When I look back on this holiday season I’ll remember one thing for certain, the plague that invaded our family and just wouldn’t go away. The Christmas plague of 2011 is a doozy and it holds in to you with its germy little hands and just won’t let go.

Maya was the first of our crew to be infected (I’m guessing she picked it up from school). The Thursday before we were to leave for our Christmas vacation she spiked a fever before going to bed but seemed fine the next day so we figured (or rather hoped) it was nothing. Saturday night in the hotel the evil plague reared its ugly head. She was super stuffed up and coughing all night, had a nose bleed from all the stuffyness and the dry heat in the hotel room, threw up and had crusty eyes. I should have known then that this thing was a doozy but I continued to live in hope that it would go away as quickly as it came. No such luck. The poor kiddo is still sick. She has been battling this god awful cold virus for 3 WEEKS. Today the doctor diagnosed her with a sinus infection and she is now on antibiotics so hopefully it’ll be gone soon.

Each of us has had our turn with the plague. Anna was the luckiest of us and was only sick for about a week. Lorne got it a few days into our trip and was sick the whole time we were on vacation. I thought I was going to be the lucky one when I didn’t get infected while we were away, even though I had to share a room with my little germ breathing family. However, the day after we got home I started to feel it setting in and it has gotten worse every day since then. Last night I even had a high fever, I haven’t had a fever in forever. And, today I took my first ever “sick day” from my stay at home mom gig by making Lorne stay home so I could maximize how much time I got to spend laying on the couch today and could have an extra pair of hands to help take care of the girls. This is definitely the worst cold I’ve had in a really, really long time.

Hopefully, fingers crossed, this crazy plague is on its way out and we will all be healthy again in the near future. Until then, I”ll leave you with a cute picture of the adorable Miss Anna, because she is just so darn cute it would be a crime not to share her with you

Schools and germs go hand in hand. Every child has to go through more than their fair share of the sickies when they first start school. They have to work their way through all the germs to help build up their little immune system. Not to mention kids pass germs around much more easily than grown ups thanks to all the toy sharing, a tendency to forget to cover their mouth and nose when they sneeze or cough, and the grossest thing of all, letting their nose run down their face (ewww!). Every parent knows their kids is going to get sick during the school year, especially during the cold and flu season. Keeping your child home from school when they are sick is a common courtesy to other families to help stop the spread of germs. But, where is the line. When is a child sick enough to stay home and when is it okay to send you child to school.

Maya has a little boy in her preschool class who has a weakened immune system and is much more susceptible to getting sick and when he does get sick it can quickly escalate into a dangerous illness. Now that we are right smack dab in the middle of cold and flu season the school has reminded us that it is important (especially in our classroom) to keep your child home from school if they are sick to help stop the spread of germs. Some symptoms are obvious triggers to keep a child at home, like a fever or vomiting, but what other symptoms should keep a child at home and when is it okay to send them back? Coughs associated with colds can sometimes stick around for weeks after all the other symptoms are gone. Some children are fine when they have a cold other than being a little stuffed up and maybe a little extra sneezy but are otherwise full of energy and fine to go about their day. It is tough to find that fine line.

Our school has a pretty realistic well child policy and I feel comfortable that the school and the other parents are doing their part. Each school is going to have their own policies and rules regarding when a child should stay home or what symptoms will get them sent home from school. You should always check with your child’s school regarding their policy and, of course, use your own common sense.

Obviously, with an immune compromised child in our class we parents are going to need to be a little extra diligent and considerate when we are making the decision on whether to keep our child at home. So far (knock on wood) Maya hasn’t been sick much this school year, and the times she has been sick have been during the days when she doesn’t have school. But, when that time comes when I have to keep her home I know she is not going to be happy about missing school unless she is feeling really sick.  That will be the tough part, explaining to her why she needs to stay home even if she isn’t feeling all that crappy.

When do you keep your child home from school? What symptoms are triggers for keeping them at home and when do you feel okay sending them back?

Maya has always been a relatively healthy child. In her first year of life she only had one cold and that was when she was about 7 weeks old and she got it while we were visiting family over Christmas. Throughout her almost 4 years of life she has had mostly just colds. Last year she did have a mild case of croup, but no medication was needed and it was gone in a day or two. No flu, no ear infections, no antibiotics. It has been smooth sailing in that department so far.

I knew that she would like be sick more often this year now that she has started school. We all know that germs love to travel around the school yard and make their rounds to all the kid’s homes. Well, here we are, just over a month into the school year and we’v already had our first battle with the school cooties.

A couple of weeks ago Maya had her flu vaccine. At the advice of her doctor I opted for the nasal mist versus the shot. Her doctor warned me that she would likely have an extra stuffy, runny nose for a couple of days (I say extra because Maya has allergies and pretty much always has a stuffy, runny nose). So, when her nose was stuffy all last weekend I didn’t think anything of it. When it didn’t go away and a cough arrived I figured she was coming down with a cold. No biggie, we’ve dealt with colds before.

Then Thursday night rolled around, well actually more like the wee hours of Friday morning. Maya woke up crying and when I went into her room I found her running a fever and complaining that her ear hurt. A trip to the doctor later that morning confirmed what I already knew, she had her first ear infection. A prescription for a round of antibiotics and we were on our way home to suffer through the weekend with an extremely crabby Maya.

She has made it almost 4 years with not a single ear infection, not a single round of antibiotics and nothing more than a cold under her belt. One month into her first year of school and now she has had her first ear infection and she is part way through her first round of antibiotics. This school year could get interesting. My fingers are crossed that we get a reprieve from the school cooties for a bit.

Maya is struggling with some bladder issues. Her bladder issues have become a big strain on our family. She is going ALL THE TIME. Seriously, I mean ALL THE TIME, as in every 5 minutes or so. This has been going on for about 5 weeks now. We practically live in the bathroom both at home and in public restrooms while we are out (gross!). To say that this is a trying time for me as a parent is an understatement. I literally feel like I am going to go insane some days if this doesn’t stop soon.

When it first started I had immediately thought she had a bladder infection and called her pediatrician. Off we went for a pee in a cup appointment only to discover that her urine was clean when strip tested in the office. Two days later the culture test also came back clean, no infection. The pediatrician thought perhaps she had some sort of irritation in her urethra from the public pool, or new soap, or something along those lines and suggested I give it a week or so to see if it resolved itself.  Time did not resolve the issue, and if anything it was getting worse, she was going more often.

Her main symptoms were extremely frequent need to urinate, sometimes she would go (often only a few dribbles since she was trying every 5 minutes), but often times she couldn’t go at all. It was the times she couldn’t go that were the worst. She would completely meltdown and throw hysterical fits because she felt like she had to pee but nothing would come out. However, this was (is) only happening during the day, at night she is fine, no bladder issues, no bedwetting, everything is normal.

So, since time had not resolved the issue back to the doctor we went. The doc did another test on her urine, both in office strip test and culture test, and again both were negative. I had secretly hoped for a positive because then at least there would be an actual problem with a relatively simple solution.

At least we left office with some what of a diagnosis this time. The diagnosis…daytime overactive bladder or pollakiuria. The unknown, whether it is physiological or psychological. She was prescribed ditropan to help relax the muscles of her bladder and urethra. The type of overactive bladder she has often affects kids her age for a short period of time until they grow out of it and return to their normal peeing routine. The hope is that medication will help her get over the hump, that it will help control her bladder’s muscle spasms until her body can do it again on its own.

Since we don’t know for sure if the bladder control problem is physiological or psychological we don’t know for sure if the medication will work. Pollakiuria can often be triggered by stress and since Maya has several new stressors in her life right now, a new sibling and the prospect of starting preschool soon, to name a few, in all likelihood it is psychological and not physiological.  In which case we have to wait until she stops being stressed out before the bladder control issues will go away.

She has been on the medication for almost 2 weeks now and I’d love to say it has resolved the issue, but sadly, it has not. It has helped, and some days it almost feels like we are back to normal. But, most days she is still going ALL THE TIME. She is still acting like it is desperate that she go to the potty RIGHT THIS MINUTE, and then not actually going. It is still only affecting her during the day. My fingers are still crossed that the medication helps her, especially before she starts school later this month.

My hope is that we can both remain somewhat sane until this issue is resolved and that one day I no longer have to live in my bathroom and can go out with my child again without having to spend half my time rushing her to the bathroom. Right now my sanity is holding on my a very thin piece of thread, a very thin piece.

Anyone else ever dealt with this with their own children? I’d love if you’d share any tricks you learned that may help us get through this.

Somehow Lorne and I, neither of us being sufferers of allergies beyond the very mild seasonal allergies that I sometimes suffer from, have managed to birth a child who is allergic to everything. Not only does she have her peanut and tree nut allergy but she also has pretty bad indoor and outdoor allergies. She is even now, apparently, allergic to our cats. There is a family history of allergies, including pet allergies, on Lorne’s side of the family. Both his brothers suffer from indoor and outdoor allergies, including pet allergies. So, it’s in her genes, but man, I was not expecting this. It breaks my cat loving heart to have a child who is allergic to cats.

The pet allergies appeared when we got back from Australia. Maya has always suffered from mild nasal congestion all year long as a result of allergies but has never shown signs of being any worse around our cats.  When we got back from Australia it quickly became obvious that she was allergic to the cats. Every time she touched them, particularly if she was hugging them or kissing them, she would break out in hives on the areas of her skin that had contacted the cats. One day her eye practically swelled shut as a result of 5 hives developing below her eye after a particularly close encounter with our cat Lily.  After talking with her allergist it was determined that we had basically skin tested her and she is indeed allergic to pet dander, oh joy. She is already on Zyrtec and his recommendation was to keep her on that and since she doesn’t have any asthmatic symptoms he wouldn’t recommend any other medications at this time. He doesn’t believe in over medicating if it can be avoided. We considered skin testing her, but really it isn’t necessary to put her through that since we know what she is allergic to and won’t really glean any new information from the tests.  So, we decided to hold off for now.

So then it was on us to decide what to do.  Getting rid of the cats is not an option at this point. Not only are they part of our family and 13 and 12 years old, but Maya is very intensely attached to them. She loves her kitties dearly and taking them away from her, especially right now with all the other changes on the horizon, just isn’t something I want to do. Since her allergies, when controlled with Zyrtec, are mild and she will likely stop getting hives as her body re-desensitizes (totally made that word up!) to being exposed to the cats the allergist and her pediatrician are not saying we have to get rid of them at this time. The idea is to treat her allergy symptoms with Zyrtec and do a few things around the house to help reduce the amount of pet dander she is exposed to.  A few things we are doing, or plan on doing are:

• Purchase allergy reducing mattress covers, pillows and pillow covers for her bed.
• Keep the door closed to her room at all times and make it a cat free environment.
• Wash her bedding more often.
• Invest in an air purifier for her room.
• Purchase the best air filter we can get for our furnace.
• Keep the vents in her room closed whenever possible, and place an allergy barrier on the vent for those times when it needs to be open. We’ll also put allergy barriers on the vents in the other rooms too.
• Bathe the cats more often, likely once a week, with dander reducing shampoo.
• Brush them more regularly, our vet and the allergist both recommend daily in a room that Maya does not frequent (we’ll probably do it downstairs in the basement).
• Use baby wipes on them every day to help reduce the amount of dander coming off them and settling on the furniture.
• Vacuum and dust more often, especially the furniture.
• Try to keep Maya from spending too much time cuddling the cats and make her wash her hands after she has pet them (this one will be a challenge).

My hope is that all the above will work to help manage her allergies and we won’t have to confront the possibility of getting rid of the cats. It isn’t something I want to do since I love them dearly, and I know Maya would be devastated.

I was talking to her pediatrician today about her allergies and she mentioned that some children completely grow out of allergies as they get older, or they develop much milder reactions. I’ve got my fingers crossed that she falls into one of those categories.

Do you or your children suffer from allergies, particularly pet allergies? How do you manage them? Any tips or tricks you have for me would be greatly appreciated.

If you had asked me earlier this week how I thought Maya’s first trip to the dentist was going to go I probably won’t have had a very positive answer for you.  After Monday’s fiasco at gymnastics class I certainly didn’t have high hopes that things were going to go smoothly, especially when she found out she would have to go back for her cleaning and visit with the dentist by herself.

I had been talking it up all week, trying to get her excited.  The dentist sent her a little book a couple of weeks ago that talks all about what to expect at her very first appointment (they even personalized the story with her name, love this dentist!!).  So, we’ve been looking through this book and learning all about the dentist this week.  Yesterday and this morning when I asked her if she was excited about going to the dentist (or the doctor for your teeth as she calls it) she said yes.  Of course, she had no idea they were going to try to take her back by herself, but I still let myself get a little hopeful.

Let me tell you, Maya did absolutely amazing. I couldn’t have dreamed of it going any better.  When they called her back the dental assistant was super friendly with her and talked about what was going to happen.  She told her that she had to come back by herself to get her teeth cleaned but that I would come back a little bit later.  She clung to me and cried and didn’t want to go.  I passed her off to the dental assistant and told her I would see her really soon, and off they went.  The dental assistant assured me that almost all kids settle down as soon as they get back to the exam room and they would keep me posted.

I sat and waited, trying to be patient, trying not to think about what might have been going on back in the exam room.  A few minutes after they took her back another dental assistant came out to the waiting room and called me.  My heart sank, I thought immediately that they were going to tell me she wasn’t settling down and that I needed to go back with her.  That isn’t what she said at all. Instead she was there to tell me that my child who screamed through a 60 minute gymnastics class just 4 days ago was actually sitting nicely in the dental chair getting her teeth brushed, no tears, just smiles!!  I was flabbergasted and oh so proud of my sweet girl.

Once her appointment was over they called me back so I could talk to the dentist.  Everything went great.  As soon as she found out she was going to get to pick out her very own princess tooth brush the tears stopped.  She cooperated with everything they wanted to do except the x-rays (but I was told that is pretty common and they usually get them at the second appointment).  Her teeth and gums look fantastic.  We were sent on our way with instructions to keep up the good work and a little bag of goodies including an adorable necklace, a picture of her first visit and her princess tooth brush.  In 6 months time we’ll do it all over again.

I cannot begin to tell you how proud I am of her.  In a million years I never would have imagined we would have left that dentist’s office with smiles all around and a little girl excited to go back next time.  Wonders never cease.

Maya has her very first dentist appointment coming up in a couple of weeks.  I’m nervous about how it will go.  I found this great pediatric dentist who is very highly rated and whose office is a kid’s paradise based on the pictures I’ve seen.  And yet, I’m still nervous.

Maya is not a fan of those in the medical profession.  It isn’t that she has ever had a bad experience or anything she just has never liked them.  She only just now has started enjoying and engaging in conversation with her pediatrician instead of screaming her head off or cowering in fear on my lap.  The nurse in her office is another story, she clearly remembers who gives the needles so there is no chance in hell that she will ever like the nurse.

When I called the dentist’s office and spoke with the receptionist to set up the appointment they said they will have her go back by herself for the appointment.  She said the office is all open so I’ll still be able to see her but they like the kids to have the experience on their own.  My heart sank. My kiddo, who won’t even go into her beloved gymnastics class on her own, will not take kindly to a person in scrubs trying to escort her back to a completely foreign environment by herself. I wish I knew it would go well. I wish I knew she would happily go off and there would be no epic fit throwing.  I asked what happens if she won’t go by herself and she said they will just see how it goes and the last thing they want is for her to be afraid. Well that’s good. Maybe it’ll go better than I think.

My biggest fear in all of this is that Maya will develop my fear of the dentist. To say I’m not a fan of the dentist is an understatement. I have no reason to fear the dentist.  I’ve never even had a single filling. But for whatever reason, I just do.  I don’t want that for my child.

My fingers are crossed that this first appointment goes well. That she doesn’t throw a fit of epic proportions when they try to usher her back to the dental chair by herself. That she doesn’t cry out in fear of the dental assistant the way she does the minute she sees the nurse at the doctor’s office. That my little girl has a good first experience and doesn’t grow up to hate the dentist just like her momma.

Any tips or suggestions on how to make this work would be greatly appreciated.

Cold and flu season is upon us.  No one likes being sick, and no parents likes to see their child suffer from an illness.  Though it is probably impossible to keep your child free and clear of all viruses, it is possible to help keep the cold and flu bugs away at least some of the time.  There are steps you can take, things you can do, things you can teach your child to do, that will help keep them healthy during this cold and flu season.

Viruses spread easily and quickly among children. Between the tendency for children to constantly put their hands in their mouth and a tendency to forget about the coughing and sneezing into your elbow rules it isn’t any wonder germs make their way around a group of children so easily. Kids share toys, food and inevitably germs.  Here are a few things you can do to help your child avoid cold and flu bugs this season:

• Talk to your child’s doctor about getting a flu vaccine this season.  Flu vaccines are effective at preventing the spread of the flu.
• Teach your child to wash their hands frequently.  Clean hands are less likely to spread germs and contract germs.
• Teach your child to sneeze or cough into the crease of their elbow to help avoid getting germs on their hands that they then spread to others.  A child who is used to this rule will likely encourage their friends to do the same.
• Encourage your child to keep his or her hands of their face, and especially out of their mouth.
• Encourage your child to be active.   A healthy, active child is far less likely to get sick.
• Encourage good sleep habits.  A well rested person is better able to fight and avoid cold and flu bugs.
• Provide your child with a healthy diet.  Encourage healthy meals and snacks.

The more active and well rested your child is the better chance they have of avoiding the cold and flu bugs that will inevitably go around their classroom this year.  Teaching your child good habits for washing their hands and avoiding putting their hands on their face or mouth is a great way to further help your child avoid the bugs this season. If you have questions about the flu vaccine or steps you can take to help your child avoid the cold and flu this season talk to your child’s doctor.

Happy cold and flu season. Here’s hoping you and your family can avoid as many bugs as possible this winter.

Cold and flu season is upon us. I really dislike cold and flu season.  It isn’t even the middle of October yet and Maya is already working on cold #3 and Lorne is on cold #2.  It is going to be a long winter if we keep up at this rate.  Luckily, so far (knock on wood), I’ve been able to avoid the cold bugs that have been making their rounds, but I’m sure my time will come.

Last year it felt like we were fighting one virus after another.  We hardly went a week without Maya coming down with one thing or another.  It was exhausting.  I know kids this age catch a lot of  bugs since they haven’t built up the necessary immunities yet, but still.  Last winter left me exhausted and begging for the warmer weather and the end of the cold and flu season. I was kind of hoping that maybe, just maybe this season wouldn’t be as bad.  So far I’m not having any luck in that department.

I spent about an hour last night curled up in Maya’s toddler bed with her (not at all comfortable) while she whined about her nose.  And, this morning has been more of the same.  She has this thing against any snot running out of her nose.  There doesn’t have to be anything running out, just the idea that it might sends her into a panic and she comes whining (sometimes screaming) to me to wipe her nose.  After the first 50 or so times of this I’m usually done and ready to scream myself, which usually happens within the first couple of hours of a cold.  Hopefully, this cold runs it’s course quickly and we’ll get a bit of a reprieve around here for a while.

Last night, well actually in the wee hours of this morning if you want to get specific, I found myself curled up with Maya in her toddler bed.  I quickly discovered that although they may be perfectly comfortable if you are a mere 3 feet tall and weigh only 25lbs or so, for a 5’7″ 125lb adult they are definitely not comfortable, far from it in fact.

So, just how did I find myself in this most uncomfortable position at 2:30am this morning?  Well let me tell you…

Tuesday Maya started coming down with a bit of a cold.  She was getting sniffly and was a bit irritable.  Then yesterday she woke up with a raging fever, her body was definitely in full battle mode.  We spent the day quietly at home, resting.  It seemed to do the trick and by the time she got up from her nap her fever seemed to be gone and she was in a much better mood.  I thought we were out of the woods.  That was until the fever kicked back in just before bed.

When I put Maya to bed last night I knew there was a possibility that the night would be a rough one since she was going to sleep with a fever and really stuffy.  Sure enough at 2:00am I woke to the sounds of her crying.  I went to her room and she told me she had to pee.  As I reached down to help her out of bed I could feel the heat radiating from her.  I knew before I touched her that her fever had kicked into high gear.  When I touched her skin the heat was unbelievable.  I took her to the bathroom so she could pee and I could take her temperature.  I gasped when I saw the number flash up on the screen, 104.2, holy cow.  That is by far the highest fever she has ever had, EVER.  I was scared, and worried and just wanted to make her feel better.  After rubbing her down with a cool wet cloth and dosing her with Tylenol again we headed back to her bedroom.

I tucked her in, kissed her and started to leave the room when I heard a tiny little whisper “Mommy sleep with me little bit”.  It broke my heart and I couldn’t say no.  I mean who could resist such a request in the middle of the night, not to mention my fried nerves and worried heart needed the reassurance of laying there next to her.  So, I crawled into her bed, one leg still on the floor and rubbed her arm as she fell asleep.  I listened to her sniffle and whimper and just wished her temperature would go down and she could get some rest.  Slowly the sniffles turned into the soft rhythmic breathing of sleep.

I stayed with her for about half an hour, curled up in that way too small bed in the most uncomfortable position possible because I knew she needed me there, and because I needed to be there.  I needed to feel the temperature of her body begin to cool, I need to hear her soft breathing to reassure myself that everything was okay.

Toddler beds may not be comfortable but sometimes the comfort of our heart is more important than the comfort of our body.