Why is having a happy healthy baby so important? It turns out that the first 36 months of life are the most significant when it comes to building our lifelong immunity.

A baby with any of the simple symptoms discussed in this series such as Colic, Croup, Eczema, Sinus Congestion, Reflux, or Slow Elimination who receives natural support will be the one to develop a strong healthy immune system. On the other hand, those babies who have had their symptoms suppressed by medications will forever struggle with weakened immunity.

Fortunately, science is revealing more each day about immunity, the creation of our microbiome, and what can be done to restore it. Through science we know that everything in those first years count and the impact of parental decisions follow a child through their lifetime. By being an informed parent, disruption to our child’s microbiome and developing immune system can be prevented or greatly reduced.

Conscientious Choices

I like to do my part to support new parents in making conscientious choices and to realize there are options that not only work, but strengthen the organ systems of growing babies. With this awareness we can reduce the chronic symptoms that are rampant in school age children today. The use of allergy medications, nebulizers/asthma inhalers, topical steroid creams, anti-acids, melatonin, and so much more has become the norm among young children.

Let’s be clear: The prescribing of symptom suppressing medications is symptom management, not healing. Not only is this management of symptoms a short sighted approach, it sets children up for immune issues and chronic disease as adults. In other words, the care that is most accessible and commonly prescribed or purchased is damaging our children.

The origin of the chronic symptoms observed in school children all began in their infancy and can all be traced back to poor elimination. When the body cannot clean as it is designed to, it begins to compensate by using emergency exits which then becomes the norm. This poor elimination can be seen as sinus congestion, a chronic cough, a bit of eczema that comes and goes, repeated upper respiratory or ear infections, sleep disturbances, cold or canker sores, and so on. While the steps to support a school age child to heal these symptoms may be more involved, solving it in babies is simple and straightforward. Parents just need to be aware and select safe tools.

A Parent’s Guide

Here is what I’d like every parent of babies to do:
•Know that how you handle even the most minor symptom does matter.

•Always treat acute symptoms naturally first.

•Use a natural health care provider who helps uncover the root of recurring symptoms.

•Keep babies and children away from all products made from milk (from cows, goats and sheep).

•When breastfeeding is not an option make smart choices that are dairy-free and support your baby’s digestive system daily with probiotics and Gemmotherapy.

•Say no to Tylenol, antibiotics, over the counter medications, and creams that suppress symptoms.

•Say yes to breastfeeding for as long as possible, offer fresh fruits and vegetables when you begin supplementing, and use Gemmotherapy extracts to support a maturing digestive system.

•When Gemmotherapy and diet does not resolve your baby’s symptoms, look to Homeopathy. To learn more about Homeopathy order this book from Dr. Tim Dooley and visit the website for the National Center for Homeopathy.

So parents, there are options! I would love to support your journey to raise the next stronger healthier generation of children.

Interested in learning more about Gemmotherapy? You can find out much more about Gemmotherapy protocols for yourself or family in my latest book, Building Immunity In Babies and Children.

If you would like to learn more about restoring immunity with Gemmotherapy consider joining my next Foundations of Gemmotherapy series.

Over these past  weeks, I have taken the opportunity to address a variety of common baby ailments from croup to colic to eczema. While all are seemingly simple symptoms, each is actually an important not to be ignored or suppressed expression of your baby’s body. Each occurs because baby’s elimination is not optimal and emergency exits to clean are being tasked in the lungs, skin, or through the nose.

While it is the common and accepted conventional approach to quiet these symptoms with medication I have asked that you might consider an alternative. Rather than turning these inflammatory responses inward and disrupting baby’s developing systems, I suggest you consider instead a therapy to optimize elimination and enhance the body’s own capability to clean and self heal.

In my opinion, there is no better therapy for this than Gemmotherapy extracts that contain the meristems (plant stem cells) of specific trees and shrubs. The inclusion of the meristem material gives Gemmotherapy extracts the ability to simultaneously clean and heal organ tissue on a cellular level. This cleaning and healing reduces and eliminates inflammation rather than suppresses it. This is critical for all humans but particularly so during the first years of a developing immune system.

The Developing Immune System

What we are now learning about the human microbiome lends further credit to the supportive action of Gemmotherapy extracts to address baby’s symptoms as opposed to potentially harmful medication. The term, Microbiome, refers to the population of microbes that cover every surface of our bodies, both inside and out. Microbes are microscopic life forms that represent thousands of species, outnumbering our own cells by about 10 to 1. The populating of our microbiome occurs from birth with our first strains coming from skin to skin contact with our mother and through breastfeeding. A healthy diversified microbiome leads to a healthy immune system.

A Baby’s First Years

Microbiome is no doubt the scientific buzzword of the day but it is more than a fad and something with which every expectant parent and those with young infants need to familiarize themselves. While our microbiome continues changing throughout our lifetime, we now know that the first three years of life are most critical. New and Expectant Parent Alert: This first three year period of a child’s life is when the immune system matures and every precaution must be taken to protect rather than challenge this system.

“The microbial makeup a child has at three is the one he or she will carry into adulthood. So this is the most vulnerable period, during which messing with the microbiome could have longer-term implications.” according to Ramnik Xavier, a gastroenterologist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital’s Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, and Harvard Medical School.

What messes with the microbiome?  The three top interferences in infants come from

1. C-section deliveries
2. Formula feeding
3. Antibiotics (for mom or baby)

Supporting the Developing  Microbiome

Vaginally delivered babies are covered in a film of microbes from their mother as they enter the world. This simply does not occur with C-section deliveries. However, hospital studies have been conducted that have investigated the success of “swabbing” babies with gauze containing microbes from mom. Thus far the studies have proven that a transfer of microbes from mom to infant CAN occur in this manner.

Breast milk has been the preferred food for infants for years and now this has even more backing with recent studies. Beneficial bacteria from mom are delivered directly to baby’s gut with each breastfeeding, supporting the development of a diverse microbiome. This makes a strong case for the use of probiotics in infants who must be formula fed.

It has become clear that the use of antibiotics can send the microbiome into a state of chaos, when given at birth or after. This  study has even found a three-way link among antibiotic use in infants, changes in the gut bacteria, and disease later in life.

Early imbalances in gut microbes have been tied to infectious diseases, allergies and other autoimmune disorders, and even obesity later in life. A recent Harvard Magazine article, How Antibiotics Disrupt Babies’ Microbiomes, states research that has found fewer strains of microbes in antibiotic-exposed children’s intestines and a less diverse microbiome creates a less stable microbial community.

The same article goes on to explain that having a diverse, rich, complex, microbial community is important for the immune education of the gut. According to this, growing up in a too-clean environment may actually be a bad thing because exposure to germs in early life is necessary to help train the developing immune system. Something extremely important to think about as it has become a trend to overprotect baby and baby’s environment.

While all of this just barely scratches the surface given the vast knowledge available on the human microbiome my hope is that it will pique your curiosity on the topic and lead to further research on your own.

Check back next week when  I wrap up this Happy Healthy Baby series and offer clear steps expectant and new parents can take to support their developing infant before and after delivery.

Learn more about how you can build your child’s immune system in my recent book  full of easy to use Gemmotherapy protocols for everything from colic to skin conditions. An indispensable guide for anyone caring for young ones. If diving deeper into Gemmotherapy is on your mind then consider joining me in September for my next Foundations of Gemmotherapy series.

Overview

Unlike sinus congestion or skin symptoms, inflammation of the middle ear, or ear aches, in babies and young children aren’t always apparent. Not until it progresses to a sleepless night, lack of appetite, or fever will the ear be suspected. While considered normal and common in the early childhood years they are not natural and can be avoided.

The standard treatment for an inflamed ear canal or drum is antibiotics and, for those with recurrent symptoms, an extended course is often prescribed. When ear infections can not be resolved, a further procedure that involves the surgical insertion of tubes to extend the ear canal in order to equalize pressure in the middle ear is later considered.

Inflammation of the ears in babies and young children actually occur because optimal bowel elimination is not established, the kidneys are required to overwork and to compensate. The body uses the ear canal, much like detour routes off a congested highway. In this case, the ears, and possibly sinuses, have become the chosen alternate exit(s) with the surrounding lymph nodes becoming filled to capacity, leading to inflammatory pressure on the middle ear canal.

Can ear inflammation be resolved without antibiotics?

Ongoing ear inflammation is actually a secondary symptom of sinus congestion as well as infrequent stools or blow out stools that have continued long enough for the body to search for an emergency exit for cleaning. The use of this alternate exit has created an inflammatory state much like other symptoms discussed in this series. In this case, the acute inflammatory state of the middle ear must be managed first and then the primary symptom, infrequent stools, must be resolved before the cycle can be broken.

By looking at how the body resolves inflammation naturally, we can work with it rather than against it and avoid the use of OTC medications or antibiotics.

Natural resolution of inflammation

The natural resolution of inflammation requires the coordinated efforts of the lymphatic system (as a part of the immune system), the circulatory system, and the primary organs of elimination: the bowel and kidneys.

The lymphatic system is the body’s drainage system. It is responsible for maintaining a balance of body fluids and does this by transporting excess fluids through intricate channels, filtering what has been collected within the lymph nodes before moving the fluids on to the blood.

The circulatory system then delivers the blood to the kidneys for the removal of the waste product urea to form urine.

Inflammatory states, such as ear inflammation or drainage, will require a first protocol to resolve the acute condition and a follow-up protocol to the primary symptom of infrequent stools and the chronic state of inflammation of inflamed middle ear. Leaving a child to “outgrow” these inflammatory states can lead to countless more complex secondary symptoms, the most common addressed in this book.

Steps to take

The acute symptom of inflammation of the middle ear and the primary symptom of infrequent stools can be addressed with the following sequential steps.

1.First and foremost, dietary causes must be assessed and addressed. The following are the most common inflammatory foods and should be removed (until later consideration) from the child’s diet or from the diet of the mother if the child is completely breastfed:

•Manufactured formula, cow’s milk or soy based

•Any animal dairy products into baby’s diet, including yoghurt and cheese

•Grains of any kind

2.Begin the acute daily Gemmotherapy protocol of European Blueberry, Black Currant, Dog Rose together 4x daily and an evening dose of Hornbeam. After the first forty eight hours, reduce the dosage to 3x daily with an evening dose of Hornbeam.

3.Once the acute symptoms are 90% improved, the protocols must be changed to address the primary symptom of bowel elimination and the chronic state of inflammation of the sinuses. The new Gemmotherapy protocol includes a combination of European Blueberry and Black Currant with an evening dose of Hazel.

4.Once bowel elimination has optimized to three to four bowel movements daily for exclusively breastfed babies and a minimum of two for those not exclusively breastfed, and no further infrequent or blowout stools occur, continue the protocol for another month or more. Watch for an improvement not only in bowel elimination but in the dark circles and puffiness under the child’s eyes. Once the eyes have improved as well consider discontinuing the protocol unless advised otherwise by your practitioner.

5.Should ear discomfort return repeat the acute protocol until resolved followed by the protocol for the primary symptom of bowel elimination.

Hazel’s Story

Let me introduce you to Hazel. I met Hazel when she was twenty three months old. She had spent the first two years of her life on and off antibiotics for repeated ear infections and Hazel’s parents had reached their limit at the lack of options they had been offered. Having just completed a course of antibiotics and with a baseline inflammation still present in the middle ear, Hazel’s parents were anxious that the next flare was imminent when they arrived at my practice.

In taking Hazel’s case, it was of no surprise that she only had one bowel movement daily and often would experience a massive blowout stools. While Hazel’s mother could not remember her skipping days between bowel movements, she only had one a day and several times a week there would be a blowout stool. I also learned that while Hazel had been breastfed, she was also given yogurt on a daily basis from five months of age. Her first ear inflammation occurred at 6 months.

I advised Hazel’s parents to first remove all dairy from her diet and begin a Gemmotherapy protocol for the entire next year. Her protocol was Black Currant, Dog Rose, European Blueberry, and Hazel.

When she experienced an acute state of pain or discomfort in the ears and possibly sinus congestion, I asked Hazel’s parents to give her the protocol more frequently during the first twenty four hours of symptoms.

I also advised them to seek further support should the symptoms not show signs of improvement after twenty four hours of use. As the symptoms and discomfort lessened they would reduce the dosage back to twice daily.

Hazel experienced two further inflammatory flares over the next twelve months and we addressed them with the acute Gemmotherapy protocol as well as a Homeopathic remedy. When the second one occurred I discussed the elimination of gluten producing grains with Hazel’s parents as they can also cause considerable inflammation. Since keeping to a gluten free and dairy free diet, Hazel has not had any further trouble with her ears.

If Hazel’s story has sparked your interest in Gemmotherapy you might want to have a look at my recent book, Building Immunity in Babies and Children. Perhaps you are ready to learn even more? Why not join me in the Midi Pyrenees the summer for a Gemmotherapy Immersion Retreat with my colleague Stephane Boistard or register now for the September Foundations of Gemmotherapy Series live online.

The one thing all new parents want is a happy, healthy baby and, oh yes, some sleep! But so much seems to get in the way of all three and the process of making sense of it all can often leave you feeling like you are lost in a maze. I’d love nothing more than to help you find your way to understanding the root of your baby’s symptoms. And it may just happen that you learn something about your own body along the way!

Alternate cleaning exits

Once you understand and accept a few fundamental concepts, then all of baby’s symptoms will begin to make sense and you will be able to take action. Healthy babies need the ability to take in nutrition to feed their growing bodies and eliminate the waste product from that nutrition. The primary elimination organs are the kidneys and bowels. When one or both of these organs are not performing optimally, the body will search for alternate exits to remove the waste product. Those exits include:
1.Sinus Cavity- congestion, post nasal drip

2.Skin- eczema, hives, rashes, acne, cradle cap

3.Lungs- croup, asthmatic like cough

At the appearance or continuation of any of the above symptoms, possible causes to examine include:
•Baby is not having frequent enough bowel movements (3 or more times per day)

•Baby has been introduced to dairy products (including formulas based on cow’s milk)

•Baby has been introduced to soy products (including formulas based on soy)

•Baby’s sensitivity is so high that the dairy and/or soy products mom is consuming are causing symptoms

Commonly used extracts

In my practice, after a complete intake, I use individually selected Gemmotherapy extracts based on baby’s symptoms to support the organs of elimination. I will also look for any of the above mentioned dietary causes that could continue to provoke the symptoms once the organs have been cleaned and strengthened with Gemmotherapy extracts. The extracts I most often find useful with babies include Silver Birch Sap, Blueberry, Walnut, and Fig.

In the past weeks I have shared posts on Croup and Respiratory symptoms as well as Eczema with protocols that will solve these problems right where they begin. This week we are going to take a look at the struggles one young baby had with a continuous stuffy nose. The important takeaway here is that this symptom in babies is much more likely to be caused by poor digestion than a cold.

Baby Katie

At twelve weeks of age, Katie began exhibiting signs of nasal congestion and her parents began managing it with the bulb syringe and saline solution they had received from their pediatrician. The challenge was that Katie’s congestion returned shortly after it was cleared with the syringe. After a week, Katie began waking often at night with congestion that needed clearing and she struggled during breastfeeding, unable to breathe through her stuffy nose. Her parents were reassured by friends and family that Kate’s symptom was normal and would pass on its own. The problem was- it didn’t. At 16 weeks of age, Katie’s mother brought her to my practice because Katie’s symptoms had not gotten better and, if anything, they were worse.

Katie’s Intake and Protocol

The intake questions for Katie were quite simple and straightforward, as they are for infants and small children. I take a close look at frequency and consistency of bowel elimination, signs of vitality in the eyes, hair, skin, teeth, and family history, and signs of inflammation. What was normal bowel elimination for a baby Katie’s mother wanted to know? If the baby is solely breastfed and nursing throughout the day, then there should be a minimum of 3-4 bowel movements daily. Katie was having only one bowel movement a day.

Here were the steps we took to address Katie’s congestion
1.An acute Gemmotherapy protocol of Common Alder, Black Currant, and Dog Rose 3x daily to clear the immediate congestion. This protocol, however, will be of no help long term if the cause of the congestion is not addressed.

2.Once the congestion was improved we changed the protocol to Blueberry 3x daily to optimize Katie’s elimination by supporting the function of the bowel and kidneys.

3.Within a week Katie began to have a 2nd bowel movement daily and sometimes a 3rd.

We monitored Katie closely for the next two months. If her congestion reappeared, we would return to the acute protocol of Common Alder, Black Currant, and Rose and also take a look to her mother’s diet. It may be that Katie’s digestion was sensitive enough to be bothered by mom’s consuming dairy and soy products. This is not so uncommon today. Science is making great strides in the study of infant microbiome. You can read more about this topic here.

As for Katie, she continues to do quite well. My hope is that her story along with all of the Happy Healthy Baby stories from the past weeks shed some light on symptoms you may see in your own child. The expressions of your baby’s body don’t have to be a mystery and really are quite easy to understand once you see that their bodies are only trying to find a way to clean.

Has Katie’s story has sparked your interest in Gemmotherapy? I suggest have a look at my recent book, Building Immunity in Babies and Children. Perhaps you are ready to learn even more? Join me in the Midi Pyrenees the summer for a Gemmotherapy Immersion Retreat with my colleague Stephane Boistard or register now for the September Foundations of Gemmotherapy Series live online.

Eczema in babies and young children is more common than it should be and entirely avoidable. Yes, that is a true statement, even if it runs in the family. Just as with all of the topics in my Happy Healthy Babies series, the answer to eczema will be found in addressing the root cause of the symptom and that is certainly not the skin! Eczema is merely an expression of the body’s inability to eliminate optimally. Because the bowels and/or kidneys are overburdened, the skin becomes an emergency exit for cleaning. You can read more about this topic here.

While topical treatments may give temporary relief, they cannot heal eczema. The only way to put an end to eczema is to support bowel and kidney function and eliminate inflammatory foods that are adding to their load. In adults, the healing of eczema can take months, but in babies the process is usually quite straightforward and simple with the right support. Before taking a look at Marie’s story, let’s revisit last week’s post because it is related.

The Complications of Suppressing Symptoms

Last week I shared the story of Sam and the respiratory troubles he faced, waking in the early hours of the morning and giving his parents a fright as he struggled for breath between coughs. What we learned from Sam’s story is that these acute respiratory episodes need a two-fold approach. First, an acute protocol (Black Currant and Lithy) was in order that would give immediate relief to his spasmodic cough. Next, and just as important, Sam needed a daily protocol of Gemmotherapy to improve his elimination. The extract needed for Sam’s elimination would be individualized based on symptoms pertaining to his elimination, vitality, and inflammation. Because the daily protocol would take a week or more to help establish better elimination, it was likely he would have another acute episode or two and it was important his parents had an option.

I’m drawing your attention to Sam because children who have similar respiratory symptoms and are treated with medications to suppress the symptoms often exhibit skin conditions like eczema next. The same can be true in reverse as well: children who have skin symptoms that are suppressed often develop respiratory symptoms.

Eczema and croup or coughing symptoms are connected but only because they both share the same root cause – poor elimination. While elimination can and will be improved by the correct Gemmotherapy protocol, this must be paired with a diet that does not add to the inflammatory state. While there are many groups of inflammatory foods, it has been my experience that consuming milk and products made from milk is the greatest cause of symptoms in children. This can be problematic if the child is under one year of age and not breastfed because the options are limited. However, there ARE options and knowing the age of the child will guide the best choice. This is something I help parents with on a daily basis.

Baby Marie

Let’s take a look a Marie’s story. Marie’s parents began to notice the first small patches of eczema on her cheeks and then on the back of her neck when she was five months of age. They found they could give Marie some temporary relief with coconut oil but after a few weeks they noticed the eczema was spreading when they discovered a patch on her leg and upper arm. At this point Marie began waking frequently at night irritated by her skin. When offered a steroid cream by their pediatrician, her parents began looking for options.

By the time this family made it to my office Marie was not a very happy baby. Itchy and uncomfortable, she seldom slept straight for more than an hour or so. Needless to say Marie’s parents were quite exhausted and worn down as well. The intake for her case, as with all babies, was quite simple and it wasn’t long before the root cause was clear.

Change in Diet

Four weeks before the eczema appeared, Marie’s parents began giving her a night time bottle of formula to supplement mom’s breastfeeding. The plan was for mom to return to work when Marie was six months of age and so it seemed to make sense to begin introducing formula.

Wisely, Marie’s parents introduced it slowly with one bottle at a time but after the first week of watching carefully for any reaction they felt safe in their choice. Like many parents, Marie’s expected a negative response to be immediate and obvious. The fact is that there was a reaction, a mild one, but important.

Impact on Elimination

The frequency of Marie’s bowel movements changed within the first week of beginning the formula but had gone relatively unnoticed. Normally having had 3 per day on breast milk only, she began to not have one until late in the day and on occasion she skipped a day between movements.

The next symptom to appear also seemed random and that was the onset of a wet cough. Marie’s parents treated this cough with all natural syrup for children from the local health food store and continued on with the nightly feeding of formula, attributing all of what Marie was experiencing as normal babyhood.

It wasn’t until the eczema appeared that Marie’s parents began to seek outside help. The problem with eczema is that the medical community does not have a cure – they have a treatment. The treatment, topical steroid creams, can temporarily suppresses the eczema but it will never address the reason it is there in the first place. Lucky for Marie her parents weren’t pleased with the prescription they were handed and so they looked for further help.

It’s important to understand that by the time the body begins to use the skin for an emergency exit the elimination organs have been overburdened for some time. Resetting this compensation to use the skin to clean takes some time and in Marie’s case no further feedings of formula.

Gemmotherapy Support

After one week on the Gemmotherapy extract Silver Birch Sap and only breast milk, Marie’s parents saw a return to normal bowel movements, the cough subsiding, and no further spread of the eczema. The rest of Marie’s eczema cleared over the following weeks with continued daily doses of the Silver Birch Sap. Once all three symptoms, bowel movements, cough, and eczema were corrected she would no longer need the Gemmotherapy protocol if she kept all dairy out of her diet.

As I have mentioned before, addressing these early symptoms in babies is so important and can be simple when the case has not been complicated by suppressing medications. I love this opportunity to offer parents an alternative that really works and I’m already looking forward to sharing next week’s post on babies and sinus congestion. What if Marie’s parents had used he steroid cream? Well this is a good question to ask. They would see a temporary relief of the external symptoms but her cough and poor elimination would not have resolved. In many cases, those symptoms would only increase in intensity leading parents to seek another separate solution for the cough.

Important to note is that all eczema cases can be resolved, even when they have been suppressed. However, the protocol and time required will be slightly different from Marie’s.

Has Marie’s story has sparked your interest in Gemmotherapy? You can find out much more about restoring your child’s immunity with Gemmotherapy in my latest book. If you are a practitioner or interested in becoming a practitioner consider joining one of my upcoming Foundations of Gemmotherapy courses.

For the past four weeks we have been talking about babies- One of my favorite subjects, especially when it comes to keeping them healthy. Babies respond so beautifully to the natural medicines Gemmotherapy and Homeopathy, allowing parents the opportunity to bypass the whole toxic load encountered with OTC and prescription drugs. By addressing the root cause of what seems like the normal woes of infancy, parents are able to stop future chronic symptoms from developing in their child right from the start. Every suppressed symptom increases the inflammatory state within, exactly the beginning of chronic disease.

So far we have taken a look at the following topics:

Why it really is all about elimination

Addressing Infrequent Bowel Movements

Addressing Acid Reflux

Addressing Colic

Onset of Croup and Respiratory Symptoms

When infrequent elimination is ignored it can trigger any of the aforementioned symptoms in addition to croup and respiratory symptoms. It is important to note that the respiratory system is always more than happy to help share the load of cleaning what the bowels or kidneys have not. The problem is that when it does in fact step up to help, the outcome is less than desirable: a croupy or wheezy baby with symptoms that can be more than a little bit scary for most parents, particularly when it occurs in the wee hours of the night.

Gemmotherapy Support

Because croup, asthmatic coughing, or wheezing in babies is a secondary symptom of poor elimination, addressing it is twofold.
1.The first protocol to settle the pulmonary spasms in the moment is needed quickly and I have found alternating doses of Black Currant and Lithy Gemmotherapy extracts successful.

2.Then, begin the next protocol to address the larger problem that will prevent the symptoms from returning. Determining this will require a look at the specific elimination symptoms of the child. There are several Gemmotherapy extracts that could be useful but which one will depend on the individual and must be determined with a consultation.

Sam’s Story

Here’s a story of little Sam who came to my practice with his exhausted and worried mom. At five months, Sam had developed a pattern of waking in the early hours of the morning with a barking seal like spasmodic cough. His parents would rush him into the steam filled bathroom and hold him upright until his cough was soothed, however long that would take. He would then nurse and eventually return to sleep. A visit to their pediatrician left them unsettled as the option provided was a nebulizer with steroid treatment. This was not a solution that they wished to consider.

Sam’s parents needed a protocol that would work in the moment for his acute symptoms and another he would take daily to address the underlying cause. As with all of the baby symptoms we have discussed this month, Sam’s croup stemmed from poor elimination. Because he was solely breastfed, diet was not likely his issue. We looked to his organs of elimination, bowels and kidneys, to see where the support was needed. This was determined through a checklist of questions I asked Sam’s mother. Important to consider, however, is the fact that if Sam did not improve in a matter of weeks, his sensitivity might be such that eliminating dairy from his mother’s diet may be necessary.

During our consultation, Sam’s mom confirmed that he often skipped days between bowel movements and that could then be followed by a day or two with several “blow outs”. She attributed this to normal baby elimination. While some irregularity can be normal in babies as their digestive systems mature, if there are other symptoms occurring such as reflux, colic, respiratory distress, or skin inflammations, then elimination needs to be supported.

We decided to start Sam on Blueberry Gemmotherapy as it offers gentle support for both the bowel and kidney functions and my experience has proven that babies like Sam respond quite well to it. Sam would take 5 drops 3x daily, directly in his mouth before breastfeeding.

A week later, Sam did have one more episode of croup in the early morning and his parents were able to settle his symptoms with a dose each of Black Currant and Lithy with everyone returning to a peaceful sleep. After that one acute bout, while maintaining continued daily doses of the Blueberry, Sam had no further symptoms. I suggested we check back in with Sam in a month to see how he was progressing. In a case like Sam’s, in which the poor elimination had progressed enough to trigger a respiratory response, I find he may need several months of taking the Gemmotherapy protocol.

Lessons from Sam

There are some important lessons to learn from Sam’s case. One is that by addressing those very early signs of poor or less than optimal elimination, other more serious symptoms can be avoided. The next is that there are natural, safe solutions for babies that offer support to developing organs rather than suppress the inflammatory response. Had Sam’s parents gone the traditional route of the nebulizer, Sam’s poor elimination would never be addressed, the secondary symptoms from his lungs would have been suppressed, and before long he would begin experiencing skin symptoms, most often in the form of eczema. That leads me right into next week’s post on skin symptoms in babies. Be sure to check back for some insight and solutions.

If you are a practitioner that works with babies you may be interested in joining my upcoming Foundations of Gemmotherapy Series held over four Saturdays in May and June. Sessions are recorded so live attendance is not mandatory. Parents can learn more about Gemmotherapy and how it can support their child’s immune system in my latest book Building Immunity in Babies and Children.

Colic is a word that puts fear into the heart of every exhausted expectant and new parent. And yet, what is colic really? If it is so common, then why is there not a clear solution? Do babies really outgrow it? I have quite a bit to say about this topic, however, before I share, I’d like to circle back around on the theme of Happy Healthy Babies in general and the symptoms that are typically addressed.

The Truth

The truth is, that the cause of all typical baby symptoms such as infrequent bowel movements, reflux, colic, ear infections, eczema, sinusitis, and croup, is poor elimination. This less-than-optimal elimination is due to poor performance of either the kidneys or the bowel or both. It is exactly these organs that will need support for the symptom to clear. Unfortunately, the natural medicines that best support the healthy development of these organs are not known or practiced by the vast majority of pediatricians. MDs not trained in Homeopathy and/or Gemmotherapy are limited to offering a prescription medication to suppress the symptoms that will only weaken compromised organs and be a catalyst for further chronic conditions. Or, they will suggest that you, “wait the symptoms out,” until your baby matures.

These solutions are simply not what parents want to hear, especially when they believe there must be another answer for their child. And there is another answer. As a mother of three I too received this same message over and again from a variety of pediatricians over the span of twenty years! My son Sebastian probably holds the family record for a host of childhood symptoms that made the early years of parenting him quite a challenge. Even living in Germany, with the support of a knowledgeable Homeopath MD, the root of his symptoms was not uncovered. It was not until I began the pursuit of my new career in natural medicine and trained with a variety of mentors that the underlying cause became evident. Today, I can see with crystal clarity the start of all of the symptoms that plagued his early years were due to poor elimination. What I would have given at the time for such a simple straightforward solution to his years of sleeplessness, ear infections, and croup.

My firsthand experiences as a mother and the daily work I do with babies in my practice, is what drives me to get this message out far and wide. The answer lies in optimizing elimination. If an infant is solely breastfed then the protocol to address the symptoms will be only a Gemmotherapy extract. If however food or dairy has been introduced into the baby’s diet then the protocol will be a Gemmotherapy extract and modifications to the diet. Older babies and children whose elimination organs have been compromised for some time may also need a homeopathic remedy to support their overall constitution in the healing process. However, whether the answer is Gemmotherapy extracts alone or dietary changes or Homeopathy these solutions are simple, affordable and will positively impact the health and wellbeing of a child for a lifetime. We just need this message to reach more parents.

Emma

Let’s take a look at baby Emma who was, for the most part, miserable day and night. While her parents would observe brief periods of calm, Emma was pretty much always fretful. She fussed before nursing, directly after nursing, and just simply could not settle into a restful sleep day or night. Emma even fussed through her entire appointment here in my practice, arching her back in the classic pose of a colicky baby. Lucky for Emma her parents had a little experience behind them. Parents of a two year old as well they noted she never seemed to have these same problems. Due to this fact they sought help early on.

Of course like most parents today, they had performed several internet searches that provided them with a host of suggestions they had tried from infant massage, to movement, to feeding more often and white noise. While some provided momentary relief, none settled Emma for any length of time.

In our session together I performed the intake process I use for all of my clients that covers symptoms of elimination, vitality, and inflammation. It is symptoms of elimination that are the most relevant for young babies like Emma. What I look for in breastfed babies are several bowel movements daily that do not cause any discomfort and that occur across the day. Emma had a very changeable pattern with occasional “blow-outs” and days with no bowel elimination. Additionally, Emma clearly had pains and discomfort with digestion and reflux which are all symptoms that helped guide me to the right protocol.

Like Emma, all babies I have seen with colic seem to have problems with some reflux and always an inconsistency with the bowel movements. While this is traditionally attributed to immature digestive systems, waiting for maturity is not the answer. The problem with that, above and beyond the fact that it leaves Emma and her parents in distress, is that her body begins to compensate. That means other organs begin to work harder, making up for the lack of work by the digestive organs, and in this case it would be the kidneys. Over-worked kidneys lead us down another path with babies and we would begin to see respiratory and/or skin symptoms.

The Solution

The answer for Emma, as in all babies I work with that have symptoms of colic, is a combination of Walnut and Fig Gemmotherapy. I combine equal amounts of these extracts in a small bottle and suggest parents give 6 drops directly in the mouth before feeding. To begin 4-5 doses are needed daily but as symptoms improve I reduce the dosage. The sooner a baby’s colic symptoms are addressed, the quicker the response to the protocol. Colic that has gone on for months may need further support and as a practitioner I will look for what other symptoms have also occurred due to poor elimination.

Since beginning this series I have been hearing from moms across the country and that is so exciting. We can put an end to a host of chronic conditions by directly addressing what is causing this baby’s distress today but we need to spread this information. Take some time, if you can, and pass this article along to a new parent or two you know.
While this is already the fourth post in this series, there is still so much more to discuss! Has this has piqued your interest in Gemmotherapy? We’d love to hear from you in the comments! You can also find out more here about Gemmotherapy protocols for yourself or family. If you are a practitioner that works with babies you may be interested in my upcoming training on Gemmotherapy Support for Fertility, Pregnancy & Infants held July 9th in Austin, Tx. Additional trainings are available online.

There are many wonderful benefits from working with babies but what strikes me the most is their dramatic response to a simple protocol. The root of a baby’s symptom is so clear; it is either what they are eating or an elimination organ that needs support.

In most situations, babies are not faced with the same complicated external contributors as adults such as a history of antibiotic treatments, injuries, missing organs, trauma, and stress. That is why the treatment babies receive in these early weeks and months of life are so critical. It is this early period when the immune system and it’s response is established for life. Parents, you are presented with a golden opportunity to set your child up with healthy digestion and optimal elimination both which contribute to a stable and strong immune system.

Sadly, this golden opportunity gets passed over time and time again. Well-meaning parents get caught in the loop of treating their child as opposed to healing their child. What is the difference? Well, treatment involves the use of a medication to stop/suppress the symptoms occurring while healing resolves the symptom at the root cause. Not only are the results remarkable in that moment but the cost of treatment to that baby’s health is felt over a lifetime.

Healing symptoms that occur due to poor elimination early in life is simple and straightforward when equipped with the right tools. I believe Gemmotherapy is a fabulous tool for every new parent and for practitioners who work with infants and children. Gemmotherapy extracts are unique as they use the meristems of trees and shrubs. This makes Gemmotherapy extracts the only medicine that can clean and restore organs on a cellular level. When it comes to babies and young children that process is short and simple.

It is important to note that it is a serious misconception that a baby’s elimination symptoms are actually outgrown. The issues caused by poor elimination only multiply, becoming more serious chronic conditions. Take a look at this article on childhood ailments to see what happens over time when something as simple as poor elimination in an infant is ignored.

In Happy Healthy Babies Part II I shared Ella’s story. Ella had difficulty settling into sleep after feeding or waking in distress shortly after she dropped off from exhaustion. As new parents, Ella’s were at a loss and wondered if her symptoms were “just normal.” We determined that they were not, just as Ella’s bowel elimination was not normal either.

Philips Story

This week, let’s take a look at Philip who struggled with reflux at 3 months of age. This is a common symptom among young babies as their digestive tracts mature. It can become a problem and worrisome to parents when it occurs after almost every meal and baby may not be gaining weight as expected. Pediatricians will suggest waiting it out or prescribe an acid blocking medication. Neither approach addresses the root of the symptoms.

I see many cases like Philip’s in my practice and am grateful to have use of a Gemmotherapy extract that supports the healthy development of an infant’s digestive tract. The action of Fig Gemmotherapy works precisely on the mouth to stomach portion of the digestive tract, exactly the root of the reflux symptom. Fig will support the organs themselves to mature and encourage healthy digestion.

As with Ella’s case last week, I instructed Philip’s mother to give him the drops directly in his mouth prior to nursing beginning with 4x daily until his reflux subsided. Once consistent with the dosage, an improvement was seen within the week. I advised continuing the 4x daily dosage until the reflux was no longer occurring and then continue 2x daily as a maintenance. Because Gemmotherapy extracts support healthy growth and development of organ tissue, instead of suppressing a symptom, the continued use is only helpful. I will check back in 6 weeks to see if the Gemmotherapy is still needed.

Has this has sparked your interest in Gemmotherapy? You can learn more about this topic in my latest book Building Immunity in Babies and Children. Looking for a deeper dive into the uses of Gemmotherapy? You may want to consider joining my upcoming Foundation of Gemmotherapy Series.

I LOVE working with babies! I so appreciate the opportunity to share with parents the benefits of natural remedies for the simple ailments of infancy such as constipation, acid reflux, colic, and croup. Gemmotherapy can provide exactly the support these young developing bodies need for their digestive system because of its unique ability to clean and fortify organ tissue. Unfortunately, when seeking help, most parents are given advice to either wait it out until their baby’s discomfort passes or they are handed a prescription to suppress the symptom. I’d like to say neither is acceptable or helpful to baby or parents.

The early development of the digestive system is critical in the building of a healthy immune system. Science is making more gains on this by the day as we learn that the chronic dis-eases of our generation stem from disturbances in this highly sensitive system. So it IS critical we pay attention to these early symptoms and set healthy patterns at the beginning of life. If you’d like to read more about this topic, I recommend this in-depth article by my colleague Dr. Ron Whitmont, a MD Homeopath, who discusses the body’s microbiome and chronic disease.

I introduced this series last week, sharing the impact over time of poor elimination. One version of poor elimination is infrequent stools. Let’s take a look at how simply a case of infrequent stools from my practice was solved with Gemmotherapy.

Ella’s Story

Ella was a 6 week old, c-section delivered, breastfed infant. I met with Ella and her parents when they came in for help with what they perceived as her inability to settle. They described her pattern of falling asleep (day or night) and waking shortly afterwards in distress and her inability to settle back into sleep after a night feeding, searching for comfort. She could not easily bring up a burp and would wail in discomfort. New at the game of parenting, they weren’t sure if this was normal or not.

I questioned Ella’s parents about her bowel elimination. Was she passing stools easily after each breastfeeding or at least several each day? I was not surprised to hear that Ella sometimes skipped a day of bowel movements, and mostly had only one. While their pediatrician had shown no concern, I knew from my own clinical experience that when the bowels do not empty completely, sleep is disturbed among a host of other things. So how does a parent know if their baby is eliminating enough? Breastfed babies should have 3-4 bowel eliminations, spread out in the day. These stools should never produce any discomfort in passing or be explosive, blowing out the top of the diaper. Formula fed babies should have 2-3 stools daily that are never pellet like, produce any discomfort in passing or are explosive, blowing out the top of the diaper.

Extracts to Consider

If your baby has any secondary symptoms such as sleep disturbances, acid reflux, colic, skin conditions, or sinus congestion you can be sure the bowel elimination is not optimal as these are all a result of the body using alternative pathways to compensate.

There are two Gemmotherapy extracts I use in my practice for digestive disturbances in babies and over the next blog posts you will see how I employ them separately or together in babies depending on the circumstance. These two extracts are Fig and Walnut. Fig is known to support digestion from the mouth to the stomach. Walnut supports the large intestine creating a terrain that supports the development of healthy strains of bacteria.

Ella, being a c-section baby, had missed a healthy dose of good bacteria from her mother that babies gain in vaginal deliveries. Now that research has exploded on the microbiome of the body we know this is significant. Today I suggest the use of Walnut Gemmotherapy extract for all c-section babies to help build naturally what has been missed.

In Ella’s case specifically I decided to use a combination of the two extracts due to her difficulty burping or releasing gas after feeding along with her infrequent elimination. I made a combination bottle of the two Gemmotherapy extracts for easy handling and instructed Ella’s parents to give her four drops directly in her mouth right before nursing, 4x daily. Typically Gemmotherapy extracts are dosed in water but this can be complex for a young infant. In these cases, I generally advise the drops be given right on the tongue at the start of a feeding so they are washed from the mouth with breast milk.

Within one week, Ella was passing 2-3 stools a day and settling well into sleep. I suggested to her parents that after another week they taper the drops back to twice daily. If there is no return of symptoms, then this would continue along for her first months of life supporting Ella’s maturing digestive system with the benefits of Gemmotherapy.

Will Ella have a problem again? It might flare at another developmental stage. However, now her parents know what to look out for and have a safe and effective tool to use should future distress occur.

We’re just getting started in this series and there is a lot more to discuss so be sure to check back next week to learn a protocol for acid reflux in infants. Has this has sparked your interest in Gemmotherapy? You can learn more about this topic in my latest book Building Immunity in Babies and Children. Looking for a deeper dive into the uses of Gemmotherapy? Consider joining my upcoming Foundation of Gemmotherapy Series.

As a mother of three children, I lost many a night’s sleep with a child who could not settle or woke every few hours needing comfort and attention. Little did I know of the close relationship between their nighttime discomfort and their diet and less than optimal daily bowel elimination. I think about the sleep and worry I would have saved not to mention the stress and strain on their young digestive and immune systems. While I can’t restore my sleep I can absolutely help yours and along with that build a healthy immune system for your child.

I am always thrilled for the opportunity to work with a new mom and baby. Not because I don’t enjoy all whom I have the honor to support, but because those first years of life are when the most profound changes can occur – and simply! The immune system we depend on as adults is developed in our first three years of life. Early support of these maturing organs is critical and can prevent a host of what have become normal chronic childhood conditions such as interrupted sleep, eczema, or recurring inflammation of the ears or upper respiratory system.

Much of my work with individuals of all ages is focused on elimination. It plays a critical role in the health of all living beings but is never more clearly evident than it is in babies and toddlers. However, I’ve often been told by parent after parent, that I am the first practitioner to question their child’s elimination and they often wonder why that is so.

It is rare that an allopathic or conventional MD will raise an eyebrow at your baby or child missing a bowel movement or two or even three. There is reason for this. Medical doctors are trained to look at the body through the lens of disease diagnosis and medicine. A missed or infrequent bowel movement is not a disease. If the missed bowel movements lead to discomfort or impaction however, then there are medicines available to control the symptoms. To be clear, controlling symptoms does not resolve the underlying issue. It is this limited perspective that leads many to seek alternatives.

I practice an alternative that combines the use Gemmotherapy Extracts, a Plant Based Diet and Homeopathy, My protocols resolve symptoms rather than control symptoms. Elimination is key in my work. When elimination it is not optimal, the natural pattern of the body to clean and heal are disturbed and the body begins to compensate for this inadequate cleaning system. Infrequent elimination is the start of a chain of increasingly serious symptoms that can be completely prevented quite easily in the babies.

So, join me for these upcoming weeks as I discuss the common symptoms experienced by babies and children and how simple protocols to optimize elimination can resolve them.

It is my hope that by shedding some light on this subject, you may gain a new perspective on your baby or child’s health.

If you are interested in learning more about caring for your baby or child using Gemmotherapy extracts please consider my latest book, Building Immunity in Babies and Children. Information regarding my online and in person trainings can be found here.

In my perfect practice I would have an opportunity to work with every new mom and baby. Not because I don’t enjoy all the other age groups that I have the honor to serve, but because that is when the most profound changes can be made – and simply! With minor support to the vital organs in the first year or two of life, a host of chronic conditions can be prevented completely.

My reason for focusing on elimination and its critical role in the health of all living beings is never more clearly displayed than it is in babies and toddlers. However, I’ve been told by parent after parent, no other practitioner has shown any concern about their child’s elimination until now.  Why is that so? I’ll tell you what I know to be true…

It is rare that an allopathic MD will raise an eyebrow at your baby or child missing a bowel movement or two or even three. And the reason why is that medical doctors are trained to look at the body through the lens of disease diagnosis and medicine. A missed or infrequent bowel movement is not a disease. If there is discomfort from missed bowel movements, then there are medicines that will relieve the symptoms and they can be prescribed. They have, at their disposal, a solution.

It is this limited focus on solutions rather than cure that has led countless health practitioners towards the various alternative health practices. These practitioners wanted to offer their patient/ clients more, so they looked to chiropractic training, naturopathic training, acupuncture, homeopathy, and often a combination of fields. This is certainly what led me, first for healthcare for myself and my family and next for my own training.

In the alternative form of medicine that I practice, combining Gemmotherapy Extracts, a Plant Based Diet and Homeopathy, I search for the cure not a solution. Elimination is key because when it is not optimal the natural pattern of the body to clean and heal are disturbed and the body begins to compensate for this inadequate cleaning system. Infrequent elimination is the start of a chain of increasingly serious symptoms that can be completely prevented quite easily in the babies.

That is why I’ll be kicking off a new series this month of May on Happy Healthy Babies and sharing a story or two along the way. We’re going to talk about colic, acid reflux, cradle cap, croup, and more. If only I had known what I do now my years as a young mother would have passed with much more ease. More importantly, I would have prevented a host of symptoms in my children. Due to my personal experiences and my clinical practice I am absolutely passionate about sharing this knowledge. It is my hope that shedding some light on this subject, for new parents and even those who have been at it for some years, will provide you a new perspective on your baby or child’s health. As you follow along this month you may be led to discover the root of your child’s symptoms and help restore their natural abilities to clean and heal their young body.

I’ve written a lot about elimination in the past years (to say the least) but for the purpose of this new series on babies I’d like to call your attention to this article and graphic. The article explains my fundamental philosophy on elimination and what the lack of leads to. As for the graphic, I am fortunate to have on my team the gifted designer Christine Terrell who I owe so much to for her ability to bring sense and life to all the wild connections I make in my head. This graphic is a classic example of her work and clearly depicts the importance of addressing elimination early.

Looking forward to the weeks ahead!

If you are a practitioner that works with babies you may be interested in my upcoming training on Gemmotherapy Support for Fertility, Pregnancy & Infants held July 9th in Austin, Tx. Additional trainings are available online.

Gemmotherapy for Everyone:
Building Immunity In Babies & Young Children 

This book is full of easy to use Gemmotherapy protocols for everything from colic and sinus congestion to skin conditions and ear infections. An indispensable guide for anyone caring for young ones.

Buy the Book

I have so enjoyed this past month of posts by Jane Catherine Sherman. I hope many of you have gained from her real life experiences as a new mom, struggling with food choices and discerning the right path for her growing family. Last week we learned that croup can often be aggravated by sensitivities to dairy products and that healing symptoms can be as easy as eliminating those products from the diet. Unfortunately these early signs are often overlooked by new and even experienced parents who seldom make the association between what goes in and the symptoms the body produces. This happens to be a favorite topic of mine (just in case you haven’t heard). I love nothing more to see these issues handled early in life before the body learns compensations and work-arounds so it can keep going. Here’s a classic post I have written and recently revised that sums up what parents should be on the lookout for and why.

Enjoy!
– Lauren

***

Feeding Baby Part 4: Feeding the Whole Family

As my husband so bluntly put it, if our daughter can’t eat it, then we all won’t eat it. It’s not fair for us to all eat separate things. I’m paraphrasing a bit, but this sentiment started a whole new trend in our family.

(Savannah age 1)

As we watched our daughter struggle with her diet, we saw how certain foods can really wreak havoc on your body and even how some good foods just may not sit well. So, for the last few months, I’ve delved into the proverbial research rabbit hole to learn as much as I could about diet and what to feed our family. I was learning what to put in my daughter’s body, but what I didn’t expect was that it would cause me to want to change my diet and that of my husband.

Working with Lauren over the years has taught me to rethink what I put in my body but, truth be told, I was never able to completely give up the dairy and the meat.  These were integral parts of my diet, and who doesn’t love a good hamburger or a nice blue cheese. But, I came across the movie “Forks Over Knives,” and everything finally clicked in my brain. I began to think, if we could do this at least 85%- 90% of the time, then we would definitely be improving our health drastically. As with any life change, it doesn’t matter how much you read or hear about something, you have to be ready to change in order to be successful. And, our daughter had taught us that we were both now ready.

Although we have been progressively eating better as a family, this was a big step. You don’t realize how much meat and dairy you eat until you try to eliminate it from your diet. But, here we were, adopting a plant-based diet.

Within the first week, we immediately saw improvement in our health. I didn’t wake up with that bloated feeling in the morning, and my husband and I both starting having less headaches. Our clothes were looser because we weren’t carrying around that extra water weight, and our sleep was improving. Seeing those immediate effects encouraged us to stick with this new diet.

We’ve just started down this road, and it takes time to change years of eating habits. But, in the meantime, we’ve found some great recipes that don’t make us miss meat or dairy.

Middle-Eastern Spiced Squash + Bean Stew (Courtesy of Sprouted Kitchen)

This recipe lends itself to lots of adaptations depending on your mood. You can use an almond milk or coconut milk yogurt for garnish as well.

YotamOttolenghi’s Tamara’s Ratatouille

YotamOttolenghi’s “Plenty” cookbook has some great recipes that can be adapted to various diets. This is one of our favorites, and it’s a great way to get our daughter to eat vegetables.

***

I commend Jane Catherine and her husband for not only their awareness of their daughter’s needs but also for seeing the benefits in making dietary changes themselves. As she said, knowing something intellectually and taking steps toward change are two different things. Sometimes what we need is a catalyst. For Jane Catherine and Jason it was the symptoms expressed by their sweet daughter. Unfortunately for some it takes a more serious diagnosis before real lasting changes take hold. Trust me early symptoms like sinus congestion or croup are much easier to heal than chronic conditions that having taken root in the body.

A big thank you to Jane Catherine for her amazing 4 weeks of blog posts. No doubt we will hear from her in the future. And, because what we eat should always be our first medicine, I will continue more on the benefits of going plant based next month.

Gemmotherapy for Everyone:
Building Immunity In Babies & Young Children 

This book is full of easy to use Gemmotherapy protocols for everything from colic and sinus congestion to skin conditions and ear infections. An indispensable guide for anyone caring for young ones.

Buy the Book