Big and Small Steps

So Killian will be starting school in September.  Gulp!  Also, just found out that so far there are only 2 children starting in Junior Infants (small school - about 53 in the school in total).  So I rang the principal and she put me in contact with the other kid's mammy.  Another little boy will be starting with him, and they had their first playdate on monday.  In one way I couldnt be happier, because it took them less than 5 minutes to become best friends, thick as thieves, and Katie joined in too.  However, I can picture it now, 10 years down the road ( or sooner) cycling to each others houses, staying out all day, making up stories just to meet up and get out of homework, in 12 years time, getting fake ids and sneaking into nightclubs toghether, and if Katie is still in tow, who will be getting a crush on who??  What have we started!!!  By the end of the day, no-one wanted anyone to leave - trying to arrange sleep overs and asking how many sleeps til the next play date.  So maybe take it one day at a time - I am so chuffed for my little boy to have such a nice friend to grow up with, and it will be the making of many more blog posts I'm sure.  Watch this space!!!

appreciation of books through the years

My little boy has had a growing relationship with books since he was a baby - which went something like this:
Age - 1 year - mmm books - look yummy - I think I'll eat them
Age - 2 years - why didnt anyone tell me sooner you can tear paper this is so much fun
Age - 3 years - so there are stories in books and someone can read them to me - ok thats cool
Age - 4 years - I love books, I love the library, i dont want to give the books back to the library though. 

So daddy decided to surprise him one day and photocopied one of his favourite books so we wouldnt have to renew it again (sshhhh, dont tell anyone).  However, daddy was gone to work before he got up that morning and didnt explain what he had done.  Poor Killian got the fright of his life when he saw loose pages of his favourite book sitting beside the television and cried out - Mammy - the girls have been tearing up the books!!!!  How things have changed.  Long may it last!!

Mid Term break:Dara

I havent been blogging recently for a number of reasons, but am not going to make excuses.  Lets just say 2 kids on mid term from preschool with energy to burn burns your energy!!!  However, we have had a ball.  We have been to Galway - check out the Aquarium in Salthill - well worth a visit, the guides will let the kids touch star fish and crabs.  We bought paint to paint our house.  Unfortunately the only paint currently on the walls was put there by a 2 yr old and a 4 yr old with mini paint brushes and narrowly escaping the windows!  We have visited friends and relations, and made loads of new friends over the Easter.  However, I think today was the highlight of their break.  We visited a friend who has 2 daughters, who we havent visited in a while.  Between wanting to change into pyjamas to have a pyjama party (including my little boy almost being put into princess pjs) and packing their backpacks to go on an adventure around the house like 3 Doras and 1 Boots, there was a silence, which first we thought meant they were getting tired and chilling in the playroom.  NEVER TRUST QUIET CHILDREN!   The 3 youngest had stripped off all their clothes and hopped into the bath together running the freezing cold tap having the time of their lives.  All we could do was laugh as we tried to distinguish whose clothes were whose as they were strewn all over the hall, bathroom, bedroom etc.  My kids didnt want to go home, and the 2 girls wanted to come home with us.  I wish it was that easy normally to get them into the bath and pjs!!!

Well done Claire

Well done Claire on your nomination.  You so deserve it.  You have been keeping this blog going.  In all fairness, I havent been contributing as I should have, and Claire, who is raising 2 wonderful daughters while her husband works abroad, has been doing an amazing job keeping us entertained, informed and smiling.  Keep it up Babe!!!

Another great blog: Dara

A friend has a blog based on her little girl also Roisin, aka Mini.  My brother is godfather to this Roisin, and the two girls are still yet to meet up but hopefully soon. 

Róisín; age 12 months, currently between jobs, has Down Syndrome.
Loves meeting people, music and carrots.

Have a read - but come back to us for more too!!!

miniandmum.blogspot.com

Bronchiolitis:Dara

For anyone whose child has been diagnosed with bronciolitis for the first time, it is a daunting diagnosis, but one apparently that shouldnt be a worry once they turn 18 months.  All of my children had a dose at some stage, but both Killian and Kate were on the older side when they first contracted it.  Kate unfortunately ended up being hospitalised for 2 nights when she was 20 months but recovered pretty quickly.  Therefore when Roisin (now 5 1/2 months) was diagnosed at the end of february I thought I was prepared and knew what to expect, what to look out for and not to worry because a dose of preventative antibiotics and some steroids would clear it in about a week.  Not so however, therefore I thought I would mention a few pointers I learned over the past month which might help some stressed parents out there deal with the unexpected.  I am not a doctor, and have no medical background whatsoever, so go to your doctor and have your little kiddie checked out but ask as many questions as you can.

1. Bronchiolitis is a virus and therefore antibiotics have no effect on it, but are however prescribed sometimes to prevent a secondary bacterial infection.  If your doctor does prescribe antibiotics ask about their necessity.  I am not saying they will not be in your situation (perhaps there is already a bacterial infection present), but it is worth clarifying.  If the child is old enough, natural yoghurt or a probiotic can restore the good bacteria in the stomach.  If your child does need to use them you will need to finish the course.  I have had one doctor prescribe them only for the next to say they were unnecessary and shouldnt have been prescribed.  Its worth clarifying. 
2. The virus reaches a peak after between 3-5 days.  I did not realise this until she was on her second bout of the illness in 3 weeks and we were in A&E panicking because with whatever medicine she received she was still getting worse.  She was at day 5 of the second virus.  If your child is feeding well, has no temperature, and their breathing is not distressed, and you have already visited your doctor recently, chances are that the virus may start to ease off after this.  However, if you are at all concerned, i.e. not feeding, breathing is distressed, wheezing, or has a temperature, use your gut instinct and contact someone.  At this stage our little one had stopped feeding and the breathing was quite distressed, but all it took was for the atrovent medication to be administered through a nebuliser as opposed to the inhaler, and additional steroids.  The following day she was much improved. 
3. The cough can last for up to a month after medication, and is also worse at night.  We were told on numerous occassions by doctors that Roisins cough was probably caused by a "little mucus plug" in her throat, and that some nasal spray may help. Teething was also blamed by another.  At one stage I got quite irrate with the doctor because we had been awake every night for a week and a half following antibiotics and steroid treatment with a 4 month old baby who was coughing so much that she could not catch her breath in between coughs and the only relief was usually to put her over my shoulder and slap her back.  I often spend well over an hour sitting up with her coughing.  In all respects it was like she was choking/drowning when she was coughing!  She had her matress raised, had the nasal spray, we had a warm mist vapouriser in the room, you name it and nothing helped.  Sure a cough can last, but again, use your gut instinct.  This kind of cough was not normal, and she required further treatment.  The kind of cough that remains is a soft cough that gradually fizzles out.
4. I mentioned that she requried further treatment, and this was in the form of a nebuliser.  At first i freaked out thinking that was it - I now have a chronic asthmatic because she needed a nebuliser.  Dont worry about it.  It uses saline (salt water) which in Ireland must be prescribed by your doctor but is harmless.  Its function is to soften and break down the mucus which makes it easier to cough up and reduces the post nasal drip at night.  She found relief at night almost immediately, and i would recommend anyone who is planning to have more than one child, that if you think you may need to use one at any stage, invest in one.  In Ireland you can receive one from the HSE on loan if you have a medical card, but need to purchase your own if you dont have a medical card.  They can cost anything from €85 - €120 but are worth it for young children who may have the potential for asthma or are too young to sit up at night to clear the mucus.  Alternatively, if you do not require it immediately start asking around now instead of when you need it, someone you know may have one you can borrow, and a paediatric mask only costs about €11 which you can then use with the borrowed devise.  
5. Nasal spray also works quite well if the symptoms arent very bad and uses saline similar to the nebuliser, but the nebuliser gets the saline right into the lungs which targets to affected bronchioli. 
6. Finally - you know your child.  Doctors see children with various illnesses everyday, and hear similar symptoms to yours all the time.  I said before I am not a doctor, but I knew that my baby was not getting better, and had to push hard and fight for doctors to listen to me.  If you are worried, ask as many questions as possible and take note of the symptoms, e.g. a diary so that you can make sure the doctor is making an informed decision and you are satisfied that the diagnosis is accurate.  

I have not researched any of the above in medical journals, nor have any references, just my own experience which was a frightening month with a steep learning curve and I hope that this will at least provide some pointers for parents who may face a similar scenario. 

Googlewhack :Dara

Just found out - our blog is a googlewhack!!!  Type 2moms5kids1blog into your google search bar and only one result appears!  Yeay!

Kids inhibitions! (or lack thereof) : Dara

Got Pixi fotos for Roisin taken today.  Killian as usual had no qualms about telling everyone who he was, who we were, including everyones ages, nicknames, etc,etc.  All kids smiled (thank God) and there were no tears or tantrums.  Whew! 

Speaking of inhibitions though, I thought I'd have to curl up under the table and shrivel up yesterday.  I decided to take the kids for a treat - just a quick smoothie after playschool.  One of the girls serving decided to rearrange the free newspapers and throw old ones in the bin.  Killian quite loudly told me that "that mammy just threw a newspaper in the bin".  I decided (regrettably) to explain that not every woman was necessarily a mammy.  She was quite young, but besides that, I didnt want him to go around calling everyone mammy.  After i explained that she might not have any children, he asked (again not in a whisper) "Does she have a husband?"  Before I could respond, Katie chipped in with "Does she have a daddy?".  Thank God, the questions started to get a little more obscure after that ...  Katie:  are there other daughters in the shop?  Killian:  why isnt there a dot beside the word coffee in the sign?  etc etc.  I dont think the poor girl noticed, but if you think old women are gossips, you should meet my children!!