Ah...chooo!

Poor unsuspecting Cate was driving a friend's seven year old daughter home from an activity.  She glanced in her rear view mirror just in time to see this little girl sneeze juicily and wipe her now wet hand on the upholstery of Cate's new car.  Let's just say that Cate still has nightmares about the scene.  :)

Kids are messy.  Kids can do gross things.  Watching young children interact with each other is not a pastime for the faint of heart.  It's no wonder viruses and other illnesses are spread so quickly among kids and their families.  No one wants their child to be sick.  No one wants to BE sick.  So, how can you lessen the number of colds and flu your family goes through during the year?

Number one - Teach them early!  Preschoolers are good learners and can understand basic rules of hygiene.  But!  You need to teach them.  Don't assume they know how to wash their hands.  Don't assume they know how to wipe their nose and throw away their tissue. 

Poor sweetie!

Number two - Even though it might be inconvenient, please keep obviously sick kids home.  Taking them to school or church or a play date when they have a cold is going to spread that cold to other children or adults.  Do you really want to do that?  That kind of sharing isn't nice.

Number three - Speaking of sharing, try not to let your sick child "share" utensils, cups, food, towels, etc.

Number four - Make sure they know how to cough or sneeze into their elbow or arm and NOT in their hand.  It might seem awkward at first but soon becomes second nature.  Have hand sanitizer around and encourage frequent hand washing.  Encourage using a tissue for runny noses.  Keep tissue in your car as well as at home...oh and a bag to hold the used ones!

Number five - Discourage kids from touching their faces.  That includes picking their nose!

Number six - Around the house clean frequently used surfaces...things like door knobs, handles, telephones and remotes.  Don't become obsessive but be vigilant and keep your house reasonably clean.  That's only common sense. 

It isn't possible to protect your young children from every virus and illness but by doing a few simple things, you might cut down the number of colds your child has to endure.  You might avoid getting the whole family (or neighborhood!) sick too!

"Mommy, my tummy hurts!"

It doesn't take long for a child to learn that the words, "Mommy, my tummy hurts!" will produce instant action on the part of Mommy.  If the kid is lucky, it will mean a day home from school, lounging around watching unlimited movies and being waited on by Mommy.  If Mommy is wise, she'll think twice before assuming the worst.

Junior is thinking, "I don't want to go to school today. We're having a test.  I have to sit by a GIRL.  I'd rather play my video game.  I think my tummy hurts."

Mommy is thinking, "Hmmmm, Junior ate a good breakfast.  He looks and acts normal.  Isn't he having a test today?  I think we'll chance it and see what happens."  And Junior is sent off to school, complaining all the way.

Mom, I think I have the plague!

Most likely, Junior will be fine once he's at school.  It's possible that he DOES have a tummy ache, but probably caused by some level of anxiety, not illness.  Your observation of his behavior is key.  You can usually tell when your child is legitimately sick.  If he seems ok, he probably IS ok.

My mother was a master at seeing through my attempts to stay home because I was "sick".  If I managed to actually stay home, I had to stay in bed, no TV and only books to read.  I couldn't get up to play after the other kids were home from school and only had simple, bland food to eat.  It wasn't very enjoyable and I usually miraculously recovered enough to go to school the next day.

Poor Moms!  We're the ones who need "sick days"!

The DPT shot

I have a new respect for babies and toddlers who are routinely immunized against certain diseases.  While I was at the doctor's office, it was suggested that I get a booster of the DPT shot as it's been a long time since I had a tetanus shot and last year there was a whooping cough outbreak.  I readily agreed.  No big problem.

So...since then, I developed sore muscles and joints, chills and fever and a really sore arm where the shot was administered.  It's no wonder our kids get fussy and cranky after they get their shots!  They can't vocalize their discomfort in any way except by crying and acting uncomfortable (which they ARE!).  I feel like crying myself  :)

Be extra kind and gentle with your little ones after they get their immunizations.  A fever reducer (dosage by age and weight, of course) might alleviate their discomfort.  I know I'm going to go take some Tylenol before I go to bed.

The things we do to protect our children and ourselves...

Flu season...cough, cough

Flu season.  Cold season.  Everywhere you go, someone (friend, family or complete stranger), is sneezing, coughing, moaning, throwing up or showing you in disgusting ways just how widespread all these nasty viruses are this year.  As I write this, I am curled up on my couch, wrapped in a cuddly blanket, coughing and sniffing.  Ugh.

Poor little guy isn't feeling well  :(

When it comes to your kids, often it's very obvious that they are sick.  When they are listless, feverish, throwing up or their noses are dripping all over the place, there is no question that something is wrong.  What isn't so clear is when they wake up in the morning and say their tummy hurts or their head aches.  You hate to send them off to school and have the school nurse give you a call in a couple hours telling you that your child threw up.  On the other hand, you don't want them to get the idea that all they have to do is tell you that they don't feel well and they get to spend the day at home, watching movies, playing video games and eating special treats.

With my children, I followed the example of my wise mother and the way she dealt with me as a child.  It was fairly common for me to use any excuse possible to avoid going to school.  :)  I tried everything.  And she calmly and firmly told me that if I was too sick to go to school, I was too sick to play, watch tv, have friends over or go anywhere.  No fun for me that day and only bland, boring food.  If I were truly sick, those things didn't matter anyway but if I was faking it, it was a fitting punishment for me.

Trust your instincts on this one.  Take your children to the doctor if they exhibit severe or extreme symptoms.  Keep them at home if they might spread their illness to others.  And don't be taken in by little con artists who don't want to go to school.  :)

Life is precious

Today is my fifth child's birthday.  When you have gone through pregnancy and childbirth four times already, you're familiar with what's going on and don't expect any surprises.  This particular birth seemed especially easy...only four hours of labor, a healthy baby boy and I felt great.  We went home the same day and settled in to life with five kids under the age of eight. Thanksgiving was two days later and my husband made the entire Thanksgiving dinner (except the pies - I made those).  Everything was going smoothly.  The next few days were spent preparing talks for church on Sunday for my three oldest children and myself.  Why I didn't decline the opportunity to speak that Sunday I'll never know.  I had a five day old baby!  Anyway, the talks went fine and everything was going smoothly.

Then came Monday.  We had to take our baby into the city (about 40 miles away) to get him circumcised.  An odd thing happened while I was sitting in the waiting room at the hospital.  I got a splitting headache and started getting chills and a feverish feeling.  It came on suddenly.  Fine one minute and horrible headache the next.  Odd.  After leaving the hospital, we drove to my husband's work, where I dropped him off and went on home.  I still felt sick.  I took some Tylenol but that didn't seem to help so I gave my midwife a call.  She heard my symptoms and told me to get my husband home immediately and get to the emergency room at the hospital.  If he wasn't home in 30 minutes, I was to call an ambulance to take me.   That got my attention!  Hey, it was just a fever and headache.  However, I did what she told me and we went to the hospital.  I figured the doctor would look at me, maybe give me some antibiotics and send me home.  Wrong.  Somehow, I had developed septic shock from childbirth and my organs were in danger of shutting down.  I was seriously sick.  I had never been sick before!  My husband took our new son home with him and I was stuck in the hospital, hooked up to tubes and crying miserably.  I spent nearly a week in the hospital, alternating between feeling sorry for myself and feeling totally grateful to be alive.   I missed my kids.  I was supposed to be bonding with my new baby and I couldn't even see him.  One of the highlights of that stay though was a card my six year old son made for me.  It said, "Violets are blue.  Roses are red.  How's your head?  We're glad you're not dead."  :)   Oh, how I love that boy!

Well, the story ended well.  I came home.  Everyone survived.  I developed a new appreciation for life and a new respect for healthcare providers.

Key learning - If something seems out of the ordinary concerning your health, check with your doctor, especially concerning pregnancy and childbirth.  Don't delay.  If I had waited, the consequences might have ended differently.  Life is precious.

What's cooking? Wednesday - healthy eating

Last Wednesday, I was flying to my daughter's house and couldn't make anything.  Today I am flying home so no cooking for me today either.  However...I thought I'd share some thoughts about eating healthily.

At the age of 42, my husband had a substantial heart attack.  He had no warning symptoms although he was overweight and his desk job didn't allow for much exercise time.  All that changed pretty much in the blink of an eye.  Talk about wake-up call...not only for him but for the kids and I.  We would all have to learn new ways of eating and living.

I remember taking my younger children to the grocery store shortly thereafter and my youngest daughter, age seven,  went up and down the aisles, pulling boxes and cans off the shelves (don't worry, she replaced them), reading their nutrition labels.  A fellow shopper asked me in a whisper if my daughter had a health problem.  :)  No, no problem, just trying to help her daddy.

I had to learn how to adjust recipes to lower their fat content and calorie content.  Out went the butter, shortening, the whole fat milk and other dairy products.  In came the egg replacer, olive oil and canola oil, the fat free milk.  Out went the huge portions of beef.  In came chicken breast and seafood.  Whole grains were substituted for enriched and processed grains.   I tried new recipes.  Some worked, some were flops.  But, this was a learning process for me and for the family and the changes we made were good for everyone, not just Dad.

Having a major life change can be really scary but if the whole family works together, new habits are easier to make and maintain.  Over the months after his heart attack, my husband lost 50 pounds and we all learned to drink fat free milk  :) 

A memorable Olympics year

Whenever it's the year for the Olympics, my mind always goes back to the most memorable Olympics year in my family's history.

It all started during the Winter Olympics. (I know, I know, it's the Summer Olympics not the Winter Olympics this month)   My three young daughters were enthralled by the figure skaters and sat glued to the television every time a skating event was broadcast.  They imitated those beautiful, graceful skaters, jumping and  twirling around on the floor, imagining themselves as Olympic champions.  And then, my four year old daughter had the bright idea (during naptime of course) to try a triple axel from her bed.  Unfortunately her landing was far from perfect...she broke her leg.   Off to the hospital we went and then to the Orthopedic surgeon's office where she got a lovely bright pink cast from her toes to the top of her leg.  Fast forward thirteen long weeks and the final cast was off and she was back to her usual energetic self.  Maybe she shouldn't have been quite so energetic because while running down the hill next to our home, she tripped and fell and re-broke the same leg in the same place.  Back to the hospital and back to the Orthopedic surgeon's office for another twelve weeks in a cast.  What we didn't know at the time was while we were at the hospital, someone had also come into the emergency room with a case of chicken pox.  Guess who came down with chicken pox ten days later?   Yup...four year old daughter in bright blue cast...and how that cast itched her!  Poor kid!   This is where the domino effect began.  None of the other seven children had had chicken pox so ten days after that, all seven came down with chicken pox too.   You'd think that was enough.  Nooooo...two kids had complications from their chicken pox, one was hospitalized with pneumonia and the other one got a bacterial infection that almost hospitalized him too.  Oh, and the four year old was still itching in her cast.  That was the most crazy month I've ever lived through!  I had one daughter in the hospital who needed me there for her, one very sick boy at home, one daughter scooting around on the floor with her casted leg in the air (the doc said no crutches!) and five kids in various stages of fevers and itching misery.  Whenever I think back on that time, I wonder how we managed to get through it, but we did with only some little chicken pox scars to prove it.

And it all started with Oksana Baiul and the Winter Olympics...

Oh, and in case you're wondering - I do believe in vaccinations for kids.   It was a few years later before the chicken pox vaccine became available to the public.  Funny, my kids didn't need it  :)