Just Breathe Mom » health

This Could Happen To Your Child

Joey — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 03:42:08 +0000

I am writing this blog about a blood disorder that I’m pretty sure many of you don’t know about. I didn’t know anything about it until my second son’s recent diagnosis. It’s not very common, but doesn’t discriminate and can happen to anyone. My objective is to educate anyone who is unaware of this potentially dangerous blood disorder as well as some of the symptoms. Also, I hope this story will be a reminder to listen to your gut instinct.

A week and a half ago, my almost 3-year-old developed a weird looking rash on his chest. It almost looked as if someone took a fine-tip red marker and put dots all over him. The rash was flush to the skin and didn’t change color when pressed. It was unlike anything I had seen before, so I started to do some research on the Internet. It didn’t take long to pull up various sources describing the rash as petechiae (peh-TEE-kee-ay). Everything I read said to seek immediate medical treatment for your child.

At this point, anxiety is starting to fill my veins and I begin to pester my husband to read the information that I found. He was in the middle of trying to put the baby to sleep and didn’t see an urgent need to quit the process. He thought our son’s rash was probably some sort of heat rash. I on the other hand was becoming increasingly anxious and finally told him that he needed to go look at the articles, because I thought that we needed to take our son to the ER. In actuality, I had already decided that he was going to the hospital. I just wanted his confirmation. Our next step was to call the family doctor. The doctor on call said that we could probably wait out the rash over the weekend. I’m giving her the benefit of the doubt that she didn’t understand what we were describing. Thank God that the certainty I had for him to be seen by a doctor was overpowering. By this time, the rash had spread to every part of his body, including the inside of his ears, face, and behind.

Off we went to the hospital where he was born. The ER doctor said that in his ten years he only saw this rash a few times. The times that he saw it, the kid was really sick. My son acted perfectly normal and you wouldn’t know that anything was wrong him. Lab results came back that said his platelet count was 4,000. I had no idea what that meant. Embarrassingly, I wasn’t even exactly sure what your platelets did. Science, chemistry, medicine all fall under the same category as math for me… foreign language. I’ll quickly describe the function of your platelets for other right-brainers like me. Your platelets are the sticky cells in the blood, which are important in clotting and help to stop bleeding. A normal platelet count is between 150,000 – 450,000. As you can see, my son’s count was dangerously low. What does this mean? It means that if he were to get in an accident or even bump his head then he could bleed in the brain or internally.

Luckily, we live near a reputable children’s hospital and were sent to their ER for treatment. After more lab work and process of elimination he was diagnosed with ITP or Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. (People with ITP, form antibodies that destroy their blood platelets.) With the lab work, they check the white blood cells to rule out leukemia. Thankfully, the doctors are almost certain that is not the case with our son. A few days later, he had his first visit with a hematologist at the same hospital. His platelet count didn’t increase after his first treatment in the ER. (He was given a blood product by vein in the ER called Win Rho to stop the destruction of platelets.) The hematologist then ordered an infusion of another blood product (IVIG) to boost his platelet count. The infusion lasted over 5 hours. The little trooper sat there patiently the whole time hooked up to an IV.

We won’t find out until Thursday the results of the IVIG treatment. Each week he will have his blood drawn and they will look at his platelet count and go from there. Until then, we have to be extremely careful with him and make sure that he doesn’t get hurt, particularly his head. It’s no easy task keeping a 3-year-old boy from getting hurt, especially one with a 4-year-old brother. (Read Attention: Bloodshed In Aisle Six) However, I don’t have time to freak out. I’ve learned everything I can about this disorder, I’m keeping him as safe as I can, and I’m looking out for any of the signs the doctor told me warranted an emergency return visit to the ER. I have confidently given this disorder to the expert doctors at the children’s hospital. This is their business; they see it and treat it all the time. Nevertheless, if my gut tells me something different I will not hesitate to take action.

Quick Facts About ITP

It can happen to anyone.
Many children had an occurrence of a viral illness weeks before the onset of the disorder. (This is true in our case.)
The US has approximately 200,000 reported cases of ITP.
Children usually get an acute case between ages 2-4 that resolves itself in less than 6 months. Older children, more than 10 years-old, tend to get a chronic case lasting a few years.
A child can look perfectly healthy or sick.
Petechiae rash or strange bruising can be a symptom.
Sources: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, familydoctor.org, Platelet Disorder Support Association, National Heart & Lung Blood Institute

The Upside of Mishap

Meredith — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:50:02 +0000

Late last week I decided to take my sons swimming at my sister’s house. But before we could leave, my boys wanted to swing for a few minutes on our backyard swing set. Since they are getting older and bolder, they wanted me to push them a little higher than usual. Against my better judgment, I did. While my 6-year-old was at the highest point in the air during his swing, the rope attaching the swing to the swing set gave way and my son fell flat on his back.

I quickly scooped him up and took him inside to assess the damage. Thankfully, he seemed more shocked than physically hurt. He had a little red mark on his lower back and a couple of broken fingernails. (Which just proves that I don’t trim them often enough.) Anyway, I fretted over him for a few minutes, kissed his boo boos, and then moved on with the day.

But my clever son, clearly enjoying all of the attention and fuss I was making over him, wanted his falling out of the swing accident to be the theme of the day. He was going to let anyone and everyone know about it. And he was going to milk it for everything it was worth.

First, he needed a cookie because he fell out of the swing and hurt himself “so so so very very very badly.” His words, not mine. Cookies have magic healing powers when you’ve taken a tumble apparently. But apparently they aren’t the only thing. Toys seem to help too, according to my 6-year-old. I nixed the new toy idea quickly. There would be little boys falling out of our swing set daily if a new toy was the end result. So I said yes to the cookie and no to the toy.

Meanwhile, when we pulled into my sister’s driveway, my son reminded me to tell my sister and her family about his very scary incident. But I didn’t have to - he wasted no time the minute we walked into her front door. My little sympathy seeker sure knew how to work a room, let me tell ya. And he received all of the ooohs and ahhhs and worried expressions he was looking for. After his few minutes of uninterrupted attention, he was ready to move on for awhile. That is until his daddy got home and the whole process started over. I can’t say I really blame him for his attention seeking behavior because there will come a day when mom is the only one who will still notice his boo boos.

Monkey on My Back

Meredith — Mon, 19 May 2008 01:43:40 +0000

Exercising with a 3-year-old is like running through quicksand…you get nowhere real fast! Here’s the story.

I started doing Pilates a couple of weeks ago. I now know that I should have taken a proper class. But instead, I pulled out the Winsor Pilates DVDs my husband purchased from a TV ad over a year ago. Since me and the DVDs were both doing nothing but collecting dust, I thought I should put them to good use. Anything to make bathing suit season more bearable.

The first couple of times I did it, everything went very well. I had really been enjoying the Winsor Pilates workout. But lately my bored toddler has been looking to get in on the action. Fun for him, extra weight and hard work for me. Apparently seeing me on the floor brings out the little monkey in my guy. There is not a part of me that he can’t find a way to climb on or twist or choke or pull. I think I’m getting more of a workout through him than I am the DVDs. But the toddler workout comes with a price. Lots of bruising, scratching and shortness of breath. I can’t think of a more vulnerable position than to be lying flat on your back with arms stretched out while in the general vicinity of a toddler. Chances are that little person is going to make one giant leap for your belly. And if your reflexes aren’t quick enough, you are sure to get the wind knocked out of you. Ugghhh.

The other day he snuck up behind me, jumped on my back and had me in a chokehold. All while I was trying to squeeze my Pilates sculpting circle. I didn’t see anything about that in the literature that came with the DVD! I’m sure I’m going to have to rethink this. I’ll either have to take a real class, make some kind of bribe to get him to leave me alone, or incorporate his jungle antics into my routine. My vote will most likely go to the bribe. After all, that is the path of least resistance…at least in the short term. And all I’m looking for is 25 minutes.

Check out my favorite Winsor Pilates DVD’s below.

Snackaholics Anonymous

Meredith — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 01:31:36 +0000

I have two little boys who have a snacking problem, and I�?Tm their dealer. My husband is a little better about the snacking than I am. For instance, he will not let the boys have any kind of sweet snack earlier than 10 am. I used to have no problem letting them have a cookie or even a brownie right after breakfast. It seemed reasonable to me. I always like something sweet after I eat a regular meal too. But I think I may have created a monster with this one. Actually a couple of little Cookie Monsters!

My older son somehow makes it through all day kindergarten with only one lunch break. Then why on Earth is it impossible for him to get through a 3 hour period without snacking on something once Saturday and Sunday arrive? He came home from a 3 hour snackless playdate the other day acting like he hadn�?Tt had food in a week. Oh the horror! I think I need to call that smart mommy up and ask her how she does it? She needs to give me some tips soon because these little munchers are driving me crazy.

On a typical day, my 3-year-old son starts hounding me for more food about 10 minutes after breakfast and lunch. �?oMommy�?�I want a cracker.�?� Those damn crackers again. Or, �?oMommy�?�I want a yogurt.�?� And the whining doesn�?Tt stop until I either give in or wait it out. The outcome usually depends on my health and mood at the time. If I have a headache for instance, he is going to be rewarded for all kinds of obnoxious behavior. But if I�?Tm feeling like SuperMommy, he better watch out because I can take on any kind of tantrum then. I also seem to have amazing blocking out powers when I�?Tm wearing my SuperMommy cloak.

A bit of advice I received recently seemed like the most reliable solution. Somebody advised me to have the kids pick out 3 snacks every night for the next day and put them in a jar. Then every time they ask for a snack on the following day, they can withdraw one from the jar. When the jar becomes empty, snacks are finished for the day. End of story. Sounds reasonable to me. I hope it works because I literally and figuratively can�?Tt afford to keep feeding this snack addiction.

If anyone else has any ideas on how to fix this problem, I am open to suggestions. In the meantime, I will be checking out the parenting section of JustBreathMom.com

The Nightmare We Call Dinner

Meredith — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 04:44:45 +0000

How can a simple thing like dinner be so darn difficult? Why do I bother preparing nutritious meals when they are met with such disdain? Why? Because I have to. I have to at least try to get my picky children to eat something decent. My 5-year-old son is no longer a problem. He will pretty much eat whatever we put in front of him. He understands consequences. Oh�?�but not my 3-year-old. He turns his nose up to just about anything that isn�?Tt cake, consequences be damned.

If I could figure out how to make a high fiber, fruity cake that tastes like a birthday cake, I would have it made. Or if I could make vegetables look and taste like chicken frickin nuggets, I would have it made. My youngest�?Ts diet would be in good shape. But I don�?Tt know how. So I make what I want and hope for the best.

Well I must have been out of my mind tonight. I don�?Tt know what got into me putting brown rice on my son�?Ts plate. The minute I set his plate down, he screamed at the top of his lungs, �?oI don�?Tt want that brown stuff! Mommy! I don�?Tt like that brown stuff.�?� He carried on and on. �?oMommy! I want a cracker!�?� I was not about to give in. I worked too hard on dinner to be defeated that easily. I�?Tm convinced that crackers are simultaneously a gift and a curse for parents. Great when you�?Tre out and about and you need to keep your kids from embarrassing you. But terrible when you need them to eat something of substance.

So he threw his fit, I didn�?Tt give in, and he eventually ate some of the bread and bananas. Not the best. But at least I didn�?Tt�?T pull out the peanut butter this time. He�?Ts lucky. It could�?Tve been Goulash on his plate. Yuck! That�?Ts what I grew up with. And I couldn�?Tt leave the table without eating at least some of it. Hmmmm. Maybe I need to take a cue from MY mommy.

In the meantime, I’m going to scour the recipe pages on JustBreatheMom for more meal ideals. Something has got to give with this kid.

Recall Mania – Time to Get the Lead Out!

Meredith — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 20:47:38 +0000

Another day, another recall. So what else has LEAD? I know I can speak for many parents when I say, �?oWhat the hell?�?� Really, what the heck is going on in China right now? And what�?Ts next on the list? Baby Einstein? Oh wait, they are on the list, their color blocks were recalled in October. The seemingly American company, who was bought by the huge conglomerate Disney, also does business with China.

The most recent in the recall craze are Aqua Dots, those weird little beads that stick together without glue. Apparently, a chemical found in the beads converts into a date rape drug when ingested and several children were hospitalized after swallowing the beads. Nice. And here I thought that I didn�?Tt have to worry about the threat of drugs like �?oRoofies�?� until my kids at least got into high school. Whatever happened to the days of only having to worry about eating Pop Rocks Candy? Everyone I grew up with knew the story about the kid choking to death on the stuff. I�?Tm pretty sure it was an urban legend, but even that legend is nothing compared to the true stories about the hazards of certain toys being manufactured today.

Before this Aqua Dot recall, it was Thomas, Dora, Elmo, Batman and so many others. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is finding lead in toys at an alarming rate. And not just a few toys, A few MILLION toys. Why does anyone need to use lead to make a toy? Where is the oversight? I really don�?Tt get it. It makes life difficult for someone like me who tends to be a little more paranoid than the average person. And I really have no idea what I�?Tm going to do about Christmas presents. There are many places online where I could buy toys made in the USA and Europe. However, I have a feeling they are going to sell out fast, which isn�?Tt good for a procrastinating Santa like me. I�?Tm sure, when the time comes, I�?Tll be grabbing certain toys and then crossing my fingers. I�?Tm just glad Spiderman hasn�?Tt ended up on any lists yet. I would be in BIG trouble then. Although I don�?Tt plan on buying anymore Spiderman anything for awhile (I�?Tm so OVER the webslinger and my sons have enough Spidey crap to last through their childhood years), I�?Tm hoping I won�?Tt have to toss any of those toys either.

I hope that the future of the toy industry will be such that in a few years we�?Tll all be saying, �?oDo you remember the toy recalls of 2007?�?� In the meantime, I think I can speak for many when I say, �?oIt�?Ts time to get the LEAD out!�?�

Find a list of recall sites on JustBreatheMom.com.

Also, here are a few toy companies that manufacture organic, US, or European toys.

Milking the Strep

Meredith — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 00:21:49 +0000

My poor little guy is battling his first case of Strep throat. Since he is in kindergarten, I knew it wouldn�?Tt be long before he got it. Well he actually is handling it quite well. So well in fact that he�?Ts got that strep working for him.

Let me explain. Other than one night of him looking and feeling poorly, he has been pretty playful. A typical restless kid. But the moment I ask him to do something for himself or pick up his toys, he goes into the pitiful routine. I think he learned it from the champ because I knew how to milk illness better than anyone when I was a little girl. Another payback for me. Anyway, he�?Tll say something like, �?oBut mommy I�?Tm sick, I don�?Tt feel good.�?� Now imagine those words in the whiniest, most pitiful tone and you�?Tve got it. I do fall for it a little because I feel bad, and I have looked into his mouth and seen those vicious tonsil terrorists up close. They are not pretty.

Then, when he sees his friend, our next door neighbor outside, he is miraculously healed. �?oWow mom, the medicine really is working.�?� These words came out of his mouth about 4 hours after his very first dose of the antibiotic. Wow. I wish all antibiotics worked that fast. He was not a happy little boy when I told him that he still couldn�?Tt play outside because we did not want to give the germs to his friend. Twenty-five minutes of a crying tantrum did not change my mind on that one. I must admit though, I�?Tm pretty impressed with his acting skills. Maybe there�?Ts an Oscar in his future. In the meantime, I sure can�?Tt wait until he returns to school!

For information about children’s health, visit JustBreatheMom.com.

The Bugs Are Back In Town

Meredith — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 18:05:14 +0000

Let’s see, it took a whole seven days for my 5 year old son, who just started kindergarten, to bring home his first bug. Yes it’s that time of year again. However, I thought I still had a few months before the big bugs moved on and made way for their microscopic buddies. It’s just not fair to have earwigs and viruses in one house at the same time. But alas, that is how it is.

So does this mean that as long as my children are school-aged, I will be sickly? Will I ever get to attend a PTA meeting without a stuffy nose? Last year when my son went to preschool, he missed a lot of school. Our whole family was sick a good part of the school year. And everyone kept saying, “Oh your immune system will be extra strong next year. You’re only sick because it’s his first year of school.” Yeah…okay. Apparently my immune system is so strong this school year that it brought me a nasty cold in AUGUST! Uggghhh!

I wasn’t even remotely prepared for this cold. I wish these viruses would have the decency to knock before entering my house. Then I could prepare for their extended stay. I remember a 5^th grade teacher at my elementary school named Mr. Peters. He was known for making silly sentences out of the week’s spelling words. One week’s list featured the word influenza. His most famous sentence using that word was, “I opened the door, and influenza!” Well, isn’t that the truth! JustBreatheMom.com has numerous sites relating to family health and wellness.

Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding

Meredith — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:48:57 +0000

Why All The Commotion?

It seems no matter what forum I am on a debate about breastfeeding vs. formula feeding erupts. And when I say erupt, I am not joking. It rarely is a civil discussion. From what I�?Tve noticed, it usually turns into one side questioning how the other could make that choice and the other side getting defensive about their choice. And what have we gained from all of it? Sure debate is healthy, when it is a healthy debate. Why do we tear each other down for our different choices? Breast is best! But is it always best? In every single circumstance? When a mother is in pain, getting no sleep, frustrated beyond words, isn�?Tt able to produce enough milk, and only getting one-sided support? How is that healthy for anyone?

I am one who chose breastfeeding for my children. I am happy with my choice and it worked very well for me. But that is the key word, ME. Not everyone is me. I feel for my friends and acquaintances that were unable to breastfeed or chose not to, and not because I think they missed out on something special or that their child got the shaft. I feel for them because of all the grief they get about it from society and other women. How they are made to feel a lesser parent.

I don�?Tt like it any more when a mother gets a hard time for breastfeeding in public or choosing to nurse longer than the �?oacceptable time period�?�, whatever that is. As women, we should support one another. Not tear each other down. We all need support. Being a mom is tough enough without our choices constantly being questioned. I realize it is impossible to never judge another. We all do it, and we all have our opinions about what is best. But maybe, just maybe, we could turn the energy it takes to condemn another mother into unconditional support. After all, isn�?Tt that really what�?Ts best?

Help! Popeye Help!

Meredith — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 03:32:44 +0000

My 5 year old son thought he was Popeye the other day. He was introduced to Popeye when I rented a cartoon movie for him. Needless to say, he watched it daily until it was time to return it. During this Popeye marathon, he decided that he wanted some spinach. Well talk about music to my ears. I could usually only get him to eat 4 items in the fruits and vegetables food group. I was going to let him have all the spinach he wanted.

Picking out meals and making them has gotten more and more difficult for me with my two picky toddlers. Lunch usually consists of chicken nuggets, pizza, macaroni, or PB & J. Not the best variety or nutritional value in those choices. So when my son is reminding me not to forget the spinach, I am thinking, “Don’t you worry, I won’t.”

After we arrive home from the grocery store, my son wants his spinach immediately. Well, no problem there. I make him a bowl of the fresh stuff and drizzle a small amount of dressing on it. He proceeds to gobble it up like a frat boy with a pizza pie. I was thrilled. A new vegetable on our menu! But then the downside of all that spinach eating reared its ugly head with one giant leap off of my son’s bed. Head first no less. Apparently eating spinach gives you magical leaping powers. Damn Popeye! Thank goodness I witnessed the whole thing and caught my child mid-air. After a brief conversation with him explaining that spinach will make you big, strong and healthy, but over time, and that Popeye wasn’t real, a small tear came out of my son’s eye. Then he whispered to me, “Mom, come into the living room, I’ve got to show you something.” He led me to our large entertainment center and said to me in another whisper, “I tried to lift this.”

Although spinach has lost a bit of its luster for my son, thankfully he will still eat it. I suppose it is up to me to introduce variety into his diet, not a cartoon character.

Check out these recipe sites for menu ideas.

For specific kid friendly recipes, try KidG’s Health, Whole Foods Market, or Vegetarian Kitchen.