helpful tip for little ones

I admit this is random and a tad bit gross, but this one thing has saved Lizzie dozens of tears and saved us lots of stress. It's the how-to for nasal aspirators, aka snot suckers.

One day when Beloved was at home with the girls and Lizzie was sick, and he was unable to deny her need for a little suction, he reluctantly got out the sucker. Always one to avoid headaches of any kind if possible, and always one to turn any situation into a game, Beloved did an entire snot-sucking routine for Lizzie while Pink looked on. Lizzie was in stitches. He over-exaggerated the process of sucking on himself with an over-the-top reaction and a bit of song and dance. Then he demonstrated on Pink. Lizzie could hardly wait for her turn. When the moment of truth came, she wasn't just compliant, she was entertained. By snot-sucking! I'd never seen such a thing in my life!

Now when she gets stuffy, she actually puts her finger up by her nose (at the ripe ol' age of 13 months) and sniffs, letting us know that she's got an abundance of snot. She leans into when we do it, she's never shed a single tear since this all started, and it's over in a heartbeat. No restraints necessary.

Try it if you have one who's too small to blow effectively. It's magic, I tell ya. And now I promise to never type the word "snot" again for a long, long time.