Let’s face it… when the evening comes around and the bath time alarm rings, you breathe a sigh of relief. THERE IS A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL! A T-Minus countdown to bed time begins and you can already taste the pinot noir on your lips. And if you are a stay-at-home/work-from-home mom with a high energy child like me, you started the T-Minus count at naptime! Come on! You know what I’m talking about! I mean of course, yes we love our children. They are amazing little people and the joy they bring is unmeasurable….however, after a day of Yo Gabba Gabba sing alongs, repeating No, Reciting the ABC’s, Colors & Days of week over and over again I am okay with being in complete silence from 7:30 until my eyes close!
I’m pretty blessed to say that for the most part bath time and bedtime is pretty easy for Jax when at home. I say bath time and he would remove his clothes as quickly as possible and follow me into his bathroom. We’d read, kiss and snuggle and then he would walk me or Steven to his room to fall asleep. AND STAY THERE until the sun rose the next morning! Oh yes, I said, stay there! I’m sure there’s some sleep deprived mother hiding around the corner from my building waiting to slap me for just spending the last two years in night-time peace! Well I will say that there are days when Jax doesn’t want to bathe, doesn’t want to calm down and doesn’t want the bedroom door to close! Regardless of whether or not he is in the mood, Jax gets himself a relaxing bath. It’s been this way since he was very young. I am a true believer in lavender and chamomile as natural relaxers.
A nice little chamomile tea with the afternoon snack is great to begin the process. I use Traditional Medicinals Nighty Night Tea. It’s a mild flavor and with a little agave, it could be a nice little warm drink. When Jax was very little, he wasn’t very excited about the warm drink that wasn’t warm milk! No fooling that kid! So basically I would make a concentrated batch and sweeten it with agave early in the morning and then ice a couple of bottles of it. Thirty minutes before his afternoon snack, I would remove the bottle and sit it out to warm up. So the drink was more chilled than cold. He loved it. This way he still got his warm milk at night, but he had a nice calming drink before hand to start the process.
Now bath time can be tricky. You see you should still make bath time fun, light and special…however, you don’t want you’re kid to get all hyphy off of the motorized paddle boat and colored bubbles. Bath time is supposed to be a segway into bedtime. I have and do use a variety of brands, it really all depends on which one I can get my hands on at the store. California Baby, Butt Paste, Burt’s Bees, & Aveeno are my brands of choice! 
For bath time I usually use the same bubble mixture. California Baby Calming or Over Tired & Cranky bubbles with the Calming Soap and a few drops of Lavender Concentrated Oil drops (easy to get from Whole Foods or Sprouts Market). I add the oil for a comforting scent and to add moisture to his skin. I usually soap him up with the Butt Paste Soap, California Baby Calming Soap or the Burt’s Bees Baby Soap. Okay so you get them all clean and everything, but a great trick I learned from my mom and another mom I babysat for is keeping the child warm after their bath and rubbing them down with a lotion & oil mixture before putting them in pajamas. When Jaxon was smaller I would transfer him into a new towel from the one I initially dried him off with so he wouldn’t get cold. I love Aveeno Calming with a the Burt’s Bees Oil or the California Baby Calming Oil. It not only smells good, but it’s gentle for all baby’s skin. And even works on some sensitive adults! Rubbing and warming their backs and feet really help to calm any baby, even the high energy or colicky ones.
California Baby also has a GREAT Calendula lotion that is really good for cradle cap on babies and eczema on adults. Jaxon had a pretty intense case of cradle cap and someone suggested a little of that lotion twice a day and it was gone in a couple of weeks! It also helped with his little baby acne… that I thought was a peanut allergy, but that’s a story for another time! I’m not gonna lie I have also used these products on my skin. Especially when I’ve been in a colitis flare up and my skin has been extremely dry and/or sensitive. Post Partum left my skin very dry and on the stretch mark removal hunt. Now after two years, I’ve come to terms that they aren’t going to magically disappear, but after spending time taking care of my skin with a routine I’ve made some amazing improvements. Now if they could just make a cream to make post breast-feeding boobs, I’d be on!!
Dr. Bonner’s Magic Soapbox Peppermint or Lavender castile soap is my absolute favorite! I usually grab the big bottle for about $10 at Trader Joes as opposed to the $16/18 at a health food store or drug store. I wash 
down with the scrub gloves, concentrating on my stomach, sides and any other marked up areas. Followed up by a Sea Salt Scrub (I’ve tried a variety of plain ones) and then polished off with a Shea Butter Scrub from The Body Shop to get that moisture in. Now for the concoction of lotions & oils and thangs! Listen I come from an old school mom that would lotion us up every morning before school with Lubriderm & Olive Oil and her skin is flawless, and to be honest, mine ain’t so bad because of it! When I was pregnant I kept myself oiled up. Everytime my belly was itching, I applied lotion! Unfortunately for me, my stomach just stretched out beyond reason and my skin did break and so the stretch marks came! But now because I’ve become obsessed with at least getting them to fade, it’s not so bad. I’ve seen major results from my recipe.
First thing is get a large empty pump bottle. I use my empty Eucerin bottles or empty Olive Oil bottle to mix my stuff in. Okay, so got a pen? Ready? Here we go!
1. Eucerin Original Lotion
2. Olive Oil
3. Bio Oil
4. Vitamin E
5. Pure Glycerin
7. Almond Oil
8. The Body Shop’s Olive Oil or Shea Butter Body Butter
Okay so I apply the scar gel to all the needed spots first. Then I put a little bit of the vitamin e & Bio Oil 
on the “troubled” areas. I mix all the other oils & lotion together. There is only half of the lotion left in the bottle and the rest filled with an equal amount of the oils & glycerin. Shake and use all over. For a little extra hold if your skin is extra dry apply the body butter all over. I have recently begun to use Coconut oil on my feet, lips and back. It’s a little strong in smell for me, but I do like the way it makes my skin feel. This could be maybe a once a week treatment.
