CC Salve

Yesterday Ethan developed quite the diaper rash, and it reminded me that I never posted about our Christmas gifts. I just reread that sentence and realized that may like quite a stretch, but hang with me for a moment and it will make sense.

One of the gifts I made Terral was a Calendula-Comfrey Salve. He liked it, but truth be told, he was more excited by the home made deodorant. ;) He has used it a few times since, but it turns out that little boys learning to walk, run, climb, and explore get quite a few more "owies" than their dads who teach and make sandals. So even though the salve is still Terral's, it kind of became Ethan's too. Especially once we found out how good it works on diaper rash.

When I was researching cloth diapers, most of the websites made it sound like diaper rash was practically nonexistent with cloth diaper users. Although it hasn't been a real frequent occurrence, Ethan has definitely not escaped this babyhood experience. But the care instructions for our diapers forbid the use of creams, so we had to find another way. We used cornstarch as a preventative measure when he was younger. When he did get a rash, we usually applied silver gel. That helped prevent the rash from getting worse, but it didn't speed up the healing process much.  The thing that seemed to aid healing the most was baking soda in his bath water. That usually cleared it up pretty well.

Some time after Christmas, Ethan got another rash and I tried the salve I had made. It cleared up so quickly! I was definitely impressed and vowed to make another bottle to keep in the nursery. Only I haven't done that yet, so we're still using Terral's. :) He's very generous with it. It helps that a little goes a long way.

Which brings me back to the beginning of this post. As I said, Ethan got a rash yesterday, and he somehow pooped in his diaper twice after that without us catching it quickly. The result was one sore little man. A baking soda bath and a couple salve applications later, and not a sign of red lingers.

It feels so good to know that I can make something like that to help my family. I'm continually amazed by the gifts God has given us, and the wisdom He used in making them.

PS The above recipe made enough to fill 2 baby food jars. I gave the other one to my dad. And just in case you were wondering, I took these pictures today, so you can kind of see how little we've used the past few months—in spite of frequent use.