I suck, too!

As if my prediction about the family would get sick every 4-6 months is true, some bugs entered our system in December. Just when we were eager to go on a long-awaited trip to Penang.

Luckily, this episode was a mild one. Hubby complained besides running nose, he had also a fever, but the thermometer kept telling vice versa. Another plot to act extra babyish, I guess. Bea1 had a temperature on the morning of the day we left but it was all gone in the afternoon, when we reached Penang.

Thought we were ok when suddenly I saw traces of phlegm in Bea3's milk puke! I freaked out, I'm a third time mom but I never had a sick two-month-old before!

The next morning, I was alone with the girls when Bea3 really showed the blocked nose was irritating her. All I knew, I must get into action fast. It was such a pitiful sight.

Nasal aspirator would do the job, I thought. Hubby bought one when we brought Bea1 home for the first time. We used it twice but it never really worked. Bea1 was ok after a dose of nasal decongestant drops that was prescribed by her peadiatrician.

But Bea3 needed to be relieved right away!

The nasal aspirator comes in 3 parts, a soft silicone tiny part that is supposed to be inserted into baby's nostril, a red thing like bicycle horn that we press to get the suction and a hard plastic, sort of a funnel that connects both of them.

All I could remember, the horn was among the girls toys in the store room in one of the 3 huge toy containers. Well, the tiny silicone thing is again tiny and I didn't know where it was. All I got was:



What would I do with only that. Then, I remember something that I read from James's blog. He and wife sucked with their mouth.

But those nose and mouth are so tiny, and I have such a big mouth...er, I mean huge mouth. What if the poor baby get suffocated in the process.

But she just got to be relieved, a mother just had to do the rescue. I held her head to keep steady, and instinctly insert the top part of that thing in one nostril and sucked from the hole at the bottom.

"Slurrrrrrrrrp" yeah...I made that sound, too! Wah...not bad, could see it and it was green. Spit it on a diaper cloth. "Slurrrrrrrp" on the other, also not bad!

But poor baby was still rubbing her hands on the nose.

I got down again but this time, "SLURP" in one powerful suck! Wow...that thing really worked. Half the funnel was filled with that stuff.

And my baby was back to her angelic self again, it was like a victory to me. I kept the cloth to show to hubby, and I really felt good about it.

Went to see a doctor the next day. Not the girls' regular peaditrician but one in a teaching hospital very near my office. I was stunned when she did not prescrib anything. I even asked if she was sure about that, she just asked me to keep on sucking and return if Bea3 got a fever and had problem breathing. If it was virus, it would take some time to clear.

Think she sensed my hesitation to move my butt unless she gave us something, she just prescribed normal saline solution to clean the nose.

Anyway, though this episode is a mild one, it is also a long one,. Think I also have eaten some bugs *sniff, sniff*!

So, for those who have similar aspirator and it just does not work, I hope my idea helps a bit here. Though I would never see Mamee Slrrrp and that Mawi guy the same way again. And yes, it is salty!