It's almost at season - the dreaded cold season! Everybody who was ever at a cold knows that it's miserable! You are stuffed up for weeks and medicine is the only way you get through the day and the night. When I'm sick, it's a steady flow of DayQuil and NyQuil and a few boxes of tissues (with lotion or Vicks). The same goes for kids and babies but unfortunately there are not a lot of medicated products that are safe to use for kids under the age of 2. There are a few brands of cold medicine products that are offered: Hyland Baby & Zarbee's Natural Baby. Both are available at Wal-Mart.
Both my boys, ages 5 and almost 2, are suffering colds. They've been suffering for about a week and this is what I have done for the almost two year old to help ease his suffering:
1. Warn humidifier with a medicine cup for liquid inhalants. We have had this humidifier since our oldest was about 2 months old and was suffering his first cold, that was over 5 years ago! We love this humidifier, Vicks Brand . It is on during nap time and nighttime to help him sleep better.
2. Boogie Wipes. My youngest HATES his nose being touched! So saline spray was definitely out of the question, although I have heard it works for some moms under 2. I used regular tissues for him and just pinched his nose to get the snot out...he cried and screamed, which made more snot come out but it still hurts him. So I had purchased these cute tiny packs of Boogie Wipes from the Dollar Store and thought I would see if he liked those more. He loves them! They have a light scent to them and they are moist which helps his nose become not so irritated. Now it's not a battle to wipe the snot off his face!
3. Baby Day-Time Cough Medicine. My poor youngest has been coughing so much! He looks like he's so sick, pale with red rings around his eyes. I felt so bad for him, so after dropping off my oldest at school, we raced to Walmart to look for relief. In the past I have used the Zarrbee's Brand for Cold and Allergy medicine for our oldest since he was an infant. I like their medicines, except for the fact that they are sticky (our oldest once spilled an entire bottle on the carpet at my grandmothers' house and it was so hard to clean up! Not to mention expense to replace!) This brand is natural and some products are safe to use as soon as 2 months old! It has helped my youngest return to his normal toddler self!
4. Baby Night-Time Cold Medicine. Bedtime is by far the worst time of day for anyone suffering from a cold! When you lay down for some much needed rest, your head is so stuffed up and you can't breathe! I always end up sleeping on 2 pillows or sleeping sitting up. Hyland Baby brand has many wonderful choices for parents trying to help their kids feel better. We have used this cold medicine for our oldest in the past since all the good kids cold medicines are for either ages 6+ or 12+. This brand has medicine safe enough for 6 months+ and 2 years+. I know this brand recently had a recall on their teething tablets (which were our go-to medicine during teething along with infant Tylenol) but I did some research and found that they were safe again. I was so happy when I saw that they had expanded into cold medicines! Not only was my youngest happy to take them at bedtime, he finally slept through the night! I found the baby equivalent to NyQuil!
5. Plenty of Fluids, just like mom told you. I always mix my kids juices with water and when they are sick I let them have as much juice as they like during the day. They don't seem to want to eat a lot when they are sick (me neither but I like Spirit mixed with Orange Juice) but without fluids they could get dehydrated and that makes everything worse! Most of the time I will buy Pedialyte for them (they love the blue raspberry flavor!) but it's a bit expense and with me buying 4 different medicines already (day and night time for both boys) I decided to just stick with apple juice mixed with water this time.
6. Multi-Vitamins and Immune Support. This might sound odd to give to someone that is sick but it helps! My kids are both not wanting to eat as much since they have been sick (me neither in fact) but having vitamins helps to make sure they are getting some good stuff in their bodies and hopefully that helps them heal faster than they would without them. As for me, I have been eating 2 or 3 of the Immune Support gummies daily (bottle says take 1 daily) in order to help this momma get better quickly because I don't have the time to be sick on the couch with a cold - my kids are sick and they come first.
6. REST! Sleep is by far the best thing to help your body, or your child's body, get over a cold. I have done all I can to help m youngest sleep so he can heal and get better. I don't like the idea of putting 2 pillows in his crib so I put one under the mattress to elevate him to help him breathe better through his stuffy nose. I give him medicine, I turn on the humidifier and I let him sleep.
I hope my list helps moms out there with babies suffering from Colds.
All these tips are from me personally and the personal situation I am currently in. Of course you should always check with your doctor before giving your kids any medicine and you should do your research as well. The products I have used were purchased by me, all from Walmart and I personally endorse them.
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