High Maintenance Mom - Illnesses

Cade's Story-a beautiful story of strength and love

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 21:29:38 -0800

My friend has graciously allowed me to post the story of her son Cade for encouragement to others and to remind us all how precious life is. Here is Cade's story as told by his Mom.......

Friends with sick kids

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:32:34 -0700

My son had a fever of 102 yesterday and I went into full sick mode with Motrin, humidifier, etc. He slept well and by morning was 100% fine. Then I get an email from a close friend whose son had been ill since birth. He will be OK but it has been very stressful for the baby and for his parents. I read her email and almost started to cry. I am so lucky and try to remind myself often. I will be posting my friend's story on the front page in the new few days.

Cold season...it's too early!

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 06:17:56 -0700

I didnt think the first colds of the season would come this soon but I have a cold and so does my 3 year old. My son seems to be in the clear but his nose is making some crackling noises so I assume one is one the way. I love our cool mist humidifier, our vapor plug in and Motrin. The combination does help both kids to sleep through the night which is key...sleep! I hope this winter proves to be kinder to my daughter who was sick too much last winter, ear infections, stomach bug, etc.

Infant Reflux-knowledge and support to help you through it

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 06:42:46 -0700

Our son was born a healthy 9 pounds 7 months ago and in that time we learned a great deal about Gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. Our son had what his pediatrician and I considered to be a mild case and in hindsight, our daughter, now 2 ½ may have had an even milder case. When my son was about 2 weeks old he began what I can only describe as grunting. I remembered my daughter doing it also but hers was slight and soon went away. My son’s grunting was loud and kept him awake at night.

Baby's First Cold

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:54:23 -0800

My son is 11 weeks old and while we just celebrated a full nights sleep, we also morned the arrival of his first cold. I was extremely annal about my toddler going near him the first few weeks and have been a hand washing fanatic since my daughter was born two years ago. Sometimes bugs just get through the barrier of hand washing, cautious sneezing and coughing and good vitamins. My son is doing so well, all things considering.

Some suggestions on how to deal with croup (it's the one with the barking cough)

Sun, 07 Oct 2007 21:46:48 -0700

A child in our center has croup and a friend of mine sent this informative message about her experiences. Croup is relatively common and it's likely you will either experience it at home or know someone whose kids have had it. "Between my two daughters I have dealt with almost a dozen episodes of croup, so I have a good bit of experience. I should say that I am not a doctor. I am simple telling you about my experiences and what has worked for my daughters.

The reason, I feel I should share my experiences is because in some cases the croup can be a very scary experience for the child and for the parents. Even after having dealt with several bouts of croup, that distinctive cough in the middle of night starts my heart racing...

Veggie Booty Recall

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 09:39:00 -0700

The recent recall of Veggie Booty an all natural, vegetarian snack made of puffed rice and corn (this one with spinach and kale) made me furious. Yes, furious! I am pregnant and have a 20 month old and do everything I can to eat right for my unborn child and buy foods that are good and fun for my toddler and my husband. So, I go out and buy organic this, all natural that and sleep a little better at night.

Do you think we need to go to the doctor?

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:11:06 -0700

Some parenting questions are easy to answer. For example the question, "should I let my two year-old play with my new Henckels knife set" rarely requires much thought. But the question of whether to take a child to the doctor, often after hours, is harder to answer. A friend, whom I called this weekend, said her doctor told her to bring in a child anytime they are listless. N, who is normally running full speed, was listless and on Sunday night his fever had increased to 103 degrees...

Week long runny noses and sinus infections for all

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 22:43:28 -0700

My family has been grumpy recently. Really grumpy. And every member of my family has a runny nose. I was the first to go to a doctor and find out I had a bad sinus infection. By day five of antibiotics, I was still miserable, had trouble breathing, and a non-productive cough (when you feel like there is fluid in your chest but no amount of coughing relieves the feeling). Because I was so miserable, I finally took N to the doctor with the symptoms of runny nose and my favorite mom diagnosis, "just not himself". We found that he too had a sinus infection, which was better than hearing he is just two...

Hand, Foot, and Mouth - the cranky virus strikes again

Tue, 25 Apr 2006 21:03:56 -0700

We hope to have just ended our recent weeks of Hand, Foot, and Mouth. I was sick with something else first. Then N (the scavenger) was sick for a week. My husband was home last Monday followed by B, who was home for the rest of the week. It sucked. We all had sore throats and were cranky. When I took N to the doctor, he was so upset and crying so hard, he threw up all over the two of us...

Another ear infection - why didn't we realize this earlier

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 21:40:10 -0800

There are times when I think I really have the parenting thing down. Like last weekend when we made 60 dinosaur sugar cookies (okay the kids only helped with about 25 of them but it was still fun). And then there are times when I wonder how many different ways an ear infection can cause my kids to act out before I realize what's going on...

Using the dishwasher to sterilize used toys

Tue, 21 Mar 2006 21:42:21 -0800

Last night was spent doing dishes. We bid on a set of plastic dinosaurs for B's 4th birthday party (either for a pinata or to hide in the sandbox) but when they arrived all I could think about was illnesses from another part of the country. Since B currently has an ear infection and his brother may also, I thought it would be a good idea to clean the dinosaurs before letting anyone play with them. After not much thought, I decided the dishwasher would be the best way to clean them. First I carefully separated out 15 of the 100 dinosaurs that looked like they might melt. Then I started the dishwasher wondering how my experiment would turn out...

Pediatric Telephone Advice

Mon, 19 Dec 2005 20:13:55 -0800

A friend recommended a book called "Pediatric Telephone Advice". It serves as a training manual for pediatric triage, reference book for ped office staff etc. First edition was in 1980. I have the 3rd edition (2004). It goes through the telephone protocol and decision making guidelines that the nurses use when you call a pediatrician office and speak to a nurse. Symptom definition, diagnosis criteria, multiple symptoms, initial assessment questions etc.

I lost my voice...

Wed, 07 Dec 2005 21:39:36 -0800

After our long weekend of activities B was up all night and on Monday we found that he had another raging ear infection right around the time I realized I had a sinus infection. Thinking I could get better on my own, I didn't start antibiotics until Friday when my voice disappeared (B started antibiotics right away as he's had chronic ear infections). I thought it was funny and didn't realize that it might not come back for a while. By Sunday, I admitted that I had laryngitis when no sounds came out. This week is our big international geophysical conference (AGU) and I love talking to everyone. Of course, talking or whispering only makes it worse so I have had to write in a notebook. Writing in a notebook is fine for adults, but almost useless for our 3.5 and 1.5 year olds...

Transitioning back home after being away

Sun, 20 Nov 2005 22:42:45 -0800

I was in Alaska last week and returned to a sick husband. There really are times when I wonder how everyone else, who isn't happily medicated or with full-time live-in help, does it. As I write this, I can hear B asking if his nap, which he hasn't taken even though he threw a huge fit while we were trying to leave a playdate, is over. No, it's still not over. My biggest worry is that he'll wake his brother and then I won't even be able to fall back on a video since Baby Entropy is much more interested in destruction than he is in being sedated by the television...