A Story About the Blessing of Ticks

I've been ignoring my blog lately.  We've just been a bit busy over here.  First of all, we went camping a few weeks ago in Colorado (of which I took not one photo).  Once we got home and several days had passed, my husband discovered a large tick on Little Miss Princess.  Apparently when checking for ticks, you should do a thorough search of the head.  But this being my first camping experience in tick territory, I checked every bodily crevice but not the head.  And I promise I washed her hair several times after our return.  The tick must have been quite small (for me to not feel it while washing.)...at first...before it grew very large by enjoying it's unlimited source of food. 

I did take pictures of the tick on Princess.  However, I will spare you.  It just seems wrong to post those. She, on the other hand, enjoys looking at them now that she's recovered from the trauma.

Back to the story.  So it was Wednesday evening when My Stud found the tick and we decided it best to wait until we got home from church to remove it.  After much consultation with various sources and experienced tick removers, we decided that the least traumatic, most sure-fire way of removing the tick in one fell swoop would be to just employ my tweezers and pull gently and steadily.  Even though Princess was so against this whole process that My Stud had to restrain her (and then restrain her again when she broke free), the tick removal was a smashing success. 

Then my husband found a second intruder. 

Poor Princess. :-(  (She said through tears, "Daddy, please hug me!")

We got it off in no time and did one final search.  Princess spent the next few minutes three days obsessing over the ticks, looking at pictures, and examining their lifeless bodies (which I saved in a baggy for that very purpose.  I know.  What kind of sicko am I?  The kind of sicko that was raised with a slough of boys, that's what.)  She has only just recently began to slow down her tick related inquiries, repeating her tick story to all of her friends, and my friends, and the youth at church.   For being so upset at the time, it was comical how proud she was of her horror story afterward.

So that's one part of the story. 

The second thing is that Princess came down with a fever two days after tick removal day.  As you can imagine, I immediately decided she probably had Lyme Disease.  But then her tick-free little sister came down with a fever a day later, and I realized that it was likely some piddly virus instead.  And then Princess' fever left...and returned a few days later.  Now I was sure she had Lyme Disease.  A person can have Lyme Disease with nearly no symptoms, according you the internet you know.

And as I learned at the doctor's office that week, a person can have Strep Throat with nearly no symptoms as well.  Good to know.  The pediatrician was certain that Princess was free of any tick related diseases, but suggested that we do a strep test.   I thought he was nuts.  She hadn't even complained of a sore throat.  Low grade fever (99 - 100) and body aches was all that had been afflicting her from what I could gather.  Plus, her fever was gone again.  Of course the test turned up a positive pretty quickly.  Apparently we have a very experienced (read: old) doctor who knows what he's doing.  (I believe many other doctors would have written it off as a little nothing virus and sent us home with stickers.)  After going through the list of antibiotics that Princess is allergic to (ugh), the doctor settled on Azithromycin.

Then I asked if Smooch might have strep as well since she had been experiencing the same symptoms (non-symptoms?).  The doctor informed me that it was almost unheard of for a child under the age of three to get strep.  But my Smooch (17 mos. old) is a rule-breaker, and at my insistence, and after fighting her extremely strong gag reflex, they discovered that she too had step.  They put her on Amoxicillin since antibiotic allergies are apparently not hereditary.  (Notice how part of this post's purpose is record-keeping for me.)

Smooch was her old self after one day of meds.  Princess, on the other hand, vomited for the second time in her life and it wasn't long before I was on the phone consulting with a nurse about Azithromycin's propensity to upset little tummies.  A normal side-effect mind you (ugh).  So I began to divide her dose up throughout the day rather than giving it to her all in one daily dose as originally instructed.  That was better - no vomiting - but she still wouldn't eat until her regimen was completed.  Thankfully that particular (strong) antibiotic is only a 5-dayer.

The girls are both finally back to normal over here.  In retrospect, I realized that perhaps Smooch is the one who brought the strep home (from Lord knows where).  After reading a bit about strep, I realized that perhaps the "random two cases of vomiting" - one right before camping, and one right after - was the strep upsetting her stomach.  Then a week passed before she came down with a fever. In the meantime she wasn't acting like her usual self - clingy, and a little cranky...but she was cutting molars at that time too and she acts that way when teething anyway. 

All that to say, I think my little Smooch may have had strep for quite some time before we discovered it in either girls.  And to be really honest, given the awful, invasive complications that untreated step can cause, in the end, I am feeling pretty thankful for those two ugly ticks that Princess got while camping.  Otherwise, I may have never dragged her to the doctor for a little nothing fever that had already gone away.  Isn't it neat the way the Lord takes care of our children, sometimes in spite of their non-paranoid mothers?

And for the record (for the paranoid of you), I am still watching Princess like a hawk...just in case something else shows up yet. ;-)

Smooch - 16 months - Annnnd One More "Plug" for Chiropractic Care

It's been awhile since I've had a smooch update. In fact, I haven't even recorded all of the benefits of her chiropractic care.  Here is a testimonial I wrote for our chiropractor, Dr. E. (w/ names omitted):

My daughter N’s first birthday came and went, and still she was not even close to crawling. She also wasn’t scooting, rolling, or going from laying to sitting without assistance. She was “stuck” and growing increasingly upset about it. Additionally - seemingly unrelated - N constantly struggled with constipation.

We sought physical therapy for our daughter, who showed no signs of delay in any other area besides gross motor skills. She began therapy around 14 months of age. N did well, and began to make steady progress, sitting up from the floor on her own, and getting extremely close to crawling. However, she seemed to strongly dislike being in the crawling position, and she had “hit a wall” in her progress. With incessant coaxing, N would move her arms and her right leg, but she would not move her left leg.

As I began to observe her movements more closely, I became suspicious about that left leg. I took her to see Dr. E at S Chiropractic, and she was able to observe that N’s pelvis was out of alignment to the point that it was limiting the movement of her left hip and leg. After her first adjustment, N moved her left leg in the crawling position on her own for the first time that day. She never again fussed about being in that previously uncomfortable position. N began to crawl independently three days later, and has been happily into everything ever since.

Also, she no longer struggles with constipation. At all. Looking back, I suspect that she may have been out of alignment since birth as she experienced an unusually quick descent down the birth canal, and had always been somewhat constipated (even when exclusively breastfed) something that never concerned her pediatrician. Bottom line: I just can’t believe we didn’t take her to the chiropractor sooner!

And I thought of one thing that I forgot to mention in my testimonial:  Smooch, who had been under close watch by her pediatrician because of her lower-than-average weight gain, is now officially back on the charts.  She had a well-check today and weighed in at 20 lbs. 6.5 oz. which puts her in the 5th-10th percentile for weight, and makes her growth curve spike.  I can't remember if she was 17 or 18 lbs at 14 months, but either way, that is excellent weight-gain for this age, especially for being newly mobile (when  many babies level-off for a time).   For my record, she's 30.5 inches, in the 25th - 50th percentile for height.  And by the way, I don't put a lot of weight in percentiles, but it is interesting information nonetheless.

Smooch noticeably put on weight the week following her first chiropractic adjustment.  A friend of mine even commented on her increased chub-a-chub.  It seems that the digestive issues that were tied her to constipation may have also been the cause of her mediocre weight gain to some extent.  Part of it could be genetic - I was a tiny little thing myself until I reached toddlerhood.  However, the timing and rapid increase of her weight leads me to believe that it was an issue that, once again, her chiropractic care has solved.

I'm pretty sure the pediatrician thought I was a crazy hippie mom when I explained the whole story of her success with chiropractic care to him.  Someone please remind me why I even bother with traditional "well child" visits in the first place.  I guess I figure it doesn't hurt a thing since it is 100% covered by our insurance without even a co-pay required from us.  However, I find it annoying that all they have really done for us is make note of Smooch's challenges without offering a solution.  For example, Smoochie's constipation was terrible for her, but her doctor didn't find it concerning (and didn't do anything for it  - which was better than shoving some med at us for sure). 

I, however, am a firm believer that the "small" things are all too often indications of a possible greater issue.  In our case, it was that her pelvis was out of alignment.  In my niece's case it was food allergies.  It seems that traditional medicine does not care to discover the root of an issue and truly solve it, rather just alleviate symptoms.  I think doctors mean well, but they are just trained that way.  In many cases, it is all the patient really wants - immediate relief from an uncomfortable symptom.  Well not me.  I'm glad that the Lord has given me the ability to analyze and persist in discovering root causes because it has paid off with our children time and time again. 

Okay.  End of rant.

I'll end this little Smooch update post by saying that the girl is getting mighty close to walking accept that she's too chicken.  She's pulling up on everything now (whereas last week she was very picky about what she was willing to allow to support her weight).  And if she doesn't realize she's doing it, she will let go of whatever she is holding onto and stand independently for a few seconds.  I wouldn't be surprised if she held out another month or even two, but if our Smooch-a-roo would put on her brave face, I bet she could do it next week.

Oatmeal Pancakes

It snowed a little bit at our house today and is supposed to accumulate an inch or two tonight...but I'm ready for summer.  I'm over Spring even, because where we live Spring is temperamental, and can't decide between cold and warm, usually settling on plain ole windy.  As in, gee I hope I don't actually blow away in the parking lot between the car and the store. ;-)

Today we are nearly out of food (I've been procrastinating in my grocery shopping), so we had breakfast for dinner - pancakes, bacon and scrambled eggs.  Last year I got an amazing pancake recipe from my sister-in-law S, and I loved it so much that when I copied it down, I entitled the recipe "Best Pancakes Ever!"  Lately we've been trying to lay off flour as much as possible just for general health, so I experimented with this pancake recipe by using oatmeal flour instead of wheat flour.  The result is just as moist, a little lower on the glycemic index, and (unless processed in the same plant as wheat, etc.) is gluten free.  You can either buy oatmeal flour or you can throw old fashioned oats in your food processor (or blender) and pulverize it yourself.

Best Oatmeal Pancakes Ever!

1 2/3 c. oatmeal flour (possibly a little more depending on how fine your oatmeal flour is)
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 T. honey
1 egg (beaten)
1 c. milk (or 1/2 c. milk and 1/2 c. water)
1 1/2 T. butter (melted)
1/2 t. vanilla

Mix dry ingredients.  Add the other ingredients and stir until just blended.  Then cook pancakes in the usual pancake fashion.  Enjoy!

Fever-Induced Flu Season Frustrations

I am sick for the second time in two weeks.  Now I know how Smooch has been feeling as week after week she comes home from the church nursery* with yet another fresh ailment.  Normally the rest of us, armed with a regiment of EmergenC and baking soda (gross I know) and prayer, escape these illnesses.  But I have not been so lucky these past couple of rounds. 

Of course the simple solution would be to keep her out of nursery until flu season is behind us.  However, between the h.s. Sunday School class that I teach (My Stud has his own class as well), and a montage of other ways in which we are involved both Sunday and Wednesday nights, this is easier said than done.  Have I ever told you how much Smooch is not like her sister?  At Smooch's age, Princess was a pretty quietly content child with a long attention span.  We used to easily take her into services when my husband was a youth pastor.  Smooch may be quiet by the standards of some, but this calm family?  We happen to think she is quite noisy and distracting.  She talks.  A lot.   In her own language mostly, but she does talk constantly.
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We can't decide what to do.  We have taken her to our various classes and such, and it is okay.  However, keeping her semi-quiet and entertained during those times takes my attention to the extent that I am rendered almost useless in those areas of service.   I have wondered, should she and I just stay home from church until Spring?  Should we simply continue putting her in the nursery and hope for the best?  Should we bring her to our classes and such?  I really don't know what the best solution is and I feel like I'm banging my head against the wall.    And now I am sitting here with a fever, chills, body aches, and a hacking cough, and I have come to the realization that Natalie's most recent cold (which made her uncharacteristically-even-for-being-sick fussy)  was in fact the flu.  Poor baby!  Add that to the stomach flu she last month and I'd say she's easily had two bouts of the flu (one, a stomach flu) and at least ten colds since November.

And did I mention that even the slightest of colds will keep Smooch from sleeping through the night?   Mommy is very very tired.

I think the solution we have reached is to bring her to our classes, and for the ones that require me to teach, we will have My Stud do the majority of the teaching while I do the mothering.  It will not be easy.  The quality of learning will likely suffer, but I know that God can work in spite of even a distracting, cute one-year-old in the lives of youth.  We just need to stick to our guns after she has been healthy for awhile.

Now excuse my fevered brow and me.  We have some resting/mothering to do.

Oh and one more thing.  I just have to say that I have been crazy blessed with a sweet, sweet friend who brought us dinner tonight (My Stud is traveling for work).  God bless that woman ten times over!  I'm not exaggerating to say that I think that is one of the nicest things a friend has ever done for me in all my life.

*I think church nurseries are wonderful things, and I think the one at our current church is by far the best I have seen.  However, that doesn't mean that parents do not knowingly and unknowingly bring sick children to nursery, especially during cold & flu season when illnesses seem relentless.  All that to say, I do not have a vendetta against church nurseries.  It is just so hard when your child in is the the "stick everything in your mouth and chew on it"  phase of life along with every other baby in their company.

Stop Eating Sugar and a Wholelotta Nothing

I'm indulging in a sweet snack.  It is so scrumptious that it actually feels like cheating.  Starting two days ago, no sugar is to pass through my lips until July 29th, 2010.  That is our fifth anniversary.  And it is more than 90 days away, which means it will sufficient time for my body to break free of my recent sugar addiction.  Normally not even close to a slave of the sweet tooth, I have gone out of control in these postpartum days.  Maybe it was the hormones? Perhaps the move to New Mexico played a role?  Maybe it was the way we "holed up" for the bitterly cold winter?  Or simply the generous amounts of chocolate laying around the house?  Whatever the cause, it doesn't matter.  I'm getting free.  

Days one and two were easy.

Day three.  Today I wanted chocolate.  I whipped up some honey butter instead.  If you've never had honey butter, you must!  All you do is whip some honey (I used raw honey this time, but any honey works) into a tub of butter to suit your taste.  Then, if you're like me, slather it onto two pieces of whole wheat toast...and then spread on a little more on top of that.   Sprinkle with cinnamon.  Inhale toast like you're starving to death, then make yourself one more.  It is best enjoyed with a glass of cold, whole milk.

What.  I'm not trying to cut calories here, just cane sugar.  Specifically refined sugar, aka "the drug".

Today I cleaned the bathrooms as part of my exercise program.   Actually I don't have an exercise program.  But I did work up quite a sweat scrubbing the shower.  Princess helped me clean one of the sinks.  Then she fetched toys for Smooch while I did everything else.  When I still wasn't done, she retrieved her "mankie" (blanket) from her bedroom and laid on the floor in Mommy and Daddy's bedroom watching me scrub and scrub and scrub.   Ah.  It felt good.

One more thing.  There are dandelions growing in our backyard.  Dandelions!  It has been almost 9 years since I've had dandelions growing in my yard.  Try to imagine my excitement!  Everything is beginning to bud and bloom.

Never mind that it snowed on April 1st.

And April 2nd.

Spring is here!!!