My 33 month old is currently in the "I want to help you Mom phase". I am taking this to my full advantage. Recently we needed to take my toddler to the Dr. At her previous visit she let go of my hand in the parking lot while I was using the stroller for my infant with the other. Imagine my worry.
This time I asked her if she wanted to help me with the stroller. She said yes and did not let go of the stroller while we were in the parking lot.
Another chore she is quite fond of is doing the dishes. She likes to "dry". My thinking here is if I don't let her dry the dishes she may not want to help when she is older. So I let her "dry" the plastic things and the unbreakable, non-dangerous things. I need to redry them and it takes more time, but I think in the long run this strategy will pay off, I hope.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Laundry Stains: Grease
How to remove grease from clothes:
1. Sponge off/wipe off excess grease
2. Apply WD40, yes that lubricant found in your garage, on the stain. Let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Apply your favorite dish washing detergent (in my case Sunlight) to the stain.
4. Wash clothes on the hottest setting for the fabric and dry
If the stain is still there, try the process again. This worked for me many times even after I had missed the spot and put the clothes in the dryer. I had thought I had "cooked" the stain, but this process worked.
1. Sponge off/wipe off excess grease
2. Apply WD40, yes that lubricant found in your garage, on the stain. Let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Apply your favorite dish washing detergent (in my case Sunlight) to the stain.
4. Wash clothes on the hottest setting for the fabric and dry
If the stain is still there, try the process again. This worked for me many times even after I had missed the spot and put the clothes in the dryer. I had thought I had "cooked" the stain, but this process worked.
Daycare Immunization Period
Whenever a child leaves the family home and goes to a daycare whether it be in a smaller family setting or a bigger daycare with classrooms, there is an adjustment period with regard to "germs" and a child's immune system. No matter how well the daycare is cleaned or how vigilant the daycare personnel are about hygiene, just the fact that your child is in a new setting with other children is enough to start the immunization period. By this I mean that your child will be exposed to viruses and bacteria from other children causing your child to become sick. For the first year in daycare, it will seem that your child is continuously sick--one cold after another. I have heard that children will get upwards of 200 colds in their first 2 years in daycare.
Based on personal experience, I can say that this is absolutely true. Within a month of my daughter's going to her first daycare in a family setting (8 kids total with 2 adults), she had an ear infection requiring antibiotics. She had one cold after another to the point where I didn't know where the old cold went away and a new cold started. She finally seemed to get ahead of the "germs" about the time when we put her in a bigger daycare this past February.
Again, within a month of being in the new daycare (80 plus kids with many staff), she had another ear infection requiring antibiotics. In March, she had a high fever of 103/4 F for 3 days in a row. I gave her ibuprofen to keep her comfortable. Once the fever broke, she was left with a cough that starts off dry and goes productive now for the past 5 weeks or so. This didn't seem to bother her too much because she slept through it at night until recently.
Just this weekend, the cough changed to the point where she would wake up from sleep. So off to the pediatrician we went. Her nasal secretions changed color. She did not have a fever, but I thought it could be a sinus infection. The diagnosis was another cold.
How does a mother provide relief to her child?
1. Salinex (a saline solution) to hydrate the nose and to encourage the sinuses to drain.
2. Vicks Vaporub (the old standby) on the chest and the back. I've also rubbed Vicks on the soles of my daughter's feet which seemed to help. Remember to cover the feet with socks because you do not want the greasy Vicks on your floors. Never use near the mucous
membranes (nose).
3. I've used some homeopathic remedies to provide relief for my daughter's throat. Boiron Stodal seems to quiet her throat at night. This is a honey based syrup and tastes great.
Now if only I could get rid of my own cold.
Based on personal experience, I can say that this is absolutely true. Within a month of my daughter's going to her first daycare in a family setting (8 kids total with 2 adults), she had an ear infection requiring antibiotics. She had one cold after another to the point where I didn't know where the old cold went away and a new cold started. She finally seemed to get ahead of the "germs" about the time when we put her in a bigger daycare this past February.
Again, within a month of being in the new daycare (80 plus kids with many staff), she had another ear infection requiring antibiotics. In March, she had a high fever of 103/4 F for 3 days in a row. I gave her ibuprofen to keep her comfortable. Once the fever broke, she was left with a cough that starts off dry and goes productive now for the past 5 weeks or so. This didn't seem to bother her too much because she slept through it at night until recently.
Just this weekend, the cough changed to the point where she would wake up from sleep. So off to the pediatrician we went. Her nasal secretions changed color. She did not have a fever, but I thought it could be a sinus infection. The diagnosis was another cold.
How does a mother provide relief to her child?
1. Salinex (a saline solution) to hydrate the nose and to encourage the sinuses to drain.
2. Vicks Vaporub (the old standby) on the chest and the back. I've also rubbed Vicks on the soles of my daughter's feet which seemed to help. Remember to cover the feet with socks because you do not want the greasy Vicks on your floors. Never use near the mucous
membranes (nose).
3. I've used some homeopathic remedies to provide relief for my daughter's throat. Boiron Stodal seems to quiet her throat at night. This is a honey based syrup and tastes great.
Now if only I could get rid of my own cold.
Son with Brachial Plexus Injury
My son was born on Sept 6, 2008 via c-section. During his first day, I was unaware he had any issue because he did all things newborns did--he suckled and did in his diaper. I did not notice that his right arm was in a flexed position at the elbow and his wrist was flexed outward because he was bundled up tightly in hospital fashion. When the duty pediatrician gave him his complete physical on day 2, this is when the Dr. noticed the problem.
The Dr. ordered x-rays to make sure there were no broken bones to explain the position of my son's arm. The x-rays came back negative for broken bones. This is when the Dr. requested my son be seen by the Shriner's Hospital in Montreal. At this point we were going on the hypothesis that our son had a brachial plexus injury. We had our appointment 10 days after.
At the Shriner's we met with a specialist and her team. We left the Shriner's without a diagnosis because our son did not present the classical signs of a brachial plexus injury; however, treatment began with the hypothesis that our son did have a brachial plexus injury. The specialist requested we consult with another Brachial Plexus specialist who would then recommend we consult with a neurologist should the need arise. We started with occupational therapy right then and there, and a splint for his wrist to be used at night to correctly position his wrist. At first the Occupational Therapy (OT) visits were every 3 weeks where the OT would teach me how to exercise his arm and what signs to watch for. Then the OT visits would be scheduled based on my son's development and hitting certain milestones.
After consulting with the other specialist, again the Dr. could not make a definitive diagnosis and so arranged for us to visit with the neurologist. At the neurologist visit, the Dr. thought that our son did not have a brachial plexus injury but prescribed a CT Scan to rule out a lesion on my baby's brain. The CT Scan came back negative.
So we were back to square one. What did our son have and what was the prognosis? Both Brachial Plexus specialists consulted with each other and recommended we take our son to their specialized clinic for Brachial Plexus Injury at Hopital Marie Enfant . During this visit our son was examined by both Brachial Plexus Injury Doctors plus a team of occupational therapists and physical therapists. Again our son did not present in the classical brachial plexus injury. The good news though was our son continued to make improvement. He could move his arm from the shoulder, he could move his elbow, there was slight movement in his wrist, and his thumb was no longer stuck under his other fingers. Only his 3rd or middle finger remained "stuck". The team at Marie Enfant recommended we see the neurologist again for an EMG.
At this second visit to the neurologist, my son was finally diagnosed with brachial plexus injury after the EMG in March. In all of the neurologist's experience, (he's in his late 50's or early 60's with grandkids the age of my son), he had never seen a case like my son's. The neurologist then ordered and MRI to localized which nerve is damaged. Because my son had continued to make progress, his prognosis is good according to the neurologist.
As for my son hitting his milestones, he was about 4 to 6 weeks late in holding his head. At 7 months if I leave him on the carpet, he is sure to end up at the other end of the room by rolling over. He is not crawling yet but tries to get to his knees when on his stomach. He is able to hold his bottle with his left hand and support it with his right. He is aware that his right hand exists as he sucks his right thumb almost exclusively. He uses his right hand as a helper for his left hand when he wants a toy.
Our OT visits are on a weekly basis because he is making so much progress. The current sign we need to watch for is with the elbow at 90 degrees can our son twist his wrist. YES he can, ever so slightly, but YES!!! This means that the nerve is working/healing from the shoulder to the wrist.
The Dr. ordered x-rays to make sure there were no broken bones to explain the position of my son's arm. The x-rays came back negative for broken bones. This is when the Dr. requested my son be seen by the Shriner's Hospital in Montreal. At this point we were going on the hypothesis that our son had a brachial plexus injury. We had our appointment 10 days after.
At the Shriner's we met with a specialist and her team. We left the Shriner's without a diagnosis because our son did not present the classical signs of a brachial plexus injury; however, treatment began with the hypothesis that our son did have a brachial plexus injury. The specialist requested we consult with another Brachial Plexus specialist who would then recommend we consult with a neurologist should the need arise. We started with occupational therapy right then and there, and a splint for his wrist to be used at night to correctly position his wrist. At first the Occupational Therapy (OT) visits were every 3 weeks where the OT would teach me how to exercise his arm and what signs to watch for. Then the OT visits would be scheduled based on my son's development and hitting certain milestones.
After consulting with the other specialist, again the Dr. could not make a definitive diagnosis and so arranged for us to visit with the neurologist. At the neurologist visit, the Dr. thought that our son did not have a brachial plexus injury but prescribed a CT Scan to rule out a lesion on my baby's brain. The CT Scan came back negative.
So we were back to square one. What did our son have and what was the prognosis? Both Brachial Plexus specialists consulted with each other and recommended we take our son to their specialized clinic for Brachial Plexus Injury at Hopital Marie Enfant . During this visit our son was examined by both Brachial Plexus Injury Doctors plus a team of occupational therapists and physical therapists. Again our son did not present in the classical brachial plexus injury. The good news though was our son continued to make improvement. He could move his arm from the shoulder, he could move his elbow, there was slight movement in his wrist, and his thumb was no longer stuck under his other fingers. Only his 3rd or middle finger remained "stuck". The team at Marie Enfant recommended we see the neurologist again for an EMG.
At this second visit to the neurologist, my son was finally diagnosed with brachial plexus injury after the EMG in March. In all of the neurologist's experience, (he's in his late 50's or early 60's with grandkids the age of my son), he had never seen a case like my son's. The neurologist then ordered and MRI to localized which nerve is damaged. Because my son had continued to make progress, his prognosis is good according to the neurologist.
As for my son hitting his milestones, he was about 4 to 6 weeks late in holding his head. At 7 months if I leave him on the carpet, he is sure to end up at the other end of the room by rolling over. He is not crawling yet but tries to get to his knees when on his stomach. He is able to hold his bottle with his left hand and support it with his right. He is aware that his right hand exists as he sucks his right thumb almost exclusively. He uses his right hand as a helper for his left hand when he wants a toy.
Our OT visits are on a weekly basis because he is making so much progress. The current sign we need to watch for is with the elbow at 90 degrees can our son twist his wrist. YES he can, ever so slightly, but YES!!! This means that the nerve is working/healing from the shoulder to the wrist.
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