Snot Rockets

I called Poison Control for the first time tonight.  David and I were in our bedroom - he was getting ready for Bible class and I was on the computer.  The baby was playing with whatever she found lying around.  We have toys and baby-safe gadgets within her grasp in our bedroom for occasions such as this. 

Now, I dig a lot of things out of her mouth on a somewhat daily basis.  Mostly ribbon.  I try, but I miss picking up some minute pieces of ribbon from my bow-making sometimes and if it's even a speck, Amelia will find it. 

So, in the bedroom.  Suddenly I turn and David is digging something out of her mouth, asking why I had a pill on my nightstand.  I didn't have a pill on my nightstand.  Apparently, a stray FenuGreek pill had found its way under the nightstand and Amelia found it.  Nursing moms will know that Fenugreek are herbal pills meant to increase milk supply.  I haven't nursed Amelia in almost 2 months, so obviously I was completely clueless as to how and when this pill wandered under my nightstand.  David retrieved the capsule from Amelia's mouth.  She had biten off the top 1/4" of the pill and that part was still in her mouth.  Fortunately, the capsule still held most of its contents.  I go digging in Amelia's now maple-sugar-smelling mouth for the top part of the capsule and its contents.  She is not happy about having my pinky finger shoved in every crevice of her mouth, but I caught a glimpse of the capsule and am determined to grab it.

I finally dug it out and called poison control.  No harm.  They took my name, Amelia's name, and her date of birth.  I can't help thinking that I'm now on file with CPS. 

David took this week off work.  Here was our plan:

- Get home improvement projects done
- Do a lot of spring cleaning
- Go to the zoo
- Go to the aquarium
- Take family walks every day
- I would get to make some bows while David watched the baby

Here's what actually is happening:

- Millie and I got sick

It's so bad that every time Amelia sneezes, David sings "Snot Rockets" to the tune of the "Hot Pockets" jingle.  You can imagine why.

Is there really a worse way to try to fall asleep than with a stuffy, yet runny, nose?  I'm an advocate of the cry-it-out method, albeit a modified version of the method, but when the baby is sick all of that gets thrown out the window. 

I put her down at 7:30 tonight.  I thought I had every possible base covered.  We stuck to the bedtime routine, I also turned her cool mist humidifier on high, Baby Rub-bed her chest and neck, gave her a dose of Benedryl to help with her nose, and slightly elevated her mattress.  She fell asleep quickly and easily.  I was so relieved.

Fast forward one hour and 10 minutes later.  Amelia wakes herself up by coughing and decides it would be a good idea to stand up in her crib and make a huge fuss.  After a few minutes seeing if she would calm down and realizing she clearly won't, I went in and tried the old "I'm right here, I wiped your nose  - oh, hey look!  It's your pacifier! - but I'm not going to pick you up" routine but she flipped out.  I rocked her.

And rocked her.

And rocked her.

The good news is that she let me rock her.  The bad news is that she didn't fall asleep, she just stared at me and played with my nostrils.

I fed her what equaled an obsene amount of formula for what she's used to at bedtime, but she drank it and wanted all of it (she is definitely one to turn down the milk if she doesn't want it).  I laid her down and she did the thing where she pops right up the second I put her on the mattress.

David got home from Bible class and we let Amelia cry in her crib for probably 10 minutes.  I was hoping she would realize how tired she was and zonk out, but I also was realistic in that the more worked up she got, the more snotty everything got.  Snotty - messy, crusty, snottiness. 
I'm a sucker and got her out of bed where she played in the darkness of our bedroom for about 30-40 minutes.  Happy as a stinking clam.  Fed her another 4 ounces which she sucked down then I put her back to bed.  She fussed for a total of 1 minute then completely sacked out.

I'm pretty sure it was 11:45pm.  Now that I'm on record with CPS I'm sure this will go in my file, too.

I'm scared of how this night and tomorrow will go for us, but hopefully she sleeps well.

P.S.  I'm having another giveaway tomorrow on my Facebook fan page, so stop by.