Holistic Infant Health

Disclaimer: I know that mothers can be sensitive about how they are raising their children and I want you all to know that this post is not to shame any hard working mother for how she is raising her children. We all do the best we can given what we know and what we can do. This post is an educational tool used not to judge any mother for how she's parenting but to offer some holistic health advice for raising healthy kids. Remember to always research everything for yourself and at the end of the day do what is best for you and your family.

Being blessed to bring a baby earth side is a monumental moment. You feel anxious about what is in store but also honored that God saw you fit to oversee one of his own souls while on earth; well at least this is how I felt when I found out I was pregnant. From that moment on, I dedicated myself to giving my baby the best life I could and that meant giving him a fair chance.

Today in the western side of the country we have a big emphasis on western medicine, hygiene and high animal protein diets. Labor is seen as a medical emergency when in reality it is a natural bodily function, babies are fed laboratory made milk powder in place of the mothers natural breast milk and we're cleaning our babies off with antibacterial soap and putting an antibiotic on their eyes as soon as they come out the womb. All of this sets this natural being back within the first 2 hours of them being on earth. They haven't been in the world for 48 hours and we've already compromised their immune system, killed what little good bacteria they did have, and put a jump start on inflammation in their little developing bodies.

In this post I want to discuss ways to give your baby a good head start and prepare them for a life of longevity, health and happiness. Of course it is impossible to protect your baby from every little thing but my goal for my son was to keep him as pure as possible for as long as I can.

Lets take a look at the things that can compromise the health of our babies.

1. Lotions and soaps with unnatural ingredients, fragrances and mineral oil

2. Conventional Diapers

3. Conventional Baby Wipes

4. Dairy formula

5. Baby Food with additives

6. Rice cereals

1. Lotions and Soaps

Similar to how it is important to watch the chemicals you're putting on your body, it is also important to watch what you are putting on your child. These chemicals that you apply topically to your infant's skin soaks in and enters their blood stream. You don't want your child getting doses of heavy fragrances and toxins at 2 days old. This is why it's important to look at the ingredients of the products you use. Dr. Bronner's Baby Unscented has been my favorite brand to date. Using strictly oils on my son has kept his skin so soft and he's never had a diaper rash to date *knocks on wood*.

2. Conventional Diapers

Similar to conventional pads, diapers have lots of chemicals in them that can irritate your babies skin. Babies skin is sensitive so it is important to make sure your are getting diapers that do not contain dyes, chlorine, bleach, perfumes and dioxins. Using cloth diapers is a great way to ensure your babies skin is protected from the dangers of chemicals in diapers, it is good for the environment and in the long run it is cheaper than having to buy disposable diapers every week. These companies will sell you toxic diapers and toxic products to put on your baby then when your baby develops a diaper rash, they will sell you their sister companies toxic diaper rash cream to help heal it. It is really all a money scheme.

3. Baby Wipes

There have been reports of small pieces of metal or glass like particles in some baby wipe brands. This is an example of why it's so important to inspect what you are using on your baby. Baby wipes carry dangerous chemicals not only in the wipe itself but also in the liquid the wipe is soaked in. Organic, pure wipes are available but can be a little on the expensive side (my favorite brand being Water Wipes). Cloth wipes is also a thing! I use an old coconut oil jar, fill it half way with water, Dr. Bronners castile soap, a drop of grapeseed oil and 4-5 infant towels. If using this method, it is important to have a ziploc bag to dispose of the towels in when you're on the go. Also, keep some dry napkins on you for if baby goes #2.

4. Formula

Formula in general is the worst kind of nutrition available for infants. Breast milk is always best. However, if something happens where you can't breastfeed for an extended period of time, formula is there to compensate. The thing with formula is that it is a mixture of toxic ingredients that:

#1. Cause inflammation

#2. Irritate the digestive tract

#3. Make the liver work extra hard

As discussed in previous blog posts, the health of the digestive tract is a determining factor in our overall health. If we do not have a healthy gut, then we cannot live a healthy life. This is no different from infants. An irritated digestive tract, along with inflammation is a main reason why infants get gas and tend to throw up more often. Their pure, natural bodies are not built to run off of such a poor grade of nutrition.

BUT if you don't have the milk supply, a fed baby is a happy and healthy baby. Get that baby the nutrients it needs any way you can and don't feel bad about it!

5 & 6. Baby food and Rice Cereal

I put these two together because they fit in the same category. Store bought baby food and rice cereal lacks essential vitamins and minerals. It is said that their purpose is to teach your baby how to eat real food but I'm not into giving my baby useless substances to fill him up. Rice cereal often times contain gluten and wheat is a major gut irritant. Giving your infant rice cereal to "get them to sleep longer" or to "fill them up" is counter productive. Babies are supposed to wake up multiple times a night. THIS IS NORMAL. It is our job as mothers to deal with it and comfort them. Rice cereal offers no real nutrition so we are basically irritating our children's brand new intestines and the only benefit is that we believe we will be able to sleep longer. Baby foods aren't necessarily bad but they have little nutritional content. If I'm using store bought baby food, I mix it with seamoss, spirulina or whatever nutrient dense superfood I have handy in order to make sure my baby is getting nutrients from what he's eating.

After reading over this, I realize how often I come off as a scolding mom. Just know everything I say is all out of love and for the progression of our little ones. They deserve to come into the world loved and protected to parents that have their best interests at heart. Attempting to keep your children as pure as you can for as long as you can will help them to grow into all they can be without having to battle unnecessary illness, allergies, rashes and every other ailment that we think is normal for babies to go through.

At the end of the day just do the best you can with what you have. It's free to give you baby skin to skin contact as much as possible, let them get sun and fresh air on their bodies and raise them how you feel most natural.

I hope this served as a good starting point and hopefully sparked something in your to want to learn more. If you are interested in booking a talk with me about holistic health and raising a baby naturally you can book a one on one consultation with me here.

All of my favorite natural baby products that I use on my son can be purchased through my Amazon store here.

With love,

Dom