Zach and I are having a ridiculously lazy day today. Both of us have snot… literally everywhere. It’s so gross. I opted not to take a picture to spare you the gorey details.

We’ve spent half of the day in bed, just lazing, napping, and doing nothing. It’s so refreshing to just take a day off, but it stinks that we’re having to do this because of an illness. You can tell Zachy is completely miserable, but because it’s just a runny nose, congestion, etc thing, there’s not really anything that can be done aside from pumping the (Dr. Approved) Benadryl and Ibuprofen. And Dayquil for me (The doctor okayed that, too, since I’ve got a breastfeeder on my hands).

But here’s the deal. The Benadryl thing just was not cutting it for Zach. The doctor had prescribed it last spring, when Zach was a lot smaller than he is now, so I was giving him the dosage the doctor recommended at the weight he was ages ago. It was not working. And then my doctor turned me on to a really amazing tool. Have you heard of Dr. Sears? For me, he’s a total attachment parenting guru, and I almost totally hang on every word he says. I love his thoughts on a lot of things, and I like his fairly organic approach to things.

Anyway, this tool on Dr. Sears’ website is more clear on weight dosing than a package from the store… it is intended to allow you to give “strong but safe” doses, and closes the weight/dose window from a 15 or so pound span to only about 3-5 pounds. It makes the dosing far more accurate, and makes it so your child can beat his illness faster. You can check it out at Dr. Sears’ website, by typing the medication you need information on into the search bar.

Dr. Sears’ website is also a source of a ton of other great information, from how to cure diaper rash to breastfeeding help, if you need it.

On a totally unrelated topic, Zach’s room got a little bit of a makeover recently. I mentioned back in March about how we added awesome rain gutter bookshelves, along with doing a small furniture re-arrangement. This time around, we took out the changing table, since Zach was getting too long to use it comfortably anymore, and a little too wild and wiggly. We also added in a toy box to make his stuff more accessible. It was recycled from his uncle Jeffrey, who is becoming a teenager and no longer needs a toy box.

But the most exciting part, in my opinion, and crazy part, was that we decided to remove the front of Zach’s crib and turn it into it’s toddler bed stage. When buying a crib, I decided to pay extra for one that was convertible, because I loved the idea that the bed would grow with him. Zach pretty much went from a bassinet to co-sleeping, so his crib hasn’t gotten much use as a crib at all. Plus, now that Zach is old enough and tall enough to climb out of a crib, it’s best, and safest, for us to remove that front end anyway. His bed is now a lovely toddler day-bed, which he is loving using as a couch! He crawls up there with a good book or a stuffed animal and reads for large chunks of time.

I love that his room is more functional for his age now, and allows him to actually have space to play and read, and it’s a lot more comfortable for me to sit back here in my awesome leather recliner and get some work done while he’s entertaining himself. I love knowing that he can entertain himself for some periods of time between us playing together, but I also love having the space to be close enough that if he needs me, I’m here.

I just can’t believe he’s growing up so much that he needs a toddler-sized bed! It’s amazing (and scary) to see how fast he is growing.

Luckily, or perhaps not as luckily, we still have sicky-poo days like this where he is still sweet and cuddly. Otherwise, I don’t think he’d sit still long enough for a hug or five.

At what age did you switch your child from a crib to a more “big boy/girl” bed? Let me know in the comments below!