Hellobee

I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that Toddler Heels only got sick once in her first 20-months of life, and it was just a minor cold with the basic sniffles and coughs.  Well, less than a week into preschool and Toddler Heels contracted a full on flu with a 100.3 degree fever.  We first noticed that she was starting to come down with something the Saturday after her first week at school.  Her fever lasted several days, so we kept her at home the entire second week of school.  I expected her to get sick at preschool, but I just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly!!

These were some of the essentials that helped us through that week:

1.  Baby Tylenol or Advil – we bought the generic baby Tylenol (acetaminophen) from Target.  I feel more comfortable using Tylenol on Toddler Heels because it’s gentler, though Advil (ibuprofen) is stronger and more effective.  I like to get the ones with the syringe included so it’s easier to measure out exactly how much to give.  We would use the syringe to measure, and then push the liquid into a spoon to have Toddler Heels drink it.  I kept a glass of milk on the side in case she needed to wash it down, but she loved the grape flavor and kept wanting “more juice!”

2.  Humidifier – around day 3 or 4, she started getting light bloody noses.  The dry, California summer heat combined with the constant runny noses and a fever probably contributed to it.  We dusted off her humidifier and let it run all day and night in her room, and we saw an instant improvement in her congestion.

3.  Vick’s Babyrub – I would rub a little of this on her chest every night before bed to help clear her lungs and nose.

4.  Vaseline or Aquaphor – a petroleum-based product was helpful in alleviating the dryness around her nose caused by all the nose wiping.

5.  Nasal Saline – we liked the one that had a spout that sprays a mist into the nostril (as opposed to the drops).  It was faster and easier to administer.  This helped loosen all the dried gunk from her nose.  Then right after, we’d use the NoseFrida to clear it all out.

6.  Chicken Soup – my MIL made chicken soup from scratch and we gave it to Toddler Heels at every meal.  Studies show that chicken soup really does make colds go away faster, though scientists still aren’t sure why that is.  Even the store-bought ones are effective in alleviating colds!

7.  Exergen Temporal Artery Thermometer – we got ours at Costco for about $30.  This device made it so quick and painless to take Toddler Heels’ temps.  She thought it was a toy and often tried to take her own temp!  To use, I simply pressed the thermometer against the middle of her forehead and slide it horizontally across to her hairline in order to get an accurate temperature reading.

8.  NoseFrida Nasal Aspirator – this contraption is amazing!  It is a little disgusting to use (and I hope to God it never goes defective on me where I end up sucking in her boogers), but it really helped to clear Toddler Heels’ nose up like no other!  It’s really neat to see how much mucus you’re able to collect in the clear, blue tube.

What else would you add?