Good Older Brother

I couldn't be more pleased with the relationship my two boys have with each other. When I was expecting Kanoa many thoughts and worries raced through my mind as to how Keanu was going to interact with his baby brother. At first, Keanu was pretty reserved and would only look at Kanoa admiringly, but didn't want to touch him. But, that changed gradually. He would slowly touch Kanoa on the face by rubbing his cheeks and then kissing him on the head and then hugging. Now, it's like he is overly affectionate where it sometimes scares me as Keanu wants to hug Kanoa so much it looks like he is suffocating him. But, Kanoa doesn't seem to mind.

There is nothing more rewarding to watch a 3 year old and 5 month old baby interact by laying on the floor and laughing at each other. I truly believe they are going to be best friends. I can already see the kinship forming and Keanu, being the sweet, caring, and affectionate person that he is will always look out for his brother. Kanoa is also quite infatuated with Keanu and I must say when Keanu is in preschool I sense that he misses him.

It will be very interesting to see how they grow up together. My job, as their mother, is to promote a healthy relationship and to always be respectful and considerate to each other. Keanu epitomizes a "good older brother". When the angels sent me Keanu not only did they send me a baby that I longed for, but a good soul. I look to how I parent, but I can't seem to really take credit for his good nature. He was just born that way. I can only hope Kanoa will be as good a soul as his older brother.

Cold Remedy Tips for an Infant

I'll just mention that I am not a doctor or nurse, but being a mother of 2 children under the age of 4 years old, I have learned a few things.

My 4 1/2 month baby boy has recently contracted a cold/flu. Although his cold has not been bad enough to require a doctor's visit, it is his first cold so the poor little guy is quite miserable.

Here's what I've found:

1. Irrigate the nose with saline that blue thing they gave you at the hospital. I think I have like 5 or 6 of them laying around.
   
2. Use Vicks vapor rub or something similar
3. Bathe in warm water with a vapor solution in the bath - you can find this at any store selling baby stuff.
   
4. Keep baby relatively warm without over dressing
   
5. Give Infant Tylenol every 4 hours to relieve fever and aches and pains
   
6. If you breast feed, that is the best for him because you're giving him all your immunities.

The worst of it is that he is coughing a lot. I do know that coughing is actually good for them because it gets the mucus out and doesn't let it settle in the chest which can cause pneumonia. However, his coughing has caused him to frequently spit up his milk or breast milk. So, I've learned to not let him gorge himself and I feed him in short increments and then burp him which helps with him not spitting up everything he just drank.

Unfortunately, there is not much one can do for an infant with a cold because you can't give them any cold medicine. So, these are my best remedies.