Chicken Pox

It all started with what we thought were a few bug bites, until she came down with a high fever and spent the night in our bed waking up every once in a while moaning and crying. The next morning I debated about whether she should go to school or not; the fever was gone and she seemed ok - until she almost fell asleep sitting up on the sofa. So home she stayed, as I tried to think of what bugs she could have been exposed to that no one else in our family had. Bed bugs was my first thought, since her bed is her own personal space, and the "bites" seemed to match the descriptions I found online. Except for a few things - bites usually appear on exposed skin and in groups of 3 to 5. Hers were on her back and stomach. 

When I dropped Lucas off at school the teachers asked about Elena and as I tried to explain in Portuguese about the bites, they asked if it was maybe chicken pox. I didn't really think about it until later that afternoon. Elena hadn't been vaccinated against it, and after David called the school, they confirmed that a student had it last week. So we've spent the week relaxing at home and keeping Elena as comfortable as possible. 

She has been an absolute champ about the whole business. She had a fever for two nights, and a bit of a dry cough but has hardly scratched her pox at all! We're already on the way up and she's getting her energy back. 

Now you may be wondering about our other kids - Lucas caught chicken pox as a wee 6-month old when his daddy got shingles, soon after we arrived in Brazil.

He also had two days of fever, but that was about it for him. So now we are wondering when / if the twins will catch it from Elena. According to the stats, they almost definitely should, but we haven't seen any real signs of it on either of them. Lisa had a dot or two, but we can't say for sure they are chicken pox. Of course, the disease has quite a long incubation period, so next week might bring another bout of the pox for our home! 

I feel kind of bad about not having Elena vaccinated, but there's not much point worrying or agonizing over it now since it's too late. Hopefully her immune system will just be stronger for fighting off the disease naturally. If by some miracle the twins don't get it, we will get them vaccinated for it. 

Gettin' my Mojo Back!

Whew! It's been a looooong few weeks. After a pretty rough and exhausting first trimester, I was so ready to put all those initial pregnancy symptoms to rest and settle in for a great second trimester. Boy, was I wrong. "Morning sickness" lasted well until at least 16 weeks and I think just after I started to feel a little more "normal" I got hit by a massive sinus cold/cough that lasted a good three weeks. If you know me, you know that I hardly ever get sick, like, at all. I have the immune system of a horse and a stomach of steel. :) So to be knocked down for three weeks felt like an eternity for me. I had to resort to antibiotics (doctor's recommendation) to kick this sinusitis.

So now I am finally feeling back to "normal" - um, except for the ever growing belly and a few second trimester symptoms. I've got so much more energy and I figure I've got to put it to good use in the next few weeks before I really get huge! There's so much to do before the babies arrive. We are getting our guest room ready for my parents (mom is coming to stay and help for hopefully two months or more) and of course we have to make room for the twins and all the baby paraphernalia that accompanies newborns.

In the midst of my hazy sickness, we managed to throw a belated party for Lucas, only accomplished with lots of help from my mother-in-law! So I'll be back with details on his "Construction" themed party and of course, lots more pregnancy and kid posts before life gets crazy in May.

Thanks for sticking around and reading!

When a child is sick

When you have a sick little one at home, there's a little tug in your heart, an unsettling feeling that something is just not right. A usually energetic child is sluggish and sleepy, the lightness in their step is replaced by dragging feet and a runny nose, peaceful slumber is displaced by coughing spells and waking cries.

Lucas had chicken pox at 6 months old in 2009. 

When a child is sick it's hard not to feel responsible as a parent, and more so as a mother. When your care is not enough to keep them healthy and thriving. Of course, it is ridiculous to expect that you can always protect your children from the bugs and viruses and illnesses that come their way, but that doesn't stop me from feeling like I could have done more...

After all, we decide what the kids wear - is it too cold for shorts? Too hot for a sweater? Should they wear socks to bed or not?

We decide what the kids eat - more juice, more water, less sugar, less sweets. More veggies, less pasta, vitamins or supplements, the options are endless and often what we do is never enough...

We decide what medicine the kids take - do they need inhalation? More antibiotics? Is their temperature high enough to warrant Tylenol or should I let the body fight the infection? When do we go to the clinic/doctor?

So many decisions made every day, often leave me feeling unequipped and unprepared, always feeling I could be doing something more...

This feels like a regular rotation every month or so...

We have had a rough spell of sickness between our two kids over the past few months, actually this whole year hasn't been the best for our whole family in terms of health and wellness. Counting infections and viruses, Elena and Lucas have taken 7 doses of antibiotics between them since March. And I am not one to rush into taking any more medicines than necessary. I feel the antibiotics just aren't cutting it anymore (might be making things worse?) and am looking into more natural ways of boosting their immune system.

Here are a few of my health goals for the next few weeks (mostly taken from this article here)
 - fresh orange juice and other home-made fruit and veggie juices
 - ground almonds onto their evening meal
 - cod liver oil (since we're not really a fish-eating family)
 - season steamed veggies with fresh garlic

Also found a great article with immune-boosting foods here - so we'll be trying to eat a lot more of those vegetables and foods.

How do you keep your kids healthy?

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