Petri Dishes for Playmates

Jude has another nasty cold.

I thought we were maybe getting done with all this sickness.  I truly believed that his constant colds/illnesses were a combination of being so young, during the worst winter I can remember, combined with the fact that he goes to a daycare center and is around so many other young kids (or Petri dishes, as I prefer to call them).  The weather has just started to get warm and a sense of relief has come about that cold and flu season is nearing its end.

No such luck.

The first telltale sign that Jude is coming down with a nasty cold is eye drainage.  Ew.  It gets all green and gunky and seals his eye shut overnight.  Poor guy.  I have some drops that clear it up, but it's always the first sign that things are going south.  Congestion sets in.  Then the coughing.  Then the all night wakings.  At that point, our world becomes a sea of saline drops, nasal aspirators, cool mist humidifiers, and Boogie Wipes.
Our pediatrician has repeated over and over that the typical newborn/baby gets about 12 colds a year.  It seems like Jude constantly has one.  Hell, he was hospitalized for RSV for five days back in February.  I can't help but get sort of panic-y when he gets sick now.  Although the RSV virus was special, he ran a 102-103 degree fever the entire time and that was his first symptom before anything else.  He isn't running a fever this time.  Thank goodness.

I just hate when Jude is perfectly healthy and I go to pick him up from daycare and he is happily playing with a friend.  Then, the friend turns around to grin at me and all I can see is the river of snot pouring out of his nose and I know that Jude will have a cold in about 48 hours.  Ugh.

I guess it's the expected repurcussions in the glamourous life of a working mom who sends her kid to daycare.

Nostalgic over retired new baby items

Our neighbors recently had a little girl and we went over with a big care package for them of everything we found completely necessary during the first six months.  Infant Tylenol, Vick's Baby Rub (um, that stuff smells so good I often smear it on myself.  Not kidding), saline drops for stuffy noses (essential for any daycare-going babe, Jude has an eternally dripping nose), Fold & Go diapering kit, big box of Pampers Sensitive wipes (if you're going to do disposable wipes, these are the gentlest, the next little one we have, we will be using cloth wipes I think), a package of baby hair bows (SIGH- love my little boy but hairbows on  baby girls are just TO DIE), and Trumpette Mary Jane socks (:::squeal of cuteness:::). 

I guess we still use all of that stuff on Jude, but slowly we are putting some new, new baby stuff away.

The Boppy.  My breastfeeding companion that saved my arms and sanity during the early days.  Jude is so efficient at nursing now that he's done in ten minutes.  He can support his own weight so I don't really have to hold him.  Since he started sitting unsupported at 5 months, we haven't used it for extra support for him either.  Thank you, Boppy, and I commend you for a job well done. 

The bouncy seat and the swing. Both retired.  I remember reading on the manuals for both of those items that you couldn't use them once baby exceeded 25 pounds.  I remember thinking "Oh, well that's awesome, we'll probably be using these for well over a year."  Um, Jude was squirming and scheming ways out of them by 6 months and 16 pounds. 

The Bumbo chair.  He catapulted himself out of this at 5-6 months as well.  It served its purpose for a short time I suppose.  In retrospect, I think I would've saved the $40 (ridiculous pricetag in my opinion) and skipped it or bought a used one off Craigslist.  It's a rubber/plastic chair for God's sake, buy it used and wipe it down with a sani wipe.

My trusty Lansinoh ointment.  I couldn't have lived without it in the early days for our awful latch issues.  Now that we're such a great breastfeeding team, I never have pain or "injuries" anymore.  So I guess the only use I have for my previous favorite baby item is for when Jude's lips get a little chapped from the cold weather. 

The Moby.  Ahhh, the Moby.  The ONLY way Jude would nap during the first three months.  We're big fans of babywearing in our house  (a long post about this will happen this spring- my favorite babywearing season, I'm sure) and this one was absolutely wonderful for the newborn days.  We do still use it occasionally and I'm sure will continue to this summer.  The only complaint I have is that for a bigger baby, the material stretches out after wearing him for awhile.  I buy this for almost every baby shower.  If I am invited to your babyshower and you're reading this, sorry for the spoiler.  :)

Actually, I think I need to do a few "my favorite/unfavorite things" post.  More to come!