(Surprisingly) excellent equipment

In the past I have been asked countless times by parents about the merits of using a nasal aspirator (such as http://www.infantnasalaspirator.com/). I think in the US parents are even given them before being discharged from hospital after having their baby. I always scoffed a little (massively underestimating how disruptive to *everything* a blocked nose is to a baby, and hence their parents!) and said they weren't really needed.

Fast forward to when Doof first had a cold (http://mumfirstdoctorsecond.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/dispelling-myths-3.html) and how my opinion changed... Snot became a focal point of the day - how much did he have? How completely blocked was his nose? Was it interfering with feeding? With sleeping?

And then I discovered one of the best inventions ever:

You use it to suck snot out of their nostrils - instant improvement in breathing, feeding and sleeping :)
And there is something incredibly satisfying about doing it!


Even little noses can hold a very large amount of snot (you might not want to look at next picture if easily squeamish/grossed out) - this is from one sucking attempt earlier today...

So there it is - something I never in a million years thought I would want/use and that now comes with us everywhere!