Snotwatch 2007 Round 1 – Kristine: 1, Snot: 0

I am asking for a relapse just by typing these words, I know – but after the last post, there was some concern about how the little dictator was doing. And you should all know that he’s doing much better now, and was no where near the condition he was in for Snotwatch 2006.


Zicam is quite possibly the best working stuff I have ever stuck up my nose. I never would have tried it if I wasn’t breastfeeding, because it’s so expensive, but hot damn it works! And it doesn’t mess with Landon’s system or my milk production like decongestants and antihistamines do when I take those. There’s a lot of crap on the internet about losing your sense of smell after using them, but I have a feeling that those people did not follow instructions and seriously jammed the Q-tip thingy way up their nose, instead of just inside. I am finding these days that a lot of people must have gotten the “Does Not Listen To or Follow Directions” note on their elementary report cards.

We did a bunch of things I found on the internets to help Landon in his snot battle. Which one worked? I don’t know. Will I do all of them again next time around? Yes, because something in that combo worked, and I don’t care which one it was, and I’m not going to do the “elimination diet” on them to find out, I’ll just do them all. And I have a few more up my sleeve that we didn’t get to yet. So if next time these don’t work – I have some alternatives.

We washed – or at least placed in the dirty clothes – everything that he touched each day, his sheets, his blanket, his clothes, any burp rag that he used, and the towels we changed him on. Philosophy: the GERMS!! They are ON his clothes!!! I was watching Rachel Ray’s talk show a few weeks back – she had Dr. Harvey Karp, M.D. as a guest. He wrote The Happiest Baby on the Block, which SAVED. MY. LIFE. He said that one way to keep your school age kid from getting sick so often is to make them change clothes when they get home from school or day care, because the GERMS!! They are ON their clothes!!! Also hand washing.

I squirted breast-milk up his nose instead of saline (although occasionally I used saline) – and used the Angry Blue Snot Bulb. Philosophy: Breast-milk contains antibodies; antibodies will fight the snot battle for us!!!

I put him down to sleep in his carrier in his stroller, so he was at an incline. Philosophy: Aim snot at his belly, rather than letting it stay in his nose, and he’ll either digest it or it will irritate his stomach and he’ll puke it up – either way it leaves the system.

We set up and turned on his humidifier and ran it every time he was sleeping in there. Philosophy: Keep the snot from forming giant hard man-sized boogers.

Clinton held him in the shower for a few minutes with the Sudacare Shower Soother The box says not for use by children under 12, so I called my own personal pharmacist – what, she’s not at my beck and call every time I have a drug question? You mean she actually works for CVS? Surely you’re kidding, right? RIGHT? She said that exposure for the entire time would be too much for him – something about toxicity and menthol and eucalyptus, but a little bit of exposure would be fine. We only put him in there for a few minutes and then I took him and Clint finished his shower. Philosophy: loosen the snot.

TA DA – I’m going to keep him sleeping in the stroller for a few more days, just to make sure, and we’ll leave the humidifier on too.