Still Alive

Several weeks ago now (sheesh, time flies!), we had a wonderful trip to Illinois.  We spent time with my parents, with Tyler's parents, and with friends.  Then we came home and... Tye became sick.  Really sick.  

From Tuesday night through Saturday morning, Tye ran a fever between 102 and 105 degrees.  That's a long, hot fever.  When it finally broke, she still ran a low-grade fever until Monday, and wasn't herself until the end of the second week.  Tyler and Etta both ran a fever for one night as well, but Tye's little body was so exhausted from the trip- seeing so many people, moving between environments, sleeping very poorly the whole time- that this illness really took its toll on her, lasting over a week.  We did call the doctor on the third day of her fever, but couldn't be seen until the next day, and by then her fever was below 102 for the first time in four days, so we didn't think a trip would be helpful.

Perhaps the worst was seeing Tye so lethargic that she just laid in bed or on the couch.  She rarely even asked me to turn on the television- she just laid under a blanket, often shivering despite the heat her body was radiating.  One night, Tye woke up and just as I laid down next to her, threw up on me.  I changed both our pajamas and her sheets, then laid down with her again, just to have her throw up again within minutes.  Out of crib-sized sheets, she and I spent the remainder of the night on the couch together.

Seeing Tye so sick was really scary.  I was torn between wanting her to be as comfortable as possible and wanting to let the fever run its course to make Tye well again.  I consulted websites, books, and web forums to find ways to boost Tye's immune system and to ease her discomfort without giving continued doses of Tylenol (which Tye fought tooth and nail anyway).  Here's what we came up with:

- Breastfeeding.  Frequently.  I was so grateful to still be nursing Tye, because it was her main source of nutrition and hydration for almost a full week.  

-Peppermint Essential Oil.  Whenever Tye's fever spiked to over 104, I applied equal parts peppermint essential oil and coconut oil (about 3 drops of each) to the bottoms of her feet and up and down her spine since her torso felt so hot to the touch.  Each time, her fever was below 103 again within 20 minutes, which brought Tye a little relief.  Peppermint essential oil isn't suggested for use on children under the age of 2, so this was my first opportunity to try this technique, and it was really helpful.

-Lavender Essential Oil soaks.  I added 3-4 drops of lavender essential oil to a small bowl containing about 2 cups of cool water. (To help the oil disperse in the water, I mix the oil with a pinch of salt, then stir the salt into the water.)  Then I dipped a washcloth into the water, wrung it out, and placed the damp cloth on Tye's forehead.  If Tye had let me, I would have placed it on her chest, too, but I think the cool cloth felt too chilly on her hot skin to be comfortable. 

-Smoothies.  Occasionally throughout the week, Tye would drink smoothies.  Ours always include banana, coconut milk, fresh greens (spinach or kale, usually), fruit (mango and/or berries are our favorites), and a nut butter (I love tahini).  When Tye was sick, I was sure to include extra liquid vitamin D drops, raw local honey, and probiotic powder to give her immune system some extra support.  

To try to keep everyone else healthy, I diffused Young Living Thieves Essential Oil into the air.  When I felt the first signs of fighting this bug myself, I immediately started taking 2-3 cloves of raw garlic twice a day along with placing a drop of Thieves oil under my tongue 3-4 times a day.  I was able to fight off the fever, for which I was extremely grateful.  I couldn't imagine taking care of Etta and sick Tye while I was sick myself.  Even though it didn't keep Etta completely healthy, she only ran a fever for a few hours- and judging by Tye's response, it could have been far worse. 

Tye is fully recovered now, and we have the wisdom of lessons learned during her illness to carry with us.  Tye now understands the concept of being sick.  I have seen my child through her first illness more serious than a cold, and we all survived.  I can now say I've been thrown up on by my own child, and I now understand why parents keep multiple sets of crib sheets.  After seeing Tye so sick for so long and spending another week resting and recovering, we are fully appreciating our health and all it allows us to do each day.  

Like swing at the playground.

All Tied Up

During the hours after Etta's birth, she nursed quietly and slept peacefully.  Our midwife left just a few hours after her birth, leaving us to catch up on rest and bond as a family of four, knowing she would be back the next day to check on us.  That evening, as Etta let out one of her first real cries, I caught a glimpse of her little pink heart-shaped tongue.  Etta is tongue tied.

The heart shape; it sometimes looks even more pronounced.

I wasn't at all surprised to see the tip of Etta's tongue being pulled down by her tight frenulum.  My paternal grandfather, his three daughters including my mother, and one of my younger brothers were all tongue tied, and all but my brother had their tongues clipped.  When our midwife returned the next day, she confirmed that Etta is definitely tongue tied, but thought that between the strength of her latch and her ability to to reach her tongue beyond her gum line, that we would be okay nursing in the short term at least.  The midwife decided to return again on the third day to weigh Etta again, just to be sure she didn't lose more than 10% of her body weight.  By then, Etta was within the 10% weight loss allowed and my milk was already coming in, so we felt good about waiting until our one week appointment with the pediatrician.


Signs of tongue tie include Etta's heart-shaped tongue; difficulty latching, staying latched or a painful latch; slow weight gain; and recurrent clogged ducts and/or mastitis (especially if combined with slow weight gain).  When a newborn is tongue tied, her shorter tongue makes establishing an effective latch difficult or impossible, which in turn makes emptying the breast a challenge (making the mother prone to clogged ducts and mastitis).  With that in mind, I started several practices to make sure Etta would get as much milk as possible and gain as much as she could in her first week.  


First, I made sure Etta nursed at least every two hours- and often, Etta ensured she nursed at even shorter intervals.  Because she was drinking less at each feeding than she would have been with a great latch, those feedings needed to happen more often.  During nursing sessions, I used breast compressions to help Etta empty the breast (Dr. Jack Newman has a great video on breast compression technique, which you can use with any nursling, available on YouTube here).  To help establish a sufficient supply, I let Tye nurse often in place of pumping after nursing, which prevents a low supply that can accompany a poor latch.  


Using these techniques, Etta regained a good amount of the weight she lost after the birth by her one week appointment and weighed in at 6 pounds 8 ounces, close to the 6 pounds 13 ounces she weighed at birth.  By her two week appointment this past Thursday, Etta was up to 7 pounds even.  Although she wasn't worried about it, the pediatrician referred us to an Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist to look at the tongue tie because I expressed my concern at Etta's constant nursing, inability to clear the breast, and air intake during nursing causing extreme gassiness.  


Then, Thursday afternoon, I suddenly came down with mastitis.  I woke from a nap with a throbbing lump in my breast and within hours had a fever, chills, body aches, and a red, hot, swollen breast.  Thankfully, my mom is in town this week and was able to help entertain Tye and take care of me while I rested and tried a variety of natural remedies to take care of the infection.  By Saturday morning, with my regimen of raw garlic, increased vitamin C, topical applications of lavender essential oil, extra sleep, alternating heat and massage, and frequent nursing, my fever had broken.  I'm still keeping up everything I was doing because I still have a red, warm lump on my breast signaling at least a clogged duct, but now that the fever has lowered, I feel significantly better.  


At least, physically, I feel better.  Emotionally, I'm nervous about our appointment on Wednesday with the specialist.  I think Etta is a great candidate for a frenectomy, but I worry about the pain she'll experience and her- and my own- ability to cope with that.  Though my mom leaves town tomorrow, my dad will be here to help watch Tye during the appointment- something I'm extremely thankful for, since I don't think I could handle such an emotional appointment with Tye along, too (couldn't you just imagine the three of us all in tears, the doctor staring at us, speechless?).  


I'm hoping the frenectomy can be done quickly at the appointment Wednesday and that it provides a solution to Etta's weak latch, her constant nursing, and her gassiness, and that it prevents future bouts of mastitis.  Hopefully, the short-lived pain will be outweighed by the result of a happier baby, healthier mama, and easier nursing relationship.  Time, and likely a snip, will tell.  


Another great post on tongue tie, its symptoms and diagnosis, its affect on breastfeeding, and frenectomies was posted recently by Mommypotamus- a great read!  And Kellymom.com has great information available here.

Can we blame teething?

According to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, teething is only responsible for mild symptoms and not fevers.  The study followed 47 infants over 15 months and found only minor symptoms on the day a tooth erupted, such as a slight increase in temperature, a day of diarrhea, drooling, irritability, and poor sleep (no kidding on that last one).  The study's authors note that fevers and longer periods of diarrhea in infants are cause for concern  and should not be passed off as signs of teething.


While teething may not cause symptoms like fevers or congestion, they certainly seem to be linked.  Many nurses, caregivers, and parents blame teething even looking back on an event.  I, certainly, can think of episodes of diarrhea and fevers that occurred during teething spells.  Yet I've always wondered about the true cause of more severe symptoms.  


Even according to the Pediatrics study, babies suffer some unpleasant side effects of teething.  And, (all you moms out there), what else do babies do when they're teething?  They chew on every item within reach.  Could it be that teething causes mouthing of items, which leads to the ingestion of disease-causing pathogens?  I've always wondered if the association between a fever and more serious symptoms is valid, even if the causal relationship is not.  Of course, the difference is that an illness during a time of teething may require separate treatment from the teething.  Which goes right back to the conclusion of the most recent study- that doctors and parents should seek treatment for ongoing fevers and diarrhea rather than blaming them on teething (at least, rather than blaming them on teething alone).  


Sometimes wisdom written off as an old wives' tale is based on some truth.  For example, chicken soup really does help cure colds and the flu.  That science has proven teething isn't the cause of severe symptoms doesn't mean the two aren't related.  Just ask a mom.

Friday Favorite- Gentle Healing for Baby and Child

This past week would have been an even longer one without the book Gentle Healing for Baby and Child: A Parent's Guide to Child-Friendly Herbs and Other Natural Remedies for Common Ailments and Injuries by Andrea Candee with David Andrusia. It was the most highly recommended book among moms in the Holistic Moms Network, which is how I discovered it.  The remedies are simple, safe, and non-invasive, and most use ingredients available at Whole Foods, like peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils and chamomile tea.  I referenced the book several times this week for solutions to Tye's head congestion, but knowing that I had a source for remedies if things changed- if she spiked a fever, or if the congestion moved to her chest- was invaluable.  In my opinion, even more mainstream moms could appreciate these remedies in effort to provide comfort and ease symptoms, whether it's along with OTC medications or not.  In the middle of the night, with a miserably sick child, this book is an excellent resource.

Why I'm glad I wore a sports bra today...

I don't know if it's related to the fever she had a couple weeks ago, but Tye has come down with a full blown summer cold.  She's so congested she can barely nurse, and sleeping is close to impossible unless we're sitting upright.  Of course, she's extra clingy, so finding time to type has been quite a challenge this week.  Right now, she's in the ring sling on my hip, tugging gently on my ponytail- though I'm sure that won't last too long, either.


There isn't much that can be done for an infant with a cold, or anyone of any age, for that matter- though an infant can't even take cold medicine and relies on clear nasal passages for eating.  However, there are things that can alleviate the symptoms, even if only temporarily.  These things have been extremely helpful this week in making Tye more comfortable:

• We returned the cool mist humidifier to the bedroom.  I put some peppermint essential oil in the water to give it a little boost.
• I put some Nature's Baby Organics Ah-Choo! Chest Rub on her feet under her socks (it really works!) and a tiny bit just under her nose..  It's the organic, non-petroleum version of Vick's VapoRub.  
• I've used Badger Headache Soother, a peppermint and lavender scented balm, on my own chest, close to where Tye nurses, and on Tye's sinus areas.
• We made a steam tent in our kitchen.  I put menthol, lavender, and peppermint essential oil bath salts along with some chamomile tea bags into our crock pot.  Once it was hot and steamy, I uncovered it.  Then I opened an umbrella and placed it over the crock pot, then threw a sheet over the umbrella.  When Tye was stuffy, we hid under the tent until she could breathe more easily, which worked beautifully.  (This would work with hot water off the stovetop, but I was too afraid my groggy middle-of-the-night self wouldn't be fast enough to keep Tye's little hands away from the hot pot, and the crock pot was already hot in the middle of the night, no waiting necessary.  It would also work with just one of the essential oils or just the chamomile tea.)
• Tye and I bathed together before bed in a bath with peppermint essential oil bath salts.  We had a wonderful time together, splashing in the water, and the room filled with the scent of peppermint, helping to open up those airways.
• When her congestion seemed to be too far out of reach to suction with the bulb syringe, I hand expressed some breast milk into a small bowl.  Then I used an eyedropper to squirt breastmilk into Tye's nose, then used the bulb syringe to suction her out again.  This was really effective, but by far Tye's least favorite activity on the list.  
• Tye napped in one of the carriers so she could be upright and breathe more easily.  At night, we sleep (or try to, at least) propped up on pillows so Tye's head is upright.  

I know many moms swear that teething is accompanied by fevers and congestion, and I've thought many times this week that perhaps that's the source of this.  After all, I can feel Tye's first tooth just under the surface of her lower gums, and she's been chomping on her hands intensely.  I have to wonder if the teething causes these symptoms, or if maybe teething is related but not causal.  Maybe the teething lowers the immune system (fever or not), allowing room for illness to take hold, right as the child is putting more foreign objects in her mouth than ever before.  Either way, enough moms claim teething and fevers/congestion go hand-in-hand that I have to believe there's some kind of correlation.  Maybe that tooth is about ready to pop through finally.

I've been making sure Tye gets plenty of time outside even while she's under the weather, as long as she can stay cool and comfortable.  After a lovely morning walk through the Montrose Beach Bird Sanctuary with our Nature Babes Meetup group, I decided to stop on the way home at Home Depot to make copies of keys.  Tye was in the carrier, as always, just taking in the sights.  As I was browsing the gardening section on the way to the key desk, I thought my stomach felt a little more wet than the usual sweat Tye and I create under the carrier.  I thought, Oh no, did Tye's diaper leak some pee? and stuck my hand in the carrier to check. Hmm, that's weird, it's a little thick.  When did Tye spit up? (stomach dropping as I realize, before I even get my hand out of the carrier to see what is on my fingers...) Oh no! 

There's one other symptom that goes along with both teething and congestion that I didn't mention yet- drool.  And what does excess drool cause? Diarrhea.  So out we went, to the parking lot of Home Depot, where I stripped Tye down and used the last half package of wipes cleaning poop- from her, me, the carrier, the car...  And after I had Tye cleaned up and into her car seat, I stripped off my poop-covered shirt and drove us home.  Another peppermint bath for us tonight. 

When Tye Teeths

It's been a tough spell in Tye-land.  Yesterday morning, Tye couldn't sleep, despite wanting to finish her night, and she was up quite early.  Last night, Tye came down with a fever and barely slept at all.  With no other symptoms, I'm convinced this is a teething fever.  She spent most of the day today cuddled up to me, leaning her head on my chest sleepily, either in the carrier or in my arms.  She runs her tongue across her gums and then rubs her mouth with the back of her fist.  When Mico licks her, instead of laughing and watching him longingly as she normally does, she bursts into tears.  Our normally giggly, talkative, smiley girl is quiet and cranky sensitive.  


The whole process of teething seems so brutal to me.  A sharp, white sliver of enamel relentlessly cuts its way through soft skin, with no explanation.  What a horrible experience.  Here's hoping this is over soon!