Homemade Yogurt

After one month of reading recipes and mentally preparing myself, I decided to make homemade yogurt with live cultures. It was so simple! It is so tasty! Not to mention, it is so much less expensive than constantly buying it from the store. My guys love yogurt.

Yogurt:

2 quarts whole milk
8 oz whole fat yogurt for starter (I used Fage - I learned that one must read the ingredients label to determine whether the yogurt is whole fat or light)

Cook 2 quarts of yogurt on high in you crock pot for two hours. The milk will almost be boiling. Remove crock from element base and set aside on a hot pad on the counter. Set the lid so steam can release and the milk can cool to 115 degrees F. Stir to help it cool. When the milk has cooled to 115 degrees F, add in the whole fat yogurt and mix well. Replace the lid and wrap in a bath towel to maintain the heat. Place crock in the oven to help maintain the heat (you may also use the microwave). Allow to rest for at least 12 hours. YOGURT!

A few notes:

I allowed our yogurt to rest for 12 hours, but I am going to try 14 next time. The longer you let it rest, the tangier the yogurt will be.

The yogurt will come out runny. What you may do if you do not like this consistency is strain it. I put a cheap Gerber flat diaper (we use them to dry our dishes - not to catch human waste) and lined a colander with it. I poured the yogurt in the lined colander, set the colander in a round cake pan and placed it all in the refrigerator. You can squeeze it to make it strain faster, but yogurt comes through rather than just the whey. I allowed it to strain for about 4 1/2 hours and gained a better consistency. I think I'll strain it longer next time; maybe 6 hours. You may strain with cheese cloth or any other towel you see fit for straining.

Add in whatever you like in your yogurt or eat it plain. I added honey to ours this time.

Making Toiletries

I received my order of butters from Mountain Rose Herbs a couple days ago. I ordered Shea, Kokum and Illipe butters. I fully intend upon making my own deodorant, lotions, lip balm, foot soak and anything else I can think of out of natural ingredients. I have a good friend whose husband has been keeping bees. They just harvested the honey two days ago and I'll be getting some raw wax from them tomorrow. I am so excited! It's going to have some raw honey mixed in so I am sure there are going to be some great healing benefits.

Homemade Granola Bars

I made homemade granola bars last week. They're phenomenal! I very loosely followed this recipe. I'll share mine with a warning label: they had a laxative effect on our 15 month-old son after eating just one.

Ingredients:

2 cups quick oats (the store didn't have rolled or I'd have used those)
3/4 cups packed light brown sugar (you can use dark also)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup milled flax seed
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup flour (use whole wheat if you want, doesn't matter)
1/2 tsp sea salt (optional)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup 60% Cacao chocolate chips (I used Ghiradeli - use chopped or not, however you like)
1/2 cup honey
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup coconut oil (can use butter or applesauce as well)
2 tsp Vanilla (I forgot and they still tasted wonderful)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix wet ingredients is large mixing bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, mixing well. Place parchment paper in a 9 x 13" baking pan. Place ingredients on the parchment, pressing firmly into the pan. Once you have the unbaked granola in the pan evenly and firmly, place in oven. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. The edges will be golden brown when done. Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes and remove granola using the parchment to allow the granola to cool apart from the pan. When cool, place back in baking pan and cut into bars. Enjoy!

I'd only eat one per day. Michael ate two and was just fine. Our boys ages 6 and 5 ate just one per day and were fine. Our 15 month-old can't eat a whole one or has diarrhea all day.

CJ's BUTTer...Not Just for the Butt

Our uses for CJ's BUTTer:

1) Daily lotion. This stuff is the best, hands down. Moisturized skin all day long.

2) Diaper rash cream. There is nothing better for a baby's soft bottom than CJ's. We have had three children now and this is by far the best. It's natural so I know I don't have to worry about carcinogenic ingredients which gives me peace of mind also.

3) Bath soak. One teaspoon of CJs in a warm bath for the boys and they come out moisturized all over without having to lotion them after they come out.

4) Cradle cap. Yup! Tea tree oil heals cradle cap so we use the CJs on it too!

5) Ouchies. Lavendar gives our kids the calming effect while the Tea Tree oil is a natural antiseptic and will prevent infection.

6) Sunburn. My cousin recently had a bad sunburn. I tossed the Lavender and Tea Tree CJ's BUTTer at her and told her to apply it to her burns. She did so just twice and it was gone. She didn't even peel! She's a red-head, by the way.

7) Lip gloss. I use the Mango CJ's for my lip gloss. I don't need anything else. It's nice and shiny, smooth and keeps the moisture in my lips. It also healed DS2's chapped and cracked lips.

8) Foot soak. Tea tree oil is a natural anti-fungal. 1/2 teaspoon of CJs in a hot or warm tub to soak one's feet and it will heal and/or prevent foot fungus.

9) Eczema. Michael uses it for the eczema on his legs on a daily-basis. Just once per day and he's not itching, but he's healing.

10) Deodorant. Yes, this actually works! It's clear, it's antiseptic and antifungal, it's natural and not carcinogenic unlike the store-bought deodorant and it moisturizes too! What's better than that?! I use it and I don't stink!

Find a CJ's retailer near you here. Feel free to tell her I sent you. I don't think she knows about me or how much I love her product.

A Rash of Crunchiness

What about the diaper rash? Let me tell you that, since we've used cloth, we experience seldom diaper rashes with DS3. However, I started researching what I can use for cloth diapers just in case. I'd heard one can't just use the over-the-counter stuff for cloth diapers. I found out about CJ's BUTTer and had intended on going to get some. You can use it for cloth without using those rice paper protector things (which I never bought because who wants paper in your crack?). On one trip to the local diaper/birthy store Michael had made for me had rendered a sample enclosed in the bag. SCORE! It was Lavendar and Tea Tree Oil (TTO) blend. It works so marvelously well for the diaper rash we went and purchased a 12 oz. tub of it for $19.00. I decided we'd refill the sample for the diaper rash cream and we'd use the rest for lotion since all the boys have eczema and so does Michael. Within 4-6 weeks, Michael's eczema was almost nonexistent. Diaper rashes can't even begin to compete with CJs. What's better? It's all natural! I went back and purchased myself a little sample of the Mango CJs just for my lips and DS2's lips (he was picking his lips causing deep cracks). My lips are moisturized all day long and DS2's lips healed within one week!

Gateway to Crunching

We decided to use cloth diapers for several reasons. First, the cost of disposables were outrageous when DS1 and DS2 were in diapers. The cost of diapers has since risen considerably. Our MSPI babies go through lots of diapers (about 36 in 24 hours). Second, we can't just use any diaper for our children due to the extreme sensitivity they have. We dealt with rash after rash and had to use so many prescriptions just to take care of them. We were forced to use the most expensive disposable diapers on the market. Third, we desired to try something natural.

We were given simple velcro diaper covers and cotton prefolds from a friend who decided to quit using cloth diapers. We used them as soon as the meconium was no longer prevalent and fell in love with cloth diapering. As DS1 grew out of the newborn size covers, we sized up and realized these next ones wicked. Oh, what a stink! Friends of ours blessed us with a gift certificate to a local venue which sells cloth diapers so we bought some FuzziBunz OS and FuzziBunz Hemp OS diapers. I really like the hemp inserts. Actually, I love hemp inserts! They're far more absorbent than those microfiber inserts and they don't stink. They also don't ever repel and our son wakes up bone dry. I do not, however, like FuzziBunz covers at all. The thread they use on the diapers wick at the gussets. I only use these during the daytime. Never at night. I did more research and tried out a friend's BumGenius 4.0 OS diaper. I fell in love! The suede cloth lining keeps DS3 dry as dry can be and they do not have to be stripped nearly as often as the FuzziBunz (the fleece lining in the FuzziBunz repels very quickly).  We use the BumGenius at night with a couple hemp inserts. Even at 15 months, he is dry as dry can be. 

We really like our pocket cloth diapers, but Michael doesn't like to stuff them. His hands are quite large so it just doesn't work well for him. While I was at a local cloth diapering/birthy store, I found BumGenius Freetime OS diapers. Who could resist?! Yes, cloth diapering has become an addiction of mine. I picked up the two boy colored diapers they had to try them out. While I don't prefer using them at night time, I do like these diapers. They're convenient, dry fast and Michael doesn't have to try to stuff a diaper with those big hands. If we must use one at night, I place a small Thirsties hemp insert beneath the two flap "inserts" and it does the job of containing the urine just fine. What I love about the Freetime is that there is less junk in the trunk and he looks normal in his clothes. We like these for outings. 

On the following visit to our local cloth diapering/birthy store I ended up bringing home two medium Swaddlebees Simplex diapers. These are awesome daytime diapers! They're all-in-one (AIO) diapers which actually don't take long to dry. They're constructed of an outer layer of PUL and birdseye cotton. I was very skeptical of the side snaps, but those aren't a big deal at all. They stay snapped without a problem. The cotton does keep the moisture at the skin, but they don't ever repel and never need stripping. They're also not at all bulky so we like them for outings as well as daytime since DS3 is walking now. The bulky diapers like the BumGenius 4.0 make it difficult for DS3 to walk and run properly. 

Changes

As we prepared for DS3's arrival we were making lots of changes in our lives. I'd had two cesarean sections by that point and was praying for a VBAC. After seeking help with local OBs and being shut down - okay, not shut down; just laughed at, told inflated risk statistics and flat out told, "NO!" - I'd resolved myself to an inevitable third cesarean. I was crushed. A long-time friend of mine, Jessica, is a natural birth instructor as well as a doula. After several weeks of panic attacks and crying my heart out, praying for peace, I spilled my heart out to her. I told her how afraid I was of going under the knife again. My first cesarean was horribly botched after, to my dismay, experimental staples were used on my outer incision and it popped open to the fundus layer (AKA...the uterus). My second rendered me cut to the core and alone after my husband passed out. I was alone for three hours: 1/2 hour in surgery and 2 1/2 in recovery because my body temperature would not go back up. I was not allowed to see my baby or my husband. Jessica told me of a friend of hers, Sarah, who has a similar story to mine. She was also seeking a VBAC; she'd had three cesareans. Sarah told me about a doctor who she'd been talking to regarding helping her with a VBAC. Michael and I met with this doctor. I was already considering a home birth. After meeting with the doctor, he referred us to a doctor whom he felt would be better suited to do such a task since I'd had two cesareans. He made it sound risky. And then we met Dr. F! With an amazing bedside manner and resume, he quoted statistics, cited his experience and listened (LISTENED!) to me! He was willing to allow me to have a trial of labor and go for a VBAC! We were also meeting with a midwife for a home birth.

While preparing for the [natural] arrival of DS3, I threw out the chemically engineered prenatal vitamins I was previously taking and we invested in whole food vitamins. What a difference! I also began taking chlorophyll because I tend to be a bit anemic. I began chiropractic care on a regular basis after my hip was out of place so badly I could barely walk anymore. Michael and I took Brio Natural Birth class in preparation and hired Jessica to be our doula. Together, we conducted a lot of online research regarding the routine hospital procedures for newborns (we were praying about where to birth and were undecided at this point) and whipped up a birth plan. We also decided to use cloth diapers for the first time.

If you would like to read the birth story for DS3 please visit our other blog In Our Shoes as I have no intentions of spoiling it if you already follow.