Let's talk about snot...

Ever since he was born, Colin has had a stuffy nose. I attribute it to all the dry air in our house because it's winter. One night, after listening to him struggle to breathe through his nose & struggling to get him to sleep in a semi-upright position, I decided it was time to get a humidifier for his room & a better bulb syringe for his nose. We stole the bulb syringe the hospital used but it just wasn't cutting it. It is only good if he has a booger, it doesn't get all the snot out, and it gave Colin a bloody nose. Not cool. So I googled "snot suckers" (that's a technical term, BTW) and I found this:


NoseFrida http://www.nosefrida.com/







Reading the description grossed me out a little because you suck the gunk out with your mouth but as you can see from the picture, it has a long tube and a filter so nothing gets in your mouth. I read the reviews and decided it was worth the money to try to get Colin some relief. I ordered mine from Amazon and with shipping, it was about $20.

Let me tell you, I have never been more excited to suck the snot from Colin's nose. I used a little saline solution in each nostril and then got to sucking! This thing worked like magic. None of the gunk from his nose even came close to getting in my mouth - actually, it didn't even make it close to the filter. He fought it a little but once I got a good suction on his nose, he calmed right down. Probably because he could breathe! This is really nasty but I wanted to take a picture of everything that came out of my little mans nose. I refrained though. You're welcome because I totally would have posted it! But the best part was it didn't give him a bloody nose because the tip doesn't get inserted into the nostril. It just goes around the outside to create a suction. It's my opinion that every mother should have one of these! I'm going to give one as a gift at every baby shower I attend from now on - it's that good!

We also bought a cool mist humidifier for Colin's room. I'll be honest, I don't know the difference between cool mist and warm mist. I just went with the one that had the best reviews on target.com and that was moderately priced. I didn't want the cheapest one but I didn't want to spend $50 either. This is the one we got:

Safety 1st Ultrasonic 360* Humidifier http://www.safety1st.com/usa/eng/

This thing is awesome, too! It has a huge tank for the water but it barely uses any! Of course, the higher you set it, the more it will use. I have it set in the middle and it only uses about a quarter of the water in the tank. I turn it on about an hour before I put Colin in his crib and I can really tell the difference in his room. On the top of the tank, it has two spouts that the mist comes out of. They both move so you can point them in whatever direction you want. I have both pointed right at the crib. I was worried it may make a humming noise that would wake Colin up but it doesn't. It's so quiet that I have to look for the mist to tell if it's even on. I found this one on Target's website and went to the store to buy it. It was $30...money well spent.

After using both the humidifier and the Nosefrida, Colin breathes so much better now and we don't have to listen to the heartbreaking sound of him struggling to breathe through his nose.

Spring can't come soon enough!