Every time either my mom or my sister-in-law, Kate are in town, I learn about another amazing home remedy for my family. My mom is an herbalist (among other things!), and it's not unusual to find her in the yard during a visit, picking dandelion greens for lunch or harvesting the usnea off the trees or the nettles from the meadow surrounding her yurt on Orcas Island. There are plenty of skeptics out there (including my husband, sometimes!), but all I know is that I don't get sick when I take echinacea as soon as my throat feels scratchy, and a few droppersfull of catnip tea helps a baby's gas and puts her to sleep.
When Kate (a midwife) was in town for Imogen's birth, Elliot had an absolutely wicked cold. Kate did the best thing she could have done for us during our first days home with the new baby - she nursed Elliot's cold, read to him, and snuggled with him on the couch. From her, I learned that rubbing 5 drops of lobelia tincture onto Elliot's back at bedtime would calm his cough and help him sleep (I've since tried this on myself - 10 drops for me - and it's truly a wonder!). I also learned how to treat an ear infection with ear drops made from warm olive oil and garlic instead of antibiotics (smelly, but it worked!).
This past week while Kate was in town, I learned about a new home remedy to speed up teething. All you parents out there know that teething can be a long, brutal process (it certainly was for Elliot, and Imogen is just starting down that road). Those little "toofers," as we call them, can take forever to poke through the gums, rising and falling over and over again over weeks and weeks until they finally break the surface. So we're currently trying out a choker necklace made from allspice berries strung on dental floss. The allspice is supposed to tighten the tissues around the teeth so that they break through sooner and more easily. Kate soaked the berries in water to make them easier to string with a needle.
Imogen has been wearing her necklace (which, incidentally, makes her look impossibly cute and hip) for a few days now. She doesn't even notice it, but it makes her smell deliciously like pumpkin pie and spiced cider.
The berries will gradually fall off over a couple of weeks, and then you make a new necklace. Little girl had a rough teething night last night, so hopefully those teeth that were bothering her at 2am will bust through extra fast thanks to her new hipster home remedy fashion statement. I'll keep you posted!
Aunt Kate headed back to Michigan yesterday. We miss her already! We can't wait for her to come back and visit us again soon. Who knows what handy remedy she'll teach us next?
When Kate (a midwife) was in town for Imogen's birth, Elliot had an absolutely wicked cold. Kate did the best thing she could have done for us during our first days home with the new baby - she nursed Elliot's cold, read to him, and snuggled with him on the couch. From her, I learned that rubbing 5 drops of lobelia tincture onto Elliot's back at bedtime would calm his cough and help him sleep (I've since tried this on myself - 10 drops for me - and it's truly a wonder!). I also learned how to treat an ear infection with ear drops made from warm olive oil and garlic instead of antibiotics (smelly, but it worked!).
This past week while Kate was in town, I learned about a new home remedy to speed up teething. All you parents out there know that teething can be a long, brutal process (it certainly was for Elliot, and Imogen is just starting down that road). Those little "toofers," as we call them, can take forever to poke through the gums, rising and falling over and over again over weeks and weeks until they finally break the surface. So we're currently trying out a choker necklace made from allspice berries strung on dental floss. The allspice is supposed to tighten the tissues around the teeth so that they break through sooner and more easily. Kate soaked the berries in water to make them easier to string with a needle.
Imogen has been wearing her necklace (which, incidentally, makes her look impossibly cute and hip) for a few days now. She doesn't even notice it, but it makes her smell deliciously like pumpkin pie and spiced cider.
The berries will gradually fall off over a couple of weeks, and then you make a new necklace. Little girl had a rough teething night last night, so hopefully those teeth that were bothering her at 2am will bust through extra fast thanks to her new hipster home remedy fashion statement. I'll keep you posted!
Aunt Kate headed back to Michigan yesterday. We miss her already! We can't wait for her to come back and visit us again soon. Who knows what handy remedy she'll teach us next?
1 comment:
I kinda want one of those myself. Who would have thought of scented jewelry? Tres chic, Imogen. A trendsetter in the making.
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