Anna's First Cold

After all of the germs that have been flying around, our family caught one. Anna still seems upbeat despite the congested chest and nose. The biggest difference is that she is not sleeping well during the day or at night. Poor girl :(

Yesterday I invested in an ear thermometer for fear of taking her temperature rectally. I bought one made by Braun and it was very easy to use. I just hope the guards that cover the thermometer with each use are easy to find once we run out. Thankfully, Anna did not have a fever (at this age they need to see a doctor with anything over 102). Today I decided at the recommendation of a friend to call the pediatrician to see what advice they had for me. They suggested the following:

- use a cool mist humidifier
- elevate her head in her crib with a wedge
- do lots of nasal suctioning (prior to feeding)
- use saline nose drops to help with suctioning

I also found out they prefer to have a rectal temperature for accuracy, yikes! So I got out the rectal thermometer (Vicks Baby thermometer - I liked it because it had a short end so that it could not be inserted too far) and read the directions. With shaking hands I used the thermometer and determined once again that Anna didn't have a fever. Anna was a trooper and handled it much better than expected - sorry girl!