Chamomilla

[bridget8500]

My toddler is 23 months old - and has never slept through the night. She was very colic for the first few months, and meets the criteria for a "high needs" baby. I could not put her down when she was an infant. She nursed until about 18 months of age, and we co-slept - she woke up every hour or so. My husband cannot comfort her back to sleep when she wakes. If I get out of the bed in the night to use the restroom she starts crying hysterically. We are trying to transition her to her own bed, but inevitably, I end up bringing her to bed with us because of the frequent night waking. She can fall asleep on her own, after our bed time routine, which consists of dinner, bath, and stories. It takes about an hour for her to fall asleep with us reading stories to her. I am expecting baby #2 any day -when she weaned from the breast, she went from soothing herself via the breast to the belly! Now she has to be practically on top of my belly to get herself back to sleep, but tosses and turns, and changes positons frequently for at least 20 minutes. When she was 1 we saw a homeopath who strongly suggested I night wean - which I could not do at that time because of her protesting. He prescribed Belladonna which did not work. We have also tried Calms Forte which did not work. I am so desperate for some sleep. Most recently she tends to wake up in the night after anywhere from 1-2 hours of sleep, and it can take anywhere from 20 minutes to hours to get her back to sleep. She still wakes up every 2 hours or so, even after night weaning. I would like to try chamomilla, but not sure of the dose, and how often I can give? I have also heard about Melatonin for sleep, but would like to use a homeopathic route first. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[nutritionistmom]

You can give the Chamomilla 30 CH pellets. They are little sugar pellets and dissolve under the tongue. If you aren't already familiar with them. Turn the little tube upside down and turn the lid until 2 pellets fall in. Dump the pellets into her mouth without handling them if you can. My 3 yr old will only take a remedy from my hand and he crunches them between his teeth, not ideal, but it gets the job done.
Keep in mind that homeopathy is very personal and usually based on a individual symptomology and personality diagnosis. You may still not find complete relief with this particular remedy.

[betsymccarthy]

The homeopath we see has me dissolve 4 pellets in 4oz of clean fresh water. Let them dissolve, give them one swirl with a spoon to mix around. Then give one teaspoon as a dose. You can keep the water with a lid on it - I use one of DD's Born Free bottles with the cap on it, I pour a teaspoon worth into a dose cup and then use a dropper. The glass and dose cup get washed regularly in the dishwasher.

My DD takes chamomilla as part of an 8 week remedy: 4 doses in one day, one day a week, every other week. But her remedies are for my daughter's unique symptoms and temperment.

[bridget8500]

Thanks for your replies - nutrionistmom, do you have any words of wisdomw for how to find the proper homepathic rememdy, do we just keep trying until we find the one we need? Our second baby arrived 2 weeks ago, and we are desperate for some sleep. She wakes up now screaming for me (and I'm right next to her) - she's co-sleeping with us, as we know she won't be able to transition to her bed now.