Health | Mom Blog | From Dates to Diapers™

Tips to Help Your Child “Get Back to Happy” on Sick Days

by Christine - From Dates to Diapers on December 19, 2011

With a family our size, this time of year can be plagued with head colds, flu bugs, and nasty coughs. Late night wakings, cranky mornings, and nap-less afternoons are just par for the course. Sometimes I wish we could all just be sick at the same time and get it over with, but that’s never the way it goes. When one kiddos gets sick we can plan to be sick for days, if not weeks.

I would rather suffer myself than see my little one experience discomfort when feeling ill. Here are some tried and true tips for helping my kiddos stay comfortable, and “get back to happy” when they’re under the weather. Luckily, with a little imagination and some modern technology, these ideas are sure to help us all feel better.

King or queen for the day: Create a comfy throne recliner on the bed or on the couch. Grant his or her highness with the TV remote control, special box of tissues, special snacks, etc. You could even let your child pitch a tent in the living room and supply it with a sleeping bag, pillows, flashlight, etc. The key is to create a comfortable place where they will be happy staying put.

Get Crafty: If your child is up for some crafts, start with a new box of tissues to decorate and personalize with gem stones, markers, stickers, fabric, feathers, and anything else you can find. Leave some plain paper around and this little craft can lead to another art project, affording your child time to relax and stay quiet.

Get Comfy: It’s not easy to get kids to take medicine so I usually offer my kids a choice of a treat, such as jello or a popcicle, as a reward after taking their medicine. Find medicines, like those from PediaCare, with kid-appealing flavors like grape, cherry or bubble gum. It makes the medicine go down a lot easier.

Get them Eating: It’s hard to get kids to eat when they have fever and don’t feel well. Offering small portions seems less daunting and they are more likely to pick off the plate. Offer little bite-sized snacks like grapes, carrot sticks, cheese cubes and apple slices. And, don’t forget fluids. Offer a crazy straw or a special sippy cup to get your child to drink plenty of fluids.

Get them Laughing: They say laughter is the best medicine. Pull up your lap top and look for funny animal videos on YouTube. Funny animal videos always make us feel better!

A Mother’s Touch: A little TLC can go a long way. Sometimes just sitting close or taking part in the activities mentioned above can mean a lot to the kids when they aren’t feeling well. As an added treat, try massaging your child’s feet, aching neck and back for comfort. My kids love the extra attention.

To help get kids back to happy, PediaCare is offering the “Get Back to Happy” Sweepstakes for a chance to win one of four fun prizes! One grand prize includes a two-night stay for four (4) at a participating Great Wolf Lodge® resort valued at $1,100, and all winners will receive a PediaCare ”Get Back to Happy” Family Pack each valued at $350.

Visit the PediaCare web site, www.pediacare.com , to enter the “Get Back to Happy” sweepstakes or for more information about the new acetaminophen dosing changes and a special message from celebrity-pediatrician, Dr. Jim Sears, co-host of the Emmy award-winning medical talk show The Doctors.

I have been commissioned as a Spokesmom for PediaCare and have been compensated for this post. PediaCare infants and children’s over-the-counter medicines are available at drugstores, supermarkets and retailers nationwide. To learn more about the new acetaminophen dosing system for PediaCare or Little Remedies, visit pediacare.com or littleremedies.com.

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Vasectomy Gone Wrong

by Ray on January 12, 2011

A quick note from Christine ::

Much over-sharing is about to take place. I can assure you, however, that Ray has not embellished or exaggerated a single thing… after the first sentence.

Now might actually be a good time to shoo your kiddos away. Oh, your hubby too, especially if he plans to have a vasectomy in the near future, as this is a very graphically written (and unedited) post!

Consider yourself warned.

P.S. Ray begged me to let him write this post!

So after birthing seven kids, Christine begged me to get snipped so she didn’t have to endure another painful pregnancy. (<— Not true.) So being the loving and understanding husband that I am, I agreed, especially since (The rest is true. —>) it’s supposed to be a quick procedure and recovery.

That may be true, but not if one of your testicles swells to the size of a rock-hard cantaloupe! And that’s exactly what happened to me.

Actually, it was probably bigger than this

By the time Christine and I arrived home after the initial procedure, I was already massively swollen and it was getting bigger, so much so that I couldn’t even feel my left nut. Everything was consumed by the swelled right one! And it was extremely hard to the touch. And a bit heavy as I recall.

After a quick Internet search to self-diagnose, we discovered that in “rare” cases, a vasectomy patient can experience post vasectomy hematoma – basically internal bleeding and swelling. According to my aunt who has assisted in thousands of these procedures, I had a “bleeder” that may have started bleeding after they sowed me up.

Whatever the case, I called my doctor and his first words in broken English were, “When was the last time you ate or drank anything?” That’s right, emergency surgery was needed to stop the bleeding.

So there I was in the ER getting some crazy cocktail mixture from the anesthesiologist, about to go under the knife for the second time in just eight hours. That’s when my brother, who drove me and stayed through the procedure, decided to take a picture for posterity (Available upon request). It wasn’t until I saw the pic that I realized that not only was I even more massive than usual, but the swelling went way back…all the way back! Think really bowlegged cowboy.

Anyway, I was shocked to say the least, but the drugs did their job and I woke up in my hospital bed where I spent the next 18 hours. I discovered that Dr. Chen had put a straw into my sack to drain all the blood. Imagine a black and blue Florida orange with the straw poked in the bottom.

Use Your Imagination

And unfortunately, it’s a real slow drain. After more than two weeks, nine days of shots in the butt to help fight infection, and countless bloody gauze replacements, I’m almost back to normal. Just a few days ago, my left nut finally reemerged relatively unharmed. So all’s well that ends well.

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Mucinex kicked him out, but I know he’ll be back…

by Christine - From Dates to Diapers on December 8, 2009

First of all, let me say thank you to my Twitter-bud – My4Sweeterbugs – for literally saving my sinuses and making my husband’s night! Thanks to her I was able to function beyond grunts and moans, help my hubby make dinner (sorta), get some work done, and even stay awake to watch a movie with my kiddos!

Well, it was Stacy and Mucinex-D. Last night, I had my ever-willing husband go back to Target (yes, he was already home from his first trip) and exchange my Tylenol Severe Sinus for this box of wonder-drug… I couldn’t have been happier, since I felt better than I had in days.

I know, I know, it was just a bandaid. It was a very welcome bandaid. For last night. Because I know Mr. Mucus will try to come back.

So, today I begin with a new plan to get better and stay better :: EnerPrime

Mr. Mucus should be afraid. Very afraid!

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No More Migraines? (or “The Mirena is Evil”)

by Christine - From Dates to Diapers on August 27, 2009

As most of you may recall I had been having pretty severe neck pain, and recurring headaches, for quite some time. Then back in May I began experiencing horrendous migraines; about one every week. Boy, were they awful. I was quite shaken by the debilitating pain accompanying each episode. There were days I clearly felt like I was dying.

Then came my pinched nerve and all of the drama surrounding that crisis… Doctor’s appointments, hospital visits, and test after test. My personal physician concluded that it was not only a pinched nerve ailing me, but also a severe migraine. A migraine that lasted for four days. Four days that left me unable to take care of my kiddos. Four days I will never get back. Even after the four days there were days – weeks, even – that I couldn’t move without a sharp pain shooting up my neck and through my head.

Seeing my chiropractor and a physical therapist helped a bit, but I had this voice in the back of my mind telling that there was something causing these migraines. Something I could easily get rid of, but I wasn’t quite willing.

You see, after my third or fourth migraine in as many weeks, I vaguely remembered reading that one of the side effects of the Mirena IUD, which I had inserted shortly after Noah was born, can be severe headaches and migraines. So, I looked it up, just to be sure I recalled correctly. Sure enough, users are cautioned to call a practitioner if severe or migraine headaches develop.

I know it sounds weird, but I knew the Mirena was the cause of my migraines. Sure, stress triggered them each week, but the IUD was most definitely the cause. I have no doubt.

Other side effects of the Mirena include back and pelvic pain, high blood pressure, pain during intercourse, and a myriad of other ailments. None of which I experienced, thank God. But, I do believe that, in addition to the headaches and migraines, the Mirena was also effecting my libido (decreased sex drive) and my mood… I just always felt so down.

So, Ray and I made a huge leap of faith and I had the Mirena removed 3 weeks ago today. I say it was a huge leap of faith, because Ray quite literally breathes on me and I’m pregnant. We truly had to be okay with whatever God has in store for us in that department.

But, guess what? It’s been almost 4 weeks since I succumbed to a migraine!

Will I never have to suffer from another migraine again? I can’t say that, as time will only tell. I strongly suspect, however, that I won’t be visited by another horrible alien any time soon.

Oh, and just a side note :: I’m not such a horrible person to be around any more. My husband can attest to that!

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Headaches

May 30, 2009

Tweet The headaches that I’ve been getting truly are a pain in the neck! They start there anyway, and travel all the way up the back of my head and through my eyes… I had been getting headaches off and on for many months and didn’t think much of them. And then I got the [...]

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Kissable

January 24, 2009

Tweet It’s the cooler weather that always makes me want to cuddle up with my hubby under a warm blanket, in front of the fire. But, it’s also the time of year for dry, chapped lips. Fortunately I have found some great remedies to make my unkissable lips kissable again. . Lip Lover, by Rachel [...]

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When we get sick…

January 19, 2009

Tweet We ALL get sick. And SICK is what we get. Last week it was the stomach flu, this week a nasty head cold. Zach woke up the other night coughing and looking as if he would fall apart. last night my little Ben sounded as if he couldn’t breath, as he coughed and cried. [...]

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Indoor Fountains Provide Many Benefits

December 1, 2008

Tweet There is a reason why the swooshing sounds that simulate the sounds of the womb, or sounds of nature have a calming effect on infants… Babies are bombarded with the sounds of the television, vehicles, and constant chatter. Even the sound of the refrigerator, or jeans in the dryer, are sounds that are foreign [...]

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Am I A “Parasite”?

July 12, 2008

Tweet Yesterday I read an article in Cookie Magazine (August 2008) about Amanda Peet. Among many topics mentioned in the article she spoke out for vaccinations and expressed that she is concerned by the growing number of un-vaccinated children who are benefiting from the “shield” created by the inoculated. In the article she is quoted [...]

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