#babycold

The dreaded baby “cold” no one tells you about. Usually within the first month of a babies life they get super congested. It seems like they have a cold. Really it’s a mixture of two things. 1. Their little bodies trying to get all of that amniotic fluid out of their lungs (this part is extra true for c section babies who didn’t get the big “squeeze” during birth) and 2. Their environment catching up to them. They are not use to having to deal with the air, everything from dust to fur and every other thing floating around.

Naturally being a first time mom I panicked and was prepared to live at the hospital. But I learned some important tips to help y’all out.

1. Invest in a good snot sucker. Even as a nurse I couldn’t imagine using the one where you actually use your own mouth to suck it out. So we got an electric one. It works like a dream. We were pulling all kinds of good gunk out!

2. A lot of the time saline drops are recommended but there is some risk involved and they can be expensive! Instead try breast milk (assuming you’re breast feeding or pumping) take a few drops in a dropper or syringe and put a couple in each nostril. It’s totally safe to do and it was like magic!

3. Get a humidifier. This was a life saver. Our apartment is dry as it is but it was so hard on him, we bought a decent one and run it every night. It helps so much!

It has been a rough week or two!   Just when I thought we were over this teething hump (for this tooth or two), the whole family got sick two days later.  My husband had a day where he felt fluish but he got over it pretty quickly.  The next day or two I came down with something along the lines of strep/pneumonia/mono/who-knows-what which required an antibiotic and my daughter got a flu/cold which had her throwing up a few times the first night and not being able to sleep.  It progressed into snotty chest congestion and she is still blowing snot bubbles.  However, my mother bought us a Vicks Vaporizer and we used it in her room last night and it seemed to help.  Miraculously she slept 7 hours in a row and we got some much needed sleep (I was up every hour or two to make sure she was alive – mother thing).  Statements I have to make:

Mothers/fathers do not have time to be sick - ESPECIALLY when their child/children are sick.  There was one night where I could not hold my daughter without literally about falling over from illness.  However, this did not keep my silly self from weight lifting on Friday.  Note to self: use energy towards getting better not towards making biceps bigger.

Vicks Vaporizers will make house smell like Vicks-lab and make your eyes water; however, they will help child breathe.  Spraying saline up my daughter’s nose and sucking snot out with bulb = Olympic sport.

Ever since being pregnant my immune system is terrible.

When your wife asks/tells you to go to work late or take the day off – you should probably make it happen.

Lack of sleep + sick mommy + sick daddy + sick baby = bite each others’ heads off.

I walked through one of our gates when coming down from upstairs the other night and the gate came with me.  This is a big feat since the gate is a big white swinging expensive one that goes with our stairwell.  YOU FAIL ME GATE.  I’m going to take it to Toys r Us and tell them to take it back.  Without a box.  Or a receipt.  Maybe I’ll write a letter.  Yeah, I am that mom right now.  Now my daughter sees the open tarmac, giggles, and crawls up them as fast as she can.  Side tracked to searching for complain link…  Letter done.

'Oh these stairs - with the gaps between them?'

After visiting our pediatrician office on Thursday, I switched pediatricians.  That day.  I should have done it a long time ago but let’s just say – if a mother feels like her daughter is not getting the care she should you better believe you will be getting a call that says ‘I need to cancel our one-year appointment because we found another pediatrician’.  My daughter sees specialists for developmental things so it was not a big necessity earlier but enough was enough.  Do what you have to do mothers.

I made the executive mother decision not to attend a 2 year-old’s birthday party yesterday since my daughter was sick and the little girl who was having the party also had a cold.  We figured the girls did not need to be exchanging viruses with each other.  I am sad she did not get to attend but it was probably smarter in the long run.

It seems everyone is having a birthday this month or getting married.  I need to practice my awesome mom-making-cupcakes skills before my daughter’s birthday party in two weeks.  This might turn into awesome-mom-bought-cupcakes skills.

My mother bought my daughter a doll.  Her name is Molly.  The song in my head at all times goes like this… ‘Manners!  Manners!  My name is Molly Manners!....... ‘  since this is the only song she sings and my daughter loves the doll.

I was back to doing Insanity today even though my body was not quite ready.  However, I am too stubborn to take more than TWO days (oh my gosh two days) off for this sickness which spread like wildfire in the house.  If I do not get my workout in and my schedule back I will go nuts.  I hope my daughter feels better tonight and tomorrow!  To all you parents with sick babies – I feel for you and the babies. 

Here is my daughter shopping for presents for her friends.  I went for diapers.  I hear it only gets worse:

My baby has a fever today and I hope it is because she is getting another tooth.  I think we have had it pretty easy because I do not remember her getting fevers or acting sick with the other seven teeth she has.  I ran my finger along her gums this afternoon and felt a back tooth possibly trying to break the gums.  Her temperature is holding steady at 100 degrees, we are giving her fever reducer, and she does the one thing that lets me know she really is not feeling well – she will lay her head on my shoulder randomly.  My child is so active she does not snuggle or lay her head down.  When she can’t help but to snuggle and put her head down – we have a problem.  (Not to mention she slept until 9:30am today – that’s extremely odd).  I hope she sleeps tonight and feels better tomorrow.  A sick child (as you moms and dads know) is a lot of work and heart breaking.

I need to find better clips for my dumbbell bar.  I have had two incidents where I bent down/moved to get something (with the bar on my shoulders of course) and the plates have fallen off and caused damage to our house.  This is completely not my fault.  Okay, maybe it is my fault.  I should remove the bar from my shoulders before picking up a remote or not carry it upstairs with weight on it.  Nevertheless, I need clips that don’t slide off.  (AND hey- I also patched and painted the wall – aqua – that I put a hole in.  As for the ceiling… I will get to it). 

I also need to get some more/heavier flat weights.  That is not a bad problem to have! J  These legs need more weights for squatting.  I read a few blog posts about girls/boys not being able to do pushups or pull-ups.  I smiled because I can do them (pushups more so) thanks to Insanity, Asylum, Les Mills and P90X.  I am looking forward to Asylum Volume 2 coming out in the fall (hopefully)!!!!  Maybe this can be a gift.  From the husband.  Or myself.

Here’s what my daughter does to my workout room while I am working out: