Have you ever heard of the word synergy?  Basically it means that 2 forces combine and the sum of their forces together is greater than the sum of their individual effects.  Cool word…sometimes.

This weekend, I had “pregnancy synergy”:  I got a virus which my toddler shared with me.  The synergy between the effects of my morning sickness and the effects of my virus was astounding.

With my first child, I had incredibly bad morning sickness.  For weeks, all I could keep down was jello, ginger ale, sherbet, crackers, broth, and pickles.  I assumed that this would work with this child.  This baby does not like jello or broth however.

I find myself worrying about this “little one”, although I know that probably he or she is OK.  Did I eat enough sherbet?  Am I drinking enough ginger ale?  It occurs to me that I am officially a mom.  I’m laying in bed too sick to get up and I’m worried about my baby who is just 10 weeks gestation.

I eventually phased out of the ginger ale and sherbet phase with my first child.  I’m sure that I’ll get over this bout of whatever and be able to eat normally again soon.

Just for the record, I did ask my doctor if my “diet” was ok.  Her advice:  do whatever works.  As long as it isn’t a long term diet, I should be ok.  If the extreme sickness last for more than a week, I need to check in.  If I can’t keep down any thing or any fluids, then I need to call immediately.

For now, I’m doing what works, and it’s ok.  I’m hoping that the effects of synergy don’t last too long!

My son has an intestinal virus his that his sisters shared with him. Wasn’t that nice of them? In addition to tummy aches, he also had a very bad case of diaper rash.

Diaper rash can be caused by many things. My older children, for example, had allergies to certain kinds of diapers and wipes. They would get a rash if I used anything other than one certain brand of products. If you have a family full of sensitive skin types, you may want to be sure to use the hypo-allergenic products made for babies with sensitive skin. I’ve found that certain types of scented products also cause rashes too, so use caution when trying out new products.

If your child has a stomach virus, you can sometimes avoid diaper rash by changing his diapers frequently. I’ve also begun changing my son several times a night in an effort to help heal his chapped skin. When changing a diaper, pat the child clean rather than wiping. This also seems to help protect the skin, especially if your child has started with a rash.

When you bathe your child, pat him dry and make sure that his skin is totally dry before putting a diaper on him, or you could make the rash worse.

I have found that different types of ointment can actually create skin issues with my son. I also have found that some cr’mes are actually very, very difficult to get off the skin after you apply them. Others just seem to melt away and don’t even create a barrier between the skin and the wet diaper. There are so many different diaper rash products available now that I was, overwhelmed and mentioned this to my child’s doctor. What brand did she recommend? Surprisingly, she recommended petroleum jelly because it’s inexpensive, and most children don’t have an allergic reaction to the product. I now use just straight petroleum jelly on him when he gets a rash. It works.

If, after several days of treatment, the rash doesn’t seem to improve or gets worse, call you doctor to have your child’s rash checked out. Sometimes children develop a yeast infection which looks like a really red diaper rash.

In my son’s case, his diaper rash did not improve. I took him to the doctor who told me that his rash was actually due to yeast. I bought an over the counter product for yeast infections and put it on his bottom after each diaper change, and in several days, the rash was gone. Note that you should always speak to your child’s doctor before ever trying this diaper rash cure!

You may not always be able to prevent diaper rash from occurring, but luckily, there are many options available to help you keep your child comfortable until the rash heals.

At a scientific conference on Wednesday in Boston, government officials relayed it is possible for mothers with the virus to infect their children by feeding them pre-chewed food.

In most of the cases, the mothers who pre-chewed the food had bleeding sores or gums, so officials believe the virus was spread by the blood, not the saliva.

Pre-chewing food is a practice common in many developing countries. It can also occur if mothers don’t have access to baby food, or a way to pulverize food for babies to eat. While the practice is rare in the United States, several cases of food-chewed transmission of the virus has been reported.

CDC officials ask that parents and caregivers with the HIV/AIDS virus avoid pre-chewing food for the babies and children in their care, and it is taking steps to educate doctors about this method of virus transmission.