If Love is Letting Your Child Blow Their Nose Into Your Shirt, I Have Nothing But Love In My Heart

"You know, this necklace makes me think of this totally random memory of my mother. I was a little kid
and I was crying for one reason or another. And she was cradling me, rocking me back and forth, and I

can just remember the silver balls rolling around. And there was like snot running down my nose. And she offered me her sleeve and told me to blow my nose into it. And I can remember, even as a little kid, thinking to myself, this is love... this is love."

Andrew Largeman, Garden State

I completely agree with this quote! I don't remember anyone ever letting me blow my nose on them as a child, nor would I have even imagine it, but I never think twice about it with my kids. Yet another change from becoming a parent! Snot, spit-up, poo- meh! No big deal!

This week our entire family has gone through some kind of cold. Note: When your kids don't go to school and you rarely get to go out into civilization, beware!! One step outside of your bubble and you are bound to catch something! Last weekend we went into Kennesaw to go shopping with my mom-in-law and within a few days she had pneumonia and Josiah was sneezing his head off. Later in the week, the sneezing turned to snot and Liam and I started the exact symptoms Josiah had first exhibited... and now my husband is starting to get them. That's what I get for going to a chain members-only warehouse retailer for the first time. I knew they were bad, but not that evil!

Years ago I never took much stock in homeopathy and homeopathic remedies. I would rather take my alcohol and dextromethorphan Nyquil so I can have a good night's rest, though it never really seemed to make me feel very rested the next day anyway. All cold and allergy medicines have a weird effect on us, too, leaving a slightly buzzing sensation, like your body keeps going even though you feel like death, especially with non-drowsy meds. Even if I so dreamed about taking a nighttime medicine, there is no way I could afford to sleep through the night or be a zombie all day long. Liam would not be very happy and Josiah would bury the house in blocks, dinosaurs, and whatever else he could get his hands upon.

Now that I am older and somewhat wiser, alternative medicines seem a much better option. why pump a bunch of unneeded chemicals into my body when something natural can heal it for me? The effectiveness of homeopathy is still much debated and though many countries allow homeopathic medical treatment to be covered by insurance, the US is not one of them as far as I know. I'm not saying I believe in all the old wives tales and remedies, but isn't it worth a try before going for medicines with ingredients you can't even pronounce, especially when it comes to children?

When I lived in Germany I saw these weird looking pots in Meuller, the drugstore there, but I had no earthly idea what those could be used for. Then, years later, I read about the netipot. I though, who on God's green earth would subject themselves to pouring liquid salt up their nostrils? Seems a bit masochistic to me!

Holy Burning Nostrils!

Well, when Josiah was born he constantly got little colds from going to daycare and, as we all know, you aren't supposed to give an infant anything except a tiny bit of tylenol and saline spray. Our little man went through colds, teething, 500 ear infections so naturally we went through a ton of saline- squirting and suctioning! Josiah hated it and I couldn't stand torturing him. About a year ago, Cory finally bought a netipot and I eventually tried this contraption. Okay, yes, it hurts like hell, and takes some getting used to, but it clears the sinuses and doesn't leave you feeling drugged. Unlike other sinus meds like Afrin spray, you don't lose your senses of smell and taste. Plus, you can do it more often when needed. Works better than most Western medicines and it's much more affordable than going to the doctor and buying prescriptions! Me likey!

When Liam got snotty around Christmas I ran to a drugstore and, to my surprise, there is a little infant version/children's verson of the netipot, too!

A Portable Torture Device for the Kiddos!

Okay, the kids will hate it, but it seriously rocks! A few sprays, no suctioning, and in a few minutes your child can breathe much better! It's not as cheap as the saline mist you can buy at a drug store, but this actually gets the mist up in the nose without holding your baby in all sorts of uncomfortable positions while they scream and squirm around. One squirt and it's over, which, as far as I am concerned, is worth a few extra dollars. I hate giving my kids medicines at all, even tylenol, so saline is a great option! Plus, it is washable and reuseable so, you just buy more saline mist to put in it when you run out!

We also use a humidifier pretty much nonstop in Liam's room, even when he isn't sick. The air has been so dry that this seems to help not only his stuffy nose, but his dry sensitive skin. I'm not sure if anyone has noticed, but Liam's skin is extra sensitive to just about anything- detergents, soaps, lotions, and anything else that may come in contact with his skin. He breaks out easily, his skin cracks, and also gets super dry. Without baby oil and the humidifier, I'd hate to see what the poor boy's skin would look like. In only a week's time, his skin was completely changed and if I go a day without oil or don't run the humidifier during the day, it is noticeable!
I am finally on the mend after a rough Saturday of mostly sleep, a natural healing sleep that is! I probably slept about 15 hrs yesterday, if not more, in between glasses of orange juice, flinstones vitamins, and water. :) In the meantime, Josiah enjoyed the 2 inches of snow outside with Papa and had a ball running around with George the cat. It's snowing today, too, and we are expected to get another 2-4 inches tonight so, we are super excited here! Snow is something we rarely see and we've been lucky to see twice now this winter! It's kind of hard to enjoy the snow when you have to blow your nose every 30 seconds like Josiah did yesterday (into Papa's shirt, of course), but he managed. :)
My shout-out of the day goes to the netipot and a humidifier, my two best friends this weekend! If it weren't for you two, where would be? I recommend a netipot for anyone!
So, avoid the snot- get a netipot! I should go into advertising! Anyways, have a great commercial holiday and go buy lots of 50% off chocolate tomorrow!