I bought Madison a light switch extender months ago, she could barely reach it when we first put it on. But she has since become a pro and I have installed a second one in her room in the reading corner as well as her bathroom. She loves them and insists on being the one to turn off her light after we read. If she isn't finished reading, I say "The light is going OFF, do you want to turn it off or have Momma do it." I never get to do it!
The ones I found are called Kidswitch and they glow in the dark and have a moon shape that happens to go really well in Madison's room. She is facinated with the moon but that is for another post. Below is a photo of her illustrating how it works! (the best price I found was on Amazon and in a three pack) The first one I bought was at a specialy baby store and I paid 2X+ the amount as I did for the three pack online. Lesson Learned.
No one told me when I become a Mom that one of my primary responsibilities would be sucking so much snot! People tell you about all kinds of gross things you will do as a Mom and most are related to bathroom activities and barf (at least the ones that I had the fortune of having shared with me)....I don't remember anyone telling me about all the boogers. I have heard about 'snot nosed kids' but I never knew what a reality that would become for me. I swore I would NEVER have a kid with snot running down her face. Yea right, just like the kid that I refused to have that has a pacifier! UGG. I am fortunate though that Madison HATES having a runny nose and will say "Nose runnin' again." to get you to wipe it as soon as she feels it! While this is annoying after about the 50th time, it is helpful in keeping with my desire to not have her let it run and lick it off! Hey, I warned you this was gross.
I read somewhere to expect your child to get 10 colds a year! Are you kidding me? That is nearly 1 every month. When you take into account the sniffles prior to the cold, the height of the snot production mid cold and the post cold drips, that is A LOT OF SNOT for a lot of weeks! And if you are really lucky you get to experience that thick snot that gags your baby resulting in the all offensive barfing episode.
Did you keep that 'bulb syringe' from the hospital? For us, it was the only one that worked even remotely well and I know because I bought EVERY ONE I could find (Even the battery operated automatic music playing one - that was a BIG no go!) I often thought of going to the hospital to steal another one. I snuck several receiving blankets out but it never dawned on me to request a spare booger getter!
I was lucky, Madison was 14 months old before she got her first cold, Christmas #2. I think it is a tradition, we BOTH had one for Christmas #3. But let me tell you, she has made up for it this last year. Let's just say, I hate SNOT.
Actually I have 2 favorite BOOGER related products. The first are Boogie Wipes, wipes soaked in saline. The grape ones smell great and the product is Mom invented and I think that is cool. Madison likes them and will tell me "I need get a Boogie wipe" when she has a 'GIANT booger' she wants me to get out. She HATES having boogers. You can get them at Target and Amazon (the wipes, not the boogers...well depending on your store:-) and I have seen them at Baby's R Us as well. Madison did tell me the 'menthol' ones 'hurt' her once but then tried them again and they were fine. Makes sense though, especially if the nose is raw from wiping already.
I found this next product on Amazon and read about it several months prior to purchasing it. I remember telling my Mom "Hey I found you a booger getter to try. I'll buy it, you try it, and if it works, I will try it." It is called NoseFrida and is a nasal aspirator where YOU are the SUCKER, literally! There is 'filter' that keeps you from actually sucking the boogers in your mouth, but I still had my Mom try it before I would believe it! She became an instant believer and I followed suit soon after.
It is so much easier than the hospital syringe, cleaner, less abrasive, quick, and best of all EFFECTIVE! It is made in Switzerland and also available on Amazon and Target. Below are a few photos of Madison illustrating how it works. See, so easy a 2 year old can do it! While she doesn't REALLY do it, it does illustrate that she doesn't MIND it and grasps the concept of how Mommy does it. (Depending on the severity of the snot situation, I sometimes will premoisten her nose with either saline drops or saline mist.) On my wish list for our "never going to happen house renovation" is a steam shower. I think it is a medical necessity with all this snot production!
Yes, Santa brought her some Piggy Paint in her stocking. WHAT was HE thinking? :-)
