I broke my promise last week and did not write a blog post
as intended. I have a good excuse this time, though. My children have had colds
for about two weeks now and Amos was especially sick this last week.
Amos had the croup two weeks ago
and hasn’t been able to completely shake the cough. Thursday he came down with
a fever and his breathing got really rough. I actually called my husband home
from work because it had me so concerned. We gave him some Hyland’s cough syrup
and by morning he seemed to be fine, though still congested. Then it got really
bad again Friday night and I thought we might have to take him to the hospital,
but by 4:00am he was breathing easier and was able to rest well. Saturday we
had his lungs checked to make sure he didn’t have pneumonia, and they were
clear. His fever broke yesterday evening but we stayed home from church this
morning just to be sure. He was well enough today that we were all able to
attend evening services. Amos and Joel both still have some congestion and a
cough, but they finally seem to be on the mend.
My husband and I are some of those
“all-natural” weirdoes. (I woke up one day recently and realized that I am one
of those women I used to make fun of – I’m officially a “Crunchy Mama”!
AAaaHHhhhh!). We like to avoid the use of drugs and chemicals and we stick to
feeding our children food that has not been genetically altered. But that’s
just us. However, this latest episode of illness has made me realize how little
I know about naturally caring for my sick babies.
I’ve done a [very] little bit of
reading on homeopathy and we have a small selection of remedies that I have
used with some success. My mother-in-law knows a TON about it and we call her
up nearly every time one of our young’uns is sick to ask which remedy we should
administer. But the last few horrible nights of listening to poor Amos struggle
to breathe through all his congestion has made me realize that, not only do I
need to stock my cabinet with a better selection of remedies, I need to study
the concept of homeopathy a good bit more. So, yesterday I ordered about seven
different remedies, and today my husband has been researching the best
homeopathic resource books to buy. Hopefully we can brush up on our medical
knowledge and be better prepared next time a health crisis occurs.
Some things I learned through this
bout of sickness:
·
Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! I didn’t realize at
first that Amos wasn’t drinking enough and was in danger of dehydration. He didn’t
want to drink water, but we were able to get fluids in him by offering ice
chips.
·
Hyland’s 4Kids Cold ‘n Cough Nighttime natural
cough syrup is good stuff. We were able to pick it up for a reasonable price at
Walmart. We also got Hyland’s Baby Cough Syrup for Joel. Both helped
tremendously.
·
The homeopathic remedy aconite is great for the croup.
·
Little Remedies For Noses sterile saline nasal
mist was helpful to flush Amos’ sinuses.
·
1 TBS ginger mixed with petroleum jelly and
rubbed on baby’s chest helps clear congestion in the chest. Amos was breathing
so much easier within fifteen minutes of applying the mixture.
·
Lavender oil diluted in water and rubbed on the
chest also helps make it easier to breathe. Tei Fu oil is another good oil to
have on hand for this. (I’d love to learn more about the use of essential
oils).
·
Steamy shower rooms and a good humidifier are
invaluable! Unfortunately, a goof humidifier we have not. But ours did help a
little.
·
Prayer is the most powerful remedy of all.
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