Natural Remedies

As I briefly mentioned in a previous post, we try to avoid OTC medicine as much as possible, especially in the sproutlet's case. When I asked my husband why this was, he said (very abbreviated, as I was trying to type it up WHILE he was talking):

"not natural to the body.. messes with stuff, you get resistances... bad for you/side effects, ineffective.. don't even alleviate the symptom in the first place.. might mask the symptoms but doesn't heal. Why risk it? It's like the shots, isn't it? Finally, deretive of all medicine is natural/herbal to begin with, why not use the pure essence of what started it all, especially if it works? And I personally feel much better on this healthy kick I've been on, I try to avoid taking even aspirin and just eating whole, clean foods and water and every symptom I've had has gone away- heartburn, indigestion, migraines, etc"

And then I had to go kiss him for a minute... he amazes me sometimes!!

But, I digress. Sproutlet has a cold and therefore I figure it's a perfect time to talk about what we do when she gets sick. My "medicine" cabinet looks very different than most, I'm sure!

When she was very very little, we would use things like
Little Remedies Gripe Water

  and Ayr Saline Spray

 for the little things. And then. came. TEETHING. Oh my, no amount of maternal amnesia could erase the memories how tough it was to teethe.  Owning a baby boutique, I was able to try out a few Baltic Amber Necklaces for a discount and had extremely good luck with them. Later on, we moved on to a Hazelwood and Amber combo. Both times we were pleasantly pleased with the results. At first, I thought she was supposed to chew on the beads... and that is a somewhat common misconception! LOL! Amber contains succinic acid, a natural analgesic and healing agent. Amber will warm against your body and the succinic acid will be absorbed through your skin helping with pain relief. Here's a good picture of Sproutlet wearing one of her necklaces, when she was around 8 months! 

Photo taken by COOKSEY PHOTO of Vernon, Connecticut

In the winter, we use the humidifier every night to help with the awful winter dryness that plagues this part of the country. Recently, I also bought a diffuser to diffuse essential oils in as well. When Sophia was about 8 months-23 months, she was not what you would call a good sleeper. We found that among many other things, including Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy, one of the things that worked best with her was aromatherapy- her baths are now scented with lavender and chamomile every night, and her diffuser is usually filled with Lavender, Ylang Ylang, and/or Texas Cedarwood, all "sleepy" oils. We also use an "Unwind" spray on all of our pillows that help all of us calm down when it's time to go to sleep. (Did I mention we are a bedsharing family? I'm sure I have). 

For comfort, we offer Zarbee's Honey Syrup and Hyland's Tiny Cold Tablets... I gave her some of the honey with melatonin tonight and definitely hear less of the coughing over the baby monitor. 

For her cold, we are using a blend of essential oils that include Peppermint and Eucalyptus for Cooling/Breathing and Fever, Thieves and Clove for germ busting, Lemon for dry throat and congestion, and the super food, and super oil, Cinnamon!

I am really loving the essential oils... I really feel like they make a huge difference for our health and well being! Sproutlet is really cute about getting the bottles for me and sniff testing them! I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a doctor or a medical professional, or even an aromatherapist. But with these natural remedies, the results are so easy to obtain by yourself, that I can feel confident that this is a great tool for my family!