Down Under

Under the weather, that is. A couple of weeks ago we went to my parents' house for a few days. You may remember my sisters were visiting and our zoo trip was cancelled because several people were sick. Well, we brought their "crud" back with us. Olivia got sick the following Saturday. She had fever for a few days. She's still coughing but seems to be mostly over it (so she's wrapping up her second week of the crud). Jesse got sick at the beginning of this week. He started off with a terribly snotty nose and now he's got a little fever and is coughing. Probably due to the drainage and his inability to blow his nose. Anybody know how to get a 2-year-old to blow his nose?? Hubby's been straddling the fence between "well" and "sick" for a couple of weeks. I woke up with a sore and swollen throat Tuesday. It's still pretty sore, but not too sore to enjoy my ribeye for supper.

In the past two weeks we've bought 48 lbs of oranges, 12 lbs of apples, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, mangoes, pineapples, and watermelon. We've been eating some and juicing some. We've had chicken noodle soup. Actually it had rice instead of noodles, so I guess we had chicken rice soup. We've also been drinking lots of water and tea. You'd think we'd be done with the crud by now. Alas, that is not the case. It looks like this would be a good time to buy stock in "Throat Coat" tea.

Dr. Mom

As a mother, I'm on call 24 hours a day. Olivia, 5, usually doesn't need me during the night. Jesse, 20 months, is not quite weaned. Occasionally he'll sleep through the night, but more often than not he'll get up once for a snack.

It looks like I'll really be on duty tonight. Olivia is sick. She was fine this morning. It was nice outside, so the kids went out and played. They had a great time running around and playing in the sand pile. They came in and had baths. Jesse had lunch but Olivia wasn't too interested. At the time I thought she just wasn't interested in what we were having. This afternoon we ALL took naps. That RARELY happens. Then Olivia vomited. My poor baby! I hate when my chidren are sick.

We visited my parents this weekend and my sister and niece came over. My niece had a cold so I was prepared for the possibility that my kids would catch it. I started listening for sniffles right away. I was not expecting puke. I got Olivia cleaned up, changed the bed clothes, put her back to bed, and washed all the dirty stuff. That's where she's been ever since. I've checked on her several times and she's had some water. I don't think she feels like trying anything else just yet.

Hubby's going by the grocery store and he'll be picking up some fruit and other things for her. I'll be giving her lots of fluids, Vitamin C, echinacea, and TLC. Hopefully she'll get over this quickly. And hopefully Jesse won't catch it.

Hot Potato!

I read some interesting things about potatoes the other day. They taste good and they're fun to grow, but I had no idea they were therapeutic. Apparently, potatoes have many uses. Have you ever heard of these?

For heartburn: Juice 1-2 large potatoes (with skins). Take 3-4 tablespoons half an hour before meals. To improve the taste, mix with another vegetable juice (such as carrot or beet) or add it to soup. The alkaline juice neutralizes stomach acid and relieves upset stomach, heartburn, and peptic ulcers.

For healthy intestines: Wash and dice a large potato. Steep it overnight in 1 cup of water and a pinch of sea salt. Strain and drink every morning on an empty stomach. Repeat for several weeks. This helps cleanse your intestines and reduces the amount of acid in your gastrointestinal system.

To eliminate toxins from the body: Eat one large, plain baked potato with the skin five times a day for 2 days. Drink plenty of water. (I would be sick of potatoes after this!)

To improve liver function: Peel a large potato and boil the skin in 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. Strain and drink the tea. This can relieve gall bladder problems, thereby enhancing the liver’s ability to clear waste products and toxins from the body.

For pain relief: Boil 1 lb of potatoes in their skins until tender. Place in a linen sack and mash. Apply the sack to the affected area, placing a towel underneath the sack if it’s too hot. Attach tightly to the body with a woolen blanket. Remove only after it has cooled down completely. Potatoes retain heat for long periods of time, allowing the warmth to penetrate deep into the tissues.

For inflammation: Raw potato slices bring fast relief from swelling (and itching) caused by contact dermatitis and insect bites. They are also effective for bruises as well as sties on the eyelids. Peel and slice a potato and apply a slice to the affected area until the potato warms up. Repeat as necessary.

For slow-healing inflammations and wounds: Grate 2-3 raw potatoes and moisten with milk. Wrap in a linen cloth and apply to affected areas.

Into the Mouths of Babes

If you're like me, you pay attention to what you feed your children. For those of you who'd like natural alternatives to over-the-counter teething medicines, here are some things to try.

- Soak a wash cloth in water or chamomile tea and freeze it. Let your little one chew on it. (Don't throw away the tea bag! See below.)

- After making chamomile tea, let the tea bag cool, then let your little one chew on it.

- Mix 1 drop of tea tree oil in a glass of water, then rub on gums.

- Get a Baltic amber teething necklace for your little one to wear. Although it is a teething necklace, it is NOT to be chewed on! It just needs to be next to baby's skin.

- Dilute 1 drop of clove oil in 1-2 tablespoons of a carrier oil such as almond oil (or other edible oil). My father-in-law mixed some for Jesse in grapeseed oil. Clove oil must be diluted because it is STRONG and can burn when applied full-strength.

- Let your little one gum on cold fruits or veggies. My mother-in-law gave her kids carrots to gnaw on until they had teeth that hit (because then they could bite off a chunk of carrot and choke).

- I just read about pickles for teething. Apparently the cold and the vinegar soothe the gums. I don't know what's in store-bought pickles, so you may not want to try this unless you make your own pickles. By the way, homemade pickles taste better than store-bought anyway (big surprise, right?).

- Wrap an ice cube or crushed ice in a handkerchief, wash cloth, or cheesecloth. Tie it closed or use a rubber band. If you use a rubber band, watch carefully in case it breaks.

You'll probably find that what works best for you may not be what works best for your neighbor. Jesse loves to chew on ice now (he's 17 months old) but didn't like to when he was younger. I think it was too cold for him. So wrapping an ice cube in a wash cloth didn't do much for us. Our favorite was the clove oil diluted in grapeseed oil.

These ideas should get you started. Hopefully at least one will help!

Natural Remedies

Sick germs love my family. We seem to be constantly being hit with colds this winter. I am nursing and refuse to take medication for my illnesses (plus decongestants can dry up my milk). My children are too young for most over the counter medications so we have turned to alternative methods of treating our sniffles and coughs.

My favorite is a cup of hot tea and honey. Sometimes, I just warm a cup of plain water with lemon and honey and that does wonders for soothing a sore throat. Gargling with salt water is icky but effective as well. I have recently started using a saline solution that I run through my sinuses. I use a gigantic syringe, but I've heard of Netti pots that do the same thing. The saline up the nose is amazing! I couldn't believe how much it helped and how much better I felt. I also overdose on vitamin C and echinacea when I feel a cold coming on. Today I had over 2000% of the daily recommended value of vitamin C and it's the first time in a week that I've felt like a living person. Thank you Odwalla!

My kids have started using a product called Sinupret for kids and I've found that while it doesn't prevent a cold, it does shorten the length of the cold and the severity of it. When combined with Emergen-C, we can knock out a cold fairly quickly with no significant interruption of our normal daily activities. They also like warm water and snuggles on the couch.

I love water. Water in all forms. Especially in steam while I'm sick. I've been known to lay on the floor of the shower and let the water fill the bathroom with steam and just marinate there. The steam helps loosen the congestion and relax my achy muscles when I have a fever. Drinking plain water is the easiest natural remedy for a lot of ailments. It helps flush toxins from your body and keeping hydrated is so important for everyone at all ages.

Chamomile is a wonderful tea for soothing nausea and upset stomachs. Lavender is relaxing for the mind and body. Ginger is great in several forms for soothing nausea. You can find it in sucker form, tea, candied, etc. Zinc helps reduce the length of colds as well. Zinc is found naturally in pumpkin seeds, beef, salmon, and potatoes. Mint teas are great for helping a cold or viral infection flush out of your system. Keeping things moving is key.

I hope everyone is keeping cozy warm and hopefully haven't been suffering from too many colds or the flu.