It could be worms

I tend to be in alignment with the seasons, generally speaking. The food we eat is in season from local Organic growers and the clothes we wear are not too heavy and not too light for the ambient temperature. But when it comes to our internal environment inside our bodies, who actually thinks about parasites?

If you have patted a domestic creature such as a cat/dog/bird in the past year, or traveled overseas EVER, chances are you could have as many as 100 different parasites in your body, happily living off their healthy, human host- You.

I don't say this to gross you out, or to induce any neurotic behaviours, but it is a good idea at the change of season, three to four times per year, to undergo a worming treatment for general well being and keeping your intestinal health in good shape.

Symptoms of parasites can vary. Some, but not all are listed below.

• Constipation, diarrhoea, gas, wind, bloating, belching (general digestive upset that comes and goes for no apparent reason, or possibly diagnosed as IBS)
• Itchy bottom/anus or gentials
• Joint and muscle aches
• Anaemia
• Allergies and skin issues such as hives, rashes, eczema, dermatitis or dry/flaky, itchy scalp
• Nervousness or irritability
• Teeth grinding & wakefulness (2-3am), especially in children
• Fatigue
• Poor immunity

 Thankfully, there are many natural ways to treat and prevent parasites in adults, children AND household pets.
 

• Wash hands with soap and water after patting animals and before eating. (For prevention)
• Eat plenty of fibre rich foods such as fruits, vegetables and legumes.
• Take 6 whole organic lemons and 20 large cloves of garlic. Send though a cold press juice extractor (not a regular centrifugal juicer). Drink 30ml, 3 times a day before meals (adults) for two weeks, then have a week break, then repeat treatment for a week. Dosage for children will vary dependent on age and weight. Not recommended for children under 2.
  
• For babies, slice 2-3 slices of raw garlic and place into their socks at bedtime and leave on overnight. Repeat for 3-5 days, have a week break, then repeat treatment for 3-5 days. Homeopathics are also very beneficial alongside this treatment.
• For pets- use homeopathics (see website below)
• Always begin worming regimes on a full moon- this is when they are most likely to be active!
• After worming, take a good quality probiotic to re-inocculate your intestines with good bacteria and prevent reinfection.
• There are many herbal tinctures and homeopathic remedies available by visiting a Naturopath. See my website here for further information on treatments for you and your family.

 
*Disclaimer* 
These are the household remedies that *may* work for you and your family. This blog post is not intended to diagnose or replace any advice from your medical doctor. If you are unsure if home remedies are suitable with medications you are taking, please consult your doctor.

Our breast feeding journey. Mimi is for morning.

With Max approaching his 19 month birthday, I am rather chuffed we still have a great breast feeding relationship between us. According to current Australian breast feeding statistics, Max and I are of the vast minority of parents/children who continue breast feeding past 6 months of age. We are part of something like 9% of the population. Wow.

It's pretty shocking to think that so many parents feel they are forced to wean early if they are returning to work and believe it's all to hard to keep breastfeeding their baby and to work full-time. Or maybe the baby shows less interest for breast feeding during the day than what they used to, and the parents read that as weaning 'readiness'. The world is an exciting place for babies & toddlers, so it is really hard for them to stop and relax for more than 3 seconds, let alone snuggle into your lap for a leisurely breast feed some days! Some babies become night feeders during this time and that is ok, so long as mum is ok with being woken more during the night.

I am blessed to be able to return to work and still provide Max with *almost* as many breast feeds as he needs during the day. It isn't many anymore- maybe 3 or 4, and it has taken a long time to reach such a low number of feeds.

Over the past month, he has been cutting his canine teeth and therefore wanting mimi (his word for breast milk) several times during the night. I was becoming exhausted & depleted.

Matt with Max when he was about 8 weeks old

So here's where the tricky part began for us. We all needed to have more sleep. It was becoming detrimental to the whole family as we share a bed. So I began to gently introduce other methods of lovingly assisting Max to get back to sleep at night, instead of mimi. I had heard of other mamas using the Jay Gordon Method with success, so I gave it a try. I felt he was old enough, and he ate enough food to start having less/no breast feeds during the night.

It came with a few nights of 45mins to 1.5 hours of trying to get him back to sleep, and a bout of mastitis for me, but 5 weeks into our night weaning journey, I feel like Max can easily go back to sleep next to me, knowing all is well and he is loved just as much as if the mimi was in his mouth.

Does he still ask for it? Yes. Several times some nights. But I am ok with what I say gently and calmly. Mimi's are sleeping, you can have mimi in the morning when we wake up. It is sleep time now. He loves his little back being massaged until he falls back to sleep, and yes, he has a bit of a grumble some nights when he might have a bit of a bad dream or some teething pain, but there is always lots of cuddles, kisses and massages available. He knows and understands that.

This is what has happened on our breastfeeding journey. If you are considering night weaning your toddler, visit the Jay Gordon website and see if it is right for you. I honestly had not considered it until I felt I could explain to Max and he could understand my reasoning.

Like all parts of our parenting journey, everything happens when it feels it needs to. I am blessed to have a completely supportive partner & Papa for Max, and that Max accepts the way we have approached the next phase of our breastfeeding journey. It was hard some nights, and I just wanted to present the mimi so we could all go back to sleep, but I kept reminding myself- You've just got out of bed to calm him & the past 30 minutes would be a waste of time if you just give the mimi right now. It certainly would have given Max mixed messages! It has been worth the small amount of sleep deprivation for the long term benefits we have now of a 7 hour block of sleep per night (most nights). I feel we are a happier, more rested family for it.

My hat goes off to those mamas who can endure the sleeplessness and still function during the day. I guess we all go through it at some stage.

This brings me to my favourite parenting quote...This too shall pass. xx