Stuffleufagus

We left Orlando on Friday, but Orlando didn't exactly leave Kaylani. She loved it so much that she ended up taking a little something home with her. She didn't take a tan home, or a piece of palm tree, or even a Mickey Mouse souvenier. What she did take home, unfortunately, was a stuffy nose.

It first started on Thursday morning, and we noticed it when she woke up crying like this: "wahhhh wahhhh snifffffffffffffff wahhh wahhhh sniffffff." It was then that we knew something was up...up her nose that is. But, as soon as we picked her up, they went away and we thought nothing of it. Thursday night was a bit worse, and by 3am on Friday morning, she sounded like she was having a real hard time breathing. To try and help, Daddy ran out to Walgreens and bought a nasal aspirator and some saline drops (Little Noses had a convenient kit).

The instructions seemed simple. First, you use the aspirator to clear out any loose mucous. Then you take the saline drops and drip a few on the base of her nose/upper lip. Let that sit for 12-15 seconds, then aspirate out the now looser mucous. Like I said, the instructions seemed simple.

If you've ever used a nasal aspirator, it's not the most comforting thing to use. Think about it, you have to squeeze a bulb so that air comes inside through a plastic tube, then stick that plastic tube in your baby's nose, and let the bulb go slowly to suck whatever's up her nose back into the tube. Doesn't exactly sound as fun as the Winnie the Pooh ride at Disney!

Forget the fact that it doesn't sound like fun to use, it's actually not fun to use either. When Kaylani is struggling because she can't breathe through her nose, and she's crying because her dad has now jammed a nasal aspirator into her cheek, her lip, or into the side of her nose instead of in her nostril because he's nervous and she's moving, it really becomes not fun. Then, when the nasal aspirator finally finds it's way into her nose, and Daddy is finally able to release the bulb to suck out any loose mucous, that's when Kaylani screams at the top of her lung, like he's tugging on a string connected directly to his own heart. Oh, and you have to do that at least 2 times to make sure everything is out...IN EACH NOSTRIL!

And, since Mommy doesn't want to do it because she doesn't want to be the one to make Kaylani cry, that also means that Daddy gets waken up at whatever time in the morning to come clear out Kaylani's nose. So, picture all of that I just said above with the poking her in the side of the nose, cheek, lip, and then double it since Daddy has only 1 eye open (yes, and it's a small eye open) because its somewhere between 1 and 4am and he's sleeping.

I'm getting worked up just thinking about it, and I just did it for the fourth time in four days about 10 minutes ago. But at least it works. Kaylani stops crying within a minute, and when she does, you can hear it....nothing. She can breathe! It's a great feeling. Of course, to try and avoid doing this everyday, we thought our Pediatrician would have some magic potion that would get rid of the stuffy nose. So Mommy and Kaylani went to the Pediatrician's office today, and she did have a solution. She said that if we used a nasal aspirator and saline drops, then it would help her breathe. Great! Thanks! Here's my $20 copay!

Oh, and the Pediatrician also says that the saline drops are supposed to be squirted with some force up her nose instead of just a few drops. That makes things a lot less fun for everyone, but it also helped work. Hopefully, this stuffy nose will go away for good within a few more days. And until then, looks like Daddy The Aspirator to the rescue, no matter what time it is.

Since Kaylani is breathing clear and ready for bed, it's time for Daddy to get some sleep after his first day back to work in quite some time. And for all of you who procrastinated as much as I did today, here are some pictures to help you procrastinate some more. Enjoy!