Sunday 19 October 2014

Coughs, Colds & Medicine... Sometimes

No one can prepare you for your Babies first cold, second cold, third cold..
My heart breaks everytime she coughs, as a parent you can feel so helpless at times.
As an adult, a cold comes and goes, for women, usually with little compliant.
When your little one catches a cold, totally different story, life upset.
Just when you've cracked the nights sleeping, here comes a cold!
A, sleeps from 7 until 7, when a cold comes, maybe 7 until 10, 10 until 1, 1 until 4.... You can see the pattern.
This puts a major strain on my energy levels and it soon feels like the first two weeks I brought her home, without the adrenaline and DB's help! 
Medicine is not something I rely on, personally I think you have to ride out a cold, even when I have a cold, manuka honey and lemon, a good diet and plenty if water.
Lemsip, beechams and most over the counter drugs are pointless, all they do is fill you with caffeine and a psychological feeling of wellness until 4 hours later when you can have another one. 
I believe this is the same for calpol, Nurofen and calprofen. They are amazing for bringing down a fever but as for coughs and runny noses, you are just giving baby unessercary sugar.
I do make sure I monitor A's coughs, she has had two chest infections, one at 4 months and one at 9months, for both she has had to have amoxicillin. When she has the amoxicillin medicine I just give her the stated dose until it clears, I don't give it to her for 7 days, babies don't need to "finish the course" their immune system doesn't need to take any more beatings than it should and they can't fight back as quick as we can.
I've always, from day dot, found it hard to get medicine down A. I've tried every which way going, side of the mouth, dummy in, bottle in, disguised by food, syringe, spoon and in the bottle. She does not like it. All I can say Mummy's, is persevere!! Babies aren't textbook, everyday is different, try it all and mix it up!