We have had several outbreaks of lice in our home over the past few months.
More than anything, it has been incredibly frustrating!

Each time, I would have to treat everyone’s heads with a store-bought treatment (which was full of horrible chemicals, cost a lot of money, and smelled awful!) and then I would wash everyone’s bedding in the Sanitise setting on my washer.  I would have to repeat this again in a few days. I even cut all the boys’ hair short just to make sure I had gotten all the bugs.

After the second incident, I found that the store-bought treatment was not working at all.  While I was washing out the treatment, I saw live bugs in my daugher’s hair!

That was it!  I started searching the internet for natural alternatives.  I should have done that in the first place!  I quickly discovered that many people recommend coconut oil because it suffocates the lice; it also makes it easy to remove the nits (eggs).

Here is what I did:

• I slathered the hair in coconut oil and covered with a shower cap.
• It is safe to leave coconut oil on hair for long periods of time.
• After about an hour or two, I took a lice comb and picked through the hair.  I even used tweezers when the comb didn’t cut it.  You can gently slide the tweezers down the strand of hair to remove the nits.  This is a good alternative for fine hair.
• Then I washed out the hair with regular shampoo.  Coconut oil made the hair so soft that there was no reason to use conditioner after the treatment.
• End Result: Clean, soft, nit-free and lice-free hair!

From Sandy:  A tip for prevention:  Apparently, they prefer CLEAN hair (I have also heard curly) which negates the impression that only “dirty” people get them.   We were advised to put a little gel or hairspray or the like after washing their hair to keep them away.  I did this with my youngest when they were raging in our school and she never picked them up.

Our little John Ambrose has been worrying us.
He spent the first nine to ten months of his life crying or wanting to be held all the time.  He refused to take a bottle or sippy cup and didn’t start eating solids until he was nearly one year old (and it wasn’t for lack of trying on our part).  He still refuses to let us feed him; therefore, he will only eat food that he can feed himself.

At his one year check-up, we found out that he had not gained, literally, any weight since his nine month check-up.  At that time, he was struggling with learning how to eat and seemed to still have a tongue thrust when it came to eating.  He would put food in his mouth, but he would spit it back out.  He also would not suck from a bottle or sippy cup.  As a result, the pediatrician wanted to recommend him to be evaluated by First Steps (First Steps is a statewide early intervention system administered by the Department for Public Health that provides services to children with developmental disabilities from birth to age 3 and their families.)

I asked if we could wait a little while and see if things improve, but she was adamant that we needed to take care of this asap.  So, First Steps send me a questionnaire to fill out, and then it was evaluated over the phone by a First Steps evaluator.
Surprisingly, John came up as being “severely delayed” in gross motor skills.  This was shocking to me and it made me feel very frustrated because I did not see him as delayed.  Yes, he is a bit of a late blommer or “a young one year old,” as my mom says, but I certainly did think he was delayed.

Jump ahead two weeks.
The First Steps evaluator came to our home to walk me through the program.
By now, John had drastically improved in the eating department, which is the whole reason he was being evaluated.  He was eating a lot more and was not longer spitting out his food, for the most part.  Rebecca, the evaluator, was quite honest with me and told me, frankly, that he wasn’t going to qualify for anything because a child must have either a severe delay in one area and a moderate delay in two areas.  She explained that this “delay” in gross motor skills is something that the organization needs to change in the evaluation form.  It is not concerning that he can’t walk at one; this is quite normal.  He would only qualify if he wasn’t walking by 18 months or if he wasn’t crawling/moving around by one year old.

John is crawling, cruising along the sides of furniture and he can even pull up and stand against flat surfaces.  Just this week, he has started taking steps if someone holds his hands.  So he is getting there.

We have decided that if we think he is still struggling with eating in a month or so, we will call First Steps and have him re-evaluated, but, more than likely, he will be just fine.
He loves eating and is really starting to get the hang of it.  I am still working on getting him to drink out of a cup, but he is doing much better.

In regards to the lack of weight gain, he will have his weight checked again in a couple of weeks.  He is also anemic, so that will be tested as well.  I am not sure what will happen if he still isn’t gaining weight, but please say a prayer that he will have gained and that he won’t have to worry about it.  The good news is that he is growing; he grew an inch and a half in three months, which is great.

He is such a smartie, too!
He can say many words and seems to understand a lot.
He has started pretending and really interacting with toys.
He loves music and dances all the time.
He even tries to sing and imitates lots of sounds.
He can clap, blow a kiss, give kisses and hugs, give a high-5,
nod his head, shake his head ‘no’, roll and throw a ball, and wave.

This past year has been the most difficult since becoming parents
largely due to how needy John has been.
But it has all been worth it.
He is such a sweetheart, and we all adore him!

Who fed me from her gentle breast,
And hush’d me in her arms to rest,
And on my cheek sweet kisses prest?
My Mother.

When sleep forsook my open eye,
Who was it sung sweet hushaby,
And rock’d me that I should not cry?
My Mother.

Who sat and watch’d my infant head,
When sleeping on my cradle bed,
And tears of sweet affection shed?
My Mother.

When pain and sickness made me cry,
Who gaz’d upon my heavy eye,
And wept, for fear that I should die?
My Mother.

Who drest my doll in clothes so gay,
And taught me pretty how to play,
And minded all I had to say?
My Mother.

Who ran to help me when I fell,
And would some pretty story tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well?
My Mother.

Who taught my infant lips to pray,
And love God’s holy book and day,
And walk in wisdom’s pleasant way?
My Mother.

“My Mother.” by Ann Taylor (1782-1866)
From The Taylors of Ongar by Doris Mary Armitage, Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons Ltd. , 1939. p. 181-182.

I’m already looking forward to our next Girls’ Night!

The following evening, my favorite little girl and I went to see a
local dance performance. One of her “best friend”s was performing,
along with my friend who was playing her flute.
Unfortunately, her dad couldn’t be there, so I offered to record the performance.

Grace and I had front row seats and, afterwards,
we all celebrated a job well done with ice cream at our friends’ house.
This was one of the longest periods of time that I left the baby with my husband.
So it was big deal!

I look forward to many more Girls’ Night, especially with my favorite girl
because she is such an amazing little lady!