Waste-free pillows (and sweeter dreams)

We'd been putting off the inevitable decision, and cost, around choosing a new pillow for quite some time. Huz and I bought curved foam pillows more than 12 years ago, and despite cleaning the cover and protector regularly, I'm sure that there were cities of dust mites living in them. Yuck. Probably not great for my dust-mite allergy, and possibly the reason I'd had recurrent sinus infections. And our pillows were starting to disintegrate, with tiny bits of foam flaking off. Gross. Apparently, you're supposed to change pillows every three years, or every six months if you have allergies, so we were well overdue! We started to look at what would be the best waste-free option for us.

Firstly, we wanted to find something home compostable, so we could avoid landfill. That discounted latex foam from our search. Organic cotton, bamboo, wool, and feather were all compostable options we considered. But, of course, there were ethical and environmental considerations to take into account with each option. Distance the materials would travel to reach us, water used in creating the fibre or filling, treatment of animals in animal-based fillings, treatment of fibres and chemicals used in production... And cost. These factors are going to be different for each person, depending on where you live, what you have access to, health considerations, and what you can afford, so one of these may already be right for you. But what was best for us?

Where we live, in Tasmania, we're always happy to try local options to avoid products travelling by air and sea. So, after a hunt around, we were happy to find Tasmanian grown buckwheat hulls. These are a by-product of buckwheat farming. They're also grown by a supplier of our favourite organic grocer, so we asked her to order us a sack with her next delivery, keeping carbon miles relatively low. And as they're not generally a highly sought-after product, the cost was pretty low too (ours was about $10 per pillow). Buckwheat hulls are often used to make yoga bolsters and cushions. They've been used for sleep support in Japan for over 600 years, and you can actually buy ready-made buckwheat pillows in a few places online, so we didn't feel like we were planning something completely eccentric!

We had the sack of hulls sitting in a corner of our lounge room for almost a year while we wrote our book, so it's taken a little while to get to making the actual pillows, but making them was super easy. I wish we'd done it sooner! Here's how we did it:

We already had zip-up pillow protectors, so we re-used those and filled them with a comfortable amount of hulls. I should add here that pillows are actually not a requirement for living and it may even be better for our bodies to sleep without them, but while we get our heads (and necks) around the concept of pillow-free living, we've started with about half a grain sack each of hulls. We will consider reducing the amount of hulls until we're sleeping comfortably without a pillow. Next we zipped up the pillow protectors and added a pillowcase. And that's it. So easy!

To clean the pillow, unzip the pillow protector and pour out the hulls. Then give the protector a wash, and if you can find somewhere to spread out the hulls and give them a little sunlight (perhaps a clean bedsheet or flyscreen away from breezes), that should help to keep the hulls fresh.

So, what are buckwheat hull pillows like to sleep on? Well, they're a little noisier than your average pillow! It's a bit like sleeping on a beanbag, or even a wheat bag/heat pack. They do take a little rearranging, and they're a bit firmer than we've been used to. But they're also super comfortable. The hulls are quite light and soft, hold their shape well, and when you get the right position, it's wonderful. They provide good neck support, and are low-allergy, chemical free, and unscented. The airflow through the hulls keeps them dry and, because they're non-nutritive, and the hulls have regular movement, they're not attractive to pests. I found the knot at the back of my neck disappeared overnight, and my allergies and sinus infection seemed to clear up right away. We did find initially that we tended to move more during the night, and even wriggle down the bed a little, but we actually felt better for that, and persisted. It took Huz a couple of nights to get used to the buckwheat hulls, but now he sleeps comfortably every night.

My favourite thing to try is turning buckwheat hull pillows into enormous dream pillows. Herbs that promote deep sleep and relaxation (such as lavender, rose petals and hops) are fab. The dried herbs can be added in a handmade sachet, or scattered through the buckwheat hulls, for a beautiful sleep.

When it's time for us to replace our buckwheat hulls (in about 10 years), we'll take them out to the garden and compost them and source some new hulls... Great for our garden, good for our bodies, and gentle on the planet.

~ Lauren. xx

Whole30 :: Half Way

Huz and I have been undertaking a little experiment. In need of a little clean-up and with a whole bunch of niggles and aches and suspicions, we did some reading… Then after a couple of friends tried Whole30 and reported fabulousness, we were fairly convinced.

Here's what I've noticed: We've been eating rainbows! So much more care is going into what we eat. It's clean and nourishing and full of love. Also, my essential tremor has reduced significantly. WOW. This is in line with what I've read about Mediterranean type diets, ketogenic diets and grain-free diets having good effect. But I didn't expect it to actually work so quickly, especially after it had worsened so much in recent months. I couldn't chop veggies and I kept dropping things lots. With sleep, now it's not so bad. I'll be interested to see what happens when I get back on to fat blacks with butter… about the only way I can drink coffee these days and brain healing too. Here's what else. I've noticed: Clearer skin and energy returning after a couple of weeks of ugh and muscle aches and headaches and withdrawal symptoms. My sinuses are clearing up in a huge way. And woah, there's stuff happening in my tummy. A good dose of gut healing, which is why we did this in the first place.

Here's what Huz has noticed: Intestinal weirdiness. The good sort. Much less of the worrying bad sort that he had before. And fatigue. And rather hilarious cravings and food associations. He's looking forward to those shifting.

So what happens next is we continue to nurture our bodies through a couple more grain, dairy, sugar and legume free weeks. Then beyond that, slowly and steadily, we reintroduce what we've been missing. I'm thinking butter and maybe yoghurt for me, to begin with. I'm excited to figure out what really doesn't work for me (although I've always had a hunch), and let it go. To just be mindful about  the foods that feed and nourish me without making me feel bad in any way. And move on to a much healthier, more wholesome, less shakey and great feeling future.

How are you feeling? 
Eat any rainbows lately? xx

milk teeth

Can you believe it? This tooth-remineralizing lark... it's working! *touch wood*

If you've not followed Tiny Owlet's journey with her teeth so far, here's a quick re-cap...

Her teeth were decaying and crumbling away as they erupted from the gum. She was in occasional, but increasingly frequent pain. The dentist took one look at them and announced that a GA would be needed to pull the worst and fill the others and there's nothing we could do about it... but it wasn't urgent until her pain was constant. So there was time...

So we looked at Ramiel Nagel's book Cure Tooth Decay with a renewed sense of urgency and removed all grains, sugars and most fruits from her diet, while upping good fats, meat, seafood and green leafy veggies. Our daily use of fermented cod liver oil and butter oil blend stepped up a notch to include skate liver oil. And we drank lots more water. And broth. Our house smells like soup.

A couple of months down the track and Tiny's teeth are completely pain-free. But better still, the decay is starting to go. On close inspection, her chipped front tooth, with brown at the back, has an increasing line of white dots appearing as the enamel grows and hardens. The skeptic in me is completely surprised. But the evidence is there before our eyes.

So it looks like this primal/WAPF/tooth decay diet thing really works. And it is here to stay... at least until those brown-turning-white milk teeth fall out on their own, in their own time. And the tooth fairy will most definitely celebrate.

Wish us luck. xx

Our holiday...

A couple of weeks ago, we were exhausted, wrung out and needed a little break. We needed to slow down. We needed to get things in order. We needed to get things done. We needed to give each other time to take time out and we needed to spend time together. So Huz used up all of his remaining leave and we took a deep breath and hoped that a holiday at home would be just the ticket.




Things got off to a wobbly start. Little Owlet was unwell and the day to day running around and catching up meant that there wasn't much time for relaxing... And we were very short on cash, which cancelled out any hopeful wanderings... So we lit a campfire in the back garden and felt like we were on holidays. That night everything was simple and lovely. We expected the rest of the time to flow like it did from that moment. That was our holiday right there...



The next day it rained... for two whole days. I'll spare you the details of the night we found the cause of our smelly vaccum cleaner was down to a nesting family of mice... And the night we spent violently ill after nibbling some dodgy chicken sausages. And the week we spent recovering while the owlets overran the house... Ok. So this holiday sucked.



Huz goes back to work tomorrow. And we are exhausted, wrung out and needing a little break. Possibly more than before... We are needing to get things in order. We are needing to get things done... So we are just puddling along as we always do.



Today we began decluttering again in earnest. We're looking forward to removing the overwhelm and living a much more orderly, simple life. For some reason it feels like exactly what this year has been all about in so many ways. Letting go. Moving on. Starting afresh. We know we need to let go of lots more. And we need to let go of perfection and help our environment suit the lifestyle we want to lead.



So that we can puddle on and make the most of these beautiful, imperfect moments that pepper our days.



So that we can relish these moments of space, clarity and love.

Have you ever had a holiday that didn't go as you'd hoped? 
Do you like to holiday at home? xx

unschool monday :: she cooks

Everyday I have a companion with me in the kitchen. I've always been sole cook in our nest and have often lamented not having a companion while I cook. As I prepare new and unusual foods for our little family, foods to nurture and heal, Little Owlet watches and learns. She was always going to be the most resistant to these changes. She's the fussiest eater at our table most days. But her passion for cooking, nurturing and loving all of us has led her to always be in the kitchen beside me and to try new things. She's learning to appreciate the food and the process behind it.



Little Owlet's confidence has grown so that when I turn my back, she's standing by, on a step or little chair, with tools at the ready to jump in and take over. It's been a bit confronting, working with that enthusiasm pressing at me while I cook. Sometimes I've just wanted to get the job done and the dinner on the plate while it's hot... Deep breath, mama. This is her thing. She learns by doing. Go with it.... On Friday night, as I turned to rinse a knife, Little Owlet jumped in and cooked a pan of flathead tails for us all, while Huz and I stood back and watched. Then we went and indulged in watching episodes of her new favourite, Nigella. This week it's time to step up the food learning for Little Owlet and to hand over the reigns just a little bit more. And to welcome my little cooking companion as she happily steps up to share the nurturing with me.

What's been happening in your nest? Any new passions and learnings filling your days? Have you or your owlets gained a new skill, or have they jumped right in to learn alongside you? We'd love to hear about it!

sunday snippets

{sunday snippets} A collection of photos from your week. No need for words. Let the pictures tell your story. Joining in with {tinniegirl} 

unschool monday :: nourishing learning

This week has been all about food. The owlets have been preparing their own food when possible and standing completely in the way right beside me whenever I cook. 

Little Owlet is particularly passionate about cooking. This week she discovered Nigella and narrated almost everything I did in the kitchen with a little bit of "Ah-ha! So that's how you do it!" thrown in for good measure when she observed something new. Usually she jumps in for some hands on learning too - "because that's how you really remember stuff, Mama."



I've been researching and learning all about how our food choices affect our health and how to nourish all of us in the way that we need. It's been all consuming (ha!) but finally I feel like I have my head around it and am equipped with the knowledge to implement it. We've all be along for the ride and thankfully the owlets have welcomed changes once I've shared my learnings with them. 



Huz has taken it upon himself to learn something new this week too. He's going to be our baker. He's armed himself with books and tools and he's working to hone his new skills. His first loaf wasn't a complete success, but it was wolfed down most gratefully but three hungry owlets. We call that a success.

The owlets have been watching us very intently on these new learning paths and have observed our learning processes. They've been supportive and excited for us, as we are when they are on a new learning path. The owlets see, as we do, that learning happens organically and as the need arises and they know that there's always time to learn new things. They see that learning is a life-long process. They've seen that learning can take research, practice and commitment. And that sometimes learning takes time. Sometimes things don't work out first time round. And that's ok.

What have you been learning lately? 
What have your owlets been learning?

real food fix

We are on a bit of a new adventure. It's scary and daunting and exciting. We are learning lots and changing ever so slightly. For a while now, we have been moving towards choosing eating better foods. We've flirted on and off with removing refined sugar from our diets. I can say that I've been mostly free of refined sugar for a long time and healthier for it. Before Tiny was conceived, I read up on Weston A Price, read Nourishing Traditions and trialled increasing my consumption of pasture fed beef, organic milk, our own chookies' eggs and good fats... and my body recovered from some pretty serious post-miscarriage hormone weirdyness pretty quickly. It suited me well, but this way of eating was left behind in all the morning sickness and cravings that followed. Now it's time to revisit that thought.

It seems that some of that hormone weirdyness and a lack of certain minerals in my diet may have affected Tiny Owlet. Well, that's my theory. A few weeks ago, I was tickling her tummy and she threw her head back to laugh and I got a good glimpse at her teeth. *Cue sinking feeling in pit of stomach*. She had significant decay going on. Teeth that had yet to finish emerging were crumbling away. Her orange spotted bottom teeth had not improved, despite regular brushing... I jumped online right away and ordered fermented cod liver oil, kicking myself for not acting on it earlier, when my gut told me to...

We've been taking it daily for two weeks now, while researching what to do next. This fabulous post by a wonderful mama I know, on her Bohemian Family Living blog was a great staring point. Right now, my teeth feel firmer in the gum and sensitivity that ached when I drank a cup of tea, has stopped. Tiny Owlet's teeth are turning white as the enamel on them hardens and reforms... But there's still a way to go. She cries from the sensitivity in her teeth. So next up for us is a complete shift to eating real food. Grain free where possible, clean, organic and whole. I'm still researching madly and list making, trying to get my head around it as quickly as I can in the small amount of time I have each day.

I'm looking forward to getting to know our local food better. To eating the way my body prefers. I'm looking forward to seeing Tiny pain free and her teeth stronger. I'm looking forward to gaining a different understanding and new experience of food. Wish us luck! And we will keep you posted. xx