Perhaps it is safe to assume our little angels are quite fragile pieces of work, especially with their stomach. Your newborn can have stomach pain from a wide variety of causes such as gas reflux or constipation. This can lead to colic and is just not healthy for your baby in the long term. Besides choosing the appropriate formula milk for the baby, you can use the natural cures to treat for baby. Then, chamomile tea for babies is a great solution in this case.
Curing common symptoms can be quite a problem especially for inexperienced parents, as babies aren’t capable of safely consuming most medicine. Taking unsuitable or allergic drugs can be a fatal experience for your newborn, and in this article, I shall present you with a much safer and simpler alternative: chamomile tea.
What Is Chamomile Tea?
Chamomile (or Camomile in British English) is a daisy-like plant species of the Asteraceae family that has been used for many years in the medical industry, mostly for anxiety and stomach problems.
Chamomile tea, or tea that is made from dried Chamomile flowers, is one of the most popular herbal tea products and a part of many cultures around the world.
Benefits Of Chamomile Tea And Safety
Chamomile tea contains many beneficial vitamins for your baby including calcium, magnesium, folate, vitamin A, and many others.
The tea also has anti- bacterial, anti-allergic, anti- inflammatory properties and has long been known to be a remedy for infantile colic. It helps a lot with your newborn’s intestinal, teething or while also improving the immune system. It helps you baby have a better sleep as well.
Chamomile tea’s natural properties mean that it is perfectly safe to consume for any baby over six months. However, the tea must be correctly made and you gave your newborn a suitable dosage.
It is rare for children to be allergic to Chamomile, however, especially if they are allergic to related plants like ragweed, marigolds or daisies. If you are not too sure if your baby can consume Chamomile tea, feel free to consult with your doctor before venturing any further.
How To Make Chamomile Tea For Babies
Making Chamomile tea for babies in the correct way is quite an important task, as it decides the quality and effectiveness of the tea. If this is your first attempt, there are two important steps of the process that you need to remember.
Step 1. Prepare the Ingredients
As mentioned above, Chamomile is very popular as a herbal tea ingredient, and ready-made dried chamomile flowers are available in most stores or supermarkets.
They also come in a variety of brands and packaging, so while they are plentiful, it can be challenging task to find the most suitable product for you newborn, as most are made for adults.
Alternatively, you can also dry chamomile tea for your use. While it takes more time and work, home dried chamomile flowers retain more of its natural properties and are also devoid of any chemicals or additives usually found in commercial products, which can do harm to your newborn.
If you want to go for the second option but have little experience in growing herbal plants, here is an excellent video guide by youtube user Gary Pilarchik.
Step 2. Brewing the Tea
The first requirement when making tea of any kind is to boil your water, usually with a kettle. Once you have had a glass of boiled water, there are two ways you can continue with the brewing process:
- The dried Chamomile flowers should be put into a tea holder. Then, place it on the cup. Wait for around eight to twelve minutes for the tea to steep.
- Submerge the dried Chamomile flowers completely into the glass. Wait for around eight to twelve minutes. Then strain the tea into a new glass.
While both methods generate the same result, the first method is simpler and contains less Chamomile debris, some of which can go past the straining process. A step-by-step video guide on the latter method by YouTube user International Recipe can be found below.
Tea can last for quite a while in your refrigerator, so you don’t have to make fresh tea daily.
Use Chamomile Tea For Babies Properly
Letting your baby consume unusual substances is hardly ever recommended, so the first thing you need to do is to make sure your newborn needs Chamomile tea.
Is he having any illnesses mentioned above? Is he having trouble sleeping? Does he have noticeable colic? If there is no clear symptom of the illnesses, the best way to find out is through your baby’s eyes. Babies eyes can express many emotions that are ignored by most inexperienced parents.
The question of “how much Chamomile tea per day” is also one that should not be ignored. The best daily dosage for your baby should be one to two ounces for babies above six months of age, and around three ounces for babies over one year of age.
If your baby is overfed with Chamomile tea, as in more than three ounces daily, there can be a lot of side effects including but not limited to: sore tummy and skin rashes. To prevent this, try to make sure the chamomile tea is as diluted as possible as well.
Babies are undoubtedly picky eaters, especially if they are experiencing a bad case of diarrhea or constipation. Feeling painful and uncomfortable every time you have to poop is not something that will make you want to consume more food. Babies still in their breastfeeding period may also refuse to drink from other sources.
A flavorless tea may also not be too attractive to your newborn, so try adding some sweetness with milk or honey. You should only use them if your children were 1 years old or older, as well as your baby is not allergic to them. Please remember to stay away from artificial sweeteners as they can have very bad effects on your baby’s health.
Conclusion
There is no better medication than a good and natural remedy to solve your newborn’s problems. Chamomile tea can also be very good for your health, too, so why not kill two birds with one stone and make Chamomile tea a part of your family’s daily consumption.
I hope this article is enough for all your needed insights into the use of Chamomile tea, and as always, may your newborn be healthy and happy!
