Organico Bantry

It’s the only time of the year I find myself buying crappy sweets and boxes of cheap chocolates to give away – feeling under pressure to play the game. But our kids don’t need more sugar – so I’m going to try amd make a workable list of alternatives…

• Why not give out other little gifts? Pens, pencils, balloons, fake tattoos, stickers – or even tooth brushes!!!
• For home (maybe not so suitable for Trick or Treaters) you can make little ‘Vampire bites’ by slicing apples into thin long slices and spreading nut butter in the middle, with some bleaches almonds as teeth! Any nut butter in the middle makes a tasty healthy snack…
• Mix nuts and chocolate nuts, this will reduce the sugar and the protein in the nuts will balance their blood sugars a little bit more than pure chocolate…
• I’m not a fan of Baby Bells but it is a cheese that is suitable for Trick or Treat…and again, the protein is a good way of balancing the effects of the sugar. So when they all get home with their bags of goodies, it’s no bad thing to have cheese cubes ready to go…
• Fruit is an obvious option, not always well received, but still good to try.
• Small toys…if you can buy a pack of little somethings that can be given out in singles…
• Do you have any old Christmas Crackers lurking anywhere? Or anything else that goes bang!
• Apples dipped in chocolate is better than apples dipped in toffee, as the latter can really damage teeth.
• Even packets of crisps might be a better option than more sweet things! Still junk food but slightly less damaging.
• Better still would be salty nuts, preferably not peanuts but almonds or cashews, and in an ideal world freshly salted/roasted and salted by you so you know the salt is a healthy sea salt and is lightly used without any added MSG. In tiny bags…
• Little juice cartons – again, not a huge amount of difference perhaps between fruit juice and sugar but at least you can limit the other nasty additives in many sweets. If you buy them in packs and only give one out it’s not too expensive.

All other ideas welcome! Happy Halloween everybody – it only comes once a year so lets enjoy it and make the most of the family time together. Don’t be scared to have some fun!!!

We are delighted to be finally stocking Buddha Bunz Dryer Balls – if you use them in your tumble dryer they reduce static, speed up your drying time and make your clothes all soft and fluffy without needing chemicals. Great for your pocket and great for the environment!

Post Pregnancy Hair Loss is very common and can be very upsetting. It can be just part of the cycle of Hair growth, but it is still a good idea to make sure of your nutrient levels so as to prevent un-necessary damage to your hair.

1. Many women suffer post partum hair loss which can have a nutritional basis. Increase your intake of foods rich in zinc, folic acid and B vitamins while you’re pregnant, as it is theorized that pregnancy causes a slight deficiency in these nutrients. According to Nutrition for a Healthy Pregnancy, consuming dark green vegetables, extra-lean meats, whole grains and cooked dried peas and beans are good sources of these essential nutrients.

After checking your diet, you might take a multivitamin supplement daily, for example Solgar’s Prenatal Nutrients. I would also always suggest an Omega 3 Supplement – not specifically connected to your hair health but more in relation to general pregnancy health.

2. Another supplement worth considering is Biotin. Biotin is a necessary B-vitamin that plays a large role in healthy hair growth and is often lost during pregnancy, according to the Bastyr Center*. Biotin deficiency affects approximately 50 percent of pregnant women (it can cause certian birth defects if left untreated which is a good reason for taking a multi vitamin with plenty of Bs!) Biotin deficiency has also been shown to cause rapid hair loss un-associated with pregnancy so with any case of rapid hair loss it is worth trying. Take 3 mg of a biotin supplement each day or a strong B Complex.

3. When finished nursing A.Vogel Hair Complex can be very beneficial to take for a couple of months to nourish the hair and return it to health. Hair Complex contains natural sources of B Vitamins, Silicea, Zinc, and many more trace elements that are excellent for our hair.

4. Silicea from Hubner is also very helpful for people with weak hair or nails. Take a course of one capsule per day for 2-3 months.

5. Solgar Skin, Nails & Hair is a comprehensive formula specifically designed to help build collagen and keratin, major building blocks of hair, skin, and nails that can decrease with aging. Delivering nutrients like MSM internally may help support strong hair, hard nails, and moist, supple skin.

Most hair supplements need 2-3 months to work so don’t give up! Avoid tight hair bands and over brushing. Use natural hair products to nourish your hair and scalp – Jason do a Thin to Thick range of products that can be helpful, and in Organico we also recommend the Dead Sea Majik range for extra minerals.

I hope you found this article useful. Contact us if you have further questions! Hannah Dare.

* A Leading Centre for Natural Health in Seattle Washington, US.

Hello to all brave parents out there who are considering Real Nappies! Don’t worry, it’s very straight forward, if it wasn’t I wouldn’t be using them myself every day. If you have the time, I would suggest coming down to lovely Bantry Town and booking a Real Nappy Consultation with me. I can show you exactly how the system works and we can discuss what, when, how many…no pressure to buy, but if you wish to, we stock Little Comfort Nappies and sell the Full Pack at a fantastic 20% off the RSP.

We also have loads of other baby accessories including Olives and Applesauce slings which have a useful newborn insert so they are ready to go when you are!

If you are considering this, the days consultations are available are Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (Friday is a good day as the market is on and the whole town is full of life). You can make a nice day of it and take a walk around Bantry House and have a healthy yummy lunch in our Cafe!

My personal opinion is that it is better to already have your nappies before your little one is born, as for a considerable time after the birth (especially if this is your first!) any decisions other than ‘will I have a cup of tea?’ are very hard to make, and so are any journeys. So get all those jobs done now – while you can still think!!

If you live too far to call down I am available by phone and we can ship Full Packs for a small charge. Just email me your phone number and I will give you a call (But we recently had a visit from some lovely girls and their mum from Limerick West who had a good day by all accounts!).

Hannah

Well, it’s truly Autumn now, and Lucy and I are off to the toddler swimming group in the chlorine-free pool near Pearson’s Bridge. I can’t wait to see how she reacts to all the water – she loves water – and all the other toddlers (she also loves toddlers!)!

In October we are planning a baby-wearing morning in Organico Cafe, with Holly Hardwicke from Nurture and Bliss who will come with all her lovely slings to discuss the ups and downs of wearing your baby and let us try them out. We will also have tea and coffee and cake! We are currently looking at Wednesday the 13th from 10 ish till 12 ish.

We are still offering our fantastic offer on Little Comfort nappy packs, just call me on 027 51391 or email info at organico.ie and we can discuss your needs. If I’m not in work I will call you back (I have the privilege of only going in to work 3 days per week at the moment but am online most of the rest of the time!!)

We also have a good range of baby-related stuff in Organico – eco disposables (discounts on multi-buys), organic formulas, glass bottles, Slings, loads of body/bottom/bath care and lots of yummy foods. So if you are in the area call in, have lunch in our Cafe and if you want I will show you how the cloth nappies work…(Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are best if you do want a demo; mail me to confirm).

All the best, Hannah

We are now re-launching Organico Baby Club as Organico Baby Zone. Come and find us on Facebook…thanks for all the support and lets say it together now: we love babies!

Pregnancy massage, infant massage instruction, Lomi Lomi, sports massage and much more.

Noreen McCarthy is a very highly qualified and experienced massage therapist. I had heard very good things about her from friends who were her clients and I was very impressed when she came to ‘Babytalk’ (a Healthboard-run group that got parents of new babies together to learn and socialise). Noreen gave us a morning’s instruction on how to massage our babies, and her sensitivity and respect for the babies was very inspiring. She reminded us always to ask or inform our baby that we were going to give them some massage before we started, rather than just launching into it, and I though that was a good lesson to try to apply to other areas of interaction with Lucy, as so many times she must feel like she has no control over what is happening to her body!

Noreen is very good for both pregnancy massage and for stronger deeper massage suitable for sports people. She also gives tips on excercises to do at home to help heal injuries.

Find out more about the types of massage Noreen offers and how to contact her here.

For advice on how to use Little Comfort Nappies for smaller babies, check out this YouTube video. Even after using the nappies for months I found this useful! For newborn -4 months approx.

For 4 months plus check out this video…

€€€ For Saving Money €€€

By the time your baby is potty trained he or she could have had as many as 4000 to 6000 nappy changes, or more!! So whilst all parents will have become a dab hand at a swift nappy change, parents who choose disposables end up throwing away their hard earned cash along with the dirty nappy.

In Ireland we pay by weight for our rubbish, and on the whole if you are recycling, nappies will make up the greatest weight in your black bin bag. So not only are you paying to buy a nappy you only use once, you then have to pay to dispose of it too!!

Even with the initial outlay costs with washable nappies you can save yourself up to €1,500 Euros. If you plan on having more than one child you will be saving even more as you can use the same nappies again! To save even more money use washable wipes – you can them throw them in to wash with your nappies and you could yourself at least another €300. See DIY tips overleaf for how to make them.

Its a good idea, when you can, to get your washable nappies when you are pregnant, so they are ready to use when you are ready – or ask for them as a baby shower or birth gift.

For Saving The Planet

Halve your weekly rubbish! In Ireland 600,000 disposable nappies are used every day!
Disposable Nappies take 500 years to biodegrade in landfill – and release Greenhouse gases as they do so which contributes to climate change.
Using washable nappies may reduce your carbon footprint by up to 40%
Help you live lighter on the planet – so your children may continue to live as we do in the future.
Unlike disposables, washable nappies put parents in control of the impact they have on the environment.

Follow these washing guidelines for the best benefits:

• Use A rated appliances powered by green energy
• Wash in full loads at no more than 60 degrees
• Avoid tumble drying – hang outside or use an airer
• Store used nappies in a lidded bucket – no need to soak
• Use an eco detergent but don’t use fabric conditioners or chemical sanitisers
• Use washable liners and wipes/flannels
• Never iron your nappies!
• Pass them on – reuse on another baby or sell them on

Here are a number of local resources for pregnancy and afterwards – any you can see I’ve missed, please let me know!

Betty O’Toole for Shiatsu Massage and Pregnancy Yoga 087 7972059
Jessie Field for Pregnancy Yoga (and hopefully for mum and baby yoga in the autumn!) 086 0766608
Liz Ewing – for nutrition, general health and stress management 028 30895
Christine Meadows – nutritionist 027 51615
Catherine O’Sullivan Homeopath Bantry 027 52689
James Heggarty Homeopath Bantry 027 50501
Kieran English Osteopaths 028 38638
Florence Vion 085 8435680 Osteopath Clonakilty
Home Birth Association of Ireland http://www.homebirth.ie/
Noreen McCarthy is an excellent massage therapist, for sports injuries as well as pregnancy massage and baby massage.
Posted by Hannah