Sleeping with a toddler

Z has had a rotten cold for the past few days. He is just so miserable.

The FDA withdrew all decongestants for children under 2, saying that they were not effective, and the risks outweighed the benefits. I was a bit stunned- I am not real big on medications for my kids unless absolutely necessary, but decongestants when they had colds was a HUGE thing for me. From what I understand, most of the side effects were occurring when the child was accidentally overdosed, though sometimes the product was being used as directed.

I just am not entirely sure that was a good move. If the people who caused the recall did so by not using the product exactly as directed, what's to stop them now? Worse, now they are having to guess at the proper dose, as dosing instructions appear for kids age 6 and up.

Since the recall, I have tried to use alternative methods for treating a stuffy nose in my younger kids. I must say that I have had miserable results. So, I have become one of "those" parents in a new way. I buy the triaminic cough/congestion strips, and give Z 1/4 of one when he gets really bad. It is extremely effective for him.

The last two nights have been miserable for him. Night before last, I tried the alternative ways of treating him, with no success. He woke up crying in the night several times. He couldn't breathe, and he had all kinds of crud coming out of his eyes. I put him in bed with me, because if nothing else, Mommy makes everything a little better.

Sleeping with a sick toddler is like sleeping with a bag of angry cats, only a little less peaceful. He was rolling all over, kicking, snorting, flailing. He ended up perpendicular to us. He would take turns which direction he would lay- so sometimes I was getting kicked in the face, and sometimes it was J. Considering J had taken Nyquil, he was blissfully unaware of any of this.

Last night started out the same way, except he seemed even more miserable, if you can believe it. Around 2am, I finally broke down and gave him some of the triaminic. Ahhhhhh, bliss! Within a half hour, his nose started to drain so he could breathe, and he immediately quieted down and went to sleep. This morning he woke up really chipper, though he's a walking snot bubble again. He does seem to be developing a mild case of Papyrophobia (fear of paper, especially tissues coming near his nose), but is otherwise unscathed.

Upon checking my sheets, there are snail trails all over the bed where he was attempting to sleep. Note to self: when having a snotty baby in bed with me, have light colored sheets so snail trails aren't visible.


I hope he gets over this cold soon.