We’re nearing the end of October and my little guy got hit with the first cold of the season last week. ☹ No, he doesn’t have COVID. I know it’s hard to believe we can have real colds and not have COVID. (Take it easy, I’m simply making jokes here because things have been so tight among everyone this past year and a half.)
I remind myself what one of his pediatricians told us when he was an infant. “A cold now, is one less cold when he will be in school.”
I hope that’s right because daycare life has those little ones sharing all kinds of nasty germs.
Every time he gets a cold, my mama heart breaks because there isn’t a whole lot I can do but provide my love and the remedies we know of. I wanted to share our plan of attack against a cold to maybe help ease your worries and make things a touch easier too. Maybe you can let me know your tricks and tips if you have any I don’t mention!
First thing is first, I called my mom. 🤷♀️ So what if I’m in my mid-thirties, my mom knows best! So call your mom, grandma, aunt, bestie, whomever has better advice than yourself or someone you simply trust to talk out what’s going on.
The main item for colds and fevers, acetaminophen and ibuprofen are always the go-to OGs of any cold and flu. Since he started this cold out with a low-grade fever the other day, that’s how we kicked off fixing this. Certainly, ask your pediatrician for proper dosage. My tip here is grabbing the big bottle of it. I recently found Amazon has their brand, Basic Care, for half the price of regular children’s Tylenol and Ibuprofen! As parents we’ll go through a lot of it and any type of cost savings is great.
A humidifier is my other tactic! The cold this time is all congestion and cough. Poor thing lost his sweet voice and had a lot of mucus going on. I make sure we have this running anywhere he is in the house. Of course, I’m not chasing him with it as his little legs find energy to go room to room.
I typically have it running at night in his room with the fan on to keep it through the air and then out to the living room while he bums it on the couch in his jammies.
Be sure that you clean this regularly so there is no mold build up. Ours has been going all week long so we have to give it a good cleaning!
Kid’s vicks for his chest and feet at night. It’s actually called Zarbee’s Naturals Baby Soothing Chest Rub. This stuff is the ticket for nighttime with him and when he started to swing back around. He fought us having it put on and would yell, “YUCCCCK!” It smells so good to me, but I’m sure as a toddler he thinks it’s gross. It helped him breath easier and clear up some of the congestion he had going on. I noticed it helped him sleep better too!
Fluids. Whatever they like to drink, go buy it. He has insisted milk is his favorite this time and sadly the poor boy was not eating much. I had even tried to bribed with “ice cream” that was fruit and yogurt blended together, which is typically his favorite, but it was a no-go.
Milk it is and whenever he wants. If he is drinking, I’m totally okay with that. He isn’t wasting away! Plus, me and him crushed a whole sleeve of crackers just the other day for lunch. That was a win!
I like to make homemade vegetable or bone broths too. Another cold he had last year; I was able to get him to sip on some of that to feel better. It warms you and has tons of vitamins. This time I wasn’t as lucky, but I do always have it on hand for cooking and sipping for us. We use it for ourselves when we don’t feel well.
And the best medicine for any cold is sleep and snuggles with mom!
We all know how much we enjoy extra sleep when you feel like crap. One of the days he was home with me it was a full PJ day and that’s the comfort he needed while he lounged. He got a few hours of a solid nap in that day too.
It was so hard to get him to sleep easy through the nights when that cough first set in. All of those remedies were able to ease him a bit and get us through. He still isn’t 100% since coughs can linger but he is back in daycare and we’re all sleeping a bit better knowing he is feeling better.
Let me hear some of your favorite remedies when you or your children are sick. Everyone has some to share! I hope everyone stays as healthy as they can as the season is among us.
Two Cents Worth of Mom Life 