Tip Tuesday: Kids Need Plenty of Water...and Here's How!!

With all this heat, here is a friendly reminder to drink lots of water....not pop, beer, but WATER! Especially our little ones!

When I was little I remember my family taking my dad to the emergency for heatstroke after a softball tournament on a particular hot weekend in July. He had gotten too hot and dehydrated that day with 90+ temperatures and humidity. Ever since that day he does not handle the heat very.

I was reminded of this when Judah got dehydrated this week especially after being out in the heat even the tiniest bit. Even indoors, we find ourselves drinking a lot of water due to the unbearable heat. So I have encouraged him to drink plenty of water every time I remembered. It was Judah who came up with the idea of keeping a cup within his reach to remind him.

One day Judah was trying to figure out how to stick his drinking cup to the fridge. He kept asking for some way to attach it to the fridge door on his level. With that idea in mind, I went upstairs to my sewing stuff and found some adhesive Velcro (which you can find at the fabric store or in a craft section at a department store). Together we stuck the scratchy pieces to the fridge door and its corresponding soft pairs to the cup.

Now Judah can access his cup at any time from where it sticks and step over to the other fridge door to get water. This system has saved time in asking for help as well as encouraged independence and ingenuity.

Please remember though to be careful with spilled water on a tile floor as it gets really slippery. Also keep an eye out for objects finding their way inside the cup (like dirty pennies). Be sure too to clean the cup every so often by running it through the dishwasher. And lastly, make sure your child is not dipping the cup into the cat water dish as he refills it.

Happy Hydrating!

Shuffle Saturday: Dealing with Naughty Sick Kids

This weekend Judah had an ear ache. This means that he does not feel well but well enough to still do normal activities. Even so, Judah always seems to act up more when he does not feel well.

With a plugged ear (as any time he slightly feels bad), Judah seems to scream more, whine more, and overall is more uncontrollable. You can also tell when he is out of sorts as he seems to jump from one thing to another in sort of a destructive, unhappy manner. Typically it is hard to keep up with him on these days.

Most often I am cleaning up the remains of one mess while he is into the next thing. It appears I have to anticipate what is coming next and be proactive in my response approach. I spend a lot of energy in this mode.

In spite all efforts to keep up, entertain, and avoid disaster, we still run into bumps along the way. At some point (and most often more than once) we have melt downs. I think kids do not know how to handle not feeling well and so act out in naughty ways even if they know better. Heck, even adults do this.

The question becomes how do you balance discipline with caring for a sick child? Even though you know they do not feel well, you still cannot allow this naughty behavior. Although you realize this aggression is frustration over feeling poorly, how do you manage or even limit unseemly outbursts.

Do you change your discipline approach? Do you not discipline?

This is something I struggle with quite often when he is sick. I have no answers but rather deal with it as it comes on a case by case basis. You?

Tip Tuesday: Issue With Eating Out

I've already written about poop...more than once (oye). So what else would I have to write about? Well, sometimes with kids, what goes down, does come up. As a fair warning, this article contains puke. If you've got a faint stomach, turn back now. You've been warned. :)

I've been finding some great coupons for eating out. And seeing as it's been as warm as it has been lately, I honestly don't feel like cooking.

But it seems that we can't go out to eat without Sean (the two year old) getting sick. I don't know if he's just excited about eating out, excited about the treat of a different drink (chocolate milk, orange juice etc) or just the fun of being someplace new. But the last two days, he's gotten sick at the table...twice.

Sunday we went out for a buy one get one free breakfast. And Sean puked at the table. I was sitting next to him which meant that I was the lucky one cleaning him up with baby wipes.

He acted okay, not like he was sick or anything...so we just assumed that he had too much orange juice before the meal. It was just too acidic for him.

On Monday, after Liam's "meet the teacher" night, we celebrated with taking Liam (and the younger two) out to dinner. I had a coupon for free kids meals at Chili's and, along with the Two for $20 meal for me and daddy (and the free chips and salsa with the foursquare check in) it was going to be an inexpensive meal.

Once again, I was seated next to Sean. I didn't think anything of it. My mistake.

He, once again, chugged his drink. Chocolate milk this time. We were enjoying our free chips and salsa as well as our texas fries that came with the 2 for $20 deal and I (thankfully) had a napkin in my hand. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sean gag and before I even knew it, I had my hand (and napkin) under his chin catching puke.

It wasn't much...more like a spitup compared to an all out puke. So we withheld the milk from him until he ate a little dinner. All was going well and dinner was done when Baby B decided to fill his pants. Hubby decided to evacuate with baby and big brother while I signed the check, loaded up the leftovers and got ready to leave with Sean. And then he threw up. ALL OVER. He got himself, the table, the floor. It was horrible. I yelled to the husband, who had just made it to the hallway. I was gagging, the lady at the next table was gagging. It was bad.

Husband handed me the baby and told me to head out to the car while he took care of the mess. That's a bonus about being married to a medic. He can handle all bodily functions without losing his meals.

Now, home clean up is my job. The car seat liner (along with his clothes/shoes included) are in the wash. Between the baby's bad diaper and the toddler getting sick two days in a row, it makes me wonder if we don't have a bit of a bug in our house. Hubs is chalking it up to all of the fair food from Saturday, but I don't think it could be still causing problems. I guess we'll wait and see what tomorrow brings.

That being said, I've learned a few more things. ALWAYS ask for more napkins. When you first sit down, get napkins. When the server takes your drink order, get napkins. When you get your food, get napkins. And have a few extra stashed in your diaper bag. Because you never know when the puke fairy will bless your table with her presence.

Wash Wednesday: Strep Throat

This weekend was a busy one. We did our shopping, made cupcakes, went to a family reunion...on top of the weekend chores of laundry, cleaning etc. Sunday night, after all of the dust settled I noticed "the tickle". You know, that unmistakable tickle in the back of your throat. The one that strikes fear in your heart. The one that makes you think, I'm in for a long week.

And I was right. Monday morning I woke up with a fever, achey, chills, stiff neck and swollen glands. I didn't have the usual rash on my chest that went with strep throat but I was pretty sure it was strep. I had to cancel my appearance at a meeting as I didn't want to get anyone else sick. I convinced my husband to get off of work early and my mother in law to take the older two boys so my husband could take me to the Doctor.

The doc walked in, took a look in my throat and said, "Yep. Fever, swollen glands, do you want me to swab you or just treat it." I nodded and said, "Just treat the strep doc. No need to test." He added that it was "going around" and wrote a script for a Z-Pack.

Day three on the meds, I'm starting to feel a little better. My mother in law has been great, taking the two big boys for the last two days so I can rest. However, my husband has had to work which leaves me with a teething, crabby and restless infant.

I wish moms could get sick days. But we can't.

Now I'm in the process of trying to clean EVERYTHING I've touched over the last few days. The Clorox Wipes are getting a work out, that's for sure. Doorknobs, phones, computers, remotes....everything is getting cleaned. My house smells like lemon Clorox. But that's okay. I wouldn't wish strep on my worst enemy.

The thing I hate the most about being sick? Not being able to remember what it feels like to feel "normal". I'm hoping that comes in the next few days. I just hope I've quarantined myself enough that no one else gets it.

Shuffle Saturday: No Sick Days for Mommy

I've been sick the last couple of days. The trouble is, it's not even something "simple" like a cold or the flu. It's a mystery.

I'm not one to complain about pain. I labored for a total of 53 hours (with all three boys-combined) without pain meds. I'm a tough chick. But when I experienced this pain, I couldn't ignore it.

I've also passed kidney stones (both while pregnant and not pregnant) without meds. Told ya I was tough. But this pain is different. It started out with a sharp pain on my lower right back. I wasn't bending, picking anyone up or anything that would be easy to explain. I was sitting on the couch, working on the computer. That was on Tuesday morning.

Being "mom" I managed to take the preschooler to school which means hauling our 20 lb infant in the carrier and our 25 lb toddler into the van, out of the van and up the flight of stairs. Ow. Ever since then, the pain has been constant. I even took a left over percocet that I had from my last c-section to get some sleep. Yeah, it was that bad.

On Wednesday I convinced my husband to take me to the Doctor. Actually, it was my husband who saw how much pain I was in and MADE me go to the Doctor. The Doc thought maybe it was a kidney stone, maybe appendix...but wrote me a script for Vicodin.

That has allowed me to get some rest and I spent most of Friday in bed asleep. I was bummed because I had a meeting about the barn and three houses lined up to take a look at. And we had to cancel it all because after taking a shower, I was exhausted. Which is not like me at all.

That being said, Mom doesn't get a sick day, ever. The laundry was piling up, the carpet was getting crunchy thanks to the toddler walking around with food, the dishes were starting to stack up, Mommy's Recess was being done by Emma...all of my usual chores were being ignored because I wasn't feeling well.

But I am surrounded by those who love and care for me. Emma took care of the Mommy's Recess posting. My husband folded the laundry, did the dishes and even vacuumed!

When Mommy is down, the world seems to stop...hopefully I start feeling better soon. But until then, I'm thankful for the help and support surrounding me.

Tip Tuesday: Teeth or Cold?

Judah has been teething again. It has been months since the last time he got any teeth. He occasionally wakes up from time to time during the night complaining about his teeth.

Being up at night brings back memories of last year at this time. For four months we were up during the night with ear infections. Right before we got tubes in his ears last February, we were up at least seven times a night. Needless to say, we were up all night and slept during most days. Thankfully tubes brought immediate relief to our weariness.

Symptoms of ear infections are hard to diagnose and so often are similar in nature to teething: fussiness, irritability, excessive chewing, fever, runny nose, and the list goes on. Kids wake up during the night because laying on their sore ears makes them uncomfortable. Likewise, teething can also wake up a child who might experience some discomfort from pain. So how do you tell them apart?

The key to tell the difference between teething and ear infections (or colds) is determining the effectiveness of regular pain medicine.

Our pediatrician taught us this valuable tip during those months of little sleep that we still use to this day. For teething, you should be able to give the correct dose of Tylenol for your child and it will help ease the pain all night long, allowing them to sleep soundly. For ear infections, your child will still wake up in time for the next dose a few hours later.

This has been the best way for us to tell if Judah is teething or simply has a cold even when all symptoms seem the same. So often you are too tired to clearly explain the extra fussiness of your child. Try this yourself (with doctors permission for Tylenol) and if your child is still needing the Tylenol every few hours, then most likely you need to make a trip to the doctor.

From one mom to another, hope you find some rest soon!

Tip Tuesday: Surviving Sick Kids!

Tis the season for sick kids. We have already experienced two weeks of illness in our house this month, one week of sinus infections and the following week of Roseola. It seemed like a long winter last year when Judah had four months of ear infections, especially all the sleepless nights. Thankfully the tubes worked well the last few weeks but we were still sick.

At least him being sick was a wake up call for a prevention and a preparedness check list. I had to make several trips to the store to buy the following. Perhaps I can save you some headache for your own infants/toddlers.

1. Working Vaporizer
2. Kleenex
3. Children's Tylenol or related product
4. Children's Ibuprofen or related product
5. Adult Ibuprofen for headaches related to extreme fussiness
6. Pedialyte, Pedialyte Freezer Pops, or clear juice
7. Crackers, apple sauce, or yogurt
8. Wipes or a form of antibacterial cleanser
9. Laundry detergent to clean sheets and clothes
10. Working and accurate thermometer
11. Liquid Benadryl for rash (doctor approved)
12. Anti-itch creme for rash (doctor approved)
13. Night light
14. Phone number for local doctor office
15. Phone number for local hospital nurse
16. Local Pharmacy phone number

Here are some other tips that might lessen the stress of sick toddlers (as I have learned in my short mommy experience), especially at 3:00 in the morning.

• Putting down several layers of wet pads and sheets on the bed will save you time of changing sheets during the night. You can pull one layer off when needed after use.
• Have a notebook and pen handy to write down and keep track of symptoms.
• Call your pediatrician if you have given Tylenol or equivalent for several days and your child is still waking up during the night several times. More than likely your child has an ear infection (if it is teeth then the medicine will help them sleep all night).
• Trust your instincts! Trust your instincts even if it deviates a little from the doctor. Trust your instincts that your child is sick and something seems wrong.
• Do not be afraid to call the doctor's office or hospital nurse for consultation.
• Have some kid friendly videos on hand.
• Ask for help if you need it, especially if you have been up several nights in a row. Taking shifts is the best way to cope and continue a normal day routine.
  
• Check out my favorite web sites for more information on symptoms and advice to treat your child: Mayo Clinic and WebMD. If you are like me, you have no clue what to do otherwise.
• Pick up the toys before bed so that you are not tripping on them during the night due to lack of sleep.
• "Sleep when child sleeps" stills applies.
  

I could probably stand to hear about your own tips for treating sick kids to prevent another long winter. In the meantime, hope you all feel better soon.