Natural remedies to combat childhood illness

Eversince Janelle went to school, she has been falling ill more frequently. The most serious incident was in January this year when the high fever persisted for 2 weeks. She was hospitalised in the 4th day of the fever and discharged 5 days later. The fever was very stubborn and the pd had to put her on antibiotics drip to bring the fever down when ibuprofen and paracetamol failed. Nonetheless, her fever returned the second day after her discharge and she had to take 2 different antibiotics to fight the virus.

And Jayven is pretty prone to colds and flu with occasional fever. As much as we dislike feeding our kids with medicine, we had no choice as we do not want the illness to worsen. Yet recently, I came across this article that made me realise that I have to stop relying on medication. Coincidentally, slightly before I came across the article, my friend introduced Young Living Essential Oils namely Valor, Dorado Azul and Thieves to me for relief for bruises, colds and congested chest for my kids.

I went to read up more on the functions of the oils and was surprised that they have many uses especially thieves. I have been using them for a while and i brought the oils along with me when we went for Japan vacation in September and I was glad that I did. We were caught in the rain on the first day and I applied thieves on their soles before they went to bed that night. Though I couldn't be 100% certain then that thieves was what kept them well, at least they did not fall ill in Japan. Nonetheless, the kids enjoy the application of the oils and I notice that they have not been falling ill that frequently so I am more than happy to continue using them.

I was convinced further when 3 nights ago, Jayven had a high fever at 39.3 in the middle of the night. As I have read that thieves and peppermint are good in bringing down fever, I decided to do without the medicine and re-applied 2 drops of thieves on his soles (I applied thieves on their soles every night before bed). I also sponged him to make him feel better as he was unable to sleep well then. The high fever was gone within an hour and there was no recurrence in the morning or during the day. Now I am a believer of using the natural aromatic goodness to prevent or combat the illnesses.

Just to share what I have been using till date.

Valor Essential Oil
Valor is often referred to as “Chiropractor in the bottle”. It has been given that nick name because it aligns our physical, mental and emotional bodies electrically in the body. Valor can be used for all ages and safe for pregnant and breastfeeding too.

I use the oil mainly for easing the bruises on my boy. The bruises will subside much faster even with the 1st application. 

You may refer to the image below for more benefits of Valor Essential Oil.
 

Image from www.movingbodieschangingminds.com

RC Essential Oil

Also known as Respiratory Congestion. I used the oil for easing the kids' congested chest when they are down with colds and coughs. I will use 1-2 drops of oil and massage onto their chest and back especially before bedtime so that they can sleep better.

However, do note that this blend is not recommended for 18 months and below.

Image from www.amylovesit.com

Thieves Essential Oil

My personal favourite among all. Thieves Oil is known as highly anti-infectious, antiviral, antibacterial, and antiseptic. There are many uses for this powerful "miracle blend". I applied the oil on my kids' soles before bed, when they are running a fever, for the laundry, for the floor and I diffuse the oil in the room. If there is only one oil that you could have, it has to be Thieves.

You may refer to the images below for the many benefits and uses for Thieves oil.

Image from wholesomemommy.com

Image from wholesomemommy.com

Next in my list are Peppermint and Lavender. I have placed my order and will share more when I receive them.

Disclaimer: This is not a sponsored post and I have not received any complimentary products nor compensation. Neither am I a distributor of Young Living. It is a post to share my personal experience and thoughts with fellow mummies and readers.

Playtime with Adam

Not forgetting how much fun Janelle had with Hello Ling in August, we brought her to PLAYtime! Hello Adam last Saturday. And this time, the brother joined in too.

While Hello Ling is all about discovering light, Adam is about movement. The short play is about joining Adam and his friends as they hop, skip, leap and bounce around in the playground. Initially I was worried that Jayven may not enjoy the play but my worries was unfounded. He was drawn into the play, watching their movements intently and it took a while before he decided to join in the fun by standing up and move his body along with other children.

It was a fun interactive experience for the lil ones once again, and I am glad that I brought Jayven along. The only shortfall was that the character Adam did not match the image in the poster, which led to the girls asking where was Adam in the play. I guess the production house did not take that into consideration at all, which they should have though. Children tend to associate the image in the poster with the character in the play.

Overall, I feel that the PLAYtime! interactive theatre series are engaging for the little children. They promote learning through play while having fun at the same time. Looking forward to the next play Hello Yasmin in February 2014.

All about "floating". One of the rare shots that I managed to capture as Jayven was holding on to my phone at the first half of the play.

The children are captivated as the colour changes.

One of the best blur shots of the 3 lil princesses as they are always jumping or moving during the play.

All the children ran after the colourful balls which roll out at the finale. That was Jayven's back view as he picked up the balls and placed them into the plastic container.

The happy 3 princesses at the poster after the play.

And the lil boy was left out in the earlier shot with the 3 girls.

Managed to capture this funny expression while he was waiting for his tea break at The Toast Box after the play.

Terrible twos come early

My boy has just turned 19 months few days back. But it seems that he is at the "terrible twos" stage now.

This lil cute charmer behaves like a terror when he starts his temper tantrums. He will scream, cry,  throw himself onto the floor, swing his fists and kick his legs when he don't get what he want or when we want him to do something eg take a shower. The word "NO" is dominating his vocabulary now.

This "terrible twos" behavior can drive us crazy. It get pretty frustrating and very trying indeed. Most of the times, I will just leave him alone and not give in when he is throwing his tantrums. I do not want him to think that he can get his way by displaying such undesirable behavior. Usually after a while, he will come running to me for assurance and comfort. My heart aches whenever I leave him to cry and scream but I guess discipline has to start early to tackle the "terrible twos".

That's how he throw himself on the floor

Well, not necessarily the floor only

When he was out and having his meltdown

We have never encountered "terrible twos" with our firstborn. At most, she was more whiny and clingy with occasional meltdowns but we attributed that to her sensitivity about my second pregnancy as she wanted my attention.

Hope that we have seen the worse of "terrible twos" and it will only get better.

Honorable is the word

"That is a honorable thing to do."

This is the best compliment that I have received since I have become a SAHM. I met up with my gynae (I am not pregnant again, in case you were wondering) and she was doing my profile update when she realized that I have left my job to look after my kids. And her reply was "that is a honorable thing to do." Yes, indeed.

To make that major decision to leave our jobs with no income. To dedicate ourselves in caring and nurturing our kids. To have lesser time or no time for ourselves and our social life. To receive "compliments" that doesn't help in making us feel any better. Yes. this is a honorable task indeed.

While stay home parents get to spend more time with the kids as compared to working parents, we have our fair share of ups and downs too. There are good days that the kids are simply angelic and everything goes smoothly . But there are also bad days that the kids are just so cranky or clingy that nothing get done (not even a toilet break without the kids crying or screaming their lungs out and banging on the door).

If working parents can feel frustrated with the incessant crying, meltdowns and tantrums of their kids when they are home in the night time or over the weekends, imagine how stay home parents maintain their sanity.

To all the stay home parents out there, I would like you to know that you are doing a honorable job . You have my utmost respect for making that major decision. And when the going gets tough, stay positive and motivated!

Counting down to Sail Away

This is so exciting! After much deliberation and comparison, we have decided to book our family vacation with Royal Carribean. This time, we are going with my parents-in-laws. It's also a dream come true for them as they have been wanting to go for a holiday with the lil ones. As my FIL's lung is weak, he is not able to travel far (by air) and to countries with cold climates. Hence, the cruise vacation is the ideal vacation for the entire family.

I have been on a cruise before when I was young and it was mainly a gambling ship. So it was a pretty boring vacation as there was not much entertainment or activities on board. Thus, activities for the kids were one of the priorities in planning this vacation. And i was thrilled when i discovered that there is Dreamworks Experience on board Mariner of the Seas so I'm certain that the kids will have an enjoyable experience.

I can't wait for the vacation as I'm looking forward to family time, grandparents and grandchildren time, couple time and ME TIME! I'm planning to stay on board even when the ship dock at the port as it seems that there are many things to do on board.

Counting down...

Psst.. Anyone has traveled with Royal Carribean before? All comments or tips are deeply appreciated.