Kellan is sick.
Again.
I can’t even…I just…really? REALLY?!
REALLY?!?!?!!!
If you have any homeopathic, natural, grandma remedies for severe nasal congestion that is baby friendly, hit me with it. All of it. I’m desperate.
Des-per-ate.
I was awake at 10:30pm, 1:00am, 2, 3:15, 4:15, and finally 7:30, with a child who could. not. breathe.
We did all of our cold congestion relief steps, including a new one: eucalyptus oil in the water during the steam treatment (shower with hot water, closed door, etc).
Nothing seemed to help.
It was so bad, I had to sit him up in bed and bust out this bad boy – our starry lights projected on the ceiling penguin to distract Kellan (Tim’s idea, which worked) because he would just start crying and crying, completely distraught at the fact that he could not breathe, and, therefore, could not do his favorite comfort activity: nurse.
So, I would sit him up and turn on the penguin, which was immediately met with lots of over exuberant “whoas!” from Kellan (really, kid? At 2am?) along with him trying to say “stars” while I would wait for him to sneeze so I could wipe away the snot.
Also? Kellan is currently in an argument with the nasal aspirator, so using that without a severe meltdown isn’t an option. After the first few times, I didn’t really want to deal with another round of screaming, head turning, pushing everything away, tears and that really pitiful I-can’t-catch-my-breath cry, especially at two in the morning, which is why we went with the starry lights penguin, wait-and-sneeze technique.
At 4-whatever-time, Tim took Kellan into the bathroom for round two of the eucalyptus steam treatment while I tried to sleep a little before Tim brought him back to me for food train (our phrase for nursing) and sleep.
That got us to 7:30.
And now I’m trying to think of and do anything within the realm of possible to ensure tonight is way less snotty and sleep disruptive for everybody.
I’m tired, universe. I’m tired and I probably have lots of run-on sentences and everyone is over hearing about my oh woe is me problems.
All I want is one weekend that is illness free.
Is that really so much to ask?
Now, your turn: cold remedies.
Annnnnd go!
here’s what my mom did to us:
drops of eucalyptus oil on a diaper cloth that was put on the pillow (next to nose/mouth) so whenever baby breathes he inhales the eucalyptus scent
put vics vaporub or any other “breathing solution” in big bowl, boil water and pour that water into bowl dissolving the vics – with a BIG towel over your head and baby in lap breath in the steam (it’s a little like your shower steam treatment but maybe a little more snot centered – snot will flow, sweat will drip – be careful to watch for baby clues as to when he’s had enough) – rub vics on his chest OR on the clothes covering his chest (point is to breath in the vics vapor while sleeping), dress him warm, wipe away the snot until he sleeps and hope for the best
my remedy: ginger tea. pour hot water over fresh ginger. the longer it sits the stronger it gets so don’t have it sit too long (5min should be ok, taste the water to make sure it’s not too strong, dilute if necessary or mix with other tea he likes and then DRINK up). 3-5 times a day BUT i don’t know if this is good for kids his age so you might want to research that first but ginger is my very personal cold remedy that always works.
hoping for the best!!
Thank you Franzi!! The eucalyptus on a towel on a pillow is a great idea!! And I’ll look into the ginger.
wish I had a magic elixir. Hang in there!
The only thing that helps my kiddo when he’s congested is the Nose Frida. In theory, it seems GROSS to “suck” your kids’ snot out but it hands-down beats the nasal aspirator. Sometimes my kiddo thinks it’s funny, sometimes he’s just downright mad when I use it but it ALWAYS works and it’s super easy to clean. I never caught anything he had (and if I do, I don’t care – I BF, I’ll just give him extra antibodies). Team it up with a steamy bathroom and you have a recipe for SLEEP (finally).