Natural Remedies

He he... Hi chickie!  I use tea tree oil for Ella's colds - can burn it in her room when she's up, so by the time I put her down and blow the candle out, the room's pretty "fragrant" with it.  And breastmilk up her nose helps (though she's still got her cold - thought it had gone and it came back with a vengance yesterday - glad Andy's all over his though!).  Baby vicks probably isn't 'natural' but I like it anyway!  And I've squeezed some fresh OJ, sieved it, and added it to some water to syringe into her.  Warmed up it doesn't hurt her sore throat. 

Here are some essential oils that help colds:

* Tea tree
* Thyme linalol
* Ravensara
* Eucalyptus radiata
* Manuka
* Niaouli

You can get tea tree oil from the chemist and health stores -- it's got heaps of uses (antiseptic, antiinflammatory, antifungal, antibacterial) and is good for rashes, insect bites, wounds, things like that. It's good for bronchial infections as well, like Andie was saying -- helps clear their lungs out. It comes in a little tiny bottle. It's really strong-smelling so it's good to dilute it if it's going to be inhaled, or just use a few drops.

You can also try putting thyme oil, or eucalyptus oil, in the bath when they have a cold -- just a few drops, though, as it's really strong. Another trick I learned is putting 4 drops of thyme oil or eucalyptus oil on a tissue or a face cloth and tucking it near their head (but away from their eyes) while they sleep, like inside the top of the baby duvet, or just under the sheet.

Also, you could mix two drops of eucalyptus oil in vegetable oil and massage it onto the baby's chest and upper back -- similar concept to the Baby Vicks, as it helps clear their airways and loosen phlegm.

There are all kinds of homeopathic remedies you can try, but they're for all different symptoms, so it's hard to know which ones exactly to give a child with a cold, as they're quite specific. Homeopathic remedies come in tiny white pills -- they are about the size of pinheads and you either crush them to give them to Baby (they dissolve on their tongue) or you give them one of the pills whole, to let it dissolve on their tongue. You get them from some health stores or from a local homeopath. They're not very expensive (mine were about $4 for each container, which contains about 50 little pills). Some good ones to start with (which are sort of "general" ones but are the ones homeopaths recommend you go for to start) are:

* Belladonna 30c -- for fever
* Pulsatilla 30c -- for cold symptoms, especially mucousy discharge from the nose that means Baby can't breathe well when lying down or at night
* Chamomilla 30c -- Good to calm Baby down when they are demanding, fussy, clingy and grumpy during illness. 

 I've got a great book called Aromatherapy for the Healthy Child, by Valerie Ann Wormwood -- it's awesome for aromatherapy suggestions, and even has a "kit" of aromatherapy oils that are recommended for treating common childhood ailments. It tells you how to make salves and room sprays and all kinds of stuff. It's my favourite at the moment, even though the oils are a bit expensive and hard to source.

For homeopathy, it's tricky. I'm waiting for a recommendation from a local homeopath on what's best for a mum. I read a great book called Medicine Moms (can't think of the author), which is all about one woman's journey to choosing how to use natural remedies for her child, even though she still goes to the "regular" doctor as well -- right up my alley. When I find out what a good book is for knowing what remedies to use, I'll post it!