Scariest Moment of My Life

Around noon on Valentine's Day I got a call from daycare that Alex had a fever of 100.0 and needed to be picked up. He had had a cough for awhile, but hadn't been congested in several days. Still, we go to the doctor. The doctor said that he had Bronchiolitis and probably had RSV seems how we both had some cold symptoms. We did a breathing treatment in the office and the doc sent us home with our own little nebulizer and Alburol script so that we could treat him at home. She seemed confident that he would be better and able to return to daycare on Monday.

This is Roscoe Frog, Alex's nebulizer.
All the cool kids have one. ;)

Things go well Thursday and most of Friday. His breathing was rather labored but the treatments seemed to help. Friday I was getting us ready to go pick up Philip from the airport (he had been in California for business) and before doing Alex's breathing treatment I did a respiration count. He took 58 breaths in one minute and 61 the next. I called the on call doc and she said to do his treatment and if it helps, just keep an eye him, if it doesn't, he'll have to go to the hospital.

I already had his treatment set up so I sat down with him and we go started. He hated it. This loud machine was blowing stuff in his face and this big green thing (the mask) was always in front of him. He squirmed and kicked and fought. The nurse had said that they just more medicine that way because they take more breaths. Well, as he's kicking and screaming and coughing, his eyes started to roll back. I immediately called my mom (she used to be a peds nurse) who told me to take him straight to the emergency room.

I already had the diaper bag next to the car seat for us to leave. I grabbed my keys and as I started to put Alex into his car seat, he turned grey. (My heart is pounding as I type this.) I rubbed on his little chest and his color came back. He started screaming at me again (lately he has hated getting into his car seat). I grabbed the diaper bag and ran out to the car. Later I realized that I hadn't locked the door.

I broke every possible traffic law on the way to the hospital and bottomed out coming over a few hills (no damage to the car). Alex was crying. A few blocks from the hospital he went silent. No cries. No wimpers. No little Alex jabber. I don't know that I ever prayed so hard that a baby would cry.

When I got to the hospital (probably less than three minutes from when I called my mom), I went to get Alex out and he was as white as a ghost. I rubbed his chest and he woke up looking pretty startled and out of it. I ran him into the ER and handed him over the counter to the nurse as I told her that he had Bronchiolitis and had turned grey. She took him straight back.

A few minutes later they let me back to his exam room. I texted a friend to go pick up Philip from the airport. Once they had assessed Alex and saw that he okay, they had me sit on the guerny and hold him. They tested him for RSV and it came back positive. They did a breathing treatment and X-ray in the ER. Philip got there just before they put in Alex's IV and sent us up to Pediatrics.

The doctor and the nurse think that Alex had so much thick mucus in his lungs that when he was coughing during the breathing treatment a piece go lodged in his airway. He was admitted and we spent Friday through Tuesday at Hendricks.

He had two types of breathing treatments every 4 hours: a saline solution to help break up the mucus and the Alburol to help open up his lungs. The respiratory nurses also did chest precussions to help loosen it all up. They did eventually start an IV to keep him hydrated so that he didn't have to eat as his stats seemed to dip while he drank.

He's doing much better now. He's still wheezing and sometimes breathing heavy, but that could continue for up to a month. He's likely to develop asthma now and we've been warned that he could wheeze with any respiratory illness in the next year.

Through it all, he only acted "sick" for about a day. He's been a little extra fussy the last few days but he's also drooling like a hounddog so I think he's getting some teeth in. He's such a strong little guy and I am so blessed to be his mommy.

Alex playing with his yellow block in the hospital.
He still used his IV hand to play so I had to give him toys he didn't have to grasp.

Anatomy of a Cloth Changing Table

When we were first looking into cloth diapering I kept wondering what all we would need and how to set up a good changing table, after all, I could only find people talking about setting up a changing table for disposables. Well, here's our changing table. We use a dresser in the nursery, but you could use a traditional changing table if you'd like.

A- Alex's reflux meds. I keep an extra wipe there for them
B- Homemade wipe solution; Peepee TeePees (Dad requested);
Infant Saline Solution; Bulb Syringe
C- Changing Mat (We opted to not use a cover. It makes it easier to wipe down.)
D- Lotion (Regular and Nighttime), Coconut Oil (CD safe and used for rashes or irritation),
Bac-Out (We spray it onto poopy diapers and use in the wash.)
E- Wet Bag- An Alva rubbish bag that we hung on a Command Strips hook
F- Cloth Wipes (extras in the drawer)
G- Brave Monkey- was mine was I was little, now he's there for Alex. :)

Top Left Drawer
This is where we keep our pocket diapers.

Middle Left Drawer
This is our Gdiapers. Alex currently wears the medium size.
A- Gpants; B-Cloth inserts, C- Pouch
[Bottom Left Drawer is extra storage.]

Top Right Drawer
A- Paper liners from Gdiapers. We use then when Alex gets changed
in the morning but hasn't had his morning BM. (He's usually pretty regular.)
B- Extra cloth wipes
C- Extra inserts for pocket diapers
D- Extra microfiber inserts that are smaller than our regular inserts.
We use these to double at night sometimes.
E- Three-layer bamboo inserts, also used for doubling.
[Middle Right Drawer holds fleece liners, fitteds, and covers for nighttime use.
It was laundry day so that drawer was empty.]

Bottom Right Drawer
Extra wetbags and changing mats for travel.

And so there you have it. It's nothing special, but if you're trying to figure out how to make it all work, I hope this helps. Depending upon what type of diapers you use, your set-up might look a little different. Not everyone uses the same products so you will need to adjust to your own needs. Happy Diapering!

How Strange...

It looks like rain might be coming our way today so after Alex and I finished breakfast, I put him in his swing. Then I went to take the compost out and get the diapers off the line. A familiar thought came to mind while I was outside:
My life must seem so strange to some people, but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

I'm Starting to be Convinced...

A little while back I got Alex an Amber Teething necklace through a co-op with some other moms. I've heard moms rave about baltic amber and it's ability to soothe teething babies and with Alex starting to teethe early (he showed obvious teething signs shortly after one month) I decided to give it a try.

Well, Alex pretty much always wears his. At daycare and bedtime he wears it on his ankle under a sock or footed sleep and play. One day, I forgot to put it on his ankle before day care and so they took it off because it's a choking hazard (but really only if not supervised properly). That day, they also reported that he was very fussy which is not like him.

Tonight I went to change Alex and had to change his outfit because the daycare lady didn't put the diaper on right (she's new). I took the necklace off his ankle and put it next to the change mat with the intention to put it on his neck when I changed him. Well, I forgot to put it back on.

Alex normally sleeps from 6:30/7 until we wake him for bath and feeding. He normally falls asleep easily and stays sound asleep that whole time. Tonight he fought taking his nap and woke up after only about an hour. He fussed a bit but did eventually fall asleep. It was when he woke up that I realized that he didn't have his necklace on.

Now, two events are not enough to prove that the necklace works, at least not to this skeptic, but I'm starting to think I might get convinced soon.

You can see Alex's necklace peaking out just a little here.
A teething necklace if worn around the neck should be tucked
into a shirt so little hands can't grab it.

You can find more info about teething necklaces and the one I bought for Alex from Inspired by Finn here: http://hyenacart.com/stores/inspiredbyfinn/index.php

*This is not an endorsement for Inspired By Finn or their products. I'm just providing the link if you want more information.

**Please note: There are safety concerns involved in using amber necklaces. All parents should use good judgement when choosing products for their children.

10 Signs You Are Addicted to Cloth Diapers

1. Stuffing and putting away diapers is your form of nightly meditation.
2. Your baby's changing table is your "happy place".
3. You pick out your child's outfit for the next day based on what color diapers he or she has clean.
4. When you see a mom buying disposables at Wal-mart you have to bite your tongue to keep from saying "You don't have to live like this."
5. You spend your lunch hour shopping for just one diaper cover.
6. When you have a pregnant friend your first question is "Are you going to cloth?" and not "When are you due?"
7. When you see a baby you think "I have the perfect diaper for that outfit."
8. You can never have enough diapers, and your husband has accepted this fact.
9. You just ordered diapers and already have a list of the diapers you want to buy next.
10. You wrote a blog post on ten signs that you are addicted to cloth diapers and every single one is true for you.

I might have a problem... But at least it's a colorful one!

Momma Must Haves: SwaddleMe

I hate wrapping a swaddle, but Alex loves to be swaddled. He doesn't hardly sleep if he's not wrapped as tight as a maternity band on a nine month belly. Luckily, there's a solution to our problem: SwaddleMe!

Tiny Alex in his SwaddleMe

SwaddleMe is a blanket that is sewn in such a way as to make a perfect little baby pouch-straight jacket combo. When opened it looks like a T. You place baby on it and put their feet into the little pocket/pouch at the bottom. Then you take the right side and wrap it as tight as you can to the left and tuck it in. It will velcro to the top of the pouch as you do this. Then you take the left side and wrap it tight and velcro it to the patch on the right side flap. It's that simple! Your baby is now tightly wrapped and snug as a bug.

What I loved about it: I loved how easy it made swaddling, even when Alex was squirming all over the place, I could still get him in and swaddled up. I really love that it's not a huge blanket. Even if Alex were to get it to come undone, he wouldn't have a giant blanket on his face. For this same reason, the day care can also use these whereas they aren't allowed to let him sleep with a blanket in the crib. The fabric is rather lightweight so it isn't too bulky. They also come in some really cute patterns and some have slots to allow for a carseat harness so you can wrap baby up before a trip as well.

Alex asleep in his SwaddleMe with his hands escaping.

What I didn't love: The SwaddleMe can get really tight, but if you're anything like me, you don't want to pull too tight and it be uncomfortable or even hurt the little one. Well, if you don't get it tight enough, those tiny arms can escape. This can defeat the purpose of the swaddle. Like I said above, it is a lightweight fabric which is better than a similar item I have in fleece, but sometimes Alex will sweat in these. Now, he would probably still sweat just as much, or maybe more, in a swaddle blanket, but still, it doesn't seem to be the most breathable fabric.

Overall, I love these and would highly recommend any new moms grab one or two to try out. You never know what your baby might like, but I loved using these.