All Stuffed Up with Nowhere to Go…

‘Tis the season for illnesses and stuffy noses.  Has your infant or toddler ever woken up in the night, gasping for breath because they can’t breathe thru their nose?  Or is your child like mine and sleeps sucking her thumb?  When her nose gets all stuffed up, she can’t suck her thumb anymore, so she wakes up and can’t go back to sleep.  Have you ever been in that situation?  Or has YOUR nose ever been so stuffed up that you can’t sleep?  Mine has. 

With so many medications out there and so many warnings about what is safe and what is not, it can be hard to find a middle of the night solution in a timely manner.  The last thing you want is for your child to wake up completely and be unable to fall back to sleep, so we need a quick, top drawer solution that can have you and your child sleeping comfortably in no time.

I believe in inspiration, especially as a parent.  One night, when my then one-year-old was struggling with breathing, I said a silent prayer to find something that could help.  The idea came and I’ve been using it ever since with TOTAL success: ChapStick or Blistex.  Especially the original or medicated one.  You know, the stuff that has a pretty pungent smell.  Like a cough drop. 

I just rub it above their upper lip, below the nose, and tuck them back into bed.  Immediately, the sniffles stop, and the sleeping sets in again.  I’ve used this for my infants, my toddlers, and my preschooler, as well as for myself.  And it works every time.  The concept is similar to Vick’s Vapo-Rub, except it’s under the nose instead of on the chest, it’s cheaper, and it isn’t as powerful.  But it still works wonders.

I have used different types of lip balm, including ChapStick Moisturizing, which also works. Or use a different brand.  Even Carmex would work because it is so strong. Just don’t expect the same results with sweet smelling lip balms or lip glosses.  It’s not the same thing. 

Hopefully this trick with save you from at least one sleepless night this winter!