Lucy officially has her first cold. Luckily, it seems pretty mild, but Mama still finds herself obsessing about fevers and brain damage all the same.
Friday morning, Lucy’s nose was exuding some extra fluid, but I was hoping that it was just due to the chilly weather. She had her first globbery sneeze, and I suspected something might be up. But she seemed quite happy, so we packed up and headed off on our trip to the Marion farmette.
p{color:gray}. Photo: Lucy about to contribute to the atmosphere (“ah… ah…”:/news/2006/bless-you/).
Besides Lucy being a little extra-ready for naps and extra-willing to share her mucous with others, she’s been fine. However, things sometimes seem much bleaker in the wee hours. Sunday night, Lucy awoke at 3:30 am with very warm cheeks. Mama was convinced that she suddenly had a terrible fever and tried to brainstorm about where to find some infant Tylenol at that hour in the middle of rural Wisconsin. Lucky for me, I married a clear-headed, rational man who knew that Lucy had simply exceeded her limit for warm bedclothes. After a few minutes out of the covers, Lucy’s “fever” magically disappeared and we slept peacefully.
Probably the thing that makes Lucy most uncomfortable in her sniffly state is my constant obsession with wiping off her runny nose. I haven’t mentioned this before, but I derive inordinate satisfaction from picking Lucy’s nose during even her healthiest moments. (I’m getting professional help.) But I can hardly restrain myself from tackling the extra nasal goo that escapes from her nostrils these days, though she continues to say “Mo-o-o-m! Quit it!” in her baby language. We finally tried a nasal aspirator (which Jon calls the “booger vacuum”) last night, to which I thought she would object. But surprisingly, Lucy thought it was a laugh riot, so we had a good five-minutes of snot-sucking fun together, Lucy giggling away.
I have now come down with Lucy’s cold, and frankly it makes me feel better — partially because I can feel that Lucy’s was just a mild case — but also because if my baby is sick, then I should be sick too! Plus, we keep the tissues all the more handy when *two* girls need them!
not only that but as you make antibodies, nursing her gives her those extra flu-fighting powers! Glad the fever disappeared quickly and medication-free.
you are SO lucky (blessed?) that lucy enjoys having her snot sucked out! cadence would scream bloody murder when we would use the nasal bulb on her. i still get a nervous tick whenever her nose gets runny, worried that it will develop into a full-blown cold.
Benjamin also hated the nose sucker, we actually ended up mainly just using Little Noses (a saline spray for infants and young children) since he didn’t mind that nearly as much. Having a cold is no fun (for baby or mom!) I hope you both feel better soon!
Sorry you have a cold. NO FUN. “Little Noses” also makes “Little Colds” and it is great stuff. There is no dye in the meds so when she spits it at you it doesn’t ruin the clothes. My fav part of colds are “sticky nipples”!! Maddy always wants to nurse through the cold and right after she gets the meds, if you don’t wipe your nipple after she nurses you are stuck to the bra!! I know that is probably too much info, but hey your a mom!!
I have also found that using a wipe to wipe her nose is softer and she doesn’t mind as much (store bought wipes not my home-made reuseable ones).
Get better.
I can’t believe Lucy likes the aspirator! Ben screams and screams like we’re pulling out his fingernails. It’s a dreaded experience around these parts. He’s had like 3 separate colds for a month straight… He gets over one and BAM, the next one hits. I like Pediacare for decongestion — it seems to help us out. And running a humidifier in his room too.
We also use a humidifier. When B enjamin was younger (and more stationary in the crib) we would elevate one end if it got really bad to help with drainage. You can do it by putting a couple 2 x 4 scraps under one end or by putting a pillow under the mattress (although 2 x 4’s are safer).