my first pregnancy was a whirlwind of emotions. I was being constantly monitored due to IUGR (my daughter measuring too small and not growing at the expected rate) and I was living in a state of constant stress.

I had chosen a traditional hospital birth for this pregnancy, and at 36 weeks and 2 days pregnant, I was induced in a matter of minutes after my daughter’s heart rate dropped multiple times during monitoring.

fast forward a few foggy newborn months and our daughter was due to receive her first round of immunizations, which I was honestly happy and relieved for her to receive. within 48 hours of receiving them, she had her first seizure.

over the next 6 weeks, our infant daughter would go on to have more than 80 seizures. they came in clusters — happening over and over again until we could get to a hospital and get her a bolus dose (aka, a single, large dose) of phenobarbital, a highly addictive, schedule IV controlled substance used to stop seizure activity by slowing down parts of the brain. she was then prescribed a large daily dose of phenobarbital that she would end up taking for almost the entire first year of her life. thankfully, it controlled her seizures (and she hasn’t had any since, praise God!) — however, it slowed down many other parts of her life too — while other friend’s babies were crawling and walking, Margot couldn’t even sit up on her own. pair that with a husband in months-long army schools (with no communication), a deployment to Afghanistan, and me living in a state where I didn’t know many people, and it’s safe to say that was probably the hardest year of my life.

what we found out from our many MRIs and EEGs with her pediatric neurologists is that Margot likely has a gene mutation that makes it more difficult for her body to properly detox. when she received the 6 CDC recommended immunizations at 2 months old (and only 8 pounds, cuz remember - she was a preemie!), her little body couldn’t handle the load of heavy metals it was injected with. she couldn’t properly detox, the heavy metals likely settled in her brain (neurotoxicity) and that caused the seizures.

this is what sparked my natural living journey. if Margot’s body struggled with detoxing, I sure as hell wasn’t going to allow any harsh chemicals and dangerous products into my home to make things any harder for her. I started researching (and couldn’t stop), and I was completely taken aback by the ingredients that were in the products I had been using for years and years. i’ll admit, I went a little crazy. within a few months, I had replaced nearly all of the toxic personal care and cleaning products in our home, and in the months and years that followed, we switched to buying almost all organic groceries, drinking filtered water, using homeopathic medicine, essential oils and buying certified organic or nontoxic cookware and furniture.

this has become a lifestyle for us, but I also just genuinely enjoy learning about these things. you might not be as interested, and that’s okay! but here’s what I do want you (and everyone on this entire earth) to know:

there are a lot (I mean thousands) of harmful chemicals that companies are using to make our personal care and cleaning products. and they’re sneaky about it. many of these chemicals are unregulated, banned in other countries, and they hide them in their ingredient list to make you think what you’re buying is safe (this is called greenwashing). the policies in place that are supposed to protect consumers from using harmful products are bogus, and in turn, we end up being exposed to hundreds if not thousands of toxic chemicals DAILY.

these chemicals are linked to things like endocrine disruption (think hormones, puberty, fertility), respiratory problems, skin disorders, cancers, and even autoimmune disorders. it’s easy to brush off the dangers of some of these products if you’re not personally experiencing any side effects. however short-term issues aren’t the only factor in this equation. it’s the long-term, repeated exposure for years and years that can be the most harmful.

if you’re hearing this for the first time and you’re like excuse me, WHAT. don’t fret! stressing ain’t gonna do ya no good, my friend.

simply take the information you have, and slowly start making switches! once you run out of a product, replace it with a nontoxic one. you can download the EWP app and search a database of thousands of products to find the cleanest one for you and your family, or you can send me a message, and I’d be glad to help you figure it out!

cheers to living clean!

xo,
addi