Ten Months

Our little baby is all grown up and a full fledged toddler these days. He added 4 new teeth this last month, all on top - joining his 2, now much taller ones on the bottom. These 4 teeth really gave him some problems. I felt like he was trying really hard to be happy, but the slightest thing just knocked his spirits down. You could tell he was so uncomfortable, and nights were the WORST. Nothing could distract him from the teething pains then... So, we depended on baby Tylenol and Ibuprofen (as approved by our doctor).  There was pretty much 2 weeks of sleep deprivation in there for us all.

Then, once we were getting through teething a bad cold came!  A sad cough that would wake him up, gunk in his throat and running into his tummy to make eating hard.  Just when we thought we were through a rough patch, this cold came and robbed him of more sleep and made getting over this current bout of teething that much harder! Dang. 

Through it all, lack of sleep and not great eats, we had some good times, too. Not feeling good brings more cuddles... he likes to be held when sleepy, and while that's hard for me in the middle of the night, I try to cherish it, because these days he is on the go with no time for hugs!

Getting through baby's first cold

We were lucky. Liam didn't get his first cold until he was 4 months old, about 5 weeks after starting daycare. And it was a mild one, at that.  But then he quickly caught his second cold, and it was much meaner.  Ten days later and we're finally almost done with it.

Here are the items we used every hour day to help him, and us, get through his first cold, full of running noses, major congestion, little baby coughs, and probably more that he couldn't tell us about.

Graco Nasal Clear Nasal Aspirator
A friend recommended this nasal aspirator to us, and we are so thankful.  The basic bulb aspirator takes many attempts to get a little.  With a squirmy and sad baby, that the last thing you want to be doing.  This electric, music playing nasal cleaner takes only a couple seconds in each nostril to get a glob.  I ca usually get in there an out before he knows what hit him and keep him distracted by the music. Some people also swear by the NoseFrida.

Safety 1st Soothing Mist Ultrasonic Humidifier
Every night we had Liam sleeping with this humidifier to help loosen his drainage and help his breathing.  Turn his room into a misty haze, but I felt like he breathed a lot easier, helping us him sleep for at least a few hours.

Pediacare Fever & Pain Reducer Infants Drops
For the really bad part of the cold (it's got to its worst right before he started to kick it) when the little babe is just miserable.  He was at his warmest (100.2), and his cry had a little pang to it.  It was just not him (he fusses when he is hungry, wet, etc - never cries) and I knew he was just feeling pretty shitty. After consulting with our pediatrician (always ask your doc about administering meds first) and follow the directions on the box, we gave him some fever/pain reducer and it seemed to help...for a few hours.

Boogie Wipes
Many, many, many boogie wipes... we dabbled with both scents to keep Liam guessing. When trying to wipe his little nose, which he hates, these soft, moist and interesting smelling wipes made it a little better (and kept his skin from getting chapped). Also carry Boogie Wipes to-go.

Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer
The quickest, easiest and less invasive way to take the little babe's temp - and we were taking his temperature a ton.  This thermometer quickly scans their forehead or behind their ear, needing only a few seconds of skin contact, for a temp read.  When your lil one is sick, keeping track of their temp is key.  Once it's at 100.4, it can be pretty serious and their pediatrician/nurse needs to know.

Desitin Rapid Relief Creamy
All that mucus running down their little baby throats has to go somewhere.  Colds make for more bowl movements and sore baby butts.  Liam never had a rash or any sore of bum discomfort until this nasty cold.  We slathered this stuff on all day long and it really helped.

In the middle of the night when Liam felt his worse, and so did we, we turned to the swing (alternatively you could use your car seat).  The uplifted position, helped the drainage and he could sleep a bit better here than in his flat bed.  Now, this is not an approved place of long-term baby sleep - so use sparingly if possible. We started each night with him in the crib, but usually around 2 or 3 he couldn't take it anymore.  He was desperate to sleep (and breath), so we moved the swing to his room (keeping him in the misty haze) and turned the video monitor on him there.

Plus, lots of cuddles from mama and daddy.