Breastfeeding is vitally important and conducive to the optimal health and development of a baby. Not only does mother's milk provide every single necessary and required nutrient a developing baby needs, but mother's milk also carries liquid bonding elements (mother's thoughts, emotions and vibrations) that help to bond a mother and child for life.
Potentially Harmful Ingredients in Commercial Baby Formula
Commercial baby formulas can contain ingredients known to cause digestive, respiratory and developmental issues.
Lactose
Human beings are lactose intolerant, which is different from an allergy to dairy. Most commercial baby formulas are milk or dairy-based. If your baby suffers from colic, diarrhea, stomach cramping or gas within 30 minutes of ingesting cow's milk products, the infant may have a higher sensitivity to lactose or even be allergic to dairy. Find an alternative to cows-milk based formula.
Click here for DHerbs recipes for Alternative Infant Formula Milk
Mono and Di-glycerides
They usually contain mono- and di-glycerides, food additives that help oil-based ingredients and water-based ingredients blend together. They also contain trans fats. By now, everyone is aware of the danger of trans fats, but government regulators only require reporting trans fats associated with tri-glycerides.
Synthetic vitamins and minerals
The human body is organic and is designed to process elements found in nature. Synthetic vitamins and minerals are processed, chemically based compounds, which makes them less effective.
Our bodies can't digest inorganic minerals or matter. Inorganic minerals get lodged in our tissues and cells and toxify our bodies, which is the opposite effect we want when supplementing our diets with vitamins and minerals.
Iron and Iron Oxide
Babies born at full term (after 37 weeks) generally have enough iron in their system to last for the first six months. Pre-mature babies may have iron deficiencies. Regardless of when your baby is born, more isn't necessarily better.
Iron and iron oxide (rust) can interfere with a baby's ability to absorb zinc, a vital mineral in an infant's brain development. It's not recommended to supplement an infant's diet with iron or iron oxide until they are at least 18 months old unless recommended by a doctor or nutritionist.
Side Effects of Commercial Baby Formula
Known side effects of commercial baby formal include:
Healing Options
There are times when a mother may not be able to breast-feed, and feeding the baby alternative natural formula may not be an option either. Should your baby experience side effects from ingesting commercial baby formula, there are healing options available.
Herbs that are great for enhancing the quantity and quality of breast milk include:
- Alfalfa
- Watercress
- Red Raspberry leaf
- Nettles
- Black seed or Black Caraway seed
- Anise
- Cumin
- Caraway seed
- Blessed Thistle
- Marshmallow
- Bamboo
- Fenugreek
- Fennel seed
- Borage
- Motherwort
- Iceland Moss
- Goat's Rue
- Flax seed
- Blue Cohosh
- Coriander seed
- Milkwort
- Chaste Tree berries
- Red Clover
- Saw Palmetto berries
- Dill seed
- Abutilon
You can mix at least 5-7 of these herbs for a more enhanced effect.
If a nursing mother experiences breast and/or nipple pain or tenderness from breastfeeding, she can apply warm Olive oil, Sweet Almond oil, Grape seed oil, Coconut oil, or Shea Butter to her areola (dark ring area around the breasts) and nipples.
Alternative milk formulas
If you cannot (or do not want to) to breastfeed, try making your own alternative baby milk. It's very easy and simple! You can make milk from coconuts, seeds and nuts, bananas, oats, and rice. For a list of recipes, click here Alternative Infant Formula Milk
Infant Constipation
Natural remedies to eliminate constipation in babies include:
- Prune juice
- fig juice (soak figs in water over night and give the baby the fig juice)
- Irish Moss
- Senna leaf (and/or pods) extract or tea (add a little maple syrup for sweetness).
Congestion
Herbs that will dissolve and eliminate mucus (or dried boogers) include:
- Mullein leaf
- Fenugreek
- Elecampane
- Boneset
- Coltsfoot
- Wild Cherry bark (great for coughs)
- Eucalyptus
- Horehound
- Lobelia
- Yerba Santa
- White Pine bark.
Ear infection
A natural remedy for ear infection includes a tincture made of Olive Oil, Garlic bulb, Tea Tree oil, and Mullein flowers. Here's how to blend it:
- Pour some Olive Oil into a glass container (5-8 oz)
- Add in the Garlic (diced or whole bulb broken into pieces)
- Add 7-12 drops of Tea Tree oil
- Add half an ounce of Mullein flowers to the jar
- Let this concoction sit for 2 weeks in sunlight (outdoors or near your kitchen window or any window in your home)
- Shake the jar once or twice a day for the two week period
- After two weeks, pour the concoction through a strainer into a bowl
- Pour the contents of the bowl into a clear jar
- Buy a dropper and drop 3-5 drops into the baby's ear twice a day (morning and night), preferably when the baby is sleeping
Alertness
To repair or build up your baby's brain, make an extract or sweetened tea consisting of:
- Nerve Root [Lady's Slipper], Kava Kava, Gotu Kola, Cinnamon, and Gingko Biloba (sweetened with maple syrup and a little lemon or lime juice for zest)
- Put the tea or extract (in a few ounces of water) in the baby's bottle
- Give to the baby once a day.
Herbal support
Safe and gentle herbs to give a baby in order to detoxify the baby from infant formula milk include:
- Red Clover
- Mullein leaf
- Chaparral
- Strawberry leaf
- Chickweed
- Elderberry
- Dandelion
- Burdock root
Make a tea from these herbs and sweeten it with maple syrup and add a little lemon or lime juice, and give to the baby via a bottle.
Hydration
When it's time for your baby to drink water, give the baby alkaline water (never give the baby distilled water, unless the baby is detoxifying). To make regular bottled water alkaline, tape 2 powerful gauss magnets to the bottom of the bottle (one magnet facing positive and the other facing negative). Remember to always agitate or shake the bottle for 30-60 seconds before you give it to the baby. Agitating or shaking the water in the bottle will greatly energize the water.
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