Snuffles and Sneezes!!

Tools of the trade

Well, it finally happened.  Nathan is sick. We almost made it 4 whole months before he got his first stuffy nose, which I consider to be quite an accomplishment considering he's been to play groups, church, bible study, South Texas and Austin in his short life.  I first noticed the snuffling Tuesday night and we happened to have an appointment with Dr. Haney the next morning for an unrelated issue so I wasn't too worried.  The pediatrician says it is probably just a summer cold and to use saline drops to help flush the mucus down.  The mucus is mostly running down the back of his throat, so the nasal aspirator (read: snot bulb) is not very effective, but I give it a go every so often.  He takes it like a champ although he usually doesn't appreciate the saline drops (probably because he has to lay still for a minute after he gets them!). I think they are helping though, so we keep doing them every couple of hours.  He isn't running a fever so far (hooray)!

In an effort for both of us to get a better night's sleep I spent the night in Nathan's room on an air mattress last night. Laying there with my eyes closed listening to his snorting, sneezing, coughing and gurgling was preferable to laying in my own bed watching the baby monitor all night (plus, my New Mommy Handbook says to sleep with your baby the first time they get sick...so there).  I felt surprisingly rested this morning althought it is obvious Nathan didn't sleep very well because he has been napping more than usual today.  Thankfully this happened before I went back to work. Hopefully it will all pass soon!