Oily House Friday: digestZen doTerra

Linking up with Bridget for this post.

I've long been a fan of the more natural ways of doing things and essential oils have just fallen into my lap slowly over the last year or so.

It all started with massage...

I had gone to the chiropractor for an adjustment when I could find no other relief for very localized back pain (and infertility). After several visits, my back, neck, feet and pelvis were all feeling much better. However, my muscles were so tight and my stress so high, I kept knocking things out of whack. My chiropractor recommended her aunt (it's a small town!) as a masseuse. I went to her several times and always felt great afterwards and loved the oils she used to calm, relax and de-stress me. However, I stopped going to her last January just before we started IVF.

Then as a gift, Nate bought me a session at about 4 weeks post-partum. My back had been killing me (post-delivery pain, poor sleep, carrying around a baby, and post-(failed)epidural) and chiropractic care alone wasn't cutting it.  I happened to also have caught a cold that I thought for sure would be the death of me. She used an oil called Thieves on me and then gave me the bottle. She advised that I put it on my chest morning and night and inhale deeply for a few minutes after. I did so and almost immediately felt better. I still didn't really think about oils and any future use of them.

Then when Ethan was experiencing horrible diaper rash, I decided to make my own wipes solution to try to figure out any way of eliminating the rash. I had purchased (very early in my pregnancy) an essential oil combination from the cloth diaper store in Albuquerque. 10 drops of oil to a cup of water (plus a few other ingredients). I never read the bottle until long after I started using it. It is a combination of multiple oils, but primarily tea tree oil and lavender oil. I also experimented with coconut oil on his bottom as well as other areas of chapped skin.

Then, recently, Bridget started posting about her experiences with essential oils. I had recently come to my wit's end with Ethan's spitting up/reflux. He goes through 5+ outfits and dozens of (totally soaked) bibs a day. He spits up ounces after every meal, after every burp, regardless of position, burping, amount he eats, time he eats...etc. It is reflux without the pain! He doesn't seem to care and it doesn't seem to bother him. He is gaining weight and growing at a steady pace, so the doctor doesn't want to do anything. It just doesn't seem normal to me and I'm not really willing to put him on meds anyway. So I sought out an essential oil that might help. I did so at the exact time Bridget started posting. It took me a while to pull the trigger, but I bought some digestZen from doTerra.

Before putting it on the baby, Nate and I used some for about 24 hours. After no ill effects, we started putting it on Ethan. I dilute it with regular coconut oil and apply it to his stomach and soles of his feet twice a day, morning and night. Although it was not the miraculous cure that I was hoping for, there does seem to be a drastic difference in the amount of spitting up he does as well as the frequency. we are down to about 3 outfits a day and 6 bibs. We continue to use it daily. I have to admit that it is not the best smelling thing to me (a little like black licorice), but heck, whatever works!