All parents know that it is just no fun when your child is sick. It is particularly difficult when your infant is sick as they cannot communicate with you what is bothering them.  Sometimes you just wish that they could talk so that you could help solve their problems.

My four month old little guy has been suffering a cold that his 3 1/2 year old sister kindly passed along to him with love, of course! I also have contacted this lovely bug. It’s just no fun. The worst part is that my little guy cannot breath properly while he is feeding which makes him frustrated and it breaks my heart.

Here are some suggestions of things that I have done when my children have a cold:

• run a humidifier in or near their bedroom
• boil water in a kettle and pour it into a bowl with a large surface area, place on the floor in their room with a few drops of eucalyptus oil (this obviously isn’t safe if other children are roaming around)
• spray their nose with saline spray (ensure you buy the kind made for infants with an ultra gentle spray)
• wipe their nose with saline spray on a kleenex or with a product like Boogie Wipes so that their skin doesn’t dry out from the mucous or the wiping
• put them to sleep in a semi-upright position in order to allow them to breathe easier, e.g. in a bouncy chair, swing, car seat etc.
• put them in the bathroom with you while you shower, with the door closed, to allow the steam from your shower to loosen up their mucous

I have also found sleeping a major issue with my 4 month old since he has had this cold and he is also teething, which adds another challenge. He basically wants to sleep in our arms 24/7, which is completely understandable. I don’t want to deny him of this, but at the same time I don’t want him to get too used to it as this cannot go on forever. It’s amazing how routines can simply go out the window when a baby is sick or not feeling well.

At the end of the day, being sick sucks. It truly does. We are really looking forward to the spring when there are typically fewer colds floating around. Enough of someone always being sick in our house!

What happens in your house when mom gets sick? I recently had an illness. It wasn’t severe–thank goodness–but it was enough to keep me out for a few days, and then then to limit me for several more. It made me think about several things, like contingency plans. And in some ways, I am a better mom for it.

Since I am not working outside the house for now, my husband and I have arranged our schedules and our duties accordingly. For example, when I am home during the day, he obviously is not. But when you can barely stand up, how can you hold a baby? And when hubby isn’t home, who can do it for you? I had never thought about this. I considered calling a few people for help, but really, I felt a little lame asking for help. So I broke a lot of parenting rules to keep it easy in the short term (like a lot of pacifier use and applesauce). Now that it’s all over, several friends said, “You really should have called me…” Yes, I see that I should have.

And when the crisis first hits at 1:30 a.m. (as it always does), there is no time to figure out who will stand next to the baby’s crib and pat her butt when she wakes in the middle of the night. Though all of the best contemporary dads believe they equally share duty for middle-of-the night wakings, I don’t know a single family where that’s really true. (It may be true, I just don’t know any of those families.) Nighttime in my home has always been the duty of the person who doesn’t have to be at work at 7:00 am. And for the most part, it seems pretty fair to me. So when the baby goes through one of her cycles of not sleeping through the night (a few weeks on, a few off), my husband sleeps in our son’s room on the other side of the house so he can get some rest. Of course, the first night I woke up with the flu, he was out of earshot. It made me think of that Cosby show when both parents are calling for Theo who can’t hear them. Anyway, I was curled up on the bathroom tile, the baby was wailing, and my helpmate was alseep somewhere else.

What ended up happening was that I curled up on the floor of the baby’s room while she cried herself to sleep. It was a little more dramatic than I would have been comfortable with. But in the end, it really helped her sleep better. Maybe I should have done that a long time ago.

Then, who makes dinner? I like to cook, make time for it, and rarely have convenience foods around. I plan the whole week so I have simple meals for busy days. The first evening that rolled around, my husband bravely made ravioli for himself and our son. But that was the end of my freezer stash. They ended up ordering out after that, which is way too expensive. Being sick made me realize that planning ahead wasn’t all I needed to do. The first chance I got I made sure there were plenty of things in the freezer for emergencies.

I don’t have any earth shattering insights here. I just know I am back to full strength, and that I never realized how hard it is to get sick. I think I might reconsider that flu shot!

Cold season is upon us! Perhaps this is why the FDA has just released new guidelines for cold medicine usage. New guidelines suggest that parents should not give cold medicine to their children who are under 4 years of age.

The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and drug companies have been discussing the safety of over the counter cough and cold medicines for a while now. In January, the FDA said that parents should not dose their children who were under a year with cough and cold medicine. Pediatricians also voiced concerns about the medicines and the possible side effects from those medicines. Interestingly enough, a poll I saw showed that most parents have no issues with the medications!

Experts claim that the issues that are now being raised are very valid and that the over the counter medicines were actually never tested for use in children and that their safety for young children was never established. They also site the fact that it is easy for parents to over dose their children on medications.

Things have certainly changed since I had my first child 15 years ago! I did use infant cold medicine for her, as I did with 3 of her 4 younger siblings. In all those years, I never had an issue. I didn’t know of anyone who did have an issue. Yes, I did hear of parents who knowingly gave their children the medicines when they weren’t sick in order to get them to sleep, but that happened rarely.

My son is now 1 1/2 years old. I remember when the infant medicines were pulled off the shelves due to safety concerns. My son happened to have a cold at the time, and I was confused and slightly worried. I researched and found other ways to control his cold symptoms besides the medicine that was no longer available.

What is the best way to deal with colds and coughs? Push the fluids and use a warm mist vaporizer to increase the humidity in your home. Plenty of rest will also help!

As I write this, my son is sick with a dreaded cold and cough combination. We’ll make it though this episode–just a little bit differently than we managed with his older siblings.

My son is sick again.

I can’t believe that my chubby little baby just seems to pick up one little virus after the other like he does. Perhaps it’s because he’s the youngest of 5 children?

I suppose, even though I clean and disinfect, our house is full of germs. Poor little guy. His immunity will be awesome once he develops some resisitence to all this, but until then. Whew.

My son just recovered from an upper respiratory infection a few days ago and now, he has some sort of tummy bug. All of the kids in the neighborhood have the tummy bug, and I’ve sighted many parents purchasing Pedialyte at the pharmacy when I went in the other day. I took note and bought some myself just in case. I bought some Tylenol too for him because my supplies were getting low.

Today, I was at the doctor with my other child, and I asked her about it all. Was there any sort of cleaning product I had somehow overlooked? The kids use hand sanitizer and I have disinfectant wipes. What was I doing wrong? Why is my young son always sick?

The answer she said is because he’s the youngest of a bunch of kids and is building up immunity to big kid germs. She told me that children who first go to daycare often get sick frequently until they build up immunity. I noticed this when my oldest went to kindergarten too–she was sick quite frequently until she built up immunity to “kindergarten kid germs”. The doctor assures me that, given time, my son will be healthy and immune to these different viruses.

I’ll keep on using the hand sanitizer and I’ll continue to clean and disinfect. I’ll try to not be so hard on myself when my son gets sick though. After all, germs are everywhere.

We live in coastal Virginia near The Great Dismal Swamp. Yes, it’s really called that.

The Great Dismal Swamp was actually surveyed by George Washington himself but efforts to totally drain the swamp over the past several hundred years have failed. I’m not complaining too loudly because I love to hike and explore the swamp with my children and husband. DH and I are thrilled that they are able to experience this unique wilderness area and hope that current preservation efforts make it possible for generations to come to enjoy visiting the area as well.

I’m less thrilled about the fact that the swamp is also a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Every year, around this time until the beginning of October, mosquitoes appear in vast quantities around our area. Even though the city sprays for mosquitoes, some nights they are so plentiful in number that you could imagine being carried away by the little critters if you’d let them.

Of course, my poor infant is literally almost a sitting target, and because of his age, I don’t want to use insect repellent on him, although I’ve been told that it is safe to use an insect repellent made especially for infants on young children. Of course, do not put the repellent on their hands where they could ingest the chemical.

The best way to avoid insect bites seems to be to limit your exposure. Here are some ideas from other parents in our area:

1. Avoid brightly colored clothing which attracts insects
2. Avoid being outside at peak insect time which is early morning and at dusk
3. Purchase mosquito netting to cover your child’s stroller or play pen
4. Use citronella candles when your child is playing outside. Use caution around the candles though and be sure your child is not near the candle to avoid burns or other accidents.

Do you have any tips for avoiding mosquito bites? Please share them here if you do.

My son has been struggling with a variety of ear and throat infections the past few months. We’ve been struggling to get him his medicine and also to keep him hydrated.

Some children don’t mind taking their medicine, but others really protest. My son is a protester.

If your baby doesn’t like to take his or her medicine, there are things you can do to help make your life a little easier. Firstly, ask your doctor if you can have a prescription which can be taken only a few times a day instead of more. Some babies actually don’t mind the taste of some anti-biotics. If your child seems to be able to tolerate a certain prescription better, ask if you can use that one.

Also, some pharmacies offer a medicine flavoring option which you may find helpful. It costs extra, but if that’s what it takes to get the medicine into your child, it’s worth it.

There are several products which may be helpful if you have a medicine resistant baby as well. You can buy pacifiers which actually allow you to measure a dose of medicine into the back of the dropper. This is a sneaky, yet effective way to get your child to take his medicine, especially if he likes pacifiers.

Walmart also has a product called “Redi-Dose” which is basically a bottle where you can mix medicine and formula or juice. The bottle is expensive (almost $10 in our area). However, this may be the gimmick you need to get that medicine into your child! I’ve found that mixing the medicine with juice works better than mixing it with breast milk or formula and also that it’s best to only use a few ounces rather than mix up a whole bottle.

In our case, none of the above options worked and so we were left with the only other alternative: my husband would hold my son’s arms while I used a medicine dropper and squeezed the medicine into the back of his cheek near his throat.

Our son, proving that “helpless” babies aren’t really as helpless as we like to think, continues to spit out most of his medicine despite our efforts. If your child is prone to this behavior, make sure to get a re-check at the end of the 10 day medicine regime to check and make sure that he or she got enough medicine to clear up the infection.

It’s also important to follow the directions of the doctor. For example, if the medicine is to be given for 10 days, do so. Also, even if your child seems to spit most of the medicine out, do not give him another dose or try to make up for what you believe was spit out. Wait until the next scheduled dose and continue with that dose.

Have you found something that is helpful when giving your child medicine? Please share here if you have!

My son was diagnosed with Laryngomalacia when he was fifteen months old. You would think that getting a diagnosis of anything would make a parent’s heart sink, but this particular diagnosis came after several other mistaken diagnoses that turned out to be wrong: asthma, RSV, pneumonia, and plenty of other interesting theories. It also came after a four day hospitalization where the doctors spent a lot of their time scratching their heads and wondering aloud why my son wasn’t breathing like he should.

Laryngomalacia has something to do with the cartilage within the trachea, although I’m not entirely sure on all the specific details because I never went to medical school (who am I kidding…I didn’t even take anatomy class in high school). This makes my son’s breathing sound crispy whenever he gets a cold, and this crispy breathing lasts long after the cold has gone away. It was maddening before the diagnosis was actually made, because I had a bunch of doctors and specialists telling me so many different things. All I knew was that something wasn’t right.

I could have merely accepted the asthma diagnosis, but it concerned me that he was unresponsive to medicines and treatments that usually help asthmatics. Every time a doctor told me in a concerned voice that my son may have pneumonia I was polite and went along with the x-rays, but I knew that wasn’t the problem. My son’s breathing problems started when he was around three months old, so we went through this for a year before one brilliant doctor finally figured out what was the problem. It was the most frustrating year of my life.

My son will outgrow Laryngomalacia, probably when he’s around five or six years old if the doctors are right. I learned a lot from the experience though:

1. Trust your instinct. I knew he didn’t have asthma, and no matter how many doctors told me he did I kept saying there was something else going on.

2. Kids are hearty. My son wound up in the hospital, strapped to oxygen tubes and too exhausted to move. Now he’s a whirlwind of toddler activity.

3. You’re never alone. I had never heard of this condition in my life, but once I started talking to other moms about it I found that there are plenty of other kids with this condition. They all went through the same things my son did: improper diagnoses, frazzled parents, and hospitalizations.

My son is healthier this year than he was last year, and I’m hoping that each year is healthier and healthier for him until this whole debacle is nothing more than a distant memory. If your child gets this diagnosis then you can take comfort in knowing that you’re not the only one who has dealt with this, and if you’re like me you’re probably jumping for joy that a diagnosis was finally made.

It’s 2am on a Saturday and your child is sick. Now what? Hopefully, you had planned for this event and created a medicine cabinet for baby just in case this very situation happened.

Even though most every town has a 24 hour pharmacy these days, it is still a good idea to have a supply of basic medical supplies on hand for the inevitable middle of the night medical event.

Some things to keep on hand for use in a minor medical situation would include–

1. Ibuprofen and acetaminophen. If baby’s fever is very high, the doctor might recommend you alternating dosages of the medicines. If your child has a fever that will not respond to acetaminophen or other relief measures, it’s important to call your doctor for advice.

2. Gas drops

3. Saline nose drops and a bulb syringe

4. Pedialyte or something similar to help stop dehydration and to replace fluids lost by vomiting or diarrhea.

5. Teething medications

6. Diaper rash ointment

7. Thermometer of some sort(rectal, ear or forehead variety)

You may wish to add more or less items to your medicine cabinet as you feel is necessary, or as your baby grows. With a little planning and preparation, you’ll be able to handle those simple medical events promptly, even if they do happen at 2am.

During the holidays, it’s normal to feel some amount of nausea. It can stem from anxiety, stress, or actually eating some fruitcake. However, with children in the house, there’s always another possible cause.

A virus!

That’s been the experience this year in the Hughes household. The first one to come down with a particularly nasty five-day strain was our youngest, seven-year-old Drake. It hit him three days before Christmas.

Do the math. Yes, it was a bit of a “wet blanket” Christmas morning this year, and as a parent, there is absolutely nothing that will shatter your heart into a million pieces than looking down at your child curled in the fetal position in his bed on Christmas morning, after he’s seen what Santa brought him, and hearing him say “Dad, it sucks to be sick on Christmas.”

Everyone in the family has now had this over the last two weeks, with my wife being the final victim over the last two days. This has led to every single one of our family holiday plans falling apart, from Christmas to New Year’s.

Just remember…there are some things that, as a parent, you simply cannot plan for, nor can you make them better. Also remember that what your family does together is important, but if all you share is activities, then the bad times will be even worse. You have to be a family, not just a group of people that hang out together.

Drake told me today “Y’know Dad…it’s been a great Christmas!”…we must be doing something right. And that makes me feel better than any family dinner we could have attended.

New Era Canning Company is voluntarily recalling a little over one thousand cans of GFS Fancy Blue Lake Cut Green Beans due to the possibility of botulism contamination, a potentially fatal bacteria. The cans were distributed through GFS Marketplace and affect consumers in many southern and midwestern U.S. states including:

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia

Only cans with the lot code 19H7FL (printed on can) are included in this recall.

To see the official announcement click here

As a newly pregnant woman, you’ve no doubt heard from plenty of other women that you can’t “take anything” when you’re pregnant.

So when you get congested, have a cold, or indigestion, you probably figure you have to just deal with it. Even worse, if you feel exceptionally sad or anxious, you may feel that there’s just nothing you can do.

Well, your friends are both right and wrong. As pregnant women, in any trimester, what we take during pregnancy may affect our babies. But there are medications that doctors have determined are safe. And there are some medications that, though not the best for baby, will make for a happier, more sane mother.

The point is that you need to tell your doctor how you’re feeling. Don’t suffer in silence. Your doctor may indeed say there’s nothing that can be done, but you may find out there are some treatments that can safely help.

When I was pregnant, I was extremely congested. To top it all off, I got a cold. The congestion became unbearable, and no “natural” remedy worked. I suffered in silence, until the inability to breathe through my nose drove me crazy. Literally.

I drove myself to the pyschiatric ER, and they finally gave me something to help me breathe. My options? I would probably have had more severe panic attacks and possibly harmed myself and the baby, or they could prescribe me something to help me breathe. The choice was obvious.

Don’t let it get that bad.

Don’t assume your problem is nothing major, and don’t assume you have to be miserable just because you’re pregnant. If you’re having extreme sadness or anxiety, don’t assume it’s just all in your head.

Tell your doctor whatever ails you.

Ask for help if you think you need it. And change doctors if you’re not getting the help you need. You are the vessel for your baby. If you aren’t as comfortable as is safely possible, you and your baby may suffer.