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Before (and after) Baby was born, we made many, many trips to Buy Buy Baby. First we scouted things out for our registry, then we went back again for more research. I continued to make trips for essentials before each coupon could expire, plus the seemingly endless returns and exchanges. A few times we even bought back something we had returned a month before (I’m looking at you, Rock n’ Play). Needless to say, the furniture guy knew me well.

No matter how many times I visited that store, each time I swore up and down that I would never EVER use an oversized straw to suck out my baby’s snot. Gross. Just gross.

Yet the aforementioned snotsucker was displayed prominently throughout the store, and many associates commented that it worked amazingly well. They said moms reported that the NoseFrida Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator was the only thing capable of replacing the bulb syringe version the hospital provided after the original would inevitably break or get lost (or eaten by the dog, as eventually happened in our case).

Still… no. No how. No way.

Yet when it came to another highly recommended product, Sophie the Giraffe, I drank the kool-aid. I was overjoyed when that darling made not one, but two appearances at our baby shower. A spare! Sophie the First lives in the diaper bag, always ready for teething, boredom, and other fussy baby emergencies. Sophie the Second sits in her box in waiting. While other duplicate toys and books were returned or regifted, this little gem received a spot of honor on the hutch in Baby’s room.

When Baby was five months old, we took our first trip to St. Louis for my great aunt’s funeral, two days after returning from a trip to Florida for a cousin’s Bar Mitzvah. I packed my trusty first aid kit, which included infant acetaminophen and Little Noses saline spray. However, when Baby came down with a cold that included a very stuffy nose, something stronger was required.

You can guess where this is going.

Our original bulb syringe nasal aspirator from the hospital (still intact) was forgotten at home. I once again found myself at Buy Buy Baby. I paced the aisles examining my options. I asked for help, and was told (again) that most moms prefer the NoseFrida. Yuck. But Baby was sick, and I would do anything to make him feel better and breathe easier. I succumbed.

Back at my dad’s house that night, my stepmom (a pediatric trauma nurse), found a still in its package hospital grade bulb syringe in the closet. Hallelujah! Unfortunately, this was after I had already busted out the snotsucker and attempted to use it on Baby. I thought about it, but quickly dismissed the idea of trying to repackage and return it.

Earlier in the day, my mom (also a nurse) had told me that she saw on the news that bulb syringes were awful to use. During the broadcast they cut one open to expose a moldy, icky mess inside. With that story still on my mind, the NoseFrida and it’s easily detachable and cleanable parts started to look a little less nasty.

Baby, however, appeared to hate both of them equally. He’d turn his head away and do everything in his power to wiggle out of my reach. After many struggles, I seriously questioned why this snotsucker thing was all the rage.

Luckily, Baby got better within a few days, and the sinus torture tools were cleaned and stored for another day. That day came when Baby was just over 10 months old, on the heels of our second ill fated trip to visit family in St. Louis.

The snotsucker came back out, but this time with one accidental change. When using the bulb syringe, I had been advised to hold Baby’s other nostril closed to help with the suction. I had assumed the NoseFrida worked the same way.

With my husband helping to hold Baby down on the changing table, I stood above his head, braced for Operation Snot Be Gone. This turned out to be an excellent angle of attack. When Baby turned his head in protest my finger slipped off of his nostril, but the snotsucker stayed put for a second longer… and the tube quickly filled with snotty gunk.

In the process, the nasal aspirator made a hysterical slurping noise like I was vacuuming out his nose, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Baby started to giggle, too, I think because it tickled. In that moment, a snotsucker convert was born. It was magical. And snot filled.

Lesson learned: don’t hold down Baby’s other nostril.

The whole removal process is still not my favorite activity, but it’s now much easier and faster than it used to be. If Baby is really stuffy, I’ll squirt a couple drops of Little Noses into each nostril 5-15 minutes before NoseFrida makes her appearance.

My husband still laughs at the fact that after swearing (repeatedly) that I would never ever suck out my Baby’s snot, that disgusting straw became my must have tool for taking care of Baby when he’s sick. Thankfully, it’s really not that gross after all.

What have you done for your kids that you swore you would never ever do?