Battling The Bogies With Snufflebabe and Dentinox

It is that time of year again.  Strictly has started, yay, we are beginning to think about Christmas, yay yay yay….(Find out how to order an extra special Christmas treat for your children here.)…and we are once again battling the bogies at Casa B.

If you are in any way squeamish about nasal expulsions you may want to stop reading at this point.  Then again, if you are looking for a simple solution read on!

The Boy, thankfully, seems to now be beyond the seemingly constant streaming nose that starts in October and ends around April if we are lucky.  Not so with Little Miss.  It has begun.  In earnest.  The worst time being overnight where without myself or Mr B to continually wipe away the inevitable ‘bogey-crustation’….I apologise…can make it really quite difficult for her to breathe.

This winter we have been sent a selection of products to try and help us through.

SNUFFLEBABE VAPOUR OIL AND INHALER DUMMY

The first was some vapour oil and an inhaler dummy from Snufflebabe.

 

The vapour oil has a wonderful menthol aroma that really helps to aid your baby’s breathing when a bit blocked up.  For babies under three months old a few drops can be added to a damp cloth and placed in their room upon a warm radiator.  For babies older than this, like Little Miss, one or two drops can be added to the special snap-open chamber within the Snufflebabe inhaler dummy, snapped shut, and will help to keep your baby breathing easily throughout the night.

We tried out the inhaler dummy with Little Miss who initially seemed quite happy, then discarded after about half an hour, as she often would her regular dummy.  She does only have a mild cold at present though and I suspect she may retain it for longer when more blocked up.

I think this is such a brilliant idea as I genuinely hate nothing more than hearing my babies struggling to breathe when they are poorly.

SNUFFLEBABE NASAL ASPITATOR

This, initially slightly scary device, can help physically clear your baby’s nose for instant relief and aid breathing.

 

The Snufflebabe nasal aspirator allows you to physically clear your baby’s nose by sucking out the mucus.  But don’t worry, the special filters mean the mucus will never reach your mouth.  I promise.

For very dried up bogies, often first thing in the morning, it was helpful to moisten them a bit with water.

The nozzle is then placed at the entrance to your baby’s nostril, NOT INSIDE, next to any visible mucus.  Once you suck through the mouthpiece this will be drawn away and collected within the sealed chamber.  You can vary the pressure yourself and I am assured it is not possible to over-suck…we had no problems.  It can be cleaned after each use in warm, soapy water and I think in the deeper depths of winter we will be using this a lot.

DENTINOX MEDICINE DISPENSER

With a poor teething Little Miss in the house this Dentinox Medicine Dispenser dummy has already seen plenty of action.  

 

This dummy contains a special chamber which can be snapped open.  It is, deliberately, quite stiff to open to prevent spillage.  With the in-built plunger pulled back the required amount of medicine can be added to the chamber.  The chamber can then be snapped shut and the dummy given to your baby.

Your baby can then passively suck to draw the medicine through the specially designed teat.  Alternatively the plunger can be gently depressed to administer the medicine more quickly.

Little Miss was quite happy to take her Calpol this way as you can see.

 

Not all of these ideas will suit every baby, and indeed at times did not suit Little Miss, but when faced with a poorly, blocked-up baby this winter I feel that I certainly have a few more weapons in my armoury when it really becomes time to battle the bogies.  Many thanks to Snufflebabe and Dentinox for letting us try them out.

If you do have a poorly child this winter please do consider cheering them up with a personalised, beautiful letter from Santa and help the NSPCC support other children in need of some care and some attention this Christmas.

Thank you x

Disclosure: I am working with BritMums on a project with Dentinox and Snufflebabe to test their products during cold season. All opinions are my own. To find out more about the products visit http://www.dentinox.co.uk and http://www.snufflebabe.co.uk.