Under The Weather

Over the weekend James developed a cold.  It was his first cold.  I understand how lucky I am that he made it 11 months without a cold.  But since we made it 11 months without a cold, I was greatly unprepared.  

This is James 11 month photo.  I didn't take any pictures of him when he was sick.
But here is a recent photo. 

I could tell something was up on friday night after James went to sleep.  Besides a ‘I don’t have anymore paci’ eposide, I don't usually hear too much from him.  But over the monitor I heard some coughing and he was stirring quite a bit.  He would cough, wake himself up and look for a paci, this was happening about every 30 minutes or so. I talked to Wes on the phone (he was working at the station that night) and I told him what was up and he suggested that he might have a cold.  I thought that he might have had some food stuck in his throat.  He had peanut butter bread for dinner and he loves to stuff it in.  So I was a little nervous about the coughing. 

So this waking up and cough thing went on for about 2 hours and while I was rocking him to sleep.  Side note, while I love that he is sleeping through the night (95%) of the time and puts himself to sleep, at least night, so when I do get the chance to go in and do a little nighttime rocking, I jump at the chance.  I look at him, asleep in my arms and think about how big he as gotten and where my little baby went.  When he had been asleep for awhile, the idea dawned on me to set up his humidifier.  The little boy was so tired that when I placed him in his crib, he didn’t even really wake up as I was moving stuff around and setting it up.  The humidifier worked and he sleep pretty well that night. 

Saturday morning when James woke up you could tell that it was indeed a cold. When he was 3 months old, I was obsessed with getting things for when he’d have his first cold.  But we didn’t really have to extra money and he didn’t get a cold until now, so I never went out and got things that he might need.  So I did a little pinteresting and found out what some other mom’s recommended.  It’s funny, the blogs that I found said make sure you get this stuff now, so you don’t have to run out at 2 am to get it.  It’s wasn’t 2 am when I ventured out to get it but it was rainy and 9 am. Minus the running nose, James was a super cute trooper at the store.  We managed to go to the store and back within about 30 minutes.  

Saturday was a rough day,  he seemed to feel fine when he was moving and playing.  He ate fine and wasn’t any fussier than normal.  Sleeping is where we had our problem.  James likes to sleep with pacifiers but he was having a hard time breathing through his nose because of the cold and I had time breathing through his mouth because of the paci.  The first nap wasn’t very long but the second nap of the day was a little better.  

Another not sick picture but it pretty much recaps our napping. 

We got to cuddle together on the couch and take a little nap.  He kept waking up and I had to soothe him back to sleep by gently smoothing his hair.  I could have sat there and did that for hours.  

Saturday night wasn’t very good.  A lot of wakes up and even one nursing session (something that hasn’t happened in a few months). Sunday he was getting better, the nose wasn’t as running and the napping was better.  I still took the opportunity to hold him the whole second nap.  I was only going to hold him for a little bit but I couldn’t put him back down.  

Sunday was better and Monday he seemed like he is on the mend.

So that is the recap of James’ first cold. I know everyone was dying to hear about it. 

Here are the products that helped me get through it.  

Crane Elephant Humidifier - This was running full blast at night.  When I walked in James’ room Monday morning it was like a fog had rolled in. You do want to make sure that you empty this daily and disinfect it weekly because mold and gross stuff can grow quickly and thats the last thing you want for your sick baby.   It's super easy to disinfect, all you need is water and vinegar.  I looked up the manual online and there is even youtube videos that walk you through it. 

Nosefrida - This item is the new thing is baby colds and snot removal. It’s a long tube with a red piece on one side, which goes in your mouth, and a larger tube on the other side.  The larger blue tube you place in the baby’s nose and suck  It’s a little weird to use at first and I wish it came with another set of hands. Holding the blue tube on the baby’s nose with one hand and holding now his arms with the other, it left me without a hand to hold his hand still.  Maybe Swedish baby (it comes from Sweden) are more relaxed than James is. 

Boogie Mist or saline mist - this product is great for helping dried up nostrils. It is also nice to use before the nosefrida so get everything ready to be suctioned. 

Boogie Wipes - These wipes are extra soft and have extra great at getting all the snot in the .02 seconds you have to wipe it away before your baby jerks his head away.

Vicks Baby Rub - This product is awesome.  I put it on James’ chest before he went to sleep.  I think it helped open up his nose a little bit.  I do wish I would have gotten the outlet plug in kind so it could have been working all night long. 

Soothing Vapor Bath -  This bubble bath should be in everyone home.  Not only does it produce great bubbles for bath time, it also releases this vapor into the air that helps relax and clear up baby’s nose and chest.  It also left James’ skin nice and soft too.  I will warn you, this bubble bath does make the bath a little slippery. 

So those are the six things that helped us make it through James’ first cold.  I did find this super cute basket in my house that I was able to put all these products in (minus the bath stuff) and carry it around with us when he decide that he needed to get into every room that I allow him to get into. I think I’m gonna make this my go-to baby gift from now on.  Sure there is a ton of cute things to get babies but when your baby is sick and you don’t have everything and you have to make the trip to the store at 2 am or 9 am in the raining like I did, you don’t feel to good about it as a parent.

What are your most haves for your sick baby? 

When your baby first got sick, were you prepared or did you make a last minute run to the drug store?

- Megan