personal pharmacy

After dealing with sick kids for over a week today's thankful thursday is all about my favorite cold-related products. Whether I'm trying to bring my five-month-old's fever down from 103 or calming my two-year-old's coughing fits, I couldn't do it without a little help from what I like to call our "bucket of drugs" in the hall closet.

• Children's Motrin (aka ibuprofen): For some reason Tylenol (aka acetaminophen) just doesn't work for us; never has, probably never will. If I get a fever or serious headache while pregnant, I'm sunk!
• Be Kool: This little gel pad easily adheres to a child's forehead and is totally painless to remove. No band-aid-like screams of pain when you remove it and the gel cools fevered brows for up to 8 hours!
• Triaminic Thin Strips: No more messy liquid and they taste great! No, I haven't personally tasted them but my picky two-year-old doesn't turn up his nose when they're offered. Not sure cough suppressants really work but if you want to give it a go, this is a great way to do it.
  
• Cool-mist humidifier: Okay, this doesn't fit in my "bucket of drugs" but it's still important. No danger of hot water or steam burning my ever curious children. And the fan lulls Mom to sleep!
• Vick's VapoRub: I absolutely love this stuff as do my children. It really does seem to soothe coughs and aid in breathing with even the stuffiest of noses. Plus Vick's even makes a version for babies called BabyRub. (My kids love this stuff so much I swear half the stuffy noses are false claims!)
  
• Diet Coke: What?! Yes, I said Diet Coke. This is Mom's drug of choice when she's operating on less than 6 hours of sleep a night and wiping snotty noses for the other 18+ hours. Also not found in the "bucket of drugs" but easily found in the fridge.

What are your favorite tips, tricks, or products when it comes to helping your children get over a nasty cold? --Emily