As a teacher, I was SO excited about Thanksgiving break! We were flying to Mr. Piñata’s parents’ house Monday night and staying until Saturday morning. I was thrilled to think of all this time without having to “work!” Of course I know that having a toddler around means a lot of activity, but I was hoping to actually get some relaxing and reading done after he went to bed at night (between 6 and 7pm) and during his 3-hr daytime naps.

But, no such luck.

Unfortunately, not only did our flight get in late and leave Little Piñata up way past his bedtime, he also got his worst cold yet! I think the germs must have settled in sometime between leaving our house and arriving at Mr. P’s parents’ house because that night Little Piñata refused to sleep in the Pack N Play. This is uncharacteristic of him as he usually goes right to sleep when we lay him down. So, he ended up sleeping in the bed with us, which meant he slept “ok” and we slept awfully, especially since his nose was stuffy and he was coughing most of the night.

The combination of his cold, being over-tired, and being  in a new place meant a refusal to sleep in the Pack N Play the first 2 days for more than 45 minutes at a time after I rocked him to sleep. So, I had to lay down with him during nap time and ended up getting into bed at 8:30pm with him 2 nights in a row. He ended up sleeping in the bed with me through most of the night wiggling and breathing loudly the whole time. Poor (or fortunate?) Mr. Piñata slept in the 3rd guest room there since there just wasn’t enough room for the 3 of us in the double bed. So, our sleeping routine was quite a bit “off!”

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Thankfully he wasn’t cranky the WHOLE time. Here he is enjoying the “woo woo” train with Papa.

We’ve felt so bad for Little P. He was coughing and had a runny and/or stuffy nose the entire trip. This led him to eat hardly anything except crackers and his squeeze pouches. (I’m glad I packed over a dozen of those!) All of this led to him  being pretty cranky and clingy the majority of the trip. He was so tired during Thanksgiving dinner that I just brought him up to bed before it was even over!

We did all of our natural remedies we usually do at home to help him get over his cold faster, and I think they really helped. By the time we left, he was feeling much better and had slept through the night in the Pack N Play. He was pretty miserable the first 3 days we were there, but by the last day he was definitely showing improvement.

Here’s what we did that I believe got him better by the time we returned home. I just felt so awful for my in-laws who had to deal with a cranky instead of spunky Little Piñata. Thank goodness we get to try again at Christmas!

1. Cool mist humidifier

This was such a good investment! Not only does it moisturize the air and help soothe a sore throat and cough, but you can add essential oils to cold air humidifiers. I added peppermint for its ability to break up mucus and help with stuffy noses. I also added lavender for it’ calming effects, tea tree oil for its anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties and rosemary for help with nasal congestion. This helped A LOT as we could tell a huge improvement in his daytime and nighttime sleep after we started using it.

2. Hyland’s Baby Cough Syrup

This stuff has been invaluable to us when Little P has a cold. Our pediatrician recommended it to us and we just use it at nighttime and naptime when his coughing keeps him from sleeping.

3. Essential Oils (or Baby Vicks) on Little Piñata’s chest and bottom of his feet

We’ve used Baby Vicks on Little P’s chest in the past. But, we’ve now been using essential oils because of their natural healing properties. However you HAVE to be sure to use essential oils that are safe for infants and toddlers! And NEVER put an essential oil directly on a small child’s skin. We use a few tablespoons of coconut oil (another use!) and add about 3 drops each of tea tree, lavender and rosemary oils and mix it together. We rub it on his feet, neck, behind his ears and on his chest and it helps clear out all the “gunk.” (No peppermint oil on small children!)

I also don’t entirely know how the bottom of the feet helps, but it does so we have stuck with it. I don’t yet have Oil of Oregano, but I hear that’s amazing on the bottom of baby’s feet (with a carrier oil as well) for helping with colds.

4. Avoid dairy
Instead of whole milk we gave Little P coconut milk for a few days. We also cut back on his usual yogurt and cheese consumption because dairy often leads to more mucus. We also had him drink LOTS of water to help thin out all that yucky stuff in his throat.

5. Baby Saline & the NoseFrida
I don’t know what we’d do without the NoseFrida. We used the baby saline to moisturize his nasal passages and then cleaned them out with the Nosefrida at least 6 times a day. It’s so much easier than the usual nasal aspirator and we think it gets the gunk out better.

I hate it that Little P was sick for our whole trip, but am so glad he’s pretty much back at 100% healthy now that we’re home! What are some tips you have for helping a baby or toddler with a cold?