March, 2009 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives March 2009

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Scary moments

Posted on March 26, 2009 11:07 pm by TheAngelForever

It has been a very tough week here at Chez Angel. If you had told me last Friday that I would soon witness my little guy have two febrile seizures in less than 30 hours, I never would have believed you. Most of the week has gone by in slow motion as we have battled a high fever in hopes of avoiding yet another seizure.

Over the week, TechyDad and I have had a lot of time to think about things. TechyDad sat down and actually wrote about the scariest moments (thus far) in his life. Many people may not understand how we are able to sit and type these out, but it truly is therapeutic. I know that last February, and again this week it helped me to get my fears out in the open, to face the facts. Did I cry? Did I have nightmares of seeing my blue and lifeless son in my arms? Of course I did, but blogging helped immensely.

So my question for this week:

What is the scariest moment of your life so far? If you are a parent, does it have something to do with your children?

My answer this week would have to be the same as what TechyDad wrote.

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Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Mr. Linky there if you are participating.

Aloha #41

Categories:
Aloha Friday looking back sick kid vent

Spring FEVER update

Posted on March 26, 2009 9:12 am by TheAngelForever

Here is a brief history of what has happened so far with an update:

Just before dinner Saturday night JSL slumped over on the floor. Minutes before this he was playing and chasing after his big brother.
He turned blue, was rigid and had a locked jaw.
Eventually realized he was having a febrile seizure (previously had one 13 months before).
Went via ambulance to what we thought was the best ER for pediatric cases.
In the ER the only things they did was to take his temperature (confirmed it was a fever), gave him motrin, listened to his chest, looked in his ear.
WE had to ask for them to look in his mouth and down his throat to make sure it was not something there (strep/coxsakie virus)
Discharged by the ER quickly with NADA of a cause for the febrile seizure. They never once asked to do a blood test or anything further.
Sunday JSL played in the house and we kept Motrin and Tylenol in him.
I fell asleep next to him that night and woke up at midnight to the little guy thrashing about and frothing from his mouth. Temperature was at least 103.5 and he had his second febrile seizure in less than 30 hours.
Called our doctor at 12:30 at night. Agreed we should combat fever at home and not go back to useless ER.
Monday we took JSL to our doctor. Did strep test (negative) and checked other items.
Finally someone listened to us about the congestion JSL had been having at night for the past week (thought it was teething). Doctor saw his bloody nose, heard about the discolored mucous and said it sounded like a sinus infection.
One ear was blocked by a lot of wax and may have also been hiding an infection.
Given strong antibiotic to give JSL to attack whatever is getting his little body.
Kept alternating fever reducers every two hours for fear of another febrile seizure.
Wednesday morning JSL woke up and seemed cool at first. Within 15 minutes he was VERY warm again. 101 with the thermometer.
Called our doctor to let them know that we were still running a fever on day 2 of 5 with the antibiotic.
Doctor’s office wanted a urine specimen to check that possibility of infection that would not be covered on the antibiotic.
I questioned if a CBC blood test should be run. Sure enough our doctor did not know that it had not been done in the ER and requested one.
Took JSL to another hospital for the blood work. No luck getting blood. The phlebotomist was great, but JSL is a hard stick even without being partially dehydrated.
Last night got some urine to bring to the doctor today and got up every few hours all night to check on temperature.
This morning JSL’s temperature is at about 99 without any medications in him. His normal body temperature is 96, so this is still slightly elevated.
While doing a diaper change I now see a rash all over his tiny body. With new development off to call the doctor again.

This is the little guy yesterday. He climbed up on the couch and immediately took a nap on his own.

Categories:
doctor jsl looking back photos sick kid vent

Noodle sandwich compromise

Posted on March 25, 2009 9:20 am by TheAngelForever

P.S. Happy Anniversary to Nana and Papa and Happy Birthday to Uncle M!

Categories:
food glorious food jsl messy nhl Wordless Wednesday

DaBib Review and Giveaway

Posted on March 25, 2009 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

I will admit it, my boys lived in bibs for much of their first year. Whether we were combating spit up, drool from teething, or eating their first solid food a bib was a must. JSL is almost two now and bibs are still much needed accessories for meal and snack time. I do not know about you, but most toddlers are very messy eater. As they learn to self feed, clean up often becomes a hassle.

We have many plastic/vinyl bibs that we use when feeding JSL. Recently we had the opportunity to try out DaBib thanks to Family Review Network.

My Review:

The first thing I noticed about DaBib is the collar. The collar is made of a soft material that scrunches up at the neck. A big problem we have with JSL is food going down the neck of his bib. This patented feature stopped that from happening as he ate. Then I realized that the crumb catcher was not permanently on the front of the bib. For kids that do not need it, the catcher is located on the back of the bib when not being used. If you need it, you simply unfold it forward and the wide mouth of the crumb-catcher is ready to go. As I was putting the bib onto JSL for the first time I was impressed with the large adjustable velcro strip. This bib would definitely fit not only my almost two year old, but a teeny tiny infant and also a child older than JSL.

JSL liked the bib. He did not complain about putting it on and the real test was that he did not try to yank it right off. The nice feel of the soft material kept him happy (me too). JSL was not a fan of the crumb catcher while sitting in his high chair. As you can see in the photo below, he asked us to tuck it in. Clearly if we were dining out and he was in a restaurant chair without a sliding tray, the crumb-catcher would be a wonderful asset.

When JSL was a baby, I would hate bibs that were not thick and absorbant. I so wish I had DaBibs when he was smaller. We used to go through so many bibs and outfits a day thanks to the thin nature of most baby bibs. I would definitely recommend DaBibs to people with or expecting little ones and will purchase them as part of future baby gifts.

Important Facts about DaBib:

All of DaBib are shrink-resistant and machine washable
Have the patented "Scrunch Collar" that helps to minimize leakage of food and drinks onto the children and their clothing
Crumb-Catcher found on the back of the bib and automatically pouches when folded forward to catch food and liquids
Front closure on DaBib has an adjustable strip that allows it to fit infants to toddlers
Waterproof bib backing and micro-fiber terrycloth front make it highly absorbant and easy to clean
DaBib is extra-long and wide to cover children from shoulder-to shoulder
Non-toxic, lead-free – meets and exceeds the new US requirements

DaBib is available in two styles. DaHugs (which we received) is made with a super-absorbant micro-fiber Terry front and waterproof back. It is great for the first year when absorbancy is the key.

DaGiggles is a wipe-off, waterproof style. This bib is comfortable and a great option to replace plastic and rubber bibs when your child is eating solid food.

DaGiggles

DaBibs are currently available to purchase for $12.99 on their website. If you buy three or more shipping is free. Soon DaBibs will also be available at Babies R Us.

A Chance for you to win!

Thanks to DaBib, 1 lucky winner (US and Canada only) will have a chance to win their own DaBib.

Rules for Giveaway:

MAIN RULE – Visit the DaBib website and then come back and leave a comment telling me which DaBib (color as well) you would select and who it is for.
1-2 Bonus Entries – View one or both of the DaBib videos Vitto Gottabone or DaBaby, DaDoll & DaBib Via e-mail to the_angel_forever at yahoo dot com answer the following question for Vitto Gottabone: What is the name of the little girl in the video? For the video DaBaby, DaDoll & DaBib: What is DaBaby sharing with DaDoll. Leave a comment for each e-mail response that you send me.
1 Bonus Entry – Subscribe to my RSS feed (or let me know if you already are) in a separate comment.
1-2 Bonus Entries – Stumble this post and/or my main blog page and leave your Stumble name in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Follow me on Twitter @TheAngelForever and tweet about the giveaway. Be sure to include @TheAngelForever and DaBibs in the Tweet. Please leave a direct link to your Tweet in a separate comment.
1 Bonus Entry – Add TheAngelForever to your blog roll and leave a separate comment.
3 Bonus Entries – Write a post on your blog linking to my blog about the DaBib giveaway. Be sure to leave 3 comments about this to get credit for all of your extra credit.

To enter, just follow the rules above within the comment section. Be sure that I have an e-mail address that I can contact you for a mailing address once the giveaway is over. All entries must be received by 10:59pm EST on April 5, 2009. I will pick the winner using random.org and contact you via e-mail. You will have 48 hours to claim the prize. If no response, another winner will be selected.

Categories:
giveaway jsl photos Product review Web business

Two febrile seizures in less than 30 hours

Posted on March 24, 2009 8:29 am by TheAngelForever

Yes, you read the subject line correct. Life here at Chez Angel has been turned upside down since early Saturday evening. When we left the ER Saturday night with no answers and over 24 hours to go before seeing our doctor I was beyond nervous. As the parent of two children that have had febrile seizures, I know that the following 48 hours are the most common for a repeat.

NHL had his febrile seizure when he was 11 months old and is now almost six years old. Finally getting out of the danger zone. When I was little I had three, but none were back-to-back. JL had two as a child and to my knowledge both were seperated by time.

JSL apparently had to be different.

Everything from Sunday night is a blur. I went to sit in bed with my computer and got tired, so I turned off the light. The little guy was next to me to make it easier to medicate him during the night. At 10:30 we opted to let him sleep, rather than wake him for the fever reducers. This decision would soon come to bite us in the you know what.

The next thing I remember is it being midnight and SCREAMING for JL to come quickly. I do not even recall waking up. I just remember pulling JSL to me as he was once again rigid, thrashing/shaking and frothing from the mouth.

After a few seconds (not that I actually timed it), he was done with the seizure. He was burning up. I got Motrin for him and called my parents to come over. I thought that we would be going to the hospital for sure and needed someone to be with NHL. Next I called the doctor at about 12:30 and waited to hear from him. He called back after everyone else was here. He did not want us to go to the ER. Instead our main goal was to give JSL fever reducing medications every two hours the rest of the night.

We did just that and brought him to see the doctor yesterday morning. We believe that he has a sinus infection and may have a hidden ear infection. JSL is now on an antibiotic to try to kick this in the butt. Of course the fever is still hanging in there. Every two hours we are dosing up one fever reducer or another. Here is the little guy after he returned home from seeing the doctor.

To add to the excite, NHL has been on a steroid for his breathing troubles the last three days. He finishes this up today. Then yesterday, his allergist called back with more detailed results of his adenoid/sinus x-rays from Wednesday. The adenoids still look great, but he did not like the way the sinuses looked. Given that he was still very stuffy and actively blowing mucus out of his nose, he is now on an antibiotic as well.

This is medicine chart central and our own personal mini pharmacy.

This morning JSL’s temperature started to go way up again. So, it will be another day of fever reducers every two hours and the second dose of antibiotic later this afternoon. With any luck we can kick this thing and stop worrying about more nightmare moments. Of course you know that I will forever worry given how quickly these last two febrile seizures came out of no where.