Barbara Latterner asked me for this, so I wrote it up and thought I'd post here as well.


Because I have all of the flowers,

I always use Bach Flowers as a support for regressive therapy, esp in the water.I mix the remedy for the mom (since they are about $10 per bottle). It is always customized to her situation, but here are some guidelines.





First, you can always use Rescue Remedy. Apply it to the baby's pulse points and give it to mom in her water bottles so she sips it all day long. Have her put a few drops or a spray (I prefer the spray) in the


bath water for mom and baby if co-bathing or just the baby otherwise.



I like clematis and it is probably in almost every mix, b/c it helps baby to come into his body and babies who have experienced trauma are most often not in their bodies. I have actually had babies in my office who will suddenly know how to nurse for the first time when I have applied clematis to pulse points.





I also use elm b/c elm is the archetypal new mom remedy--think of it as for "weak moments in the lives of strong people". Often moms who have lived very competently in their lives suddenly feel incompetent


and incapable of success. It supports the idea of getting the job done--so good for both mom and baby who need to get down to breastfeeding.





I often use chestnut bud for babies who seem to be quite stubborn and NOT getting it, since chestnut bud is for stubbornness and repeating mistakes. I especially like it for babies after a TT or getting CST, b/c it helps them release old patterns and integrate new ones.





I would say I always use walnut b/c walnut is the link-breaker. It allows for new patterns and new ways of doing things. It also is protective from negative influences and often moms and babies are facing a lot of pressure from others.





If baby and mom have had a lot of drugs, I use crab apple, which detoxifies. Also if mom has a negative self-image or negative feelings about breastfeeding, crab apple will take the edge off those feelings and help her to enjoy nursing.





I choose between mimulus or aspen in most cases. Both remedies address fear--mimulus is simply-put a fear you can name. "I am afraid my baby will not gain weight" or "I am afraid I do not have enough milk".


Aspen is more vague and foreboding. "I just feel like something will go wrong." or "I feel like something is wrong with my baby". I also take the baby into account--if the baby feels to me very edgy in the world, I use aspen. Otherwise, I use mimulus--I think I always use one of them.





Star of bethlehem treats shocks and trauma, both current and old, so I give to to every baby/mom.





Red chestnut is for worry about others. Moms who really worry about their babies get red chestnut. Sometimes, if I am counseling a mom by phone, I will have her just buy this remedy, b/c her worry about her


baby will assure that things will go badly.





I use white chestnut a lot as well. White chestnut worries about everything. You can see it in those babies who always look worried, as well as the moms who ask the same question 15 different ways. They will often begin a sentence with "Should I worry about...?" These moms often cannot settle to sleep (babies are the same) b/c they are too busy thinking.





I give olive a lot as well, b/c it is for complete physical and mental exhaustion.





Holly is for any emotion that is not love--anger, jealousy, rage. Lots of moms and babies are very angry at their situations--esp the babies.





Pine is for guilt and I give it moms who are beating up on themselves.





Moms who are really hard on themselves--expecting perfection or they have failed--need rock water.





For babies who seem really impatient--will not learn w/o being very upset, or moms who are impatient, I use impatiens.





For moms who will not even try, b/c they are afraid they will fail, I use larch.





For moms who are really centered on themselves and who cannot put the baby first (or take the baby into their sphere of self-importance), I give heather.





I give wild oat to moms who cannot settle into motherhood, b/c it is the remedy for one's right vocation.





I like cerato b/c it supports intuition and helps the mom trust her own instincts. Moms who need cerato tend to ask everyone's opinion, but take no one's advice b/c they do not trust themselves to make a decision.





Vine is for moms who will not relinquish control--type A personalities who cannot allow the organic nature of breastfeeding. This will often stop moms from weighing and measuring.





Cherry plum is for fear of losing control. Lots of moms and babies are holding in a lot of emotion that needs to be processed. Or, mom may fear letting go of her control, thinking that she will lose herself in the process.





Older children who are jealous or acting out will benefit from holly, cherry plum and heather.





That covers 20 of the 38 remedies. I use all of them as needed, but these are the most common. If you wanted to buy a few to have on hand, I would have clematis, elm, walnut, star of bethlehem, olive, mimulus,


crab apple, aspen, cerato and white chestnut.





This is quite oversimplified. The complete course in Bach Flowers I teach runs for 16 hours, although I teach the basics pretty quickly in the Energy Medicine course I teach for parents. You can easily help


babies with just this info, b/c babies are so open to energy healing. I will also sometimes do a Bach consult for a mom who has pretty much got things going well, but needs to move through and heal the emotions


around her situation. Or, in my moms' group, many of my moms so love the Bach Flowers that they will ask for a new remedy when they bump into new challenges with older babies. And, of course you can


effortlessly do a consult for someone 3000 miles away. I sometimes mix for the dad or other family members who are "getting in the way" of success as well.





If you have never used Bach Flowers, you really cannot do anything wrong. Start with Rescue Remedy and move from there.Try them on? yourself and your family.? Honestly, I just started playing with them 20?years ago and observed a lot. My kids know them quite well and ask for? them.





I also use Star essences, and sometimes mix them in, but less often with babies and more often in the energy work I do with adults. There are hundreds of other flower remedies from all over the world and I


have experimented with many, but you do not need any others. I really urge LCs to give them a try--they are harmonizing and healing at the deepest levels.












Jennifer Tow, IBCLC, CT, USA
Intuitive Parenting Network LLC

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