Chop up onions to help baby with blocked sinuses and runny nose

It’s amazing what a chopped up onion can do – did you know it can be the perfect natural decongestant and remedy for a blocked nose?

When our little boy had his first proper cold at about 3 months, with a blocked nose and a terrible sounding cough, a friend in Switzerland suggested we cut up an onion and place it next to his crib. Now as we share the room with our baby, this also meant we were exposed to the horrible stench of a chopped up onion – and let me tell you, the smell is potent!

But to our surprise, it really works. When our boy woke for his night feed his nose was noticeably clearer than when he went to sleep. And then in the morning, a few hours after the onion had dried up, his sinuses got congested again.

Now at nearly 6 months he just got his second cold. And once again we’ve placed an onion next to his crib and again it has really helped him to sleep. It might be coincidence but so far I have to agree with my friend: it really works!

Some other natural remedies for blocked sinuses:

• You can try a nasal saline spray, they are available in most pharmacies
• Use a Baby Nasal Aspirator to temporarily relieve the symptoms
• Karvol decongestant drops (from 3 months)

Baby food steaming and blending in one: The Beaba Babycook

Tomorrow we are going to start weaning our baby boy. He is 5 and half months old – exactly 6 months by due date tomorrow. Theo was born 19 days overdue, so I tend to go by his due date for certain things. Compared to some babies of a similar age but who were due a few weeks after him, he is clearly ‘older’.

Our lovely neighbour has sold us her baby food steamer/blender. I’m not too much into buying every gadget on the market – and there are lots, but this one seemed to make sense, especially as we don’t have a microwave.

It’s called the Beaba Babycook Steamer and Blender. All I’ll have to do is cut up the vegetables and place them into the attachment to steam them. Once they are steamed I can tip them into the bowl where they get blended to whatever consistency I need them to be – from fully pureed for when baby is 6 months old, to a more lumpy consistency for when he gets older. Additionally I can also thaw frozen purees and vegetables, especially useful as we don’t have a microwave.

Baby carrier – Manduca

I bought a Manduca baby carrier very soon after Theo was born. On the advice of my sister and a good friend (who has 3 kids) I decided to buy the Manduca carrier. It’s very similar to the Ergo baby carrier, but slightly cheaper and comes with a newborn insert – the Ergo carrier requires you to buy this separately.

We tried using the carrier several times when Theo was only a few months old, and he seemed to hate it. I was put off by it as I couldn’t handle having my screaming baby so close to me, so I decided to try again when he was older.

Now Theo is 5 1/2 months old and doesn’t like going in the bassinette of his stroller anymore. It’s way too boring for him to lie on his back and stare up at the sky when there is so much going on that he can’t see! I often had to carry him because he got so grumpy in his basinette.

So sure enough he now loves the Manduca carrier. It allows him to look around left and right and it means I have my hands free when I go out. I actually prefer it to the stroller – at least while he isn’t in a sitting position. Although he still grumbles once in a while he at least is happy most of the time!

The Manduca carrier is also great as it’s ergonomic for the baby and for the adult. I did some research and found there are quite a few carriers out there that are really not very good for baby – such as baby bjorn, where the baby literally hangs by it’s crotch rather than sit in a way that’s good for his pelvic development.

I also find it really comfortable to wear and I know that I’ll be able to use it for another year or so. At a later stage Theo will be able to go on my back, which means he’ll have loads more to look at!

New mum sleep deprivation

Wow there really isn’t anything quite like sleep deprivation! For me it really is like the worst form of torture – although of course I’ve never actually been exposed to torture and clearly there are far far worse things! 🙂

Baby Theo has actually been a pretty good sleeper from day one and only really ever woke for his night feeds and occasionally wants his dummy/pacifier put back in. Yet I’ve become a complete insomniac, sometimes only sleeping a few hours a night, simply because I’ll get woken up by one of his movements or night time sleep cries and then can’t fall back asleep.

Usually the less I sleep the worse the next night is going to be, it’s quite hard to break out of the vicious cycle. Forget about the baby being overtired, this is mummy being overtired!

Last night I was awake between 12am-3am, I sat at my computer and did some work, just couldn’t face lying in bed awake any longer. And as we are changing LO’s routine right now, he did wake up with a loud cry at 2.30am, 4.30am, 5.30am and then I finally fed him at 6.30am. After which he falls into a deep sleep… makes me think perhaps I should just feed him at night so we can at least enjoy a few more hours of undisturbed sleep.

Fingers crossed that once this new routine kicks in he’ll actually have good daytime naps and will sleep more soundly at night. I’ll write an update soon!

5 Month old baby boy and I think it’s time to start blogging!

Since baby Theo was born mid-September 2010 I’ve wanted to start a blog, both as a way to record his development and also to connect with other new mums out there!

Every day I learn new things. Right now I’m just in the process of finally getting Theo onto some kind of a schedule, based on the Baby Whisperer EASY routine. I’m not a big fan of leaving my baby to cry (I think he’s too young for that) but I also felt like I needed a bit of a life again, so this seems to be the best way forward for now. I also joined the baby whisperer forum and they have been so supportive!

But it’s not just big things, it’s also the little things that I love about being a mum – such as Theo’s favourite new toy, his little chewy mushroom. It’s from the same company that makes Sophie the Giraffe, but I think it’s way better (we also have Sophie) as baby can really chew on it. It’s called Vulli Chan Pie Gnon Blue and I can highly recommend it, for teething and just as a generally chewy toy.

Next week I think I’m going to start introducing Theo to solid foods. I’ve bought some cute weaning bowls and spoons and am going to make some carrot mash, freeze loads in small pots and give him a few spoonfuls to see how he likes it. I can’t wait! I also can’t wait for him to finally be able to sit up and sit with us at the table. I’ve already decided which highchair we are going to buy, but more about that in another post.

Yet I know it’s also important to not always think about the future – when is going to start crawling, when is he going to be able to sit up on his own etc. but to just enjoy every minute and how he is today. Just talk to any mum and they all tell you it all goes so fast, and they miss their little baby once they are toddlers. So even if I just really want a good nights sleep for once, I’m going to really try to enjoy every day I have with Theo the baby!