“He has PNEUMONIA”. It’s a very very scary thing to hear from your pediatrician, and it is just what she told me last Friday when I took baby Wills for a check-up. The thing with being a mother-of-three is that you fancy yourself a pro, even when it comes to health matters. So when little Wills started coughing on Monday and developed a fever which continued throughout the week, I didn’t even call or text Dr. J. Yes, I gave the normal meds and used the puffer for the cough, but only when his fever still spiked after the 72 hour grace period, did I rush him to get checked.
Luckily, she’s also a pediatric pulmonary specialist, and when she listened to his chest, she immediately said “Momma! it’s not good“. I put on her stethoscope and heard some crackling noises, which apparently meant that the infection had gone to his lungs, which meant pneumonia.
Pneumonia is a frightening word to us parents, but it simply means an inflammation in the lungs and can be treated easily, at home. While it certainly isn’t a disease to take lightly, babies, toddlers and the elderly are the most susceptible to the disease, and it is particularly bad in developing countries where antibiotics and treatments aren’t readily available.
How did he get such a nasty bug? Who knows? Nat probably brought it back from big school and did have a mild cough for a few days. But what was important was that Dr.J said that it wasn’t too bad a case (no need for an x-ray or worse, confinement at the hospital), and she was sure he’s be fine in a week if he started taking antibiotics today.
Now, just three days since taking his first dose of clarithromycin, he’s almost back to his useful sunny self. The bad news? I think Mom’s caught it.
Photo via cproppe
Last night I was putting the kids to bed, and while I was tucking Ollie into the bottom bunk, Nat started swinging from the bunk’s ladder, saying “Mom! Look at all the ways I can get down”, proceeding to swing to the floor from different directions.
As I kissed my 4-year-old goodnight and tried to listen to something he was saying about a Super Mario game, I found myself saying “NAT!! Get down from there” “NAT! That’s really dangerous!” and “NAT! Stop that right now!”. THEN I heard a loud thud. I looked and Nat had fallen and whacked the back of her head on the floor. She was crying hard, saying “I’m so sorry Mom!” and I rushed to her side, feeling both angry and concerned. Why oh why don’t they just listen???
A goose egg appeared almost immediately, which I applied an ice pack on and I gave her paracetamol to deal with the pain. The fact that she cried loudly, spoke and did not lose consciousness or vomit, were signs that it wasn’t a serious head injury, but still, it was scary and worrying (she slept in our room last night, just to be sure). Especially after the recent tragedy with Natasha Richardson, who we were all very fond of 
.
I did some research after she went to bed, and was relieved to find out that most bumps to the back and front of the head are not likely to cause serious injury, as opposed to in the sides of the head. Here’s an interesting article I found on children’s head injuries, using case studies to help you understand better. It is such a common yet possibly dangerous occurrence with kids that I think every parent should at least be aware of the basics.
Photo via 123rf
On Friday morning my 13-month old baby boy Wills had his Prevnar booster vaccine. That afternoon he fussed, and by late evening had a fever of 38.5. On Saturday he stayed pretty much the same, miserable and with a low-grade fever that went up to around 38.7 a little past Midnight. I gave him his last dose of Calpol by then, and by the next day the fever was gone.
I’m always wary after my children have a vaccine. I suppose its because of all the news one hears on television and in the papers, that vaccines like MMR particularly, have been linked to Autism. Its something that parents dread hearing the most, especially after pediatricians (like mine) are staunch defenders of vaccines. It was actually reported in the Huffington Post a few weeks ago that in spite of a federal ruling in the “vaccine court” which showed NO link between MMR and autism, a little boy named Bailey Banks was also awarded nearly a million dollars because the courts found that his brain damage leading to autism was indeed caused by the MMR vaccine. You read horror stories on blogs like this one, called Vaccines Exposed, or even by celebs like Jenny McCarthy:
We believe autism is an environmental illness. Vaccines are not the only environmental trigger, but we do think they play a major role. If we are going to solve this problem and finally start to reverse the rate of autism, we need to consider changing the vaccine schedule, reducing the number of shots given and removing certain ingredients that could be toxic to some children.
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Our furry friends have been known to lower stress of parenting and childhood for they offer companionship without question even if they do get around to mischief from time to time. Raising kids can be quite hectic specially in today’s recession wrecked economy but having them take care of a pet can be a nice way to teach them some responsibility. They do entail some costs for care and veterinary services to ensure they are fit and well but take my word for it, they’re well worth the cost so knowing the breed through updated dog information is essential for both your sakes.
You can also try animal shelters and animal charities for some pets that have had it rough and need loving families. May you be a pet lover or not, dogs and all other pets deserve care for they are our responsibility. Dogs are more energetic than cats and may even contribute to the health of your family as you have to take them for walks, call it a symbiotic existence where both benefit from living together.
Parents and kids alike will benefit for with the kids, they get to get a taste of responsibility and compassion for animals. For us adults, they become a sort of multi-tasking ward, guarding our homes, watching over the kids and what can we say, it’s just fun to talk and pour out stress without having the other party answer back!!!
Two weeks ago I got an ubiquitous letter from my daughter’s school warning of a mini-epidemic of gastroenteritis going around. It listed the symptoms and how to keep it away (washing hands, etc) – okay, thanks. As if you can say that to a 6-year-old and expect them to remember to wash their hands in between the playground and lunch break! Unlike us Mums who have a keen awareness of germs and potential carriers (if I see someone coughing at the bank I immediately run for cover and whip out the antibacterial gel), kids just don’t notice these things and find it extremely difficult to stop touching things and (horrors) put their hands in their mouth.
Well, I did what I could. I gave them spiel about the germs and the hand washing, pumped them with vitamin C and hoped for the best. As fate would have it, on the night of baby Will’s 1st birthday party, Nat came to our bedroom at midnight and promptly vomited. It wasn’t too much birthday cake, cookies or lasagna as I hoped, because she couldn’t hold down anything for the next 24 hours. She then came down with a fever, had diarrhea, and for the next few days just lay on the sofa, totally miserable. Classic symptoms of gastro.
What’s worse is that we had planned a trip to Disneyland for their birthdays and it was just a few days away. And just as we were considering canceling the whole vacation, she got better. But then her brother got it, then the baby got it. And this was after I had lysol-ed my house like a madwoman! Luckily, the boys had a much, much milder version, and were pretty much their normal selves apart from a bit of runny tummies for a few days.
Now back from our great holiday (boy, did we narrowly miss disaster because of these school germs), my daughter came home from school today with ANOTHER letter, this time saying that there is a cold virus going around the school. HELP!!
Apparently, some schools and parents have taken the matter into their own hands, with things like the Germy Wormy and the Sniffle Sleeve. Good on them. Worth mentioning at the next PTA meeting I think.
Photo via Gotta Be Mobile
Madonna's Sprained Ankle
Since my sprained ankle, I’ve been stuck at home for the past three days, trying very hard not to go mad. You see, I’m the kind of person who can’t sit down for more than half an hour at a time (uh-oh, now I know where my daughter gets it). My bottom actually starts hurting and I have to get up and busy myself with something, anything, on my feet. That’s why I love to cook, I find it somewhat gratifying to labour in the kitchen, over a hot stove for hours on end. No stools needed, thanks.
So you can understand that the doctor’s instructions of RICE or Dr.ICE for the past 48 hours has not been fun. Well at least I’ve been able to catch up with my photo album-ing (forget scrapbooking, that was B3K – before 3 kids!) which have been sorely neglected as my husband always likes to point out (he did so admire the book I did for our firstborn).
While the kids are at school and baby Wills is asleep I’ve also managed to catch up on my DVD watching, which has been impossible in recent months (ok, years). Like most other Mothers, we are no doubt at the bottom of the dibs-on-the-tv list- with kiddie shows, sports and even Baby Einstein taking precedence over things like that latest Spanish film with subtitles that make everyone in my household pull faces.
Speaking of television, I’ve also discovered that quite a few celebs have been seen up and around town sporting their sprained ankles, giving me a boost in thinking I can make it to the supermarket this afternoon and look as cool as Madge (pictured above). Poor thing, it happened right before her 50th birthday bash last August too. Another celeb sporting the same injury as moi is one of my daughter’s favourites, Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers fame. Nobody really know how he got it, because like Madonna, they seem to think there’s some reason for secrecy here.
Photo via The Daily Mail
Sprained Foot
Don’t worry, it wasn’t anything too serious! I was simply rushing around as usual on Saturday and just as I was getting down from my car (well, 12-seater kid mobile), my wedge sandal twisted and sent me plummeting to the curb, half in a bush, sprawled in an un-ladylike position. Yes, it hurt, but in typical Supermom fashion, I dusted myself off, poured rubbing alcohol on my wounds (I always have a supply in the car) and limped to the warehouse supermarket still determined to do my weekly grocery (which I did, amazingly).
Not such a good idea, because by the time I got home, my foot was in terrible pain. An advil later, I called my Mom who insisted that I get it checked in the emergency room just in case. She had two falls in the past 10 years which she ignored, and she later found that she had suffered a fracture. Years later it has affected her hip, resulting in an injury which they tell her now could mean surgery. Poor Mom.
So she came over and took me to the emergency room, which took ages and was not at all like I pictured it to be – with George Clooney and Noah Wyle in mad chaos, bloody victims everywhere. Maybe its because we live in a relatively quiet suburb, but the only other patients were a kid who had gotten the exact kind of sprain like me playing basketball and a middle-aged man who had stepped on a rusty nail (which he brought, in a rotten piece of wood- ugh!).
Luckily, the X-Ray results came out clear. I had suffered a mild-moderate sprained foot, which would heal on its own in a week or so. The doctor gave me a ice pack, bandaged my foot and sent us home with instructions of RICE, telling me to use a cane and take it easy. And because I am still nursing, I can’t even take pain killers. Oh well. As my Mom said, maybe this is God’s way telling me I need to take it easy and that my holidays-to-do-list can wait………this week at least.
Photo via P^2 – Paul
Flu Shot
After the excitement of the Halloween festivities, we’ve all come down with colds in the past week or so. And I say “colds” in the plural because there have been more than one, when we seem to have gotten over one, another arrives.
I still can’t get over the fact that my two elder kids, who both had the flu shot this summer, seem to get over it incredibly quickly or don’t get it at all. For example last week, Ollie simply had a runny nose for a day or two, and Nat was fine. This week Nat had a cough for a couple of days, and Ollie a runny nose for a day. Today, both kids are fine. What matters was that nothing really came of it, no prolonged symptoms or worse, fever. Poor baby Wills, who obviously couldn’t get the shot, has had it pretty bad. Coupled with heavy teething (his top two came out this week, and one more is breaking too), he’s had a tough time. And so has Mommy, with a bad cold last week and again this week for round two.
But back to the flu vaccine. The Moms at my son’s preschool are divided on this. And until last year, I agreed that it made sense to go “au naturel”, of the let-them-get-sick-it-builds-their-immunity kind of thinking. But last year was a particularly bad flu season for us, with my son missing A LOT of school days which did him no good at all. So when a Mom raved that her son got through the season virtually unscathed because of the vaccine, I thought I’d try it out this year. Now I’m a convert. Even my husband, who’s had a miserable week coughing and sneezing, has grumbled,”why didn’t you make me get the shot??!” Well, next year one thing is for sure, we’re ALL getting flu shots.
Here are some key facts about the vaccine:
The single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year.
There are two types of vaccines:
* The “flu shot”— an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle, usually in the arm. The flu shot is approved for use in people older than 6 months, including healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions.
* The nasal-spray flu vaccine — a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu (sometimes called LAIV for “live attenuated influenza vaccine” or FluMist®). LAIV (FluMist®) is approved for use in healthy* people 2-49 years of age who are not pregnant.
Each vaccine contains three influenza viruses-one A (H3N2) virus, one A (H1N1) virus, and one B virus. The viruses in the vaccine change each year based on international surveillance and scientists’ estimations about which types and strains of viruses will circulate in a given year.
About 2 weeks after vaccination, antibodies that provide protection against influenza virus infection develop in the body.
Photo via P. Swansen
Teething
Even though Wills’ nasty virus is on its way out (since my last post he went through 5 days of fever, wheezing and even diarrhea), his constant drooling and swollen gums show that my little guy is still teething badly. He’s smiling more now, and is back to his active self, but he still still has his moments (of sudden pain?). Because I don’t recall my two elder children teething as badly as this (or is it Mommy amnesia?) I had some questions. How painful was it? When did it usually strike worst? When would it be over?
So I sought advice from one of my favourite online doctors, Dr. Greene who said this:
“….Young teethers can’t talk. We don’t know the moment teething pain starts and stops. Teething pain and its remedies are very difficult to evaluate scientifically. Therefore, we must rely on observation — general observations by many parents and care-providers, as well as specific observations of our own children.
When the mouth becomes a source of pain, it is quite unsettling for some kids. If you’ve ever bitten the inside of your cheek, you know how distracting a bit of newly irregular flesh can be. For a baby, the intrusion of a hard, sharp tooth through tender, swollen gums can be quite an adjustment. Some get used to it quickly, but at first it can be more uncomfortable than a pebble in a shoe.
The teeth (or tooth) that causes the most pain varies from child to child. It is often the first tooth that causes the most discomfort — or those big molars, when they arrive. For many babies, working on several teeth at once is the worst…..”
In a nutshell? The golden rule of parenting: Each child is different. I got off lightly with my other two on the teething, but Wills didn’t put me through the torment of colic like Ollie did. Ollie is now a saintly 3 year old, but Nat was a terror at that age. So I as I watch Wills playing on his exersaucer, he stops, looks right into my eyes and gives me a toothy smile,
I realize that no matter how tough these baby stages can be it doesn’t really matter when they smile at you like that.
Photo via sarniebill
Teething Ring
Just as you start patting yourself on the back for having a good week of parenting (i.e. no major arguments, tantrums or illnesses), you get thrown a challenge. Yesterday morning it suddenly came in the form of baby Wills being a little more cranky than usual. By afternoon he was a lot fussier, waking several times from his naps, and by early evening he had a low grade fever. Ugh. I hate fevers. I know that doctors say that when low, fevers actually help the body fight an infection – so leave it until it hits the upper range of 38. But when one of my babies get it I have to admit that I slightly panic and go straight for the paracetamol.
At his “well baby” check-up the other day, Doctor J noticed that his upper gums were swollen. So last night when he woke up every 2 hours screaming in agony (not his style at all!), I knew that teething was at least one of the culprits. His fever had also risen to 38.6 even 3 hours AFTER I had given Calpol, he was clearly in pain and discomfort, so I enlisted my husband to give an extra dose of ibuprofen. I don’t know how he does it, but my husband can work some serious Daddy Magic! With a few silly-faced peekaboos, he turned the dreaded “medicine time” into comedy hour, and literally had Wills laughing so hard, I secretly wondered if he had become slightly hysterical with the fever.
Mission accomplished, Dad went downstairs to watch his DVD reruns of “Las Vegas“, while I kept Wills in bed with me, hoping that the meds would kick in and we’d get some sleep. Well, you know that that wasn’t to be. This morning, I noticed a cough and a slight runny nose, which means that we’ve been hit with a double whammy.
Teething-wise though, here’s what I’ve done. Will report results in my next entry.
1. Homeopathic Teething Gel
I rubbed this in this gums every time he woke up during the night. It seemed to have helped because he went back to sleep after a couple of minutes.
2. Frozen Teething Rings/ Washcloth
Those went into the freezer this morning. When he wakes from his nap, they should be ready.
3. Paracetamol
I don’t like this, but I just felt it was necessary with the fever.
4. Chamomilla Drops
I’ve been starting to give him this homeopathic remedy for teething. It is in the gel as well, so the jury’s out on if this will help.
5. Mom’s TLC
The most important thing of all!
Photo via cjbvii
