Sick kids ain’t nothing to sneeze at – fighting off sickness

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This wasn’t exactly a planned post, but when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, right? Or in this case blog about it 🙂 I’m just gonna go with it!

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There are few things that make you feel less helpless as a parent than seeing your child sick or hurt. I would do ANYTHING to take my daughter’s hurts, ouches, stomach bugs and colds away from her if it meant that she would be comfortable and happily playing with her toy du jour. As a first-time parent it’s sometimes downright stressful figuring out what to do and what may possibly relieve your child from any discomfort, especially when your child is too young to tell you what’s wrong. I remember when my little boogie bear was sick for the first time. I went crazy rooting around in my memories for childhood home remedies, calling my mom every ten minutes, then calling the doctor, and of course hopping on the computer…quick get me WebMD…stat! But, as the saying goes “practice makes perfect”, and I guess when you have kids you get a lot of “practice” with a variety of ailments and eventually you figure out what works “perfectly” for your little one. So here’s what I’ve got in my “sick” bag of tricks:

Defend your health 

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I’m not a crazy germaphobe, but here’s what I carry in our (yes, my purse is no longer just mine) bag when we’re out and about:

Wipes: I bring along regular and anti-bacterial (alcohol free) wipes to clean my daughter’s hands should she touch anything super unsanitary. They also work great on shopping cart handles.

Soap: Once we’re home from running around it’s off to the bathroom sink to wash our hands with some fun, kid-friendly soap.

Vaccinations: I hate seeing my baby get shots, but so far my little pink thing has stayed pretty healthy, and I would rather her feel a little discomfort for a minute over being miserable for a week.

 

Call in the Calvary

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I’m lucky that my daughter has never had any serious illnesses, but she has had the more than occasional runny nose and cold. Here’s what works for her:

Saline Spray: This really helps loosen up those boogies and makes them easier to…ahem…remove!

Nose Frida: I LOVE this thing! It’s a Swedish contraption and it is simple, non-evasive, and does the trick (removing the previously mentioned boogies) the best! It’s pretty simple, you place the tip of the pen-like nozzle at the entrance to your child’s nostril and you place the flat mouthpiece in your mouth…and then you suck! Yup, YOU get to suck out the little (or big) boogies – but don’t get too grossed out yet ladies…there is a filter so you don’t get any in your mouth 🙂

Boogie wipes: These are great for on the go and won’t rough up your little one’s nose.

Johnson’s soothing vapor baby bath: This stuff smells great, but is not over-powering and opens up those nasal passages right before bedtime.

Vaporizer with Vicks vapo steam: This will warm and moisten up the air in your kiddo’s room, making it easier for them to breath.

Baby chest rub: Once again, the soothing eucalyptus vapor will help your baby sleep and breath better.

Chicken Soup: I am a firm believer in chicken soup and I don’t do canned baby! I make mine from scratch thanks to my father’s super great recipe. I always make some white rice on the side. Usually, I put some rice in a bowl and then add a little soup so that my daughter can feed herself (she’s a very independent little lady).

 

Bring in the big guns

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Nebulizer: As I am writing this piece my daughter is down with bronchiolitis (hence the “turning lemons into lemonade” introduction) and we’ve been instructed to use this machine. I am NOT a fan and neither is my baby girl! The thing is loud and no matter how many cute little masks they provide it’s still a pretty scary thing. I’ve tried making this contraption seem like a toy (“look how silly mommy looks in a mask”), I’ve tried appealing to her logical and curious nature (“here’s how you turn it on an off”, and “look at the little clouds coming out – do you want to eat the little clouds?”), and finally resorting to a wrestling match with my two-year old to get her to inhale (more like cry) some of the vapor into her lungs. My next attempt is to try and administer this treatment while she’s sleeping so we’ll see how that goes 😉 If all else fails we can get an oral prescription for the same medicine, it just takes a little longer to work.

 

So folks, this is where I turn to you for help. Do you have anything in your bag of tricks that you might like to share? Any methods or tips that work wonders for your sick kiddos? I’m always looking to add to my ailment-fighting arsenal…in the meantime I’m going to make myself some lemonade 😉

 

 

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Stephanie Cullum
Hey y’all! My name is Stephanie, a stay-at-home mommy, former teacher, Gemini, lover of books, quirky shoes, jeans (I own like twenty of them), coffee, travel and good food…oh and I’m also a wife and mother to my one and only daughter – she’s two and cute as a button! I’m half American and half German, born in Argentina, and grew up in Germany, Hong Kong and Singapore before moving to Dallas to go to college (go SMU). Needless to say I’m not a native to the Rio Grande Valley, but my husband is. He enticed me down here with the promise of good Mexican food, beaches, and close proximity to a foreign country – so here we are six years later and I couldn’t be happier calling the RGV home!

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