How To Deal With A Poorly Child

It's a fact of life that children get poorly and if you have them in a nursery or daycare it may happen a little more often as illnesses are easily passed in children with their little immune system. 

We were quite lucky with Calleigh as she didn't get her first illness until she was over a year old. It was a bad one and it broke my heart to see her so ill knowing there was nothing I could really do to make it go away, I just had to let it run it's course. But that doesn't mean there aren't ways to make them feel better or more comfortable. 

Most illnesses can be dealt with at home and a trip to the doctors isn't always necessary but there are times when you should definitely consider taking them to see a doctor. Such things are: An unusual rash, high pitched crying, a stiff neck, difficulty breathing, if your child is very sleepy, a high temperature (above 37.5) or if your child refuses fluids. Calleigh has been to the doctors a few times due to illness. One time she was coughing so much she had trouble breathing and the other (more recent) time she had a really high temperature accompanied by constant crying and stiff body movements. 

Here are some of the best ways I have found to help a child deal with the pain of being ill:

1. Never underestimate the power of children's medicine- When a illness gets really bad, it's important to give your child a little something to help deal with the pain. I find that a dose of Calpol (or Motrin or children's Ibuprofen) works wonders. The last time I remember giving Calleigh a dose of medicine it worked that well that within half an hour she was running around like a mad woman as if nothing was wrong. Always check the dosing chart and never give more than recommended on the packet. Also check that it's okay to use with anything that may have been prescribed by your doctor. If ever in doubt ask a doctor. 
2. Keeping their temperature down- A high temperature is extremely uncomfortable. When your child is experiencing a high temperature it's important to try and keep it down. Try light fitting clothing or even just in a nappy for a while. Cold cloths on the forehead also work really well. 
3. Make sure they drink plenty of water- Very important this one. Fluids are very important!
4. Give them their favourite foods- I find that when Calleigh is poorly she doesn't really want to eat and when she does she doesn't eat much at all. I always try to give her little portions of her favourite meals to keep her happy. 
5. Let them have plenty of rest- When Calleigh is ill I like to let her have as much sleep as possible. When she is well rested I notice that she is much more able to deal with the illness and in a much better mood. 
6. Try to make them laugh- I know it may seem that the last thing you want when you are ill is someone trying to make you laugh. But with Calleigh I find it lifts her mood loads and makes her much happier. Pulling funny faces, tickling her and generally just being an idiot always makes Calleigh laugh even when she is feeling her worst.

These are a few of the things I find helpful to me when Calleigh is poorly. Like I said there is nothing worse than feeling so helpless when they are ill. So doing these little things will make you feel much better. 

Calleigh chilling out in the spare bedroom 

Daddy's Day Off

Yesterday was Labor Day here for us which meant Daddy had the day off work. We had planned to take a trip to the zoo but Calleigh fell ill over the weekend and I didn't think she would enjoy it as much as she normally does so we decided to do something else and save the zoo for another day. 

So instead we took a drive to a nearby wildlife park called Lone Elk Park, this is personally one of our favourites as you are always guaranteed to see something and just around the corner is the Wild Bird Sanctuary. 

Whilst driving through we caught sight of a beautiful Elk taking a drink from the lake which also had quite a lot of ducks and geese so we parked up nearby and took a walk down. A kind family gave us a loaf of bread as they were done with it so Calleigh was able to feed the ducks. 

She loved it, ducks and geese were everywhere all around her. Unfortunately she couldn't throw the bread very far so the brave geese kept coming right up to her feet. Daddy was watching very carefully and even helped Calleigh feed one out of her hand. 

Just around the corner the Elk was still there munching in the grass. He was so beautiful and wasn't at all bothered that we were literally feet away from him. We stopped to take in how amazing it felt to be there with him and then moved on.

After we had finished driving around the park we decided to go the the Bird Sanctuary while we were there. It's free to go in and is home to many different species of birds on display. 

Calleigh loves birds and really enjoyed looking at the different birds of prey. Although her favourite definitely seemed to be the Chickens. Probably because you could feed them, which meant she could get her fingers in the cage. We allowed her to do so for a little while until a little chicken became far too interested in Calleigh's finger rather than the food we were throwing in. 

Back at home Calleigh crashed a little bit, her illness and the excitement of the day obviously taking it's toll on her. So I gave her a nice bath whilst Daddy baked some lovely cookie brownies. Afterwards we sat cuddled on the sofa watching the Bubble Guppies Fairytale Adventure before going up to bed. 

We love spending days like this with Daddy. It makes us realise how lucky we are to have this opportunity to live in America. 

Picky Eating

Over the past couple of weeks I have noticed Calleigh is becoming a bit of a picky eater. Picky eating is something most toddlers and young children go through so I have been expecting it. I was quite the picky eater myself when I was younger. If I didn't want to eat something because it looked funny, or smelled funny or even just because my friends didn't eat it, then I didn't eat it. In fact it was only this past year that I started eating steak and even then I order it pretty much burnt to a crisp (I don't like blood in my food) and refuse to eat it if it's a little bit pink (I know, that is like the worst think to steak connoisseurs). So I can definitely see where this phase of picky eating has come from. 

Daddy on the other hand will pretty much eat whatever you put in front of him apart from coconut and liver (don't blame him there). So I'm hoping Calleigh will follow in Daddy's footsteps instead of mine, don't think I could handle two of us being so fussy. 

As a baby Calleigh was really good and happy to try new foods and different flavours but I did notice that, while she liked most of what we gave her, she knew straight away if she didn't like something and would refuse to eat it even if offered again and again. 

One of these things was broccoli, she would not eat it, even when I tried to hide it in her mashed potato she knew and checked every spoonful before it went anywhere near her mouth. She loved mashed potato, she would eat it until it was coming out her eyeballs. 

She also loved sandwiches when she was younger, especially with cheese spread and always finished her lunch. 

Now I am beginning to find it hard to put things on her plate that she will eat. She no longer eats mashed potato and no matter how many time I put it on the plate, it is always still there when she has finished. 

She doesn't eat her fish fingers anymore and will only eat chicken nuggets bathed in tomato ketchup. 

And no matter what fillings I put in her sandwich she doesn't eat them. 

It's not all bad though, she still loves her vegetables, especially peas (and even Broccoli) and she adores her bananas. 

I tend to find myself just sticking with the things I know she eats as I get worried she will not eat enough if I try her with new things. Hopefully it will pass soon and I will be able to try out some new and interesting recipes and take her out to restaurants again. 

Eating her peas (I don't know why the play icon won't go away???) 

More Vaccines for Calleigh

At the moment we are in the process of getting everything ready for our green card application. This means if it's approved we will be able to stay here for as long as we please once our visa expires. It will also make us official residents of the United States and it will make things like buying a house and a car a hell of a lot easier for us. 

The early stages of this process involve all of us getting full medical checks and making sure we are all up to date on vaccinations. Daddy and I both require a booster for MMR and Tetanus, which we are going for today. 

It turns out Calleigh was also in need of more vaccinations, and although both the ones she needed are optional, for our green card application they are not and she needed to get them done. 

The two she needed are Hepatitis A and B. As these, once again, are not offered as part of the normal immunisation schedule on the NHS I was unsure about what they actually protect against and why she needed them. I also needed to know about all the possible side effects and if there were any possible serious ones involved with getting them done. 

Both Hepatitis A and B are diseases that affect the liver. Hepatitis A is an acute liver disease, it comes on quickly and runs a short course that doesn't linger. It is the most easily spread of the two and is commonly spread by close personal contact with someone who has it or via contaminated food or water. Hepatitis B on the other hand may start out as an acute disease causing mild symptoms but has the ability to develop into a lifelong illness that can cause long term liver problems such as liver cancer. Hepatitis B is spread through blood or other bodily fluids.

So they both sound like pretty serious diseases and I was convinced that it was a good idea to get her vaccinated against them. After talking to the nurse she confirmed that both are completely safe and recommended and that there are no real concerns when it comes to side effects and I shouldn't see more than a bruise around the injection site. 

She had her injections on Friday and once again, like the trooper that she is, she did little more than flinch during and was completely fine afterwards. The injection site is pretty bruised, which is horrible to see but I know it was for a good cause. Other than that she has been completely healthy and not shown any signs of having side effects, just like the nurse said. 

I am really glad she had them done and once we have ours done we will have everything we need for the green card process to go ahead. 

I do worry over here sometimes that I am not as clued up as I felt I was back in England. I found out the other day that Calleigh is also overdue for her Pneumonia Vaccination- another thing I didn't even know she needed. 

In England I knew all of her Immunisation schedule and when she was due check ups. Over here I feel like I am just failing terribly at keeping her healthy. I think I need to spend some time looking into it over here so I can be sure I am doing what is best for Calleigh. 

And Then She Turned On Us

So we were all hanging out on the drive the other day, Calleigh and I were doing some artwork on the drive when Daddy decided he should really water the grass (not that it would help at all, it died whilst we were in Florida. Who knew you had to water it so often out here). 

As soon as he got out the hose pipe and pulled it past Calleigh her eyes lit up. 

"Ooooh" She shouted and quickly got up and ran over to Daddy. 

Water really amazes her at the moment, she loves playing in it and really enjoyed running through the mist of water. She was having so much fun and then for some reason Daddy decided to show her how to use it. She caught on quick and before we knew it she was holding it in her hand and squeezing the trigger, laughing uncontrollably every time water squirted out of the hose. 

And that's when she turned on us. 

She quickly turned and aimed the hose, first at Daddy and then at me. Once again laughing as we both ran off in all directions to avoid the jets of water. 

Luckily we could run faster than she could so we managed to remain relatively dry. 

Little monkey!