How to...really make your baby mad.

There are at least two things that don't come naturally when it comes to baby care. One is breastfeeding - and while I agree that it is very natural and that once it's estabished it comes very naturally, it takes a great deal of patient perserverance to make it work. The other is using a nasal aspirator.


You know, you worry in advance about how hard it will be to take a rectal temperature, but that is actually quite straightforward. They make using a nasal aspirator look sooooooo easy in the hospital - the way those nurses whip it around. But no one gives you a good lesson in how to use those things, so here I am to do the world a favor:

Step 1: Wait until your baby is ravenously hungry to realize that he/she is congested. The concern that he/she won't be able to breathe while eating will make all this much more fun.

Step 2: Using a baby version of saline drops (like Little Noses), drip a single drop into each nostril. The baby will forget all about being hungry and really start to scream!

Step 3: Squeeze the bulb of the aspirator - it is very (VERY) important to remember not to hold the aspirator toward your baby's face as the puff of air will not improve his/her mood...at all!

Step 4: While squeezing the bulb, insert the tip into one of your infant's incredibly tiny nostrils - not pushing, but far enough in to make a seal.

Step 5: Press the other nostril closed and immediately let go of the bulb, so that it sucks out whatever is congesting your child.

Step 6: Pull the aspirator away - giving the baby the false sense that all this mess is over.

Step 7: Repeat with other nostril.

By the way, you may have to do all this more than once on each nostril. All this sounds simple enough, but try doing this with an older baby who still can't blow his or her nose. Yeah, fun. At least with a newborn all they can do is scream like you're pulling their toenails out.

So, let me say that I'm very thankful that Caleb can now blow his own nose and I look forward to the day that Annalise can do the same.