Did you know you can help your kids quit the paci, end the crazy, monkey-like tantrums and get over the flu, all using essential oils? Here are some simple remedies, using natural household items, to help keep your family happy! And you, sane. (Or at least, less crazy.)
1. The kids are throwing tantrums. Mix spruce, ho wood, blue tansy, frankincense, blue chamomile and fractionated coconut oil, and smooth onto the bottom of the foot. (On the kids’ feet, not yours. You might just want to smooth a large amount of Nutella on your favorite cupcake to go with that leftover Christmas white wine that’s sitting at the back of the fridge.) Add extra coconut oil to make it easier to smooth on the foot. This helps with balance and mood-calming.
2. The kids are sick with stomach flu & barfies. To treat, dilute 1 drop of ginger, fennel and peppermint oils into 1 teaspoon each of fractionated coconut oil and smooth on stomach, around navel and on bottom of feet. This helps with indigestion, stomach aches, constipation and diarrhea.
3. All your friends are sick with stomach flu & barfies. To prevent kid barfies, dilute 1 drop of these oils in 1 teaspoon of fractionated coconut oil and apply to the bottom of the foot: wild orange, clove bud, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus, rosemary.
4. Your child-rearing belly is stretched beyond all recognition. To treat stretch marks, combine 5 to 10 drops of grapefruit, helichrysum, lavender or myrrh with 1 teaspoon of fractionated coconut oil, and slather it all over that glorious belly, 3 times a day.
5. You have a headache. You know, from all that screaming over who gets the blue airplane, who stole the bigger piece of cheese or who sits in the “favorite” car seat (behind Mommy)? Add 1 drop of lavender, peppermint, grapefruit or black pepper essential oil to temples and across forehead. Dilute with 1 teaspoon of fractionated coconut oil if you have sensitive skin.
6. Your 4-year-old still uses a paci. Seriously, essential oils can help your kids quit the paci! Lavender is known to induce sleepiness and have a calming effect for those first transition days. Apply 1 drop of lavender essential oil to the bottom of the feet or back of neck about 30 minutes before bedtime. You can also put a drop or 2 in their bath to help with aromatic calming as well.
“On days where my kids have been at each others’ throats, or particularly high strung, I just add 2 drops of lavender and 1 drop of the dōTERRA grounding blend to their bath,” says Coral Kenagy with dōTERRA Essential Oils. (The grounding blend is a combination of spruce, ho wood, blue tansy, frankincense, blue chamomile and fractionated coconut oil.)
7. Your toddler refuses to poop on the potty. Bahahaaaaa! Just kidding. You’re on your own with that.
Update: Actually, I’m wrong! Apparently, peppermint oil can help with potty training and any digestive tract issue. Kenagy says put a few drops into the toilet water, have the child sit, and the aromatics of the peppermint help relax the potty muscles and cause an urge to poop. Added bonus: the peppermint also helps the bathroom smell fresh! And here I thought I was being funny.
8. The baby has a diaper rash. But speaking of butts, you can mix 1 drop of lavender oil with 1 teaspoon of fractionated coconut oil and rub on a mad baby diaper rash butt! (Keep away from gender parts and orifices.) Or, you can also just rub plain ol’ coconut oil on the redness.
9. You have sore nursing boobs. Lavender, helichrysum and Roman chamomile oils can help ease pain and keep inflammation down. Dilute 1 drop in 1 teaspoon of fractionated coconut oil and rub over nipple. You can also make your own nipple cream by putting 4 tablespoons cocoa butter, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of sweet almond oil and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil into a glass jar, set it in a saucepan of simmering water and stir until melted together. Take it off the heat and mix in 1 teaspoon of Vitamin E oil, 5 drops of lavender essential oil and 5 drops of helichrysum oil. This doesn’t completely solidify, but you can add beeswax or more coconut butter to make it thicker.
10. The baby won’t stop screaming. Gas or colic can be treated with coriander, ginger, geranium or lavender. Dilute 1 drop of essential oil in 1 teaspoon of fractionated coconut oil and rub onto the belly.
11. The baby is teething. White fir and myrrh can help ease the pain and keep the area clean, and lavender and Roman chamomile can help ease the pain and keep the baby calm. Take your finger and dab the top of the bottle, so that you have less than 1 drop of the oil on your fingertip, and then rub it onto the baby’s gums. After that, you can help yourself through the situation by going into the fridge and reaching for this really great essential oil called beer.
12. You can’t sleep (or have preggo insomnia, like me). To use essential oils for sleep, apply 1 to 2 drops of lavender to the bottoms of your feet or back of your neck about 30 minutes before bedtime. Put 1 to 2 drops onto your hands, rub together and rub over pillowcase as you lay down to sleep. I’ve also found that stopping screen time (TV, cell phone, laptop) 2 hours before bed is a great way to get tired.
13. Your kids won’t sleep. It’s always something. The baby won’t sleep through the night, or the toddler gets up every night at midnight to ask for a cup of water. A combination of lavender, sweet marjoram, Roman chamomile, ylang ylang, sandalwood and vanilla bean extract can help kids drift off to sleep by calming the mind and body and getting them to relax.
14. You have a sore Mama back. It could be because you’re 6 months pregnant, and the 2-year-old insists you hold him whenever you’re in the kitchen. (Oh wait, that’s just me.) Combine 1 to 2 drops of birchwood or wintergreen essential oils with 1 teaspoon of fractionated coconut oil, and rub or massage onto affected area.
15. You are stressed. Apply 1 drop of lavender oil to your temples and forehead. Rub it in, and try to forget that it’s only 9:15am, and you’re already not sure how you’ll get through the tantrums today.
16. The kids have earaches. Apply 1 drop of basil oil to half a cotton ball and place in the ear, and rub 1 drop of grapefruit oil down the backside of the ear. The basil helps with the infection, and grapefruit eases the pain. (Never put oils directly into the ear.)
17. You have a nagging cough. Mix 1 tablespoon of raw honey with 1 drop each of lemon, peppermint and frankincense, and chug that puppy down. It doesn’t taste very good, but it works!
18. Cuts & scrapes. Because no matter how many times you ask them to stop jumping off the lounge chair and onto the brick patio, they don’t. Apply 1 drop of lavender, melaleuca or myrrh to the wound area. Lavender is known for its analgesic, antibiotic and antiseptic properties.
19. Colds & congestion. Dilute 1 drop of eucalyptus or frankincense oil into 1 teaspoon of fractionated coconut oil, and rub onto chest and throat area.
20. Fevers. Peppermint is known for its natural cooling properties. Mix 1 drop with 1 teaspoon of fractionated coconut oil, and rub up the spine every 30 minutes until the fever breaks. (This is not recommended for use in infants, although it has worked for some.)
Thanks to Coral Kenagy with dōTERRA Essential Oils for sponsoring this post! Go to the She Just Glows Facebook page and share the post with this article link, and you’ll be entered to win a free 15ml bottle of lavender essential oil. One winner will be chosen. Contest ends Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 11:59pm. Winner will be announced on the She Just Glows Facebook page on Wednesday, January, 14, 2015.
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