We decided: (1) we had to get mattresses. We still need to sleep. But the couches will have to wait. (2) It made no sense to build this Certified Green House with special attention to reducing toxins, and then bring all those toxins in with new furniture, especially mattresses that are slept on all night. (3) And we needed to keep costs down as much as possible. But what is a “non-toxic” mattress? It is easiest to start by identifying the potential toxins in mattresses (especially baby mattresses):

• trichloroanisole (TCA) – foams, mold resistant
• Formaldehyde – glues, petroleum based foams
• Polyester – petroleum based
• polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) – fire retardants
• toluene (polyurethane-based mattresses can off-gas toxic VOCs, including toluene) – petroleum based foams)
• benzenes – petroleum based foams
• styrene – petroleum based foams
• xylenes – petroleum bases foams
• phenol – petroleum based foams
• phthalates - petroleum based foams

Once I new what I did NOT want in a mattress, I searched for “natural” mattresses and began to eliminate from there. It is amazing how many manufactures make a “natural” mattress coated with toxic flame retardants and use 85% petroleum based foams. Most often the flame retardants are not listed in the contents, so you have to ask them directly. But 9 times out of 10, if they do not advertise what they use as a flame retardant, it’s toxic. So began my journey of finding non-toxic mattresses for the best price possible. Living in Idaho was the first stumbling block to this plan. There are many, many wonderful things about living here in Boise, but shopping is NOT one of them. I could not find a truly non-toxic mattresses in the greater Boise area, so I began looking into the next closest big city, Portland. There were a few stores in Portland that carried non-toxic, natural mattresses, but Cotton Cloud came in with the cheapest prices. I think it’s because they make their own mattresses. We got the kids the twin size #6 Therapedic – Kids Cloud and decided to get ourselves the 100% Natural Latex. Mark really did the research and decided he wanted a latex mattress. I could have been fine with anything. But I am enjoying our new bed! Now we knew where to get mattresses, we still needed box springs. After much research, I decided that we could compromise a little on the foundations or box springs because you do not sleep on them directly; therefore we did not need a 100% natural foundation.

When I need something inexpensive, yet meets my “natural” or “green” needs I go to IKEA first. Many of their products I would still consider “toxic”, but there are a number of items that can work in a natural home. For example, they also make a 85% natural latex mattress for a very competitive price (Sultan Erfjord) that we considered for our bed (we compromise more for adults than children). But Mark liked the Cotton Cloud one better and it was all natural. IKEA also has many solid pine pieces (instead of pre-engineered boards which usually contain formaldehydes and toxins in the glues) including their mattress foundations (Sultan Aram). The foundation does contain polyester, but of all the possible toxins this is low on my worry list.  IKEA was the cheapest and best choice for us for the following reasons: (1) they have strict requirement for low formaldehyde emissions. Lower then the EU requirements, which are lower than the US requirements. They have eliminated the formaldehydes in most of their glues. (2) They use only water based lacquers. (3) They do not use any PVC, except in electronics. (4) They are careful and deliberate about where they get their lumber. (5) And they use a phosphorous/nitrogen based flame retardant instead of the typical PBDEs. (IKEA-PEOPLE & THE ENVIRONMENT) It is commonly accepted that PBDEs are toxic, but the government considers it an OK risk to take to prevent fires. The research I did on the web indicated that the phosphorous/nitrogen based flame retardant did not bioaccumulate and there was not release of volatiles from finished products; and lower toxicity when submitted to fire. (THE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT OF FLAME RETARDANTS OVER THEIR LIFE CYCLE – A CASE STUDY ON THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROFILE OF NEW PHOSPHORUS BASED FLAME RETARDANTS). 

So now we knew what we wanted, but how do we get it from Portland to Boise? After comparing the costs of shipping, we decided it would be much cheaper to drive there in my dad’s truck and rent a trailer. Also, since we just moved into the house, we needed a lot of little things (and not so little things) that we could get cheaper at IKEA. So Mark and I made the trip in two days, staying at my cousins house one night. My parents watched the kids, so they would not have to attend the marathon of industrial sized shopping in Portland! And now, we all have nice, non-toxic beds to sleep on. I also just ordered these 100% cotton mattress pads from Amazon (unfortunately after Ross has had an accident) which are surprisingly hard to find.

Perfect Fit All Natural Cotton Mattress Pad

T240 Cotton Loft Mattress Pad, White

 Please let me know if you have any questions or comments on your mattresses!

Here is the basic information for or field trip:

• We will meet at their elderberry mitigation site Tuesday, July 27 in the morning at 10:00 AM. For those of you who sign up, I will email you the directions this weekend. I would allow yourself 45 minutes from downtown Sacramento to get there.
• We will first be given a guided tour of the elderberry mitigation site as one large group.
• Then we will proceed to a riparian area adjacent to a levee where we will harvest the elderberries.
• The children and I will stay at the riparian area at base of the levee and explore while the adults harvest.
• Then we will all leave together.

What to bring:

• Water, Water, and Water.
• Sunscreen and Hats
• Snacks
• Thick plastic bags or a few plastic shopping bags (the stems can poke holes in the thinner bags)
• Shears or scissors

I would recommend everything you bring fit into a backpack or something you can wear and keep your hands free. Also the same for infants. There will not be a good place for them to be on the ground, so I would recommend packing them too!

I am very excited about this opportunity and grateful to Wildlands for their generosity. For more information about elderberries, please see my previous post: Come with Me to the Harvest.

Claire’s Health February 2010

Note: She has been on her normal multivitamin, DHA, and double proboitics while sick.

• TH, Jan 28 – Claire came home sick from school. Shallow, dry, cough and tired. No fever. Started elderberry syrup twice a day or for cough as needed. Restricted all dairy.
• TU, Feb 2 –TH, Feb 4 – Claire felt better and returned to school with mild cough. Still taking elderberry syrup (3-4 times per day). Allowing her to have yogurt (< 1 per day).
• FR, Feb 5 – Let her have a cheese sandwich for lunch. By that evening cough had developed into a deeper, wetter cough, very tired, and started to get congested. Warm to the touch. Continued elderberry syrup, and started using vapor rub at night or as needed. Began restricting dairy again
• MN, Feb 8 – Continued to get worse. Still warm to the touch. Brought her in to have the cough and her lungs checked out. Dr. Chang said her lungs were all clear, no fever, and to continue with current treatments.
• WD, Feb 9 – Her congestion continued to get worse. Still felt warm to me. She began complaining of ear ache in the night. Brought her into Dr. to check out ear. No fever, no fluid, but ear was pink. Asked for an alternative to antibiotics. Dr. suggested garlic oil. Started garlic oil and gave Motrin at night for pain.
• TH, Feb 10-SA, Feb 13 – She woke up feeling much better: energy level was back, no longer warm to the touch. Still congested, but no ear ache and coughing much less. Continued elderberry syrup, vapor rub, and eardrops but lessened frequency. Stopped garlic ear drops and did not use Sat. night.
• SU, Feb 14 – She woke up feeling fine. Asked for a cheese sandwich for lunch. By that afternoon, she was tired, irritable, congested, and complaining of an ear ache. Started the garlic ear drops again and continued with elderberry syrup twice per day and vapor rub at night. Gave her Motrin for pain at bed time. Stopped ALL dairy.
• MO, Feb 15 – She woke up with ear ache, congestion, and warm to the touch. Continued using garlic ear drops all day and Motrin for pain. She napped twice for 1-2 hours each (very unusual for Claire). By 5:30pm has a 100 degree fever. Continued to give ear drops and Motrin for pain, elderberry syrup 2 times a day and vapor rub at night.
• TU, Feb 16 – She woke up with little ear pain (but having trouble hearing), little congestion, low energy, and almost no cough. We continued the elderberry syrup (morning) and garlic oil ear drops when she woke and after lunch. She complained that her ears hurt when eating hard foods, like carrots. Took a 3.5 hour nap after lunch (very unusual!).

I knew that when she started having trouble hearing that she had fluid in her ears and it was time for antibiotics. But keeping this journal did help me and the Dr. to determine that her dairy allergy has complicated the original virus. And probably caused the increased congestion that caused the ear infection. By removing dairy from her diet during the virus, it was kind of like an involuntary elimination and challenge. So I am giving her the antibiotic and increasing her probiotic, and watching her very carefully (last time she lost bladder control with an antibiotic). Also, we are taking her off all dairy indefinitely. This was very hard news for Claire (and me). It has also complicated family meal night as the next few meals I had planned included cheese. So, it make take another week or so before I get back on track.

Thanks to everyone for their kind thoughts and prayers for Claire over these last few weeks. I am confident she will be back to her normal self soon!

Out of shear laziness I bought the garlic oil ear drops on the way home from the Dr., but I have made it in the past. You may find many, many, many different recipes on the internet, but here is what I do…

• Mince one clove garlic.
• Mix the garlic with 2 TBSP olive oil in a small microwave safe bowl.
• Heat on 1/2 power for about 30 second at a time. Adjust the temp and time as necessary. You want to heat the garlic, but not cook it. Take out and mash with a pestle.
• Repeat as necessary for about 2-3 minute total.
• Strain the garlic from the oil and put in jar that can be sealed.
• Put 3 drops of oil into the ears every 3 hours, or less if necessary.

Note: Do not use anything in the ears, if your children have ear tubes!

I have heard that tea tree oil is also used to treat ear infections, but I find it better to use as preventative than for treatment. While tea tree does kill bacteria, but it does not help with the pain as much as garlic. When using tea tree oil, I mix three drops tea tree oil in 1 TBSP almond oil (can use olive oil) and give 3 drops in the ears before sleeping. I always like to put drops in  both ears because I don’t want the infection to spread from one ear to another.

Update: I find that using Peppermint Essential Oil on the front and back of the ears (NOT in the ears) is far more effective in preventing and treating ear infections. Our naturopath recommends it preventatively before and after plane flights, after swimming, etc. The peppermint oil helps to open up the ducts and vascular system to prevent clogging. Also, is very effective in conjunction with the garlic oil to treat ear infection. It helps keep the oils from clogging the ears and creating it’s own problems.

So this has been a long and very nasty virus, but we have successfully fought off both respiratory and ear infections without artificial antibiotics, decongestants, and cough suppressants. And while it is hard to have a tired and unhealthy child for two weeks, I prefer knowing what is happening with her body and watch her immune system working rather than masking it with over the counter or prescription medicines.

I can’t wait until Spring!

So the menu was fresh squeezed orange juice, chicken apple sausage (Claire took her obligatory bites), eggs (for Mark and Ross), and pancakes. Everyone seemed to enjoy the dinner very much. I think it was the most successful as far as everyone eating.

Here is my favorite pancake recipe. I use half whole grain spelt flour and half white spelt flour. My favorite gluten free mix is Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Pancake Mix. I follow the recipes with a few exception: I add 2 TBSP of yogurt (coconut milk yogurt for us, but any kind will work) instead of the oil and only add 1 cup of hempmilk initially. Then add more until desired consistency. I find that using the oil gets them too crispy.

Here’s my recipe for Spelt Pancakes:

Dry Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup whole spelt flour
• 3/4 white spelt flour (I find if I use all whole grain, they are too heavy)
• 2 tspn baking powder
• 1/2 tspn salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 2 TBSP applesauce (I like to use my recipe contrived from my mother-in-laws)
• 1 TBSP melted Soy Free Earth Balance (can use butter)
• 1 large egg
• 1 – 1.5 cup hempmilk (or any kind of milk)
• 2 TBSP honey (optional – I would not use if the applesauce is sweetened)
• 1 tspn vanilla (optional)

Pre heat skillet on medium heat. Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Whisk all the wet ingredients together. Add the dry ingredients to the dry and combine, whisking gently. Add additional hempmilk (or milk) until desired consistency. Pour batter on the skilled with large spoon or ladle. When the entire pancake has bubbles and the outside bubbles have begun to pop, flip the pancake (my dad’s old trick). Cook on second size one or two minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!