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I opened this free edition of the local paper tonight - it was thrown at our house sometime over the weekend. It usually includes two sections that I don't bother reading and some coupons.
This time, a picture caught my eye. It was of a lady sleeping with a baby which made me smile... until I saw the big words surrounding this picture: "Safe? Think again." Then in a smaller text: "In 2009, 53 babies in the greater ***** area died while sleeping with a family member." Back in big text: "Share your room, not your bed."
This made my smile fade and my blood boil. There were no other statistics listed! They didn't bother to share the rest of the facts.
-Who were these babies sleeping next to? Mom? Dad? A sibling?
-And that person co-sleeping with the baby... were they on any medication? Even "just" Tylenol or Benadryl? Had they been drinking? Smoking?
-Were they over tired?
-Where were they co-sleeping? What kind of bed? or were they on the couch?
-Were the babies breastfed or formula fed?
-Did they recently have vaccinations?
The ad makes it seem like parents who co-sleep are bad parents. But, it fails to give the facts. My biggest question... how many babies die every year from SIDS? Whether it's in a crib or the family bed? From my research, approximately 2,500 babies die every year. TWO THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED. And my questions stay the same no matter where they died... I am all for co-sleeping. My baby sleeps with me every night. I do NOT take medication, I do NOT drink or smoke EVER, I have a barrier between me and my husband so he can't roll on her, and I do NOT allow other children in our bed while Bells is sleeping with us. I DO breastfeed and she hasn't had any vaccinations.
I pray every day that she'll be safe no matter what. And every morning, I thank God we're all still alive. My heart goes out to everyone who has lost a child, no matter the cause. I will always be an advocate for co-sleeping. It has worked for us with all five of our children.
I don't know what causes SIDS. Nobody has figured that out yet. I hope someone does, very soon. I also hope - as weird as a hope this is - that it turns out to be something genetic or some sort of birth defect. Then so many parents who have lost their babies to SIDS can stop blaiming themselves.
I am editing my book one more time. Then I plan to send it to the copyright office and upload it to Amazon. I'm sure there will still be mistakes, but I hope people aren't overly harsh.
So, dear readers - all 4 of you - please feel free to buy my book when it is uploaded, read it on your computer or phone or Kindle, and then if you like it, leave a glowing review so maybe, just maybe, someone else will buy it.
Bells has her first fever. When I picked her up from her nap yesterday, she felt like she was on fire. Poor thing had a temperature of 101.7. As I cuddled her, I remembered that I had just finally gotten around to filling out the form online to get a refund from the Tylenol/Motrin/Zyrtec recall and had thrown everything away. JUST! Like as in hours before. I was so annoyed!!!!
So, being lazy, and not wanting to venture out with five kids, one being a sick infant, I called a friend who I hoped would be out. She was! She was able to bring me some infant drops. On the box, it gave the dosage for six months and up. Bells is 5 months. I cut the dosage in half, hoping to get her some relief. She didn't like the taste of that stuff at all, but it did bring her fever down for the night.
This morning, she was moaning in her sleep. Such a sad, sweet sound. With every little breath, a teeny tiny moan came out. Her temperature was back up to 101.9. I gave her more of the medicine, this time remembering that you're not supposed to give Ibuprofen to a child until 6 months. Don't know why I forgot that until then. I was heading to the store anyway, I put Tylenol on my list.
When I got to the children's pain medication aisle in the store, I found myself at my wit's end. Because of the recall, there was NO Tylenol whatsoever. Wonderful. I found the store brand (there was only a few of them) and bought that... it said right on it... INFANT DROPS!!!
When I got home, I went to give it to Bells and what does it say on the back... Dosage information for 2 and up! I flip it around a few times and sure enough on the front it says 2-3 years old. Now, who calls their 2-3 year old an INFANT???!!!! A toddler maybe, a child for sure, but NOT an infant!! The box said to call the doctor for a child under the age of two.
What did I do? Cut the dosage in 1/4 and gave her that. I don't understand. I know a few years ago they took all the cold medications off the market for young children, are they doing the same thing with fever and pain meds? This is ridiculous! I don't usually give them fever reducing medicine unless their temperatures hit over 101 or they are uncomfortable. So, it's not like I'm overusing it. I just want to have SOMETHING to use when I need to!!
Somebody needs to tell these people that a 2-3 year old is NOT an infant and they should relabel their products.
Or maybe I should just read the box better.
JJ's 7th birthday is coming up soon. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday, she told me, "I want my legs to stop hurting."
Broke. My. Heart.
The doctor called this morning about JJ's test results. My stomach did a flip flop when I saw her number on the caller ID. When I talked to her, my heart dropped... there was something wrong. The seconds passed like hours as I listened to her, wanting to speed her up and tell me what was abnormal. Finally, she said it. JJ's ANAs were positive. First, I breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't mention her CBC, if that was normal, then it wasn't Leukemia. I asked if all the other tests were okay and again she said the only one abnormal was her ANAs which was 1:640.
The doctor said she wanted JJ to see a pediatric rheumatologist. She asked me to give her some time to find one for her to see at the children's hospital. I said okay.
Now, we wait. And of course, with waiting, we worry. My hands can't stay away from the Internet, so I've been researching things all day. Names like juvenile arthritis, lupus, and fibromyalgia have been jumping out at me.
My husband urges me to stay calm. I'm trying, but it's impossible to not think about it. I do have some good things to keep my mind on. JJ doesn't have any other symptoms besides pain and this blood test. And I have tested positive on my ANAs and mine were even more positive then hers (1:1280). I went to see a rheumatologist and they did tests, tests, and more tests and never found anything past the positive ANAs (and the MTHFR). I have no symptoms or pain. I wasn't diagnosed with anything. My mother does have rheumatoid arthritis, so it is in the family.
I had JJ on my lap today and I told her that the doctor had called and her test results showed there was something wrong and she would have to see another doctor for more tests. She looked up at me with those big, brown, puppy dog eyes and said, "I told you my legs hurt, Mom." I felt horrible for not taking her sooner, for not believing her earlier. Here all this time I was thinking she was trying to get out of doing something or trying to get some attention, and she's really been in pain.
I beg any of you who have a child who says they are in pain, believe them, and get it checked out. If it turns out to be nothing, then you are only out money. Knowing that you put it off and there was something wrong is so much worse than having a little less cash. Get your child to the doctor even if it's for nothing but easing your mind.
Please keep JJ in your thoughts and prayers as she goes through more testing. Keep us in them too, we need patience and strength to figure out what it is.
It's officially summertime here. The hot, muggy days have been here for over a month, however now the kids are out of school. I love summer for one simple reason - I get to stay up late and sleep in late. It's after midnight now and I'm not tired. I could easily be up until 2am and then sleep until 10 tomorrow - if the kids let me. Of course, it's all about the kids. Some days they don't let me sleep in and some days they do.
Summer is usually the time my fingers get itchy and I need to write. The writing bug has bitten me. I hope I can write something awesome this summer. I have a few things started. Now, I just need to pick one and get on with it.
Today, I am very proud of Kiki. She chose to play the viola in orchestra when she entered 6th grade. She started off a beginner, and went on to intermediate for 7th grade. A few weeks ago, she tried out for chamber, the highest level of orchestra in middle school... and today she found out she got in!!
It was awesome to see the excitement on her face. She was so happy, so proud of herself! And we, too, are so proud of her! I told her I'd have to share it with the world, so here I am, sharing it with the world :)
