Cameron and I had such a great time in DC over Christmas that we are going back down today. We’re taking the train together – so I will be sure to report on how that goes once we return!
I’ll try to post while I’m gone, but in case I don’t – have a great week everyone!
Check out some great posts you might have missed to keep yourself busy:
Free Infant CPR at the Brooklyn Hospital
Reading for Babies at the Clinton Hill Library – a great winter activity
My Pediatrician’s remedy for pesky Diaper Rash
My sleep training bible – Healthy Sleep Habits Happy Baby
Dealing with a leaky diaper? Maybe it’s time to go up a size
And check out my posts about What Cameron is Eating
At Cameron’s 12 month check up I was talking to our pediatrician about how to get him to eat eggs. Sometimes he goes for scrambled eggs, and sometimes not…. She suggested trying french toast. For Cameron, it was love at first bite! A mom asked me the other day for my recipe. I don’t really have one (I never measure) but here is a rough estimate:
1 egg
1/2 cup whole milk
dash of cinnamon
pat of butter for in the pan
4 pieces of whole wheat bread
French toast and strawberries!
I whisk up the egg, milk, and cinnamon and then dunk the bread in for a few seconds on each side. Then cook in the pan with the butter until nice and brown on both sides. I always make extra (Cam usually only eats 1/2 – 1 piece per serving) and keep it in the fridge. It reheats well in the microwave. Serve the toast with fruit and a touch of maple syrup if you like.
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!
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!
I took Cameron to the Pediatrician today because he (and I) have been sick for over a week now and I was at my wit’s end. I found out he has an ear infection! I’ve been having a problem giving Cameron Children’s ibuprofen lately because he just spits it out – figuring I would have the same issue with Cameron’s prescription, I asked the Pediatrician for some tips.
She suggested mixing the medicine in with some Chocolate Pudding which is nice and thick and will mask the flavor – so I picked some up at Walgreens and I’ll give it a try…. hopefully it will help out, because tonight we gave him the medicine straight, and he did not seem to appreciate it, even with the bubble gum flavor!
I admit that quite often in my first time mommy experiences someone tells me something which, upon hearing it I think,” Oh right – that makes perfect sense. Duh!” I had one of these moments at Cameron’s 9 month check up. I was talking to his pediatrician about food. She asked me if Cameron was feeding himself (finger foods) and I said “no,” and that he “wasn’t very good at it.” She suggested that every meal time I put the tray on his high chair and let him practice picking up some finger foods. Ah – Practice! This had never occurred to me (duh!) I guess I sort of figured it would just come to him…. Anyways, after a week or so of practice with his Organic Puffs Cameron has really improved!
Banana Puffs
I first heard about these puffs from another mom. They dissolve in baby’s mouth easily and they come in 3 “flavors” (I think they all taste the same) – banana, apple, and veggie. You can get them from Fresh Direct, at Elly’s on Dekalb, and at the Associated on Myrtle. If you aren’t in Fort Greene / Clinton hill check your local grocery in the baby section or get them from Amazon (the price is better than local, and they come with free shipping – you can even get 15% off if you subscribe and save making them only about $2.60 each). They are made by Happy Baby, and boy, do they make my baby happy!
Cameron had a little Diaper rash situation last week, so me being a paranoid first time mom… I took him in to see his pediatrician. Her suggestion for a quick cure was a few easy steps:
1)Clean the area well with wet Viva paper towells (she said all wipes, even the “sensitive” ones have other chemicals). She recommended Viva because they are the softest, most cloth like.
2)Air time – I use wee wee pads to catch any pee that might come my way.
3)Neosporin – she recommended the ointment kind over the cream kind.
4)Diaper cream – she recommended Triple Paste because it is very thick and stays in place well.
5)Mylanta – yes, Mylanta! She said poop is very acidic and the Mylanta will help cut the acid for those times when he might not get changed immediately (such as nap time, or over night).
In a few days, the rash was all cleared up!
Update: This is a pretty popular post so I wanted to add more info since, unfortunately, I’ve had some more experiences with diaper rash since originally writing this.
For Cameron’s basic diaper care, I don’t usually wipe him when I change him (unless it’s a poop, of course!) I also don’t apply diaper cream unless I think he is prone to poop. He is a regular pooper for the most part, so this works for me – but maybe not for you.
Skipping these two steps keeps him dryer, and allows his skin to breathe. Since doing this, I am generally able to keep his diaper rash at bay – and also keep it from flaring up too badly when it does happen.
This one’s for the mommies with the newborns. You know when you leave the hospital and they tell you to keep track of all your babies pees and poos, and how much the eat… how many minutes, how many ounces? It’s enough to make your head spin! Throw in the lack of sleep you’ll be experiencing over the next few weeks and you’ve got one stressed out mommy (and daddy!) My husband found the iPhone Application Baby Log to help keep track of things.
Baby Log
You just tap buttons on the screen to tell it when you’ve changed diapers (pee, or poo), fed the baby (Left breast or right, or how many oz), put them down to sleep or given them a bath. It then keeps track and gives you statistics like how much they’re eating and how many hours they sleep during a day. You can export all the stats to Excel and other spreadsheet apps. It also has a twins mode!
My husband and I would leave the phone out in the rocker so that when we changed shifts there wasn’t any need to explain what happened – it was all clearly written down. And in those early pediatrician visits where I was asked for details on what Cameron was up to it was easy to supply them on command. Although this app isn’t perfect (it can get a little slow once you’ve been adding data for a few months) it was really helpful in getting through those first few days and weeks. At $4.99, I think it was worth the cost!
