Aural Dissatisfaction

I thought Caroline could not get any worse and then, last night, there she was - worse. She coughed so much she threw up. And later she was just screaming and screaming until I put her on my shoulder and started to jostle her in compound triple time, at which point she finally fell asleep and began to snore like a man twenty times her size. It's funny - in a biological instincts are the darnedest things kind of a way - but when Caroline and Edward and Patrick were up the other nights I was, like, oh god, why me, this again, must sleep. But last night when it was obvious to the meanest intellect that Caroline was well and truly really sick I moved into another frame of mind altogether. Like, it was absolutely no problem whatsoever to sit there like a Barcalounger for as long as she needed me, just happy to help, glad to the be on the team. I sat in her room and let her sleep on my chest until it started to get light out, then I shifted her to her crib as gently as one brushes flies from the highly-congested Venus. Poor little poppyseed mini-muffin.

So - speaking of the seeds of the poppy - I brought her into the pediatrician this morning. I knew it was a virus. I knew he would tell me it was a virus. But after the week we have had my plan was to fix him with my gimlet eye and ask him what we can do to make her a little more comfortable while she is recovering from this virus. You know, a little more comfortable. Surely there is something out there beyond sprinkling the child with eye of newt and aligning her crib with Mercury in retrograde. Are we or are we not the country that put a man on the moon in order to prove that decongestants work in reduced gravity? Yes, yes, the humidifer is going full blast, I did try the Vicks Vaporub on the feet (thank you for the suggestion - and the need to use old socks,) and I have been using the saline and a nose bulb with the energy of one who expects to extract actual gold - not that I resent any or all helpful suggestions in this area; just that Caroline seemed to have passed the point where mentholated anything was going to do much to improve her outlook. Or mine.

It is with a hollow laugh that I remember when the whole no-more-cold-medicine-for-little-kids thing first went down. I was pregnant with Caroline and Edward at the time and I wrote a post over at REDBOOK talking about how very hard I thought this sucked. I envisaged a future during which one of the babies formerly known as the thirteens would get a crap-assed cold and how sad I would be to not be able to offer Dimetapp or Robitussin or (my personal childhood favorite) Dimetapp and Robitussin swished together. Oh. I just remembered. That was the post upon which someone left a nasty comment saying something like, "Does anyone else think it is ridiculous that you are talking about not giving your kids cold medicine after all the drugs you have taken to get and stay pregnant?" And I read over what I had written and then re-read her comment and thought, "No. No one else thinks that. Also, you're a real dummy dope, lady."

[Dummy dope is a term created by Patrick and applied first to his sister when she tried and tried and tried - and failed - to climb onto a chair despite the fact that it was too tall for her to reach. Although we (of course) discourage name-calling and general sibling unkindness I had to laugh privately at Patrick's uncanny resemblance to a 1930s Hollywood thug: "Say, Caroline, you're a real dummy dope, you know that? Yeah, that's what you are, a real dummy dope." Pure James Cagney.]      

Anyway, my hope was that the pediatrician was going to say "Well, we now recommend not treating cold symptoms under the age of 29 but... since you are looking at me so significantly... here's a bottle of Big Dr. Pharma's Electro Magnetic Blood and Liver Tonic that has been clinically proven to improve recovery times by 1000%. It's what I give my own kids."  

What he actually said was, "Ear infection. Right ear. Pretty nasty." And he gave me a prescription for Big Dr. Pharma's Mug Wamp Specific (street name: amoxicillin.) Thus Caroline is starting her first ever round of antibiotics and I can only imagine what it will do to her delicate digestive system. It is to shudder but hey, maybe in just another day or two we can go back to my only waking up once per night per child. Wouldn't that be delightful.

I just wrote a paragraph about Edward's continued good health but hastily deleted it once I realized what I was doing. Call me superstitious but experience has taught me that the best way to insure that a child gets sick is to plan a vacation and the second best way is to speak cheerfully about how healthy he is. So scratch that. Edward has a slight cough. We are prostrated with anxiety. Nothing to see here, Comeupance, move it along. 

When they are not sick, they are walking. It's the latest rage. For Caroline walking is a novelty, like taking a borrowed Segway for a spin. When she really wants to get somewhere she crawls as the good Lord intended for her to do. Edward, in contrast, finds walking for the sake of walking enchanting. He walks therefore he is. I will be standing in the kitchen and he'll toddle past me like a tourist, all smiles and pointing (Look, Mom! Big Ben! Parliament!) before rounding the center island and passing me again (Big Ben! Parliament!) Lately he has been experimenting with running, which is a terrible idea. When one struggles with balance it is a good idea to go slower; not speed up. He's a phrenologist's dream. When he isn't slamming head first into walls he is being brought down backwards by Caroline's horse-collar tackle. She likes to wobble up behind Edward as he is taking a stroll and then grab him by the back of his shirt. One firm yank and down he goes, apples over elbows. There's a reason why that's a fifteen yard penalty you know - it's vicious.

My sister-in-law once loaned me a pair of maternity pants (this was before I went on bedrest and pants became superfluous.) When I tried them on for her approval she looked at me blankly, as she obviously had no recollection of ever having seen the garment before in her life.

"Maybe this will help," I said and hoisted the legs of the pants up until they resembled the capris they were designed to be.

"Oh!" she said and proceeded to laugh for about fifteen minutes.  

I found these pants for Caroline in a bag of hand-me-downs from my friend with twin girls.

 

And I thought they were cute. But I was confused by the odd fit - baggy is some places and snug in others - until I read the tag and realized they are sized 18-24 months and were intended to be worn like Bermuda shorts.

Shorts as pants: a little fashion trick Cricket learned from her mother.

Oh, and Caroline eventually pushed the music tables over to the chair and climbed up that way.

Who's the dummy dope now; eh wiseguy?

PS I do not mean to denigrate your helpful holistic suggestions as I lament a lack of baby cold drugs. I'm just tired. I actually quite like to read these ideas and I almost always try them out. So, any wisdom on ear infections? And any thoughts on how to keep the antibiotics from playing havoc on Caroline's tummy; bearing in mind that more than a tablespoon of yogurt tends to go right through her?

Comments

[Morgan S.]

I have no advice re: colds and ear infections. I just wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your writing and seeing what you and your family are up to!

[Amy]

Acidophilus capsules - open one up daily and sprinkle it on whatever she'll eat. Bah on the yogurt since my kid would have to eat 14 containers of it a day to make any difference and that organic stuff is way too expensive anyway. We had zero diaper issues by doing this with the last course of antibiotics (z-pak).

I did ask the pediatrician about this course of action after the fact and she not only ok'd it but also seemed rather intrigued and said she would try it out on her kids next.

Hope Caroline feels better soon!

[Hue]

My baby just recovered from an ear infection as well. My pediatrician recommended I start her on probiotics as soon as we finished with the antibiotics. You can find them in stores like Whole Foods. Just mix a 1/4 tsp with whatever foods she likes best once a day. Repeat every day for a month.

Hope she feels better soon!

[Elizabeth]

The no-cold-medicine is torture. My son was about a year when the rules changed and I find it hard to believe that a tiny, tiny dose, that I know he can metabolize safely, can really be so dangerous. But of course we've been scared into submission.

I wish I had a suggestion for a homeopathic, safe cure-all, but all I can say is that we prop him up to sleep in the old boppy and it seems to minimize the fluids in his head.

[MindyMax]

Bananas, rice, applesauce BEFORE things start running through her.

And for me (and my kids), Mentholatum is the BOMB - just a teeny tiny bit under the nose - helps with the 'tickly throat' stuff like nothing else I've tried. It's not nearly as 'strong' as Vicks which my kids would never let me use.

Hand in there and while I'm sorry the babes are sick, I'm hopeful the antibiotics will have Caroline on the mend and the worst of the ordeal past.

[MindyMax]

Oops - HANG in there. Duh.

[Sara]

God bless you and thanks for the laughs. I went to bed early, coughed myself awake and here I am laughing outloud at my computer when I should be getting much needed sleep. No help for little Caroline - my son also gets instant diahrea when I so much as say the word antibiotic, but have yet to figure out the magic cure for that. We've tried granulated probitiocs (can not recall the "real" name, but got them over the counter at Walmart) for my older son and they did seem to help some...but not enough if you ask me! Good luck. Thanks again for making me laugh outloud! Can't get enough of those kids of yours!

[Ang]

Probiotics...refrigerated if you can find them. We use this one:
http://www.jarrow.com/product/227/Jarro_Dophilus_FOS
I open up the capsules and sprinkle them into applesauce, PB & J, drinks...they don't have any taste. You could also try Soy yogurt if it is the dairy that bothers her. (I have gone off dairy as it gives my breastfed baby a very irritated intestine - I like the Wildwood soy yogurt.)
Good Luck!

[Danielle]

Acidophilus. No question about it. My doctor prescribed it for my son today along with his Antibiotic as well for a double ear infection and tonsil infection. (Good times in my house right now). Little did she know he has been taking it since he was 6 weeks old for his own "delicate" tummy. If you can't find the "kids" version, you can just open up a capsule as suggested above and dump it on her food. Most drugstores carry the capsule/adult variety, Whole Foods (in Canada) carries the kid stuff. Also... the Vicks on the feet? Really works. For us anyhow. Good luck.

[tarynlouise]

I have been lurking for weeks now...I was diverted here after your REDBOOK gig ended.

You are far and away, one of the best writers I have ever read. I don't read a lot of blogs, but love to read magazines, books, anything...and now have been turned on to blogs.

You seriously must have the funniest son IN THE WORLD, and your stories crack me up. Want to know something else? One post, when you mentioned that Patrick was excited he sounded like a 33 being played at 45...I was like WTF. Then you proceeded to mention that if I didn't know what that meant, I was clearly not old enough to be reading and should move along. You also had a bias against that quarterback (for the Ravens if I recall correctly?) because he was born in 1985. Well, so was I. And I LOVE your blog. I started reading the 'Mom Moment' because I was tired of reading the other, trashy fictional blogs on that website when I was sitting at my desk, bored at work. I DON'T EVEN HAVE KIDS. I'M NOT EVEN MARRIED. Pathetic, I know. Like, can't I find something better to with my time, like drinking and partying and carrying-on instead of reading about the highs and lows of bearing children? It's so very riveting.

Alas, I don't have any advice to offer on ear infections, or anything of the like. I just tune in for enjoyment and have finally caught up to 'real time' after reading all your archives. I guess I could have just emailed this 6000-word essay of a comment. Just wanted to say, HI! And I think you're great.

Also, I'm Canadian. I crawled out of my igloo just long enough to say No, -30 isn't cold enough for schools to be closed. My schools were NEVER closed. And I DO talk funny.

[Gina]

After my baby (age 3 1/2 months) was sick with a cold for a week I took him to the Dr. He checked him over...ears, eyes, and throat were fine, so he sent him home with a diagnosis of a "cold". A few days later, he was worse, so I took him to the Dr. again and SHE checked him over and once again, sent him home with a diagnosis of "cold". Two nights in a row I got no sleep because I was so worried with how my baby sounded and looked. He was so miserable! The day after his last Dr. appt he woke up wheezing and I took him to the ER. He was found to be RSV positive and had a slight touch of pneumonia. He was admitted and kept in the hospital for 4 days with oxygen supplementing him. Poor baby. They gave him antibiotics for the pneumonia and gave him oxygen to help his breathing (his oxygen levels kept dipping). He's fine now. But, sometimes it's just a "virus" and a "cold", but watch out for wheezing or other worrisome signs...Hope they get better soon!

[Anna M]

They make ear drops which are essentially novacaine. It relieves the pain long enough for ibuprofen to kick in -- WHICH IS NOT COLD MEDICINE!

[Veronica]

I'm thinking seriously about buying enough Dimetapp to fill a small bedroom, because they are talking about taking it off the shelves here too. Failing that, do you think I'd get into trouble if I tried to mail you some? [Wouldn't be much good though, would take AT LEAST 10 days to reach you].

[Veronica]

Oh and antibiotics on a delicate stomach? No fun. My daughter was allergic to milk protein, so when she was on antibiotics, I couldn't even use yogurt to help prevent thrush. Inevitably she would get thrush and diarrhoea together which is no fun. Fingers crossed Caroline doesn't, but if she does, don't worry it passes.

(We went through 6 months where Amy would come down with an ear infection at least every 3-4 weeks. No fun whatsoever. However, she had her last one at about 12 months and we haven't had another since.)

[Helen]

It looks like Caroline is about to do a cartwheel in that photo. They are so adorable. Sorry, no advice about the ear infection.

[Carla Hinkle]

If this is her first round of antibiotics, it is not inevitable that she'll do badly. My kids never even seem to notice that they have had antibiotics.

Also: I know I have preached this sermon here before, but please do not underestimate the power of the infant ibuprofen. I really give it for any type of sickness (cough, runny nose, congestion, ear infection, you name it) b/c while it certainly doesn't speed healing, it is AMAZING at relieving symptoms of all sorts, and (with my kids at least) has virtually no side effects.

[Jennifer H.]

I'm a big fan of infant ibuprofen for ear infections (and teething). The discomfort of an ear infection is related to the inflammation, and ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory as well as a pain reliever and an anti-pyretic (fever reducer). Last time my son was on antibiotics, my pediatrician sheepishly told me that when her kids were on antibiotics, she broke open probiotic capsules and just poured the powder into their mouths once a day. Then she said something about, "that's not necessarily something I'd suggest my patients do...." But if its good enough for her kids, then by golly its good enough to leave as a blog comment!

[jen]

sorry about the ear infection etc. I have no advice, just a tiny round of 19th-c applause for the mention of phrenology and the nice references to quack medicines.

[haitian-american family of three]

Julia, I just want to tell you that I've been reading for years and your writing is extraordinary. Not only are you honest and funny the way you put words together is brilliant and I am always so glad to see a new post.

[Elizabeth Hosto]

Can't help with the antibiotic problem but I most definitely second the numbing ear drops, they are the bomb and also alternating Motrin and Tylenol so that the poor kid never comes down off of the pain meds (since they are two totally different pain relievers you can overlap them with no problem, works for adults too). Good luck and I hope everyone is all better soon.

[Brenna]

Absolutely, get her probiotics. All the digestive benefits of yogurt, with none of the dairy side effects.

[peeks]

julia i'm just getting over an ear infection (my first at the age of 40) and i cannot believe how painful and horrible it is.

google tells me that it is mainly a problem for children and they should get over it pretty quickly, although it may cause 'some discomfort'. well poor bloody patronised children, it is screaming agony. not to mention the loss of balance and nausea.

i don't think cold medicines would make any difference - heavy duty painkillers and lots of them. i was mixing paracetamol and ibuprofen when it was very bad - sorry do not know the american for them. also she might be deaf / blocked ear for a while after (i still am).

[peeks]

oh and i had to stop taking the antibiotics (under doctor's advice) as they were making me even sicker. so it can and will clear up without them.

i have seen reference to antibiotic ear drops but depends whether middle or inner ear infection i think.

[Elaine at Lipstickdaily]

I love your writing and your blog, sister. Keep it up!

[Toni]

I gotta say Probiotics like everyone else. My girls (knock on MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF WOOD) haven't really been too sick - but they did get the occational ear infection. No problems with the probiotics :)

Good luck and get some sleep. It's hard to keep up if you're not sleeping!

[jenn]

Seconding the powdered acidophilus! You can get it at a health food store. My youngest had such a delicate tummy that we went through five months of godawful nonspecific diarrhea and numerous gastroenterologist appts. with her until a kind friend keyed me in to the acidophilus. Diarrhea halted within two days, never to return again.

(We sprinkled it in pudding or yogurt.)

[TeacherMommy]

Acidophilus for sure--but I also have a suggestion to help with the ear infection. My beloved doctors combine holistic and "conventional" approaches, and one thing they've recommended to help with ear infections is garlic oil drops. The oil comes in little glass bottles with an eye dropper--check your local health food store. You warm the bottle (and therefore the oil) by placing it in a cup of hot water, then drip a few drops in each ear and plug gently with cotton. This does two things: (1) the oil balances the painful pressure the poor dumpling is getting from that nasty fluid hanging out in there and therefore relieves a good bit of the pain, and (2) garlic has natural healing properties that will help speed the process. It's worked for my boys.

You just have to resist the urge to eat the kidlet up, since he/she will smell like some delicious Italian dish. Imagine my torment when I had to use the garlic oil once on a wee one who was also lusciously smothered with virgin olive oil to deal with his cradle cap. It was all I could do to keep my nibbles from turning into gobbles...

Good luck!

[Crystal G.]

I would strongly recommend the numbing eardrops that others have mentioned. They are a Godsend, as is Ibuprofen. To counteract the effects of the antibiotics, I gave my daughter Culturelle. It comes in capsules and you just sprinkle it on their food. Also starting the BRAT diet proactively as someone else suggested may help. My daughter is now 18-months and had such bad ear infections that she had tubes inserted at 12 months. We thought her constant congestion was due to allergies so we had her on a maintenance dose of Zyrtec for months. But then I started reading about Sinupret and switched her to that about 6 weeks ago. It has made quite a difference in her constant runny nose, etc. She has had very little congestion and I'm hoping that this is the answer we were looking for. (Sinupret is an all-natural herbal formula developed in Europe to strengthen the immune system and promote respiratory health.) Hope that some of this helps. Good luck!

[Trisha]

Florastor for Kids is a miracle worker. No prescription necessary, but you do have to get it from a pharmacy. Down here Target, Walgreens, and CVS all carry it. Just sprinkle a packet of it in her milk or whatever else she may be drinking.

Also, follow each dose of the antibiotics with a Hershey Kiss. I kid you not. This totally prevents the antibiotic-toxic diarrhea. I *heart* our asthma specialist who first clued me into this little bit of magic.

And if she gets a nasty diaper rash, call your ped immediately and tell him/her that you need a prescription for Nystatin.

My own personal Mr. Rash just survived a 10-day treatment of Amoxicillin of his own with nary a speed bump, thanks to our hitting him with Florastor and Chocolate and Nystatin from day one. It was a cause for great celebration in our house.

[jen]

First ear infection? First? My son is on his fourth! We had amoxicillin the first time and it burned his bottom. Literally, it peeled. It was horrible. But the next one we requested a different antibiotic and it does much better. So if you are finding that she reacts poorly, request a different one. We also use Culturelle, which is a probiotic you can find at most any pharmacy. I had to ask where to find it but it does seem to help (we can't do any yogurt either because of dairy allergy). Hopefully she'll be better for you soon.

[zenoma]

"FlorastorKids" is a probiotic sold over-the-counter at most pharmacies (but it's actually "behind the counter" so you have to ask. Usually costs $9-11 for a box of ten little packets of little granules. You mix it in food/milk/juice/water/whatever twice a day. Give it to her while on the antibiotics and it will help greatly!! It supposedly it a fruity taste, but they really don't taste it.

Ibuprofen will help with pain. It hurts to lay flat when you have an ear infection!! :( You can also try to prop her mattress a litle so she's at a little incline. (use something under the mattress, not under her..you know, safety blah blah blah.)

Many ear infections are viral anyway so the antibiotics may or may not help. Either way, she should be feeling better soon.

Coung and cold medicine themselves aren't dangerouse for kids. Caregivers are dangerous for kids :) The whole deal is that people were overdosing kids and causing trouble for the rest of us.

She certainly could handle a little nasal decongestant before bedtime, but you may be able to just tough it out.

I will sent some good thoughts your way. You really are a lucky girl!! :)

[Meri]

You can get vegan probiotic/acidophilus pills at Whole Foods, which will avoid the dairy complications. I take them whenever I go on antibiotics, since I'm lactose-intolerant.

[Catherine]

Our low-tech way to address the antibiotics issues: crackers...and lots of them.

[Mika]

I have a daughter who has had 4 ear infections in 4 months (let's hope it's the last since cold season is ending!). And I third, fourth, whatever, the powdered acidophilus mixed in with her food. My doctor's office actually recommends this now as their protocol: give while the kid is on the antibiotics, but more specifically give mixed in to their lunch food. Since antibiotics are given morning and evening, it's good to counterbalance that with acidophilus in the middle of the day. Also -- LOVE the pain relief ear drops. They are perfect for the first few days. You should ask your doctor about them so you are ready with it in case she or Edward gets another ear infection. And I definitely agree -- ibuprofen does wonders in this case as well.

[Kristin]

Probiotics! Acidophilus! You could probably adapt a grown-up capsule: mine have directions for infants (open capsule, sprinkle half into milk/juice/food). But also try a natural food place if there's one convenient: at one near my mom, we were able to find a children's one -- a powder that you keep in the fridge. Add half a tsp to milk, etc. (I had taken the Boy to my old pediatrician for what appeared to be an ear infection; we were trying a hefty antibiotic, so she suggested we go to this store and get this stuff. Didn't hurt, might have helped, and I go back to it whenever he seems a little off in the gut department.)

Good luck --

[djoyn]

At 4'11", I have to admit that I've worn capris like pants before too, so I know exactly what you mean!

Poor Caroline! I totally agree with you about the decongestant thing for kids. When I was pregnant I was so upset that they had taken it off the market, because it worked so well on my first daughter!

[MLB]

Tummy advice: Probiotics:

Florastor Kids 1 packet 2x a day
or
Culturelle 1 capsule 2x a day

Avoid yogurt and do the BRAT diet. And you may be pleasantly surprised re: tummy. The amoxicillin should make her feel better in 24 hours. The nice thing about having an infection of some sort is you get to treat it and it goes away, unlike a virus.

[Chickenpig]

I actually stashed away a bottle of baby cold medicine. When all three had the terrible bad cold that went around I gave A some without any regrets, and good sleep was had by all.

Right now she is teething like crazy and can't sleep without being dosed on ibuprofen. I think if she had an ear infection I would never know due to the constant anti febril/pain meds that are on board almost 24/7. Teething problems are much better than the sick ones, though, you poor woman. I hope everyone is feeling better soon.

[Becky]

I haven't read all the comments yet, but I see probiotics has already been mentioned multiple times. So scratch what I was about to say about that.

However! I, like you, lamented the lack of infant cold medicine and then I found this truly awesome homeopathic kids' cold & flu medicine at Whole Foods called Children's Alpha CF. The label does say for dosage "under 2 ask a doctor" but it's homeopathic, so I ignored that and gave my 1-year-old 1 tablet (I believe the dose for 2- to 6-year-olds is 2 tablets). Unbelievable how well that stuff worked. My miserable baby slept all night long with nary a cough in sight. The next morning after she woke, I had to give her a second dose and after that, the cold was gone forever. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it. I believe the directions say that it works better if you use it at the first sign of a cold, but my little one was 2 days into her cold when I used it, and it still produced amazing results.

There's also an adult's version - Sambucol - with which both my husband and I have had equally miraculous results.

Honestly, I have no stock in either of these companies, although I should buy some, with as many people as I've told about this stuff!

[Sandra]

Cold Medicine for little ones? Eh, I use it. But, I also use the Vick's, a humidifier, etc. And I don't just give it to them so I feel like I'm doing something. I usually wait until bedtime to bring out the big guns. Good luck with baby Caroline. She's a beautiful child (one of your three beautiful children!).

[Danielle]

Just a note on the Sambucol mentioned above.. they do sell a kids version of it with that particular name as well. I am trying it on my kids as we speak, this winter has been horrid for us.

[hydrogeek]

I 42nd the acidophilus, but also wanted to tell you that if the bad diapers come anyway, you don't have to call the doc for a prescription of nystatin to clear up the yeasty rash, it's the same thing as over the counter lotrimin. 1% clotrimizole. I asked my ped and she told me it was the same thing and was fine to use all the time as a diaper cream if I wanted to. (I don't know if you read DoctorMama or not, but she recommends that stuff for everything.) Good luck! (Oh, and PS, I went out and stocked up on the pediacare before they took it off the shelves, and when my daughter got sick the next time, my ped's nurse asked me if I still had any. When I said yes, she said "Well, we can't recommend that you give it to her...but...if you have some..." I gave it to her. It worked. And she is clearly a genius already, so bah.)

[Lynnette]

I won't lie. Call me bad mommy, but my twins were born in Jan '07, just in time to get the little chart of conversions and dosages, mg, etc. per weight/age of child for all sorts of infant/child medicines before the recalls. I guess there is a chance I might screw it up, but with the recalls I'm hyper vigilant about dosing them correctly, since I think overdosing in the middle of the night or with the wrong measuring device was the underlying problem, as far as the recalls went. It was only later that they starting saying there was no efficacy and that they might actually harm the child. Scare tactics? Who knows. Sorry docs, but I SEE that the antihistamines and decongestants work on the rare colds that they get. I only use them sparingly, when they seem really miserable. Also, a lot of Puffs Plus with lotion helps with the constant nose wiping. Email me if you want a scan in PDF format (wink wink, nudge nudge).

[spoiledonlychild]

I really don't think cold medicine does anything. I think it's all a huge scam. I never take it myself, as I think it's a total waste. But the real reason I wrote this comment was to say that there is new research showing that Vicks VapoRub is dangerous for young children. Here is a story on it: http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2009/01/13/vicks.html

[Holly W.]

Florastor kids. Probiotic. Comes in handy little sachets. Pour into drink/food.
You know, just in case no one's mentioned this yet... I didn't check.

[vnapoli]

Sometimes ear infections can be a result of a dairy allergy. Something to give some thought to.

[Aimee]

When I was a baby/toddler/child, I used to get ear infections once or twice every year. My mom always had me sleep with a heating pad on my pillow. I don't remember what it really did to help, except that it was my favorite part of being sick and could hardly bear to part with it even when I was better.

[Beth]

We just went through a full month of various viral things, and here's what we did. I told my husband I felt like an ad for natural remedies. But it did seem to help my 3yo daughter sleep better.

So. Before bed, a bath with a few drops of eucalyptus oil. Then olive oil and eucalyptus oil rubbed on the chest, back and bottoms of feet. I keep a small container of the mixture in the bathroom all the time. It has the same effect as Vicks. Then a tablespoon of honey (for coughing), humidifier, etc. It certainly wasn't a cure-all, but it helped her sleep better.

And I second the probiotics suggestion!

Hope that helps and your lovely little girl returns to health soon...and that you return to sleeping the night away!

[Marty52]

Aimee just said what I was going to recommend... a heating pad for the infected ear. It always helped my kids and is still MY go to item for ear aches and sinus infections. Since she is so small you might just want to drape it over her head rather than letting her sleep on it. And for sinus infections... lay back and drape it over your oh so painful forehead... lovely.

[chris]

Julia, I have nothing for the tummy problem, except, make sure she has something/anything in her stomach before giving antibiotics to her.

For congestion, Benadryl. It's safe, it helps them decongest and sleep, it does not interact with other medicines. Both of our neighbors are pediatricians and recommend it heavily and dose up their children on it when needed. It will help the twinks sleep although does not help with the cough.