HFM is the Devil

Two nights ago, I felt:

• depleted from an unusually long week of solo parenting 
• battered by a lingering cold 
• exhausted after repeated night wakings from my not-so-little baby boy 
• and, excited for a fun weekend away in Tennessee at Andi's work event

Well.

Life has a way of throwing curveballs, doesn't it? The last 36 hours have been a little rough around these parts. I thought I was tired before. Ha. Hahahahaha.

Around 10:30pm Thursday night, Tory woke up for the third time since bedtime. This outcry was different, more like a scream of agony. She complained of her feet itching so I switched on the light and discovered raised, red spots all over her toes, heels and palms of her hands.

Craaaaap!

I knew just what this was: Hand, Foot and Mouth. Aden had it (still has it?) earlier in the week with sporadic spots on his hands, feet, ears and cheeks. But different than him, Tory kicked and flailed from what seemed like the worst pain and irritation a person could experience. I rubbed some anti-itch cream on her hands and feet, gave her a dose of Benedryl and brought her into my bed so I could care for her more closely. I don't think I realized right away how much discomfort she was in until I watched her scream and twitch beside me in frustration and agony. I felt so badly for her, and I didn't know what else to do. The BabyLine nurse I spoke to earlier in the day regarding Aden's symptoms mentioned spots and a sore throat accompanying HFM, but never said anything about itching on the hands and feet. Tory (or Aden, for that matter) never had sores in their mouths but did have spots on their extremities. I Googled "hand foot and mouth itching feet" and uncovered several articles about HFM symptoms and comments from past sufferers. The itchy feet and hands can be part of it, I guess. Some people wrote how torturous the itching felt and one lady said she'd rather die than go through it again. Geez.

Tory was beside herself, so I dug through our medicine bin and pulled out anything we had for anti-itching. I sprayed Solarcaine on her feet and wrapped them in cold, wet washcloths. She cried, and cried and cried. I felt so helpless! Definitely one of the worst nights of parenting I've lived through. And why does this stuff always happen in the middle of the night? I sent a text to Andi in Tennessee and my mom in Nebraska, and felt so lonely laying there next to Tory. Finally, (thankfully!) my mom text back to comfort me while I comforted my own daughter. I know I'm not the first parent to sit next a sick child, but it doesn't make it any easier. Tory finally drifted to sleep from 2:15am - 3:00am before another bout of itching consumed her. More Benedryl, Ibprofen, anti-itch cream, sprays, cold wash cloths and snuggles. I did everything I could to make Tory feel better. It was awful.

By some miracle, Aden (basically) slept through the night Thursday only waking at 5:00am to eat. I don't think I could've handled them both that night. I suppose I would've done it if I had to, but I'm so thankful he slept so I could care for Tory.

Friday was a really, really long day. Tory laid in my bed all day and binged on Dora and Peppa Pig. I brought her coloring books and lacing beads for something to do, kept the Benedryl flowing and rubbed anti-itch cream on her feet repeatedly. Aden seemed fine, thankfully, and the sporadic spots on his feet and cheeks were mostly healed. I kept him entertained with toys in the living room, and separate from Tory as best I could. I washed sheets and sanitized everything. HFM is super contagious and I do not want to catch it. No. No. No.

I also emailed Andi and told him to cancel my plane ticket to Knoxville for the weekend. There was no way I could leave Tory when she felt so terrible. I'm sure my mother-in-law Janie could've handled it, but she shouldn't have to. I am her mother. And, how could I fly across the U.S. to spend a leisurely weekend at an ATV event when my baby was sick at home?

By 5:00pm Friday, Tory regained some energy. Janie came over after she got off work to help. I took a shower, ate some dinner and breathed for the first time in 24 hours. Seriously. Hand, Foot and Mouth is no joke. I know it's "common" (as per the BabyLine nurse) and maybe it isn't a big deal for some, but it seriously took a toll on us.

Tory seemed fine Friday evening, but as soon as she laid down to sleep that night she complained about her feet itching again. I busted out the medicine, and prepared for a long night ahead. This time, I kept the television on quietly which seemed to take Tory's mind off the itching, at least a little bit. She drifted off to sleep for 30 minutes at a time, then woke up screaming and twitching in pain again. We both clocked another restless night.

At the moment, Tory is bouncing up and down on the couch cushions and seems to have all the energy in the world. Apparently, (sometimes drowsy-enducing) Benedryl has an adverse affect on Tory. Red spots still cover her feet, but aren't causing her much discomfort for now.

It doesn't look like much, but HFM is the devil

Me? I am tired. Holy crap. I feel like I have a newborn in the house again. I'm pounding coffee and counting the minutes until this sickness rids our household. #dieHFMdie

On The Mend

Our little family of three is finally on the mend after a two-week cold bender. Man, being sick stinks ... especially while being being pregnant and caring for a little one who's also under the weather. I *may* have clocked my worst parenting days last week while I laid in bed and let Tory watch endless hours of Disney. A little Doc McStuffins never hurt anyone, right? (I hope not. She has been repeatedly asking to "watch show?" since then, so maybe I'm wrong). I was seriously living in fear of going into labor while being sick, so I was determined to recoup by whatever means necessary. Necessary = zoning a sick toddler out with television. I don't feel bad about it. Andi was really sweet by coming home early from work several nights to help with Tory. He even slept downstairs on the couch so Tory and I could snuggle up together in our big bed to get some rest. Okay, maybe he was dodging my admittedly annoying cough and germs ...  and if so, I don't blame him.

Unwilling to take any "traditional" cold medicine because I'm pregnant and cautiously being aware of what I was giving Tory, I tried some new (to me) cold remedies which helped soothe our pain and discomfort.

For Tory, I picked up both versions of Hylands Cold and Cough and saw a noticeable difference in her demeanor after dosing her with the daytime and/or nighttime versions. Highly recommend. She didn't seem to mind the taste either, as noted by her requests for "Tory, need more medicine." (Gosh, kid).

Andi also bought Little Remedies Cough Elixir and this really seemed to help Tory's cough. It's completely natural so I felt better about giving this frequently/as directed. Tory was licking the dosing cup clean so obviously the natural honey taste was a pleasant one.

Of note: kid's medicine is a sensitive topic (not interested in stirring up a debate on kids and medicine), but I also like hearing mom's testimonials when things work like they should, so thought I'd share my new discoveries on the topic.

Mid-cold, I finally broke down and called my doctor's baby phone line to see if there was anything I could give myself for cold relief. I was surprised when the nurse rattled off a list of "safe to use while pregnant" OTC medicines. (Obviously, everyone is different. This is what the nurse suggested I take given my personal healthy and pregnancy). Suggestions included Claritin, Robitussin, Tylenol, Vicks Vapor Rub and cough drops without menthol. I couldn't bring myself to use anything but cough drops and running a Vaporizer for fear I would hurt my babe, but it was nice to know there were dire-straights options if I really couldn't hang any longer. One thing I did do was purchase a Vicks Warm Mist Vaporizer. This version takes the Vapor Mist liquid or these Vicks Vapor Pads which really helped me cope. Though admittedly as I was packing up all this stuff this morning, I was gagging on the trademark Vicks scent. Vicks vapors are now equivalent to 7-Up and chicken noodle soup for me -- commonly, they all remind me of feeling like death.

Speaking of chicken noodle soup, I made a homemade version for dinner one night last week. (Don't worry, this recipe didn't taste like death. Chicken noodle soup only sounds good to me when I'm feeling under the weather. I can't stomach the condensed soup-in-a-can version, so it's go homemade or go home for me). This stove-top recipe was a quick, comforting meal to pull together.

Anyway, on the mend (thankfully!) now and looking onward to the birth of our baby son. Here's hoping we all steer clear of more sickness this winter and if we aren't as lucky, at least I have a few new tricks up my sleeve to help us through.

Take This Cold and Shove It

The only thing worse than a Man Cold is a Pregnancy Cold and, ugh, do I have a doozy. I just knew this pregnancy was moving along too smoothly, dang it. When Andi came home a few weeks ago and complained about feeling under the weather, it suddenly occurred to me it's "cold and flu season" and any one of us could come down with some sort of bug before the baby's born. I immediately went into Operation Disinfect Everything mode. Andi never did get sick, but last Wednesday I woke up sneezing and my cold has progressively grown worse since then.

Normally, I proclaim to have a fairly high pain tolerance but being sick while pregnant is the pits. I don't like to take any medicine while pregnant, so this decision forces me to fight through the symptoms. The last two days, Tory has been out of sorts with coughing as well so it only complicates things by having to shower her with extra care while nursing myself back to health. I did call my doctor's Baby Line hotline this weekend to see if there was anything I could do to make myself feel better. The nurse suggested a few over the counter medications to take if worse comes to worst. In the meantime, I'm hydrating with lots of hot tea, non-menthol cough drops and the vaporizer running 24/7.

Yesterday during my weekly babysitter time, I went to a local coffee shop to write out our meal plan and grocery list. The minute I sat down, I was overcome with a coughing attack that I just couldn't kick. A nice older man was sitting next to me and kept asking questions about my pregnancy. I've talked with him at the coffee shop a few times before and it was sweet of him to show concern, but good lord man, I couldn't breathe! I finally packed up my stuff to leave because I was seriously dying and the man told me he said a prayer that I'll get well before the baby arrives. He melted my heart. People can be so kind.

On the bright side, I'm thankful this cold took hold before the baby arrives and not after he's born. Better to be sick while pregnant than sick with a newborn. Or worse, for Aden to be sick in his first few weeks of life. I keep telling myself that if I've been sick for a week already, this cold has to be almost through. And just in time ... today, I'm 39 weeks pregnant so Baby Boy could make his arrival any day.

7 Quick Takes: I Wrote this Post at 4:00am

1. I write the best blog posts in the middle of the night. Well, I can't say if this is "great blog post" worthy just yet because I haven't actually typed anything, but my brain seems to free-flow words when all is quiet and that's what I'm saying. At 3:30am this morning, I was jolted awake by a killer charley horse in my left leg. Anyone else get those when you're pregnant? THE WORST. I finally got out of bed to walk it off and had a major coughing attack in the process. My noise woke Tory up, which woke Andi up, and then we were all up from 4:00am - 6:00am. Fun times. The good news is, I thought about lots of things to blog about while I was snuggling Tory back to sleep.

2. Did I mention all three of us are sick this week? I'd like to say Tory and I caught a summer cold from my little niece, Brooke, last week (because she had a cold and repeatedly kept drinking out of my water bottle despite my requests for her not to do so), but honestly we could've picked up a bug from a variety of places including the germy airport, a restaurant, or from someone else. I started to feel crummy last Saturday at the cabin while Andi's sister and her boyfriend were visiting and I felt super guilty for being a lousy host but I just did not feel up to extra cooking, cleaning up, bonfires, etc. Judging by Tory's constant meltdowns, insistence on me carrying her at all times and her poor sleep, she obviously wasn't feeling up to snuff either. There's nothing worse than being sick when you're pregnant - nothing. (Ok, well maybe those charley horses....) Andi came down with the same cold on Monday and well, it's no barrel of monkeys when we're all sick.

3. I'm 24 weeks pregnant this week which is just crazy to me. SIX MONTHS PREGNANT?! When did that happen? Aside from the leg cramps and occasional heartburn, I'm feeling pretty good lately. Baby Boy is moving around more everyday and it's comforting to know he's doing okay in there. Hard to believe he'll be here in 16-ish more weeks.

4. Six months pregnant must be the beginning of the nesting phase. I've been on a mission this week to start the big "play musical chairs with all the rooms in our house" project which eventually equals the completion of Aden's nursery. First up, our home office which we hardly ever use is getting the boot and will become the kids new playroom. Once the new playroom is complete, I can move all the toys to that room which will empty our current play room (which is Aden's future nursery) and then I can start decorating his room. Andi and I decided to use our existing crib and changing table/dresser for Aden which means Tory will need a new big girl bed in her room. She's about two shakes away from learning how to climb out of her crib, so this change is inevitable but I'm dreading it nonetheless. I am 100% confident we'll have a difficult time keeping her in bed as the girl climbs EVERYTHING. She can climb in and out of our fairly-high queen-size bed with no issue whatsoever.

So, in simple terms: home office become future play room // old play room become future nursery with Tory's baby furniture // Tory moves to a big girl bedroom set. That should be no problem to knock out in the next 16 weeks, right?

5. Andi and I have been going back and forth about what type of bedroom furniture to get for Tory. Toddler bed or twin? That is the question. A toddler bed is obviously the cheaper option, but Tory will only be able to use it for a short time. A cheap toddler bed doesn't include a dresser, so we'll have to pick up one of those as well or move all her things inside the closet. On the other hand, it might make more sense to just buy her a twin bed with rails that includes a dresser and night stand. I like the looks of those options better than the cheap toddler beds. Plus, let's face it, there will be many solo parenting nights ahead where I'm putting Tory to bed with a newborn in my arms so it'd be convenient to lay down with her to read stories, etc. We have a few more weeks to decide, I guess.

6. I made this trail mix for the cabin a few weeks ago, and it was so tasty and easy. I love that you just toss various items together without any real baking and there's something for everyone (salty and sweet) included. I'm planning to make it again for this weekend at the cabin when my best friends Ashley, Val and their families come to visit.

7. Our fourth wedding anniversary is next Wednesday and Andi's going to be out of town for it. I bounce between feeling super bummed he'll be out of town on our anniversary and completely understanding he has to work. Gone are the days we jet-setted to Vancouver or Vail, right? We're a grown-up old married couple now. We are planning to go out to dinner somewhere here in town in mid-August to celebrate and visiting the gardens where we were married. Guess we'll have to save up all our adventurous juices for the big FIVE next year.

Mother Knows Best

Last week, Tory came down with a crazy-bad diaper rash right before I left on my New Orleans trip. Of course these things have a way with timing as I was just about ready to leave her in Andi's care for three days. Up to this point, Tory's never had anything a generous goop of Bordeaux's Butt Paste couldn't cure, but this time was different. She had several days of diarrhea brought on by the impending arrival of her first-year bottom molars and it was irritating her skin faster than we could heal it. The standard tricks of warm baths, changing her diaper frequently, creams and using warm wash cloths in lieu of diaper wipes weren't helping. I called the pediatrician's office on Wednesday, but they weren't much help in suggesting alternatives.

So, I called my mom for advice. Sometimes moms just know the right answer, you know? She reassured me it sounded like teething symptoms to her as well, and ran through a laundry list of remedies I'd already tried. Then she offered an out-of-the box suggestion that worked wonders, so I thought I'd share it here.

"Just trust me," she said. "Take some flour or corn starch and brown it in a skillet, just enough so it turns brown but not burnt." (She always has to give me very detailed directions when it comes to cooking. You'd think common sense would weigh it, but no, not where I'm involved). Then she told me to pat the browned flour or corn starch (I used flour) onto Tory's bottom after I changed her diaper. Actually, she suggested using a pizza or flour shaker to sprinkle it on but I didn't have anything like that at home so I used my fingers  to pat the browned flour generously onto her bottom area.

You guys, IT WORKED. I did exactly as I was instructed and Tory's bottom looked 80% better the next morning. The diaper rash was still there, but hardly as severe as it was the evening before. Isn't that the wildest old wives-tale trick you've ever heard?

Poor Tory endured diaper rash for a few more days unfortunately, as the diarrhea kept on coming. Andi cut her off from dairy products and pumped her full of Pedialyte before it finally healed. He also picked up some Baby Anti Monkey Butt, which is primarily made of corn starch, and that seemed to help as well. Her molar still hasn't pushed through the gums so we're fighting through a few more days of teething around our house. Hopefully the tooth fairy has pity on her little mouth and we'll be in the clear soon.

Fly Away Stomach Bug!

Last night I curled up in new sheets, feeling like the worst mommy ever after my baby girl hurled peas all over my white comforter a few hours earlier. Yesterday was day five (FIVE!) of this stomach bug she's fighting. I'm ready for it to leave my baby, thankyouverymuch.

On Sunday, Tory projectile vomited everywhere after her afternoon bottle and once again at bedtime. At first I thought it might be related to teething because she's definitely slobbering on everything these days, but I ruled out that theory when her sickness continued this week. I stayed home from work with her on Tuesday and she threw up once more in the morning. Is there anything worse than seeing your little baby vomit again and again? I think not.

It seemed like she was getting some of her spunk back and was able to keep foods down on Wednesday so I thought we were on the upward swing. Last night, I fed her peas for dinner, dressed her in pajamas and laid her on my bed to change out of my work clothes when ... SPLAT. Tory threw up all over my white comforter. Poor girl was beside herself for the rest of the evening. I was able to get her to drink some Pedialite and she finally settled down to sleep at 8:30pm (an hour and a half past bedtime). Of course Andi is traveling this week, as is my mother-in-law, and my own family lives several states away. I could've cried myself after Tory was finally asleep last night. Between the gazillion loads of poopy and pukey laundry, a fussy baby and a week of solo-parenting, I'm exhausted.

I took her to the doctor this morning and all looks fine. It's just a nasty virus we need to ride through, the doctor said. This is one of the hardest parts of parenting, I think, watching your child in pain when nothing you do seems to help them. This is the first time Tory's really been sick and it kills me to see her hurting. My arms have had a rest, Tory Bean. I'm ready for my jumpin' bean to be back in action.