Cranky Baby and Sleepless Nights

I was planning on posting about something totally different today, but it became apparent sometime in the middle of the night last night, that I was not going to get any rest or sleep, so that changed my plans for today. Clara Ruth our youngest has a persistent cough and low grade fever. The only way she would relax and try to rest was laying across my chest and coughing right in my face. Oh the joys of motherhood! Her coughing was non stop, and it would have been great to hop over to my medicine cabinet and pull out some herbal home remedy that would stop her misery, but there was none.
I can't of sound mind give her an over the counter drugstore cough medicine. According to the FDA ( not that I am their biggest fan ) Cough medicine should not be given to children under the age of two. Now Clara is just past the age of two, but there is a whole host of other reasons not to medicate her.  Over the counter drugstore medications work to suppress the immune system rather than work with it.
According to Jill Nienhiser who said this in an article she wrote for Wise Traditions, a quarterly magazine published by the Weston A. Price Foundation.

Home remedies work with the immune system rather than suppressing it. Acute illness—manifesting as diarrhea, runny nose, vomiting, headache, and so forth—is actually good for your child. Managed properly, acute illness can give your child more vitality and prevent chronic illness—which is not good for your child.
She goes on to say later in the article

Why do our bodies produce fever? One reason is that fevers slow down pathogens. The germ, bacteria or virus causing the child’s distress wants to replicate every few minutes and the fever slows this process down. It slows down the spread and severity of the illness. So when you bring the fever down you are giving free license to the virus or bacteria to run amuck. And don’t panic if your child’s temperature gets to 102-103 degrees—this is the ideal range for a fever.

 In conclusion 

In summary, when your child gets ill, don’t panic. Children fed a traditional diet are well able to meet the challenges of an acute illness. Children that are allowed to get sick and then recover under their own power end up infinitely stronger as adults. Can we have the compassion it takes to just let our child be sick? Our tendency is to jump on it, squash it, fix things and get them back to normal right away. Instead, take a step back, take a deep breath and ask what you can do to help your child weather the challenge? Because acute illness can be a real gift.

Jill addresses in her article when a home remedy would not be appropriate, such as trauma, extremely high fever, and trouble breathing. 

So our game plan for today... cuddle on the couch!  Just me and my little snot face. It sure is the perfect weather for it!