Let’s be honest no one copes with lack of sleep.  Children have tantrums and so do parents and of course, sleep depravation makes everyone feel out of control, confused, forgetful, tearful and the list goes on.

From newborns to the elderly sleep maintenance or onset can be a living nightmare, which becomes an issue and resolving it can seem like an impossible task.  Nature has many options to try and relax the body and promote natural sleeping patterns.  Lets start with the babies and children and then we will move on to you mum and dad don’t worry there is something to try for you all.

Newborns obviously will wake to feed and be nurtured and regular interruptions will be a part of new parenthood.   However, sometimes an infant will be restless and screaming with no obvious reason.  No wet nappy, just had a feed and cuddle and yet apparently very unhappy.  This is when the following methods may assist to promote calm and relaxation:-

• Burning lavender oil using an electric vapouriser in the childs room.  Lavender is a great relaxing oil and has a gently sedative property.
• Use lavender to massage your baby before you try to put them down for the night. We all love massages and your baby is no different.  Lavender oil is a great digestive aid and acts as a carminative to help prevent wind formation in the gut.  Colic can obviously be a factor in the newborn baby or constipation.
• Mums drink some fennel, dill or chamomile tea to assist digestion and the baby will naturally feel the benefits through your breast milk.
• Homeopathic remedies such as chamomilla and avena sativa are great to use.  They can be given directly to baby and mum.  These are natural calming and sedative drops and can be found at any good health store.
• Teething infants can use chamomilla and belladonna to help reduce the inflammation and heat within their bodies and address the throbbing pain than can be unbearable for a little one.
• Malcolm Harker has a great range of herbal extracts and one imparticular, calmunurse has worked a dream for many a stressed parent and child.
• Sleep tea by BabyNat can be used from 4 months.
• Rescue remedy sleep is a fairly new product which works really well for a lot of people.
• Mums and dads if you are stressed and fatigued take magnesium and try some herbal sleep remedies.  There are many individual herbs such as skull cap, passionflower, hops, valerian and oats which are nervine herbs to promote relaxation and calm.  Again Chamomile is a nice gentle herb to use.  Mums you can take chamomile tea or the tincture but always tell your herbalist that you are breastfeeding so they can make up a safe remedy for you and of course your baby.
• For older children, stress can still be a factor and many of the same remedies can be used but bach flowers are great at addressing emotional factors.  Are you kids happy at school? Are they worrying about anything and not sharing with you?  Is there diet addressing all their nutritional needs or are they depleted in some areas?  Are they approaching adolescents where hormonal changes can be a factor.  Try to avoid sugary drinks before bed as this can over stimulate them as can the computer and tv.  Form a bed time pattern to the best of your ability so that the mind and body starts to prepare them for bed.  Drinks before bed can cause disturbance to their sleeping pattern and cause them to wake during the night for a loo stop.
• If you are pulling your hair out and have tried most options then book an appointment or email me on tracy1811@gmail.com for a free consultation.  Lack of sleep can cause much stress on the nervous system and immune system and knock the body way of balance.

Keep on trying and don’t give up you will get there.  Happy ZZZZZZZZZZ’s

Most people make a decision or not as the case may be to become pregnant and begin the process of attempting conception.  At this stage people often get distraught if this does not occur within the first few months.  They start to take health measures towards a healthier lifestyle and hope that this is enough to improve fertility, achieve a healthy pregnancy and obviously a beautiful bouncing baby.

I would like to point out at this stage that taking a few months to conceive is completely normal however people who struggle to achieve a pregnancy only begin their change in lifestyle at that time and it can be a very emotional and stressful situation living from one menstrual cycle to the next hoping that pregnancy has occurred.

Causes of infertility can be unexplained and can lay 40% with the male, 40% with the female and the remaining 20% falls into the no label category.

Some of the reasons of explained infertility can be attributed to toxins in the body, immune reactions, nutritional deficiencies, inflammation and stress factors, hormonal imbalance, greater age of prospective parents, drugs and pollution.

Listed below are some statistics that indicate just why preconception care is so important:-

• 1 couple in 5 experience miscarriage
• 1 couple in 6 are infertile
• 1 woman in 10 experience toxaemia
• 1 woman in 5 experience caesarean
• 1 baby in 10 is premature or are born small for dates
• 1 baby in 30 has a congenital defect
• 1 woman in 3 has some post natal depression
• 1 child in 10 is affected by learning or behaviour problems
• 1 child in 5 suffers from asthma

Sperm counts worldwide have decresed by 50% in the last 50 years and in the U.S. women aged between 20-25 has tripled in the last 30 years.

Sperm take 116 days to mature and eggs are vunerable to damage in the 100 day period in which they are maturing.

We make huge preparations to get married, buy a home, start a business and therefore just as much effort should be put into creating the miracle of life.

It is so easy to go along for a consultation.  I offer free consultations at my clinic in Howick, Auckland.  Around 4 months prior to attempting consultation take the time to prepare and follow some of these simple steps.  Start changing your lifestyle habits, eat a nutritious diet, take folic acid, spirulina, omega 3 fish oils and a good prenatal nutrient.

Treat any infections, support the liver and cleanse the blood by doing a gentle detox programme.  Having a hair analysis done can indicate heavy metal loading in the body which is obviously toxic and show up any allergies that may cause inflammation and impair fertility.

Check out your hormone levels and follow a temperature chart so that your naturopath or herbalist can assess when you are ovulating and also if there are any hormonal imbalances that may cause problems conceiving or maintaining a pregnancy.

Take a good antioxidant containing vitamin A, C and E, these help to protect the cells and prevent free radical damage.

Avoid alcohol, drugs, smoking and exposure to harsh chemicals.

Women take most of responsibility for not only contraception but infertility also.  It is important that as a couple who have made the commitment to have a child make the same commitment to increase its long term health also and of course their own health.  Every couple will have individual needs in terms of a preconception plan and it can be so empowering to feel you have taken the role to parenthood seriously.

Please feel free to email me on tracy1811@gmail.com or call 09 537 0528 if you would like to hear more about a preconception plan for you.

Making a baby is fun, having the baby is beautiful and having a healthy happy mum, dad and little bundle of joy makes the experience complete.