I have always been skeptical of chiropractors. I'm not really sure what caused me to feel that way...perhaps it was just my lack of knowledge and personal experience, but it never seemed like a good option for me and my family.
LBZ had his first ear infection when he was 3 months old. We treated it with antibiotics and it went away. That was around the end of December 2011. I worried that he would have to go through 5 infections before we would talk about tubes. The doctor said that with BBZ's history of tubes and LBZ's age, she wouldn't wait that long.
While I immediately thought about tubes, I also wanted to explore a more natural approach to treating the ear infections. I thought about chiropractor care while also hoping that they wouldn't be chronic and I wouldn't even have to worry about it. When I first started thinking of taking LBZ to be adjusted, I realized that I was picturing an adult adjustment in my head. You know, a big doctor grabbing my baby's head and turning it forcefully to the side to invoke cracking down his spine. A friend of mine found a YouTube video of what an adjustment of a baby really was like and sent it to me. That changed my mind completely.
LBZ had his second ear infection about 2 weeks later, in the other ear. He was treated with antibiotics and it went away. His doctor said there was fluid in his ears at the follow up, but no infection. I honestly thought things would be ok because it was the other ear, and not a recurring infection.
At the end of February, just 2 months after his first ear infection and following his bout of what I think was Influenza A, he had a double ear infection. He was given a stronger antibiotic and was better in just a few days.
At this point, the path we were heading down became very apparent. If I didn't do something soon I knew I would find myself in a hospital ready to push my son into a (completely elective) surgery. I knew this path would help his ears, but at his young age I had to explore other interventions. And while tubes help drain the ear, in BBZ's case the infection presented itself in another way. In his case it was in his sinuses. BBZ has been on multiple antibiotic treatments even with the tubes in his little 3.5-years.
I put a feeler out on Facebook for a chiropractor that was good with kids. I called one that a friend recommended and made an appointment on 3/1.
The visit was great. The doctor moved his head slowly around and used a small silver mechanism that applied a jolt of pressure to different areas of his spine. I left the office feeling an unbelievably good feeling. I knew I was doing something that (as the chiro said) was more inconvenient and I knew was also more expensive, but was so good for his health and overall well-being. I didn't pay anything for that first visit and we decided to come back in a few days and see how his body responded to the adjustment and work out a treatment plan next time.
He was pleased with his progress at the second session and we worked out a treatment plan of about 8-9 sessions. Our copay is $40 and the visits generally cost $50, so insurance would have covered it, but the chiropractor lowered the cost to $35 per visit since it only took him about 5 minutes for the entire visit. That's a total of about $315.
This is the part that really makes me mad. Had we decided to do the tubes, it would have cost me absolutely nothing out of pocket, but would have cost the insurance company thousands of dollars. Now the insurance company gets off scott-free. American healthcare at its best.
I know it could have been a coincidence, but I saw huge changes in LBZ immediately following his second adjustment. He slept better, he vocalized more, which I heard later is something very common after an adjustment. I felt so great about this. It was not the same path we took with BBZ, but as far as I could tell it was working. I got really excited.
He had a runny nose for a while, which I thought was really a good thing since this fluid usually remained stuck in his nose. But after a week or so of lots of snot, his health took a familiar turn.
He had been waking at night and I could tell he just didn't feel well. On 3/15, his teacher called and said he was feeling terrible and she thought I should come early to get him. I planned on picking him up early anyway because of his chiro appointment, so I got him and we drove there with my worry about him and the situation tearing me up inside.
I wrote on the comment paper that I fill out at each appointment that I was pretty sure he had another infection. He had a runny nose all week, was night waking, was snoring and was at the point of general unhappiness during the day, something that is pretty rare with my happy baby boy.
The chiropractor confirmed that he was probably really close to an infection, and we needed to get the fluid out of his ear before that happened. He did the adjustment, told me to keep up with the massage he taught me to do at home and gave me some other tips for helping him decongest.
I went to a LLL meeting and talked with a friend about how helpless I felt. I was nursing him. I tried the chiropractor. I eat well. I love him so much, why can't he just be healthy? Why hasn't anything worked for him? While the money wasn't a big deal, I was angry that I was spending money on something that appeared to not be working. People began suggesting things I could try, but all that did was make me feel like I either wasn't doing enough or was doing all of the wrong things. I knew I would feel better, but that night I was just sad.
The next day I sent him to daycare and hoped for the best. They didn't call and I was thrilled that he did good enough to avoid a call from them. I picked him up and was so happy it was the weekend so I could stay home with him and help him feel better. I felt a new energy to find more information about what I can do to help him even more. I felt empowered as I read about strengthening his gut, making some minor changes to my diet and looking at other factors. I did still have some worries though.
He did great over the weekend and got through the illness without an infection. Yay LBZ!! The chiro and I celebrated this at his next appointment, which was almost a full week later.
At that visit, I asked the chiro what he knew about the relationship between LBZ's gut and his chronic ear infections and whether or not taking something out of my diet might help. He said that it is all related, and that he would have made some recommended changes had the treatment plan not worked. He suggested cutting out aspartame completely, trying to reduce my sugar intake and giving LBZ a probiotic. I told him that I can become easily overwhelmed by all of the information on the Internet and while I want him to be better, I don't want to turn my entire dietary regimen upside down. His exact words were "now don't go all neurotic on me". I kind of wanted to kiss him.
You see, I have friends who have changed everything they and their families eat for various reasons. While that is a perfectly good choice for anyone who wants to do that, it is a path I don't want to have to go down. I don't want to have to manage every single thing I eat. I don't want to have to remove dairy from my diet. While I am always supportive of my friends and the decisions they make for their families, there are some that are not right for me or my lifestyle. Making a dramatic change to my diet is one of those. It is something that I would certainly do if nothing else helped my boys, but it would be the last resort.
I think what it comes down to is I had an all or nothing view of this intervention. I can either eat every single thing I want or never be able to eat something I love ever again. The truth is, there is a happy medium, and this chiropractor helped me see that. There are some little changes I can make that I can live with that can also make a huge difference in my sons' health. It's a place to start anyway!
So LBZ has not had an infection since the end of February (knock on wood). At his last appointment on 3/28, the chiro said he looked great and that we could wait 2 whole weeks before having to return. LBZ has had a runny nose all week, and I can tell he doesn't feel well again. Luckily, it is again the weekend and I can focus on helping him get better and stay better with more frequent massage and nursing, which helps remove the fluid by sucking rather than bottle feeding.
So my sweet littlest boy's 2 little ears are healthy. I just hope I can keep them that way :)
Friday, March 30, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
6 Month Stats and Photos
I don't think I included LBZ's stats on his 6 Month letter.
So here they are!
15lbs, 7oz (10th Percentile)
26 3/4 inches (50th percentile)
I'm honestly not that worried about his low weight and neither is his doctor. Considering BBZ was in this same weight category much of his first 3 years, it doesn't surprise me that his brother is following his lead. N and I were both on the small side growing up, so it makes sense that our boys are too.
My dear friend Laura took some amazing photos for LBZ's 6 month birthday. She has a new business that has really taken off. Check out her webpage to see more of her great work!
I absolutely love the way the photos capture all of his cute little faces :)
The one thing missing from that last photo is my sweet BBZ. It feels strange to have such a wonderful photo with one of my babies missing. I do have one with just me and BBZ from when he was 6 months though, so I guess it's fair :) Here is that one!
I really am sitting on something in this photo, even though it looks like I am sitting on air. I love that they're both wearing their little blue cloth diapers in these photos. I had just switched to cloth and those were the gdiapers.
I can't believe that last one was 3 years ago! Crazy. Time really does fly.
So here they are!
15lbs, 7oz (10th Percentile)
26 3/4 inches (50th percentile)
I'm honestly not that worried about his low weight and neither is his doctor. Considering BBZ was in this same weight category much of his first 3 years, it doesn't surprise me that his brother is following his lead. N and I were both on the small side growing up, so it makes sense that our boys are too.
My dear friend Laura took some amazing photos for LBZ's 6 month birthday. She has a new business that has really taken off. Check out her webpage to see more of her great work!
I absolutely love the way the photos capture all of his cute little faces :)
The one thing missing from that last photo is my sweet BBZ. It feels strange to have such a wonderful photo with one of my babies missing. I do have one with just me and BBZ from when he was 6 months though, so I guess it's fair :) Here is that one!
I really am sitting on something in this photo, even though it looks like I am sitting on air. I love that they're both wearing their little blue cloth diapers in these photos. I had just switched to cloth and those were the gdiapers.
I can't believe that last one was 3 years ago! Crazy. Time really does fly.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Little Dog Lost (and then found)
Our Sunday started out with high hopes. N and I talked with BBZ yesterday about getting doughnuts in the morning and I found a garage sale that I hoped to hit up. First one of the season!
We left the house a little before 9am and hit our first detour. There was apparently a marathon taking place in our neighborhood and in the surrounding areas so we were re-routed. I was at first a little irritated by this, but there was a police man and a car at each intersection with the lights flashing, so BBZ thought it was about the coolest thing around. I quickly decided that I thought it was cool too, and a little detour never hurt anyone.
We got to the house where the garage sale was supposed to be and it looked oddly quiet. I checked Craig's List on my phone (thank you modern technology) and confirmed that I did in fact have the right house and the right day and decided to walk up to the house anyway.
I was greeted by a man who said that the woman decided to forget the sale because all of the streets were blocked off and no one showed up. Umm, it was only 9am! How are you just going to cancel a sale, not post the cancellation where you posted the advertisement, and before 9am!
Oh well, BBZ handled the disappointment well and we trucked off to our next destination, the doughnut shop.
We pulled into the parking lot and I noticed a few other cars at that end of the plaza. As I got closer I noticed a man go up to the door, pull the handle and walk away. We connected eyes and he made the shoulder gesture saying "I guess the place is closed?" and I looked at the "open" sign, which was not illuminated.
I said to BBZ, "I guess they're closed buddy". Tears immediately ensued. He could deal with the garage sale not coming through, but the doughnuts? That was too much for my sweet 3.5 year old.
I quickly came up with plan B, which was a local gas station that I think has better doughnuts anyway, and we headed that way. I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the police cars were gone and the blockage from the marathon was too. BBZ hoped to see the police cars again, but they had moved on.
We did get to see a firetruck rolling down the road with its lights on on our way to the gas station, which BBZ also loved.
We got to the station and got our things. BBZ dawdled, but eventually we headed home. On our way through my neighborhood I noticed a sign for a lost dog. It was the first time I noticed it. At first glance it looked like a large white dog and I thought it was an Akita, or a similar breed. I saw another sign and slowed down long enough to read some of the details. Apparently the dog was only 20 pounds.
BBZ asked why I slowed down and I explained that someone lost their dog. He didn't understand what that meant and I tried to explain what it would be like if we lost our sweet Miss Delilah. As I was explaining this story and turning the corner into out street, I saw it.
A small, white dog with pointy ears and a curly tail crossed the street in front of me. As I turned the corner I watched this small dog wonder through my neighbor's yard and into another. I pulled into my driveway and said through the window to N that I thought I found a lost dog. Not knowing the dog's name I tried to get it to come to me, but it was not interested.
I went into the house and told N what was happening. He hadn't heard me through the window. He decided to get into his car and drive around to try and find the dog. I watched out the window for it and saw a woman driving slowly down the street. I went outside to see if she was the owner, but she drove off too soon.
I saw her again up the street and waved her down. She said that someone called her and spotted the dog, I explained that I saw it too. She said the dog had been gone a week, so she figured someone must have had her all this time. The dog's name was Haze, which I just love. N came back by then and decided to walk with her through the neighbor's yard where I last saw the dog. She was concerned about wondering through people's yard, but since N was with her, we assured her that it was fine.
N came back a while later and said they didn't find the dog. I went to run some errands and while I was gone she apparently stopped by the house to thank us for our help because she did find her dog. What a happy ending!
It was hard to describe to BBZ what it would be like to lose our sweet Delilah. It was a reality check that things do happen, and since we don't have a fence and let her out without a leash, it certainly could happen to us too.
I think coincidences are so fascinating. All of the times I felt things were taking a bit longer than they should, or felt a little irritated for things not happening exactly as I hoped, it all led up to me driving down the street at the exact time I was meant to. To help this woman find her beloved pet.
Since another neighbor saw the dog I don't think my seeing her was 100% necessary for her to be found, but it just goes to show that some things are just meant to be. That there maybe really is a plan to all of this. Maybe not to my whole life or anything, but there is peace in knowing that some things really will just work out for the best.
I sure hope someone would help us if this sweet baby girl went missing. She's our first baby after all!
We left the house a little before 9am and hit our first detour. There was apparently a marathon taking place in our neighborhood and in the surrounding areas so we were re-routed. I was at first a little irritated by this, but there was a police man and a car at each intersection with the lights flashing, so BBZ thought it was about the coolest thing around. I quickly decided that I thought it was cool too, and a little detour never hurt anyone.
We got to the house where the garage sale was supposed to be and it looked oddly quiet. I checked Craig's List on my phone (thank you modern technology) and confirmed that I did in fact have the right house and the right day and decided to walk up to the house anyway.
I was greeted by a man who said that the woman decided to forget the sale because all of the streets were blocked off and no one showed up. Umm, it was only 9am! How are you just going to cancel a sale, not post the cancellation where you posted the advertisement, and before 9am!
Oh well, BBZ handled the disappointment well and we trucked off to our next destination, the doughnut shop.
We pulled into the parking lot and I noticed a few other cars at that end of the plaza. As I got closer I noticed a man go up to the door, pull the handle and walk away. We connected eyes and he made the shoulder gesture saying "I guess the place is closed?" and I looked at the "open" sign, which was not illuminated.
I said to BBZ, "I guess they're closed buddy". Tears immediately ensued. He could deal with the garage sale not coming through, but the doughnuts? That was too much for my sweet 3.5 year old.
I quickly came up with plan B, which was a local gas station that I think has better doughnuts anyway, and we headed that way. I was pleasantly surprised to see that most of the police cars were gone and the blockage from the marathon was too. BBZ hoped to see the police cars again, but they had moved on.
We did get to see a firetruck rolling down the road with its lights on on our way to the gas station, which BBZ also loved.
We got to the station and got our things. BBZ dawdled, but eventually we headed home. On our way through my neighborhood I noticed a sign for a lost dog. It was the first time I noticed it. At first glance it looked like a large white dog and I thought it was an Akita, or a similar breed. I saw another sign and slowed down long enough to read some of the details. Apparently the dog was only 20 pounds.
BBZ asked why I slowed down and I explained that someone lost their dog. He didn't understand what that meant and I tried to explain what it would be like if we lost our sweet Miss Delilah. As I was explaining this story and turning the corner into out street, I saw it.
A small, white dog with pointy ears and a curly tail crossed the street in front of me. As I turned the corner I watched this small dog wonder through my neighbor's yard and into another. I pulled into my driveway and said through the window to N that I thought I found a lost dog. Not knowing the dog's name I tried to get it to come to me, but it was not interested.
I went into the house and told N what was happening. He hadn't heard me through the window. He decided to get into his car and drive around to try and find the dog. I watched out the window for it and saw a woman driving slowly down the street. I went outside to see if she was the owner, but she drove off too soon.
I saw her again up the street and waved her down. She said that someone called her and spotted the dog, I explained that I saw it too. She said the dog had been gone a week, so she figured someone must have had her all this time. The dog's name was Haze, which I just love. N came back by then and decided to walk with her through the neighbor's yard where I last saw the dog. She was concerned about wondering through people's yard, but since N was with her, we assured her that it was fine.
N came back a while later and said they didn't find the dog. I went to run some errands and while I was gone she apparently stopped by the house to thank us for our help because she did find her dog. What a happy ending!
It was hard to describe to BBZ what it would be like to lose our sweet Delilah. It was a reality check that things do happen, and since we don't have a fence and let her out without a leash, it certainly could happen to us too.
I think coincidences are so fascinating. All of the times I felt things were taking a bit longer than they should, or felt a little irritated for things not happening exactly as I hoped, it all led up to me driving down the street at the exact time I was meant to. To help this woman find her beloved pet.
Since another neighbor saw the dog I don't think my seeing her was 100% necessary for her to be found, but it just goes to show that some things are just meant to be. That there maybe really is a plan to all of this. Maybe not to my whole life or anything, but there is peace in knowing that some things really will just work out for the best.
I sure hope someone would help us if this sweet baby girl went missing. She's our first baby after all!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Three and a Half
Dear Big Brother Z,
Tomorrow, my sweet first born, you awill be three and a half. I cannot believe how fast time is going by. If I blink my eyes, you will be starting kindergarten.
You are so full of spunk! You are curious about the world around you, ask 1,000,000,000 questions ALL THE TIME, and can talk on a walk from the minute we leave the front door until the minute we get home.
You have been completely potty trained for a while now, but as of a few weeks ago you no longer use the little frog potty. You can get onto and off of the toilet by yourself and like to brag about that fact. It is hard to get you to go before we leave sometimes, so I will put a few drops of blue food coloring in the potty for you to pee on. This is what happens when I leave the blue food coloring within your reach :)
You have awesome bed head, especially on Sunday mornings.
You are learning so much at school and are always excited to tell us what you learned each day. I asked you to write your name recently and this is what you did. I think it's awesome.
You love, love and LOVE Legos! Your daddy and I love them too, so we get lots of new Legos in our house. You are working on keeping them off of the floor so your brother doesn't get them. He is super close to crawling and is already very interested in the toys you are playing with. And so it begins.
You have one heck of a sweet tooth. You convinced me to take you to FroYo on this day. I think it was one of the first times I took you and your brother to a restaurant by myself. You did really well, so FroYo was a nice reward for all of us.
You and your daddy are really close. You definitely like me to do things for you, but no one in the world can rough house, play Legos or superheros like your daddy!
You and daddy went to see Phineus and Ferb at an arena and you loved it! You and daddy get to do special things when you are together that mama doesn't do. It's a special time for you and your daddy and I can tell it means so much to you. And to your daddy.
You still love all things creepy-crawly. I have become very accustomed to having a small boy around. I barely even flinch when you bring me something gross that you find outside. Now that you are old enough to not put it in your mouth I don't worry at all.
You have also become quite the little swimmer. You show off your new love of the water each night in the bathtub. You were so afraid of the water, but that has all changed. It was such a joy to watch you change from being so fearful to so comfortable in such a short amount of time. You even talk about being on the swim team one day! I can't wait to see if that is something you decide to do.
You are still a worrier, just like me. I try to help you be brave to try new things, but your fear often overcomes my efforts. If you don't think about it and just do something, you are done before you realize you did it. But if you have time to think about trying something you often talk yourself out of it. I also wonder how that will change or present itself in you as you grow.
You are such a wonderful big brother to Lu. You smile at him and get him to giggle like none of the rest of us can. I really believe that he knows you are his big brother and he follows you across a room when you are near. You have risen to the challenge of sharing you home and your life with him, and I just love watching the two of you together.
I am so enjoying watching you grow and become who you are meant to be, BBZ. I can tell by your high-water pants that you are growing tall, but also by your personality. You are changing right before my eyes and I love every minute of it! Well, ok, maybe not every minute :) You definitely have your times when you are not the most fun to be around, but those times are becoming fewer and farther between.
People often say they want time to stand still and for their babies to stay little, but not me. I absolutely adore watching you grow and change. I love seeing the new things you learn and how proud you are when you accomplish something, no matter how small.
You are my first born and hold a special place in my heart BBZ. Mommy loves you so much.
Love,
Mommy
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Little Brother Z is 6 Months Old!
It is here. You have been in our lives for exactly one half of a year, sweet baby Lu. Your big open-mouthed smile absolutely melts my heart.
You have mastered rolling over and will roll all over, often finding yourself far away from the place you started. This took you less than 2 minutes to roll off of this blanket.
Check out this video of you rolling all over the place!
We practiced sitting up to prepare you for your 6-month photos that my friend plans to do. They were scheduled for 2 weeks ago, but your flu and ear infection situation pushed that back a few weeks. We're going to try again today actually!
Your little fuzzy blond hair is so super cute! I just love how laid back and go-with-the-flow you are. You are such a happy baby and everyone loves being around you.
You and your brother love each other so much. He was afraid to hold you for the longest time, but he is finally getting used to it. You light up every time you see him. No one can make you smile the way your big brother does.
You are very curious about the world around you. You reach out and grab anything that is in front of you. You keep me company in the kitchen while I cook and you play with this same toy your brother played with.
Your big blue eyes are simply to die for! I am so happy that they have stayed blue, just like your daddy's.
You haven't shown much interest in food, but I also decided to wait after your bad flu/ear infections this month. You were really sick and I didn't want to risk you having a food sensitivity when you were already feeling lousy. We tried last night and you sure love avocados! Your tummy may have hurt a little though because you were up a few times.
And of course, we caught it on video!
You prefer to spend your time on the floor on a blanket with some toys around. You get really, really mad if you push a toy out of your reach and can't get to it. You'll turn your body from side to side and roll all over, but can't quite figure out how to go forward to get something you can't reach. It won't be long though!
And one of my favorite things...you have found your feet! You reach them best without your fluffy-butt cloth diaper on, so this pose is where I get the best shots. You haven't gotten them into your mouth yet, though.
And you got your first bank account this month! It was about this time that we got one for your brother, too. You were just about to fall asleep when I got you out to take this picture, which is why you look so tired. You can't start teaching money smart saving too young!
We also went to the Butterfly House this month! You were getting over your sickness, but we couldn't help but take advantage of the beautiful 65 degree day.
And you got to swing for the very first time! I think you really loved it, although sitting up in the swing proved to be a little challenging. That cute chubby-cheek smile makes it all worth it!
I still remember every single detail of you coming into our lives exactly 6 months ago. It was a Saturday, like today is. You are such a wonderful little boy, and you have made our family complete. I love you so much, LBZ.
Love,
Mommy
Friday, March 9, 2012
Flu Season Continued...
So when I posted about the flu on Monday, I figured BBZ was basically over his illness. Not so much. Monday night around midnight BBZ woke up and came into our room. I went into his room with him and he was absolutely burning up. I took his temp and it was 104.6! I freaked out. I gave him some Tylenol and waited.
At 12:30am I took his temp again and it was still in the 104s. I called the exchange and spoke to a very kind nurse who said it can sometimes take an hour to bring the temp down. She stayed on the phone with me for about 15 minutes as e waited for the temp to drop. It went down to 103ish and we got off the phone.
He was shaking and shivering and even whining and moaning a little as he tried to sleep. I know he was miserable, poor baby. I stayed in his room with him most of the night, but couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about how I would manage taking him to the hospital in the middle of the night. Would I take LBZ with me? He still wakes to nurse at night and would likely not take a bottle if I wasn't there. Should N take BBZ on his own? Could I handle not being with him at the hospital?
Ugh. Luckily his temp stayed down and we didn't have to go anywhere. N stayed home with him on Tuesday since I had a meeting and took him to the doctor. Diagnosis? Double ear infection. Sound familiar? That's because LBZ had a double ear infection following this 5 days of fever too.
I can't help but feel like the whole world is against my two boys and their 4 little ears. I think I do everything right. I nursed them, which is *supposed* to reduce the instance of ear infections. I feed them lots of fruits and veggies (well I feed myself those thus passing them to LBZ) and avoid the not-so-healthy foods. BBZ had tubes put in when he was 16 months and while they were still in at his 3-year appointment in September, they had fallen into the ear canal at his appointment in February. That means that they were out for less than a month and he already has an infection.
Boo! I'm hoping the the ear infections came because of how bad the flu was and that he isn't on the path to have them non-stop again like he did before the tubes were placed. It just goes to show though that tubes certainly don't fix the problem, they just make it better for a while.
Depending on how LBZ's ears respond to the chiropractor, that might be the path we take with BBZ too. We'll definitely do that before we consider replacing the tubes.
To add to the flu discussion for us, I am now feeling pretty crappy. We went out to dinner on Wednesday night and on our way home I started to feel not so good. I put the boys to bed and started to feel shaky and light-headed. I took my temp and sure enough, I had a fever. I couldn't sleep much Wednesday night, I guess I just tossed and turned because of the fever. I tried taking Tylenol but it didn't help.
Thursday morning I woke up and my fever was 103.4! That's super high for an adult. I couldn't even move to take the boys to school. I did get up to feed LBZ and get the boys ready but didn't get more done than that. I did manage to get to the doctor who basically said that it was a guess whether I had the flu or a sinus infection. I think I have both. I laid around a lot yesterday but still couldn't sleep. I ended up falling asleep on the couch around 6:30 and got up to put BBZ to bed and fell asleep with him. I woke up feeling a lot better this morning but still had a fever.
I definitely believe that it's better for our bodies to keep the fever and fight the virus rather than taking medicine to reduce the fever, but as a mom I have to be able to function. I have to still take the boys to school and feed LBZ and make dinner and be able to function during my day. It's not as simple as just paying in bed and allowing my body to fight the virus. So Motrin has been my friend the last few days and it has been working great.
So I know I am on the mend, but this flu is no joke. And my head feels completely congested from what I am sure is a sinus infection. I took the boys to school this morning and plan to pick LBZ up early for the chiropractor appointment that I rescheduled from yesterday. There is no way I could have taken him anywhere but home yesterday.
These are the times that I miss my family so much. They live so far away and it would have been nice to have help from them during this illness. When the boys are sick we don't have a back-up for daycare. When I am sick I don't have someone to call to come over and help. Luckily N has avoided this virus and is still healthy (fingers crossed). He has been a huge help, but he can't take off work very often and even last Tuesday he had to rearrange lots of things so I could make it to my important meeting.
I'm so happy that today is Friday and we have another 3-day weekend to recuperate and prepare for another week. Have a great weekend, everyone!
At 12:30am I took his temp again and it was still in the 104s. I called the exchange and spoke to a very kind nurse who said it can sometimes take an hour to bring the temp down. She stayed on the phone with me for about 15 minutes as e waited for the temp to drop. It went down to 103ish and we got off the phone.
He was shaking and shivering and even whining and moaning a little as he tried to sleep. I know he was miserable, poor baby. I stayed in his room with him most of the night, but couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about how I would manage taking him to the hospital in the middle of the night. Would I take LBZ with me? He still wakes to nurse at night and would likely not take a bottle if I wasn't there. Should N take BBZ on his own? Could I handle not being with him at the hospital?
Ugh. Luckily his temp stayed down and we didn't have to go anywhere. N stayed home with him on Tuesday since I had a meeting and took him to the doctor. Diagnosis? Double ear infection. Sound familiar? That's because LBZ had a double ear infection following this 5 days of fever too.
I can't help but feel like the whole world is against my two boys and their 4 little ears. I think I do everything right. I nursed them, which is *supposed* to reduce the instance of ear infections. I feed them lots of fruits and veggies (well I feed myself those thus passing them to LBZ) and avoid the not-so-healthy foods. BBZ had tubes put in when he was 16 months and while they were still in at his 3-year appointment in September, they had fallen into the ear canal at his appointment in February. That means that they were out for less than a month and he already has an infection.
Boo! I'm hoping the the ear infections came because of how bad the flu was and that he isn't on the path to have them non-stop again like he did before the tubes were placed. It just goes to show though that tubes certainly don't fix the problem, they just make it better for a while.
Depending on how LBZ's ears respond to the chiropractor, that might be the path we take with BBZ too. We'll definitely do that before we consider replacing the tubes.
To add to the flu discussion for us, I am now feeling pretty crappy. We went out to dinner on Wednesday night and on our way home I started to feel not so good. I put the boys to bed and started to feel shaky and light-headed. I took my temp and sure enough, I had a fever. I couldn't sleep much Wednesday night, I guess I just tossed and turned because of the fever. I tried taking Tylenol but it didn't help.
Thursday morning I woke up and my fever was 103.4! That's super high for an adult. I couldn't even move to take the boys to school. I did get up to feed LBZ and get the boys ready but didn't get more done than that. I did manage to get to the doctor who basically said that it was a guess whether I had the flu or a sinus infection. I think I have both. I laid around a lot yesterday but still couldn't sleep. I ended up falling asleep on the couch around 6:30 and got up to put BBZ to bed and fell asleep with him. I woke up feeling a lot better this morning but still had a fever.
I definitely believe that it's better for our bodies to keep the fever and fight the virus rather than taking medicine to reduce the fever, but as a mom I have to be able to function. I have to still take the boys to school and feed LBZ and make dinner and be able to function during my day. It's not as simple as just paying in bed and allowing my body to fight the virus. So Motrin has been my friend the last few days and it has been working great.
So I know I am on the mend, but this flu is no joke. And my head feels completely congested from what I am sure is a sinus infection. I took the boys to school this morning and plan to pick LBZ up early for the chiropractor appointment that I rescheduled from yesterday. There is no way I could have taken him anywhere but home yesterday.
These are the times that I miss my family so much. They live so far away and it would have been nice to have help from them during this illness. When the boys are sick we don't have a back-up for daycare. When I am sick I don't have someone to call to come over and help. Luckily N has avoided this virus and is still healthy (fingers crossed). He has been a huge help, but he can't take off work very often and even last Tuesday he had to rearrange lots of things so I could make it to my important meeting.
I'm so happy that today is Friday and we have another 3-day weekend to recuperate and prepare for another week. Have a great weekend, everyone!
Monday, March 5, 2012
Holy flu season.
Holy cow, illnesses have been making their way around our house like crazy. Seriously. Let me try and track how things have been going around here.
So on Monday 2/20, I was off work anyway and took BBZ to the doctor with my suspicions of a sinus infection. She confirmed my suspicions and also voluntarily checked LBZ's ears as he had some of the same runny nose and cough symptoms like his brother. His ears were clear, whew!
So BBZ started his antibiotics and the infection seemed to start clearing up right away. When I picked LBZ up from school on 2/21, his teachers said that he was running a low-grade fever. Thinking it was teething since his ears were clear the day before, I sent him to school as always.
On Wednesday 2/22, his teachers called and said his fever was 101 and I went to pick him up. The fever stayed pretty steady Wednesday and Thursday, but he didn't seem too uncomfortable. When the temp peeked at 103.4 on Friday 2/24, I decided to take him back to the doc. Diagnosis? Double ear infection. We left with a prescription for antibiotics.
LBZ was cranky over the weekend, but seemed ok enough to get out of the house on an unseasonably warm day. That's when we went to the butterfly house and he was in the swing for the first time. It was a fun day.
I took him back to school on Monday and he did ok, but certainly was not back to his normal self. I hate not being with him when he's getting over illnesses, but I can't really use more sick time when he doesn't have to stay home. I hoped he would bounce back soon from the infections. His teacher was back that morning and said she had been sick all weekend too. Guess it was going around.
On Tuesday 2/28, I got an email stating that there was a case of influenza A in LBZ's classroom. Turns out it was his teacher. Actually, his teachers. All 3 had it. I have no doubt that LBZ had it too, but when the ear infections were discovered they were blamed for the fever and the flu wasn't explored. I called his doc, but there was nothing they needed to do since it had been so long and there was no more fever.
I decided to explore a chiropractor to address LBZ's repeat ear infections. A friend recommended someone, so I picked LBZ up early and took him on Thursday 3/1. It was awesome and I left with some instructions from the doc and a positive outlook on the situation. And no antibiotics :)
Thursday evening when I was giving BBZ a bath, I noticed that he had goose bumps and chills when in the water. I took his temp and now he had a fever. I kept both boys home Friday. LBZ slept awesome all weekend, something I attribute to both the chiropractic adjustment and to him feeling better, but BBZ slept like crap. Even this morning he ended up in our bed.
So this morning I got an email from BBZ's class that said there was a case of influenza A in his classroom, too. N's parents said that Missouri has the most cases of the flu reported this season. I'm certain both of my boys had it and their cases weren't even reported, so who knows how many there really were.
Other than the fever, BBZ has had no symptoms until today. He was acting fine, eating fine, and besides waking up at night seemed fine in every way. I am home today for my first Monday off, and I thought BBZ was over it, but he just woke up from his nap and has a fever again.
Ugh. This flu season sucks! I've never had the flu, BBZ has never had the flu, but this year it hit us hard. Many people blame it on the fact that we didn't really have a winter, so there was no freeze to kill the viruses. Who knows, I just know that I am ready to be done with this!
I guess BBZ will be home tomorrow, too. Luckily, I had 2 really crazy weeks at work before all of these illnesses hit, so I'm not falling too far behind. I can't say the same for my sick time, though. It's dwindling away fast!
Come on Spring!!!
So on Monday 2/20, I was off work anyway and took BBZ to the doctor with my suspicions of a sinus infection. She confirmed my suspicions and also voluntarily checked LBZ's ears as he had some of the same runny nose and cough symptoms like his brother. His ears were clear, whew!
So BBZ started his antibiotics and the infection seemed to start clearing up right away. When I picked LBZ up from school on 2/21, his teachers said that he was running a low-grade fever. Thinking it was teething since his ears were clear the day before, I sent him to school as always.
On Wednesday 2/22, his teachers called and said his fever was 101 and I went to pick him up. The fever stayed pretty steady Wednesday and Thursday, but he didn't seem too uncomfortable. When the temp peeked at 103.4 on Friday 2/24, I decided to take him back to the doc. Diagnosis? Double ear infection. We left with a prescription for antibiotics.
LBZ was cranky over the weekend, but seemed ok enough to get out of the house on an unseasonably warm day. That's when we went to the butterfly house and he was in the swing for the first time. It was a fun day.
I took him back to school on Monday and he did ok, but certainly was not back to his normal self. I hate not being with him when he's getting over illnesses, but I can't really use more sick time when he doesn't have to stay home. I hoped he would bounce back soon from the infections. His teacher was back that morning and said she had been sick all weekend too. Guess it was going around.
On Tuesday 2/28, I got an email stating that there was a case of influenza A in LBZ's classroom. Turns out it was his teacher. Actually, his teachers. All 3 had it. I have no doubt that LBZ had it too, but when the ear infections were discovered they were blamed for the fever and the flu wasn't explored. I called his doc, but there was nothing they needed to do since it had been so long and there was no more fever.
I decided to explore a chiropractor to address LBZ's repeat ear infections. A friend recommended someone, so I picked LBZ up early and took him on Thursday 3/1. It was awesome and I left with some instructions from the doc and a positive outlook on the situation. And no antibiotics :)
Thursday evening when I was giving BBZ a bath, I noticed that he had goose bumps and chills when in the water. I took his temp and now he had a fever. I kept both boys home Friday. LBZ slept awesome all weekend, something I attribute to both the chiropractic adjustment and to him feeling better, but BBZ slept like crap. Even this morning he ended up in our bed.
So this morning I got an email from BBZ's class that said there was a case of influenza A in his classroom, too. N's parents said that Missouri has the most cases of the flu reported this season. I'm certain both of my boys had it and their cases weren't even reported, so who knows how many there really were.
Other than the fever, BBZ has had no symptoms until today. He was acting fine, eating fine, and besides waking up at night seemed fine in every way. I am home today for my first Monday off, and I thought BBZ was over it, but he just woke up from his nap and has a fever again.
Ugh. This flu season sucks! I've never had the flu, BBZ has never had the flu, but this year it hit us hard. Many people blame it on the fact that we didn't really have a winter, so there was no freeze to kill the viruses. Who knows, I just know that I am ready to be done with this!
I guess BBZ will be home tomorrow, too. Luckily, I had 2 really crazy weeks at work before all of these illnesses hit, so I'm not falling too far behind. I can't say the same for my sick time, though. It's dwindling away fast!
Come on Spring!!!
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