Homeopathy: Treating a Baby Who Does Not Sleep Through the Night

At eight months old, my daughter was still not sleeping through the night. It was not until I took her for her six-month well baby check up that I realized her constant waking was abnormal, and eventually became alarming. She woke up every one to three hours screaming as if she was terrified, sometimes almost seeming disoriented. After researching night terrors and nightmares, I was able to rule out night terrors.

At the six-month check up, the nurse practitioner instructed me on how to teach Baby to fall back asleep on her own. She suggested letting her cry for 15 minutes at a time. After three hours, she should fall asleep. While my husband was prepared to try this, I thought it was cruel. After researching infant sleep issues, I decided to try The Baby Whisperer's method. This technique involved laying her back down every time she stood up in the crib (my record was 117 times).

Although this did help her to fall asleep on her own for naps during the day (which, by the way, only lasted for 30 minutes at the most), it did not help during the nighttime episodes. I diligently stuck to this method for almost a month. However, Baby was not sleeping any better during the night. I searched the Internet, I read books, and I asked every parent I spoke to for advice. Finally, I decided to let her cry it out. My husband and I tried this for two weeks and it did not help. I do not recommend this method for children this young. My daughter not only became terrified of her crib, but also the sight of her room. We had to do something. Baby woke up every morning looking exhausted! She needed a nap within one hour of getting up in the morning.

The next step was to schedule a visit with our pediatrician. The doctor refused to even listen to my concerns; she simply stated that Baby was teething. Throughout my research, a prominent concern was that many parents were also not taken seriously by their pediatrician. Once again, we were left without any ideas. Someone suggested we take her to a chiropractor. By this time, we were ready to try anything. After three adjustments, Baby still was not sleeping better, but she was properly aligned! And last but not least, we heard about how homeopathy helped a woman with nightmares. So, that is what we did.

That was one month ago. Within a week of Baby's first treatment, she was only waking three times a night. The horrible screaming episodes have completely stopped. The doctor gave us enough of the remedy to treat her at home according to her need and his instructions. Baby now only wakes twice a night and it is my honest opinion it is because she is hungry. Her sleep schedule is bedtime at 8:00 PM, wake for feeding at 11:00PM and 4:00AM, then wake up in the morning between 7:30 and 8:30AM. She takes fewer naps during the day, but when she does take a nap, she curls up on the floor with her blanket and puts herself to sleep. Who could ask for more?

The basic premise of homeopathy is to teach the body to "heal" itself. For example, one of Baby's symptoms was a sweaty head while sleeping. Homeopathy "tells" the head to stop sweating in that way. When a homeopathic doctor sees a patient, the doctor will review all symptoms. These symptoms are usually things that most people do not even consider as something being wrong. A few of Baby's symptoms included waking constantly, sweaty head, biting shoes, and red cheeks. As the body is being treated, other symptoms may arise. During baby's treatment, she developed a cough that turned into a cold. It was not a reaction to the treatment, but rather some abnormality that her body was repressing. Essentially, the remedies given help to reveal things a body is inhibiting, and then teaches the body to deal with those issues.

One month after our first visit to the Wellness Center, Baby's symptoms and behaviors were reviewed again. The doctor gave her another remedy to assist the body in caring for the new symptoms that were previously hidden. I highly recommend anyone who is having problems with their children to visit a homeopathic center. It has helped us when nothing or no one else could.