There are some entries which I have started one paragraph, but never finished. Or some, where I have just written the title, having in my mind already what I am about to write, but somehow, never got to pen down my thoughts. And interestingly enough, some days, weeks or sometimes even months down the road, the issue comes back to revisit me and I find that I am simply not done with the issue and it demands to be written.
The first time we were acquainted with baby booger is when Julien was one month old. We were still trying to get used to the constant waking up at night, and had barely slept much when we were rudely awoken that morning at about 6am by a piercing cry from Julien. I was honestly scared. We had never heard him cry like that before; he sounded like he was in so much pain. I can still remember how clueless and panicky we were, or I was, anyway. I tried feeding him; he wouldn't feed. And then, we realised what it was - he had a terribly blocked nose and was having trouble breathing. I think it must have panicked him.
We took out our nasal aspirator, but it wouldn't work. Then, Daddy Low had the good sense and calmly checked the internet; I think I was a total bag of nerves by then - just the mother hen getting all worried and fluffed up. "Kan chiong spider", Daddy Low said. Amazingly, we not only found a worthy website with step-by-step instructions, but one with actually a video that accompanies it. So, we were instructed to first wet the dried-up mucus in the nose with some saline water, then use the nasal aspirator. We had no saline drops at home, so we followed the instructions to make our own - yes, it even came with that! As we dripped it down Julien's nostrils, he went ballistic, wailing his head off and turning red in the face. I felt like I was committing murder, the way he was reacting. I think we both felt really sorry we had to do this, because he was only such a wee little baby and it must have been quite scary as well as physically shocking to first have your nose stuck and unable to breathe and suddenly, next, the sensation of being choked as it flooded. But as much as it was hard, the result was stupendous. We managed to suck the offending booger out and Baby could breathe after that, and went back to a blissful sleep.
Today, two more aspirators later, we are old hands at this booger-removal business. Well, actually, Daddy Low is. I still find it difficult to put Julien through this painful process, so I have been happy to be just the accessory so far, by helping Daddy Low to hold him down. The nasal aspirator we use now is a super-duper invention, probably our star buy at the second Baby Show we attended (that is another entry I still want to write about - the Baby Show). It is a tubing with plastic removable chambers, one end plugging into a vacuum cleaner, the other to stick into Baby's nostril to do its magic work. Yes, I also thought the idea barbaric when the promoter walked us through it. But it works like a charm every time we employ it. Sucking manually never does it enough, but by using the force of the vacuum cleaner, our attempts have been a lot more effective. Having said that, I think it is still a horrible experience for Julien though. Not least the fact that the strong sucking force must hurt aside, the enormous sound of the vacuum cleaner coming to life so near to him must have made it seem like a monster. These days, when he has a blocked nose and he sees Daddy Low approaching him with the roaring vacuum cleaner, Julien squirms in my arms. He has clearly learnt that this loud monster is not a friend! And Daddy Low is right to worry that Julien may associate him with this monster... but well, when it has to be done, it has to be done. So, Julien, please bear with it and be thankful; one day, you will understand :)
Yesterday night was a torture, because this time, all three of us have fallen sick. Daddy Low and I were both suffering from a terrible sore throat and I had an itchy cough that would not go away. Poor Julien got it from me, I think - he had a blocked nose and sometimes started sneezing fits, and then his nose would become a bit runny. We tried the Babyvac on him, but it turned up nothing much. And we would still hear the pipes sounding all choked... so we figured he could be having phlegm inside that wouldn't come out as well.
All day, he was fretful and could not feed well, because he could not breathe properly. He would not be put down to lie on his own, because I think it makes the nose situation worse, so I literally carried him much of the day and from 10pm to 1am, when he fell asleep. I couldn't bare to put him down, once he had fallen asleep, 'cos he had such a hard time falling asleep in the first place. He put up a fight, when I finally put him in bed. And throughout the night, we would hear his laboured breathing, as well as him tossing and turning, crying away. It was very painful to be coughing away ourselves and suffer a scratchy throat, but to hear your little one suffering is worse, especially because we could not do anything more to help him other than switch on the humidifier.
Today, we went out to the pharmacy and got him a whole host of stuff including gripe water. I gave him some Calpol (baby paracetomol) and he seemed to like the taste and it did seem to help. He still has difficulty breathing, but he was able to sleep more easily. And when I gave him his last feed, he actually was back to his normal playful nature of feeding, unlatching, smiling at me, then feeding again. We also played a bit, where he gurgled away in laughter before bedtime.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be even better for all of us. My sore throat and cough are starting to feel like they might be on the retreat and I had been able to get some sleep just now when Julien was also asleep. And hopefully, tonight will be a better night and Daddy Low can get some rest too. With Christmas being just one week away, we want to be better soon!
A friend shared that babies need 345 days of sickness before they turn 6 to achieve full auto immunisation. I don't know how this figure was arrived at, but if true, that means we are just at the beginning of the process. Oh dear, bon courage indeed!
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