To follow along with my All-natural home products post here, I thought I would do one on all my favorite all natural medications and vitamins for kiddos. I have always hated taking medication (weird for a nurse practitioner) but hey its true so I hate giving medications to my kiddos too unless 100% necessary. I have discovered these all natural medications for my kiddos that I have loved! I only do dye-free for the family now…since clearly we don't need anything to increase the chances of ADD/ADHD, their odds are already high, so I'm trying not to increase their risk;)
Zarbees cough syrup||cough+mucus-This stuff is legit. I swear by it. Kiddos can't have honey until a year so they do have a infant one here that is great. When my kids have had congestion and cough within 30 minutes of taking it their symptoms are better.
Healing balm-This Honest company healing balm is SO perfect for cuts, diaper rashes, etc. It smells like what we used to use on huge blisters when I was a gymnast (not the best smelling), but this stuff is magical. It works like a charm!
Ddrops-For you exclusive breastfeeders these Ddrops are the best! It is a tiny drop of Vitamin D you can put into a bottle, drop on your finger or pacifier or even nipple right before breastfeeding to get the Vitamin D to your little one. SO much better than trying to get a big volume into a teeny tiny infant. This was my favorite in the first month then I transitioned to…the Baby DHA
Baby DHA-There is so much researching showing how beneficial DHA is for the developing brain and I am loving this newer Honest Company Baby DHA. Both my kiddos sucked it down and love it. I also always buy the organic milk with the added DHA and a lot of formulas now also have added DHA.
Multivitamin-These Honest Company Multivitamins are my favorite for Isabella. She loves them. You can start using these at 2 years of age. They also have these new gummy multivitamins too. Zarbee's also has a new version that I have found at Target.
Okay mommas (and dads, and whoever) I have felt the need to help explain and clarify things in the world of Tylenol and Motrin so here goes. This is one of the most confusing things I have found for parents from talking with patient's families.
Tylenol-it is also the same as Acetaminophen. SO when you are buying the generic brand (which by all means please purchase the generic and save yourself the money, yes it is the same thing), the bottles will almost always say Acetaminophen. I can't tell you how many times these questions come up. So here is the next thing-the dosing. Your pediatrician or doctor often has a dosing chart based on weight so ask for one because the bottles will not give you the dose for young children. The dose is usually 10-15 mg/kg every 4 hours as needed. To determine kilograms you just divided their weight in pounds by 2.2. I know this can get complicated so thats why I recommend grabbing a dosing chart from your PCP if possible. Here is the link to Baby Centers dosing charts.
Motrin-Aka Advil, Ibuprofen, Motrin. They are all the SAME thing. I don't know why pharmaceuticals have to make it so confusing but they are the same. I find that Motrin works better for pain and fever for most kiddos BUT here's the kicker, they can't have it until 6 months of age. Motrin is dosed based on 10 mg/kg every 6 hours as needed. Try to grab a dosing chart for ibuprofen from your doctor as well but there is a dosing chart here.
Another thing-kids should NOT get Aspirin unless medically necessary for a heart problem. It can cause Reyes syndrome so NO Aspirin unless directed to do so by a doctor. Ok hopefully we are all on the same page and that makes sense!
DiGize||Peppermint||Thieves
And last but not least I do have some favorite essential oils. I do not promote essential oils in place of necessary medications but I do believe they are a great addition to medications. Cayson had HORRIBLE reflux as an infant. Like miserable, fussy, +colicky days and nights and my sister recommended DiGize and man did it work. I use coconut oil to dilute the oil and rub it into my babies skin. When I did my nightly routine I would slather a drop of it on his abdomen mixed 1 drop to a quarter size coconut oil dollop on his abdomen. I would rub it in clockwise and swore by it. Peppermint is my absolute favorite to mix with coconut oil and rub on their feet for congestion. Plus it smells oh so yummy. It acts just like Vicks BabyRub which I also like. Peppermint is also good to rub on their abdomens with tummy aches. Oh and Thieves…its my favorite to diffuse. Its a great antimicrobial. They also have tons of Thieves natural cleaners.
Zarbees cough syrup||cough+mucus-This stuff is legit. I swear by it. Kiddos can't have honey until a year so they do have a infant one here that is great. When my kids have had congestion and cough within 30 minutes of taking it their symptoms are better.
Healing balm-This Honest company healing balm is SO perfect for cuts, diaper rashes, etc. It smells like what we used to use on huge blisters when I was a gymnast (not the best smelling), but this stuff is magical. It works like a charm!
Ddrops-For you exclusive breastfeeders these Ddrops are the best! It is a tiny drop of Vitamin D you can put into a bottle, drop on your finger or pacifier or even nipple right before breastfeeding to get the Vitamin D to your little one. SO much better than trying to get a big volume into a teeny tiny infant. This was my favorite in the first month then I transitioned to…the Baby DHA
Baby DHA-There is so much researching showing how beneficial DHA is for the developing brain and I am loving this newer Honest Company Baby DHA. Both my kiddos sucked it down and love it. I also always buy the organic milk with the added DHA and a lot of formulas now also have added DHA.
Multivitamin-These Honest Company Multivitamins are my favorite for Isabella. She loves them. You can start using these at 2 years of age. They also have these new gummy multivitamins too. Zarbee's also has a new version that I have found at Target.
Okay mommas (and dads, and whoever) I have felt the need to help explain and clarify things in the world of Tylenol and Motrin so here goes. This is one of the most confusing things I have found for parents from talking with patient's families.
Tylenol-it is also the same as Acetaminophen. SO when you are buying the generic brand (which by all means please purchase the generic and save yourself the money, yes it is the same thing), the bottles will almost always say Acetaminophen. I can't tell you how many times these questions come up. So here is the next thing-the dosing. Your pediatrician or doctor often has a dosing chart based on weight so ask for one because the bottles will not give you the dose for young children. The dose is usually 10-15 mg/kg every 4 hours as needed. To determine kilograms you just divided their weight in pounds by 2.2. I know this can get complicated so thats why I recommend grabbing a dosing chart from your PCP if possible. Here is the link to Baby Centers dosing charts.
Motrin-Aka Advil, Ibuprofen, Motrin. They are all the SAME thing. I don't know why pharmaceuticals have to make it so confusing but they are the same. I find that Motrin works better for pain and fever for most kiddos BUT here's the kicker, they can't have it until 6 months of age. Motrin is dosed based on 10 mg/kg every 6 hours as needed. Try to grab a dosing chart for ibuprofen from your doctor as well but there is a dosing chart here.
Another thing-kids should NOT get Aspirin unless medically necessary for a heart problem. It can cause Reyes syndrome so NO Aspirin unless directed to do so by a doctor. Ok hopefully we are all on the same page and that makes sense!
DiGize||Peppermint||Thieves
And last but not least I do have some favorite essential oils. I do not promote essential oils in place of necessary medications but I do believe they are a great addition to medications. Cayson had HORRIBLE reflux as an infant. Like miserable, fussy, +colicky days and nights and my sister recommended DiGize and man did it work. I use coconut oil to dilute the oil and rub it into my babies skin. When I did my nightly routine I would slather a drop of it on his abdomen mixed 1 drop to a quarter size coconut oil dollop on his abdomen. I would rub it in clockwise and swore by it. Peppermint is my absolute favorite to mix with coconut oil and rub on their feet for congestion. Plus it smells oh so yummy. It acts just like Vicks BabyRub which I also like. Peppermint is also good to rub on their abdomens with tummy aches. Oh and Thieves…its my favorite to diffuse. Its a great antimicrobial. They also have tons of Thieves natural cleaners.
Do you have any favorite secrets or remedies?
Love your knowledge!! I'm so bad s out remembering vitamin D I'm the girls' bottles!
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