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| Friday, May 02, 2008 |
Two's A Charm |
Dear Mrs. Chicky, Her Bad Mother and Mrs. Chicken,
 I would love to be able to give you some advice on having a second child. The problem is that most of the time, I still need some advice. I'm just kidding sort of. Honestly having a second was a lot easier than I thought it would be. Here's the two best pieces of advice I have for you.
1) This is really the best advice I've received for parenting. A friend of mine who is remarkably organized despite having and has four happy kids told me to make the new baby fit into the older child's schedule. Sounds a little harsh, but I am so glad I did it. I think back to what it was like when my older son (OS) was a newborn and I was housebound because of perceived nap restrictions, minor germ phobias, cold weather, hot weather, you name it. However, when OS was 34 months old, and it was the official first day of summer aka my younger son's (YS) birth, I knew that being housebound was just not going to be okay with him. Talk about a way to make him resent his sibling. I just made sure that there was a Pack N Play at whatever playdates or playgroups we attended so YS could nap. If necessary, I brought one with me. I also invested in a few more receiving blankets and hung them from the handle of the baby bucket carseat when YS was in the stroller and we were outdoors to provide a sun screen. I know people who've even bought the velcro sticky tape to velcro them to the handle. YS never ever had a sunburn.
Here's the best part of this wonderful advice; YS is incredibly easy going and while part of me knows it is just plain old luck (for which I will be eternally grateful) there's a part of me that believes it's because he has led a "go with the flow" life from birth. Of course, an afternoon nap was part of OS's schedule, so they both napped at the same time.
2) Make sure you don't have any Sharpies in your house. No, seriously. A few weeks after bringing his brother home, OS found a Sharpie and colored all over his walls, furniture, the bathroom, and clothes, when we thought he was sleeping. We didn't even know we owned a red Sharpie. If you have any doubts, send your older kid and friends on a treasure hunt for Sharpies in your house. You may be amazed at what they find.
Best of luck! Everyone told me that the best part of having multiple kids was seeing the beautiful friendship that forms. I have loved witnessing this because it allows me time during the day to blog and/or talk on the phone .
A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: Keep your newborn on your older child's schedule, but make sure that older child does not have any Sharpies.
This post was written for a virtual Baby Shower.Labels: Blogging Flexibly, Child Health and Personal Care |
posted by Alex Elliot @ 3:36 PM   |
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| Thursday, April 24, 2008 |
Summer is Here-Itch Itch |
Summer is here! No, I'm not referring to the gorgeous weather we've had the past couple of weeks or the fact that it's actually starting to get light when I get up in the morning and stay light in the evenings. I'm not even referring to the fact that the kids were in shorts today or that they've been sleeping well from all our excursions to the park. Today I had actually proof. It was in the form of something small and brownish. In fact at first I thought it was a piece of the brownie that my older son (OS) had been eating. I figured my younger son (YS) had gotten his hands on it. That's why I was so surprised when I went to brush it off YS's head and it didn't budge. I'm sure you can guess what it was: a tick. I did what any reasonable parent would do; I invited my friend who was with me to see what it looked like in case her baby got one. Yes, summer is here. Alright, I know that summer doesn't officially start until June 21 (YS's birthday) and that you can get ticks all year long, but I don't generally think about them until summer.
In case you are wondering this was a dog tick which is big, not a deer tick which is small. The advice from the pediatrician was to remove it and then clean the area with soap and water. I just need to keep an eye on it for swelling, redness or rash.
A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: Watch out for ticks.Labels: Child Health and Personal Care |
| posted by Alex Elliot @ 6:25 PM |
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| Friday, April 18, 2008 |
Fine Motor Skills Finds |
Thanks for all your comments and suggestions! I have found out some interesting things about fine motor skills in the past day.
First of all, I decided of course that I'm going to do the suggested activities on the worksheet from my older son's (OS) teacher. Since my younger son (YS) wants to do everything that OS does, he'll also be participating. However, since YS has always had remarkable fine motor skills, this extra work will probably give him superhero skills where at the tender age of 21 months, he'll be able unlock the deadbolt go outside and hotwire my car.
I talked to a friend of mine who was a kindergarten teacher for many years and she told me something very interesting. She said contrary to what people might think, many times the best way to work on fine motor skills is to work on the upper arm strength. Of course I should have OS do the activities for fine motor skills, but I should alternate them with upper arm strength skills; one day for fine motor skills and one day for doing things like throwing a ball.
The reason behind this is that if the upper arms aren't strong enough, it affects the way the entire arm functions. It doesn't go backwards though so working on fine motor skills does not increase arm strength. Too bad about that or I could trade my weight lifting for typing on my computer!
One of the questions she asked me is if OS crawled using his arms. Not surprisingly he didn't. He was a "butt hopper". I don't know how to explain because I've never seen another kid do it nor had his pediatrician, but it was like he frog hopped on his bottom. He would actually get clearance. My friend said that he may have never fully developed his arm strength.
Then she told me the big question. Get ready because here it is: can your child do the monkey bars? Yes, you did read that right. There is a correlation between kids doing monkey bars and penmanship. The better the kids are at the monkey bars, the better the penmanship. The Big Giraffe looked stunned by this realization because he really struggled with monkey bars as a kid and he still struggles with his penmanship now. It all has to do with arm strength. Needless to say, OS cannot hold on for more than a second or two much less attempt to move to the next bar.
We actually had already been discussing enrolling OS in gymnastics. He's currently in swimming and I didn't want to do too much. However, school is over next month so I think two activities for the summer would be really fun for him. Actually for all my initial issues with art class, I soon began swim team and did gymnastics and I would go so far as to say the fine motor skills are one of my strengths now. In the meantime, we will be doing fun and exciting things like picking up pasta and dried beans with tongs and working on monkey bars at the park. I have a feeling the Big Giraffe will be right behind OS in line for the monkey bars.
I talked to OS's teacher this morning and she said that OS's struggle is age appropriate. Phew! Other kids in the class also got the note.
A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: Got bad penmanship? Go for a swing or two across the monkey bars. Labels: Child Health and Personal Care, Preschool |
| posted by Alex Elliot @ 8:46 AM |
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| Tuesday, April 01, 2008 |
Eyedrops and Cat Carriers |
There were quite a few times in the 4.5 years since my older son (OS) was born, that I thought that I had hit the absolute worst part of parenting- sleepless nights, temper tantrums, the 4 year old attitude. Maybe that's a tad bit of an exaggeration; playing in the toilet was by far the worst. Then last week I thought I had found something even worse that "potty play" - administering eyedrops.
Giving my older son (OS) eye drops was similar to putting the cats in their carriers.
| Putting Cats in their Carriers |
Administering Eye Drops to OS |
- Perform a "cat scan" to find the cat(s). It works best if they are sleeping.
- Close any doors to the room.
- With the carrier in my hand, creep up on them in a James Bond-like fashion and then pounce.
- Some hissing and scratching ensues.
- While trying to avoid being bitten, wrestle the cat into the carrier.
- Feel exhausted while receiving dirty looks, a hiss, and a look of betrayal.
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- Scan for OS. It works best if he is sleeping.
- Close any doors to the room.
- With the eye dropper in my hand, creep up on him in a James Bond-like fashion and then pounce.
- Much hissing and scratching ensues.
- While trying to avoid being bitten, wrestle OS into a position where I can pry his eyes open and administer the drops.
- Feel exhausted while receiving dirty looks, a hiss, and a look of betrayal.
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Neither cats nor boy were interested in hearing that I really didn't want to do this. Whenever the Big Giraffe is around, it at least goes a little easier.
During the follow-up visit to check on the progress of OS's alleged pink eye, I happened to tell the nurse practitioner how traumatic I found administering eye drops. She shared a fantastic tip that works for children and even for adults. Have your child close his eyes and tilt his head back. Put two drops in the corner of each eye. When the child opens his eyes the drops will fall right in without the trauma of seeing something aimed right at his eye and without requiring a wrestling match. You can do the same thing for yourself. If your child is really young, wait until right before he wakes up in the morning or from nap time and apply the drops in the corner. For the night time dosing, you're on your own.
I cannot emphasize enough how well this little trick worked with OS. He became far more comfortable with the process. Eye drops ceased to be a huge trauma, leaving me with a happier child and with more energy to deal with other traumas such as keeping OS calm when he wants to sit in supplant my younger son (YS) from sitting in the stroller. Unfortunately, I have not found an equivalent tip for putting my cats in the carrier without hissing, scratching, biting and whining. Hmmm...maybe not the last one.
Nurse Practitioner's Lesson Learned: Administering eye drops to a child or adult with eyes closed averts a lot of discomfort, wrestling matches, hissing, scratching, biting, and whining.Labels: Child Health and Personal Care, Humor (at least Attempted), Pets and Animals |
| posted by Alex Elliot @ 4:45 PM |
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| Tuesday, March 25, 2008 |
The Case of the Missing Paperclip and a Trip to the ER |
Have you ever wondered if you're really still asleep? Or had one of those days that's just so crazy that you just have to laugh? How about when you're in the middle of the emergency room? Then you really have to watch it in case people think that you are insensitive or a lunatic. That's how I felt yesterday.
After picking up OS yesterday from preschool and getting his prescription for pink eye, I declared a TV day and the boys excitedly gathered in the living room. I flopped down on our big comfy chair with my laptop and decided in light of OS being contagious to take advantage of a free grocery delivery promotion that Sally HP had emailed me. Just as I was putting the finishing touches on my virtual grocery cart I heard OS exclaim that my younger son (YS) had just swallowed a paper clip from in between couch cushions. I looked over to see YS swallowing with one hand still stuffed between the cushions of our couch. He giggled and then ran away which confirmed to me that he did indeed swallow something that he shouldn't have.
I called the pediatrician's office expecting to be told to keep an eye on it. Instead I was told I needed to take him immediately to the ER. I admit that I did experience an inward groan at that particularly while watching YS leap around the living room, a picture of perfect health. No problem, I would just call a friend to watch OS. Oh, wait a minute! OS had pink eye. Maybe a neighbor? Nope that wouldn't work either because of pink eye. So instead I needed to take OS to the one public place where it is safe to be out and about with contagious pink eye: the ER. Sure enough, the triage nurse and the doctors didn't even bat an eye so to speak.
In the meantime both boys appeared to be fine. They were running around the waiting room. Surprisingly quickly we were called to have YS x-rayed. After hearing that there was nothing in a dangerous spot and that YS would be absolutely fine, I relaxed. A couple of the nurses commented on my being there by myself with two energetic little boys. That's when I looked at the boys, one with pink eye, one who swallowed a paper clip and myself who still hadn't taken a shower and started laughing. The nurses looked at me quizzically. Perhaps they were thinking they should call the psych ward. I explained to them how OS had pink eye and it had just been one of those days. They smiled too. Of course it could have been at me, not with me!
After 4 sets of x-rays, it was inconclusive whether or not YS had indeed swallowed a paper clip or perhaps something else. 3 of the 4 showed something there, but either it's a weird part of YS's anatomy or I'll find something interesting in his diaper in a few days. We don't keep paper clips in our house, but every once in a while I a letter I receive will have one in it.
The Big Giraffe was able to finally meet me at the ER. The boys did great. Since I never finished checking out, we didn't have groceries which I also found kind of funny. Sure we had the basics to make sandwiches, pancakes etc., but since the boys and I had all skipped lunch due to the paper clip incident, the Big Giraffee picked up Chinese food for us. YS ended up eating a sandwich I had made early that morning in anticipation of taking the boys to the Y for a picnic and play before I knew about the pink eye. Everyone seems fine this morning.
Note to self: look at what else may be in between the cushions of the couch!
A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: Sometimes you just have to laugh. Labels: Child Health and Personal Care, Humor (at least Attempted) |
| posted by Alex Elliot @ 6:54 AM |
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| Monday, March 24, 2008 |
The Dreaded Phone Call |
As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I realized that there were a number of phone calls I never wanted to receive. Some of them are obvious like a phone call from the hospital. Some of them came to me the longer I have been a mom. Unfortunately today I received one such phone call from the director of my older son's (OS) preschool. Immediately visions of what it could be flashed through my mind: - a broken arm, no the director wouldn't sound so cheerful
- OS had told his entire class how babies were made, that seemed very likely
- OS had pushed someone, unlikely as he's not very aggressive, but then again you never know
- OS had peed in his pants or worse, again not likely
- OS had said said a swear word, no comment on that one except to say that I have never heard him say a swear word and the Big Giraffe and I do try to watch what we say
- Oh no, I knew what it was! He had that stomach bug that was going around his preschool
It turns out it was none of those things. It was Pink Eye! Yeah, I was thrilled, particularly when the director said it was likely that our younger son (YS) would get it along with the Big Giraffe and me. I think I would rather have the stomach bug. Of course I felt bad that I had brought OS to school and exposed the whole class. Honestly, if I had thought he had it, I obviously would not have sent him. I do have to say that I am pleased that we've gone this long without every experiencing pink eye. In fact, this is the first of the common childhood illnesses that either of my kids have had. We've, knock on wood big time, have not yet experienced strep throat, Fifth's Disease or Hand Foot and Mouth. Hopefully I won't be getting phone calls about that in the few weeks. Now I just have to make sure to check caller ID to screen out any angry calls from parents of OS's classmates!
A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: Eventually Pink Eye does seem to hit every family. Labels: Child Health and Personal Care, Preschool |
| posted by Alex Elliot @ 9:13 AM |
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No Shapies? BRILLIANT (good advice for any parent really).