I’ll admit, I feel like I’m still learning to interpret baby. So many cues and you’re always guessing to the exact meaning. Sometimes though, you get an absolute – and then it’s a question of formulating your course of action
A couple of weeks ago was an especially It’s rough week – and we found ourselves experiencing just that. All through Sunday night into Monday, we heard coughs and whimpers from Quinn. In the morning when I pulled him out of the bed, there were tears in his eyes. The look on his face said what is happening? Can you make it stop?
That Monday I stayed home with him. A visit to the doctor set out our game plan, which included a few items we didn’t have before. It also meant pulling out several things we had but I hadn’t thought of. Here’s a run down of the items we used for battle, in case helpful for your own first battle of fighting the evil sniffles. Note: in our case, it turned out our little man had something a bit tougher requiring antibiotics. Important to monitor progress and raise your hand if the situation does not improve.
- Boogie Spray – This nasal saline option is a great item to have on your shelf. The angled dispenser makes it easier for use on wiggly babies and it helps to keep their nasal passages from drying out while sick. Q didn’t love this while we were spraying, but we could tell it provided lots of relief.
- Graco NasalClear Aspirator – We had only ever tried the Nose Frida, but our doctor highly recommended the Graco option. Rather than the human suction force with the Nose Frida, the Graco one is battery operated with parts you can easily clean for use time and time again. We found this option a bit more effective for him.
- Crib Wedge – Our doctor mentioned we could use books for this, but we wanted something more comfortable for him. Amazon Prime and hiccapop and their foldable crib wedge to the rescue! Though over time he often shifted away from the elevated portion, believe this was helpful in getting him to fall asleep when he was at his most congested. Really have been pleased with this one we ordered.
- Humidifier – With it being summer, I never would have thought this would be so important to add into the mix. Every night, we ran this humidifier to help Q breathe a bit better. We also did a steam bath with him at least once a day (the doctor recommended 3x/daily.)
Keeping Q entertained during a steam bath
- Culturelle – If your baby does end up having to have antibiotics, this is is a must. Add one packet into baby’s midday bottle to help avoid an upset stomach.
Thankfully, he’s now doing better. It’s been a long process though. I wish I could say he was the only one to fall ill. It truly only takes 30 inches of a little man to take down an entire family. Who knew? Consider us all now on watch.
What are some of your favorite remedies to have at the ready? Would love to hear. Chime in below in the comments.
I used a humidifier for all my kids and it really made a difference!
Glad he’s better. We have a whole sick day rituals – my kids are older, but we put down towels in the beds, get plastic buckets for vomit, give plenty of fluids, etc. It’s really no fun when our littles aren’t feeling well.
This is the one thing I couldn’t do is to take care of a green nose. This often fell to my husband.
These are all great tips and products. The first time my youngest daughter was sick felt heartbreaking and for me, I had some mom guilt because I knew it was a direct result of her going to daycare because I worked full time.
I know – it’s hard, for sure. Definitely felt a bit of that guilt. I keep reminding myself though that he’s loving being surrounded by all the kids throughout the day – so worth it for the overall experience in the end in addition to having someone watch him.
I always hate when my kids are sick, but hated it even more when they were little. It’s hard for them to tell us exactly what is wrong. We always used saline nasal spray, an aspirator, and humidifier. They seem to always do the best when it came to the sniffles.
I still carry an emergency kit with me and my youngest is two. You just never know with kiddos when they will get sick or something. My daughter broke out in a rash at the playground the other day. I whipped out my kit and all was well in the end.
I can’t say I relate to this (don’t have a kid, and won’t in a while), but these seem like great items, especially the Boogie Spray – I’ve had something similar and it’s great.
It has been SO long since I had little ones in the house. When I was a new Mom, I wish there would have been someone to tell me all these great tips! I am sure lots of Moms will find it useful
Our humidifyer has always been such a life saver with sick kiddos. I still haven’t tried Boogie Wipes but may need to come cold and flu season.
Great tip on the vapor rub. We will have to give that a try. I know I always found eucalyptus helpful when I was sick myself.
Having a humidifier is a lifesaver. My sons both suffered from asthma when they were little so it helped having a humidifier in their bedroom.
I hate it when kids get sick. They will not feel comfortable (they will cry a lot) and as parents, we really want to do anything to help them get well! Thanks for these tips