No Mama Likes a Nasal Bulb

The word "nasal bulb" makes the average person cringe. The word itself sounds yucky and it's equally disgusting to use. Just the sound of snot entering the "bulb" and then having to expel it onto your napkin of choice- GROSS!

Welcome to my health blog of the week! And, welcome to my pet peeve of kids with snotty noses!

Yesterday, I went home from work to find that Gage (our [as of today] 17 month old) has a runny nose. If there is one thing I despise, it is a runny nose. They seem to be uncontrollable and uncomfortable. Two things that my OCD nature cannot deal with.

Gage has (knock on tons of wood) never been to the doctor because of a sickness- a stat I would like to contribute to my vitamin intake, workouts, and eating habits while pregnant. He has had a few runny noses, all of which we control and eliminate at home.

This latest runny nose/congestion I'm fairly certain has to do with plenty of elements: going outside for a lengthy time on our ONE sunny day this week and being around TONS of snotty nosed kids in nursery at church.

Alas, we have the snot nose again and here's how we deal with it (again, without going to the doctor):

1- Fluids. I pump him full of as much water as he'll drink. Something I just found out today, and am glad I did, based off of webmd.com, giving children milk while they're congested does more harm than good. The milk actually harvests bacteria growth and makes the sickness linger longer. Good to know mama's! Also, clear liquids are best and adding some lemon and honey kicks out that mucus faster.

2- Steamy baths. Gage likes to take a bath anyways, but we try to make sure the room is kept extra extra warm when he's congested. The steam helps break up the blocked nasal passages. If you have a dry house, a vaporizer is also great to use. In our house, we don't have this problem- we actually have too much moisture and use a dehumidifier (which we turn down when Gage is sick).

3- Chest rub. MMMMM- this is the one thing I love to deal with during sickness. The smell of Vick's vapor rub is so yummy and it help keep those little nostrils open during the night.

4- Elevated head during sleep. Make sure that a pillow of some sort is added to the crib (if your child is old enough to sit up on their own). This keep the draining flowing down and not back into their heads.

5- Nasal Bulb. VOMIT! That nasty little thing actually works. It is a good gag reflex, but it works. We "suck" Gage's nose on a very regular basis while he's congested. He's too young to know how to blow his nose on his own, so- we have to get it OUT!

6- Benadryl. We did call the doctor the very first time that Gage had a runny nose. His response: "don't bring him in, give him Benadryl. It will do better than anything I can prescribe." We bought the bubble gum flavor (which Gage loves) and we give him the dosage given to us by our doctor (1/2 tsp. every 4 hours).

Lucky for us, Gage usually beats the cold using these methods in 3 days.

Of course, if your child develops a fever/extremily thick mucus or has trouble breathing, I would highly suggest NOT using the 6 methods and going ahead to the doctor's office...

We would like to never ever have to use the nasal bulb, but that's like saying we'd like to never change a poop diaper again. It's just not going to happen. So, we use these 6 steps and we beat the cold.

Here's to snotty noses,

Erica

Holy Crap! He's Bleeding!

Auntie Meg came over to open Christmas presents last week and OF COURSE those darn toys are packaged so well that a herd of elephants couldn't break them open.

We sent Josh to get scissors to open the new bowling alley with and he comes back with wire cutters. Hmmm- wire cutters? He went on to explain the reasoning- when Meg and I were children, she cut my wrist (literally) with scissors. So, he thought it was in our best interest to use wire cutters instead.

We cut the 1,254 zip ties and got the toy out (which Gage loved) and we were reading the instructions (yes, all 3 of us reading them together...it takes a genius to understand these toys!) and we turned around to find Gage with the wire cutters!

WOWZA! This kid is faster than Criss Angel! Heck, if I left him alone for 5 minutes outside, I bet he'd climb to the top of our roof!

Before we could scream, snatch, blink- he had pinched himself (not cut) with those pesky little things. And, yes, it bled. I cried. And, it bled. Gage was concerned (for 30 seconds) but mommy was concerned for 3 days.

Why is this on the health blog? Enter NEOSPORIN! This stuff is magical. If you have never used it, or if you've used some other brand, get the real deal. We had some in his changing station that even had pain relief. And, it has healed that nasty little blood blister quickly! Not to mention, he *probably* won't even have a scar!

Here's the link to Neosporin- they offer coupons on their website. Print you off one- save a bit of money...but, save your sanity in the long run.

Here's to those $%^%@# zip ties <3

Erica

Its a Toy- It's fun for....17 days

With Christmas right around the corner...literally hours away...it has got me thinking about all of the "things" that Gage is about to get- things that will be put into his (thankfully) large toy room.

I am 100% guilty- just as 100% of each of my readers are- of getting kids toys. Toys are what they want right? Yea- that's right...for all of 17 days! After that, well- they start to collect dust. But, it's the 17 days that count!

The week after Gage was born, we went directly to our bank (State Employees Credit Union) and opened an account for him called a "Fat Cat"- it is a high-interest savings account for kids under 12. While your bank may not have a specific account for kids, it is optimal to look for any type of savings that has an interest of at least 0.75%- Gage's is a 1.0%...meaning he earns 1% of his money in interest monthly.

For each celebratory occasion, I have asked immediate family member (or those that would not be offended) to put money into his account. Anyone can deposit money, but only I can access it- which is nice! So, my grandparents can drive to the credit union, give them Gage's name and boom- they can deposit without any additional information.

It is really unbelievable how excited our family is to have this option. Of course, Gage still gets toys- just not the entire budgeted amount is spent on toys. Usually 50% enters his savings and the other 50% is spent on the 17 day loved toys!

Now, why did I choose the savings account instead of a CD or bonds? Fluidity. If I want to move his money to another higher interest account or if he gets older and wants to use it as he wishes, it's there for the taking. With CD's and bonds, you don't have that fluidity. Of course, you lose a bit of interest, but it's worth the loss in my opinion. I don't like sticking money anywhere that is not accessible. And, as for the stock market- until this economy turns around, NO WAY! 

Instead of 100% toys- try to do a percentage into a savings account. They won't miss the toys and they'll appreciate the money when its time to buy a car!

Telling Santa all of the toys that he wants...

Here's to Santa visiting your home- and 17 day toys!

Erica