My 7 month old son has been teething like crazy lately - poor guy is up crying several times each night, chomping at the bit and obviously in a great deal of discomfort. It goes without saying that we are also in great discomfort listening to him and going without sleep ourselves. Morning comes and he is his happy, joyful self again! I came across a recipe for Teething Tea that I’ve been trying the past couple weeks. I drink it myself as I’m breastfeeding him - but you can also give the tea directly to the child by bottle or dropper, and it may work faster that way, too. It tastes very yummy. I also make a pitcher of this tea for everyone at home that has a spoonful of raw honey added to it and my 3 year old calls it “Calming Tea” :) A great staple for toddler tea parties. Lemon Balm, Catnip, Chamomile & Lavender are all soothing herbs that calm irritability and relax the nervous system so it is calming in a true sense, and also good for cooling inflammation.

Teething or “Calming” Tea:

2 Tbsp dried Lemon Balm

2 Tbsp dried Catnip leaves

2 Tbsp dried Chamomile flowers

2 Tbsp dried Lavender flowers

Place 1 tbsp of mixture into mug or glass jar with 1 C boiling water. Steep for 15-30 minutes (the longer it steeps the stronger it will be - also for very fussy babies try using 2 tbsp per cup). Have mom drink the tea (if nursing) or give to baby via bottle/spoon/dropper 1 oz at a time throughout the day. You can also soak a thin wash cloth in this tea, chill in the fridge, and give to baby to chew on - that’s a big hit! This tea is very safe to take over long periods of time.

We also use Camilia homeopathic medicine and silicone baby spoons in our house for teething. What about you? Do you have a favorite remedy I’m missing out on?

As many of you are aware, I had my first baby almost 2 years ago, a boy named Woods. He has truly changed our lives. He is 23 months old now & I still don’t feel like I did before baby - I am still tired many days, my body is different, I’m not exercising quite like I did before, and my mind is constantly with him to some degree. I feel some of what we term “blood and yang deficiency” in TCM. Basically an imbalance of depletion. It makes sense! Little sleep, higher stress, hormonal fluctuation, less exercise, and eating sub-optimally many days while on mom-duty all adds up over time! I think some people may view their health practitioner as someone who never gets sick & has all the answers etc… but we are just like you. I have had to constantly recommit myself to my health over the past (almost) 2 years after becoming a mom. I recall my midwife telling me something when we were talking about how we were feeling in our new state of parenthood after the birth - we were drained & struggling with sleep, and all the great change seemed daunting- and she said, “Parenthood, at its essence, is the act of recommitting yourself over and over and over again to a cause.” Boy, those words ring loudly in my ears many days - but not just in relation to parenthood, but to myself and my work and my health and my relationship as well. I think it is some of the best wisdom I’ve ever been given. So that’s what I’m doing again now, recommitting myself to my own cause of healing and cooking and creating and just simply doing the best I can. And hoping that hearing those words may help some of you out there, too!