run across a square of grass without holding someones hand.
I never foresaw this as being my life and yet it fits so perfectly, just as she does onto my lap. Her legs now dangle far too long and her chin tucks only on my shoulder, too big to kiss and cuddle her plumsized cheeks at once, her hair clings to the back of her neck now, longer and curlier than I foresaw in any dream. She is beautiful and sweet, gentle with her friends and dogs. And each moment mothering her is perfect.
Winding down, she croons at first a letter-song: g, b,q,s. A,a,a, two-three-four-five-eyes-ears-teeth-Oreo. Dog.
And then she sleeps, blissfully and deeply settled into my arms in a way that only my daughter can. This is one of those sweet sweet moments I will miss when her figure stands a tall as her pappas and her voice loses it's honesuckle sweetness, but for now, I hold her; I am mother-comfort, and I am grateful for the job.
- mamma pie
3/10/10
Maggie's Soap Nuts winners!!!!
The two winners of the Maggie's Soap Nuts are:
Winner #13,
who was The Milk Maid. She said:
I blogged about this review/giveaway!
(Entry 3)
http://12hatsandasombrero.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/everything-we-need-god-has-provided-in-nature/
(a little funny thing- The Random Number Generator picked the Milk Maid as winner #2 as well. I didn't think that was fair so I ran it a third time)
and the second winner is number 29:
who was urban craft. Urban Craft said:
I didn't know that they were from Big Sur, but I used to live in Monterey and went to Big Sur often. I must add that I the people there are amazing. The most environmentally in tune spiritual holistic people you will ever meet. There are so many chemicals in everything we use. Soap nuts are another discovery that needs to be embraced for a healthy lifestyle, along with so many other natural products.
Winners, please email me your mailing information (patrick.marybeth/gmail) so I can pass it on to Maggie's Soap Nuts. Also indicate if you would prefer the soap nut liquid or the actual soap nuts please!
A big thank you to Maggie's Pure Land for sponsoring this review and giveaway and to all of you new and old readers alike for entering. I hope you enjoy your product as much as I did!
MammaPie
Winner #13,
who was The Milk Maid. She said:
I blogged about this review/giveaway!
(Entry 3)
http://12hatsandasombrero.wordpress.com/2010/02/28/everything-we-need-god-has-provided-in-nature/
(a little funny thing- The Random Number Generator picked the Milk Maid as winner #2 as well. I didn't think that was fair so I ran it a third time)
and the second winner is number 29:
who was urban craft. Urban Craft said:
I didn't know that they were from Big Sur, but I used to live in Monterey and went to Big Sur often. I must add that I the people there are amazing. The most environmentally in tune spiritual holistic people you will ever meet. There are so many chemicals in everything we use. Soap nuts are another discovery that needs to be embraced for a healthy lifestyle, along with so many other natural products.
Winners, please email me your mailing information (patrick.marybeth/gmail) so I can pass it on to Maggie's Soap Nuts. Also indicate if you would prefer the soap nut liquid or the actual soap nuts please!
A big thank you to Maggie's Pure Land for sponsoring this review and giveaway and to all of you new and old readers alike for entering. I hope you enjoy your product as much as I did!
MammaPie
3/6/10
My birth story with little berry, part 2
This is the final part of my birth story with Little Berry. For the first installment, see here .
Around noon on August 4th, I was still laboring hard. My water had still not broken, but I was having strong contractions every three minutes that I could not talk through. I was using the shower for 10-20 minutes at a time and it really helped. At one point, I began to feel guilty about the water usage and came out of the shower. My midwife suggested I use the birthing tub, and filled it for me. It was bad timing.
Pappa Starbucks was at home (remember, it was just around the corner) to walk our dog. I was exhausted so she filled the tub for me and I got in, leaving me alone. I felt suddenly and intensely overwhelmed by how alone I was and I started feeling tense, upset, perhaps even scared. I felt hot and painful and angry and loathed the birthing tub, although I think if I had tried it again with Pappa Starbucks there to would have been able to relax and enjoy it. I got out and put my headphones back on, listening to the same song over and over. It was "Crazy" by Seal and I had been using it throughout the morning. Something about it helped me relax and I kept it on repeat. I bounced on the birthing ball, tried the birthing chair, and when Pappa Starbucks returned, I was exhausted and realized I needed sleep. I had thought there was no way I could sleep in labor but I did-for almost an hour I was in a heavy hard sleep that was lucid and also very deep. When I woke up, I felt like I was coming out of a trance and I began laboring hard again.
I know my midwife checked me and I was almost fully dilated. I tried the shower again and I remember standing under the sharp splattering of hot water, the sound of running water filling the room, when I entered the third stage of labor. I wanted to push, I needed to push, but I was in the shower alone and there was no one else there to keep me from falling. I had a vision of responding to the urge to push and then slipping and hitting my head, or of the baby falling down the drain, a bizarre frantic airless panic sank in. Looking back on moments like this I wish wish wish I had sought out a doula. I could have used someone throughout my labor to just "be" with me. I was alone a lot. My midwives were busy with another mamma to be who had arrived (they complained about her while I was pushing!) "only two centimeters dilated and already screaming."
I crawled out of the shower on my knees, found a towel, and went back to the pretty yellow room that was around the corner. I think if I had not been alone in the shower I would have probably given birth rather quickly standing up there, it felt natural, compulsive.
When I went from the rushing water to the quiet yellow room I also felt tense again and instead of still needing to push, I began walking. I spent about 15minutes walking, my contractions very strong and consistent. I was on my knees breathing in and out to Seal when my midwives started insisting I try different positions. They were tired I'm sure. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon and I had been there since about 8am. It occurred to me that this is going to happen soon and I'm almost there!
I know I was anxious. I felt very unsupported. I'm okay saying this now, I've worked through most of the feelings I have about her birth. Writing these things down for me is the last step in moving past the sorrow I have over what I expected versus what I experienced. Not all births with midwives and "natural birth centers" are peaceful or beautiful. Not all women who choose unmedicated births have support teams and I was one of those women.
My midwives were fairly aggressive during the last stage of labor and the 45minutes I spent pushing. They held my legs, they told me when to push, they moved the lip of my cervix back forcefully without asking if I wanted them to. They massaged me forcefully with olive oil and never once asked if I wanted them to. And I didn't have the energy, knowledge, stamina- to tell them they were hurting me. I wish I could have that hour back, I would do it differently, I believe firmly that these are all interventions, that left on my own I could have found a natural position (rather than flat on my back, really, the most unproductive position) and I would be sharing different words.
But I lay, and I pushed and I cried, and I yelled words about how "I DIDNT WANT TO BE PREGNANT ANYMORE!!!!" And after this feeling of immense anger and solitude passed,
I breathed in and pushed down down down through the end of the world and out into the spinning light of a yellow room I birthed my beautiful daughter whose cord was tucked in spirals around her neck, where Midwives clamped it and cut it even though her pappa had asked to do it himself, and lay her on my chest to learn how to breathe.
We went home that same evening around 9:00, 4 hours after she became my daughter, little berry was safe at home, in a small apartment on a pretty street that will always be a little special, it was where I began to feel like a mama.
Around noon on August 4th, I was still laboring hard. My water had still not broken, but I was having strong contractions every three minutes that I could not talk through. I was using the shower for 10-20 minutes at a time and it really helped. At one point, I began to feel guilty about the water usage and came out of the shower. My midwife suggested I use the birthing tub, and filled it for me. It was bad timing.
Pappa Starbucks was at home (remember, it was just around the corner) to walk our dog. I was exhausted so she filled the tub for me and I got in, leaving me alone. I felt suddenly and intensely overwhelmed by how alone I was and I started feeling tense, upset, perhaps even scared. I felt hot and painful and angry and loathed the birthing tub, although I think if I had tried it again with Pappa Starbucks there to would have been able to relax and enjoy it. I got out and put my headphones back on, listening to the same song over and over. It was "Crazy" by Seal and I had been using it throughout the morning. Something about it helped me relax and I kept it on repeat. I bounced on the birthing ball, tried the birthing chair, and when Pappa Starbucks returned, I was exhausted and realized I needed sleep. I had thought there was no way I could sleep in labor but I did-for almost an hour I was in a heavy hard sleep that was lucid and also very deep. When I woke up, I felt like I was coming out of a trance and I began laboring hard again.
I know my midwife checked me and I was almost fully dilated. I tried the shower again and I remember standing under the sharp splattering of hot water, the sound of running water filling the room, when I entered the third stage of labor. I wanted to push, I needed to push, but I was in the shower alone and there was no one else there to keep me from falling. I had a vision of responding to the urge to push and then slipping and hitting my head, or of the baby falling down the drain, a bizarre frantic airless panic sank in. Looking back on moments like this I wish wish wish I had sought out a doula. I could have used someone throughout my labor to just "be" with me. I was alone a lot. My midwives were busy with another mamma to be who had arrived (they complained about her while I was pushing!) "only two centimeters dilated and already screaming."
I crawled out of the shower on my knees, found a towel, and went back to the pretty yellow room that was around the corner. I think if I had not been alone in the shower I would have probably given birth rather quickly standing up there, it felt natural, compulsive.
When I went from the rushing water to the quiet yellow room I also felt tense again and instead of still needing to push, I began walking. I spent about 15minutes walking, my contractions very strong and consistent. I was on my knees breathing in and out to Seal when my midwives started insisting I try different positions. They were tired I'm sure. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon and I had been there since about 8am. It occurred to me that this is going to happen soon and I'm almost there!
I know I was anxious. I felt very unsupported. I'm okay saying this now, I've worked through most of the feelings I have about her birth. Writing these things down for me is the last step in moving past the sorrow I have over what I expected versus what I experienced. Not all births with midwives and "natural birth centers" are peaceful or beautiful. Not all women who choose unmedicated births have support teams and I was one of those women.
My midwives were fairly aggressive during the last stage of labor and the 45minutes I spent pushing. They held my legs, they told me when to push, they moved the lip of my cervix back forcefully without asking if I wanted them to. They massaged me forcefully with olive oil and never once asked if I wanted them to. And I didn't have the energy, knowledge, stamina- to tell them they were hurting me. I wish I could have that hour back, I would do it differently, I believe firmly that these are all interventions, that left on my own I could have found a natural position (rather than flat on my back, really, the most unproductive position) and I would be sharing different words.
But I lay, and I pushed and I cried, and I yelled words about how "I DIDNT WANT TO BE PREGNANT ANYMORE!!!!" And after this feeling of immense anger and solitude passed,
I breathed in and pushed down down down through the end of the world and out into the spinning light of a yellow room I birthed my beautiful daughter whose cord was tucked in spirals around her neck, where Midwives clamped it and cut it even though her pappa had asked to do it himself, and lay her on my chest to learn how to breathe.
We went home that same evening around 9:00, 4 hours after she became my daughter, little berry was safe at home, in a small apartment on a pretty street that will always be a little special, it was where I began to feel like a mama.
3/4/10
My birth story with little berry, part 1
On August 3rd 2008, I was a week past my due date with my little berry. I was finishing up my Junior year at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. At 30weeks, Pappa Starbucks and I toured the labor and delivery wing of the Womens Hospital there. As we walked through the doors, the staff member was telling us about ankle bracelets used to prevent babynappings, that would shut down the entire hospital wing if the infant cane within five feet if the doors with this device on. It is standard procedure. I was already having concerns about my desired birth being compromised, and felt very unsupported in my delivery wishes. Pappa Starbucks is very pro interventions (he says that doctors have been to medical school and therefore are better prepared to make decisions regarding our health care needs, from cesarean deliveries to vaccines) and while that is good and right for him, it isn't right for me.
My philosophy was that if a baby was left with their mother to be weighed, to room in, etc, at least in most cases, this would be unnecessary. I was also upset about the way birth was being presented. Instead of telling me about the support staff that would be available, the tour guide was pulling stirrups out and showing the women in my group the fold down panel of lights and medical equipment and television setups that were in the ceiling "just in case," and that "the OR was right around the corner in case they needed to do a c-section." I asked about waterbirthing, and they answered, candidly, that that was considered unsafe and I needed to consider the monitors.
At this point I told pappa starbucks I was ready to leave, and we went home.
I was hormonal and irrational and pretty mad because I thought I had no other choice; but I knew this was not the right place for me to give birth to my daughter.
We discussed our options (I wanted to have a home birth at this point) and as luck would have it, there was a birthing center within walking distance of our apartment at that time, the only one in North Carolina. I was so excited that it was that close.
I would like to say I was reading up on natural birthing and attending birthing classes, but I wasn't. I was busy with a work-study job, taking several summer courses, and crashing in the early evenings, exhausted and also a little depressed. Pappa Starbucks was also working and going to school, as well as nannying part-time. To say we were busy and trying to do too much is an understatement. I think this is partly why our relationship has been so strained since her birth.
Making the Switch:
We didn't get a first appointment at the birthing center until I was 37weeks along. But because I was healthy and didn't have diabetes or any other conditions, they took me on. Their policy is that all patients take a birthing class before delivery, something I think hosipitals don't often require, but in the end they actually waived this requirement for me since there was no way I could get into and finish a birthing class in time.
After I got into the birthing center I only had 3weeks until my due date. We saw the facilities, met the midwives, and I began to read a lot of their books on breastfeeding, which was my biggest concern. I was more fixated on being able to nurse than on my impending unmedicated childbirth! August 3rd rolled around and I was huge. I was hot, tired, beginning to feel aneimic, and a week "overdue." I was craving vegetarian summer rolls and peanut butter and peaches like no one's business- eating those three things almost constantly.
I felt ready to deliver and had been 50%effaced for days, dilated to a 2for a week. I was using EPO and feeling... ready. I had the "nursery" set up, a huge room devoted to our little babe, diapers all lined up, clothes sitting waiting to be worn. I would sit and fold and refold her things, excited, eager, I had her coming home outfit picked out and the camera batteries charged.
On August 3rd, I felt two big contractions somewhere around noon but then nothing after that. Pappa Starbucks and I took to the mall, walking and walking and walking, finally ending the evening with dinner of Vegetarian Summer Rolls, and at about ten o clock that night I knew I was about to go into labour. I wish I had taken that chance to sleep, but I was suddenly feeling bursting with things I needed to do. I stripped all the sheets off of our bed and replaced them with bright white ones (I get the biggest laugh out of this now) and removed all the bedding from Little Berry's crib, thinking it needed to be cleaned again. I scrubbed the stairs one by one because they just looked SO dirty all of a sudden!! and I woke up Pappa Starbucks to tell him I wanted him to install the carseat. I was scrubbing the refrigerator, folding towels. I was nesting.
We spent the rest of the night "resting," (not sleeping, unfortunately) though my contractions got very close together quickly. They were 5 minutes apart andstrong by 3am. We hung out, walked the dog, and at 5am we called the midwives and drove to Starbucks. I wanted to stay home but he was adamantly against this, and yet he had HAD to get his coffee fix, a true coffee lover. I was very nauseaus and just wanted to be MOVING. Walking. We went into Starbucks a few minutes after they opened (he has once worked at this starbucks and knew everyone) and while he got his free coffee I tried to eat a croissant. When Pappa Starbucks is nervous, he
makes lots of jokes, talks a lot. Getting coffee took forever. We left at about 6, even though I wanted nothing less than to get in the car again and would have been happy staying there for the rest of the day.
When we got to the birthing center, the midwives unlocked the doors and let us in. We were both excited but knew I would probably spend the rest of the day in labor.
I was in back labor, so the midwife wrapped a sheet around my tummy to help Little Berry turn. This caused the contractions to feel extremely intense and she did turn later but not until I was enjoying a hot, hot shower.
.....to be continued!
My philosophy was that if a baby was left with their mother to be weighed, to room in, etc, at least in most cases, this would be unnecessary. I was also upset about the way birth was being presented. Instead of telling me about the support staff that would be available, the tour guide was pulling stirrups out and showing the women in my group the fold down panel of lights and medical equipment and television setups that were in the ceiling "just in case," and that "the OR was right around the corner in case they needed to do a c-section." I asked about waterbirthing, and they answered, candidly, that that was considered unsafe and I needed to consider the monitors.
At this point I told pappa starbucks I was ready to leave, and we went home.
I was hormonal and irrational and pretty mad because I thought I had no other choice; but I knew this was not the right place for me to give birth to my daughter.
We discussed our options (I wanted to have a home birth at this point) and as luck would have it, there was a birthing center within walking distance of our apartment at that time, the only one in North Carolina. I was so excited that it was that close.
I would like to say I was reading up on natural birthing and attending birthing classes, but I wasn't. I was busy with a work-study job, taking several summer courses, and crashing in the early evenings, exhausted and also a little depressed. Pappa Starbucks was also working and going to school, as well as nannying part-time. To say we were busy and trying to do too much is an understatement. I think this is partly why our relationship has been so strained since her birth.
Making the Switch:
We didn't get a first appointment at the birthing center until I was 37weeks along. But because I was healthy and didn't have diabetes or any other conditions, they took me on. Their policy is that all patients take a birthing class before delivery, something I think hosipitals don't often require, but in the end they actually waived this requirement for me since there was no way I could get into and finish a birthing class in time.
After I got into the birthing center I only had 3weeks until my due date. We saw the facilities, met the midwives, and I began to read a lot of their books on breastfeeding, which was my biggest concern. I was more fixated on being able to nurse than on my impending unmedicated childbirth! August 3rd rolled around and I was huge. I was hot, tired, beginning to feel aneimic, and a week "overdue." I was craving vegetarian summer rolls and peanut butter and peaches like no one's business- eating those three things almost constantly.
I felt ready to deliver and had been 50%effaced for days, dilated to a 2for a week. I was using EPO and feeling... ready. I had the "nursery" set up, a huge room devoted to our little babe, diapers all lined up, clothes sitting waiting to be worn. I would sit and fold and refold her things, excited, eager, I had her coming home outfit picked out and the camera batteries charged.
On August 3rd, I felt two big contractions somewhere around noon but then nothing after that. Pappa Starbucks and I took to the mall, walking and walking and walking, finally ending the evening with dinner of Vegetarian Summer Rolls, and at about ten o clock that night I knew I was about to go into labour. I wish I had taken that chance to sleep, but I was suddenly feeling bursting with things I needed to do. I stripped all the sheets off of our bed and replaced them with bright white ones (I get the biggest laugh out of this now) and removed all the bedding from Little Berry's crib, thinking it needed to be cleaned again. I scrubbed the stairs one by one because they just looked SO dirty all of a sudden!! and I woke up Pappa Starbucks to tell him I wanted him to install the carseat. I was scrubbing the refrigerator, folding towels. I was nesting.
We spent the rest of the night "resting," (not sleeping, unfortunately) though my contractions got very close together quickly. They were 5 minutes apart andstrong by 3am. We hung out, walked the dog, and at 5am we called the midwives and drove to Starbucks. I wanted to stay home but he was adamantly against this, and yet he had HAD to get his coffee fix, a true coffee lover. I was very nauseaus and just wanted to be MOVING. Walking. We went into Starbucks a few minutes after they opened (he has once worked at this starbucks and knew everyone) and while he got his free coffee I tried to eat a croissant. When Pappa Starbucks is nervous, he
makes lots of jokes, talks a lot. Getting coffee took forever. We left at about 6, even though I wanted nothing less than to get in the car again and would have been happy staying there for the rest of the day.
When we got to the birthing center, the midwives unlocked the doors and let us in. We were both excited but knew I would probably spend the rest of the day in labor.
I was in back labor, so the midwife wrapped a sheet around my tummy to help Little Berry turn. This caused the contractions to feel extremely intense and she did turn later but not until I was enjoying a hot, hot shower.
.....to be continued!
2/25/10
Green and clean: Maggie's Soap Nuts review and Giveaway!
Giveaway closed! Winners will be announced shortly. Thanks for entering!
What are Soap Nuts?
Do you know what this is?
This is a soapnut. Or rather, the husk of the fruit of the Sapindus tree, and it has completely changed my perspective on cleaning. It is a powerful shell and when wet, it produces a deep-cleansing solution. Maggies Pure Land offered to send me both the soapnuts and the liquid soapnut solution (which smells of a cheerful and clean tea-tree & lavender scent) to try. As many of you all know, I am committed to making green choices in our home.
Why I love Soap Nuts
Since we cloth diaper, I am quite picky about the detergent I use in our washer. Most detergents contain whiteners, brighteners, surfactants, and fragrances, which will ruin a diapers absorbency. Cloth diapering is part of my commitment to use only the best and most natural products on my family because I truly believe these choices are linked to our health. Maggie's soap nuts delivers on this promise on every level. Take a few (2 at a time is recommended) of these little berries, toss them into the included drawstring bag and then into the wash cycle of the laundry. The nuts themselves smell of an almost chalky vinegar scent, but the laundry, once dried, will only smell of a fresh and breezy clean scent (it truly is just the smell of clean) that many manufactured detergents try to (and promise to) create but with the use of chemical fragrances. Maggies Soap Nuts have none of those harmful ingredients and still does the work better than any detergent I've ever used. This is a 100% natural, do-it-all cleaner, and it has been used for cleaning for thousands of years.
Mother Nature's Way
We do line drying with our whites (yes, even in the city!), and therefore we don't need to use bleach. The sun gets even the biggest and baddest baby stains out, and around here that's priceless. But if you don't line dry, and don't want to try it, you should use an environmentally friendly oxygen bleach when you do your whites, because these soapnuts don't contain artificial whiteners or brighteners. I'm going to point this out now for those of you who might not know: the ingredients used in standard cleaners are chemicals. Nearly all laundry detergents contain whiteners, brighteners, perfumes/fragrances, artificial surfactants. Just check out the label on your current laundry detergent and google the ingredients one at a time. You'll see that not only are they mostly toxic, they are also linked to many skin conditions such as eczema and other skin allergies and ingredients such as Diethanolamine is cited as a carcinogen, but still used in cleaners and detergents. Shampoos and body washes are also laden with toxins, especially sulfates which literally destroy your skin. Even plant-derived sulfates can be harmful, such as Cocamide DEA, which can even be in products that are labeled "organic" and "natural," but clearly has serious side effects. Also ingredients such as parabens, and disodium EDTA can be found in these traditional household products. I am now using Maggies soap nuts as a shampoo alternative.
How to use Soap Nuts
At the same time as Maggie's Pure Land sent me these products, I had decided that I was going to ditch traditional shampoo because I was developing psoriasis on my scalp, shoulders and arms. I'll be honest, I actually hadn't figured out that the rash on my shoulders was due to my "natural" shampoo, but I knew my scalp was suffering from the daily dose of chemicals, and I've always noted that when I wash my hair, I get a sharp metallic taste in my mouth.
I switched to an SLS free tooth paste last year due to sensitivity issues, and it makes sense to switch to a product that is sulfate free for my scalp as well. After using the solution for a week, I have no more rash on my shoulders, and my scalp feels healthy and clean. I filled a spray bottle full of water and soaked 3 husks in the water until it became a tea-colored solution, and added a few drops of pure lemon juice into my solution to lighten my hair naturally and freshen the scent, which also conditions the scalp. I reused the shells for making a cleaner for the home when I was done making my soapnut shampoo. I simply spray it on my hair in the shower, soak, and rinse. My hair has regained luster and body, it is soft and now has developed a natural curl/ wave that I've tried every chemical product on the market to force it to have for years. I love my hair now, and I have been actually enjoying wearing it down.
Other uses for Soap Nuts
Besides of using as a shampoo, you can use these soapnuts for anything you would do with a regular cleaner. Simply soak 2 soapnuts in a few cups of warm water and you've got an all natural household cleaner for washing the table, cleaning the fridge, even cleaning things like the baby's high chair. I loved how shiny and clean it got my stove, as well as the microwave which I am usually afraid to use cleaners on as I use it to heat water and milk daily. Pour an ounce of the solution into your mop bucket and clean the floor, or spray the shower down when you get out with your soapnut 'shampoo.'
For washing laundry, put the berries into the included sack (2 at a time is ideal) and toss into the washload. You leave them in the cycle until you're ready to dry your clothes. You can use them for cold cycles or hot, for regular washers and high efficiency. The berries are used up after a cycle or two and you'll know they're ready to be composted when they stop feeling slippery when they're wet. Composted husks will easily turn to dirt. They're very low sudsing, so if you're washing dishes with them (yes, I did this too, I'm telling you, they're the do-it-all cleaner!), you might want to do as I did and either put some solution into a spray bottle to spray onto dishes as you wash, or a cup of soaked husk solution like this
through the food processor, where you'll get this:
I found this worked really well, but didn't have much "grab" onto the dishes, so I mixed in a tablespoon of baking soda and drops of lemon juice to give a bit of scrubbing power. It was as effective as my regular dishsoap and completely natural, sensitive on my hands smells great, and is completely friendly to the environment. As for our laundry, I've been switching between the liquid soapnut solution that Maggies offers and the regular soapnut husks (link). I love both- the liquid is readily convenient and leaves a light, pleasant scent on the laundry when it's done. The soapnuts are small and compact, perfect for traveling, and as stated before, leave clothes extremely soft and have reduced the lint output on our loads. I don't use dryer sheets, and yet my laundry has been fluffier and undeniably softer. I love it for the diaper laundry as I know that there is nothing to worry about in terms of residue or irritants.
It's simply clean, the way nature intended it to be, and doesn't break down the quality of my clothes or the diapers in a way that ordinary products do. This is the best product I have ever tried in our home. The only downfall was that I now have many bottles of products I don't want to use any more sitting in the cleaner cabinet, and yet I don't want to throw into the trash and pollute the environment either. These soapnuts are a product that I will continue using and am certain that I will eventually transition to owning nothing else but a variety of essential oils to add to my solutions and a bulk of soapnuts. I know that their products are marketed primarily as a laundry detergent, but it really is a do-it-all cleaner. I can't imagine continuing to spend money on bottles of chemicals when I know this can do it all without the negative impacts on our health or my biggest fear: child poisoning. When you realize the things you can stop buying and use this on instead, you will understand that I mean it when I say this is an incredibly affordable product.
Maggie's strives to help normalize breastfeeding
There is another point that I simply must address because it is one of the reasons I love this company. Maggie's Pure Land is working to normalize breastfeeding, as is evidenced by this poster (link) that they distribute to stores carrying their product. I think this is a huge and positive step for breastfeeding women such as myself, and I also feel that it goes great lengths to support public breastfeeding. It says a lot about their philosophy that they are eager to support natural lifestyles and proactive choices.
The Giveaway:
Maggies Pure Land has generously offered to sponsor a giveaway to two readers. You will win either the lavender and tea-tree liquid detergent, or the convenient and easily portable soapnut shells complete with a washing bag.
To enter, you must visit Maggie's pure Land and tell me something unique you have learned about the company.
For additional entries, follow my blog publicly, tweet about this giveaway (up to 2times a day) or sign up for my email list. For five entries, blog about this review and giveaway and link back to it in your comments. For ten extra entries, visit Maggie's Pure Land and make a purchase before this contest ends on the 10th. If you are selected as a winner I may ask you to forward me your purchase receipt with personal information removed. Be sure to leave a comment for each entry that you complete.
This contest is open to the US and Canada and ends on the 10th of March. This is a sponsored review. I was not paid for this review although the company did send me products to review for free. For more information on my review policy visit my reviews page.
What are Soap Nuts?
Do you know what this is?
This is a soapnut. Or rather, the husk of the fruit of the Sapindus tree, and it has completely changed my perspective on cleaning. It is a powerful shell and when wet, it produces a deep-cleansing solution. Maggies Pure Land offered to send me both the soapnuts and the liquid soapnut solution (which smells of a cheerful and clean tea-tree & lavender scent) to try. As many of you all know, I am committed to making green choices in our home.Why I love Soap Nuts
Since we cloth diaper, I am quite picky about the detergent I use in our washer. Most detergents contain whiteners, brighteners, surfactants, and fragrances, which will ruin a diapers absorbency. Cloth diapering is part of my commitment to use only the best and most natural products on my family because I truly believe these choices are linked to our health. Maggie's soap nuts delivers on this promise on every level. Take a few (2 at a time is recommended) of these little berries, toss them into the included drawstring bag and then into the wash cycle of the laundry. The nuts themselves smell of an almost chalky vinegar scent, but the laundry, once dried, will only smell of a fresh and breezy clean scent (it truly is just the smell of clean) that many manufactured detergents try to (and promise to) create but with the use of chemical fragrances. Maggies Soap Nuts have none of those harmful ingredients and still does the work better than any detergent I've ever used. This is a 100% natural, do-it-all cleaner, and it has been used for cleaning for thousands of years.
Mother Nature's Way
We do line drying with our whites (yes, even in the city!), and therefore we don't need to use bleach. The sun gets even the biggest and baddest baby stains out, and around here that's priceless. But if you don't line dry, and don't want to try it, you should use an environmentally friendly oxygen bleach when you do your whites, because these soapnuts don't contain artificial whiteners or brighteners. I'm going to point this out now for those of you who might not know: the ingredients used in standard cleaners are chemicals. Nearly all laundry detergents contain whiteners, brighteners, perfumes/fragrances, artificial surfactants. Just check out the label on your current laundry detergent and google the ingredients one at a time. You'll see that not only are they mostly toxic, they are also linked to many skin conditions such as eczema and other skin allergies and ingredients such as Diethanolamine is cited as a carcinogen, but still used in cleaners and detergents. Shampoos and body washes are also laden with toxins, especially sulfates which literally destroy your skin. Even plant-derived sulfates can be harmful, such as Cocamide DEA, which can even be in products that are labeled "organic" and "natural," but clearly has serious side effects. Also ingredients such as parabens, and disodium EDTA can be found in these traditional household products. I am now using Maggies soap nuts as a shampoo alternative.
How to use Soap Nuts
At the same time as Maggie's Pure Land sent me these products, I had decided that I was going to ditch traditional shampoo because I was developing psoriasis on my scalp, shoulders and arms. I'll be honest, I actually hadn't figured out that the rash on my shoulders was due to my "natural" shampoo, but I knew my scalp was suffering from the daily dose of chemicals, and I've always noted that when I wash my hair, I get a sharp metallic taste in my mouth.
I switched to an SLS free tooth paste last year due to sensitivity issues, and it makes sense to switch to a product that is sulfate free for my scalp as well. After using the solution for a week, I have no more rash on my shoulders, and my scalp feels healthy and clean. I filled a spray bottle full of water and soaked 3 husks in the water until it became a tea-colored solution, and added a few drops of pure lemon juice into my solution to lighten my hair naturally and freshen the scent, which also conditions the scalp. I reused the shells for making a cleaner for the home when I was done making my soapnut shampoo. I simply spray it on my hair in the shower, soak, and rinse. My hair has regained luster and body, it is soft and now has developed a natural curl/ wave that I've tried every chemical product on the market to force it to have for years. I love my hair now, and I have been actually enjoying wearing it down.
Other uses for Soap Nuts
Besides of using as a shampoo, you can use these soapnuts for anything you would do with a regular cleaner. Simply soak 2 soapnuts in a few cups of warm water and you've got an all natural household cleaner for washing the table, cleaning the fridge, even cleaning things like the baby's high chair. I loved how shiny and clean it got my stove, as well as the microwave which I am usually afraid to use cleaners on as I use it to heat water and milk daily. Pour an ounce of the solution into your mop bucket and clean the floor, or spray the shower down when you get out with your soapnut 'shampoo.'
For washing laundry, put the berries into the included sack (2 at a time is ideal) and toss into the washload. You leave them in the cycle until you're ready to dry your clothes. You can use them for cold cycles or hot, for regular washers and high efficiency. The berries are used up after a cycle or two and you'll know they're ready to be composted when they stop feeling slippery when they're wet. Composted husks will easily turn to dirt. They're very low sudsing, so if you're washing dishes with them (yes, I did this too, I'm telling you, they're the do-it-all cleaner!), you might want to do as I did and either put some solution into a spray bottle to spray onto dishes as you wash, or a cup of soaked husk solution like this
through the food processor, where you'll get this:
I found this worked really well, but didn't have much "grab" onto the dishes, so I mixed in a tablespoon of baking soda and drops of lemon juice to give a bit of scrubbing power. It was as effective as my regular dishsoap and completely natural, sensitive on my hands smells great, and is completely friendly to the environment. As for our laundry, I've been switching between the liquid soapnut solution that Maggies offers and the regular soapnut husks (link). I love both- the liquid is readily convenient and leaves a light, pleasant scent on the laundry when it's done. The soapnuts are small and compact, perfect for traveling, and as stated before, leave clothes extremely soft and have reduced the lint output on our loads. I don't use dryer sheets, and yet my laundry has been fluffier and undeniably softer. I love it for the diaper laundry as I know that there is nothing to worry about in terms of residue or irritants.
It's simply clean, the way nature intended it to be, and doesn't break down the quality of my clothes or the diapers in a way that ordinary products do. This is the best product I have ever tried in our home. The only downfall was that I now have many bottles of products I don't want to use any more sitting in the cleaner cabinet, and yet I don't want to throw into the trash and pollute the environment either. These soapnuts are a product that I will continue using and am certain that I will eventually transition to owning nothing else but a variety of essential oils to add to my solutions and a bulk of soapnuts. I know that their products are marketed primarily as a laundry detergent, but it really is a do-it-all cleaner. I can't imagine continuing to spend money on bottles of chemicals when I know this can do it all without the negative impacts on our health or my biggest fear: child poisoning. When you realize the things you can stop buying and use this on instead, you will understand that I mean it when I say this is an incredibly affordable product.
Maggie's strives to help normalize breastfeeding
There is another point that I simply must address because it is one of the reasons I love this company. Maggie's Pure Land is working to normalize breastfeeding, as is evidenced by this poster (link) that they distribute to stores carrying their product. I think this is a huge and positive step for breastfeeding women such as myself, and I also feel that it goes great lengths to support public breastfeeding. It says a lot about their philosophy that they are eager to support natural lifestyles and proactive choices.
The Giveaway:
Maggies Pure Land has generously offered to sponsor a giveaway to two readers. You will win either the lavender and tea-tree liquid detergent, or the convenient and easily portable soapnut shells complete with a washing bag.
To enter, you must visit Maggie's pure Land and tell me something unique you have learned about the company.
For additional entries, follow my blog publicly, tweet about this giveaway (up to 2times a day) or sign up for my email list. For five entries, blog about this review and giveaway and link back to it in your comments. For ten extra entries, visit Maggie's Pure Land and make a purchase before this contest ends on the 10th. If you are selected as a winner I may ask you to forward me your purchase receipt with personal information removed. Be sure to leave a comment for each entry that you complete.
This contest is open to the US and Canada and ends on the 10th of March. This is a sponsored review. I was not paid for this review although the company did send me products to review for free. For more information on my review policy visit my reviews page.
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