When I first read someone’s blog that they were using Eco Nuts soap nuts to wash their cloth diapers, I thought to myself how can a bunch of nuts clean stinky cloth diapers. I  must say that I was intrigued by these nuts because I started researching Eco Nuts and even asked a few moms who used them “how well do they clean the diapers”? I also contacted the owners of Eco Nuts and they explained all the benefits of using Eco Nuts to me and sent me some information.

What Caught My Eyes on the brochures was that they were NOT MAN MADE.

Eco Nuts™  Soap Nuts are a berry that grows in the Himalayas that naturally produces a soap. The soap is called saponin, a natural cleaner that works as a surfactant, breaking the surface tension of the water to penetrate the fibers of your clothing, lifting stains from the fabric and leaving dirt suspended in the water that is rinsed away. Eco Nuts™ are wild-harvested, meaning they are gathered from wild trees grown without any kind of chemicals, fertilizers, or pesticides. The saponin actually tastes bad to insects so no pesticides are needed, and the trees naturally love poor uncultivated soil

Both my girls have eczema and detergent is just one of the many things that cause a flare up. I was out of my element because I though this would the perfect detergent for us but I was also nervous because I didn’t really believe that the nuts would work.

I got a few samples of both the nuts and the liquid. I told you before that I didn’t trust the nuts so I tried the liquid first. The dryer didn’t even come to a complete stop before I grabbed the diapers out of the dryer and sniffed…NOTHING… absolutely nothing! I ran to the living room and gave the diapers to my mother-in-law to smell and she said ”Hmm I don’t smell anything.” I then ran to my husband and gave the diapers to him to do the smell test.  ”I don’t smell anything he told me.  I told him that I washed the diapers with the Eco Nuts detergent. He said to me “there you go now you have a soap for the girls that you don’t need to worry about.”

A few days later we lost power. I had to hand wash my diapers so I decided to use the Eco nuts since I was still testing them but I also didn’t want to use anything else that could cause any skin irritations since I wasn’t going be wearing a gloves. I am happy to report that they came out nice and clean.

After about a month, I finally decided it was time to try the nuts and I will tell you I that cheated and added some liquid as well…I know.  The second time I didn’t though and must say there was no big difference in how they cleaned the diapers. Now that I got used to using the nuts, I can’t decide which I love better the nuts or the liquid.

After testing out the Eco nuts soap for a few months and I haven’t had any issues with it, I decided to add it to our store Natural Pure Essentials . If you have used Eco nuts, feel free to leave a comment on how it works for you.

Recently our daughter developed some diaper rash all over her bum and coincidentally her diaper reeked with ammonia that morning so I naturally assumed it was the ammonia that was causing the rash.  I had some Earth mama angel baby diaper cream and I applied the cream on the rash. The rash however came back the next day and I was puzzled hmmm…must be ammonia because she is sleeping for 10 1/2 hr straight without a diaper change. Yet in the back of my head I am thinking she has never had this bad of a rash before.  It was wasn’t until my hubby said pointed out that our older daughter was having an eczema break out that I realize that the rash had nothing to do with ammonia it was a reaction to a new food. I just re introduce barley flour and that was causing the rash. There are so many things that can cause a diaper rash  that we have to pay close attention when trying to figure out what is the cause.

So what are some causes of diaper rash?

1. Infrequent diaper changes is the most common cause of diaper rash
2. Sensitivity to feces and urine- some babies have super  sensitve skin and will break out no matter how quickly you change them
3. Sensitivity to synthetic fiber cloth diapers
4. Sensitivtiy to chemicals in disposable diapers and wipes
5. Eczema
6. Teething – some babies will develop diaper rash while  teething
7. Food Allergies- especially when introducing baby to new foods watch for diaper rash as it is a sign of food allergy.
8. Detergent /Soap- cloth diapered babies can have allergic reaction to some laundry detergent
9. Yeast infection

One of things I love to do for the girls is to give them a herbal tea bath for their eczema. Herbs such as  burdock root, red clover, nettle are great at detoxing the body. Calendula, chickweed, and chamomile heals, soothes broken skin and ease the itching. Soaking in warm water also rehydrates the skin.

You can make the tea by either placing the herbs in a muslim bag and let the hot water run through the bag to make the tea.

2. You can steep the herbs in a pot, strain and add to the bath water or steep the herbs in a cup and make into a strong tea then add to the bath.

Once herbal tea is added to the bath, let the kids soak in it for a good 20 minutes. Then add a lot of natural moisturizer such as shea butter or a shea butter base moisturizer to the skin.

Raw amber teething necklace

Teething can be hard on babies. Some babies may go through the teething stage without any problems while others experience a lot of pain, fever, diaper rash, vomiting. Many moms are now looking for natural ways to soothe their babies without having to rely on baby Tylenol since teething last for a long time. While there are many natural ways to soothe a little one while teething, such as using a natural teethers,  hyland teething tables, chamomilla, I have totally fallen in love with Baltic amber teething necklace.

Amber necklace is relatively new to us in the US but not to Europe. Europeans have being using Baltic amber teething necklace for centuries to  soothe the babies.  Amber beads contain succinic acid, a substance that is present in both mammals and plants so I like the idea of using it as it is not a foreign substance.

Does Amber Teething Necklace Work?

Many people dismiss amber necklaces as  fake but they are not. Succinic acid  is present in living tissues including humans and plays a central role in providing oxygen to the cells within our bodies. Succinic acid is used in several fields including the medical field to treat mitochondrial disorder, anemia since its supplies the bodies cell with oxygen and is used also as sedative.

I cannot claimed to understand how amber works but one of the most noticable difference since my daughter started wearing  hers is NO Drooling. Some how she manages to be putting out 2 molars and 2 other teeth without drooling. I recently saw in a forum where a mom said her pediatrician says that amber as a drying effect on the body which might explain the no drooling. I have also noticed that she doesn’t get very cranky when the teeth are coming out but still wants to be held….I can take wanting to be held any day over cranky. Also I haven’t had to use any chamomilla or hylands teethingtablets.

I have forgotten to put the necklace on her once for 2 days and she got so irritable and that she wouldn’t sleep. I sent my hubby out at 11pm to get some Tylenol for her. After he left, I realized that she wasn’t wearing her necklace so I put the necklace back on, nursed her in our boba carrier and she finally went to sleep.  The next day she was fine so we return the Tylenol.

I know there is not much research done on amber necklace but that is always the case when it comes to natural alternative medicine or treatment as there is no money to be made so no one pays attention to it. I know there is no one solution to any problem but this was money well spent for me.

 20% Off ALL Natural Laundry Soaps and Boba Baby Carriers

Enjoy Free Shipping on US Orders and Earn Rewards Point

www.naturalpureessentials.com

Recently I was changing my daughter’s night diaper and the diaper reeked so badly from ammonia that smell almost knocked me over.  No one likes to face the dreaded ammonia!! I have being cloth diapering for 4 years now and I have never encountered an ammonia problem so BIG and BAD!!! I finally figured that the detergent was not cleaning the diapers and thus the ammmonia buildup. I switched to a new one and problem solved… but thought I would share what I have learnt.

 Where is the ammonia coming from in the first place?

When protein is broken down in the body it is converted into ammonia. However, since ammonia is highly toxic to the body, the body converts ammonia into urea, a non-toxic substance, which is then excreted in urine. Once outside the body, in this case the baby’s diaper, urea will  begin to convert back to ammonia slowly. Diapers that are left unwash for days will begin to smell as the urea coverts back into ammonia.

There are several factors that can influence how quickly urea gets changed into ammonia and 2 of those factors are heat and bacteria both of which are found in a diaper pail.  Ever notice how in the summer the diaper pail start to get smelly if left for a few days compared to in the winter…that’s because bacteria and heat cause urea to convert into ammonia faster.

You might also notice that your baby night time diaper may smell like ammonia if she/he is sleeping through the night. At nights, heat is trapped in the diaper for longer hours along with the fact that baby is taking in less fluid so the urine has more concentrated amounts of urea hence higher levels of ammonia.

Other Factors that can influenece the amount of ammonia in your baby’s diaper are diet, age and fluid intake.

If ammonia is present in the diaper after elimination how is it the diaper doesn’t smell like ammonia all the time?

The answer lies in washing. Ammonia is normally removed when the diapers are washed but sometimes for various reasons  such as water hardness, changing to a new detergent, change in wash routine, too little soap, too little water etc, the ammonia does not get washed out of the diapers will start to smell.

What to do to fix the problem

• First start by stripping the diapers. Stripping helps to remove excess detergent, buildup allowing the detergent to clean the diapers correctly.  I normally add vinegar to my rinse cycle to neutralize ammonia but many moms have reported that vinegar makes the situation worst if you have hard water. Use can also try Rockin Green Ammonia Bouncer,  RLR or Dawn
• Try washing the diapers again. Use a little more detergent as most time stinking diapers may need more detergent to get rid of the ammonia and bacteria. Do a double rinse.
• If your diapers still smell, it is likely that the detergent is not for your water type. An example of this would be the time I was testing rockin green detergent and used soft rock and ended up with major stinky diapers. I didn’t realize that we have hard water so soft rock was wrong for our water type. Once I switched to classic rock we were all happy again with fresh smelling diapers. If you find that stripping your diapers, changing your washing routine doesn’t get rid of the smell, you may need to switch to a detergent that is suitable for you water.
• When switching detergents be sure to strip your diapers
• Don’t let your diapers sit for more than 2 days and store diapers in an open pail so the diapers can breathe

Bottom Line is if your diaper don’t get clean then they will stink. Find a detergent that works for you.

Needless to say once I followed those steps above and still didn’t get rid the ammonia, I switched to another detergent and no more stinky diaper….ahhh what a relief.

Looking for a natural way to ease pain associated with teething? Amber teething necklace has being used for generation in Europe as a natural teething remedy because of its natural analgesic, anti-inflammatory and pain reducing properties. I have being using it with our daughter and it works wonders…no drooling and she cuts teething without the need for pain meds.

Natural Pure Essentials is sponsoring the Mummies Nummies breastfeeding bash and giving away a Raw amber teething necklace. Enter for a chance to win one at http://www.mummiesnummies.com/2011/11/raw-baltic-amber-teething-necklace.html