15 Month Check-Up

Last month I took Freyja in to see the doctor for her 15 month check-up. Due to some random insanity with our appointment, we had to see a different doctor instead of the pediatrician she's had since birth, so we had to wait a bit longer so he could squeeze us into his schedule. She was all over the place, trying to play with all the interesting instruments on the wall behind the examining table, walking back and forth and listening to her feet crackle the paper on top, and yelling so she could hear her little voice echo in the room. It was pretty hilarious. I was laughing to myself, thinking that all I needed was for this guy who has never met us to walk into the room while Freyja is tangled up his blood pressure cuff. Oh well, I guess he's probably used to this kind of thing!

The result of our trip was finding out that Freyja is super healthy and quite the little smarty pants. Both nice things, but what I'm most pleased with is that she's happy, which from the massive amounts of giggling she's been doing lately, I'd say mission accomplished!

During the course of the appointment, he asked whether Freyja had allergies to medications, or had seemed to show allergies towards any specific foods so far. I said that it didn't appear so at this point.

He then asked me about myself, and I mentioned that I had a severe allergy to the drug Phenergan, and as all physicians do when I say this, he asked me what happens to me when I take it. I told him about the hallucinations I was reported to have had has a child from taking it (I don't remember this, but I've been told), and then about the hallucinations, paranoia, and manic behavior I had when taking it as a teenager, despite telling the nursing staff at the hospital that I couldn't take it (nice, huh?).

I said that this allergy has been a real bummer for me during pregnancy because I suffer from Hyperemesis Gravidarum during my first trimester and beyond. Two of the most common medications for the treatment of this are Compazine and Phenergan, and I can take neither, since Compazine contains the same active ingredient which I have an allergy to. This left the medication Zofran, which is often given to cancer patients to relieve the nausea and vomiting experienced during chemotherapy. It was absolutely unaffordable, and out of the question, even with insurance. So, I turned to other options. I tried changing my diet, and using certain foods to combat the problem. I tried herbal remedies. I even tried a doxylamine and vitamin B6 therapy, which has been reported to give some women relief. Nothing I tried worked, and thus I had to spend the first half of my pregnancy feeling pretty horrible. So horrible, in fact, that despite the fact that I really, really want to have more children, the thought of going through that kind of spine-wrenching pain and discomfort all over again had me wondering if I could actually do it.

I mean, the nausea, fatigue, and constant vomiting was far worse than having Freyja. Can you imagine?

So, when the doctor non-chalantly told me that the pharmaceutical company had lowered the cost of Zofran, and specifically mentioned how much, I wanted to jump up, run over to him, and give him a kiss.

If it's in the cards someday to have another child, I'm definitely going to spend some time researching other ways to deal with the very real possibility that I'll have Hyperemesis again, without having to turn to Zofran. I don't certainly don't want to take a prescription medication every day during my pregnancy! But the fact that I can take it if I can find no other relief takes some serious fear and doubt away, which feels so good.

The Super Freak-Out Meltdown

Today I had what I think would qualify as a first-time mom, super freak-out meltdown.

Each morning when Freyja wakes up for the day, I also wake up. I get up, put a long pillow between her and the side of the bed which isn’t against the wall so she doesn’t roll out while I’m gone, and go into the bathroom to prepare her morning milk. I can see her from the bathroom, so I watch her play and listen to her babble from the doorway. When I come back into the room, I hand her the cup, she starts drinking it, and while she gradually wakes up and drinks, I slowly let light into the room, ending with the window next to the bed. By this time she’s done drinking, and I take the cup out of her hand, replacing it with her pacifier, and then I change her diaper. We do the same thing each morning. It's our little routine, at least for now....

Well, this morning…I opened the curtains, and then I reached over to take the cup…and when I do, I look down to see the most enormous, liquid-filled blister on Freyja’s middle finger on her right hand that I have ever seen! I am not exaggerating. This thing was huge. It was easily the size of her thumb, and as long as the space between the base her finger and the second joint. Huge.

I immediately scooped her up, went downstairs, and grandma was on the phone to Freyja’s pediatrician in a nanosecond. It was literally minutes before we were all dressed and in the car, on the way to the doctor. Here I am, crying in the backseat, trying to figure out for the life of me what could have caused this insanely huge blister. She was completely normal when she went to bed! She hadn’t eaten or touched anything new the day or night before! She hadn’t touched anything hot which could have pinched, burned and/or blistered her. Even though she has been sick, she never had a fever. I just couldn’t figure it out. I just kept going through the day and hours before, thinking that something should be coming to me, but nothing made sense.

When we got to the doctor’s office, her pediatrician was clueless. He said he’d seen nothing like it. He called in one of his partners, an allergist who’d been a physician for 20 years. He said he’d also never seen anything like that on an infant. They both agreed it didn’t look like a burn or a contact allergy, and sent us to a dermatologist. While they were examining her, the blister finally broke from the immense amount of pressure, which of course made me freak. It looked so bad…

The dermatologist’s diagnosis? It was an insect bite. I said that this had been discussed at the pediatrician’s office, but that the area lacked puncture marks, which led them to believe that it couldn’t be an insect bite. The dermatologist said that certain mites and spiders leave what are called “blistering bites” which have no punctures. He said that a blister this large was unusual and probably just a one-time, strange reaction. He assured me that it would be fine, would heal normally, and probably never happen again.

Then it hit me. Yesterday we brought in some wood and used the fireplace because the furnace was on the fritz, and Freyja was playing in the same room. Is it possible that a bug was hanging out in a piece of the wood, and it somehow made its way over to her?

Regardless, I freaked, at least on the inside. Although I did cry, I somehow managed not to have a complete breakdown in front of her. She’s always been very aware of my emotions, and she can sense when I’m upset or nervous, which leads to her being upset or nervous, even if it's really no big deal to her. Since she seemed pretty calm and cool and in no pain over the whole thing, I wanted to try and keep her in a good mood.

I realize that this whole freaking out thing when your child is sick, in pain, sad, you name it...is normal. I mean, what kind of parent with any heart doesn't feel like that? For me, one of the worst experiences is taking Freyja to the health department for her vaccinations, because I know her little giggly demeanor and goofy smile will soon turn into crying, tears of pain, and a look of distrust, aimed at me, because I'm the horrible, mean mommy who took her there and let those awful people touch her. I can only imagine how I'll feel when she falls and skins her knees, has to have stitches, or has her heart broken by some evil boyfriend. But, somewhere along the line I'm going to have to perfect my talents at holding in some of my own emotions so I can help her to be brave and strong.

Still, I feel like I did okay, at least on the outside…which is what really matters...at least for now.

Sniffles and Sneezes

Shortly after the top tooth began it's eventual descent, Freyja's little innocent cold became one monster of a beast. Major conjestion, sniffling, sneezing, running nose, headache, coughing, and sleep troubles have been going on for the past three days. Two nights ago, she literally woke up crying every 30 minutes all night long. I'm guessing she was so congested that when she laid back...she just couldn't breathe and everything was draining down her throat. I eventually just had to prop her up slightly and spend the rest of the night with one eye open. So, I've been doing a lot of vapor baths, using the vaporizer, and using vapor rub on the back, chest, and neck to see if I can get her cleared out. The key word: vapor. Poor little thing! Also newly listed under "Things Freyja Hates" is the nasal aspirator. The hysterical crying and screaming which comes from this child when I even attempt to use it is beyond description. She is scared to death of that thing! So, it's pretty much not going to happen. Hopefully she gets better soon so she can go back to her usual giggling self.

Number Three

No, this is not Freyja. But it is a baby with a fever...which is what I've got. Her top right tooth has decided to come in, and although she only seemed mildly disgruntled by the first two lower teeth, this one so far has involved a lot more drama, and it hasn't even broken through the gumline yet. She's been hot, feverish, and weepy...and has needed lots of mommy hugs, snuggles, and loving.

I really do recommend Hyland's Homeopathic Teething Tablets. They seem to take away some of the pain, and set her at ease so she can play or sleep comfortably. FYI: Although most of my homeopathic knowledge comes from Grandma Szilvi (I KNOW you love being called that! Hee Hee!), the Internet, or my awesome homeopathy book, this was actually suggested by my friend Heather while I was still pregnant. Thanks, girl! And another thing...isn't it fabulous that you can buy some homeopathic remedies at Wal-mart? Who knew?