- Severe Diaper Rash for the first many weeks of his life - mommy burned his bum by eating citrus
- choked when mommy introduced the bottle - rushed to hospital in ambulance - no more bottle
- croup, croup, croup, croup!!!! - One hospital visit, now we keep the steroid filled and at home
- coughing throughout the winter and lots of colds
- Asthma diagnosis - uses puffers when wheezing
- Still wakes to breastfeed all night
- Doesn't Eat
- Now stands up in crib and won't sleep because he only wants to stand up.
THIS MOMMY IS EXHAUSTED!
I'm sure I've forgotten something. Now let's add IRON DEFICIENT to the list. He's not even 11 months yet! And he's gone through so much.
So Wednesday I took him for a blood test (after I backed my car into my dad's car). This was horrible. The first arm they couldn't get any blood, and they kept moving the needle around in his arm as he screamed. I nursed him afterwards and then they tried again on the other arm and got the vials of blood - followed by more nursing.
Today I got a call from the Pediatrician. My J-Bear is low on iron. He didn't say how low. But he told me the Iron Supplement to get and how much to give. 2mL 3x per day. But the bottle says to give max 2.75mL per day - my J is supposed to take 6mL per day. That's a huge difference.
J threw up four times this afternoon after one dose. My mom even went out and bought gravol and I gave him half a dose of that so that I could finally nurse him to go to sleep.
When I called to enquire, the Ped told the receptionist that I should continue giving the iron - WTF? He threw up 4 times from one dose. Finally he told her to tell me to stop it for the weekend and start it up again Monday. That's fine, but I'll be starting it at a much lower dose. I'm hoping to get J in to see the Ped on Monday.
And my poor little SR keeps getting shafted at night - although last night we went to Welcome to Kindergarten at the public school she may attend if we don't go to the private school and it was just SR and mommy. But this week I've been sick and so has J and she keeps getting shafted at bedtime. Tonight I even told her she didn't have to brush her teeth or read from her blue bin books (when I have her read to me) because J was so tired. I guess this is life as a single mom of two kids, and I hope it gets easier. Also, J is into EVERYTHING these days - and I have to watch him like a hawk. SR loves him, but does not love when he gets into her prized possessions.
Okay, I really should get some sleep. I'll keep you posted.
Oh my! It sounds so overwhelming! It's gotta get better...it's just gotta.
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ReplyDeleteI'm not someone who uses alternative medicine (except for acupuncture which helped me lose weight and *maybe* helped me have my second child), but I recently saw a little boy in my community respond extremely well to cranio sacral therapy. I'm not an expert at all, and I only throw out the idea as something you might want to research. This child is about 18 months old and was plagued by various illnesses (mostly respiratory) that he was never recovering fully from. His sleep was off, his color wasn't good, and he had low energy and a grumpy mood often. His mother, desperate, tried cranio sacral therapy at the suggestion of a hippie-ish teacher we share. I saw the results and this little boy did a 180. Sleeping through the night again and finally able to shake the colds that had been plaguing him. I had some cranio sacral work years ago at my friend's massage school. It felt amazing, but it wasn't for any ailment. I don't know how this is supposed to works, and I know it's widely regarded as quackery, but this family, who's pretty conventional, tried it and thinks it really helped.
ReplyDeleteGood luck. I hope you find some relief for him.
Thanks for the tip. I will look into it. The thing is, he's not cranky or miserable. He's happy and smiling and he has tons of energy. But I will research this :)
DeleteOur pediatrician recommended it for Carys' chronic ear infections. Though it didn't solve her ear infections, she clearly loved it. And I heard multiple testimonies of it working for ear infections for other children. If you do decide to try it make sure you find a highly regarded therapist.
DeleteYes, from your pictures posted today it is clear he is a robust and cheerful child!
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DeleteOh, man, so sorry about all of J Bears illnesses. Would it help if YOU took extra iron - does it build up in breastmilk? Would he drink iron-fortified formula? Of course breastmilk is better than formula - and if he's been exclusively breastfed he might not even drink it - but if you can get a higher dose of iron in formula?? Ugh, I hope you get it figured out soon. You know I understand having gone through all of C's chronic ear infections and of course Fiona's health horror story-- so maybe I can reassure you-- this past year (age 2 and 4) was SO SO much better. Both girls were really very healthy, with only a couple of colds and often resisting illnesses kids around them were getting. It does get better as they get older!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Claire! SR had chronic ear infections too, and the tubes made a world of difference for her. J won't take a bottle and he takes small sips of water from his sippy cup. Although he is showing interest in SR's cups of milk, and I will start cows milk after his first birthday. I am going to write a quick update on the status of his weekend with regards to the iron supplements. But I'm more worried about his asthma now. At age 3 1/2, SR has been a lot better this year too. I know it gets better....:) J has to start daycare still, so he has a long way to go!
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