Chamomile is the under appreciated little yellow flower growing in sidewalk cracks and empty garden spaces. Often it is mistaken for a weed! But, weed or not, it is an amazing remedy for a few of the little plagues that affect your wee one.

I started using chamomile (sometimes called German Chamomile or Roman Chamomile) when my daughter, Yasmina, was four months old and obviously teething. I bought a homeopathic, Chamomilla 6x by Hyland's or Boericke & Tafel that are both great. You can find them on Amazon.com or ShopWiki for pretty cheap! I used to dissolve between three to five of the little white balls by B & T in water depending on Yasmina's discomfort. I then used a dropper to dispense it easily, since the balls seemed to gag her and make her puke (not a nice thing to deal with at bedtime!). The Hyland's dissolved a lot easier but both worked really well, especially at night and seemed to relax her enough so she would go to sleep easily.

Cheap and Easy Ways to Avoid Tylenol by Using Bulk Chamomile!

I'm always trying to cut costs, so I started thinking, I have chamomile in my kitchen cupboard! I made a batch of strong infusion (see the recipe below) and soaked Yasmina's favorite chew toy (an organic cotton pink cow from Whole Foods Market) in the liquid after it had steeped for fifteen minutes and been drained. I dropped it in a freezer bag and came back the next day to find a sopping, frozen pink and yellow tinged cow!

Yasmina loved it! She chewed and sucked on it for hours. She injested the infusion, which is calming, while enjoying the cold and texture of the cotton on her aching gums.

You can also give your baby some of the infusion in a sippy cup at bedtime to help them ease their way into sleep. Yasmina would (and still does) fight sleep sometimes so I often give her some chamomile tea or infusion to “take the edge off.”

(NOTE: I give her this at room temp or I reheat the infusion and serve it warm. Also, if you don't have an infusion made and are in a hurry, you can always just brew a cup of chamomile tea quickly and drop a few ice cubes in to cool it off! I also like Traditional Medicinals "Just for Kids" Organic Nighty Night tea that has linden, chamomile and hibiscus flowers in it. You can shop online through their Web site and get great deals if you buy in quantity and split it with other mom's you know—that's what I try to do at least!)

After my success with soothing Yasmina's sore mouth, I started looking into remedies for diaper rash. I used cloth diapers from Baby Diaper Service in Seattle until she was five and a half months old because I thought they were better for her skin—and the planet!—but she was often plagued by persistent diaper rash that my pediatrician diagnosed as yeast diaper rash.

“Some babies just don't do well with cloth diapers,” a wise friend of mine told me and I believe she was right—unfortunately! I had to switch to disposables, even though I loved using cloth!

After the second time I had very reluctantly resorted to using antifungal cream (for athletes foot and jock itch!!!), I found a great and simple recipe for preventing yeast diaper rash with chamomile infusion and apple cider vinegar. Every time I changed Yasmina's diaper I washed the area with the rinse. I also let her go without a diaper as much as possible and exposed her to sunlight, which kills yeast fast. It made a significant difference! Within a week after using the rinse, she hadn't had a reoccurrence of the yeast. I also stopped using the Seventh Generation Diaper Wipes because they—and most other diaper wipes—seem to irritate Yasmina so it is good to always switch up products too if your baby is having reoccurring diaper rash issues.

Chamomile infusion also was amazing when Yasmina got a bad case of prickly heat rash last month. As my husband likes to say, it is “burning hot” here in Amman, Jordan where it reaches 95 F to 100 F degrees or higher during the day and is not much cooler at night! Poor baby! Her neck and shoulders were covered in little red bumps that actually started to blister. Then I noticed she was itching behind her ears constantly and realized the rash had stretched up under her hairline to just below the tops of her ears. Normal heat rash goes away within a few hours of the skin cooling down, but this rash had lasted a few days. Besides trying to keep Yasmina cool and wear no clothes, I revived the chamomile infusion and started rinsing her with it every few hours or when she started scratching again. It cleared up within a few days, without a trip to the pharmacy or the doctor!

Now, I've started using the infusion to wash her hair and her body. I just brew a fresh batch every other day and put it in an old squeeze bottle once it's cooled and drained. Unless she's poopy, she doesn't need soap. Her skin is looking beautifully clear and bright, even despite the stifling heat.

Who would have thought such a marvelous little weed could be a safe and all natural remedy for our little ones little ills?

*What is an infusion? An infusion is a strong tea made from delicate leaves, stems and flowers of medicinal plants. They are super easy to make and extremely effective. Just remember to always refrigerate your infusions (NOTE: Except maybe in the case of your heat rash rinse since you don't want to put really cold water on your baby if he or she is hot. It is a shock to their little bodies so it is better to keep it at room temp and brew a fresh batch daily or every other day.) and do not let them steep for more than fifteen minutes unless you're using it exclusively on the body.*

What you will need:

• 1 quart/liter mason jar (or any jar with a good tight lid)
• 1 cup of chamomile flowers and stems (try and find organic or wild crafted, which means hand picked in the wild). You can buy in bulk online from Amazon.com for great prices or at your local health food store.
• About a quart of boiling water

1. Put your chamomile in the jar and pour the boiling water over the plant.
   
2. Cover the liquid for 5 minutes and then strain if you are going to be giving it to your baby as a tea because it will get really strong and bitter if you leave it longer.
   
3. If you are making an infusion for the body then cover it for 15 minutes and strain.
   
4. You want your infusion to be viscous so go ahead and try to squeeze as much of the flowers of their precious liquid while you are straining the infusion through a sieve.
   
5. Close your jar and put it in the fridge!

You're done and now have a really easy, safe and all natural way soothe and ease your baby's discomforts!

1. Use the infusion recipe above or cut it in half depending on how much you want to make.
2. Add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar to cup of chamomile infusion.
   
3. The vinegar will help preserve the infusion so you can keep it in the fridge for 4-5 days.

Make sure not to “infect” your Rinse by putting the cloth or paper towel into the liquid after you've wiped your baby. It sounds obvious but when you're sleep deprived, these typical cautions are sometimes forgotten!