For our last WFMW, I wrote about these wonderful creations:

Triaminic Thin Strips for infants AND for children (the child version allows one strip to be given to a 2 year old vs. two strips of the infant version, less is always a wonderful thing) with just a simple decongestant (which Amazon doesn’t appear to have, but you get the idea).

Well, we took these on our trip for the airplane. We gave him the first one with great trepidation after reading some of the comments on the post, but he accepted the idea that it was a yummy treat and kept it in his mouth for it to melt (it didn’t take long). It worked great, he was happy on all the flights and continued to accept the thin strips all the way through our travels. Even coming back, when he’d gotten (and still has) a cold/sinus infection, it worked well enough to keep him from having any pain during the flights. Now we just need to get the duck family healthy and back to a regular routine!

Be sure to visit the rest of the Works For Me Wednesday tips as well.

Ok, if your little one is anything like mine, it is ten nightmares to try to get any sort of medicine down their throat. I end up having DH dump it in while we hug him tightly and massage his throat in hopes that he swallows it rather than spitting it out into our faces. So, as we will soon be traveling, I was dreading trying to give him some liquid decongestant in the airport. (more…)

Finally, the promised list of teething remedies - Lil’ Duck is still working on those two year molars, poor thing.

We’ve tried a lot of teething remedies over the eruption of 16 teeth (working on 4 more as we speak!) - as I mentioned before, nothing really “cures” teething, but a few things do seem to calm him down a little:

• Baby Orajel teething swabs - numbs up his gums, I can stick that swab all the way back to where it is needed without getting holes in my fingers from his sharp little teeth. For the first few teeth, the regular baby orajel worked fine, but after that, it’s nearly impossible to avoid being bit. If you have a ton of baby orajel and want to use it up, stick it on the end of a q-tip and stick it in there, has the same effect (just don’t put too much on, a glob can fall off onto their tongue and you’ll hear strange sounds and lots of tongue-grabbing until it wears off ;)).
• Hyland’s teething tablets - work faster than Tylenol to calm him down a little. They also have the gel, but I’m faced with the same problem as the orajel with that, and it doesn’t seem to work as well as the tablets.




• Baby Tylenol - this is only as a last resort, as the actual trying to get the stuff down his throat is usually a nightmare (here’s a list of tricks that might help). Assuming that you consulted with your doctor before giving it and all those good things, you might find Dr. Sears’ dosage calculator helpful.

I got two great teething ideas from the commenters on my first post - JGS suggested freezing regular bagels and letting him gnaw on them, which is a great idea as long as you are going to watch them closely of course - Lil’ Duck is old enough now to handle bagels, but for the little teethers, I’d worry about them getting a piece off and choking.

Nicola suggested a clean flannel kept dry in the fridge can act to cool the face - also works with younger ones to chew against. She also recommended cold fruit to chew, such as melon. Lil’ Duck thinks that fruit is baby poison or something, strange but true, but perhaps your little ones feel differently.

Also, Lil’ Duck has never really taken to teethers in the past, but now he loves them, so it’s worth a try - the bumpy ones now, of all things. He also likes to eat crushed ice (other little ones go for popsicles or sherbet) - especially good if they aren’t drinking enough liquids, just make sure there aren’t any big pieces of ice and still watch them closely of course.

What works for your little one? Any other great ideas to share??

This is assuming you consulted with your doctor and it’s ok to give them the medicine and so forth. A warning to those who pour it down their throat while they are screaming - they throw it back up and it just isn’t a great thing…. yes, that’s personal experience talking, I was desperate, ugh.

• Have them lay down on your lap with their legs around you, slumping towards the floor, then give it to them with the dropper.
• Lay them on the floor on their back, squat over them using your legs to hold their arms down on the sides. Then use one hand to hold their head still and the other to dump it in.
• Sneak the dropper in while they have their mouth open (make them laugh, etc.), squirting it into the inside of the cheek.
• Use a little medicine cup (like what you get on top of cough syrup).
• Use a big medicine dropper (usually found at the store for a dollar or so), put it back between the gum and the cheek and then blow on their face.
• Use a pacifier dispenser.
• Use a medicine spoon (the little one would never stand for this, but maybe yours will….)

Anything that works for your little one that I missed??

1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/2 tsp. potassium salt
3 tsp. sugar (or flavored kool-aid, not sugar free)

Mix it all with 1 liter water.

(I earn the bad mommy award for just giving him Gatorade when he is sick, but he drinks it and he won’t touch pedialyte).