Lavender Oil Benefits

By: Brae Craig

I consider myself somewhat of a sleep expert. I've had four children now, and have figured out what works and what doesn't. And honestly, each child is different. It doesn't matter if you use a schedule, if you don't, if you CIO or rock them to sleep. What works for one won't necessarily work for another. But if anyone is an expert, I'm as close as they come.

Lilly was my first. I struggled the most with her because I had NO idea what I was doing. It took her three months to sleep through the night. I tried everything from rocking her, to singing, to watching for her "tired signs" to feeding her until she drifted away into the Land of Nod. Nothing worked. Until in an act of desperation, I let her do what "professionals" bitterly refer to as "CIO" - I let her cry it out. It took 15 minutes for 2 days. In retrospect, it wasn't that bad, but at the time it seemed like an eternity.

Mahone was simpler. I read more books and developed a schedule and pattern that was a huge success with both Mahone and my third baby, Scarlet. For the most part, it was successful with Teague as well, and all of them slept through the night (7pm-7am) by the time they were 6-8 weeks old.

Teague, however, seems to have a difficulty sleeping. Not always, though. Just once or twice a week. At around 3am, he will wake up crying, and for an hour to an hour and a half or so, the child won't stand for anything except being walked around our bedroom. CIO is out of the question for Teague as well because he shares a room with Lilly, my oldest. Mahone and scarlet are in the room next door, and all my older children attend school. Sleep isn't something they can afford to lose while Teague cries.

Now, everyone has heard about lavender. It's not any kind of a secret that lavender has calming qualities. Though, coming from the self proclaimed "sleep expert", I have to admit that I have tried many versions of the lavender cure both for myself and my children. I have always been disappointed.

A little over a week ago, though, my husband and I became distributors for Do Terra essential oils. And a week ago, my little one woke at a quarter to four with big fat tears in his blue eyes, a pout on his pretty lips, and I thought, "Here we go again."

However, my husband simply brought his box of oils into our room and rubbed a generous few drops over my little boy's feet and the back of his neck, and held him against his shoulder while pacing the floor. I sat cross legged on our bed, expecting not to get to go back to sleep that night, as an hour and a half - Teague's general length of fussiness - would put us very close to six, when my other children would wake and get ready for school.

Admittedly, I was surprised, no, SHOCKED that within 15 minutes, my sweet boy was conked out, drooling on my husband's shoulder, lips slick with it. Not much longer than that, and he was back in bed, chest rising and falling with a rhythm we could only see. And I got nearly two more hours of sleep.

Absolutely potent and pure, Do Terra's Lavender oil has healing properties as a topical antihistamine, soothes sunburns, and can be added to cool whip or lemonade for a cool, delicious and exotic treat with a hint of floral flavor.

A little bottle goes a long way. $28.00 retail, $21.00 wholesale. Contact me for details.