Babies can be a handful, and we all know how important sleep is for both babies and parents. As new parents, we tend to look for ways to make our little ones' lives better. In this journey, we often come across various unconventional methods that claim to help babies sleep better - one of them being catnip tea.
Yes, you read that right! Today we are going to talk about whether giving your baby catnip tea before bedtime can potentially enhance their sleeping experience or not!
What is Catnip Tea?
There's no way around it—catnip comes from the mint family. It’s a herbaceous plant with fine hairs on its leaves and stems which cats go gaga over. While every nipper has gotten high on this aromatic herb once in their life, did you know humans have a long history of brewing Catmint (Nepeta Cataria) as an herbal tea?
The Origin of Catmint
Humans have known the benefits of catmint for centuries; however, it was in various traditional medicines where people would crush its flowers into teas or mix it up with chamomile.
Up until recently though getting hold-off good Nepeta was difficult because human society paid far more attention towards breeding high-grade pot strains instead! Nowadays finding some decent organic Nepeta cataria seeds seems like conquering Mount Everest since they’re so rare.
How Does It Work?
Understanding The Science Behind Catmint
The secret behind why felines trip balls after sniffing their crushed favorite toy secretions has everything to do with ‘nepetalactone’ --the essential oil containing sedative substances found inside its leaves and stem tips which humans adore also.
Even holistically claimed by health enthusiasts worldwide who use dried Nip leaves as remedy against chronic stress - while there isn’t much scientific evidence present, by drinking catnip tea, humans reportedly experience muscle relaxation and decreased anxiety levels.
Since Baby’s systems are underdeveloped compared to adults relaxing the muscles with a mild dose of Nepetalactone in their formula should induce drowsiness making them inclined for longer naps or better sleep quality.
Catnip Tea & Babies
Parents have been using various methods to help babies sleep better - from aromatherapy to swaddling techniques- love leaves no stone unturned! Another such unconventional idea is giving your baby catmint tea before bed.
While it does sound odd; parents around the world swear by it being an effective solution for getting uninterrupted shut-eye both baby and you crave.
The benefits Of Catmint For Babies
When consumed responsibly, expectant mothers may find themselves feeling less anxious over common postnatal mood swings while simultaneously taming colic pains that keep bub crying all night long.
Humanize's personal research board suggests that nursing moms especially can let go of some guilt as well since it isn’t something new. Over time elder nurses have passed on this secret knowledge across generations like shamans in tribal stories who would pass knowledge between young ones only when they were confident someone was telling the truth!
Of course more definitive research is needed but according to anecdotal reports catmint has very minimal side effects or zero reported fatalities-- which means incorporating its properties into chomping toddlers' beverage doesn't pose any risks either.
However before considering giving catnip tea to your little bundle of joy do consult your pediatrician first. Even seemingly innocuous herbs mightn't be suitable in certain conditions so double-checking will give peace-of-mind – although we'd hope seeking real medical advice seems obvious enough LOL!
How To Make Brew Your Own Baby-Quality Cat Mint Tea?
Making homemade soothing healthy herb-infused cups of goodness couldn’t be simpler - let's walk you through the basics:
Ingredients
- Dried catmint or organic seeds / plant.
- Boiling water
- Sweeteners (optional)
Recipe Instructions
- Measure the tea, one teaspoon of dried herb per cup or add 4 oz liquid to your baby bottle formula powder.
- Add hot boiling water and stir well for mint to perfuse in it properly –allow steeping about 5 minutes until it reaches standard tea strength i.e., light yellow-gold shade color-wise.
- Optionally sweeten with honey, cinnamon sticks or sugar; just make sure that their digestive systems can tolerate this new flavor profile smoothly.
The Verdict
While there isn't any active research on this area yet, people have been using catnip tea as a sleep aid for centuries - whether by crushing leaves over an open fire or dried up whiffs from a comely decorated pouch burning down candles spitting shadows all around the cave! Recently parents worldwide continue giving their babies Catmint containing infusions before bed and swear by its effectiveness under select circumstances.
As always though do remember when trying something new first start small amounts without harsh chemicals lurking underneath--that way if something goes wrong neither mother nor child ends up is suffering long-term repercussion later!