From One Mom to Another...

Just had to share this bit of advice that has been priceless for our family. But, before I do, let me set the stage for you...

In the past week, Lily's top teeth have begun to descend. (Her first two bottom teeth arrived right before and right after Christmas.) As some of you veteran moms may know, along with pain and discomfort, this can also cause your baby to have a runny nose. In Lily's case, her nose was literally like a faucet with water pouring out of it almost constantly. During the day, a runny nose is a nusiance, but it's at bedtime that it becomes a real problem. For you see, the runny nose meant that Lily could not breathe out of her nose, which meant she couldn't suck on her pacifier; and because she could not suck on her pacifier she could not relax to go to sleep. So there she would lay in her crib, rubbing her eyes and screaming, and we, her parents, ran around trying to help her. We tried everything - the humidifier on full blast, a pillow under her head to prop her up, suctioning her nose, decongestant drops, moving her to her swing, and then later, (and I know some of you are going to cringe) to our bed - and while some of our efforts probably helped, they did not solve the problem. Finally, after hours of crying, she would finally fall asleep of pure exhaustion, and we, her parents, stood over her much of the night praying because her breathing was so shallow and labored that we truly thought she might stop breathing all together. Needless to say, by Friday morning, we (except for Cassidy, who thankfully slept through it all) were barely hanging on.

Fortunately, as the girls and I stumbled wearily into our Music and Movement class on Friday, my dear friend Brandy and her children, Weston and Natalie, were waiting for us. After I'd told her about our rough week, she suggested that we use saline spray in Lily's nose. I had always thought saline spray was for dry, crusty, stopped-up noses, but her pediatrician had told her that saline spray would also help dry up a runny nose. It had worked with her little ones, and she suggested I use it often throughout the day to help clear up the runny nose faster.

As soon as I got home, I started using the spray. We also continued using the humidifier and pillow, and we did suction her nose several more times (that made her REALLY mad!), but I definately think the saline spray made a significant difference. She still had a hard time getting to sleep Friday night, but she nursed easily at her 4:30 a.m. feeding and then was able to take her pacifier when I put her back down to sleep. Today, she was able to nap with her pacifier and also to go to sleep using it...and was asleep by 8:00 p.m. HOORAY!!! Her nose is still drippy at times, and will probably continue to be until she cuts those teeth, but we can certainly deal with that as long as we all get our sleep!

So, the next time your wee one has a cold, break out the saline solution to help get rid of that runny nose faster. Thanks Brandy for this great tip! :)