The day my toddler came home from daycare with a crusty snotty nose made me so nervous for what was to come - constant runny nose, cough, congestion, fever, throw up etc. My upcoming future was quickly flashing before my eyes of the common winter time cold to run havoc through my home. Normally, I would just deal with it. But this time I was 22 weeks pregnant and knew there was not much I could do for myself to get me over this common cold hump if I were to end up with it.
It wasn’t even a week after my little toddler came home from daycare with that snotty crusty nose when I started showing similar signs and symptoms. [Insert eye roll…]
I knew I should not let her eat off of my spoon that one day. I knew I shouldn’t have let her cuddle so close to my face. I knew I shouldn’t have kissed her goodnight.
But I am her mother, how could I not do any of those things?
I mean, of course I want to share my food with her if that’s what she wants, because moms food taste better right? And how could I ever say no to her sweet cuddles before bed? Or how could I not give her one last kiss before she fell asleep into dreamland for the night?
I work 9 - 5. I don’t see my little one for 40+ hours a week, so if she wants those cuddles or the food off of my plate, well gosh darn it, I am going to give it to her. Even if that means I will end up with her little cold.
I know, I know. I am pregnant and also need to think of my little 22 week old baby that I am carrying, but it’s just so hard to say no to my sweet little toddler. So what ended up happening is that I ended up with her cold: stuffy nose, and forever watering eyes that made people think I was crying.
Day 1 of this miserable cold I decided I was going to just suck it up, drink a ton of water, hand sanitizer non-stop, whip down my desk multiple times a day and get on with my work day.
Well that wasn’t working.
Day 2 I was even more miserable. I called my doctor, she said I could take Sudafed, but I was hesitant because I knew any medicine I took, it would get to my baby (or so some of the mom blogs say.) Half way through day 2, I gave in… I just couldn’t focus at work. And I also felt bad for my coworkers around me that they had to hear me and see my constantly wiping away my watery eyes. My brain was going into a fog and I just had so much data work to do. So I took that Sudafed and was waiting for the symptoms to magically go away --- time ticks by --- well yea…. So the Sudafed didn’t work. I felt even more miserable. So I ended up telling my boss I needed to go home and would get more work done there.
Once I got home I kicked my ‘Mommy Cold Fighting’ game plan into full gear:
Here is my ‘Proactive Mommy Cold Fighter’ game plan that actually worked:
Use hand sanitizer (with the aloe because it’s winter and it’s dry here.)
Drink lots and lots and lots of water. Who cares if you have to pee 50x’s, hydration is key to recovery.
Take at least one 15 minute power nap.
Wash all bedding.
And my new biggest secret: DIFFUSING WITH ESSENTIAL OILS in whatever room I was in (living room doing work or bedroom when I was sleeping)
Doing those 5 simple things had me cured in just 1 day. It was like magic!
And you know what, I would do it all over again if I caught another bug from my adorable toddler.
I’m sure you are wondering “What was in her magic diffuser?” Well, let me first start off by saying that I am new to this way of life. I’ve only been doing it for 3 months now. I was introduced to Young Living essential oils as an alternative to helping with many different things during pregnancy.
So back to my sinus cold remedy, here is what I blended to create my magic cure:
Peppermint (this one opened up my stuffy nose and gave energy)
Lemon (this one is refreshing and cleansing with colds)
Thieves (love this one - it’s an immune booster, air purifier and kills germs)
Copaiba (this one is an oil enhance, I needed a real boost to get these oils working)
I turned on my diffuser at 1:20 PM. Just 2 hours later, for the first time in 2 days I was able to breathe again and my eyes did not water. It was amazzzzzing!
I totally recommend diffusing to anyone. Heck, even my husband is on board after he tried a similar blend when he had a cold not to long ago. I feel like an ad saying this, but this stuff really works and is magic! (This is not an ad!!!) So here is a little more of what I have learned about each oil from Young and Living and has become my go-to reference guide to help me blend for my needs:
Lavender - skin (everything from bug bites to burns to adding it to my lotion) and sleep.
Peppermint - stomach issues, energy. (avoid this one in a baby’s room)
Panaway - sore muscles
Lemon - cleaning, detoxing, refreshing
Raven - respiratory care (avoid this one if pregnant)
Thieves - immune booster, air purifier, kills germs
Citrus Fresh - mood lifter, air freshener
Digize - all things stomach related. From constipation to nausea to heart burn (great one to use after eating a lot)
Frankincense - skin care, relaxing (live diffusing this one with Lavender at night!) Increases spiritual awareness (my all time favorite scent! LOVE this one!)
Copaiba - oil enhancer! Add this to any other oil to make it work even better. Anti inflammatory
StressAway - calming, all the stress away!
Here is a mommying + diffusing tip: I do love to blend Lavender, Thieves and StressAway together to help calm my home (aka my active toddler) in the evening and I find it does help.
So next time you are not feeling well, skip the meds and try diffusing! You may surprise yourself how much better this really works. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out. :-)