My daughter, Madeleine, has always been a high energy child. She's energetic, curious, and she experiences high emotions every day. There's nothing like being around Madeleine when she is full of joy and high energy!
I nursed Madeleine for 22 months. At times, with her personality, never wanting to miss a thing, this was a challenging task. I nursed her everywhere - at home, at work (she came to work with me for over three years), at the grocery store, at restaurants, in the gardens. Madeleine would be drinking away and hear a noise. Always curious, she'd crank her head around, nipple still in mouth, to see what was happening. Other times, she'd pop off and send milk spraying to find what was going on around her. I learned to be quick with the heel of my hand!
Madeleine's high energy also translated to sleep troubles. She gave up naps at two-and-a-half. She started sleeping through the night when she was almost three-years-old, after her little brother, Calvin, was born. You might think that a child so busy all day long, running and jumping, leaping and dancing, would just collapse from exhaustion at the end of the day. Not so with Madeleine. When her little head hit the pillow at night, she would lie there awake for hours. I'd come up for bed between 10 and 11pm, and she'd still be in her bed awake, unable to turn off. Her abundant energy and activity extends to her mind too. She almost always had dark circles under her eyes. She had tantrums nearly every day even at 7 and 8 years old.
I finally met with her pediatrician to discuss my concerns about her sleep pattern. He suggested that I start giving her a nightly low dose of melatonin. I decided to give it a try. Madeleine needed more sleep, and try as she might, she just wasn't falling asleep easily at night. The first night she took it, she fell asleep right away. Yay! The dark circles under her eyes went away. She had many less tantrums. Yet still I was concerned about giving her a melatonin supplement every day. I kept my eyes open for alternatives. She took melatonin every night for about eight months. Without it just one night, she would lie awake in bed waiting for sleep to finally take over.
Just last week as I was researching contributors for my new magazine, Organic Life Magazine, I came across a story about a family with sleep problems. There were two boys aged 7 and 9 who had a hard time settling down to sleep every night. They sounded so much like my Madeleine! Their parents discovered a homeopathic remedy called Coffea. In the Homeopathic Materia Medica, it is indicated for "Sleeplessness from overexcitement of body or mind". Sounded perfect.
I went to one of our local health food stores and bought a vial in the 30C dosage. That first night, I told Madeleine we had something new to try to help her body and mind go to sleep. She let three tiny pellets dissolve under her tongue, and she was asleep in no time. Relief! She did this three nights in a row. On the fourth night, we forgot about it until the last minute when I was about to go downstairs. I told her about the two boys and how they've only taken it three times in two months. The idea is that homeopathic remedies work with your body to help you heal yourself. They "teach" your body what to do. She went for it and slept two nights without taking Coffea before bed. Then she took it the next two nights. We're working on taking it less and less. We're working on getting her body and mind to calm down and go to sleep on their own. I'm hopeful that we're headed in the right direction. Madeleine is getting her sleep finally.
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