Where's Your Nose!?

For those of you who have not been a new parent in about 20 years, the saline drops/spray Little Noses may not be familiar. But for today’s parent, especially during cold season, it’s something we rarely do without (especially since most cold medicines have been pulled from the shelf…not that you’d give them to an infant anyway….) So most new parents are left with few tools to decongest their progeny but saline, an aspirator and lots of tissues.

Of course, the process of decongesting would be a lot simpler if the youngsters could just blow! It really doesn’t make sense. They are born with so many instincts for survival and by about 12 months, most can identify their noses. By 18 months, Penny has learned to wipe her nose and put the tissue in the trash can. She’s even, of late, become exceptionally good at picking her nose, sticking her finger way up there with much playfulness and glee. With any luck, the fascination with picking and general nose awareness will soon lead to the ability to blow on command. In the meantime, we'll continue to dutifully follow her around, sneaking in to give her nose a quick wipe before she manages to shake her head and yelp, "no!"