Do you hear that? Soft and quiet… It’s the velvety sound of a baby sleeping peacefully. But it wasn’t like that earlier tonight or any night this week, for that matter.
Until Mom found the correct remedy, this now peaceful bambino was a screaming, back-arching bundle of nerves. No amount of rocking, feeding or cuddling did the trick.
That’s when this mom turned to her homeopathy notes.
Prescribing for babies really teaches us to hone our powers of observation. Because they can’t tell us their mental symptoms, we have to be attuned to the clues they give us. How does your baby’s cry differ when she is angry versus when she feels scared? Can you decipher an inciting cause for her distress?
The next time you’re in this upsetting situation, take a look at the following remedy pictures and choose the one that best fits your unhappy babe. Relax. You can do this, and you will get better and better at it as you practice.
This is the number one remedy for teething, back-arching, irritable, fussy babies. I could actually stop here, and it would likely fix 80% of the cases. Be sure to check the baby’s gums. If there is any evidence of teething, it’s even more likely a call for Chamomilla.
A baby who needs Chamomilla is easily identified by her fractious emotional state. She may act as if she wants you to comfort her, but when you try to, she pushes back from you angrily. She is likely restless and seems as if she cannot get comfortable in any position. Pain is marked in Chamomilla, so this remedy is also well indicated for the pain of colic.
Consider this remedy if your baby seems especially anxious and clingy, especially at night. He will often start crying as soon as he is put down, even if asleep. These babies’ screams tend to come on especially strong when they are asleep as if waking suddenly from a bad dream. Passing a stool also tends to cause these babies to become very irritable and cry, but their mood generally improves once the bowel movement is completed.
Babies needing this remedy can be identified by their clingy emotional state. They are often weepy and desire to be held and comforted, but this comforting does not soothe them. These babies may weep piteously if they are not carried constantly. Although their lips and mouth may be dry, they do not tend to be thirsty.
The Lycopodium baby, like the Lycopodium adult, can be difficult to deal with. Extreme anger points toward this remedy. The baby may throw tantrums, kicking and screaming if he does not get what he wants. Often these fits come on after waking in the morning or from a nap.
The best method I know is to give a dose of your chosen remedy four times in one day and note any changes that occur. If the mood improves, stop. You’re likely to find that the remedy will repeat its action should this occur again in the future. However, you may also find that the problem will often not return again at all because the pathology has been uprooted.
That’s the way homeopathy works; it doesn’t treat symptoms, it uproots them.
And that’s the sweet sound of relief for both of you.
The information contained in this message is provided for educational purposes and makes no claim or promise that any product or service may cure any condition or ailment. We urge readers to contact a licensed health care practitioner.
I am a homeopath with a worldwide practice working with families and individuals via Zoom. I'm also a teacher and most importantly, a mom who raised my now-adult children depending on homeopathy over the last 31 years. I lived decades of my life with food intolerances, allergies, and chemical sensitivities until I was cured with homeopathy, so I understand pain, anxiety, and suffering. You may feel that your issues are more severe or different than anyone else’s, but I have seen it all in my practice and in my work in India. My opinion is that nothing has come close to the reproducible, safe and effective results that my clients, students and I have achieved with homeopathy.
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Joette is not a physician and the relationship between Joette and her clients is not of prescriber and patient, but as educator and client. It is fully the client's choice whether or not to take advantage of the information Joette presents. Homeopathy doesn't "treat" an illness; it addresses the entire person as a matter of wholeness that is an educational process, not a medical one. Joette believes that the advice and diagnosis of a physician is often in order.
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The Author disclaims all liability for any loss or risk, personal or otherwise incurred as a consequence of use of any material in this article. This information is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
I’m wondering what the best way is to give a baby the dosage once you have determined what is best. I have blue vials of pellets of chamomila and pulsatilla and they don’t dissolve easily in his mouth. He is 5 months. I’m just unsure of dosage amounts and how to administer it. Thank you for this post! It came at a perfect time!
Erin,
I am currently treating my dog with a couple of remedies so I thought it might help to tell how I am doing that.
I use a small shot glass with 1/2 teaspoon of distilled water added to it. I add 5 pellets of the chosen remedy & then set the glass in a safe place tipped at a slight angle so that the remedy is completely submersed. I haven’t timed how long it takes to dissolve but I would guess anywhere from 1/2-1 hour. Then I use a baby dropper to pull up the liquid and slowly drip in it her mouth. This should work equally well for a baby. Just don’t give to much liquid at once, go slow to avoid choking. I hope this helps!
That’s very helpful! Thank you!
I use to give them to my infant. I’m not certain if our method is right or wrong, but we’d crush them with 2 teaspoons and add a little water till it was sloshy. He’d slurp it down straight from the teaspoon.
I have used a couple of these remedies with great success when my children were young!
You mention a dose of 4 times a day, but how much in each dose? I’d like to try Chamomilla on my teething baby.
Thanks
dosages are printed on the bottles.
Thank you so much for this much needed advice! We are going through this right now with my daughter’s new preemie baby. He is 3 months old and has had colic for quite some time. I will foreward this to her right now.
Kian starts crying at 8:30 and it continues until close to midnight. It does not help to hold him…he seems so
uncomfortable. They just pace the floor for hours, and it is so frustrating. Thank you, again.
Hey Valerie,
We had a preemie 🙂 I’m wondering if some of the fussiness has to do with over-stimulation throughout the day? It doesn’t take much to over-stimulate. Especially a preemie. What is their daytime routine like? Sometimes with little ones it’s like all the stimulation from the day builds up and they process it all in the evenings. Like eating food all day long and having to chew it all up at once in the evening. I wonder if a combination of the remedies here and a slower pace during the day might help out a little.
I agree with that. My little preemie could only be held for a short time at some points after he was born, like about 15 minutes, and it had to be quiet and not too bright. Depending on how premature the baby is that could definitely be part of the problem.
And also thanks for the post, I am trying to learn about homeopathy.
This is fantastic! Is there a certain brand that’s better to buy? Are they all pill form or do they come in drops as well? Thank you for the info!
I like Hyland’s, Boiron, Washington and Hahnemann. they can be found at most health food stores and on line. but if you plan to use homeopathy, its always best to purchase a kit. you pay more up front, but they are a bargain in the long run. if you recieve our e-newsletter, you’ll receive a Mothers Day Special promotion on kits.
the more you learn, the more you’ll want to learn. enjoy!
My baby wakes after short cat naps. He still seems sleepy when he wakes up. Then he starts fussing. Would borax work in this case too?
For babies that don’t sleep well these are great solutions. You might also try the Goodnight Sleep Tight book by Kim West about sleep training. It has worked beautifully for our 4 month old who is now taking a 90-minute nap in the morning and afternoon. Doesn’t hurt to try.
I was looking at the lycopodium and this seems like my 3 year old. I am assuming it would work with her too but just wanted some input. She just seems so argumentative, emotional and unhappy all the time. Maybe it’s just the age too…
no age ought to be unhappy and emotional all the time…even some of the time, including teenage years. if the remedy fits, you’ll likely see a shift.
keep studying!
Thank you!
Is the lycopodium the same as lycopodium clavatum? The local health food store only has lycopodium clavatum, not a plain lycopodium. I can’t figure out if its a different name for the same stuff or not!
Lycopodium Clavatum and Lycopodium are one in the same. read and learn as much as you can on the subject of homeopathy. i know many moms, including myself that have never given a drug to their children because they count 100% on homeopathy.
have fun learning!
I have a 1 yr old and so far no drug just homeopathy and herbal tea. so I’m one of those mom’s. hi new here. studying a few sites and a book i got at vit store.
megan, you’ve come to the right place. my passion is to get as many free info to moms that will empower them to do what you’re doing and more. keep up the good work and pls feel free to share it here.
happy mother’s day!
I was reading a guest post on another blog you wrote about teething and babies having trouble sleeping. I can’t seem to find the same information on this blog. I was hoping you could help me out! My 4 month old just started teething and has been extra irritable lately and has had digestive issues since birth. I was GBS positive so I received 3 IV doses of antibiotics during labor. He is exclusively breastfed but still has reflux and bad gas. I’ve eliminated foods which didn’t seem to make much difference so I think his digestive system just needs to mature. I am giving him a dose of probiotics daily which also seem to be helping (Klaire Labs Infant Probiotic). I tried Chamomilla (for teething) which didn’t do anything. Yesterday, I gave him Nux Vomica and he seems to be doing better…definitely falling asleep easier. I’m just not sure how often to give it to him though. I usually only give him one tablet (Hylands Nux Vomica 30x)…usually before or during a feeding and nap/bedtime. I don’t want to give him too much and render it ineffective but I also want it to keep working b/c it seems to be helping. What signs should I look for to know when to stop giving it to him? He hasn’t had a bowel movement in 3 days so I’m hoping it helps with that too. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
AHLALUHA ok sp didn’t say I can spell. but wish I had this 19m ago. but still have these issues often. Borax and Lycopodium fit the 2 different times and way she acts. Im praying after doing this next time they happen it will uproot the problem.
Update. reread and then tried Pulsatilla 30. took care of being carried, held all day and crying . she would go play. nights still sleeping on top of me 4 days later. Tried borax yesterday. She slept beside me all night. now we are back to where we were with cosleeping before she got a bug over a month ago. something about that bug scared her or something so she went back to acting at lest for sleep and being held like she did when she was 10 months old. now back to working for the goal of 2 years and sleeping in toddler bed.
Megan, How has your little one been sleeping since you posted the update? This sounds like my 8 month old….she slept 5-6 hours at a time in the co sleeper and napped in her crib until she reached 5 months. Now she has to be held or beside me for naps/ nighttime….she wakes up when laid down, and lately she has been extremely restless at night. Chamomile does not seem to help, nux vomica 4x a day did not help, now I’m trying pulsatilla 4x for a day….hoping to find a remedy to help!
Joette, wondering if I need to wait a certain amount of time between using the 4x per day of a chosen remedy? For example, I tried Nux Vomica, 4 doses in 1day, and did not notice significant improvement in sleep issues. Waited 1 day, now am trying Pulsatilla 30x 4 doses in 1 day. Is this ok? I don’t want to cause additional disturbances by flooding her system with too much/ or the wrong remedies.
If the remedy is incorrect, I like to use Camphor 200 (just one dose for one day) and get on to the next remedy. Camphor 200 has a history of clearing the way nicely. By the way, Pulsatilla is generally not a remedy I’d consider for sleep issues and before you venture further, be sure you’re not eating or drinking stimulating foods or beverages even 12 hours earlier. Coffee, chocoalte and tea are too stimulating for most people as they enter middle age.
good luck.
Thank you. I should have mentioned this is for my daughter (you can see my reply to Megan above). I’m wondering if her sleep issues are due to wanting to be held and close to mommy all the time (she is very attached) or something else. She is also teething and has tummy problems off and on.
I’m searching for your post but am afraid I don’t find it, so here is my response that may not make sense given that I don’t have the reference:
Sometimes sleep issues in children are addressed as easily as 1-2-3 regardless of the cause. While other times, if there are circumstances that need to be considered, such as teething, THAT information will provide us with what we need to make a good remedy choice.
Admin can you please remove comment #7? Sleep training a 4 months old infant is cruel and unnecessary. Terrible advice.
Hi Joette – Can you explain a little on what strength of Chamomilla to use? I have an 18 month old who is fussy at night due to teething (getting 4 molars at the same time!)- he is not back-arching or screaming – just wakes several times crying, and usually falls asleep again after nursing a little. I’ve seen you mention chamomilla 200c, or 30c, and I’m also looking at boiron’s product “Camilia”, which uses Chamomilla 9C, and the recalled Hylands teething tablets used Chamomilla 6X – so it’s a little confusing! Would you go up to the 200c if there is extreme pain and screaming and maybe a 30c if it’s not so extreme, and 9c if it just mild fussiness? Is that the right way of approaching it? Learning so much from your podcasts and blogs btw – love them!!!
In this particular case, use what you’ve got and see how it goes. I personally used 200, twice daily for my children.
Thanks Joette! I’m probably over-thinking it 🙂
Hi, my baby is 4 months and gets fussy in the evenings. I’ve given him chamomila and it works that night and he’ll settle and feed to sleep. How would you suggest I dose? Just every night when he’s fussy or 4 in the day even if he’s not fussy at the time?
Ive heard that babies/kids mirror their moms energy until about 6-9 years old so that you could also take the remedies yourself, what is your advice?
Homeopathy is medicine and needs to be used according to the ailment, condition and diagnosis, not theory.
I have used chamomilla 200 with success for my 2 year old but then we have a day like today where he just won’t be consoled and I have added belladonna as this has helped before but am I doing this correctly if I have had to give him this for a few months? Or should I be moving on to a new remedy to see if it helps better? I love homeopathy! And I have just discovered your website and am blown away by all I am learning!
He is just so upset and cries and screams… makes it hard for the whole family!
Chamomilla 200 along with Bell 30 is a good combination for pain and screaming related to teething. Usually, 2-3 D does the trick over a period of days. If not, we halt the use of the medicines, observe what is occurring at that time, and adjust medicines.
Glad to come across this website and all this helpful info. My 7 month old has been fussy from teething. I got some advice about giving him chamomilla 30c and just realized that what I ordered online, and have been giving him, is Camilia. It says it’s for teething… Seems to be helping but I haven’t seen that recommended anywhere.
It’s likely a combination remedy that includes Chamomilla. The ingredients are printed on the bottle.