All the things

  We have been extremely healthy this fall and while I don't have any specific medical claims, we have avoided the stomach flu that has gone around, have had no fevers, and missed 0 days of school due to illness this year.  With 4 kids and the year we had last year, I call that a miracle.  So I'm going to keep on doing what I'm doing.  It has taken years and many separate parties to give me wisdom and advice and build up my arsenal, but thought I'd share if you are looking for something.  When someone starts to cough, has a sniffle, etc. we start doing what Ava has appropriately termed "all the things."

  I have been really focusing on preventing and building immunity and for us that means healthy and diverse flora for our gut.  Lots of different sources of probiotics.  I forgot to include a picture of sauerkraut, that I often have a bite of with eggs or fried rice during breakfast or lunch.  Add in kimchi too if you'd like. The more diverse, the better!

  We have been making homemade kombucha for years, find yourself a SCOBY asap!  This is a yummy drink on its own, but I always put some in my daily smoothie too.

  I recently started purchasing some homemade water kefir from a friend.  You can buy it in the store or you could make your own if you find/buy some grains and have some time.  The turnover for these is much shorter than kombucha, for water kefir it is every 3-4 days.  You could drink a Tbsp. a day, or add a splash to your smoothie.  I don't do a lot of dairy, but there is the more popular dairy kefir that you could also purchase and is a great source of probiotics.  And then of course, yogurt!  We do a little yogurt in our home.  It's the dairy that mostly keeps me away from that kefir and yogurt.

  Lastly, just the regular probiotic pills you can pop.  My friend who makes the water kefir recommended this brand of probiotics and these particular strands above.  The brand is Beeyoutiful.

  Elderberry is also preventative, but can be used when you are experiencing symptoms.  I make my own just because the store bought ones are expensive. However, when I am caught without syrup and some symptoms hit, I always have the Elderberry lozenges on hand til I get some syrup made.  Or if I forget to give them some syrup in the rush of the morning, I keep some lozenges on hand in the car.  There are lots of recipes out there, but the one I make is from a friend and she uses molasses to make it last longer before it molds.  She also makes elderberry jellies, but I haven't done that.

Homemade Elderberry Syrup recipe

  These are some chinese herbs recommended from a friend whose child was chronically sick and also had her child's tonsils removed like we did with Hannah last year.  I don't even know if I blogged about that, but Hannah had strep throat like 6 times or something crazy and so I was desperate for something!  Because she also gave it Calvin a couple of times and me!  HORRIBLE!  Not to mention after taking the antibiotics my body revolted.  These herbs you take at onset of symptoms and multiple times per day.

  My sister got this recommendation from her naturopath that we used while Ava had a very deep cough over Thanksgiving.  Coughs are very hard to get rid of, but this along with all the things, we got rid of it in 1.5 weeks.  I give this at onset of any symptoms and continue till they are gone.  The kids say it is minty spicy, but they don't mind it because they do apple cider vinegar.

  Speaking of, there are so many claims to Apple Cider Vinegar that I am sure you have all heard and I am sure all somehow work.  I haven't used it for upset tummy issues, which is what most of my friends swear by, but I think more about the alkaline effect it has on your body that provides better immunity.  When someone is sniffly or coughing, or have been around others that are (!!!), I make sure they take 1 Tbls of ACV diluted.  I let them chase it with some juice which they normally never have, and they do it!  They dance around afterward and have puckered lips, but as long as I am there ready to pour some juice in their cups to chase it, they do it!

 For chest congestion, I have the kids do inhalations of eucalyptus vapors.  So I boil some water, drop in 4-5 drops of eucalyptus oil, and have the kids inhale the vapors.  It takes some getting used to, but it can be done.  You can also put a couple of drops in their bath so they inhale it that way.

I also started making this Pineapple cough syrup (from the water kefir friend).

Pineapple Cough Syrup

1/2 pineapple

juice of 2 lemons

1/3 cup raw honey

~1" piece of ginger

scant 1/4 tsp. of cayenne pepper

Mix in blender, store in fridge.

Take 2-4 Tbls. as needed.

  I leave out the cayenne if I know my kids will not do it, or add a very little bit.  For myself, I add extra.  This gets you coughing out the nasty stuff right away!  I used to make sure I always had pineapples on hand so I had a ripe one at the ready for this syrup, but then I realized I could probably use frozen pineapples and I always have that on hand.  She could tell you all the reasons why it works and more, but I just am going to tell you that it works!

  The last thing I do for chest congestion that was also recommended from my water kefir friend, is to "massage" along the spine on their backs in the chest area.  And by massage, I mean pinch/pull the skin.  Pulling the skin up and away from the spine stimulates blood flow (so I've been told) and helps with getting that congestion cleared out!  You guys, this works!  From Ava:  Mama, don't forget to give me the pinches.

  To soothe sore throats or for stopping coughing attacks, 1 tsp. goes a long way.  Of course there is always the lemon, ginger, honey tea that you have to drink.

  I also use this honey for hay fever allergies.  Calvin got the Lee family's hay fever gene and has it BAD.  However, he has been doing SO good after having 1 tsp. of local honey each day.  I haven't even had to give it to him for 1.5 months, but I am sure I will need to in the next couple of months when the flowers start blooming.  Somehow, taking local honey helps build immunity to the allergens that are invading your body.  I need to make it super clear though, this is the most local honey one can buy aside from making your own.  I bought this at our local nursery, and the beekeeper-honey maker was there to tell me where the hives were located.  He made this honey from hives that are within a 2 mile radius of our home, one of them is located blocks away in our neighborhood.  I think that's why it has been so effective.  I would check your local farmer's market and talk to the beekeepers there to see where you can find local honey if you suffer from allergies.

  Lastly, and this has been the newest addition to our regimen this year and that is doing the neti pot, consistently and religiously.  I originally purchased the two nasal sprayers and filled them with that sinus rinse solution for the kids, but they HATED that.  I never thought they would like to Neti Pot better, but all of them took to it very easily.  I will not lie and say that they always like it, but 90% of the time I do not get any fuss when I tell them it is time to Neti Pot.  Some bottled water or boiled water that has been cooled, mixed with these sinus rinse packets and I think that has been our saving grace this year.  The slightest runny nose, I make them neti pot until it is gone!  Morning, noon, and night!  It also is good for allergies, so when Calvin's start acting up, we are over the sink with tissue nearby to blow all of that congestion out!

  I would LOVE to hear about "all the things" you do when your kids are sick or how you prevent them and I hope any of this is helpful to you in some way!  Seriously, I want all the things to include yours too!