home.
Poor little monkey has been a congested and snotty and at night seems just generally uncomfortable. During the day he is, for the most part, his usual happy, active, mischievous self (though covered in snot), but at night he has trouble breathing through his nose. He tosses and turns and cries in his sleep. I've been bringing him into bed more than normal and he's on and off the breast every few minutes. He wants to nurse so bad, but his poor stuff nose makes it hard for him the breath while he does.
I feel so bad for the little guy. I don't think I've ever seen him stay sick for more than a day. As a family, we don't get sick very often at all. I credit avoiding meat, eating tons of veggies, staying active, and not smoking - a biggie. And for Flintstone, I think a lot of his heartiness comes from breastfeeding. He has never been Really sick (something I am thankful for every single day) and he's never had a fever or been what I'd call sick for more than a day.
But now he is sick, and it's time to start breaking out all the home cold fighting remedies:
Breastmilk - first and foremost. Full of antibodies and perfect nutrition, breast milk has even been recommended for older kids (and even adults) if they happen to have a milk mama in the house. It also works like a charm for eye ickies - just fyi. Plus, it's been proven that sick kids recover faster with lots of loving touch, so breastfeeding doubles up on the healing goodness!
Mama's Cold Remedy Soup - specially formulated from ingredients proven to help ease cold symptoms, plus it's yummy and there is no food more comforting for a cold than hot soup. Check out all the details be clicking the recipes tab up top!
Steam - humidifiers, pots of boiling herbs, and hot baths and showers. What parent hasn't spent a night in a steamy bathroom with a congested baby? Yesterday morning (when I first tried to post this . . .) Flintstone and I spent a nice long time playing on the (clean) floor of a nice steamy shower.
Hot Drinks - MacGyver and I differ on this. My grandma is a nurse, and growing up whenever any of us didn't feel well, she'd make us something warm (not too hot, esp if there was a fever involved, and non caffeinated) to drink. It was always instantly soothing to a sore throat and warming to the spirits. To this day I swear by hot tea (or hot toddies ;-)) when I'm not feeling well. Lemon, honey, and ginger being the old standbys remedy wises. I haven't yet given Flintstone anything tea like even though there are plenty that are safe for him now. I just haven't seen the need yet. MacGyver, on the other had swears by cold when he's sick. Frozen juice pops and sorbet. Each to his own, I suppose.
Ginger Ale - with actual ginger in it. I've never understood drinking "ginger ale" that doesn't actually have ginger in it when you're sick. Kinda missing the point, right? Not to mention swigging down a whole lot of high fructose corn syrup.
The list goes on and on. A paste made of ground mustard seeds does wonders to ease congestion and stimulate circulation in kids old enough to follow the "don't touch this" directions. So many remedies I can't possibly think of them all right now, and this post would be super long if I did.
What remedies to you use when you or your little ones are feeling under the weather - for colds or other ailments? I have a hiccup cure that works every single time . . .
Tell me about your home remedies, and don't forget to check out my new Mama's Cold Remedy Soup over at the Recipes page. It worked like a charm.
5 comments:
Hope your little one gets to feeling better soon. It hurts my heart to see them sick.
No little ones (yet) at home to worry about... but the BF is just like a kid when he feels ill. I usually make him drink tons of ginger water (boil slices of ginger root in water on the stove, drink with honey and lemon or pure). It's not as "home remedy"-y, but I've found that making him take lots of zinc and vitamin E helps a lot, as well. I am sure one could adjust the food accordingly, but with the BF it's way easier to just hand him some pills. *sigh*
When Half Pint was sick with a cold a few weeks ago we were taking hot showers even in the middle of the night, lots of nursing. His doctor told me to give him a teaspoon of honey which I know is proven to work better the syrups over the counter, but honey freaks me out so much with small kids I never tried it. I did give him non caffeinated hot tea and that seemed to sooth him a lot. I think like Flintstone, half pint has had some runny noses but most have been from seasonal allergies. Hes only really been sick twice..once with an upset tummy we all had, and the horrible cold he had a few weeks ago.
I can see how ice cream or something can soothe a raspy sore throat and help to boost calories to make a person feel better but I would lean more towards warm tea or cocoa. I am a full on believer in ginger ale! My granny made me warm ginger tea... that was interesting.
These are all pretty much my go-to remedies. I'm glad I don't get sick that often either!
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