Natural Remedies for Late Summer
Lately, we've been getting more into natural remedies for things like bug bites and cold symptoms basically out of necessity. I typically stock the medicine cabinet with Tylenol, Advil, etc. for Jordan and I, but with B not even being two yet, her options for medicine are a little more limited. To be completely honest, finding natural remedies that actually work is totally empowering as a mom. We still use plenty of non-natural things for B and around the house when needed, but again having that knowledge is so freeing when you've got little ones in your home to worry about.
Cough Suppressant
If you've been following my stories on Instagram, you've probably seen me talking about this one a lot lately. B came down with a virus that's still hanging on in some small ways, specifically in her lungs. Most cough medicines are still not okay to give to B with her weight and age, so I started buying a natural remedy cough medicine at the local pharmacy. I mentioned it to our pediatrician at the last appointment, and she said that local honey (emphasis on the local) would help even more.*
So I looked into it, posted about it (and got so many great tips in DM's!), and learned SO much about the benefits of honey. At the very least, honey is a great cough suppressant for children. B tends to cough less at night when she's had a dose of honey (we give her 5ML before bed) which is a huge help for her sleeping well.
A few other things about raw, local honey: It's got natural antioxidants called phenolic compounds and cancer-fighting phytonutrients - this alone is awesome. And some research supports that local honey (obtained as close as possible to where you live) can help with seasonal allergies. We've been getting honey from a local business, but got a tip that a middle school within a mile of our house was selling honey made from a hive right on school property. We snagged that up, and I was pleasantly surprised that it came in honeycomb form! It's also really fun to eat over ice cream or with goat cheese + crackers.
Source linked here.
*Due to the risk of infant botulism, a rare but serious form of food poisoning, you should never give honey to a child younger than age 1.
Bug Bite Healer
Our backyard is like Disneyland for mosquitos right now. They're absolutely everywhere, and it's maddening. I've been careful to spray B down with bug repellant, but occasionally a mosquito finds its way inside the house, and she's getting the most bites of us all. My mom mentioned that dabbing a little lavender essential oil on the bites should help with itching and shrink them faster, and she was right! I have a little roller ball (purchased in a pack here) that I fill with Jojoba baby oil (linked here) and add 2-3 drops of lavender essential oil to the roller. Before nap, I roll it on all of her bites (also B loves this - it's very soothing and calming before nap) and we've noticed it really helps a lot.
Dry Skin & Diaper Rash
I rarely find a skin product that I get excited about, and that's probably because I never buy skin care products (whoops). I have a friend who works in the natural skincare world, and she gifted us with my first bottle of Jojoba oil (you can find the same brand here!). It seriously has done wonders for B's dry skin, the beginning stages of diaper rash, and my own skin. It also removes makeup! I use it often as a carrier for essential oils on B because it's so gentle.
Ant Repellant
Let me take you back to last summer - the summer of the ants and no dishwasher. It was a dark time, and probably partly fueled by my own laziness in washing dishes. That being said, we had ants in our kitchen regardless of how clean the sink was. They were constantly streaming in from the kitchen window, and I tried to trap them a million different ways without success... We eventually had a pest control guy spray for them when he came to spray for the seasonal pests, and it finally got rid of them. This summer, however, we've been ant-free, and I'm crediting it to the natural counter spray I've been using. I like to wipe our kitchen down with Thieves cleaning spray because I love the smell, and I know it's much better for all of us to use a natural cleaning solution. It wasn't until recently that I heard a few other people remark on essential oils having an effect on keeping ants away from the kitchen that I realized the connection. Trust me when I say, the ants are still milling around the outside of the house. But they're sure not coming inside where the food is (and yes we have a dishwasher now, but my sink is still never perfectly spotless!) You can also make your own ant repellant with water and peppermint essential oil spray, or put a few drops of peppermint oil on cotton balls around your kitchen to keep the ants away.
We're currently using Young Living Essential Oils for all of our oily remedies. A friend of ours gifted me with a set of rollers for my baby shower, and we're still using them (the fever reducing one she sent has been my favorite lately). If you've been wanting to get more into essential oils, you can get signed up for 24% off retail pricing by signing up for a YL Starter Kit through this link: yl.pe/8jby (P.S. There's zero pressure to sell oils if you sign up as a member, and the discount lasts forever! Plus the starter kit is over $300 worth of product for only $160.) We diffuse all the different oils, and I'm constantly learning new ways to use these babies outside of diffusing. I've bought all of our roller tubes and spray bottles on Amazon, and love making little gifts for friends out of them as well.
Finally, if you're looking for raw, unfiltered honey that's local to your area, we've been picking up ours from Clifton Collective and it's called Beesponsible. They actually have honey from all over the US, and you can shop their honey products here: https://www.beesponsible.com/shop/.
This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are my own.
