BABY-FRIENDLY, NATURAL COLD/FLU REMEDIES

BABY-FRIENDLY, NATURAL COLD/FLU REMEDIES

For all the caring people who want to help the little ones through cold/flu seasons (since there seems to be more than one cold/flu season), or relieve common cold symptoms, here are a few remedies that I (or Mom) have been using and discovering through years of avoiding the dreaded doctor's office.  Not to be selfish to the BIG babies, I will have another article with a few remedies for the grown-ups and the brave kids that some of us are raising.

WHAT TO GIVE BABY FOR A COLD?

Some of the remedies we use for our own illnesses as grown-ups may be too strong, spicy, or bitter to get babies to take.  But there are a few beneficial all-natural solutions that are mild enough for babies.  For nursing mothers, consider yourselves lucky, because anything you take, the baby gets too, so you can take that 'hard' stuff and make it easy for the little one.  I find that it is easier to get liquid into children's mouth by using a dropper (like tincture bottle caps) than a spoon; more control, less mess, straight down=no spit up.

The most easy-to-take remedies I have found are:

IRISH MOSS

Breaks up mucus, clears out the lungs of phlegm buildup, and sends it all out. Rich in vitamins A, B, C,  D, E, calcium, potassium, iodine(natural), and sulfur.

~Boil the seaweed in water until it turns into a thick syrup that cools into a gel.  Keep in the refrigerator and add to tea, juice, porridge, soup, or fruit shakes, or sweeten and flavor before refrigerating and serve as a gelatin snack.

EXTRA VIRGIN COCONUT OIL

 High in lauric acid which kills bacteria, and medium-chain fatty acids which are quickly absorbed into the body  to boost the immune system. An excellent anti-viral.

~Cook with this oil and/ or administer 1-2 teaspoons up to 3x a day

(I find that when I have that 'funny feeling' in my throat and take some extra virgin coconut oil, it doesn't go any further)

Regular consumption of coconut oil helps to keep viruses at bay.

~Also massaging coconut oil onto the chest, neck, bottom of feet, back or all over baby's body absorbs into the system and works just as well. (it's good to add a drop of eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, or chamomile essential oil to make a rub)

LIME LEAF, CINNAMON LEAF, LEAF-OF-LIFE, FEVERGRASS/LEMONGRASS, CULLEN MINT, CHAMOMILE TEAS

Warm beverages, especially lightly-sweetened tea will help soothe and calm a sick, fussy baby. (You can also mix in some coconut oil here).  Most herb teas are also antiviral and support the immune system in fighting off infections  For babies under 1 year, DO NOT use honey to sweeten.  For a natural sweetener you may use MAPLE SYRUP (rich in B vitamins), AGAVE, CANE SYRUP,or if you must use sugar, use brown sugar. (sugar weakens the immune system) You can also add lime juice and refrigerate.

~Add leaves and stems, bring water to a boil then turn off fire and let steep.

MORINGA LEAF POWDER or TEA

Boosts immune system, and provides nourishment to the body which can feel weak and depleted when fighting the cold/flu.  Rich in vitamins A, C, Calcium, Potassium, and Protein

~Add powder to juice, or soup.  

~Add leaves to water, bring to a boil then turn off fire and let steep. 

BLACK SEED OIL

Rich in Omega 3 and Omega 6 EFA's.  It is anti-viral and excellent in treating respiratory infections.

~Massage onto chest, neck, back, top of head, and bottom of feet.  Absorbs quickly into the respiratory tract. 

CANNABIS TINCTURE and TEA(Warning: this may be illegal based on where you live.  Check your country or state laws, or make at your own risk) :)

This old-fashion Jamaican remedy I learned from my grandmother and my Dad 

Excellent for respiratory infections.

~Steep some cannabis flowers (buds) and stems in a bottle of white rum.  Leave to soak into a tincture. At the onset of any flu-like symptoms, splash and rub chest, back, neck, top of head, bottom of feet with this solution.  Keep bottle tightly closed.  Becomes more potent with time. Will last until it's used up.

~To make tea, boil cannabis stems in water.

If you can get your little one to drink plenty of WATER this is a big plus, as water helps flush the system of the toxins released during recovery.   Avoid all WHITE PRODUCTS: sugar, bread, milk, (even soy as it creates mucus buildup) which challenge the immune system and slows recovery. Choose instead, fresh COCONUT MILK, which is better over all.  COCONUT WATER is full of electrolytes and great for replenishing the body when there is a loss of appetite.  SUNSHINE is also great for healing, full of good ol' Vitamin D.  It's usually easier to just stay in bed, but going outdoors will improve the mood as well as help speed up healing.  Make fun fruit salads, fruit smoothies, vegetable soups, teas, and gelatin instead of heavy carb-sy meals like we're used to.  

Nursing mothers: In addition to these remedies, should eat a clove of GARLIC a day (for only a few days), MORINGA seeds 3 nuts a day, ECHINACEA 3 x a day, and plenty of water.

Mother Earth provides many remedies for colds, flu, and other respiratory infections.  Take advantage of them, and save yourself the hassle and those terrible fluorescent hospital lights.

Love

Docta Kitchen
p.s. I'd also like to add LIQUID CHLOROPHYLL, SLIPPERY ELM(similar effect to irish moss), COLLOIDAL SILVER(find a trusted source), APPLE CIDER VINEGAR(just a finger dipped in the ACV and wiped in the mouth for baby)

OLD FASHION FUTURISTIC MAMA

     Well...I'm on baby #2! It's a girl this time YAYYY!!! I must say this pregnancy is a whole lot different from the first: I still haven't stopped spitting (and I've tried everything), and I had the most terrible morning/all-day sickness in my first trimester.  But...my nose didn't get broad (as is supposedly typical with girl babies), my feet haven't swollen (yet, at least), and my skin is probably better than it was before I got pregnant.  I am now at the end of my second trimester, one lap to go...
     I am what you would call an OLD FASHION FUTURISTIC MAMA.  The truth is, when it comes to birthing practices and prenatal care, "old fashion" and "futuristic" are one and the same. The new revolution in child-bearing and rearing is actually taking a few step back in time to the original ways.  We have gotten so caught up in our scientific endeavors that we have become blind to the wisdom of nature and our bodies.  There are hundreds of traditional remedies that have become "alternative" remedies because we are so trusting of a medical establishment created by men who are still building on their knowledge.  Midwives and herbalists have been blacklisted as witches while an ignorant scientific elite has replaced time-tested therapies with lab-manipulated medications and surgeries full of side effects. Birthing women are fearful of their own bodies, minds, and intuitions from conception to delivery and beyond because of this fear-driven establishment.  
     A new dawn is on the horizon with a new generation of mothers and fathers.  A generation that trusts in the mind-body-spirit connection, who believes in meditation and the power of the mind.  A generation that trusts nature and respects the wisdom of Mother Earth.  I am extremely happy to be a part of this generation! Thanks to all the people who kept "ancient" wisdom in high regard, that we may tap into these "libraries" and build upon what has been preserved and restored. 
     My first pregnancy was welcomed, since I was worried about being able to conceive.  My concern about the state of my womb came from my irregular cycles that I had since I started my menses.  At the age of about 20, I decided to take matters into my own hands and search for remedies that would help balance my hormones. On my quest I found herbs, teas, meditation, essential oils, and crystals to help me along my way.  After only a few months, my cycle started to come regularly, every month, on time, for no longer than 4 days.  I was thrilled that I could actually see the results.  I was confident that I could now get pregnant, but I wanted to know for sure.  Once I became pregnant, I was never worried about whether I would carry the baby to term.  I trusted my body and I trusted the food and herbs that I consumed to do their duty.  I could not keep down any prenatal vitamins, except one totally green multivitamin that I got from my kinesiologist/chiropractor.  I was on it for the last month or so, and had taken it intermittently in the second trimester.  Basically, I was not taking any regular prenatal vitamins.  What I was taking regularly was RED RASPBERRY LEAF.  I remember visiting one doctor in Jamaica who asked me what prenatal I was taking.  When I told her red raspberry leaf, she looked at me crazy and said "why don't you take the traditional stuff?"  I laughed to myself "I am." 
     I grew up in a 'green' family when people still laughed at soy milk and veggie burgers, so I was already used to natural living and eating.  I was raised in a Rastafari culture where the only meat we ate was fish, and most of our diet was full of the stuff that makes organic eating a privilege in these times. Coconut, greens, root vegetables, herb teas, wheat germ, porridge, fruit and vegetable juices, and plenty of nuts and dry peas and beans filled our diet.  Not to mention the occasional 'wash-out', which was bitters, laxative, worm medicine, or castor oil. Sometime after puberty (when we could go to the store on our own) we started to eat junk food regularly.  Breakfast and dinner still saved us, thank goodness, but in-between it was a free-for-all of honey buns, cookies, fast food, ice cream , you name it.  So I really had to pull up my boot straps when it came time to be concerned about my womb.  Before, it was hoping I didn't get knocked up. It then became, hoping I can get pregnant, since I always dreamed of being a mother one day, and knew of women who couldn't conceive.
     My diet during my first pregnancy was a mixture of good and bad, mostly good though. The bad would be the meat, milk, sugar, bread, and white rice.  Technically some of it wasn't that bad after all, but from a vegetarian/vegan point of view it might be. Weeks of "curry goat with rice an' peas" that my growing baby had me craving, and chicken.  In my last trimester I lived on hemp milk in all flavors.  Overall, I had a pretty balanced diet.  
     I had decided in my last trimester, for sure, that I wanted a home birth.  I always wanted to give birth outside of the hospital, but everyone I told, in Jamaica especially, looked at me crazy, and told me I better go to the hospital.  Luckily I went back to Atlanta before that time came, and found a wonderful midwife that encouraged my decision.  My mother was all for it too.  My water birth began almost 3 weeks before my expected due date, and the baby came within 6 hours of labor.  The midwife barely got there in time.  I had already administered the whole labor, so although she came in the door while the head was crowning, she let me do the honors. It's a good thing I was reading Ina May Gaskin's Sacred Midwifery and the other great books my midwife recommended.  I trusted my body and I was greatly rewarded.  I gave birth to a healthy boy.  I breastfed my son for almost a year and a half, give him garlic, coconut oil, apple cider vinegar, echinacea, or any of the many herbal remedies out there whenever he comes down with something, and after 3 years I am happy to say I've never had to take him to the ER. 
     I am a proud and confident Old Fashion Futuristic Mama working on my second baby, who I'm sure will grow to become one too!

MY PREGNANCY MUST-HAVES

Every OLD FASHION FUTURISTIC MAMA has a list of pregnancy must-haves. Mine is evolving with each pregnancy. Here is my list so far:

(1) SPRING/PURIFIED/DISTILLED WATER
I am petrified of tap water because of all the additives and chemicals.  I swear it's a conspiracy. But I've also read that expectant mothers should avoid tap water. And it gives me a headache, seriously. I drink a glass of water every few hours, or every time I see my 5 gallon bottle on the counter.

(2) RED RASPBERRY LEAF
I take capsules or drink the tea, sweetened with honey or unsweetened.  It tones the womb before during and after pregnancy.

(3) HOMEOPATHIC ARNICA
This stuff is magical. When I had round ligament pain at the end of my first pregnancy and early in my second, this was a lifesaver.

(4) EXTRA VIRGIN ORGANIC COCONUT OIL
I cook every meal with coconut oil.  I've tried taking it straight but it made me feel sick each time. So I add it to salad dressing, or porridge, and to everything I saute, steam, bake, or boil.  I also use it on my skin and in my hair.

(5) SHEA BUTTER/COCOA BUTTER/VITAMIN E OIL
I am so afraid of stretch marks! I did pretty well during my first pregnancy.  I have very few visible stretch marks, but the war is never over. I started rubbing my belly with my homemade belly butter (will soon post recipe) the day I found out I was pregnant.

(6) BAKING SODA
In the morning sickness phase of my pregnancy toothpaste was just gross.  So I started to brush my teeth with pure baking soda. I am so used to it now that even though I started using toothpaste again, I still add it.  I also couldn't stand the smell of my deodorant, so I use baking soda instead.

(7) PAPAYA
Papaya eases my heartburn significantly (especially with ice cream).

(8) MORINGA (moringa oleifera)
Moringa is this amazing superfood that is like a prenatal multivitamin all by itself.

• 125% daily value of Calcium
• 61% daily value of Magnesium
• 41% daily value of Potassium
• 71% daily value of Iron
• 272% daily value of Vitamin A
• 22% daily value of Vitamin C

In total, there are over 90 different vitamins, minerals, or other nutrients in Moringa oleifera

(9) APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
Great for heartburn and indigestion. Balances pH in the gut and the skin. I swear by apple cider vinegar, pregnant or not. I usually add 2 or 3 capfuls to water or tea.

(10) COCONUT MILK
I don't like to use packaged coconut milk, but sometimes I have no choice. I usually extract the milk by breaking the nut, husking the hard meat from the shell, cutting the white flesh into small pieces and blending in a blender then straining.  It's a long process, but it's so worth it,  Fresh coconut milk can be used to replace dairy in any recipe, added to porridge, soup, stew, or sauces, or enjoyed as a refreshing beverage.  I've had coconut ice cream before, which was so delicious.

(11) GREEN BANANAS
I love to make porridge with green bananas. It is high in nutrition, and is one of the best complex carbohydrates. I also boil them along with sweet potatoes instead of rice, or cut them up and add them to soup (with the skin for more nutrition i.e. iron)

(12) WHOLE OATS
The quickest, healthy breakfast I can whip up is oatmeal porridge. I add coconut milk, cinnamon and nutmeg, a tip of sea salt, and sweeten with whatever natural sweetener I have around (brown sugar is my last resort). Sometimes I sprinkle some wheatgerm on top. mmm! I also add a little oats to my shakes and smoothies.