Workin' Mom Homestead

Let me preface this blog post by saying that I am not a medical doctor, nor is this medical advice. This is my personal experience with my child. I still take him to the doctor when he is sick and you should always get your child checked out by a pediatrician when they are ill. Always do your research on home remedies.

Last year was my first year making my own elderberry syrup, and this is my first year trying to build a “home apothecary”. I still don’t have much, as I’m not an herbalist and have not had time to dive into the world of herbs, but I’ve started learning how to make a couple home remedies to get us through these cold months.

Last year my son started daycare at 8 months old. He was constantly getting sick, usually colds but I feel like he caught everything. A couple times he got me sick, so between the two of us I was taking a lot of sick days. There isn’t any medication for under two years old anyway, besides ibuprofen and acetaminophen for fevers. I did (and still do) use Zarbee’s chest rub (like a baby version of Vicks Vaporub- I am Hispanic after all) a lot, but I felt like we couldn’t keep going like this. Almost every time he got sick, he got an ear infection and the doctor was talking about possibly getting tubes in his ears. I really didn’t want that, even though everyone said it was no big deal and their kid had tubes before. It was still a procedure and I still wanted to avoid it. 

As soon as he turned 1, I reached out to my husband’s cousin. She has been making her own elderberry syrup for years and says her kids never get sick. It was worth a shot. She sent me the link to the recipe she uses and to the elderberries that she purchases. Elderberry syrup contains honey, which is why you have to wait until your child is 1 to give it to them. I made a little tweak to the recipe, but it turned out really good and my son loved it. I really felt like he wasn’t getting sick as often, and even when he did get sick, it wasn’t as severe. I take it daily as well. Here’s my Instagram post on my process: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7pxAidO_fX/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

This year, I watched a video from Seed and Sparrow Homestead on YouTube, where she showed how to make certain home remedies for her home apothecary. I was set on making some of them. I decided to make onion honey cough syrup, fermented honey garlic, and fire cider. See my Instagram post: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DAeNy1BylD4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

The onion honey cough syrup was easy. Just pour honey over a sliced onion and let it sit for at least 24 hours. I did 48 hours, then strained out the onion pieces and stored the syrup in the fridge. I give this to Charlie in a syringe when he has a cough. He enjoys it and it does seem to suppress his cough. When my teenage stepson had a cough, he refused to try it because it was “just a cough”. Of course weeks later he ended up going to urgent care for it. My teenage stepdaughter tried it and did not enjoy the taste, so giving it to teenagers who aren’t already used to taking it may be more challenging.

For the fermented honey garlic, the process is similar, but you leave the garlic in the honey. I peeled about one bulb of garlic, then gave each one a little whack, but you don’t want to smash them. Pour the honey over the garlic and cover the jar loosely. Each day, tighten the lid, flip the jar so the garlic can move around, then flip it right side up and loosen the lid again. This process takes 4 weeks, so it takes more patience. When you feel like you’re coming down with something, you just eat one of the garlic cloves. I recently did this for two days and I felt like it knocked the cold that was brewing right out. Could this have also been in my head? Yes. But regardless, I’m down for a placebo effect.

The last thing I made was fire cider. This one is more complicated as it has a lot of ingredients, and there are many different recipes for it. The biggest issue I had was finding horseradish root. Nobody in my area sold it. I ended up using prepared horseradish, which has conflicting information online about its use in fire cider. It turned out fine, at least in my opinion. I’ve never had fire cider with the actual root so maybe it’s better with the root, but I had to use what was available to me. This is another one that takes 4 weeks so again, it takes patience. Remember to shake it up from time to time! After 4 weeks you can strain off the liquid into a jar.

As I said before, this is all supplemental and does not take the place of utilizing a physician. I love that I have these options now. While they are not cures, they seem to help my son and I with mild symptoms. Once again make sure you do your research before making any home remedies.