Marty:  While it is true that fennel can be soothing, I'd side with those
who say it could be risky.  Giving herbs directly to baby should be likened
to giving any other substance that is NOT mother's milk.  A totally
different story is that of homeopathic preparations, many of which are
extremely dilute titrations of herbal preparations (others are from various
salts, minerals, etc).  I have few, if any, problems giving babies these
dilute homeopathic preparations as long as they are not in an alcohol base
(which most are unless you add them to warm water to evaporate the
alcohol).  There are some excellent colic and teething preparations out
there.  I used one brand H-L-N-Ds with my first son, but their products are
in a lactose base and are in pill form.  The company I use now (both
personally and professionally) has drops that are in a non-alcoholic base
and have no cow-milk products including lactose.  If you want more info,
please email me privately as I want to respect Lactnet's non-commerical
arena.

: )Chris Hafner-Eaton, PhD, MPH, CHES, IBCLC  email: [log in to unmask]   : )
: )HSR & Health Educational Consultant        voice/fax: 541 753 7340    : )
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