Read It All
We had a bad scare Sunday night. SuperBoy inadvertently had peanut butter spread on his carrot cake waffles, a family favorite from Willow Bird Baking. And yes, we now know he’s allergic to peanuts. This was the first time he’d ever had peanut anything, and the first time we learned of his allergy. Until now. By accident. After hives, swelling, vomiting (his medicine as well), and a trip to the ER to get IV benadryl, an epi shot, trouble breathing, etc, he is just fine. Thank God, and although his breathing was labored, he made it through all of this like a champ. The real question is, what is next when you discover your child is allergic to peanuts? 1) Follow up checkup with family practice doc. We couldn’t love our doctor more. She’s all of our doctor (as a family practice doctor) and we just love love love her natural approach to things. She’s a very wait-and-see-but-not-if-it’s-bad sort of physician. SuperBoy had a checkup with her today. She gave us a referral to an allergist in our healthcare system, and advised against any sort of nut contact until he’s been tested. He has happily eaten almond nut butter, tahini, drank almond milk, and had contact with other nuts aside from peanuts up until this point. No sense in retesting those waters as who knows what this allergic reaction has set off inside his body toward otherwise unsuspecting nuts. She also recommended probiotics for him, and a continuation of…
Read More
This is a biggie to address: teething gel! When your little babe or toddler is screaming with what appears to be teething pain, and your dad suggests rubbing a little whiskey on it, you respond: “They have oral gel for this nowadays, Dad!” But is that gel safe? Last year a number of warnings came out about benzocaine, the primary agent in oral baby teething gels, and the prognosis was not so great. 1) FDA & AAP warnings. “The FDA has learned that benzocaine products can cause a serious life-threatening condition known as methemoglobinemia. Methemoglobinemia (MET-hemoglobin) is a condition where there is a build-up of methemoglobin in the blood, which reduces the ability of the blood to transport oxygen throughout the body. ” Baby411. “The FDA says benzocaine products should not be given to children younger than age 2 unless under the supervision of a health care professional. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends giving children with teething problems a teething ring that has been chilled in a refrigerator, or gently rubbing the child’s gums with a finger.” Read more specifics of the FDA warning here. 2) Alternatives. A few articles from the Whole Parenting past: teething at night {Toddler Night Sleep Trouble} & teething {Teething Pain in Young Children}. And a few ideas: a) a great teething biscuit recipe here from Weelicious!; b) frozen breastmilk in cubes in a mesh feeder; c) warm washcloth; d) cold washcloth; e) teething rings in freezer/ pacifier in fridge or freezer; f) toys like Sophie the French giraffe that are…
Read More
When I said to my husband the other night, “You should write a blog post on ‘post-baby marital intimacy,’” he responded in a sweet loving daddy voice, “You mean with J?” No. I didn’t mean with our son!!! I meant with ME. Hence the reason and need for this post and discussion. The irony of his response was perfect. I’m discovering a new trend (not so new) amongst the parents I know where the parents’ relationship falls a little by the wayside as children’s needs are so intense and end up taking front, center, left, and right stage. Really, the whole stage in fact. Don’t get me wrong, my husband is a fabulous dad and husband. He really is. (Everyone says that, like everyone’s child is brilliant, which mine is too, naturally.) He comes home after 12 hours of being away and spends every minute playing with J, cleaning up the house, helping with dinner, and sharing about his day with me. We do go to be early, often, so that time period may only be a few hours, but it’s a great few. So, this holiday season, get a sitter. Call your mother. Find a friend who also has this problem of lack of time with their partner. Go out. It can be to look at Christmas lights, get a tea, or have an elaborate steak dinner. Whatever is in your time and financial budget. And don’t talk about your adorable child the whole time. Reserve part of…
Read More
I’ve written a good deal about our little toddler’s quirks in previous posts about teething, toddler sleep trouble, traveling with a toddler (comprehensive packing list), quick tips for toddler travel, running errands with a toddler, surviving pregnancy and toddlerhood simultaneously, tantrums, toddler naps, and toddler obsessions. And I’ve amassed the best advice from my fellow mamas. Thank you for all your feedback! Now to ask for MORE feedback 🙂 1) Full fledged tantrums. They’ve arrived. He’s 18 months old and can tantrum with the best of them. Anything from a routine diaper change, to preventing life threatening maneuvers, to dinner time, to wanting to see the moon at 9 am with his Baba (an impossibility on multiple levels). If you are in a similar situation, take a breath. You’re not alone! (Nota bene, self: I’m not alone!) A few things seem to work at setting appropriate boundaries while respecting that he is a human being too. What works for you? a) Tone of voice. We try to be consistent in our tone of voice when it is really a “no” situation. This voice should be lower, sterner, and not emotionally charged. At a girlfriend’s excellent suggestion, I break it down to “SuperBoy mad, SuperBoy wants X, but Mama said not now. SuperBoy listens, J respects Mama” instead of lengthy loquacious appeasement treaties. b) Appeasment. Appeasing does not work in the long run. I realized this when SuperBoy had to have 2 pacifiers, a toy, and a book to achieve a…
Read More
Being pregnant a second time gives me a whole new appreciation for the amazing uniqueness of each child, and how that individuality begins in the womb. Our little daughter who is almost 22 weeks old in there is feisty, with so much movement already! And I’m discovering that I have to rest more frequently with her than when I was pregnant with little SuperBoy, despite the same amount of nausea each time. Here are few health tips to avoid bringing on nausea or fatigue. 1) Cleaning agents & environmental factors. It is highly recommended by all the experts that you avoid skin contact, or inhalation of, certain toxic chemical compounds and cleaners during pregnancy. And I would avoid contact with most of these in general, but swear them off all together while pregnant as even the best latex gloves aren’t perfect. Baking soda works really really well. Lead, Mercury, Pesticides, Solvents, Air Polution, BPA, and more here at March of Dimes website. 2) Over-activity. My sister guest wrote a pregnancy fitness post here. Health care professionals recommend maintaining a moderate amount of exercise during pregnancy. This is not the time to train for a marathon, or suddenly diet & do yoga to get in shape. If you can’t hold a normal conversation while working out when pregnant, you’re working out too hard. Definitely move your body, especially in some aerobic way, but try to keep your heart rate not too high and your internal temp not too high as…
Read More
My son is obsessed with his swiffer. He wants to swiffer the walls, the dogs, and the carpeting. He wants to climb up the stairs with it, taking it into his crib, and refuses to share it with anyone. I am wondering if this is an actual diagnosis: toddler object obsession. It can result in extreme tantrums or serious love fests (the former when I remove the swiffer from his kung-fo grip, the latter when I present him with it). My dad has even shortened the handle on it to make it toddler size, enhancing the delight of using it! How to handle toddlers with object obsession? A few things we’ve tried: 1) Hide it. As with all things that bring on tantrums, the less the child sees the object, the less he can obsess over it. The swiffer lives in our pantry in the kitchen. I should say lived as now it lives in the basement. After many episodes of toddler-running-to-pantry-to-get-it and then hitting-dog-mama-stove-etc, it was time to remove the accessibility of the weapon! 2) Ration it. My dad comes over and gets out all the “fun” toys–swiffer, vacuum, anything that can move easily and make noise. J loves his Baba. Swiffer gets rationed naturally then, as it usually gets a few times a week play time with my dad. Also, by rationing the obsession object, it stays a good distraction as it’s fresh and not the every-day object. I’m hoping it will temper J’s love of the swiffer as…
Read More