Tonsillitis Terror

Image from here

This week tonsillitis entered our household for the first time, so we have a very sad little monkey lying on the lounge attempting to get better.

Rewind two weeks and Little Miss 4 started complaining of a sore throat.
"Is it really sore or do you just want a butter menthol," I asked.
"This is real life!" she replied.

Add a temperature, which lasted several days and she was right, this was real life. However, it seemed to go away so off she went to preschool.

Her preschool teacher told me that she seemed tired and had been told that Little Mr 0 had been waking her up at night - this is not real life (thank god she actually sleeps through Little Mr 0 waking up).

Last weekend the temperature returned with full force, as did the sore throat, sore ears and extreme tiredness.

Off to the doctors we went and BAM tonsillitis was confirmed. I used to get tonsillitis a lot as a child and ended up having them removed when I was ten - so I now knew how miserable Little Miss 4 was really feeling.

So what exactly are tonsils - they are the two fleshy bits of tissue that lie at the back of the throat and are part of your immune system. Their job is to catch the incoming germs and prevent infection getting into the throat, mouth and sinuses.

Some tips I have found to help deal with tonsillitis:

• Keep up the fluids (isn't this the case for everything!). I have found room temperature warm water is best on the throat. Also, a little bit often is good. With Little Miss 4, I get her to take a certain number of sips every 15-30 minutes. Also, sometimes we make it into a game and pretend that her water bottle is her cup of tea or coffee and she is a grown up - the last couple of days this has worked a treat and she has drunk so much!


• Soft foods. Apparently citrus fruits are good and vegie soups. Little Miss 4 has also enjoyed avocado on bread without the crusts for lunch and vanilla yoghurt for snacks.


• Calm down. The last few days we have watched a bit (ok, a lot) of TV and movies. Also we do "calm play" like drawing, craft, play dough. There is no dancing, jumping, running, hopping, or chasing at the moment (at least I am trying for there not to be!).


• Ice blocks. I bought some Hydralyte ice blocks to keep in the freezer. These are nice on the throat and also assist with "keeping up the fluids".


• Gargle. Gargle with warm salt water a few times a day. 

Do you have any tips for dealing with tonsillitis?

The ergoCocoon

Image from here 

Before Little Mr 0 was born, my gorgeous wonderful friend Mrs M gave me three gifts - the Baby Blissful book, Infants Friend drops and an ergoCocoon.

We are using the Baby Blissful book and the Infants Friend drops - and I am so thankful to her for these gifts as I have found them invaluable.

This post, however, is about the ergoCocoon.

Our Little Mr 0 is a wriggler, arms and legs are continually moving so he always manoeuvred himself out of the muslin wraps. We tried bigger wraps and still he escaped.

Then we tried the ergoCocoon and he is as snug as a bug in a rug.

It is made of organic cotton with a hint of spandex with a two way zip which allows for easy nappy changes and transferring to a car seat. It also has arm poppers for an easy transition into a sleeping bag.

Also, anyone can use it so leaving our Little Mr 0 with Nonna and Poppy won't mean he is wrapped differently, he will still be snug (and hopefully asleep).

I would highly recommend it to anyone!

Have you used the ergoCocoon or something similar?

The "witching hour/s"

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Our Little Miss 4 had the "witching hours", she seemed to scream from about 5pm to 10pm - at least it seemed that long. At the time we thought it would never end - thankfully it did.

It seems that this week Little Mr 0 has developed his own "witching hours". I am not sure of the exact time as I am normally getting things organised for Little Miss 4's bath and dinner - isn't that always the way!

But it tends to depend on when he has a bottle in the late afternoon, early evening that dictates when the "witching" begins. It usually lasts a session, from one feed to the next. This is commonly on Hubby's watch too - sorry buddy.

These are the times when your little angel seems to be completely inconsolable. Why? There are so many stories of these "witching hours". Are they overtired at the end of the day? Are they hungrier?  Is there something really wrong that a sane adult person (insert Hubby and myself) can't figure out?

Our coping strategy is to basically pat him in the cot until he is settled, then leave the room (or lie on the fold-out bed in his room, depending on how tired the grown-up is), then repeat if he screams again. After about 30-45 minutes of this tango, we pick him up and try to get him to sleep by rocking, swaying, etc. If this too doesn't work, we put him in the bouncer and bounce him until his next feed.

At least this is the team tactic at the moment....today is after all a new day - and what worked yesterday may not work today.

I should digress quickly into the story from last night though....

I actually had a go at settling him during this time and settled him at about 8.20pm (he feed at 6.30pm) - GO ME! Then fell asleep myself on the fold-out bed I have set up in his room for those unsettled times when you can't be arsed to stumble back to your own bed only to get up five minutes later.

I woke up at 10pm and the cot was empty and his bedroom door wide open! HOLY SHIT, I thought, I have slept through the kidnapping of my five week old son! I jumped up and ran out the door, to be meet in the lounge room by Hubby who said, "I just can't wake up him for his next feed". (Another team tactic at the moment is feeding him during the day every 3-3.5 hours, with his last feed being 9.30-10pm, even if we have to wake him up.) So he drank about 70ml of milk and was back in bed quick smartly, as were Hubby and I.

Have you experienced the "witching hour/s"?

Sleep deprivation is a BITCH!

As anyone with a newborn can attest you don't get much sleep in the first months of their little lives.

They tend to want to feed between two to four hours, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Over and over and over again. It really feels like you are living a groundhog day, whilst trying to snatch an hour or two sleep here and there.

Throw in a preschooler and trying to catch those most wanted zzzz's becomes even harder.

Currently I am doing the following in an attempt to cope:

• Caffeine - I am drinking two coffees per morning and would drink more if I didn't start to shake from the caffeine overload.


• Eating well - I try to eat five meals a day; brekkie, morning tea, lunch, arvo tea and dinner. I find when I don't do this I feel even worse.


• Attempting to go to bed at 7pm and Hubby feeding Little Mr 0 his 9pm/10pm bottle- some nights my Little Miss 4 even puts me to bed. If all goes to plan I don't have to get up until 1am/2am (ish).


• Hubby doing the weekend shifts - Hubby has been feeding Little Mr 0 his overnight bottles on Friday and Saturday nights, while I try to get a solid block of sleep.


• Attempting to sleep when Little Mr 0 sleeps - sadly this is easier said than done with everything else that needs to be done!

Sleep deprivation is definitely some kind of torture!

What coping mechanisms do you have for sleep deprivation?

Dealing with newborn constipation

Never did I think that the bulk of my topic of conversations would be about newborn poop! My poor friends and family! All they have heard about for the past few weeks are the bowel motions, or lack of, of our Little Mr 0.

Little Miss 4 never had issues with pooping - she had other issues, reflux (at least I think it was reflux) and was just basically a screamer for the first few months as soon as she gasped that first breath of sweet air.

However, our Little Mr 0 has trouble pooping. More than likely due to the fact that he is bottle-fed and not breast-fed (check out my When breastfeeding is hard post if you want to read all about that story) but who the hell knows. Maybe he would have the same issue if he was breast-fed.

Newborns are a complete enigma to me, I have no idea why they do the things they do - does anyone?

I have taken Little Mr 0 to the doctor twice about his pooping situation (and am headed back tomorrow) and thought I would share our experience - because doesn't everyone need to know the pooping habits of my 4 week old.

Clearly I am no doctor so it is best to seek medical advice!

• 1/4 teaspoon of brown sugar in each bottle - we tried this for over a week and he still needed assistance to poop.


• 4 drops of Coloxyl in each bottle - we then moved onto Coloxyl and he has done a couple of poops himself, however the majority of the time still needs help.


• Tummy massage in a clockwise direction - sometimes he likes this and sometimes he really does not!


• Bicycle legs when they are lying on their back - sometimes he likes this and sometimes he really does not!


• Lying on their tummies on your legs - he really likes this.


• Holding them upright or sitting in a bouncer upright for a while - apparently it is easier to poop when upright than lying down.


• Putting a cotton bud with a lot of Vaseline just in the tip of their little bum - this really helps him to start the pooping process....and I really hope he never finds out that we did this to him.


• Using gylercerol suppositories - we haven't got to this stage yet....and hopefully we won't.

Presuming the doctor will give me some more tips tomorrow, or tell me to keep on keeping on.

Do you have any tips on newborn constipation?

Those dark "baby blue" days...

After the birth of a child a woman (or a man) has several dark days, commonly referred to as the "baby blues". They say it strikes between days three to five after the birth of your little bundle of joy and can last up to a week, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer.

It is such a hard time. There are tears, fears and more tears. You find yourself second guessing everything and having irrational thoughts. 

I felt that these feelings would never end and I would cry forever. It is such a fog that sits over you.

Sadly with my daughter the fog didn't clear for a long period of time and I was diagnosed with Post Natal Depression (PND). I didn't leave the house for weeks and didn't want to talk or see anyone.

After the recent birth of my son, Little Mr 0, I am taking every precaution to avoid another bout of PND. I regularly talk to close friends and family. I contacted a therapist shortly after his birth to put a plan in place to deal with the feelings that come with a newborn.

During these dark days I believe it is important to cry when you need/want to and talk about the feelings/thoughts that you are having.

There is also a lot of support available for parents suffering depression (it does affect fathers too) including your Early Childhood Centre, your local GP, Black Dog Institute, Beyond Blue, Lifeline, SANE Helpline, Baby Bumps, PANDA and many others.

If you or someone you know is suffering from PND, it is important to seek help straight away.

Do you have a story about PND?

When breastfeeding is hard

I had issues breastfeeding Little Miss 4 when she was born - after a horrific labour my milk supply was dismal at best so we started life together expressing and offering formula top-ups....needless to say both of us were exhausted and I suffered badly from Post Natal Depression. The guilt and pressure I placed on myself and the fear of being judged by others if I didn't breastfeed was enormous.

I swore that if ever I was to have another child and breastfeeding didn't work out I wouldn't be so hard on myself. This was easier said than done.

During my pregnancy with Little Mr 0 I spoke often to my Obstetrician about my horrific first labour in an effort to not have it repeated. He did not disappoint, he was amazing and worth every cent that we paid (I am sure we are funding his beach house or motorbike or maybe even both).

However, my milk supply was still dismal and I relived the whole process of expressing and offering formula top-ups. Added to the mix with Little Mr 0 was his poor attachment when breastfeeding, which lead to badly cracked nipples - we just couldn't get it right. I engaged the services of two different lactation consultants and while both offered great advice, Little Mr 0 still couldn't latch properly.

We had a break from breastfeeding for a few days to allow me to heal, so I expressed every feed and gave him bottles. Then we tried again....with the same result, bad attachment and excruciating pain.

As a family we made the decision to go onto formula to allow Hubby to help out at night and to create a happy mummy, happy baby environment. This decision was not easy - even though I vowed to not place pressure on myself, I still did. We talked a lot about it though and decided that it was the best decision for us.

Some tips that I discovered during the process:

• Ask for help
  If you need help with breastfeeding, ask for it. While it is easy for some mums to breastfed, for others it isn't. There are great resources available through your maternity hospital, the Australian Breastfeeding Association, Early Childhood Centres and private lactation consultants.


• Hydrogel pads
  Available from chemists and online are Hydrogel pads (the above link is for the Medela brand but there are others on the market). They are advanced nipple therapy for mums with severe sore or cracked nipples.


• Lansinoh Lanolin
  This cream soothes, heals and protects sore nipples. It is safe for mum and baby and there is no need to remove it before breastfeeding.
  


• Fresh air
  Letting your nipples get some fresh air and even some sunlight can work wonders in the healing process.


• Electric pumps
  If you need to express a lot I would recommend sourcing an electric pump. I struggled with a hand pump for a couple of days until a good friend of mine was able to lend me one. You can also hire hospital grade ones from your local chemist.


• Be kind to yourself
  Always be kind to yourself and talk about whatever issues you may be having with your partner, family or friends - it really helps.

Did you have issues breastfeeding?

Helping kids to navigate their feelings

Feelings and emotions are tricky to navigate in young children. They are often hard (or harder) to navigate in adults.

I strongly believe in being given the opportunity to express your feelings and emotions, in a safe and constructive way.

When I was talking about this to a wonderful psychologist friend of mine, she recommended the When I'm Feeling books as she had found them useful with her patients.

The When I'm Feeling series has been designed to help children better understand their feelings. It shares examples of ways to express feelings in a way that is both appropriate and acceptable to everyone.

It helps young children develop skills to identify and manage their feelings. This leads to an increase in confidence and self-esteem.

In the back of each book there are Background Notes for Parents written by child psychologists. Each note helps to explain to parents the importance of self-esteem in children and how they can help with the processing of each of the feelings.

There are eight books in the series, covering angry, lonely, loved, happy, kind, sad, scared and jealous feelings.

We have been reading these books to Little Miss 4 for about two years now and she has always enjoyed them. As she gets older she has begun discussing the different feelings and the things that make her feel a certain way. I am certainly very glad that I bought them.

They are written and illustrated by Trace Moroney. She has released a series with the same adorable bunny, titled The Things I Love.

Have you read this series to your children? Or do you know of anything similar?