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Finger food
I’m really not sure who wins the point today. It’s definitely NOT Dr. Zibners. But is it Mommy or Eva? I’ve tried to keep the kids out of the running. After all, I’m the grown-up, they are the children. But today Zoe literally shook her head at me when I had a talk with her about sleeping until 7. And Eva refuses to sleep unless her eyes are covered by Wubbie. She’s apparently not afraid of suffocating in the night. Clearly their minds are more developed than I’d like to admit. And I think Eva might have teamed up with Mommy. Dr. Zibners is in trouble.
We all know Eva’s been sick and off her solids. But now she’s better and I’m anxious to get back on track, especially since her little ribs are sticking out of what used to just be roll upon roll of baby. Cereal doesn’t seem to be her game right now, but we’ve had limited success with baby yogurt. (And by “baby” I mean “full fat” since it’s tough to find whole milk yogurt in the adult section and fat is where it’s at for this age group.) Breakfast time: I dish out a little scoop of cereal and half a container of mango yogurt. Yum. Eva eyes the bottle and clamps down her lips at the spoon. I move the bottle and she keeps her lips clamped. At this point, Dr. Zibners says, “What’s the big deal, she’s not into solids, try again tomorrow.” But Mommy cries, “She’ll never eat solids. We’ve missed our window. She’s going to be on a liquid diet when she’s 20!” Dr. Zibners reassures Mommy, “Oh I know I told you we had to start solids by 6 months or some kids develop a feeding aversion but honestly, I’ve only really ever seen that happen to kids with real medical issues who can’t have anything by mouth until they are like 18 months. Eva will eat when she eats.” And Mommy wails, “But she’s starving!!!”
Never mind that a 6 month-old is getting all her nutrition from her formula and the food is just a developmental game. Mommy won’t listen. So she literally fed Eva a cup of yogurt using her index finger as a spoon. Dr. Zibners laughed when Eva gagged and vomited out the first bite. But Mommy persisted, scooping it all up, every last bite and wheedling it into Eva’s mouth. By the end of it, Eva was naked but happy. Mommy was happy. Dr. Zibners smelled of vomit, but Eva and Mommy were happy. And I guess that’s what matters. Tally to date: Mommy (with assist) 5: Dr. Zibners 1
Splash!
It’s supposed to be good luck when a bird poops on your head. I, for one, have been “lucky” a few times, to the point where I continued my shopping after the last “good turn,” only to skulk out the door and race home when someone in line at Staples started sniffing the air and asked out loud, “Is there a bird in here?” What’s this got to do with what, you’re asking? Well, I’m so proud of my daughter Zoe. I just have to tell you. If she wants to be a pigeon when she grows up (and why not), she’s got her straight shot skills down pat.
Eva is almost done with her antibiotics and I’ve been religious about opening probiotic capsules into her bottles in an attempt to keep her belly somewhat okay. Her appetite isn’t really back yet either but I’ve been introducing new fruits mixed in whole live-culture yogurt, thinking that will keep us on track while restoring the good bacteria that were likely murdered by the Augmentin. (Banana yogurt smells even worse when it reverses course, FYI) So I’m a little surprised that Zoe seems to be the one with an awesome case of diarrhea. Well not that surprised, since my babysitter called this morning at 6 am saying that she’d spent the night puking. But anyway, Zoe has spent the last couple days soaking through her clothes but is otherwise acting fine, so I haven’t really bothered myself too much about it. However, yesterday we were invited to visit friends. Zoe was sitting on her Papa’s lap when all of a sudden there was a loud, “Splash!” Gernot yelled, “What was that?” and I said, “What?” and he started yelling “Look, look under my chair! Help me!” And there, all over the kitchen linoleum, was a giant brilliant golden lake of poo. No harm done, that’s what paper towels are for. Here’s the part that is so awe-inspiring: Zoe managed to shoot diarrhea all over the floor. But her little tights had only a tiny spot on them. Her dress was clean. Gernot’s clothes escaped entirely. I am not quite sure how she did it, but boy, am I impressed. Don’t get upset when your kid gets the runs, look at it as a chance to discover new talents.
Forever Young
I look at Eva and Zoe and I wonder how they will be when they are bigger. I can’t wait to see their personalities (although I think we’ve already got a few clues from The Princess) and what they look like. But I know that no matter how big they get, or how accomplished they may be, they will always be my little babies. That’s just how parenthood works. I know this because no matter how hard I’ve worked, or how much I’ve studied, my own Mom and Pop still see me as a slightly dim young child. At least that is what I gather after the onslaught of messages railing me for ignoring my poor child until her eardrum burst!
In independent emails, each of them asked if I’d never heard of antibiotics. Was I completely unaware of things like mastoiditis, brain abscesses and meningitis? Oh how my sad little baby was made to suffer at the hands of her callous mother! So let me be very clear. A ruptured eardrum from an infection does NOT imply that you are a bad parent. A middle ear infection, called otitis media, is a collection of pus behind the eardrum. Usually a baby will be fussy or irritable, and sometimes they will bat at their ear or cry when lying flat. They can have a fever. Sometimes the eardrum ruptures and releases the pus, which looks yucky but actually helps the pain. In many countries (including the US), the advice is actually to withhold antibiotics in older kids for a few days to see if it will get better itself, which most will. Eva had just had her ears checked Friday. By Monday her fever was gone and she was acting perkier, although not 100%. I had no reason to check her ears again. (And I had no otoscope, which is a problem I’ve already remedied.) But Tuesday morning there was pus all over her head.
So my child will finish her antibiotics and see her pediatrician in the next couple weeks to make sure the hole in the drum has healed up okay. I will probably become obsessed with checking her ears the next time she has a cold which is my own problem (and will probably seriously annoy her). But I want to make it very clear to all of you, if you wake up and your kid has pus and blood running out of his ear, you didn’t do anything wrong. Sometimes it just happens.
What’s next? Baby kimchi?
Let’s take a little break from talking about the battle waging in my head and my sickly little pumpkins. I want to tell you what showed up at my house this week. My grocery delivery came (this is city living folks) and sometimes they include a little free goodie sampler with my order. Well that’s awfully nice. Thank you. But what I got this week made me stop in my tracks. They’ve apparently figured out there are little people living here and popped some free baby food into my basket. Organic baby food. Well that is super although Eva is totally off her food this week and we’re just struggling to get enough milk and Pedialyte in to her to see it come out the other end. But soon enough we’ll be back at it. Anyway this is not just free and organic baby food, but also designed, apparently, to give babies something with a “grown-up flavour!” Sometimes England is weird.
Let me share the ingredients with you, verbatim, from the back of the package of “mild vegetable masala sauce” (for age 7+ months!): Organic vegetables 52% (butternut squash 20%, sweet potato 10%, tomato 6%, carrot 5%, red pepper 4%, fennel 3%, onion 3%, tomato paste 1%), water, organic apple puree 7%, organic vegetarian cheddar cheese 4%, organic coriander 1%, organic olive oil 1%, organic quinoa flakes 1%, organic spices 0.2% (cumin, ginger, curry), organic garlic.
I just spotted on http://momtothescreamingmasses.typepad.com/ that food allergy week is May 9-16. So apropos. How am I going to know if it was the cumin powder or the fennel that made my kid break out after her curry? My 7 month-old is supposed to want chicken tikka? And what the heck is vegetarian cheddar cheese? From grass-fed cattle? I was still back at bananas and pears. Masala sauce wasn’t even on my radar. Am I supposed to buy special baby Indian food? Good gracious, I had no idea. The things they don’t teach in medical school! My poor deprived children!
That Mommy could have been a doctor!
Seriously, Mommy is a force to be reckoned with. Today I went down to the girls and Miss Eva gave me a half smile, which is a real improvement over where we’ve been the last week. Then I noticed the yellow and brown crusting all over the side of her head. Mommy freaked out for a second. Then Dr. Zibners said, “It’s okay, it’s just earwax. Chill.” Mommy replied, “Oh really? REALLY? Seriously. Because you’ve actually seen cases of wax exploding from the ear and caking all over a kid’s face?”
“Well, okay, no. But in theory…”
“Fine. I truly admire your ability to deny the obvious.”
Rather than argue, Mommy decided to handle this the same way she handles her husband: sit back, say nothing and let him figure out for himself why he’s being dumb. (Really, most of the time he’s quite clever, but sometimes there appears to be a great disconnect up there.) So 2 hours later, I looked at Eva’s ear and the drainage had continued, down onto her sweater. Dr. Zibners pulled out a plastic curette (don’t try this at home!) and scooped out mounds of fluffy, white guck. Then she admitted that this was not, in fact, earwax. It’s pus. From a ruptured eardrum. From the infection that is following the viral illness. Poor baby.
Anyhoo, the Princess is now on antibiotics, both eardrops and by mouth. I’m breaking open probiotic capsules into her formula, hoping to avoid a nasty yeasty diaper rash. I’m also not looking forward to the diarrhea that is sure to follow. I must admit that wishing my children healthy doesn’t make them so. Mommy knew right away what was wrong. Dr. Zibners just took a little while to get there. Mommy 4: Dr. Zibners 1
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"WHAT I LIKED: This book is written in a funny, down to earth way that doesn't make you feel like an idiot. I really would have appreciated something like this when my kids were really little and I freaked out over everything they put in their mouths. It has a scenario/question and answer format, with clear answers on when not to panic and when to call 911."
- Chic Book Chick
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- tags:
- ear pain
- dehydration
- bronchiolitis
- feeding
- fever
- vomiting
- wheezing
- asthma
- otitis media
- seizure
- abdominal pain
- foreign bodies
- sunburn
- cpr
- appendicitis
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