Surviving Cold Season

Hello Cold, Sinus, and Flu Season! Wow, it has hit this household hard this past week. I'm just about over the runny noses, coughs, sleepless nights, sore throats, and pounding headaches. Something tells me that this is just the beginning. S and I have been taking Advil Cold & Sinus and have seen a huge improvement in the past couple days. {Thank the Lord} Unfortunately, they do not make that for babies. Come to think of it the actually don't make anything to help babies under two with relief from cold/sinus symptoms. There are several ways to make it through and keep your little one comfortable.

So how do you survive cold season with a little one? We are always armed with a couple items that I couldn't live without. Arm yourself people, there is nothing worse than a poor stuffy nosed baby...especially at night time.

 Vicks Baby Rub. The best trick is to put it on baby's feet with socks at night time. When they get a little older, you can put a little on their back or chest. The age recommendation is 3 months + for this product.

Vicks Starry Night Humidifier. Must have! You put these little vapor pads in to give off a soothing scent, like the vapor rub almost. We also like it because of the sound it makes in her room and it doubles as a soft night light because it has a setting to shine stars on the ceiling.

So apparently snot causes chapped nose and lips? I put this amazing stuff on the dry spots around her mouth and nose at night and by morning they are better.  It works wonders for diaper rash too!

 Boogie Wipes! We love these. So much better than a tissue, even the tissues with lotion. These have saline on them so they easily wipe away boogies and moisturize. They come in three scents: grape, original, and menthol. Grape is my fave...oh I mean P's fave.

I just discovered this lovely saline. When you call your pediatrician and tell them that you baby has a runny nose, here are some of the things they might tell you: use saline in their nose, lots of fluids, try to sleep elevated, and use a humidifier. Well, we have tried saline like we have tried sippy cups. If they sell it, I have tried it. The drops don't go in, the Little Remedies sprays so vigorously, it seriously shoots out the opposite side. This is like a mist. A lovely gentle mist. We actually have P thinking it is a game, and she doesn;t mind this saline spray at all.


 I saved the best for last. This thing is weird, and until you use it you will be totally freaked out by it. But it blows that blue nasal aspirator out of the water. You know the one everyone tells you to take from the hospital-it is no good. The Nose Frida seriously saved our life last year when our 3 months old's nose was beyond runny. It was the only thing that really helped her to breath better.

All this and you are ready to tackle this cold season. Is it summer yet? {Only joking}

Adios P.G.

We had our first {and hopefully last} experience at the Laser Center last Tuesday. We both took off work and devoted every ounce of our attention to our little one. I thought I felt pain when I fell off my bike or when I had my tonsils taken out or when I had mastitis for 2 wees straight. Well, those was nothing compared to the pain you feel when your child is screaming at the top of her lungs and staring at you as if to say "What are they doing to me mama?"
The doctor recommended that only one of us be in the room with her. Less hands and less eyes to be affected by the laser lights. Well, she made a comment that Spence seemed a little more calm than myself. No joke: she totally called me out on being anxious. Maybe it was my 22 questions or the look of question on my face. Anyway, he held her tight and let the doctor do her work while I waited {anxiously} in the next room. It was quick and for that, I am thankful. We were in and out of the office in 45 minutes. We snuggled on the couch for 2 hours afterwards. When she woke up, it was as if she didn't even remember that trauma that happened that morning. Ahhhhh-to be one year old!

We have already notice it going away and becoming much lighter. We won't know for 2 months if we will need to go back again because it could take that long to see complete results.

Bye Bye Pyogenic Granuloma!

Where is this year going?

I can not even begin to tell you how busy we have been lately. No, I haven't been traveling the world or running a multi-milllion dollar company, but I have been attending at least one baby shower or birthday party every weekend, working too much at school, grading loads of papers, and trying to teach a one year old manners at the dinner table. I just feel like this year is coming to a close and the holiday season is approaching really fast. I better start making lists and preparing, because I already have 2 holiday parties on my calendar and I know there are several more to be booked.


Let's get back to that last item I mentioned: manners. It seems like yesterday that I was flipping out because she could hold her own bottle. Now little one has been really interested in feeding herself...not with her fingers, but with her spoon and fork. I noticed her pushing food onto her spoon and raising it to her mouth so I thought, well maybe she is ready for a fork. So, here we go with a fork. It amazes me how she just knows how to do something....she immediately stabs her food with her new pink fork. She does need a little help, but she absolutely understands the purpose. Now if we can just get her to keep her plate on her tray, life would get a whole lot easier. I am so over detailing that tray after every meal! And then if she could understand that banging her tray is never going to get her a steak cooked to perfection at Del Frisco's, we would be golden.

In other exciting news: We had our first REAL pony tail over the weekend! It's tricky to get it up because of her inability to sit still for longer that 5 seconds, but its up none the less.  I think its adorable!

Update to come on her pyogenic gramuloma........maybe tomorrow.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

First Trick or Treat

This was our first real Halloween experience with little Miss P as last year she was just a teeny tiny 7 weeks old {sigh....}. We were excited to walk around our new block and meet some of our neighbors. It is so nice to see people out on the streets and we were pleasantly surprised as to how many kids and young couples there are around us. We are so in love with our neighborhood!

So I really have no excuse, except that I am indecisive and a procrastinator, for the fact that I did not get my child a real costume. The ones at stores were either too cheap looking or too expensive for me to spend on something that would be worn for 1 hour. {sorry Pottery Barn Kids} I never made it to Hobby Lobby, so I didn't make her the bumble bee costume that I had planned.  I take the blame and I give the credit to my mother in law who came across the perfect Halloween 'costume' at Cracker Barrel to save the day. Costume or not-she's too cute to me! Oh, and I think I'll order the Halloween 2013 costume in June.

{So you want me to put this in that pumpkin, right?}

{New hobby: opening and closing the gate}

She LOVED toddling around the neighborhood! I am noticing that she can be a little shy around new people and she definitely looks up to Spence and I frequently. Everyone was out on their porches and very friendly handing out candy to all the kiddos. We only went to maybe 10 houses...and that was enough!

 Although she didn't eat any, she sure love gnawing on the wrappers...thinking that she was eating candy--tricky mom & dad.

Hope you had a Happy Halloween!