Cold season is upon us, and is hitting this household especially hard! I’ve been trying to wash Cameron’s toys regularly, but I got tired of doing it all by hand…. so I decided to chuck them in the dishwasher. It was so much easier!
As if a cold, then diarrhea, then another cold, and an ear infection didn’t make for an eventful enough fall already, this past weekend while we were in Chicago visiting family Cameron came down with Roseola. Thankfully another mom friend had just encountered it and told me about it before we left – so even though I was stranded miles away from my pediatrician and my trusty copy of Baby 411, I figured out quickly what I was dealing with, and we all made it through. So, here’s a little about roseola so you can be on the look out:
Roseola is sometimes called “baby measles” or the “sixth disease.” It is a form of herpes. Roseola is highly contagious, being spread through contact with saliva or being breathed on by another baby with roseola. It usually starts with a sudden high fever with sometimes no other symptoms (in Cameron’s case he had some “cold like symptoms” as well). During this phase of the illness just give your child ibuprofen to try and keep him comfortable. I didn’t notice Cameron’s fever as being especially high, but he was already being dosed with ibuprofen for his ear infection, so I think this helped keep it down. FYI – About 10 to 15 percent of children with roseola have a seizure. If this happens, your baby may become unconscious and jerk his arms, legs, or facial muscles for two or three minutes.
I didn’t realize what I was dealing with until Cameron got the telltale rash. The rash isn’t itchy or uncomfortable, and contact with the rash itself doesn’t spread the illness. It’s usually seen on the trunk and neck, but it can extend to the arms, legs, and face. It usually lasts for about 24-48 hours.
There’s no specific treatment for roseola. Like most viral illnesses, roseola just needs to run its course. The most important thing you can do is make sure your baby rests and gets plenty of liquids.
Here are some pictures of the rash Cameron had on his left and right legs. It looks a little scary but it didn’t last long!
Cameron's Right Leg - Roseola rash
Cameron's Left leg - Roseola rash
It’s only November and Cameron has already had two colds, an ear infection, and the diarrhea that wouldn’t die. I think it’s going to be a long winter! And then there was the heat rash and diaper rash of the summer time. So I decided to add some new categories – pediatrician and illness – so it was easy for you moms to keep track of all the pearls or wisdom my pediatrician was bestowing upon me, and Cameron’s illnesses. I hope you find them useful!
As I mentioned I recently found out Cameron had an ear infection. I am happy to report he is currently getting dosed with medicine, and is on the mend! The first questions I get from a lot of moms are “How did you know to take Cameron to the pediatrician? How did you know he had an ear infection?” So I thought I would post about how it all came to pass.
Cameron had been sick over a week. He had a fever initially, along with a runny nose, and the usual “cold” symptoms. He seemed to be getting better, and his fever was gone. A little runny nose remained, but it seemed that the worst had passed. Then all of a sudden he got a fever back, his boogers took on a lovely green/yellow color, he was rubbing his ear, and he seemed pretty miserable again. I had been reading up on my Baby 411 and that clued me in that he might have gotten the ear infection. That, coupled with the fact that this coming weekend we are taking Cameron on his first plane ride motivated me to get this problem figured out, and fast! So, to the doctor we went! I hope this is helpful to the moms out there….. I guess, when in doubt, trust your mommies intuition, read your baby 411, and call your Pediatrician.
Back in early October when Cameron had his first bad cold it left him with some diarrhea. At first I thought it was just loose poops because he wasn’t eating much solid food during his sickness. But it went on and on, even after he got his appetite back. His poor little butt was suffering with some terrible diaper rash, he was having trouble sleeping, and I was getting worried.
Other than the issues “down below” Cameron was fine. His cold was gone, he was eating, and drinking plenty – so I wasn’t too concerned about dehydration, but I had to solve the problem so I referenced my fail safe, baby 411, and hit up google to see if I could find some advice from the internets.
I read that sometimes babies that are not normally lactose intolerant can become so once they already have diarrhea. This sounded kind of crazy to me – Cameron has been having milk based formula pretty much since birth – but I was desperate, and willing to give anything a try. I called up my pediatrician and asked her opinion. She agreed with the info I had read on line, so I switched Cameron to Soy formula. I thought he wouldn’t drink it because it might taste different, but he seemed fine with it. And in 2 days his poops were back to normal. Yay! I saw her this past Friday for Cameron’s flu shot, and we talked about the diarrhea. She said keep him on the Soy formula for a few more weeks, and then transition him back to dairy.
the Soy Solution!
So if any of you out there have babies with diarrhea that won’t seem to go away, try taking them off dairy…. it might be the thing that does the trick!
Holy Moly it’s cold out! I have to admit this weather crept up on me and I haven’t really gotten Cameron outfitted for the winter. So today I decided to check out Etsy.com to see what I could find in the way of unique and cute winter hats for my little one. Here’s a small sample of the ones I like (including some super cute girl ones too!):
Ava
baby bear beanie
Flapper Green and Purple
Electric Blue Bird Hat
Mr Alligator
Each image links to the item page on Etsy.com These hats range in price from $9.50-$25 – not bad for hand made items! I just typed “baby hat for winter” into the search box – so if none of these are your cup of tea, check out the rest of the selection to find the perfect hat to keep your baby nice and cozy. Also, check out Chic Squirt for Celia’s Cute Winter Hat Round Up.
Loving the new hat!
Update: I bought the Baby Bear Beanie for Cameron (I think I got the last one!) and he has been rocking it at the playground to much fanfare and compliment! I changed the link on that image to go to the shop that made the Bear Beanie – they have some other cute items as well that are worth a look.
This past weekend Cameron came down with his first really bad cold – cough, runny nose, fever, and all around cabbyness. And to make matters worse, my husband had to work all weekend so we were stuck fending for ourselves. Two things helped us through it – 1) Baby 411, and 2)my fellow mommies and daddies.
Here’s what I learned:
1) A fever is a good thing. It means Cameron’s body was busy fighting the intruder. Also, fevers are naturally higher in the evening than the morning – so don’t be surprised if your baby is 100 in the AM and 102 at night. Once the fever was gone, I knew Cameron was going to be out of the woods and recovery was on the way.
2) Baby Ibuprofen lasts longer than Baby Acetaminophen (6-8 hours vs 4 hours) so if your baby is over 6 months, give it a try – especially for overnight. It will give your baby (and you) longer relief.
3) Get yourself a cool mist humidifier. I don’t recommend the one they sell at Walgreens – it is kind of noisy.
4) Before bath time, run the shower to really steam up the bathroom. This is good for helping the baby breathe. Don’t give your baby a cool bath if they have a fever – this is only something you do if the baby is SUPER hot – like 107. Would you like taking a cold bath when you were sick?
5) Use a Saline Mist to help loosen up all the snot that your poor sick baby is producing. Then, if you feel comfortable with the idea, use a booger sucker (nasal aspirator) to suck out the snot. Both of these things will make your baby hate you for a minute, so be prepared for tears and protest. Also keep a kleenex at the ready to wipe up the snot, and tears.
6) Give your baby extra opportunities to sleep – try putting them to bed 30 minutes early for bed times and nap times. When you’re sick, doesn’t extra sleep make you feel better too?
Baby 411 - my savior
Check out Baby 411 for more info on colds and other viruses, and don’t forget to ask your fellow parents for help. I used facebook, and got some really great info as well as support! Good luck mommies!
