Ok, here it is! I’ve been asked so much about what vitamins I give to the kids and how I prevent sickness during the school year so I finally put it all down in one place. But, I want to preface this post by saying that I am in no way a doctor or expert on this topic, just a mama who’s done some research. I’ve also pulled some tips and suggestions from my knowledgeable friend Kelli to compile this post for you. Let me introduce her!
Kelli is a DoTerra rep, a mama to two of the cutest little blonde babes, and she’s as organic and wholesome as they come! Kelli also brings her children to an integrative holistic pediatrician (meaning they utilize alternative AND traditional approaches to pediatric care), and her doctor has recommended many of these products to Kelli over the years. Everyone has that one “beautiful, crunchy, cooks 3 organic meals a day for her family, cleans the house with all-natural products, kids are never sick because she’s a rockstar at immunity boosting” friend…and for me, that friend is Kelli! (Love ya, Kel!) I always go to her with all of my questions about oils and/or natural remedies/immunity boosters! Kelli’s Instagram page is a fountain of knowledge so make sure you go give it a follow @TheGreenHouseEssentials !
Ok, so I should start by saying that my family has basically fallen off our vitamin routine since summer started…perhaps this is why both Cub and I were bedridden for several weeks. (Oops!) But now that we are back at school with birthday parties, dance class, gymnastics, play dates, and germs galore…it’s back to our vitamin routine we go!
I’ll start by listing out the main supplements we use in our house. I’m not as informed as Kelli so I tend to stick to the bare minimum and only add new products after doing lots of research and checking in with my pediatrician!
- probiotics (every. single. day.) The only disclaimer is if you are on an antibiotic make sure you do not take your pro and anti at the same time of day! Look for the number of live probiotic cells (culture forming units, or CFUs) per daily serving (the higher the count, the more effective the probiotic will be) AND the type of probiotic strain (I’ve included the ones I like below) when choosing a brand.
- multi-vitamin (my kids do NOT eat a balanced diet and if yours do…I need to know your magical ways!) Multi-vitamins help me ensure the kiddos and myself are getting the vitamins & minerals we need.
- vitamin D I skip this one in the summer since we spend so much time outside, but once fall/winter hit, I add vitamin D to our routine again.
- Sambucus (Elderberry Syrup) We take this when I know the kids have been exposed to germs or at the onset of symptoms. Cubby drinks it straight, for Q I mix her dosage into some juice. Kelli suggests giving it every day at the height of flu season as a preventative measure!
- Oil Roller I used to do DoTerra’s OnGuard (or Young Living’s Thieves) in a roller bottle on the girl’s feet every day before school but Kelli suggested adding 10 drops of Melaluca to the 10 drops of OnGuard, (fill the rest of the roller with coconut oil) and applying it to the bottoms of feet OR the spine every day! So we are trying that this year!
Here are the brands I like: (I’ll * the ones Kelli recommended)
Kids
Probiotics:
- *Garden of Life, 5 Billion CFUs, chewable tablet (my girls give me a hard time with these- they really prefer the gummies)
- Culturelle Probiotics, 5 billion CFUs, powdered packets (I get the flavorless ones and add to the girls chocolate milk. I use a whisk to stir it up real good so they don’t even notice it’s in there! Sometimes I’ll mix it into their yogurts.
- Renew Life, 2 Billion CFUs, gummies (These are my girls’ favorites. I give these if we are running late or if the girls “swear” they can taste the powder that day! )
Multi Vitamin:
(Kelli advises to always look for “whole food concentrate” on the label when choosing a multi-vitamin!)
Vitamin D:
Sambucus:
For the Babies…
Probiotics:
- Bio Gia– I’ve used these drops on all three of my babes. The live culture count isn’t crazy high (100 million per 5 drops), but they also contain Vitamin D, so you’re knocking out both in one little dropper. My pediatrician recommended me starting my newborns on these drops right from birth, but at a lower dose than the 5 drop serving size. Ask your pediatrician before using.
- *Baby Jarrow– I’ve also used this before. It’s a powder designed for babies and has 3 billions CFUs, I used to mix some into the babe’s bottles but preferred the drops!
- Baby Jarrow also has drops at 1 billion CFUs per serving (10 drops)
Multivitamins:
- I never gave my newborns a multivitamin because I always took one and I knew they were getting the nutrients from me when breastfeeding. When they moved on to formula, I always used organic brands of formula that contains all the nutrients they needed. But once they get a bit bigger or if you feel they need it, *Child Life Multi-Vitamin & Mineral is a good one to use on babes 6months and up, and comes in liquid form.
For Me…
Probiotics:
Multivitamin:
Collagen Peptides:
- *Vital Protiens Collagen Peptides powder– I add this to my coffee every morning. It “promotes youthful skin, healthier hair, and stronger nails and helps keeps bones healthy and strong, and supports joint health.”
Immunity Boost:
- When I’m feeling symptoms of sickness or know I’ve been exposed, I will suck on *Sambucas lozenges all day long and even take some of the *immune syrup.
- I will add in some of the kids’ *Vitamin D drops to my juice or coffee
- If my throat gets tingly, I gargle with a shot of orange juice with 3-5 drops of OnGuard mixed in for as long as I can.
And that’s what we do at our house! If you found this post interesting, please make sure to follow Kelli over on Instagram @TheGreenHouseEssentials. She’ll be giving wellness tips and tricks all winter long, per usual! And do me a favor, make your shopping list of vitamins and immunity boosters from above and then go ahead and call your pediatrician and run it all by him/her!
Always, always check with a doctor before starting your child on a new healthcare regime, even if it is “just vitamins!”
Hope the germs stay away and that y’all have an awesome school year!
*This post is not sponsored but may contain affiliate links. All opinions are my own. Thank you for following and reading!
