Hanna Andersson

Monday, May 16, 2011

Confessions of an organic mom who is sometimes normal

The last month or so has been a bit rough for our family.  Beautiful Organic Boy #2 (BOB2) has been unwell, primarily with infected eczema, which means that none of us has been getting much sleep, and since he wasn't sleeping unless one of us was holding him, we weren't getting much else done either.  I have a few posts planned about the whole saga, and how to stay as natural & organic as possible while navigating the conventional medical paradigm, but for now I wanted to share some quick thoughts on my recent revelations.  I have so much more appreciation now for what life must be like for families with chronically unsettled/unwell babies, or people who are carers around the clock.  It's hard work and you have very little time to look after yourself, just getting a moment to brush your teeth or wash your hair is a challenge.  That's why I've taken to wearing outfits that can go from bed to school drop off and back to bed a few more times without having to be changed (just reapply a bit of organic deodorant).

It's also hard to take the time and have the mental clarity to research and purchase the safest products for your family while being a full time carer for someone who is unwell.  I have to confess that I've done the following things in the last few weeks that I never thought I would.  They probably seem pretty normal to some of you, but for me it was a real insight into what life is like for people who are really busy/stressed/over-worked etc.  I realize now how much my lovely organic lifestyle has been made possible because of having the luxury of time (by working part time from home) to research and procure the safest products (or find ways to consume less but that require more time/effort).

So here are my confessions:
1.  I bought a pack of Huggies diapers (actually my husband did) because it was too much trouble to find a shop with the eco-friendly ones in stock.
2.  We bought a clothes dryer, which is being delivered this week hopefully.
3.  I bought some beef that wasn't organic because I couldn't get to the organic butcher (and it was really yummy).
4.  I used some petroleum-based skin care products on my baby because he was reacting badly to all of the natural/organic ones :-(
5.  I drove places that I could have easily walked to because I was too tired/didn't have time/couldn't be bothered.

PS: I've also taken to peeing in the shower lately, as it saves time and it's hard to pee when you're always holding a sick baby.  But I don't have to add that to my list of confessions since I reckon it's pretty eco-friendly, saving water and all...

5 comments:

Kelly said...

Re: the eczema, is he on dairy now? My eldest and youngest used to have eczema so bad that it would get infected, my eldest even got boils! They both had to have daily steroid creams :( I had cut out dairy (for my asthma) and decided to try it on the boys and it worked! I havn't used a cream for years now. I know eczema can be caused by many other things but that was my experience :) And don't beat yourself up about not being perfect, we're only human. Focus on what you DO do :)

Annie said...

Thanks Kelly :-) He is exclusively breastfed at this stage, and I went off dairy (& wheat, eggs, nuts, etc) for the last month and it didn't seem to help, but we are going to an allergy specialist later this week so hopefully we'll figure out what's triggering it!

Annie said...

Well, we've been to the allergy specialist, had a skin prick test (he was a little champ and didn't even flinch) and have some results. He is officially allergic to milk, soy and eggs. I can deal with the milk as I don't eat much dairy anyway, and I avoid soy like the plague already, but I'm sad about the egg, since it's such a nutritious and convenient food and we have our wonderful organic, free range chickens in the backyard :-( Oh well, hopefully now his eczema will improve and he should outgrow it just like his older brother did.

Ali Wicks-Lim said...

I really liked this entry. It is comforting tp know that other eco-friendly moms fall off the wagon from time to time. If it makes you feel any better I bought bleach (somethign I never do) and bleached the bathroom when Maosn had the stomach big. I just couldn;t imagine getting it myself while pregnant! Good luck to you, I hope things get easier soon.

Michal said...

haha the confessions were encouraging