Any recs for methods that will work for older toddlers?
LO is 2.5 and although she can blow her nose, she doesn't do it that well and barely gets out the snot. She just sucks it back up, gross. Nose Frida is out and so is the bulb aspirator. She will fight and even with 2 of us we can't do it. I can barely get saline solution spray up her nose.
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@mrsjazz: A congested toddler is just the worst!! When is the snot bad... first thing in the morning, or is it just bad all day?
blogger / pomegranate / 3044 posts
We resort to either someone holding him in a headlock and using the aspirator, or q-tips. Good luck! I can't wait until they figure out how to blow their noses!
coconut / 8234 posts
@mrbee: She developed a cold over the weekend. We've been battling her to get the snot out and she's been winning. It's worse at night. Going to break out the humidifier. We also broke out the baby Vick's, which helped a little.
She has a phlegmy cough, too. And now Google has me convinced she has Enterovirus.
squash / 13764 posts
Yep we tag team and hold him down for the nose frida. Or even if I can jus get some saline up there, that usually helps get things moving.
admin / wonderful grape / 20724 posts
@mrsjazz: Those are some of the tricks we use... also, Bee likes to use eucalyptus oil!
http://www.hellobee.com/2013/03/19/ultimate-guide-to-treating-a-cold-and-cough/
When the kids are congested at night, they usually sleep much better if they're sleeping propped up. Some people like to use a car seat for that, but our kids sleep best in a stroller when they're sick.
nectarine / 2054 posts
@mrsjazz: Ugh, it's such a fight. Luckily for now LO likes the saline, which helps a little bit, but the Nose Frieda requires actual wrestling by two people. Plus by the time he's done crying from the trauma, his nose is stuffed up again from the tears.
coconut / 8234 posts
@mrbee: Great, I will try the eucalyptus oil before bedtime tonight. And while I have you here 
Can you send me that document about toddler poop when you have the chance? I think it was about constipation? I think I deleted mine by mistake, I believe it was a pdf.
persimmon / 1096 posts
J fought this hard for the longest time, and like @Beehive:'s LO, the "trauma" just make the stuffiness worse from the extra crying. Lately I've tried to make it like a game - I pretend to spray saline or use the aspirator up my own nose, make a silly "ssssssssip" noise, and he laughs and then lets me do it to him. He's just 19 months, though, so I could be in for bigger battles at 2.5 years... right now, he thinks if I'm doing it, it must be cool/fun/okay.
grapefruit / 4671 posts
The Nose Frieda battles are intense. We usually have to employ the element of surprise or she wins.
blogger / pomegranate / 3201 posts
If it's really bad, I make him take a warm shower with me. The steam makes his nose run, then I use my fingers (gross, but we are in the shower, so I wash them right away) to squeeze his nostrils and get it all out. One day last week we took two showers in one day to get his nose cleared out.
wonderful grape / 20453 posts
We usually resort to a two man tackle and Nose Frida shoved up her nose while one of us tells her, "I am stronger than you dammit!"
pomelo / 5298 posts
We refer to saline as "nose tickle". She thinks it's fun and it's super easy to do. We've referred to it as this for a long time (she's now 3). She will often grab it and ask me to tickle her nose.
The nose frida also tickles, but I usually have to bribe to get her to comply. An extra book at bedtime usually will do the trick to get her to be still for a few seconds. DH still has to hold her still though.
grapefruit / 4649 posts
Around 2.5 is when I start to teach them to do the saline themselves. When they are calm I bring out two bottles and a thing of Kleenex and have them watch me spray it in the air and then up my own nose. After that I blow my nose in a very exaggerated way. I offer it to them and see if they go for it. It often takes a few tries but usually they try it. I even wound up with one kid who learned how to use the bulb aspirator herself way more effectively then I ever could.
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